The acronym BRIC was coined by Jim O’Neill in his now-distant 2001 paper, but Brazil, Russia, India and China are still considered to be at a similar stage of economic development. The truth is, however, that the BRIC countries are not that alike. They have quite different economies – and quite different issues.

B is for Brazil

Brazil has in the last decade turned itself into a place where it is very expensive to do business. And government is to blame. Not only has the tax burden risen from 22% of GDP in the 1980s to 36% today, but the tax system is ridiculously complex. Unfortunately most of the money goes on pensions and wasteful spending on the unreasonably big government and not on the reforms and innovations.

The other problem is tiresome overregulation, even record low interest rates are of no use to the economy. Business leaders believe that uncertainty over regulations holding vital investment in infrastructure.

R is for Russia

Russia faces serious political problems and its economical structure may no longer be regarded as that of a BRIC country.

The major source of problems, of course, is the 2008 economic crisis. The Russian economy experienced the highest capital flight among the BRICs in the last decade. In August 2011 alone, USD 500 million was taken out of Russian investment funds, and the drop continues. The Russian Ministry of Finance estimated capital flight for 2011 to more than USD 80 billion, and that major capital investment cannot be expected before 2013.

According to Norwegian Institute of International Affairs, in one week in September 2011, investors withdrew 315 million dollars from Russian capital market, which is double the capital flight from China and India for that week.

Even the Russian press has noticed that the Goldman Sachs prognosis of a lower global growth rate for 2012/2013 has made Russia look like an outsider within BRIC.

Despite the fact that Russia is the largest oil exporter in the world and the second best in natural gas, it is not what is happening with the other BRIC countries.

I is for India

India lacks a big export industry. In this situation it is unlikely to see essential growth in exports in the near future. What is even more important that India has a substantial account deficit and to cover it $50-70 billion in investments is needed every year.

Unlike the other BRIC countries, India is still desperately poor. Widespread corruption and lack of jobs in the country with rapidly growing population are also the reasons to worry.

C is for China

China’s validity in BRIC has never been questioned. It is not only China’s rapid growth but also political weight on the international stage that put it ahead and above the other three.

And even though China’s economy may be slowing, it is still the best investment destination of the four big emerging markets. The thing is – market should stop thinking of China as a 10 percent galloping state. China is getting past being just about quantity. So the growth may be slowing but it is still at a very high rate.

The GDP of China’s economy has increased from $1.57tn to nearly $6.3tn, rising to number 2 in the world ranking. What is even more important, China has transformed into a state that exports capital and manufacturing from mainly agricultural country. And now it has more and more possibilities to strengthen further its influence on the international arena.

The magnitude of Chinese economy and Beijing’s ability to drive the economy away from troubles make it less sensitive than huge but less controllable states like India, the oligarchic Russia or overregulated Brazil. So is China just another brick in the wall? Not quite, not quite.

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Tired of sipping on sweet, milky ‘chai’ at the local tea-stall? Are you interested in trying out some Indo-Western exotic bites along with a latte? Well, come down to Mumbai and you will be able to. Indian taste buds have gone international with the dominating presence of cafés such as Café Coffee Day, UK’s Costa Coffee, Australia’s Gloria Jeans, and the US’s The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf. Now it’s time for India’s caffeine dreams to become even bigger with the entry of Seattle-based multinational coffee chain, Starbucks.

In an $80 million joint venture with Tata Global Beverages, Starbucks India is known as Tata Starbucks Ltd. Starbucks, which has more than 17,600 branches in over 61 countries, has now opened three new outlets in Mumbai at the historic Elphinstone Building in Horniman Circle, the Taj Mahal Hotel and Palace, and Oberoi Mall in the Mumbai suburbs.

The Indian menu has been tailored to meet the local tastes and the menu items reflect this unique fusion of East and West. There are items like Chicken Tikka Panini, Tamarind Peanut Chicken Calzone, Chai Tea Latte, and Elaichi Mawa Croissant. The items are also priced significantly lower as compared to those at other Starbucks’ outlets across the world. The company is in a bid to woo India, which is essentially a tea-loving nation. The country’s tea sector is the thousands of tea-stalls scattered all over the country’s streets. For as little as five Indian rupees, one can kick start their day on sweet, milky, elaichi-flavored tea served in small, glass tumblers.

India’s openness to cafes and coffee is still in the nascent stage. At present, there are 1,950 cafes in the country and they contribute to the country’s $230 million revenue. This figure is also expected to grow to 13-14 percent over the next five years. Tata Group plans to open 50 more stores by the end of 2012. The company is also planning to set up a café in Delhi by early 2013.

The Starbucks outlet in Horniman Circle is spread over sprawling 4000 square feet of space and occupies two floors in South Mumbai’s elite business hub, making sales of 8.5 lakh Indian rupees per day. On opening day, October 19, 2012, there were long queues of people forming outside the South Mumbai café, all waiting to get in. Everybody was excited to try out the offerings by the newest entrant on the coffee market in India. They waited to grab a cup of their favorite coffee for over an hour.

Starbucks boss, Howard Schultz, agrees that the company has faced challenges while entering foreign markets such as those in Japan and China but they have overcome them. Starbucks has over 600 outlets in China and the success of India’s outlets is already exceeding expectations.

Analysts are also hopeful with estimations that the coffee market in India is expected to haul in more than $500 million over the next five years. Will Starbucks be able to build its presence in India, facing stiff competition from other players such as Barista, Costa Coffee, and the local Café Coffee Day? Only time will tell.

Image Courtesy : Fran Simó

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Real estate business tycoon and liquor baron, Ponty Chadha, owner of Wave multiplexes, was killed in a bloody shootout at his farmhouse in South Delhi, India on Saturday, 17 November 2012. His brother, Hardeep Chadha, fired the fatal round of bullets. Both brothers died in the horrific shootout, spanning an hour and a half, and involving a posse of supporters and guards who were all armed with high-tech, sophisticated weaponry, including an AK-47 rifle.

According to the police, both brothers were deeply embroiled in a feud over the 20,000-crore Wave empire founded by their father, Kulwant Singh Chadha. Since their father’s death last year, the feud had intensified to the point of non-reconciliation. Both sides had planned to “settle scores” on that fateful day.

Allegedly the bone of contention between the brothers was the fact that Hardeep, Ponty’s brother, had demanded a bigger chunk of all future investments in the Wave Empire. Hardeep had become greedy and wanted a bigger share of the profits from the real estate business. The tension was thick in the air when the brothers faced off against each other on Saturday.

On Saturday morning, when Ponty arrived at his farmhouse No. 42 with more than 30 of his men, he had come with the sole intent of taking full possession of the farmhouse. At that moment, Hardeep arrived on the scene after being informed by his guards. A bitter argument ensued and Hardeep opened fire at Ponty’s Land Cruiser. Chairman of the Uttrakhand Minorities Commission, Sukhdev Singh Namdhari, who was accompanying Ponty, fired in retaliation.

Police are now piecing together the crime that seems to have been triggered by the property and wealth dispute within the family. Many questions remain unanswered. How many rounds of bullets were really fired? According to preliminary claims, nearly 40 rounds of bullets were fired but only three people were killed. How many guards and police personnel were involved in the shootout? Investigations are also leading officials to ask the grave question – Was the shootout planned in advance? Police also state that the shootout could have been avoided if the brothers had not reached the farmhouse at the same time.

Punjab Police SSP Charanjit Singh said, “Our six men were posted as PSO of Hardeep of which three were on leave, and one was with Ponty Chadha. None of them fired a single bullet. Delhi Police are investigating the matter and we are just assisting them. No action has been taken against our men, neither by Delhi Police nor by us.” Three days after the shootout, police continue to solve this jigsaw puzzle and reconstruct the events of that day.

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Following the death of Bal Thackeray, a controversial Indian politician who was famous for his regionalist and nationalist ideologies, two Indian women were arrested by the police for anti-Thackeray comments posted on Facebook. Twenty-one year old Shaheen Dhadha expressed her resentment against the shutdown of Mumbai over the weekend, by posting the following comment to her Facebook wall, “Everyday thousands of people die. But still the world moves on. Just due to one politician dead. A natural death. Everyone just goes crazy.” Her friend who “liked” the comment was also arrested along with her, for voicing anti-religious sentiments over social media. It is interesting to note that Thackeray’s name was not explicitly mentioned anywhere in Shaheen’s comment.  However, both girls have been released on bail and also face up to 14 days in prison.

Shaheen was forced to remove the comment and to issue a public apology over Facebook. Despite her withdrawal of the comment, over 2000 Shiv Sena party workers vandalized parts of Shaheen’s uncle’s hospital in a Mumbai suburb. Although, a police complaint has been filed against the mob violence, not a single Shiv Sena activist has been arrested. Bhushan Sanke, a local Shiv Sena worker filed the case against Shaheen.

Bal Thackeray, the powerful leader of the Shiv Sena party in Maharashtra, died at the age of 86 on Saturday afternoon, following a long period of ill-health. He had founded the Shiv Sena in the 1960s with the strong conviction that he would fight for the interests of the local Hindus in Maharashtra.

As soon as news of his death leaked, businesses, shops, restaurants, and offices in Mumbai closed down either as a mark of respect or out of fear. The public transportation systems came to a grinding halt with taxis and autos going off the roads. Within a couple of hours, the city of Mumbai was shut down. In some parts of the city, there was unrest, but the funeral procession proceeded smoothly over the weekend.

The Shiv Sena’s backlash has outraged many Indians and the social media world is agitated. A new Facebook group titled, “Ban Shiv Sena” has been created and it has already received over 37,000 Likes.

The Chief of the Press Council of India, Justice Katju has demanded “immediate action against the police personnel who arrested the women.” In his open letter to the chief minister of Maharashtra, Prithviraj Chavan, Justice Katju writes, “To my mind it is absurd to say that protesting against a ‘bandh’ hurts religious sentiments. Under Article 19(1)(a) of our Constitution freedom of speech is a guaranteed fundamental right. We are living in a democracy, not a fascist dictatorship. In fact this arrest itself appears to be a criminal act since under sections 341 and 342 it is a crime to wrongfully arrest or wrongfully confine someone who has committed no crime.”

This is not the first time that freedom of speech has been curtailed in India. Not long ago, when North East India was rife with ethnic violence, the Indian government had ordered the blocking of websites, and Facebook and Twitter accounts, in a bid to control the inflow of objectionable content. It is unclear whether making a political statement on Facebook can truly offend religious sentiments. Indian authorities have always been criticized for not doing their part to enable freedom of expression.

According to recent information, both girls have also deactivated their Facebook accounts, fearing further aggression and legal hassles.

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In September 2012, Irish medical doctors came together to present cutting-edge research and diverse opinions on maternal healthcare. One of the conclusions from the Dublin Declaration on Maternal Healthcare was this – “As experienced practitioners and researchers in Obstetrics and Gynecology, we affirm that direct abortion is not medically necessary to save the life of a woman.” On October 28, 2012, Savita Halappanavar, an Indian woman living in Galway, Ireland, died of septicemia after having been denied a potentially life-saving abortion for three excruciatingly agonizing days at the University Hospital in Galway.

On October 21, when Savita, who was 17-weeks pregnant, was admitted to the hospital, she was in agony. She had suffered a miscarriage and accepted that she was going to lose her precious baby – a baby that her family back home had yearned for. But fighting through her pain and her grief, Savita requested for an induced abortion, which was refused outright.

“This is a Catholic country. As long as there is a fetal heartbeat, we can’t do anything,” the Irish doctors told her and her husband, Praveen Halappanavar. For three days, Praveen was caught in a desperately futile struggle to convince the doctors to proceed with terminating the pregnancy, as his wife’s health deteriorated with every passing minute. “I am neither Irish nor Catholic,” was Savita’s last plea. The fetus died two days later and a couple of days later, Savita’s heart, liver, and kidneys stopped working. She died because of blood poisoning that may have been reversed had she been allowed to undergo the abortion. Savita’s death sparked global debate over legalizing abortion in Ireland and outrage among thousands of men and women across the world.

Despite a 1992 ruling by the Supreme Court that permitted abortion in the case of a “real and substantive risk” to the mother’s life, Irish governments since then have been reluctant to legalize abortion in a country where 80% of the population is Catholic. Even though the European Court of Human Rights had ruled that the inadequate access to abortions in Ireland – resulting in most Irish women seeking medical termination of their pregnancies, travelling to Britain – for life-threatening pregnancies violated the European Union Law, there is still a lack of legislative detail in Irish law, making abortions a controversial issue. Medical practitioners are unclear on the guidelines and therefore refuse to carry out medical termination.

Carrying out an abortion, however, is not an easy choice even for the mother. Savita Halappanavar wanted to keep her baby but she knew that her body would not permit her to. Savita, like most women, faced the dilemma of her baby’s life and her own conscience. In her case, she had made the right decision by choosing to end her pregnancy.

But Nima Purohit, a lawyer in India, probably still wonders whether she made the right decision. 19-weeks into her pregnancy and Nima’s doctors informed her that her little one had Dandy-Walker Syndrome, a congenital disease that would have serious implications. Since 20-week limit for an abortion was fast approaching, Nima underwent an amniocentesis test, but had her pregnancy terminated. After the abortion, she was still waiting for the amniocentesis test results hoping that she had made the right decision.

Nima made a choice between her child’s quality of life and her own conscience as a mother. One cannot say that she made a wrong decision. Abortions are legal in India, a religious and secular country. Yet, the choice for an abortion is in the hands of a woman. Legalizing abortions can put an end to unsafe abortions but many Indians are still unaware of the risks involved in unsafe abortions. Anti-abortion groups are calling for liberalization of the abortion laws in Ireland. Losing one life, that of the fetus, is better than losing two lives.

The choice of life and conscience may remain a debatable topic; however, religion cannot triumph over a woman’s right to live. Religion will not be able to explain to a child why he lives each day with a genetic abnormality or mental retardation. In some situations, abortions are a desperate need for survival. Law makers and governments have to accept this hard truth. Savita lost out on her abortion rights. She lost a painful battle to religious fanaticism. But, for the other Savitas in the world, radical change and constitutional reform is needed.

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The Prithvi Theatre Festival is an annual festival in Mumbai that brings together a motley group of renowned faces of Indian film and theater. The family legacy and tradition is on display this year from November 3to November 18 at the Prithvi Theatre in Juhu, Mumbai. Arts, theater enthusiasts and budding playwrights who wish to revel in a stunning display of drama and entertainment will be treated to an eclectic collection of 21 plays over the course of 2 weeks. With no sponsors for this year’s festival and with the Festival of Lights (Diwali) round the corner, an evening at Prithvi Theatre promises to be a celebration of Indian theater.

Among the impressive line-up of plays is Motley Production’s “A Walk in the Woods,” which is an Indian adaptation of Lee Blessing’s “A Walk in the Woods” that focused on the relationship between a Russian and American arms negotiator. In the Indian version, iconic actor-director Naseeruddin Shah and versatile actor Rajit Kapur play their parts of a Pakistani and Indian diplomat respectively, to perfection.

Nandita Das makes her appearance on stage after eight years with the play “Between the Lines” that highlights the quotidian lifestyle of married couples in India – no matter how progressive the men shape themselves to be, their inner selves still unconsciously expect the women in their lives to play the role of the traditional Indian woman in society, without any qualms. While the script is unimaginative, the performances by Nandita Das and Subodh Maskara showcase wit and humor.

“Kaifi Aur Main” is a tribute by accomplished veteran film and theater actor, Shabana Azmi, to her father, Kaifi Azmi, an Urdu poet. There’s even an adaptation of Shakespeare’s King Lear titled “Nothing Like Lear”, which is a one-man act by Vinay Pathak, another gem of Indian cinema. Each play explores a new facet of Indian society and spans generations of Indian artistes.

Apart from the plays, the Prithvi Festival has arranged Sunday carnivals, exhibitions, and acoustic Sunday jams. The small, community theater boasts of a cafe that serves up some delicious fare on all days of the festival. Newbie artists and playwrights can brainstorm their next production over a cup of steaming latte or a croissant.

The Prithvi Theatre Festival has been showcasing the best of Indian arts and culture since 1983 and has been enthralling audiences across major cities in India. Prithvi Theatre, owned and run by the famous Kapoor family, has been instrumental in nurturing talent for the arts from all strata of society. A non-profit theater, Prithvi Theatre is one of Mumbai’s iconic theater venues, which stands high above the likes of Tata Theatre. The Kapoor family descendants, Sanjana Kapoor and Kunal Kapoor, have been successful at promoting theater within the fraternity and outside. The community spirit and people camaraderie presides over every event staged here. All are welcome and the venue makes for a splendid evening-out with the family or spouse.

Image Courtesy : Testing / Shutterstock.com

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UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon brought a radical shift in the global fight for the elimination of hunger recently when he announced the ‘Zero Hunger Challenge’ at the launch of the United Nations conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Zero Hunger Challenge calls for the participation of all the countries of the world, making them work for a future in which no individual is lacking the means or proper access to adequate nutrition. Also, all food systems will be elastic.

Ban Ki-moon envisaged a future where there will be no hunger at all, and said, “In a world of plenty, no one – not a single person – should go hungry.”

The Zero Hunger Challenge is supported by the International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD), UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), World Food Programme, (WFP), UN Children Fund (UNICEF), Bioversity International and The World Bank.

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) director Jose Graziano da Silva greatly welcomed the announcement and said, “Big problems call for bold goals. The Zero Hunger Challenge can help us mobilize political commitment, the first step to eradicate hunger,” at a meeting in Brazil.

Ban Ki-moon further said, “I am not proposing a new goal. I am sharing my vision for the future. A future where all people enjoy their fundamental right to food; where people’s livelihoods and food systems are resilient and able to withstand a changing climate.”

Here are world hunger facts from the WFP:

• 65 percent of the world’s hungry live in only 7 countries: India, China, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Pakistan, Ethiopia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
• 10.9 million children under the age of 5 die each year in developing countries.
• 925 million people don’t have the provision for adequate food, and 98 percent live in developing countries.
• More than 70 percent of children in the world are underweight and mostly live in 10 countries.

Eradication of global hunger had been at the heart of the Millennium Development Goals projected in the year 2000. It looks like this global call for the eradication of hunger by Ki-moon is an attempt revitalize global hunger reduction efforts.

Zero Hunger Challenge will exert tremendous pressure on governments, especially of those nations where the proportion of hunger is greater, leading to implementation of more stringent and highly effective anti-hunger measures.

Of the 8 Millennium Development Goals, the Eradication of Hunger had been considered most significant and had been ranked the first priority. Inspiration for launching the Zero Hunger Challenge for Ban Ki-moon came from the outstanding work accomplished by Spain’s national Zero Hunger campaign. Brazil had been operating an anti-poverty program called Fome Zero, which was highly successful in lifting around 28 million people out of acute poverty.

The Zero Hunger Challenge may bring a new dawn and let poverty, hunger and starvation remain in the books as the dark era of history in the hope the pulse of poverty and hunger will stop soon.

Image Courtesy of  specialoperations

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iPakistan is a new social media initiative set up by a group of Pakistani university students to change the global perception of Pakistan. Reaching out to others via the web, their aim is to re-brand Pakistan and break the stereotypes that often result in discrimination and prejudice towards its people.

Type out ‘Pakistan’ in the Google Images search bar and scroll down the first few pages: one would find pictures of maps,  the Pakistani flag and images that spell out a country torn between poverty and war. Although this may be the harsh reality in some parts of Pakistan, it is not the only reality of this South Asian country, as some are prone to believe.  With the kind of news surfacing daily regarding the conflicts, bomb blasts and political issues of not only the country, but also its neighbors’ it’s not hard to see why most people have a negative outlook on Pakistan. Rehman Ilyas aims to change this by replacing the post 9/11 images of terrorism, extremism and war zone to that of extremely talented youths, scenic landscapes and rich culture.

As a Lahori studying at the University of Hong Kong, Ilyas found himself subject to questions about Pakistan ranging from relatively normal ones such as “Do you have any malls there?” to more ridiculous ones like “Is there Taliban in your family?” He was always aware of the injustice done by the world media news in regards to their portrayal of his country but he was unaware of the severity of it until he arrived in Hong Kong.

“People only got to see that 1% of Pakistan in which the War on Terror is going on, in the media, and take that to be representative of the entire Pakistan,” he said.

Instead of merely complaining, he took action and decided to play his part in correcting the wrongly propagated image of his country. He started with doing his own online research on the subject and pitching the idea to his friends, followed by doing pilot tests on Facebook and a trial website. A survey was even conducted to realistically depict what the world thinks of Pakistan. Tackling the issues from there, what initially started out as a personal contribution to his country has now expanded to a website and a Facebook page with contents from over 80 team members, a diversified group of youths spread over 10 countries all intent on introducing the real Pakistan to the world.

Ilyas also intends to reach out to the world for a greater purpose that could help Pakistan in a myriad of other ways. According to him, “The 2011 floods in Pakistan were worse than the Asian Tsunami and the Haiti Earthquake combined, and an area the size of England was inundated in water. Despite all this, the media coverage and global aid intervention received wasn’t even close as compared to these other recent natural calamities, simply because people around the world were not interested in helping out a country which in their minds, harbors terrorist groups and is a base camp for terrorist activities around the world.”

Setting the global views straight, even one person at a time, could slowly prove to be beneficial for 180 million Pakistanis. With Pakistani businessman and traders at exhibitions around the world facing difficulties when questioned about bringing in supplies reliably to and from a war zone, Ilyas’ project could have a positive effect on his country economically as well.

Along with changing the way others perceive his country, Ilyas would also like to see a few changes within the nation itself. Speaking for a majority of the population, he said, “Most Pakistanis crave for a change of leadership. We are done with having the same corrupt leaders elected again and again, and this needs to end now. Pakistan is blessed with both vast natural resources and human capital, and given the right leadership we have the potential to develop into a regional superpower.”

Another sub-project that Ilyas has been working on is ‘Romancing the Border’ and is aimed at another issue spread across the nation: the social gap between Indians and Pakistanis. With most youths having been raised with a mindset bearing hatred for the other side, the stereotypical views separate the youths despite the fact both sides may be similar to each other in a lot of aspects. Backed by Stanford University’s Peace Innovation Lab, this cross-border initiative provides an online platform for youth from both sides of the border to interact with each other and to encourage pro-social behaviors between Pakistanis and Indians.

Having received positive responses so far regarding iPakistan from both Pakistanis and foreigners, Ilyas hopes to reach out to the masses and in the foreseeable future, instead of us receiving war torn images of Pakistan as soon as we Google the word, iPakistan will appear on the top search results and bring about a positive first impression of the country.

Perhaps it is a sign of change in the world when youths stand up to defend their country, and not in the traditional means of violence or crude words, but by showing the rest of us what their nation is capable of, what makes it beautiful, and most importantly, what makes it their home and source of pride. With that, Ilyas leaves us with one last statement on his beloved homeland, “We are not a country supporting terrorism. In fact, we are the country which has sacrificed the most in the war against terrorism.”

Image credit: Shutterstock.com

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Miracles of God are never limited and can be discovered in the most eccentric of ways. Such is the case of the mystery healing of asthmatics in Hyderabad, a city in India. The weirdness is to an extent of absurdity whereby the patient is made to swallow a live sardine wrapped in a yellow herbal paste.

As funny as it sounds, it is a practice that has been followed for nearly a century now, by a single family named Goud. They are the only trustees of this medicine, and have not commercialized it nor given out the recipe of this secret elixir.

As legend goes, the medicine was gifted to the Gouds by a Hindu Saint about 170 years ago, and he had warned them that the treatment would lose its effectiveness if commercialized. Not just it, he also blessed a well around their area Doodhbowli, which is in a mile’s distance from historic monument, Charminar in Hyderabad. The Goud family use the water from that well to mix the medicine. Currently there are three Goud brothers performing the treatment, and they strictly to adhere to the practice of their ancestors. And still to date, the medicine and treatment is free of charge. There is an alternative to the fish, for thick-headed vegetarians, they can swallow a banana instead of the fish. However the Goud’s emphasize on the importance of fish. Since the therapy is based to a large extent on the effectiveness of the fish. As the live fish moves down, it opens up the pores in the windpipe blocked by phlegm or mucus, making way for the herbal paste.

The treatment is said to be very simple. After swallowing the live fish, the patient is given another three doses of a different medicine on three successive auspicious days called ‘Arudra Karthi,’ ‘Punarvasu Karthi’ and ‘Pushyami Karthi’, which fall every 15 days in a regulated span of 45 days. Along with this, the patient is also put on a strict diet for a period of 45 days which is said to be harder than swallowing the fish itself by some patients, abstaining from most edibles. Harinath Goud, one of the three Goud brothers says, “unless you strictly adhere to the diet, the effect of the medicine will not be optimum.”

Simultaneously every fortnight, morning and evening, two pills made out of the paste are to be taken without fail with warm water. The reason for the fortnightly gap is as much of a enigma as the medicine, and is religiously marked on every patient’s calendar. The patient’s life resumes to normal on the 46^th day, but this is not the end of the treatment. The miracle also takes some time to show its success, and the Goud’s suggest that the fish medicine has to be taken for three consecutive years.

But does this treatment really work? Sheela Chakravorty, a patient who is satisfied with the results said: “The first time I took the fish, it was hard to follow the diet. I was tempted to eat, not delicacies, but simple things such as eggs and coffee, and maybe use a few spices that weren’t allowed. The next year, I was more relaxed and took it upon myself to follow it through. And I did. Today, I am 75 percent cured.”

Most patients notice an improvement in their state in the first year itself. However there isn’t any fixed pattern to recovery by this treatment. And then again there are a few people, who have shown no change, and the reason for this could be not strictly following the diet.

There is almost no scientific explanation for the cure. Yet thousands of asthmatics come to Hyderabad for this treatment both from India and other foreign countries to date to experiment this ‘wonder-therapy’ or like some say ‘God’s blessing,’ and many return eased off from this suffering of wheezing and severe breathing disorder.

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Las Vegas, U.S.A. – National Graphite, formerly Lucky Boy Silver, has announce that further to its acquisition of 65 claims of 60 hectares each for a total of over 9,600 acres in Lochaber Township in Quebec, Canada, management has applied and received approval to change the Company’s name to National Graphite to better represent the overall direction of its major exploration and development program.

The Company will commence trading under its new symbol NGRC on Wednesday June 6, 2012. The Company has a newly expanded website under construction which will reflect its mineral Graphite projects with the domain name of www.nationalgraphitecorp.com.

Graphite occurs in metamorphic rocks as a result of the reduction of sedimentary carbon compounds during metamorphism. According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), world production of natural graphite in 2008 was 1,110 thousand tonnes (kt), of which the following major exporters are: China (800 kt),India (130 kt), Brazil (76 kt), North Korea (30 kt) and Canada (28 kt).

The rise of the Lithium-ion battery has caused great excitement in the graphite industry in recent times. Demand for batteries (primarily nickel-metal-hydride and to a lesser extent Li-ion) caused a surged in graphite demand in the late 1980s and early 1990s – driven by portable electronics such as the walkman and power tools. Batteries are the fastest growing end use for graphite.

The advent of the laptops, mobile phones and the Apple iPad and iPhone products has increased the demand for batteries. But it is electric vehicles that hold the potential to see graphite demand boom. For example, the Li-ion battery in the fully electric Nissan Leaf contains nearly 40 kg of graphite.

Continued development of Nevadasilver and gold claims

The Company’s Candelaria silver properties are located in the Walker Lane Mineral Belt in westernNevada. The Walker Lane is a major northwest-southeast-trending zone which displays right lateral fault movement that ranges from 30 to 40 miles in its central portion, and hosts a variety of precious metal and base metal mineral deposits (as well as geothermal activity) along its length.

The mineralization on the Candelaria prospect is primarily silver mineralization with some gold, lead and zinc exposed at the surface and trending east-west across the northern edge of the claims.

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New Dehli, India – In a national event organized by Pehchan, Hijras highlight discrimination and demand equality for their community.

Stakeholders from government, media, policy bodies, the transgender and hijra community, and civil society came together on June 2nd for the first National Hijra Habba. The event was organized by Pehchan, a five-year program that strengthens and builds the capacity of 200 community-based organizations in 17 states to advance HIV prevention. The national consultation discussed efforts to achieve equality for transgenders and hijras and drew attention to the significant challenges faced by these communities.

Addressing the event, Gauri Sawant, General Secretary, Transgender and Hijra Welfare Board, Maharashtra, said, “In India, cases of violence go unreported as the present social and legal environment is oppressive towards transgender persons and hijras. Due to their different gender identity, they are denied opportunities to earn a living, to study, and to access health services. Even changing their names and sex in official documents is not easy.”

Pehchan collaborates with India’s National AIDS Control Program and would reach 453,750 MSM (males who have sex with males), transgenders and hijras by 2015 and is the Global Fund’s largest single-country grant to date focused on the HIV response for vulnerable sexual minorities.

Held at Vishwa Yuvak Kendra in New Delhi, the Hijra Habba included speeches, experience sharing and community performances by leaders from transgender and hijra community. In-depth discussions were held on issues including social entitlements, legal status, violence, economic vulnerabilities, and feminization.

At the heart of the event was the development of an action plan for advocacy for the next three years on priority issues for these communities. Ms. Aradhana Johri, Additional Secretary, National AIDS Control Organization (NACO), affirmed the importance of these populations to the national HIV prevention strategy and acknowledged the need for continued effort to control the epidemic among transgenders and hijras.

According to James Robertson, Country Director, India HIV/AIDS Alliance, “India has been a global leader in defining an effective HIV prevention response for transgenders and hijras. The world has much to learn from this example. While progress has been made, the journey towards equality for transgenders and hijras is not yet over.”

The India HIV/AIDS Alliance (Alliance India) is a partnership that brings together organizations and communities to support a sustained response to HIV in India. Complementing the national program in India, it works through capacity building, knowledge sharing, technical support and advocacy. Through a network of partners, Alliance India supports the delivery of community-based HIV programs to key groups affected by the epidemic.

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As technology advances at such a rapid pace, government regulations of censorship of the internet are cracking down just as fast. In recent weeks, an anonymous group has begun attacking the Indian government in retaliation of the government blocking citizens from using certain websites.

The websites that have been banned to the public thus far include, “YouTube, Vimeo (a video sharing website), Pastebin (a web application that allows users to write a large amount of text for public viewing), Daily Motion (another video sharing website) and The Pirate Bay (a Swedish website that allows users to download music, movies, games, software, etc), all in an effort to fight online piracy,” says Reporter DJ Pangburn.

Internet censorship has become a global issue. Is it perhaps that governments in various countries don’t want their citizens to see certain things on websites? Pangburn uses examples of the growth of censorship by mentioning that, “of course, it isn’t right to steal and distribute content, but it’s also not right to resort to draconian, Orwellian measures that empower governments to control the Internet.

Indeed, this architecture of control could be used for any variety of measures to stop what the government doesn’t want Internet users to see. This Internet censorship effort is truly global, with various treaties, executive agreements and UN proposals such as one currently being pushed by Russia, Iran and China that would have the UN implement an Internet code of conduct and create a superstructure to manage it all.”

The group ‘Anonymous’ keeps their identity concealed by wearing decorated masks or cloth to cover everything but their eyes. The group is communicating with the Indian government and the rest of the world through a program on the internet they created called ‘Anonymous Operations.’

On their website, the group recently announced they “had taken down the Indian Supreme Court and All India Congressional websites, as well as the Department of Telecommunications with the hacking collective accusing the Indian government of censorship and corruption in the form of bribery,” says Pangburn.

A member of India’s Upper House, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, wrote a letter to India’s Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, expressing his opposition over India’s recent attempt to control the Internet through a United Nations committee. He wrote that, “any attempt to expand government’s power over the Internet should be turned back,” according to his website, Death & Taxes.

‘Anonymous’ chose June 9 as the protest day for the censorship of the internet in India. Several protest sites have already been announced including Mumbai, New Delhi, Chandigarh, Indore, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Kochi, Kozhikode, Nagpur and Pune, according to the Times of India.

‘Anonymous’ has made a statement in regard to what they are hoping for as a result of the protests, but wants it to be known that they have no plans of this becoming a violent retaliation against the government. In the groups press release they stated, “this is to be a 100% Non-Violent Civil rights protest,” and encouraging “any one who feels they need this movement needs to be in their city can start a FB page for the Occupy City movement and let us know about it.”

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New York, U.S.A. – New Report Added in ResearchMoz Reports Database Crop Protection Chemicals Market - Global And Developing Countries (China, India And Brazil) Analysis, Market Size, Trends And Forecasts (2009 – 2016)

Global crop protection chemicals market continues to grow and discover new growth opportunities in emerging economies. However, market maturity attained by some of the most widely used crop protection chemicals will slow down the growth of the global crop protection chemicals industry substantially.

Developed economies including North America and Europe are expected to show average growth due to market maturity and restriction imposed on usage of certain crop protection chemicals by regulatory authorities; however developing countries are expected to enjoys healthy growth rate in near future because of rising demand for crop protection chemicals.

To Browse Full TOC, Tables & Figures visit

China crop protection chemicals industry is the largest among the three developing markets covered in the report, both in terms of revenue and volume. Herbicides segment is the highest contributor towards the China crop protection chemicals market in terms of consumption throughout the forecast period. Fruits, vegetables and nuts crop segment was the largest consumer of crop protection chemicals and will remain so in the coming years.

This report analyzes the worldwide markets for Crop protection Chemicals in USD million (revenue) and thousand tons (volume) by segmenting the market on the basis of Pesticides Type, and end-use segments. The report provides separate comprehensive analysis for China, India and Brazil. Annual sales estimates and forecasts (volume and value) for three emerging markets are also provided for the period 2009 to 2016.

The report helps in providing a comprehensive overview for

- Market forces driving and restraining the growth of the market

- Up-to-date analysis of the latest industry trends

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Latest Market Research Reports on Crop Protection Market

Crop Protection Chemicals Market

Global Crop Protection Industry

NAFTA Crop Protection Industry

Europe Crop Protection Industry

Asia Crop Protection Industry

Global Crop Protection (Pesticides) Market

This report is an effort to identify driving forces behind the crop protection chemicals industry of India, China and Brazil over the next five years. The report provides extensive analysis of the crop protection chemicals industry, and current market trends and presents a comprehensive assessment on the basis of:

Pesticides Types

- Herbicides

- Insecticides

- Fungicides

- Others

Crops

- Cereals

- Sugarcane

- Fruits, Vegetables and Nuts

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- Soybean

- Cotton

- Rice

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- India

- China

- Brazil

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Pesticides Market

Polyurethanes (Pu) Market

Computed Tomography (CT) Market

Nutraceutical Ingredients Market

Organic Electronics Market

U.S. Lighting Products Market 

Baby Care Products Market

Ultrasound Market 

X-Ray Market

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) Market

Toluene Diisocyanate (TDI) Market

Methylene Diphenyl Diisocyanate (MDI) Market

Nutraceuticals Product Market

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Power plant services represent a growing market that offers steady revenues and solid growth, in contrast with the much more cyclical market for new-build power stations. Fastest growing regions of China, India and ASEAN to account for almost quarter of the market by 2017, but China will not overtake the USA before 2025.

In the developed regions of Europe and North America, the main drivers are ageing power capacities that need replacing and, linked to this, the growing adoption of gas-fired generation.

Key drivers in emerging markets are rapid electricity demand growth, and industry privatization and liberalization which, in turn, push outsourcing of services. In the developed world, meanwhile, utilities struggling with skills shortages are also increasingly relying on outsourced services.

New analysis from Frost & Sullivan World Power Plant Services Markets finds that the markets earned revenue of $27.40 billion in 2011 and estimates this to reach$35.41 billion in 2017.

“Global growth in electricity demand is a key driver behind the growth of the power plant services market,” notes Frost & Sullivan Industry Director Harald Thaler. “As electricity demand rises, new generating capacities are added to the system, which in turn, require servicing.”

The services market is, however, forecast to grow somewhat more rapidly than electricity demand. The global correlation, comparing forecast growth for both indicators, is 1.55.

Whilst the services market is forecast to grow by 4.2% between 2010 and 2017, world electricity demand growth will be 2.7% over that same period. Greater outsourcing and the increasing proliferation of gas-fired technology, where reliance on the equipment providers for servicing is high, are major contributory factors.

“Geographically, the balance of power in the power plant services market will gradually shift towards the emerging economies, as they progressively liberalize not only their power but also their gas markets,” remarks Thaler. “Such trends will allow for a much greater penetration of modern gas-fired plants which attract higher outsourced maintenance spend.”

The fastest-growing regions will be the emerging Asian giants of China, India and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Their combined share will rise from 18.1% in 2010 to 23.4% in 2017.

Gas turbines account for the largest share of the services market, globally. Their share will expand, albeit slowly, as ongoing coal-fired investments based on increasingly sophisticated supercritical technology fuel growth in emerging economies. This will partly offset the strong growth in gas-fired generation in some other parts of the world.

“Unlike in the market for new-build power plants, where China has been the leading world market for some time, the country’s position in the power plant services market is much more modest,” concludes Thaler. “Frost & Sullivan forecasts that in the lucrative services market, China will not overtake the USA before 2025.”

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In honor of World Water Day, The Prem Rawat Foundation (TPRF) initiated a campaign to raise US$25,000 in matching funds to support The Adventure Project (TAP) effort to provide sustainable water services to almost a million people in West Bengal and the District of Sheohar in Bihar, India.

The TAP vision is to train mechanics to repair wells in rural India, where over one third of wells drilled in the past 20 years are in disrepair. TAP set an ambitious goal to fund the training and initial supplying of 186 mechanics who could help sustain a clean water source for close to a million people.

Like any machinery with moving parts, wells with pumps need maintenance every few months to avoid costly breakdowns. Each mechanic can service up to 50 wells, providing water for an estimated 5,000 people. In the end, TPRF exceeded its goal, raising $27,643, an amount that will train and supply 50 mechanics and help an estimated quarter of a million people.

TPRF helped to fund a similar TAP project last year in the state of Bihar. “These mechanics are now operating in a self-sustaining mode,” said Linda Pascotto, President of TPRF. “The goal of this year’s campaign is similar, but on a wider scale,” Pascotto continued. “The aim is to help provide jobs, training and tools to hire mechanics, each of whom works as an entrepreneur to maintain and fix wells. In addition, TAP provides a one-year stipend to help each mechanic launch his or her business.”

Training mechanics to service wells is part of TAP’s goal to create a million jobs over 10 years in developing countries worldwide. TAP was established to increase investments in positive social enterprises around the world, according to founders Becky Straw and Jody Landers.

“I cannot thank TPRF enough,” Straw said, “for all their support, inspiration and shared belief in investing with dignity.”

About The Prem Rawat Foundation (TPRF)
The Prem Rawat Foundation promotes Prem Rawat’s message of peace and his vision of addressing fundamental human needs so that people everywhere can live with dignity, peace and prosperity. For more information, visit: www.tprf.org.

Image Courtesy of  Pal Teravagimov / Shutterstock.com

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Echelon Corporation announced two micro grid deployments in India and South Africa that integrate distributed generation to compensate for disruptions in utility-supplied power. The first-of-its-kind in the two countries, the micro grid deployments involve dynamically managing demand and energy supply mix for a residential community and a retail mall to deliver reliable service cost-effectively.

The model micro grid deployments are at Palm Meadows in Hyderabad, India, and Clearwater Mall in Johannesburg, South Africa. Palm Meadows is an 86-acre integrated gated community with 335 homes and residential services. Clearwater Mall in Johannesburg is a retail building with more than 240 stores.

Such micro grids are likely to be a best practice in emerging countries grappling with intermittent power supply, and are also applicable in environmentally conscious countries that are aggressively incorporating renewable and intermittent energy sources into the distribution network.

“Smart micro grids are an ideal way to integrate local generation at the community level and allow for customer participation in the electricity enterprise,” said Michael Anderson, senior vice president of Worldwide Markets for Echelon. “Micro grids sit at the edge of the smart grid and provide real-time analysis, decision making and control.

The Palm Meadows and Clearwater Mall deployments are great examples of how Echelon’s commitment to leading the worldwide transformation of the electricity grid into an energy control network can foster market innovation. The concepts demonstrated in India and South Africa can be replicated worldwide to improve power reliability and to integrate energy efficiency solutions as well as renewable generation.”

The Palm Meadows community ties into the grid at a dedicated substation and sources energy in bulk from the utility. The community also runs diesel generators and will incorporate solar generation in the future. Residences within the community are equipped with Echelon smart meters that connect into data concentrators at distribution transformers and feed near real-time usage information to Echelon’s Networked Energy Systems (NES) system software.

Echelon partner Grene Robotics’ Skynet management application automatically turns on local generation if utility-delivered power is inadequate. The Skynet software interfaces with the NES system software and creates a bill for the customer that reflects the customers’ actual use of lower cost grid power and more expensive locally generated power.

Customers have the option of reducing usage at times when the more expensive energy is being supplied. The Palm Meadows micro grid is providing reliable service even during frequent utility grid outages and enabling the customer to make intelligent trade-offs between comfort and cost.

“When you flip that light switch, turn your television on, or boot up your computer, you expect power,” said Kiran Penmatcha, CEO of Grene Robotics. “Like a national power grid, the Palm Meadows micro grid manages generation, distribution, and the regulation of the flow of electricity to its households.

We are pleased to have helped implement a proven, open and multi-application energy control infrastructure that enables Palm Meadows to become distributors of energy within their community. Today, the community is evaluating the integration of solar generated electricity for the future. On March 29, the community may look to add other applications, such as outdoor lighting control on the same infrastructure.”

The frequency and length of blackouts in South Africa can have devastating effects on its commercial sector. For example, the local South African public utility had to institute a system of rolling blackouts over a period of four months to balance electricity demand, in which supply was interrupted at least once or twice a day on an average of four hours at a time.

The Clearwater Mall tenants, which consist of nine anchor stores, and more than two hundred other local and international fashion and quick serve food outlets, restaurants, banks, electronic goods and other specialty stores, require reliable electricity so they can continue to run their business.

The mall’s new retail micro grid solution based on Echelon partner PMT’s Meteringonline energy management application, employs Echelon smart meters, data concentrators, and NES system software to submeter individual tenant usage, so they can pay only for their actual energy usage rather than the industry norm of paying for energy on a square footage basis. Furthermore, tenants can opt-in to power supplied by local back-up generation when blackouts occur.

PMT’s Meteringonline application interfaces to Echelon’s system software and reconciles usage with energy source, allocating tariffs based on actual use. The on-demand energy services allow the store owners to manage their energy usage and associated costs and maximize revenues.

“South Africa experiences major power shortages with rolling blackouts on a regular basis, therefore implementing a rock solid energy control networking platform for Clearwater Mall and its tenants was of utmost importance,” said Graeme Mellis, director of PMT. “The Echelon solution with our Meteringonline system software created a perfect micro grid solution for Clearwater Mall to deliver multiple applications to its tenants, such as submetering, selective back up generation and consolidated billing.”

According to Pike Research, interest in implementing micro grids is spreading among educational, commercial, government, healthcare, industrial, and research campuses. A new report from Pike Research forecasts that total installed generation capacity for campus micro grids will increase by 164% between 2011 and 2017, rising from 620 megawatts (MW) to 1.6 gigawatts (GW).

By the end of the forecast period in 2017, the clean tech market intelligence firm anticipates that the campus micro grid market will reach $777 million in annual revenue.

“Micro grids are an aggregation and optimization platform that can squeeze the most value out of existing and new distributed energy assets, whether they are solar photovoltaic generation technology or smart meters enabling demand response.

Micro grids are the building blocks of a smart grid whose modularity can shrink energy consumption by 10 to 15% through more intelligent networking,” said Peter Asmus, senior analyst at Pike Research.

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With India’s highest solar radiation in western Rajasthan, half of India’s solar capacity in 2022 could come from this state, says Satya Kumar, managing director of Shri Shakti Alternative Energy.

The high radiation in combination with a large amount of sunny days in Rajasthan makes it by far the most popular location for projects under the National Solar Mission. The average tariff of all project bids under the second round of the National Solar Mission was as low as Rs.8.78/Kwh.

“The natural reaction of some investors to this outcome was that it’s too low. But if you analyse the conditions in Rajasthan, it will become clear that this tariff is viable,” says Kumar, who researched a case for a 10MW plant in Rajasthan. Shri Shakti Alernative Energy Ltd is developing the infrastructure for a 100MW private solar park being developed under an MoU with Government of Rajasthan.

“In western Rajasthan, a Capacity Utilisation Factor (CUF) of 21 percent can be achieved,” Kumar further explains. “In Germany, the world solar capital, this is typically 13 percent. This means that a 1MW solar plant in western Rajasthan can produce 1.85 million units per year, compared to around 1.6 million units elsewhere in India.”

“The conditions in Rajasthan are so favourable, that it will be amongst the most logical places in the world to implement solar power,” says Edwin Koot, CEO of Solarplaza, a Netherlands based information platform for international solar energy stakeholders.

Solarplaza is organizing the conference The Solar Future: India II on 29 February in Jaipur. “It’s only a matter of time for solar power to take off on a large scale in Rajasthan,” says Koot, explaining the choice of location.

Besides attention for the benefits of Rajasthan and other local developments, the conference will host internationally renowned speakers with an eye for global trends and inspirational future visions. This in combination with an informal networking atmosphere gives the event a unique character.

Speakers include Ravindra Raina, President of India operations, Astonfield; Ravi Khanna, CEO of Solar Power Business of Aditya Birla Group; Jigar Shah – CEO, Carbon War Room; Vishal Shah – Managing Director & Senior Analyst Alternative Energy Deutsche Bank; Ashok Bhalotra, Ambassador, KuiperCompagnons; Madan Mohan Vijayvergia – Director (Technical), Rajasthan Renewable Energy Corporation.

http://www.thesolarfuture.in

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The first clinical trial of a new vaccine for visceral leishmaniasis (VL) has been launched by the Infectious Disease Research Institute (IDRI), a Seattle-based nonprofit that develops products to prevent, detect, and treat diseases of poverty. The Phase 1 trial is taking place in Washington State, with a companion Phase 1 trial planned in India, an epicenter of the disease.

Visceral leishmaniasis affects vital organs and bone marrow, destroying white and red blood cells. Because VL attacks the immune system, it has been called the parasitic version of HIV/AIDS.

“Visceral leishmaniasis is a persistent and deadly global health problem,” said Steve Reed, IDRI founder and Chief Scientific Officer, who led the over twenty years of preclinical vaccine work. “Our partnership with India will speed the development of an effective vaccine and accelerate its control.

Leishmaniasis takes several forms, all of which are caused by the Leishmania parasite and transmitted by infected sand flies. VL is most common in India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sudan, and Brazil and causes about 500,000 cases and 50,000 deaths each year.  Cutaneous leishmaniasis, the most common form of the disease, causes serious skin lesions and often leaves its victims permanently disfigured.  Leishmaniasis occurs in 88 countries, affecting 12 million people.

While the disease can be treated, current treatments are too expensive, difficult to administer, or toxic for widespread use in poor countries. Drug resistance is also a growing problem, particularly in India. Left untreated, VL has a 90% case fatality, and death can come within two years—much more quickly than AIDS.

Furthermore, scientists warn that the geographical range for leishmaniasis is expanding. Spurred on by global warming, mass migration and rapid urbanization, cases are being reported in previously unaffected areas. Given such challenges, a vaccine is considered essential to control and eliminate the disease.

“With this clinical trial, we hope to launch a new era in the fight against Visceral Leishmaniasis,” said Franco Piazza, Medical Director at IDRI and leader of the vaccine’s clinical development.  “For the first time, an advanced vaccine to prevent this devastating disease is being tested in people.”

The IDRI vaccine, known as LEISH–F3 + GLA-SE, is a highly purified, recombinant vaccine.  It incorporates two fused Leishmania parasite proteins and a powerful adjuvant to stimulate an immune response against the parasite.

The Phase 1 clinical trial will enroll 36 adult volunteers in Washington State.  They will be randomly assigned to receive one of three versions of the vaccine, which differ in the amount of adjuvant included. The trial will evaluate the safety and immunogenicity of each version.

A second Phase 1 trial will take place in India, where IDRI is transferring its vaccine technology to the Gennova Biopharmaceuticals. Last month, Gennova opened a vaccine formulation center that will be producing vaccines for neglected diseases in Pune, India, where the company is based.

In India, VL is known as kala-azar, a Hindi word that means black fever, named after the fever that ravages affected individuals, whose skin becomes dark gray.

“Kala-azar is a significant health problem across northern India and neighboring countries,” said Dr.Sanjay Singh, CEO of Gennova.  “Bringing a vaccine to India will not only end deaths and disease, it will also help many of our poorest citizens to lead more productive lives and move out of poverty.”

Beginning later in 2012, the Indian biotherapeutics and vaccine manufacturer will produce the LEISH-F3 + GLA-SE vaccine.  It will be then tested in healthy Indian adults, in collaboration with the Banaras Hindu University in Varanasi, India.

“We are very pleased to be working with IDRI on this vaccine, which is critically important to the many people who suffer from this disease in India as well as to the millions of people who are infected around the world,” said Dr. Shyam Sundar, Professor of Medicine at the University’s Institute of Medical Sciences.

Subsequent clinical trials will involve larger numbers of people who are at high risk of developing VL during their daily lives, because they are frequently bitten by sand flies. Only such large trials, conducted in real-life situations of disease exposure, will determine the full effectiveness of the LEISH-F3 + GLA-SE vaccine.

“Vaccines can do what medicines can’t – prevent the disease from even occurring,” said Dr. N. K. Ganguly, a highly distinguished biotechnology professor and advisor in India, and former Director General of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), New Delhi.  “Only with an effective vaccine can we expect to control leishmaniasis in South Asia.”

The Phase 1 clinical trials are being funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which also recently announced a global partnership with the World Health Organization and 13 pharmaceutical companies to control or eliminate 10 neglected tropical diseases, including leishmaniasis.

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AJC expressed grave concern about India’s relations with Iran. In a letter to the Indian ambassador to the United States, AJC stressed that any effort by India to intensify its commercial activity with Iran could undermine the U.S. and EU sanctions that aim to stop Iran’s nuclear-weapons program.

“We are alarmed and dismayed by this apparent move to elevate commercial interests over vital security concerns,” wrote AJC President Robert Elman and Executive Director David Harris in a letter to Ambassador Nirupama Rao.

The full text of the letter to Ambassador Rao follows:

Her Excellency Nirupama Rao
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
Embassy of India
2107 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20008

Dear Ambassador Rao:

As you are aware, AJC has been a long-time friend of India and an advocate of increasingly close cooperation between Washington and New Delhi.

In that spirit, we were deeply troubled by recent news reports of Indian efforts to intensify trade relations with Iran at the very moment that Washington and fellow democracies are applying new economic pressures in the banking and energy sectors to persuade Tehran to halt its pursuit of nuclear-weapons capability.

We were particularly struck by the announcement this week, by Commerce Secretary Rahul Khullar, that “a huge delegation” of Indian business representatives would soon travel to Iran to capitalize on opportunities created by European withdrawal from the Iranian market.

This suggests that New Delhi is attempting to take advantage of sanctions adopted by like-minded nations for the explicit purpose of preventing nuclear proliferation by a dangerously aggressive regime — and which could, in turn, trigger an escalating arms race — in a highly volatile region.

In light of India’s history of support for International Atomic Energy Agency resolutions on Iranian transgressions, and repeated expressions of Indian Government concern about Iran’s nuclear ambitions, we are alarmed and dismayed by this apparent move to elevate commercial interests over vital security concerns.

India has asserted that it will only abide by UN Security Council restrictions on trade with Iran, but not go beyond. Yet, as in the recent case of Syria, further measures are today impossible because of a threatened veto by one or two permanent members. We fear that India risks not only the erosion of the latest steps laudably adopted in Washington, Brussels and elsewhere, but also its standing as an admired partner in safeguarding regional and global security.

We thank you for conveying AJC’s concerns on this urgent matter to your Government, and look forward to the prospect of discussing it with you at your earliest convenience.

With the assurance of our profound esteem and best wishes, we remain,

Respectfully,
Robert Elman, President
David Harris, Executive Director

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DHL, the world’s leading express and logistics company, delivered Manchester United’s Champ19ns Trophy Tour to Mumbai for a special event with employees and customers. The DHL Champ19ns Trophy Tour event in Mumbai included a football clinic with two Manchester United Legends Denis Irwin and Quinton Fortune with children of the Magic Bus Foundation and the DHL football team.

This is the first time the club has toured India with the trophy, and is part of a global tour which will visit 27 Asian and African destinations, covering over 48,000 miles. Malcolm Monteiro, SVP & Area Director, South Asia, DHL Express said: “DHL and Manchester United are two strong brands recognized globally and the partnership is between two organizations that have similar characteristics at their core such as teamwork, passion, speed and can-do-spirit.”

Malcolm added, “The DHL Champ19ns Trophy Tour is a perfect chance to demonstrate how we work within our global network of 220 countries to bring the trophy to our customers, employees and fans around the world.”

Manchester United Legends Denis Irwin and Quinton Fortune shared a lot of tips on the field with the children of Magic Bus Foundation and the DHL football team who were very excited to be there. The two legends along with the club’s famous mascot, Fred The Red, was also on hand along with the Trophy to sign signature cards, engage with the children and DHL employees about what it’s like to play for the most popular club in the world.

DHL is the global market leader in the logistics industry and “The Logistics company for the world”. DHL commits its expertise in international express, air and ocean freight, road and rail transportation, contract logistics and international mail services to its customers.

A global network composed of more than 220 countries and territories and about 300,000 employees worldwide offers customers superior service quality and local knowledge to satisfy their supply chain requirements. DHL accepts its social responsibility by supporting climate protection, disaster management and education.

DHL is part of Deutsche Post DHL. The Group generated revenue of more than 51.5 billion euros in 2010.

Image Courtesy of   Sportsphotographer.eu / Shutterstock.com

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The Indian rupee continues to depreciate against the American greenback, falling to all-time low of $54.60 USD. Recently, this catapulted action by the central bank to redeem further damage to the local economy. The Indian currency fell to extraordinary lows against the dollar after the release of weaker than expected industrial output data. Since August, the currency has lost 16.6 percent of its value and has been labeled as the weakest currency in Asia.

According to Livemint.com, the performance of the rupee on a comparative basis showed a trend not observed in any of the other Asian currencies, after the U.S. downgrade by S&P on August 5. The Indian rupee has been the hardest hit among currencies of similar nature along with Asian economic linchpin, China. The Chinese renminbi lost marginally about 1.06 percent against the U.S. dollar and moved ahead of the Malaysian ringgit, which fell almost 5 1/2 percent, with the Korean won losing just 8.22 percent so far.

A currency’s external value declines when its imports weighs more than its general exports because it expands the trade gap and increases pressure on the economy as a whole. In the case of India, nearly 70 percent of its oil demand is met by imports. As a result, the plummeting currency will eventually increase import bill and will lead to a rise in oil prices and contribute to inflation.

Recently, the reserve bank of India intervened in their local market to stop the drastic and financially dangerous movement of the national currency by way of bringing some refinements to existing laws. One of the moves was to create a ceiling on foreign investment for $5 billion in government securities and equities.

The reserve bank also made it mandatory to bring back capital raised overseas and included that all forward contracts made by exporters and importers will be on the basis of delivery. It is possible that the list of restrictions have yet to be exhausted.

Durgesh Mehta, CFO Bombay Dyeing said: “I believe the RBI’s move will provide some relief and arrest further decline, but these measures alone cannot prevent rupee depreciation in the median term.”

According to Professor Amartya sSn, winner of the Noble Memorial Prize in Economics Sciences, he stated during an interaction with the press that the “depreciation of Indian rupee needs to viewed holistically and not as a train crash.”

Over the last two years, India has witnessed the trend of RBI’s addiction to failure through its battle to calm inflation. This has so-far only produced tighter monetary policies, leading to economic slowdown by increasing the cost of borrowing and nothing more than that.

Even today, stubborn inflation lives on in India after many years of fierce battle by the RBI, where-in efforts were largely focused on “Monetary Control”  measures rather than identification and elimination by other means.

The RBI has so far been a disaster when it comes to containing inflation, but with its depreciating currency, economists will be anxious to see how far this move can make a difference.

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The September 12 collision that claimed the lives of ten people and left 86 injured could have been caused by a “signal flew back error”. The Times of India reports that “This error occurs when a system shows a wrong signal and turns to the right signal in a few seconds.” Meaning the signal light could have been green when the train driver approached, causing him to accelerate. The light would have then changed to the correct yellow or red light, but it would have done so too late for the driver to see.

The Chenai Beach-Vellore Electric Multiple Unit train (EMU) crashed into a stationary Arakkonam-Katpadi passenger train waiting for a signal near Chitheri station. Eight coaches were derailed and three completely damaged in the accident. Both trains were loaded with passengers.

India Rail wrote on their website that “the accident occurred amidst heavy downpour which hampered rescue and relief operations.”

As a result of the collision, trains were cancelled, diverted or rescheduled at Chennai. This affected locals who rely on the train to get them to and from work on a daily basis. Fortunately, the Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation deployed 45 buses to transport passengers.

According to reports, rescue teams had cleared the mangled steel from the tracks and trains were allowed to pass through the spot to Chennai by Wednesday, September 13. Thus allowing some normalcy to those using the line.

Initially, the driver, A. Rajkumar was suspected for being the cause of the accident by over speeding and ignoring signals to slow down. He managed to jump out of the driver’s cabin just before the collision and was also seriously injured. As a result of his injuries, there was no word on exactly what had taken place. Somewhat recovered, Rajkumar stated that the first two signals had been yellow, however, the last one had been green and that was the reason he had accelerated. Railway Minister Danish Travedi said a breathalyzer test had been done on the driver and cleared him of being under the influence of alcohol.

The commissioner of railway safety S K Mittal is going through the signal records and an inquiry report is expected to be out in a few days to determine where the liability lies.

About 18 million people use the accident prone railway line on a daily basis. Only a month ago, a collision in West Bengal took the lives of 200 people. Another post on the India Railway site states that Indian Railways are working on a system to prevent train accidents like the one near Arakkonam in Tamil Nadu Tuesday night, which killed 10 and injured 86, said Railway Minister Dinesh Trivedi Wednesday.

Speaking to reporters at Arakonam in Vellore district, Trivedi said: “A system is being worked out to ensure these incidents do not happen.” He did not elaborate.

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Karthikeyan is not a common name, and in a personal interview the first question that  I asked him was if he knew the meaning of it. He was not sure, but he explained to me that this name is common in the Southern Part of India. Doing a little bit of research, I found that it means, “Son of Shiva.”

With only 21 years old, Karthy left his home country India, and moved to a foreign destination in order to have better opportunities. He comes from Chennai, and at the moment he is in Scotland completing his studies in Computer Science.

“The Scottish accent, is very different, it is very strong. At first I couldn’t even understand a word. My school education was in English. I learned how to write, but to speak is something different, it’s not an easy thing.

What gather your interest for studying computer science?

“Once I completed my school, I follow what the majority of students focus on, and that is computer science. It is very common, since you have a wider-range for job opportunities. It’s quite interesting though, I’m not a writer I’m more interesting in the science stuff, and the technical field”.

Why did you go to United Kingdom? “I took in consideration that they provide a top good education. I started my application process at the end of august, which was not an easy task, I had to apply within a year ahead”:

Taking a bit about the cultural differences he encountered he joked saying: ” It is a completely different culture and if you look at the weather is freezing, in my country I am used to 30 degrees”.

Could you tell me some difficulties that you encountered?

“Oh, first of all what was really different was eating. I do not use spoon to eat, in India you use the hands. My first experience when I noticed this was when, I went to a Christmas party, and everyone was using spoons, forks and knives, it was so different, that was my first time when I had to use this tools. Now its nice to start adapting to the culture”.

He is looking forward to improve his English skills, and gather more experience “I’m looking forward for an exchange program, maybe Holland”.

Now he is doing his first internship at Toonari Post, he claims: “I like the training, and how I’m being taught, it’s quite good fun, I’ m doing word press and Php recording.

What is the thing you like the most in U.K?

What I like is that there is no upper class, or lower class, if you go to India you can see people begging in the roadside, you can notice the class differences. If you are in India you do not afford to go to holidays. 99% they don’t know what holiday means. Holidays in India will just be the time that you enjoy with family at home.

A final message that he wanted to say was that: “There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard-work and learning from your failures”

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One cheaply wise man told me one day that a journey begins the second you clearly make the decision to leave. On the one hand, sure, you must get prepared, inquire about the country, try to picture what it looks like, realize that I leave soon and that I really need a mosquito net. Kind of foreplay with your tourist guide. On the other hand, this theory remains pretty dumb, especially if your project is called India.

Forget about the globe-trotter stories, the neighbors’ pictures or Tintin In Tibet: you should entirely assume your ignorance before landing there your foot. I bought five or six books about India but I only read one because I had to go to the barber. It was about sacred cows and semolina cakes, I decided to check the other books on the plane. I could say I like surprise effects, but the truth is I don’t know where to begin. I’m getting ready to have a six months working experience in Kolkata, so if I may choose, I prefer being emotionally slapped by some seedy slums than a detailed Lonely Planet. Or perhaps this “not-ready” theory is just my peculiar laziness disguised as a two rupees prude opinion. Still, here I am flying from Paris to Kolkata, cultured about India like an Inuit about mangos but my five senses all set to experience.

It’s four o’clock sharp when the plane opens its doors. My rucksack on my back I go out the airport, find my way through the fruit dealers, beggars and cabdrivers, and head for a welcoming palm tree. I stay there for two-cigarettes time because I don’t have a clue where to go yet. Then a very short guy comes to me, he’s a taxi driver and sometimes guide for tourists in a hurry when he’s in the mood (now he shows me a non-laminated card). After chatting about why I am here or the different price of bananas according to Indian towns, I’m surprised at the dozen more people around me. “Give the man a tip, sir”, my original friend says pointing at a sleepy fellow leaning back against a wall behind me.

I look straight at the dude’s eyes, I never saw him before and except sunbathing he doesn’t look so busy. The confusion makes me smile: I am in India, no doubt. “What for?” I ask, so he quietly shrugs his shoulders in answer. Well I can’t blame him, he tried. I tell him “NO” right in his face and get into his yellow cab. After haggling over during two sunsets, I feel comfortable and tell my driver to hit the road downtown. I get ripped off a bit, sure, but not that much. Also I kind of like his circle glasses, so who cares.

Hundreds of tiny shops, some buffalos chewing plastic bags, five girls wearing shiny purses, an old bearded man selling vegetables and car wheels, two kids water-fighting, lots of advertising posters which don’t belong to reality, and in the distance a gigantesque palace building site: this is what I see through the taxi window. I spend time to ask myself questions I can’t respond and even to breathe in gasoline in abundance. I drop my luggage off the cheapest guesthouse in the quarter, I kick the cockroach’s ass under my bed and I go outside, making one’s way towards the sun so I finally find out where it sets.

“Children from Kolkata” is one of the ten thousands nongovernmental organizations of the city. It’s situated in the deep South Pallisree district, where the usual tourist doesn’t go probably because there is nothing to visit.

The single underground line –three other ones would open sooner or later (since 1995)– takes me to one rickshaw which drives me to a spot by the roadside, between a rusty bus and a homemade fountain. The driver shouts at me some inaudible english speech meeting sign language, I tell him back “yes” because that’s my philosophy in case the instructions are unclear. I start walking in a labyrinth of alleyways in order to find the NGO. I get lost four times, turn back twice, ask my way to all living beings I pass and then I stop for a while so I can sweat in silence. At last one student helps me to look for the address and ten minutes later I am standing at the bottom of a five floors building which doesn’t look Alice-wonderful but the door gets cute colors, therefore I come in without ringing (there is no doorbell). “Hello, you must be the french volunteer!”, I hear as my foot is on the last stair.

The voice belongs to Sohail who runs the organization while the Boss is back in France. He shows me the place, introduces me to the children I will teach and offers me a memorable big-time-sugared coffee. My first pupil is a five years old boy who only speaks a few words of english: the numbers until twenty, the word “cat” and all the most sophisticated cricket vocabulary. It sounds like a good start, so I ask him to describe the game rules, and after lots of Hindi sentences and an approximate Pictionary, I still don’t understand. Only dumb people don’t change the subject, so I decide to teach him numbers until fifty. The three next students are teenagers who have good English skills and who study for an exam. We are supposed to revise free-market economy lessons but on the first day we talk about Bollywood actresses and Brazilian football players.

Around four, it’s free time: the children play football and cricket outside, occasionally Russian roulette, but most of the time it means football and I play with them. (At first I was crushing them, but after thirty minutes out of breath, I felt consequences of Parisian nights showing up and the opposing team scored six goals in eleven minutes.) Anyway, after this stinging defeat I study with a group of seven little boys: I help them with their homework and read them tales, they teach me some Hindi phrases and show me magic tricks. Fifty-fifty, you guess. At eight o’clock I leave the NGO my eyes sparkling and I join the main street without getting lost this time. Sleep tight, Kolkata.

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India – Some men complain that having just one woman is enough for them. What do you think Mr. Ziona Chana would think when he was 39 wives, 94 children and 33 grandchildren? To answers this question, this is what Mr. Ziona said” “I have so many people to care (for) and look after, and I consider myself a lucky man.”

He comes from India, and has 66 years old.  He lives in a four-storied building with all his family members, the building possesses 100 rooms. The Children, woman and sons live all in different rooms in the same building. Surprisingly he feels really comfortable, and founds himself a lucky man to be responsible of this amount of family members.

In total the Ziona family has 181 members. They live in a mountainous village in Mizoram state, sharing borders with Bruma and Bangladesh

It would be hard to picture how is the daily day life for all the family. But as Mr. Chana has described in past articles, he tells that the connivance is not as hard as it seems. There is a lot of cooperation among the wives for example, who take turns in order to cook in the only kitchen they have in the house, which is being shared by all.  On the other hand, the daughters are in charge of the cleaning duties of the house, and the washing. Also, the men have their specific tasks and roles, and they expend a lot of their time in outdoor activities and jobs, like taking care of livestock and farming.

They live in a very simple way, and they depend on their work for their life’s functionality. They eat and sustain themselves with all the products they cultivate and grow in the land.  On a daily basis, the family members consume an estimated amount of 200 pounds of rice, and 130 pounds of potatoes. They also receive a little help from donations that are given by followers.

He says that there are no limitations for him to stop having more wives, “I once married 10 women in one year,” Ziona Chana said. “Even today, I am ready to expand my family and willing to go to any extent to marry,”

Mr. Chana is in charge of a religious sect, named the “Chana”; this local sect was formed in June 1942, and allows polygamy. The main believe of the sect is the ruling of the world by the side of Christ.  This sect has expanded thorough the years and nowadays it has a membership enclosing approximately 400 families.

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At the start of 2011, India found itself the subject of concern among economists when the country’s food prices reached another troubling high. At the same time, the Reserve Bank of India signaled an interest rate rise after having increased the rates six times in 2010 – one of the most aggressive tightenings of any central bank. Calls for further moves were intensified by a report by the International Monetary Fund, saying that rates needed to be higher to curb inflation.

Looking back, India was one of the world’s best-performing economies in 2010 and has, alongside China, been considered the ‘engine of recovery’ for the global economy during the crisis. But rising inflation is becoming an increasing threat to this position and the Wall Street Journal warns that the central bank has to be careful in the coming year, since liquidity within the banking system is tight and further rate increases could exacerbate this problem.

According to numbers from the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, the last five weeks of 2010 showed a continuous rise in food prices which was mainly attributed to higher vegetable prices, particularly onions, after unseasonal rains in some parts of the country damaged crops. The Wall Street Journal reported that the squeeze in supplies – as well as higher demands from consumers and policy failure on behalf of the government – have exacerbated the situation.

In an attempt to control the problem, the Indian government banned exports of onions, which is seen as a politically sensitive staple given its enormous presence in Indian cuisine. Import duty has also been removed and state-run cooperatives selling the vegetable at subsidized prices in local markets have been set up. But still, the price of an onion was predicted to continue its rise – by January up 82% from the year before.

By the start of February, the inflation of the food prices eased to around 13% and by mid-February, the deputy head of the Planning Commission predicted a further ease in the market, claiming that the food inflation would settle itself in a “much more comfortable position” by the end of the fiscal year in March, according to Reuters.

However, the Indian people are beginning to feel the pinch and on February 23, thousands of people gathered in the Indian capital of Delhi to protest against the food prices and unemployment. Carrying red flags, the protesters marched through the streets of central Delhi since early morning and caused massive traffic jams. The rally was set up by trade unions who called nearly 40.000 people to attend a meeting at the Ramlila grounds.

The Indian National Trade Union Congress (Intuc) – which is backed by the governing Congress party – also supported the strike saying it wants to remind the government about its commitments to the poor, according to the BBC.

Previously, the government had shown interest in adopting an Afghani policy that bans lavish wedding celebrations – an extravagant tradition in the region – to tackle the domestic food crisis. As the Indian economy has grown, millions of people have been elevated into what is termed ‘the great Indian middle class’, but as the high inflation rate is hitting India’s poorest hard, the government scramble to come up with policy to promote a sustainable market. India’s Food and Consumer Affairs Minister K. V. Thomas was quoted by Reuter for saying that “We believe we can preserve food grains for the poor and needy of this country by restricting its use at such extravagant and luxurious social functions”.

He continued to explain that nearly 15% of India’s food grains were wasted at these events and to counter these numbers, the government was looking at introducing a bill before parliament to limit the consumption.

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