India to host fifth meeting of SAARC
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Indian will host the fifth meeting of SAARC health ministers next week to deliberate on key issues including HIV/AIDS, prevention of communicable and non-communicable diseases and to strengthen collaborations amongst the nations.
"The meeting will deliberate on a road map for strengthening collaboration among SAARC countries on a number of issues and challenges faced by them.
"Some of the prominent health issues to be discussed include prevention and control of communicable and non-communicable diseases, disease surveillance network, health infrastructure, human resources for health, immunisation for vaccine preventable diseases, HIV/AIDS, mental health and others," an official statement said.
The health ministers will also discuss adoption of the the "Delhi Declaration" affirming their commitment to work together in identified areas and further strengthen health collaboration with agreed road map and timelines, in the meeting scheduled to take place on April 8.
Prior to the Health Ministers' meeting, the 7th Meeting of SAARC Expert Group on HIV/AIDS, 5th Meeting of the SAARC Technical Committee on Health and Population and the 5th Meeting of the SAARC Senior Officials (Health Secretaries) will be held on April 6-7.
The 4th meeting of the SAARC Health Ministers was held at Maldives in April 2012.
Firozuddin Feroz, Public Health Minister, Afghanistan, Zahid Maleque, Health and Family Welfare Minister, Bangladesh, Lyonpo Tandin Wangchuk, Minister of Health, Bhutan, Ahmed Zuhoor, Health Minister, Maldives, Khaga Raj Adhikari, Health and Population Minister, Nepal, Saira Afzal Tarar, Federal Minister of State for National Health Services, Pakistan and Rajitha Senaratne, Health Minister Sri Lanka will participate in the meeting, the statement said.
Health Ministry said that SAARC countries comprising Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, account for nearly a quarter of the world population.
These countries face similar health challenges and issues. The purpose of the meetings is to find out ways and means to synergise collective efforts, share strategies and implement identified best practices to provide better health and a better quality of life to the citizens of SAARC countries, it said.
The meeting also signals India's commitment to promote health cooperation in a more effective manner through the SAARC platform in keeping with the new policy of the Government to promote cooperation among the neighbouring countries, the statement added.
"The meeting will deliberate on a road map for strengthening collaboration among SAARC countries on a number of issues and challenges faced by them.
"Some of the prominent health issues to be discussed include prevention and control of communicable and non-communicable diseases, disease surveillance network, health infrastructure, human resources for health, immunisation for vaccine preventable diseases, HIV/AIDS, mental health and others," an official statement said.
The health ministers will also discuss adoption of the the "Delhi Declaration" affirming their commitment to work together in identified areas and further strengthen health collaboration with agreed road map and timelines, in the meeting scheduled to take place on April 8.
Prior to the Health Ministers' meeting, the 7th Meeting of SAARC Expert Group on HIV/AIDS, 5th Meeting of the SAARC Technical Committee on Health and Population and the 5th Meeting of the SAARC Senior Officials (Health Secretaries) will be held on April 6-7.
The 4th meeting of the SAARC Health Ministers was held at Maldives in April 2012.
Firozuddin Feroz, Public Health Minister, Afghanistan, Zahid Maleque, Health and Family Welfare Minister, Bangladesh, Lyonpo Tandin Wangchuk, Minister of Health, Bhutan, Ahmed Zuhoor, Health Minister, Maldives, Khaga Raj Adhikari, Health and Population Minister, Nepal, Saira Afzal Tarar, Federal Minister of State for National Health Services, Pakistan and Rajitha Senaratne, Health Minister Sri Lanka will participate in the meeting, the statement said.
Health Ministry said that SAARC countries comprising Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, account for nearly a quarter of the world population.
These countries face similar health challenges and issues. The purpose of the meetings is to find out ways and means to synergise collective efforts, share strategies and implement identified best practices to provide better health and a better quality of life to the citizens of SAARC countries, it said.
The meeting also signals India's commitment to promote health cooperation in a more effective manner through the SAARC platform in keeping with the new policy of the Government to promote cooperation among the neighbouring countries, the statement added.
WCD Ministry replaces MHA as nodal agency for Nirbhaya Fund
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The government has made the Women and Child Development (WCD) Ministry the nodal agency for the Nirbhaya Fund in place of Home Ministry, which could utilise only one per cent of the pool set up after the December 16, 2012 brutal gang-rape.
The Nirbhaya fund has a total of Rs 3,000 crore as Rs 1,000 crore each was allocated to it in 2014-15 and 2015-16 on top of Rs. 1,000 crore initial corpus.
Top officials in the WCD Ministry said they will soon start the process of finalising schemes under the fund which was set up by the UPA government in 2013 to ensure safety and security of women.
“Since we are the nodal ministry now for processing proposals under Nirbhaya fund, we will soon start the process of finalising the schemes,” said a senior WCD official.
The WCD Ministry after verifying various proposals will zero in on projects and schemes to ensure women security and their overall welfare, the official said.
Last week, government had issued guidelines for utilisation of the fund according to which various departments can seek money from the WCD Ministry for schemes to improve safety and security of women in the country.
Issuing the guidelines, the Finance Ministry said the WCD ministry would appraise these schemes to decide their suitability to qualify for getting funds from the Nirbhaya Fund.
The Nirbhaya fund has a total of Rs 3,000 crore as Rs 1,000 crore each was allocated to it in 2014-15 and 2015-16 on top of Rs. 1,000 crore initial corpus.
Top officials in the WCD Ministry said they will soon start the process of finalising schemes under the fund which was set up by the UPA government in 2013 to ensure safety and security of women.
“Since we are the nodal ministry now for processing proposals under Nirbhaya fund, we will soon start the process of finalising the schemes,” said a senior WCD official.
The WCD Ministry after verifying various proposals will zero in on projects and schemes to ensure women security and their overall welfare, the official said.
Last week, government had issued guidelines for utilisation of the fund according to which various departments can seek money from the WCD Ministry for schemes to improve safety and security of women in the country.
Issuing the guidelines, the Finance Ministry said the WCD ministry would appraise these schemes to decide their suitability to qualify for getting funds from the Nirbhaya Fund.
LHC to start up after 2-year shutdown
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The world’s biggest particle accelerator is about to start up again after a two-year shutdown and upgrade.
Scientists at the European Organization for Nuclear Research, or CERN, were preparing to shoot the first particle beams on Sunday through the Large Hadron Collider’s 27-km tunnel, beneath the Swiss-French border near Geneva.
The collider was instrumental in the discovery of the Higgs boson, a subatomic particle that had long been theorised but never confirmed until 2013. Scientists are promising nearly twice the energy and more violent particle crashes this time around. They hope the more powerful beam crashes expected to start as early as June will give them a peek into the unseen dark universe.
Scientists at the European Organization for Nuclear Research, or CERN, were preparing to shoot the first particle beams on Sunday through the Large Hadron Collider’s 27-km tunnel, beneath the Swiss-French border near Geneva.
The collider was instrumental in the discovery of the Higgs boson, a subatomic particle that had long been theorised but never confirmed until 2013. Scientists are promising nearly twice the energy and more violent particle crashes this time around. They hope the more powerful beam crashes expected to start as early as June will give them a peek into the unseen dark universe.
Mumbai: Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar undocks first Scorpene submarine
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First of the six Scorpene submarine was undocked at Mazagon Dock Limited on Monday morning by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar. He has asked all the defence Public Sector Undertakings to double the production.
First of the six Scorpene submarine was undocked at Mazagon Dock Limited on Monday morning by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar. He has asked all the defence Public Sector Undertakings to double the production.
The submarine will be launched in September this followed by formal commissioning or induction into theIndian Navy only in September 2016.
"Between now and September 2016, the submarine will undergo a year and a half of rigorous trials and tests, both in harbour and at sea, while on surface and while dived," mentioned an MDL official.
On successfully completing each of the tests, on commissioning the vessel will be named as INS Kalvari.
"Performance of MDL has improved by 22 to 25%, I have asked all defence PSUs to try to double the production in the next three years. I know submarine development is not an easy task," asked Parrikar.
Skill development activity is also likely to be introduced inside MDL wherein youngsters can get themselves trained for welding, electrical, fitting, etc.
Facebook tests WhatsApp integration on Android app
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NEW YORK: After one year of acquiring mobile messaging service WhatsApp, Facebook has begun testing a new feature in its 'Facebook for Android' app that includes the first major integration of WhatsApp.
The social networking site has added a 'Send' button with the familiar WhatsApp icon as a part of the status actions buttons that appear under each status update.
The new button appears on the right side (for left-to-right languages) for some users in the most recent version of the Facebook for Android app, the Geek Time reported.
This move appears to be the first step towards connecting the two platforms in order to sustain growth and take control of the messaging market together.
According to reports, teams are already working on a deeper integration that will include the ability to send messages between Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp.
WhatsApp, which last said it had 700 million monthly active users, and was acquired by Facebook for over $20 billion in February last year. Facebook Messenger now has 600 million monthly active users. .
NEW YORK: After one year of acquiring mobile messaging service WhatsApp, Facebook has begun testing a new feature in its 'Facebook for Android' app that includes the first major integration of WhatsApp.
The social networking site has added a 'Send' button with the familiar WhatsApp icon as a part of the status actions buttons that appear under each status update.
The new button appears on the right side (for left-to-right languages) for some users in the most recent version of the Facebook for Android app, the Geek Time reported.
This move appears to be the first step towards connecting the two platforms in order to sustain growth and take control of the messaging market together.
According to reports, teams are already working on a deeper integration that will include the ability to send messages between Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp.
WhatsApp, which last said it had 700 million monthly active users, and was acquired by Facebook for over $20 billion in February last year. Facebook Messenger now has 600 million monthly active users. .
The social networking site has added a 'Send' button with the familiar WhatsApp icon as a part of the status actions buttons that appear under each status update.
The new button appears on the right side (for left-to-right languages) for some users in the most recent version of the Facebook for Android app, the Geek Time reported.
This move appears to be the first step towards connecting the two platforms in order to sustain growth and take control of the messaging market together.
According to reports, teams are already working on a deeper integration that will include the ability to send messages between Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp.
WhatsApp, which last said it had 700 million monthly active users, and was acquired by Facebook for over $20 billion in February last year. Facebook Messenger now has 600 million monthly active users. .
Renewable energy certificates unsold at IEX
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NEW DELHI: Showing continued sluggishness in the renewable energy certificates market, more than one crore such certificates remain unsold at the power bourse IEX, even as the government aims to boost green energy generation in the country.
Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) are aimed at providing an easier avenue for various entities, including power distribution companies, to meet their green-energy obligations.
One REC is equivalent to 1 MWh of electricity generated from renewable sources.
However, the trading of these certificates on Indian Energy Exchange (IEX) has remained sluggish. The exchange accounts for over 90 per cent of the domestic electricity trading market.
IEX Director (Business Development) Rajesh K Mediratta said the inventory of RECs has been ever growing since the inception of the market as demand for them is fairly low.
"As on date there is an inventory of 1.22 crore unsold RECs, therefore all stakeholders including renewable generators are losing out due to the unsold quantum of RECs in the market," he told PTI.
In the last fiscal (2014-15), just about 30.6 lakh RECs were traded on the exchange whereas 96 lakh such certificates were available. Out of the total certificates available, 2.5 lakh were retained by the renewable energy generators for their own use.
Out of the total RECs traded, there were 1.6 lakh solar certificates and 82 lakh non-solar ones during the period.
Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) are aimed at providing an easier avenue for various entities, including power distribution companies, to meet their green-energy obligations.
One REC is equivalent to 1 MWh of electricity generated from renewable sources.
However, the trading of these certificates on Indian Energy Exchange (IEX) has remained sluggish. The exchange accounts for over 90 per cent of the domestic electricity trading market.
IEX Director (Business Development) Rajesh K Mediratta said the inventory of RECs has been ever growing since the inception of the market as demand for them is fairly low.
"As on date there is an inventory of 1.22 crore unsold RECs, therefore all stakeholders including renewable generators are losing out due to the unsold quantum of RECs in the market," he told PTI.
In the last fiscal (2014-15), just about 30.6 lakh RECs were traded on the exchange whereas 96 lakh such certificates were available. Out of the total certificates available, 2.5 lakh were retained by the renewable energy generators for their own use.
Out of the total RECs traded, there were 1.6 lakh solar certificates and 82 lakh non-solar ones during the period.
RBI’s first policy review of fiscal
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MUMBAI: The Reserve Bank of India is to announce its first bimonthly monetary policy review of the current fiscal on Tuesday when it is widely expected to leave the repo rate, at which it lends to commercial banks, unchanged at 7.50 per cent.
"Not expecting any rate cuts this time, not for another one or two months," Vinod Nair, head of fundamental research at Geojit BNP Paribas Financial Services, told IANS here.
"It is very difficult this time with retail inflation increasing. TheRBI would also like to look at the public sector banks' distressed loans restructuring issues during the last quarter," he added.
Nair also noted that the RBI was waiting to see the impact of a possible hike in US interest rates by the Federal Reserve in early June, though even that appears less likely.
Meanwhile, industry chamber Ficci said on Sunday that any cut in interest rates would not be "adequate to stimulate investment in manufacturing" given the lack of "significant change in demand conditions".
The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Ficci), in its latest quarterly survey, said 69 per cent of respondents do not foresee any substantial increase in investments by their organization as a result of rate reduction by the RBI.
"Not expecting any rate cuts this time, not for another one or two months," Vinod Nair, head of fundamental research at Geojit BNP Paribas Financial Services, told IANS here.
"It is very difficult this time with retail inflation increasing. TheRBI would also like to look at the public sector banks' distressed loans restructuring issues during the last quarter," he added.
Nair also noted that the RBI was waiting to see the impact of a possible hike in US interest rates by the Federal Reserve in early June, though even that appears less likely.
Meanwhile, industry chamber Ficci said on Sunday that any cut in interest rates would not be "adequate to stimulate investment in manufacturing" given the lack of "significant change in demand conditions".
The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Ficci), in its latest quarterly survey, said 69 per cent of respondents do not foresee any substantial increase in investments by their organization as a result of rate reduction by the RBI.
Air India pilots who fought inside cockpit at Jaipur airport derostered
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NEW DELHI: Air India has grounded the two pilots involved in a tiff on its Jaipur-Delhi flight on Sunday evening. As reported by TOI, the commander of that flight (AI 611) had complained that the co-pilot had misbehaved and hit him when the aircraft was in Jaipur and being prepared for the flight to Delhi.
"Both the pilots have been derostered (means taken off flying duty). An inquiry has been ordered into this," AI spokesman G P Rao said, while adding that there was no violence in the cockpit.
The captain has reportedly told AI that he would not like to fly with the co-pilot again, who has allegedly misbehaves with some other commander in the past too. The commander of AI 611 has given a detailed note of what happened on the flight to the airline operation and despatch units.
The trouble had begun when AI 611 was getting ready to fly for Delhi. The DGCA is also likely to probe this issue.
"Both the pilots have been derostered (means taken off flying duty). An inquiry has been ordered into this," AI spokesman G P Rao said, while adding that there was no violence in the cockpit.
The captain has reportedly told AI that he would not like to fly with the co-pilot again, who has allegedly misbehaves with some other commander in the past too. The commander of AI 611 has given a detailed note of what happened on the flight to the airline operation and despatch units.
The trouble had begun when AI 611 was getting ready to fly for Delhi. The DGCA is also likely to probe this issue.
Railways to engage Amazon, Flipkart to expand parcel business
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NEW DELHI: The railways parcel business is all set to get an e-commerce push with the national transporter planning a special scheme to attract online retailers that use road transport to transfer heavy volumes.
The railways earns around Rs 2,100 crore from its parcel business, which could go up to Rs 5,000 crore in three years if it manages to tap the emerging businesses. The move comes at a time when the railways is battling its worse financial crisis ever. It reported an operational ratio of 93.5 per cent in 2013-14, leaving it with little funds to finance upgrade and modernization of rail infrastructure.
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The railways earns around Rs 2,100 crore from its parcel business, which could go up to Rs 5,000 crore in three years if it manages to tap the emerging businesses. The move comes at a time when the railways is battling its worse financial crisis ever. It reported an operational ratio of 93.5 per cent in 2013-14, leaving it with little funds to finance upgrade and modernization of rail infrastructure.
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Sania Mirza-Martina Hingis win Miami Open title
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MIAMI (USA): Sania Mirza achieved yet another career milestone by capturing her 25th WTA doubles title as the Indian ace continued her dream start with Martina Hingis to win the Miami Open trophy, here on Sunday.
The top seeded Indo-Swiss pair overcame a sluggish start to take the title with a 7-5, 6-1 scoreline against second seeded Russian team of Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina.
Sania and Hingis were trailing 2-5 in the opening set but regrouped and turned the tables on their fierce opponents by reeling off eight games in a row.
They had beaten the same Russian team to win the Indian Wells - their first title together.
It has been an absolute dream start for Sania and Hingis as they are yet to lose a set since they began their partnership.
The top seeded Indo-Swiss pair overcame a sluggish start to take the title with a 7-5, 6-1 scoreline against second seeded Russian team of Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina.
Sania and Hingis were trailing 2-5 in the opening set but regrouped and turned the tables on their fierce opponents by reeling off eight games in a row.
They had beaten the same Russian team to win the Indian Wells - their first title together.
It has been an absolute dream start for Sania and Hingis as they are yet to lose a set since they began their partnership.
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