One More Fungal Infection After Yellow Fungus?

After Black, White and Yellow Fungus, there’s a new fungal infection found in COVID patients- Aspergillosis.

Some patients in Mumbai and Ghaziabad who are currently infected with COVID or have recovered from the disease are showing symptoms of Aspergillosis.

 

  • What is Aspergilliosis?

Aspergillosis | Types of Fungal Diseases | Fungal Diseases | CDC

 

 

Aspergillosis is an infection, allergic reaction, or fungal growth caused by the Aspergillus fungus. The fungus usually grows on decaying vegetation and dead leaves. Exposure to the fungus doesn’t necessarily guarantee that you’ll get aspergillosis. We all encounter the fungus everyday but it only people with weaker immune system or who have just recovered from some major health issues might catch this.

 

 

  • What are the symptoms?

 

Dry cough: Causes, treatments, and when to see a doctor

 

  1. Headaches
  2. Difficulty in Breathing
  3. Blood in urine
  4. Coughing and sneezing
  5. Pain in chest

 

  • How can it be treated?

 

  • Medications:

Oral or intravenous drugs like voriconazole (Vfend) can treat the invasive type of aspergillosis. If you have allergic aspergillosis, you may receive medication that suppresses your immune system, such as prednisone, along with antifungal drugs. Although the antifungal drugs can cause serious side effects later on.

 

  • Surgery:

Surgery in the form of lobectomy is the primary treatment. Surgery for aspergilloma is known to be risky because of massive hemorrhage during dissection and poor pulmonary reserve of the patient due to the underlying disease.

 

  • Source:

http://https://www.healthline.com/health/aspergillosis#treatments

http://https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/health-fitness/health-news/mucormycosis-cases-rising-in-india-people-who-are-at-most-risk-for-black-fungus-white-fungus-and-yellow-fungus-fungal-infections/photostory/82935656.cms

Covishield Gap reduced for Keralites going abroad

Kerala government had recently informed the Centre about the issues being faced by people who are travelling to foreign countries and later stated that they require certificates with passport numbers as many nations are only accepting the certificate of Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine: Kerala government made a decision on Friday regarding those who need to travel abroad for some important purpose such as jobs, education etc. Kerala government decided to issue a covid 19 vaccination certificate with passports for such people. As per the order, person who took a jab of Covishield and wants to get travel clearance will be eligible for second dose after about four to six weeks.

Earlier the gap between the doses was about four to six weeks but later the government changed it. The central government increased the gap between two jabs and set it to twelve to sixteen weeks. The state government gave a statement related to it “A person who took Covishield jab and wants to get travel clearance will be eligible for second dose of Covishield after 4 to 6 weeks. Since currently Covid-19 portal does not permit to administer the second dose of Covishield within a period of less than 12 weeks, this is to be recorded separately by the districts,“.

The order declared the District Medical officer as an authorised person who would issue certificate of vaccination in a proper prescribed format. “Since the World Health Organisation (WHO) has already cleared Covishield vaccine, the same may be given as preference to people travelling abroad. Covishield vaccine will be provided from the vaccine procured by the State,” said the Kerala government. For ensuring that vaccines are being given to eligible person other documents could be used such as live visa, admission document for students, job confirmation letter/work permit for employees.

In a letter by the state government led by Pinarayi Vijayan to central government, they informed them about the situation Indians are facing while travelling abroad for education or job purposes. They stated that travelers are requiring proper certificate with their passport numbers as many nations are only accepting certificate by Oxford – AstraZeneca vaccine. And the Indian manufactured covishield vaccine is developed by Oxford University – AstraZeneca and is manufactured by Pune based – Serum Institute of India (SII) .

In the order, a statement was released by Kerala health department “All the issues were brought into the notice of Government of India to make provisions in CoWIN for permission to include passport details in CoWIN. It was also requested to give permission to the State Government to issue vaccination certificate with changes till provisions are made available in CoWIN. Further, it was requested to permit beneficiaries going abroad to take Covishield as per the previous schedule of 4–6 weeks and to make provisions in the CoWIN portal to document such vaccination given at 4 -6 weeks. However, no orders/letters are received from Government of India so far. In the above circumstances, Government has issued these directions.” Now the central government is expected to take any action on that.

India, US discuss vaccine partnership aimed at expanding access and ensuring supply

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Washington last night. In a tweet, Dr Jaishankar said, there was productive discussion on various aspects of the bilateral cooperation as well as regional and global issues. Both leaders discussed Indo Pacific and the Quad, Afghanistan, Myanmar, UNSC matters and other international organizations. He said, discussion also focused on Indo-US vaccine partnership aimed at expanding access and ensuring supply. Dr Jaishankar appreciated the strong solidarity expressed by the US at this time. He said, the talks have further solidified our strategic partnership and enlarged our agenda of cooperation.

Mr Blinken said, United States and India are working together on so many of the most important challenges of our time and ones that are having a profound impact on the lives of our citizens. He said, US and India are united in confronting COVID-19 together, united in dealing with the challenge posed by climate change, and both countries partnered together directly through the Quad and other institutions at the United Nations in dealing with many of the challenges that we face in the region and around the world. Mr Blinken said, the partnership between the United States and India is vital, it’s strong and it’s increasingly productive. The US Secretary of State said, we remember in the earlier days of COVID, India was there for the United States, something we will never forget and now we want to make sure that we are there for and with India.

Production capacity of Covaxin to be doubled by next month

Centre has said that the current production capacity of indigenously developed Covaxin will be doubled by next month. The Health Ministry said, the production will then be increased to nearly 6-7 fold by July and August. Thus, it’s production will be increased  from one crore vaccine doses in April, 2021 to 6 to 7 crore vaccine doses in the month of July and August. The Ministry added that the production of the vaccine is expected to reach nearly 10 crore doses per month by September this year. This capacity augmentation of Covaxin carried out under Atmanirbhar Bharat 3.0 Mission COVID Suraksha was announced by the Government of India and implemented by the Department of Biotechnology Govt of India to accelerate the development and production of Indigenous COVID Vaccines.

The Ministry also said that there have been some unfound media reports on unaccounted vaccine doses of Bharat Biotech and these reports are incorrect and not supported by full information on the matter.

The claims of Bharat Biotech having 6 Crore doses is an error of comprehension among some quarters reporting the matter.

The Ministry said, so far, Bharat Biotech has supplied 2 crore 76 lakh 66 thousand 860 vaccine doses to the Central Government. Out of them, 2 crore 20 lakh 89 thousand 880 doses including wastage, have been consumed by all the States and UTs in the ongoing COVID-19 Vaccination drive. With this, the balance available doses of vaccines with States and UTs are over 55 lakh 76 thousand doses. The Health Ministry said, Private hospitals have also received 13 lakh 65 thousand 760 doses of Covaxin in the same month over and above what has been supplied to the Centre and the states. It said, in the month of May, 2021 additional 21 lakh 54 thousand 440 doses of Covaxin are to be supplied. This takes the total vaccine supplied and in pipeline till date to over 3 crore 11 lakh doses. Almost 90 lakh doses are committed for the month of June by the Manufacturer.

The Ministry added that Vaccine being a biological product of medical importance takes time for harvesting and quality testing.

Centre in regular touch with national and international manufacturers to augment availability of Corona vaccines

The Union Health Ministry has said that the government of India is doing regular interaction with national and international vaccine manufacturers like Pfizer and Moderna to make more COVID-19 vaccines available in the country. The Health Ministry said that the  concrete actions are a stern indication that the Government is making all efforts to increase the vaccine production in the country as well as attracting the foreign vaccine manufacturers to supply the required vaccine doses for the national covid vaccination programme. It said, as of date, India is using three vaccines against COVID-19 in its immunization drive. It includes two made in India vaccines – Serum Institute of India’s Covishield and Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin who have supplied about 7.92 crore vaccine doses in the month of May 2021.

The Russian Sputnik V is the third vaccine to get approval from the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) for restricted use in emergency situations and is being used in a few private hospitals which are expected to be increased over the coming days.

It said, despite the constraints of availability, India has fared well in covering 20 crore people in only 130 days which is the third largest coverage in the world.

The Ministry further added that the manufacturing capacities have been ramped up and vaccines being a biological product takes time for harvesting and quality testing. This cannot be done overnight to ensure a safe product. Thus, the increase in capacity of manufacturing too needs to be a guided process.

It said, National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration for COVID-19 (NEGVAC) was already established in August 2020 to provide guidance on all aspects of vaccine introduction including prioritization of beneficiaries, procurement, vaccine selection and its delivery.

The Central Government has been supporting the efforts of States and Union Territories for effective management of COVID patients in vaccination, under the ‘Whole of Government” approach since January this year.

Indian Indie

This article is my appreciation for the Indian Indie artist and their music which has healing powers like no other. Great lyrics are the main asset in these songs, these lyrics have a deeper meaning and so you have to listen to them carefully to get the most surreal experience. The music might only contain a guitar or a ukulele or a piano at a time instead of the whole group of musicians but once you hear the songs you would surely listen to them on loop because it soothes your soul and calms your mind.

As these artists work independently, they are free to be as creative with their art as they want and so their art reflects their creativity which sometimes can get suppressed in Bollywood music

Here are a few songs I’d want everybody to listen. (There are many other great songs of the same caliber that I could not mention in this list.)

  • Yahaan Koi Nahi (Punit Singh):  If you’re an introvert you should give this song a listen. This song has a major feel-good vibe but you must listen to the lyrics carefully because that’s where the essence of the song is. After listening to this song you would be assured that you are not the only one who feels lonely.
  • Khud Se (Osho Jain): This song will pluck the strings of your heart one by one. This song will make you realize that maybe it’s you who does not love yourself enough and that is why you think that others do not love you.
  • Waqt ki Baatein (Dream Note): Dream Note has done marvelous work to get you through the hard phase of your life, it gives you hope that everything will get better if you give it time, time heals every wound.
  • Musafir (Arjit Anand): Musafir is a song that asks you to take a pause and enjoy the present moment and the little joys of life. The voice and the music are soulful and soothing.                                                                  
  • Shaayad (Taba Chake): This song will lift your mood instantly. His voice and the music work their ways through your heart and for 3 minutes you will believe that no setback can stop you from achieving your goals.
  • Tum Jab Paas (Prateek Kuhad): There are many beautiful songs by Kuhad but this one transfers you into Utopia with your loved one. Imagine camping, bonfire, fairy lights, this is where you’ll be mentally while listening to this song.
  • Dil Mere (The Local Train): This Hindi Rock Band has released great songs and this is one of them. Dil Mere has great music and vocals and one could instantly fall in love with this song.

Indian Indie artists and their music should get much more appreciation than it gets now because these artists have the ability to connect with their audience emotionally. Listen to these songs and explore others like them, listening to these songs could have a therapeutic effect on your mind.

Tobacco – Commit to Quit

World anti tobacco day is observed around the world every year on 31 May. This day informs the people about the dangers of using tobacco and the dangerous businesses practices of tobacco . The world health organisation is conducting this day to fight against the use of tobacco and what people around the world can do to claim their to good health and live a healthy life and protect future generations.

The use of tobacco leads to many severe diseases which leads to even death related diseases. The day has been met with so much enthusiasm from governments around the world to prevent the use of tobacco.It results in lungs failure and causes many diseases. The extensive use of tobacco leads to deaths and the governments all over the world were forced to make an alternative measure. A worldwide no tobacco campaign has arised by the people and it has been getting a positive responses from the young generation.

World tobacco day how it started

In 1987 the member states of the world health organization started the world no tobacco day with the aim of drawing attention to the tobacco epidemic and the preventable death and the diseases it causes .After the resolution has passed it was a major opportunity for the people to go out and deliver the message of harmful uses of tobacco to the world.
This is year the theme of no tobacco day is ‘Quit tobacco and be a winner.’ Around the world there is several campaigns on social media to quit tobacco with several hashtags and spread the message of severe effects of tobacco. The use of tobacco in these difficult times with the spread of the corona virus is much more harmful than the normal and the studies have shown that people with smoking and consumption of tobacco have a greater chance to get the virus.

So let’s take a pledge in this day to prevent the use of tobacco and the spread the message to all the people around the globe .

Protest’s surfacing in Lakshadweep after new Govt.laws

Located in the Arabian sea, Lakshadweep Island is the only part of India where nature has been existing in its purest form, with no traces of exploitation.
The archipelago is a collection of 36 islands, of which 10 are inhabited. Located on the southwestern coast of the Indian peninsula the island has just a population of 65,000 people, thus being the smallest among Union Territories(UT).

Amid the beautiful wilderness, harmony among the people, and well-balanced ecology, resentments among the people due to the introduction of new laws have been surfacing lately.
Protests of the hashtag “Save Lakshadweep” are echoing on social media.

A Brief Backdrop:


Lakshadweep politically has no Legislative Assembly or a Chief Minister. The entire administration of the island is divided into 3 levels-
* Lok Sabha has 1 Member of Parliament
* Local self-government: Panchayats
* The President of India appoints an Administrator for governance.

The administrators of Lakshadweep have always been bureaucrats. In 2020, it was Dineshwar Sharma, an IPS officer.
Unfortunately, on 4 December 2020, he passed away.
This was the time when entanglement started in the affairs.
After the death of Dineshwar Sharma, no bureaucrat was appointed as the administrator, rather the strings of the governance were passed to the hands of a politician. This person was Praful Khoda Patel, a right-wing politician of the running Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government.

The Resentment:


Since the new administrator came to the seat, Patel put forward a maverick set of laws without consulting the locally elected representatives of this Muslim-majority island. These laws have shattered the tranquility of the island and immersed it under protests and chaos.
The new algorithm of laws is being widely agitated upon. People claim that these laws endanger their livelihoods, land ownership, culture, and even the biodiversity of the tropical islands.

Typically the administrators of the island maintain their relationships with the local leaders for smooth governance. However, in the past few months, the people have raised voices against this new authoritarian administrator.

The Authoritarian approaches of Praful Khoda Patel:

Land Grab-


The administrator Praful Khoda Patel introduced the Lakshadweep Development Authority Regulation 2021, where the government is empowered to take over the lands from the residents for constructing highways, railways, or infrastructure.
The islanders view this as a land grab by giant corporates. This would also put a huge strain on the ecology and biodiversity of the area.

Weakened the democratic voting rights-


It is an old dream of the Lakshadweep inhabitants to have statehood and a Chief Minister like Goa.
They even do not have the right to elect their administrator.
keeping these besides, the poor islanders just have the shaky right to elect their MP and officials only at the Panchayat level.

Things do not stop here, the new administration under Praful Khoda Patel intruded in the local government and drained powers of the Panchayat from 5 different areas, namely- education, healthcare, agriculture, animal husbandry, and fisheries.

Further, Panchayat election regulation has been introduced declaring people having more than 2 children ineligible to contest elections.

Covid threat:


When the country was struggling hard from the Covid spell, Lakshadweep was the only Union Territory to be free of Covid. This was because until December Standard Operating Procedure to prevent COVID-19 was being strictly followed. Under this SOP, people coming from outside were mandated to have a negative RT-PCR test followed by a 14-day quarantine. People supported it and that is why Lakshadweep was Covid free.
Unfortunately, the first Covid case was reported on 18 January, 8 days after the SOP was removed by the new administrator.
The cases skyrocketed due to the island’s small area and dense population along with a not-so-modern healthcare system.

Unjustified laws:


Patel’s Anti-Social Activities Regulation Bill 2021 or Goonda Act further created discontentment among the inhabitants. This act empowers to detain anyone without public disclosure for up to a year.

This law would not be a fight against criminals because Lakshadweep already has the lowest crime rate in India. Rather it is the clear manifestation of authoritarian rule and sharply against the law of natural justice.
The application of this unjust law would be used to brand anyone who protested as a criminal.
The islanders allege that this law would be used by their administrator against those who criticize his decisions and protest his rule.

Liquor permit and beef ban:


Liquor and alcohol were banned in the inhabited resorts of Lakshadweep for a long time due to the Muslim majority and was allowed only at resorts on the uninhabited island. Praful K. Patel reversed the situation. He lifted the ban and permitted opening bars and shops, claiming this will boost tourism on the island.

Lakshadweep Animal Preservation and Regulation 2021 further aggravated people’s anger.
Praful K. Patel imposed a strict ban on the sale, or buy of beef or beef products in any form anywhere in the Muslim-majority islands. Anyone found violating the law would be imprisoned for up to 10 years.

The people of the island are Muslim majority and have a Malayali culture where beef consumption is followed traditionally and imposing something opposite of their culture is an intrusion.

Neighbouring Kerala state’s Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and KC Venugopal, a Congress member of parliament, have also opposed Patel’s decisions. Vijayan says “Patel’s actions pose a grave threat to the life and culture of the people of Lakshadweep”.

‘Climate change and Corporate responsibility’

“We don’t inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children”   

 

According to united nations framework convention on climate change “Climate change means a change of climate which is attributed directly or indirectly to human activity that alters the composition of the global atmosphere and which is in addition to natural climate variability observed over comparable time periods”.

Climate is determined by many factors influencing energy flows the most important being greenhouse gases. Sun’s energy influences climate on earth. The amount of heat radiations which the earth receives depends on how far the sun is from the earth and the sun’s emission power. The sunlight received by earth, a part of it is reflected back to space by the atmosphere, clouds, land, water surface and ice. Aerosols tiny particles in the atmosphere can increase the reflection of sunlight. This solar energy absorbed by earth is returned to space as infrared (heat) radiations. Not all gases interact with infrared radiations. Some gases like water vapor, methane and carbon-dioxide absorb infrared radiation flowing upwards from earth’s surface and re-radiate it in all directions. They thus impede outward flow of infrared energy from earth to space. This is called ‘greenhouse effect and the gases that cause it are called greenhouse gases.

 

Climate change is a phenomenon which mainly occurs through natural or anthropogenic factors. Latitude, ocean currents, wind and air masses, elevation, relief and nearness to water are some important natural factors that affect climate change. Anthropogenic factors affecting climate change include air pollution from vehicles, crackers and industrial activity, overuse and exploitation of natural resources like fossil fuels and infrastructure activities lay roadway to development but at the same time affects climate severely.

 

Reducing climate change involves reducing the factors that affect it like greenhouse gases. We as citizens can reduce the human interference with climate change by lowering our fuel consumption which in turn is possible by using cycles instead of two or four wheelers, by using community vehicles more often, by walking to nearby areas instead of using vehicles, switching off power plugs when not needed, saving water by not wasting it while we bath, brush or clean things. United nations framework convention on climate change (UNFCCC) is an international environmental treaty addressing climate change, negotiated and signed by 154 states at the united nations conference on environment and development informally called the earth summit.  UNFCCC has its main objective to stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere.  Today it has 197 member countries which ultimately works to prevent dangerous human interference with the climate system. Under this framework the industrialized countries have to report regularly on their climate change policies and measures, including issues governed by Kyoto protocol. They must also submit an annual inventory of their GHG emissions.

 

Kyoto protocol is an international treaty which extends the 1992 UNFCCC. Under this 192 nations committed to reduce their emissions by an average of 5.2% by 2012 which would be 29% of world’s total emissions. 

In 2019 a report published by the United Nations said that to limit the temperature rise to 2 degree Celsius, the world will need to cut emissions by 2.7 % each year from 2020 to 2030, and triple the climate targets. Even if all the Paris agreement pledges as they are in 2019, are fulfilled the temperature will rise by 3.2 degrees this century.  

“Corporate social responsibility is a concept whereby companies integrate social and environmental concerns in their business operations and in their interaction with their stakeholders on a voluntary basis.” 

 

CSR is termed as “triple-bottom-approach” which helps the companies in promoting itself as well as in fulfilling its responsibility that it hold towards the society at large. According to United Nations Industrial Development Organisation, CSR based on triple bottom line approach can help countries in the developing bracket to accelerate their socio-economic growth and help them become more competitive. Companies can fulfill their responsibilities through various activities like pollution control mechanisms, waste reduction or by contributing in educational and social programs. CSR is said to improve brand image of a company and increase its goodwill. 

 

There are three basic principles that comprise CSR- 

Sustainability- If resources of an organization are utilized efficiently then they will be available for the future generations too after satisfying needs of present generations. As the availability of resources is limited and non-renewable resources like oil, natural gas, minerals which are used in abundance are regenerated after long spans of years resources must be used optimally. 

 

Accountability- The main aim of a business organization is to maximise its profits. But apart from making profits a company should be accountable to its employees and community members. A satisfied and motivated workforce will work more productively than exploited workers. 

 

Transparency – From government’s point of view transparency is very essential for an organization. All its activities must be transparent so that if any organization tries to hide anything about the conduct of its activities it can be easily located.

 

Any actions that the organization undertakes has an effect on its external environment in which it resides whether it be social, legal, cultural or economic environment. An organization can have very significant effect on its external environment and can actually change that environment through its activities. Organizational activities can affect utilisation of natural resources, competition between various firms, land transformation or degradation dur to raw material extraction, distribution of wealth among owners and workers of the firm and the greatest of all affected is climate change due to greenhouse gas emissions. 

 

The most recent concern that every organization faces is effect of its activities on climate. Companies act, 2013 has formulated section 135, companies (corporate social responsibility) rules, 2014 and schedule VII which prescribes mandatory provisions for the companies to fulfill their CSR. A company or subsidiary of the company having net worth of Rs. 500 crore or more or turnover of Rs 1000 crore or more, or net profit of Rs. 5 crore or more during the immediately preceding financial year must undertake CSR activity. A foreign company having its branch office or project office in India, which fulfills the above criteria is applicable for CSR. However, if a company ceases to meet the above criteria for 3 consecutive financial years then it is not required to comply with CSR provisions till such time it meets the specified criteria.

Every company on which CSR is applicable is required to constitute a CSR committee with directors on its board. 

 

Functions of CSR committee- 

 

Formulate and recommend to the board a CSR policy which shall indicate all the activities to be undertaken by the company Recommend the expenditure required on the above mentioned activities. 

Monitor the CSR policy from time to time. 

Institute a transparent monitoring mechanism for implementing the CSR projects or programs undertaken by the company. The board of directors shall disclose contents of CSR policy in its report and the same shall be displayed on the company’s website. 

Schedule 7 of the act states the activities that the companies can undertake under CSR- 

Eradicating hunger, poverty and malnutrition, promoting health care including preventive health care and sanitation. 

Rural development projects.

Slum area development. 

Promoting education, including special education and employment enhancing vocation skills. 

Promoting gender equality, empowering women, setting up homes and hostels for woman and orphans, setting up old age homes, day care centers etc. 

 

About 20 most influential companies contribute one-third of all the greenhouse gas emissions that we have presently. Companies can reduce their greenhouse gas emissions as a part of social obligation, by following stringent guidelines. Smart thermostats and motion-activated lights can be used to avoid wasting energy, reducing GHG emissions. Companies can measure and analyse GHG emissions and accordingly reduce its energy consumption. They can use renewable energy sources, can use environment-friendly infrastructure and transport, promote environment-friendly ways of working and most important of all it can spread awareness among its employees and various stakeholders. 

 

Companies take actions to reduce GHG emissions in the environment. Microsoft has pledged to reduce operational emissions by 75% by 2030, but has been operating as 100% carbon neutral since 2012. Tata chemicals spent the highest on CSR in 2019, although its prescribed CSR budget for 2019-2020 was 21.39 Crores, the company spent 37.81 Crores on community development projects. Tata chemicals as a part of its CSR responsibility established Tata chemicals society for rural development in 1980 as a society and trust. 

 

Since the lockdown began TCSRD has been actively supporting government by distributing disinfectants, stitching masks, ensuring food security and providing medical help. Infosys Ltd. Spent 2% of its profit towards various schemes of corporate social responsibility. BHEL a government company as a part of its corporate social responsibility for COVID-19 relief , organized ‘Swachhata Pakhwada 2020’ from July 1 to 15, 2020. Mahindra and Mahindra ltd company spent 93.50 Crores out of which 8.36 Crore was spent on project Nanhi kali which provides educational support to underprivileged girls in India through an afterschool support programme.

 

National Educational policy -2020

The National Educational policy is to promote the standards of Indian education system.This policy was approved by the Union cabinet minister of India on 29th, July 2020. This policy replaces the policy of 1986. A committee was formed under the former cabinet secretary T.S.R Subramanian to consult the process of new National Educational policy . New draft NEP was submitted in 2019 by ISRO former chief krishnaswamy katurirangan which was later released by minister of Human Resources Department. There were over 2 lakhs of suggestions about the new National Educational policy from the people. The main vision is to provide high quality of education to all the people. It’s main aim is to increase the state expenditure on education from 3% to 6% of GDP.

          Now we will see what is New Education policy and it’s main objectives.

School Education:

   1.  This policy gives importance to the regional languages and mother tongue by making it compulsory till class 5 . Sanskrit and other foreign languages  will also be given emphasis.

There will be few changes in the curriculum structure. The 10+2 model will be replaced as 5+3+3+4 . The new policy has categorized the curriculum based on their age .

       The students from the age 3 to 5 will be categorised under the foundational stage in which it is further divided into two classes; the pre-school which is followed by the primary school where the method of learning will be activity learning.

classes from 3 to 5 will come under preparatory stage. Here they will get basic knowledge about the subjects like maths, science, social science and they will start to learn, write and read.

In the middle stage (class 6 to 8) the will read indepth concepts in the basic subjects like maths , science and social science.

       In the secondary stage (class 9 to 12)where they will start studying the multidisciplinary study and start to think critically.

     3. Instead of conducting academic exams for all the classes,there will be exams only for classes 2,5 and 8 .

    4. For the secondary classes , the board exams will be conducted on the basis of PARAKH ( performance, Assessment, Review and Analysis of knowledge for Holistic Development). The exams will be conducted twice in a year and both objective and descriptive type questions will be asked.

  5. Coding will be introduced in class 6 and along with midday meals breakfast also will be provided.

Higher Education:

      1.There will be 4 years of multidisciplinary bachelor degree in UG and one can discontinue whenever they needed and they will be provided with the degree certificate based on their qualification.

     2. The PG degree should not be discontinued to align the degree education.

     3.This policy proposes an internationalise education in India .

     4. All the institutions will be governed by single regulatory except medical and law colleges.

    5. The fees structure for both private and government universities will be fixed by the government.

     6. All the entrance exams for getting admissions in college including NEET, JEE will be conducted by NTA.

Teachers qualification:

     The minimum qualification for the teachers must be the completion of 4 years bachelor degree. The National Council for Teachers Education will frame a new curriculum for teachers education by 2021. This policy is to provide good education to the students by the highly knowledged and qualified teachers.

     These are all the policies that comes under the NEP 2020.Now you all can understand easily what is meant by NEP 2020 and why people are against this new policy.

OBESITY

 

OBESITY


Overweight and obesity are defined as abnormal or excessive fat accumulation that presents a risk to health. A body mass index (BMI) over 25 is considered overweight, and over 30 is obese. The issue has grown to epidemic proportions, with over 4 million people dying each year as a result of being overweight or obese in 2017 according to the global burden of disease. 

Rates of overweight and obesity continue to grow in adults and children. From 1975 to 2016, the prevalence of overweight or obese children and adolescents aged 5–19 years increased more than four-fold from 4% to 18% globally.

Obesity is one side of the double burden of malnutrition, and today more people are obese than underweight in every region except sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. Once considered a problem only in high-income countries, overweight and obesity are now dramatically on the rise in low- and middle-income countries, particularly in urban settings. The vast majority of overweight or obese children live in developing countries, where the rate of increase has been more than 30% higher than that of developed countries.

Symptoms

Obesity is diagnosed when your body mass index (BMI) is 30 or higher. To determine your body mass index, divide your weight in pounds by your height in inches squared and multiply by 703. Or divide your weight in kilograms by your height in meters squared.

BMI

Weight status

Below 18.5

Underweight

18.5-24.9

Normal

25.0-29.9

Overweight

30.0 and higher

Obesity

For most people, BMI provides a reasonable estimate of body fat. However, BMI doesn’t directly measure body fat, so some people, such as muscular athletes, may have a BMI in the obesity category even though they don’t have excess body fat.

When to see a doctor

If you’re concerned about weight-related health problems, ask your doctor about obesity management. You and your doctor can evaluate your health risks and discuss your weight-loss options.

What causes obesity?

Eating more calories than you burn in daily activity and exercise — on a long-term basis — can lead to obesity. Over time, these extra calories add up and cause weight gain.

But it’s not always just about calories in and calories out, or having a sedentary lifestyle. While those are indeed causes of obesity, some causes you can’t control.

Common specific causes of obesity include:

  • genetics, which can affect how your body processes food into energy and how fat is stored
  • growing older, which can lead to less muscle mass and a slower metabolic rate, making it easier to gain weight
  • not sleep enough, which can lead to hormonal changes that make you feel hungrier and crave certain high-calorie foods
  • pregnancy, as weight gained during pregnancy may be difficult to lose and might eventually lead to obesity

Certain health conditions can also lead to weight gain, which may lead to obesity. These include:

  • polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), a condition that causes an imbalance of female reproductive hormones
  • Prader-Willi syndrome, a rare condition present at birth that causes excessive hunger
  • Cushing Syndrome, a condition caused by having high cortisol level (the stress hormones
  • Osteoarthritis (OA) and other conditions that cause pain that may lead to reduced activity.

TYPES

6 Types of Obesity

·         Food Obesity.

·         Thickness due to Nervous Stomach.

·         Gluten diet.

·         Genetic metabolic Obesity.

·         Venous Circulation Obesity.

Health risks of obesity

    

People with obesity have a higher chance of developing these health problems:

·         High blood glucose (sugar) or diabetes.

·         High blood pressure (hypertension).

·         High blood cholesterol and triglycerides (dyslipidemia, or high blood fats).

·         Heart attacks due to coronary heart disease, heart failure, and stroke.

·         Bone and joint problems, more weight puts pressure on the bones and joints. This can lead to osteoarthritis, a disease that causes joint pain and stiffness.

·         Stopping breathing during sleep (sleep apnea). This can cause daytime fatigue or sleepiness, poor attention, and problems at work.

·         Gallstones and liver problems.

·         Some cancers

 How is obesity diagnosed?

BMI is a rough calculation of a person’s weight in relation to their height.

Other more accurate measures of body fat and body fat distribution include:

Your doctor may also order certain tests to help diagnose obesity-related health risks. These may include:

A measurement of the fat around your waist is also a good predictor of your risk for obesity-related diseases.

 

How can overweight and obesity be reduced?

Overweight and obesity, as well as their related noncommunicable diseases, are largely preventable. Supportive environments and communities are fundamental in shaping people’s choices, by making the choice of healthier foods and regular physical activity the easiest choice (the choice that is the most accessible, available and affordable), and therefore preventing overweight and obesity.

At the individual level, people can:

  • limit energy intake from total fats and sugars;
  • increase consumption of fruit and vegetables, as well as legumes, whole grains and nuts; and
  • Engage in regular physical activity (60 minutes a day for children and 150 minutes spread through the week for adults).

Individual responsibility can only have its full effect where people have access to a healthy lifestyle. Therefore, at the societal level it is important to support individuals in following the recommendations above, through sustained implementation of evidence based and population based policies that make regular physical activity and healthier dietary choices available, affordable and easily accessible to everyone, particularly to the poorest individuals. An example of such a policy is a tax on sugar sweetened beverages.

The food industry can play a significant role in promoting healthy diets by:

  • reducing the fat, sugar and salt content of processed foods;
  • ensuring that healthy and nutritious choices are available and affordable to all consumers;
  • restricting marketing of foods high in sugars, salt and fats, especially those foods aimed at children and teenagers; and
  • Ensuring the availability of healthy food choices and supporting regular physical activity practice in the workplace.

Summary

Many factors play a role in the development of obesity. Genetic traits can increase the risk in some people.

Eating a healthy diet that contains plenty of fresh foods and getting regular exercise will reduce the risk of obesity in most people.

However, those with a genetic predisposition to the condition may find it harder to maintain a moderate weight.

My fellow murder mystery junkie, I’ve got your alibi!

Experiences are always fun to talk about, right? Let’s do a quick refreshing. Adventure, gut-wrenching, adrenaline gush. Try to map these three words to a single entity. Your mind, involuntarily would picture the obvious risk driven bungee jumping or skiing or other such outdoor activities. What if I told you, all I can picture is a cozy couch and a cup of steaming coffee? This sounds calm, not dangerous, you may think. But beware, a good murder mystery or a thriller book clutched within your hold, can shake the living hell out of you!

What happens physically when reading a murder mystery?

Without moving an ounce of your flesh, you get to experience a whirl wind of emotions. Reading a thriller book gives you the best experience. These sort of books give us a unique sensation that books of other genres can never do. They are all packed with suspense, waiting to burst within the hands that  pick them. Let me explain you what happens when you reach the core of a thriller book:

The back of our throat wanting to fill with bile, our stomach flutters, lungs struggle to get more air, our heart racing at a tremendous 120 km/hr. speed. Amidst all this, our brain trying to declutter the plethora of meaning underlying in a single sentence while at the same time, convincing our body that we our still positioned at our room’s couch, not on a wild goose chase of a psychopath of our imaginative, yet so realistic world.

Huh, I am gasping for air for just typing this out!

In addition to the chaos and turmoil bubbling inside, we can actually feel our hands go numb and our spine getting chilled. Its absolute wonder that a mere combination of 26 alphabets of a language can give you such trills. It is an amalgamation of so many things: excitement, terror, horror and what not?

Sonder

Apart from the train of random feelings, and a rollercoaster of emotions, these books actually provide a deep unfathomable impact and realization of the complexity of life. There exists a beautiful word in English for explaining this feeling and from the moment I heard it, I fell in love with it. Sonder.

sonder meaning
Sonder: Meaning

 

Movie or book?

Many a times, you may argue that a movie adaptation of a thriller book can give you the same experience. Let me tell you, you will miss one major escapade which can be experienced only by reading books, and not visually seeing a movie adaptation of the same.

When we see a movie, we do not give our brain enough time to contemplate what is going on. We adapt to the perspective of the director instead of developing our own. But when reading about the vivid description of a place, or about the character build, our brain gives life to the book. It tries to imagine the place, gives a face to the character and adsorbs the essence of the scene. This virtualization becomes impossible when we watch a movie as that work is already being done for us.

The good and evil within

Good and Evil
Good and Evil

Thriller books and murder mystery books keep us guessing about the suspects and without our knowledge, our mind penetrates into the mindsets of both the protagonist and into that of the villain. This introduces us into the duality of the human mind. We astonishingly try to relate with the good and the bad simultaneously. We try to seek justice for the light and the dark, putting us in a unique juxtaposition.

We are like water, taking the form of whatever we are poured into. It is up to us to stay true to who we are and lead our life absorbing the positive vibes only. So apart from the unique experience, thriller books also convey a beautiful truth about life, good needs evil to survive. Without mistrust, you will not grasp onto faith. Without rain, you will not appreciate the sun. So put your faith in the right things, lead your life with happiness. My dear fellow crime junkie, I’ve got your alibi (Wink).

Good and bad is not black and white but a million shades of grey.

 

 

Lesser known uses of coconut oil

Coconut oil is gaining a lot of popularity nowadays, because of its numerous health benefits. Coconut oil is produced from the kernel of mature coconuts and is one of the healthiest choices available for cooking. It is antibacterial and has moisturising and cleansing benefits. Widely used for cooking purposes, coconut oil also has a lot of benefits for the skin and hair. Cooking with coconut oil has many benefits like boosting heart health, managing weight, boosting immunity, and many more. Let’s find out the lesser know but great uses of coconut oil and how we can use it in our daily life –

  1. Oil pulling with coconut oil (Gandusha in Ayurveda) – Oil pulling is an ancient Ayurvedic technique of holding the coconut oil inside your mouth and swishing it in between your teeth for 15-20 mins daily. It is best done preferably in the morning. Oil pulling is considered to be very effective for people dealing with gum and teeth issues. It can help prevent tooth decay, gum bleeding, and other diseases of the mouth, thus helping maintain oral hygiene. Start with taking one tablespoon of oil in your mouth after waking up in the morning, swish it around, and spit it around after 15-20 mins. Rinse and brush as you would normally do. Do not swallow the oil and spit it out as it does contain the bacteria of the mouth.
  2. Make-up remover – The micellar waters and other makeup removers that we get in the market do have alcohol and other ingredients that end up making our skin dry and bumpy. Instead, we can switch to coconut oil as it helps in breaking down the makeup and also moisturises the skin at the same time. A little bit of coconut oil on a cotton pad goes a long way, try this the next time you have a full face of makeup and feel the difference.
  3. Hair-care – Applying coconut oil to your tresses makes them smooth, frizz-free, and conditioned. Leaving- it in overnight helps lock moisture in the hair and prevents flaky scalp and dandruff. Add this oiling once a week to your regime to tame frizz and get shiny hair.
  4. Lubricate locks and hinges – If the lock or hinges at your home have become rusty or making a squeaky sound, a thin layer of coconut oil can be used to lubricate them to make it all smooth and fix squeaky hinges.
  5. As a wood-furniture polish – This is one of the popular household uses of coconut oil. Using coconut oil mixed with lemon juice as a natural booster for wood furniture is much cheaper than the average polish available. The coconut oil helps moisturise the wood and bring out its normal colours. 
  6. Polish for leather shoes – Taking a little coconut oil on a microfibre cloth and wipe it on the shoes to make them clear, moisturised, and weather-resistant.
  7. Remove crayon marks – Coconut oil can be used to lift crayon marks – take some oil on a cloth and wipe the area away to remove the marks.

Is There Life Outside Earth?

This is a question that has perturbed humanity for decades now. From the start of the early space age during the Cold War, where asserting dominance in space was given the first importance, unknowingly, the USSR and the USA shaped the future. They made the then-present generation more involved with things regarding space. Many movies and TV Shows like Star Trek and others that focused on space travel and aliens came into being. They all portrayed Earth as just one planet among many in the universe. Movies also portrayed the Moon, Mars, and Venus all to the harbor with life. They were said to be aliens over there and that the government is just covering it all up. This led to a rise in a sort of cultist movement in the 70s, where people spread propaganda regarding the existence of “little green men” across the solar system.

But this is all just fanciful imagination. None of this is actually true as far as science is concerned with the present knowledge we hold. From the missions we have sent to the Moon, Venus, and Mars, there seems to be no sign of life. Moon and Venus are completely devoid of any signs of a life-supporting system, and it is theorized that Moon and Venus cannot have supported life anytime in the past. However, as for Mars, there is proof suggesting that water may have flowed on the surface of Mars sometime in the past. This is because Mars has canyons and shorelines, which are being mapped, and simulations have shown that there was a high possibility that water may have once flowed on Mars. But this doesn’t necessarily mean that life is still there now. They may or may not have been life forms on Mars. But, if we find any one of them now, it would be in the form of microbes, not fully evolved conscious beings like us. Some missions are ongoing to find out if there are any fossils of Martian microorganisms. If there are, that would be the first sign that we are not ( at least, were not ) alone in this universe.

There have also been speculations that there is a very high possibility that alien life forms exist in the very galaxy that is much more advanced than us but does not interfere with us mainly because we are not worth noticing. A suitable analogy would be a man not noticing the worms or ants beneath him when walking through a forest. ( We are the ants! ) We are just not worthy of any form of attention from these alien civilizations.

The Drake Equation states that there are probably 1000 to 100,000,000 planets in our very galaxy that can harbor alien civilizations. But even with so many planets, the only thing we are receiving from outer space is dead silence. There has been a separate organization called SETI ( Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence ) which searches the sky for any signals which are out of the ordinary. There has been only one such signal called the WOW signal, which was way out of the ordinary, but scientists have ruled it out as a piece of signal from Earth that was bounced back from space debris. There has been nothing that even shows the slightest hint of an extraterrestrial civilization.

This has been really dreadful to scientists. There is a high probability that humankind is well and truly alone in this entire vast universe. That we are the last ones left alive here. There is no one beside us. If there were, then they are truly gone. Even knowing that this is the highest possibility we live in fills me, the author, with some sense of extreme loneliness. Are we really the last living thing in this entire vast universe? If so, then the best we can do is to survive and thrive. Regardless, the search for extraterrestrial life will never stop. Even if all other life is dead, we will still try to find out what they were and how they vanished.

Value of Newspaper

The primary object of a newspaper is to supply news. Man, being basically curious by nature, want to know what is happening around him in the wide world. The newspaper is the best medium to meet this curiosity. The newspaper has a great educative value also.

Modern newspaper deal with a wide range of subjects—political and commercial news, library and scientific matters, entertainment, the stock market, etc; and thus it caters for the interest of all. The editorials and letters to the editor help the growth of public opinion and keep the government informed of it.

Newspaper keeps people abreast of the current events from all over the world and widen our mental horizon. It educates the people in all matters of public interest and teaches them to form opinions on the burning questions of the day. The newspaper is also the best medium of advertisement giving the most effective and widest publicity of different items.

Newspaper bear comments of diverse nature and interests. People should not be blindly guided by these comments but should keep an open mind and form our independent opinion on the problems discussed.