Paying Tribute to the Mahatma: HELPI cleans Roads

Mahatma Gandhi said, "Sanitation is more important than independence". His dream was total sanitation for all. Taking a step towards this dream, team HELPI organized a cleanliness drive on Sohna Road and in areas around it. This activity was their way of paying tribute to Mahatma Gandhi on his death anniversary. And what else could be a better tribute to father of the nation than taking forward his dream. The whole team including the founders of HELPI participated in the event. Their efforts were so earnest that passersby joined them in their endeavour.

Mahatma Gandhi was against untouchability and had empathy for manual scavengers and cleaners. The society has changed a lot since those times but still there is a trust deficit between them and those they serve.HELPI is working towards bridging the trust gap between users and blue-collared professionals. It is a start-up which provides domestic helps and cleaners on an hourly pricing basis via a technology platform that connects customers with HELPI cleaners. Founded by three alumni of IIT Mumbai, the startup is bound to create a revolution in the manner we hire domestic aids and cleaners. The cleaners get notification on the jobs in the neighbourhood via an app, which also helps them in managing their jobs, as well as visibility on customer feedback and incentive accounting. The cleaning professionals thus not only gets job opportunities, they are imparted skills training to hone their cleaning as well as soft skills. The organisation provides a platform through which the cleaning professionals can earn up to twice the amount they were making when working independently, or with other contractors e.g. a full time domestic help generally makes 6-8 K whereas cleaner or a maid with HELPI can get upto 30,000.

IVRS was introduced by the agency to ease out the problem of Maids and helps who find it difficult to operate a smart phone. Other than augmenting skill development and providing upward mobility in the society to those who were not fortunate enough to get formal education, HELPI also organizes cleaning drives as a part of its CSR initiative. They have a firm organizational belief that India's communities can be cleaned easily if it becomes a mass movement, and everybody contributes 2 hours a month with their friends and family and participate in a cleaning drive.

Piyush Peshwani, founder, HELPI said, “We believe in the statement that, “God resides in cleanliness. And we are determined towards achieving it. Be it by providing our services or by wielding the brooms ourselves.”

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M3M Group, Medanta Hospital organize 3-Day Health Camp

Extending their support in community welfare initiatives, M3M Group tied up with Medanta- The Medicity and organized a 3 day free health checkup camp for construction workers working at their sites. 5243 workers got their health checkup done. The aim of the camp was promote health and hygiene at their respective sites. The camp was organized from 16 to 18 October 2015 at Experia Lawns in Sector 65. A one day blood donation camp in association with Lions Club and Unnat Gram Foundation was also organized in which M3M’s employees donated blood to meet the inevitable rise in the demand for blood because of the increasing dengue menace.

The tests were conducted by senior doctors Dr S K Taneja and Dr Dara from Medanta Hospital. Various tests were conducted free of cost including X-Ray; Blood Sugar testing; General Body Check Up; ECG; ENT; Eye Test. Free medicines, blankets and few household items were also distributed to the workers.  

The blood donation camp commenced with the valuable contribution of Mr. Roop Bansal. A total of 53 units of blood were collected under the blood donation camp.

Mr. Roop Bansal, Managing Director, M3M Group said, “We are extremely happy to organize this dual camp to share our commitment to all the people involved with M3M Group. As part of our corporate social responsibility under Healthy and Active living, a blood donation camp was held for all our employees and a 3-day free health check up camp focusing mainly on the construction workers at all our project sites was organized. We are thankful for the support and cooperation provided to us by Lions Club, Unnat Gram Foundation and Medanta-The Medicity.”

One of the construction worker said, “I am thankful to M3M Group for taking care of our health and conducting this health checkup that we would not have been able to afford otherwise. This was very beneficial for us as many costly tests were conducted free of cost and free medication was also provided. ”

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Mahatma's Legacy: Khadi sales spike, fibre not cheap any more

Pic Credit:www.mkgandhi.org

By Neeraj Bajpai: Known for natural lustre and rough texture, Khadi strands of late have turned livewire in more ways than one due to increasing footfalls at its nondescript and poorly furnished Bhandars, growing sales and demands for technological upgradation, decent payment and working environs to weavers and bridling cost of the fibre. 

Debates veer around whirring wheels of Charkhas. Leading from the front, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who had launched Khadi promotion blitz in his talk shows on radio waves a year ago, says the sales have almost doubled and more and more people purchase Khadi items now. Disputing the government’s claims, many say hype was being created by raising bogey of sales. Khadi and village industries top rung officials, keeping track of its sales and purchases across the country, wave ledgers to assert that purchases might be even higher than what had been collated by them so far.

In “Mann ki Baat” last year, Mr Modi had called upon people to buy at least one Khadi garment. He recently recalled the appeal had made an impact and sales have almost doubled and said it was not accomplished through advertisements, but it is the manifestation of immense power of masses and “what an experience”. He made it clear that he was not asking people to become totally “Khaddhar dhari ” but everyone must purchase some item of Khadi in coming Diwali. Mr Modi added that Khadi rebate programme, which starts on October 2 for a month, must be encashed by all and they should also patronise handlooms.

The Khadi craze was evident on this year October 2 when outlets across the country clocked one day sale of Rs.20 crore. As a mark of obeisance to the Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi, 48 offices of Khadi and Village Industries Commission remained open and 7050 sales outlets made brisk sales. The Khadi Bhandar at Regal building, here, touched sales worth Rs.80 lakh on the Gandhi Jayanti day.

This has resulted in growth of Khadi sales and consequent growth in production. Union Minister for MSME Kalraj Mishra said that after the PM's appeal, growth in sales rocketed to a 17.55% from October 2014 to March 2015, which is an almost three fold increase when compared to the previous corresponding period. After the appeal, growth in production increased by almost 6 times to 31.1% from October 2014 to March 2015 over the previous corresponding period. In 2014-15 Khadi production has reached Rs. 880 crore registering an increase of around 8.5% over 2013-14.

CEO and Commissioner, KVIC, Arun Kumar Jha says the sale of the Khadi Gram Udyog Bhawan, New Delhi, the departmental flagship outlet of the KVIC increased around 125 per cent in subsequent fortnight soon after the PM’s talk show.The total increase in sales during the period from October 2014 to March 2015 was around 68 per cent in value terms. 

The sale of Khadi which was at Rs.5.47 crore during the period October 2013 to March 2014 jumped to Rs.9.19 crore. According to him, the sale of readymade items of Khadi Gram Udyog Bhawan,Connaught place, increased phenomenally and the increase was around 86 per cent. All India sale of Khadi which was Rs.581 crore during the period October,2013 to March,2014 jumped to Rs.750 crore during the period of October 2014 to March 2015. The increase was around 31 per cent upto March alone

According to official sources, the government introduced Market Development Assistance (MDA) scheme giving full flexibility to the Khadi Institutions to organise their production & sales activity in the best way they considered appropriate. The MDA provided much needed boost to the Khadi programme. The government provided Rs. 324.64 crore for supporting Khadi Institutions (KIs) under various schemes during 2014-15 which is an increase of around 36% over and above the support provided by the Govt. in the preceding year i.e. 2013-14 which stood around Rs. 239.17 crore.

Khadi, officials say, the proud legacy of Mahatma Gandhi and potent tool of national freedom, is “ethical as well as ethnic”adding its USP is natural, hand crafted, eco-friendly, bio-degradable and non-exploitive fibre. It is a cloth woven by hand using handspun yarn only. Natural fibres namely cotton, wool and silk are used in the production. Khadi is identified by the direction of twist in yarn.In Khadi yarn twist direction is “S”. Usually it is called left twist or anti- clockwise twist.

Currently,there are 1.42 lakh weavers and 8.62 lakh spinners in the country and many demand decent returns to their skills. An estimate says that 9.60 lakh charkhas and 1.51 lakh looms churn out Khadi. Delhi University Professor of Mathematics, Vinod Tyagi, who still weaves Khadi on charkha and gives company to his mother in this task, says that the Khadi items have become “very costly” and the price of a dhoti is like “ladies’ decent cotton dhoti”.

Chennai based Ethiraj Gopal, an avid supporter of Khadi, says that it should be more trendy and quality be refined further to retain its crease for many days once it is starched properly. Mr Gopal, an advocate by profession, said that he travels around the country and feels that KVIC should make inroads in upscale markets and hotels for sale of traditional food items –organic eatables as it has sales potential and it would protect country’s ethnic food, having both medicinal and taste qualities. 

Many people also call for strict monitoring of the Khadi quality to checkmate entry of spurious Khadi and other KVIC items. Both on the khadi prize and quality, KVIC CEO said that they were implementing stringent norms to give Khadi brand only to quality products and "once sales volume increases,prices will come down".

KVIC was established in 1957 to leverage the unique characteristics of Khadi, the fabric of freedom, for economic upliftment of rural artisans and integrating the Khadi programme with the planning process of the country. Assigned to KVIC were social objective of providing employment and economic aim of producing saleable articles. Many say when the KVIC was established, its main objective was to develop village and Khadi industry but instead of vehicle of development, it has become a regulatory body sans textile engineers, marketing experts, designers and quality testing laboratories.

Officials say that in 2014-15, 2,223 institutions were engaged in the implementation of Khadi programme under KVI Sector. During this period the production of Khadi was around Rs. 879.98 crore and 11.06 lakh people were engaged in the activity. The production of Khadi in quantitative term was around 95.19 million sq. metre which is merely 0.15% of the entire textile production of the country. If compared to Khadi, Wool and Silk Sector of the country which is the traditional textile sector, the contribution of Khadi sector is over 11%.

In terms of the Khadi production in 2014-15,U.P produced 25.23 per cent of total production and its value was pegged at Rs.222.01 crore vis-a vis other states like TN -10.72 per cent ,Rs.94.33 crore,WB 13.27 per cent, value Rs.116.74 crore, Haryana 9.67 per cent, value Rs. 85.15 crore, Rajasthan 5.82 per cent ,value Rs.51.18 crore. Figures include production of Khadi –Cotton, Woolen and Silk.

Officials say schemes under Khadi include KVIC supported development of Khadi programme through various Central Sector schemes- Market Development Assistance (MDA), Interest Subsidy Eligibility Certificate (ISEC) Scheme for Khadi and Polyvastra, Scheme of Fund for Regeneration of Traditional Industries (SFURTI), Khadi Reform and Development Programme (KRDP), Workshed Scheme for Khadi artisan,Aam Aadmi Bima Yojana, Khadi Karigar Janashree Bima Yojana (JBY)), Strengthening Infrastructure of Weak Khadi Institutions and Assistance for Marketing Infrastructure Under the Raw Material Management scheme, in order to ensure quality raw material for the new model Charkha programme, the KVIC has set up up six Central Sliver Plants (CSPs) at Kuttur (Kerala), Chitradurga (Karnataka), Sehore (MP), Etah & Rae Bareli (UP) and Hajipur (Bihar) .

The total installed capacity of these plants is 4100 tonnes per annum and the production in 2014-15 was around 2700 tonnes. KVIC set up these plants in late 80s and early 90s with average investment of around Rs. 6.00 crore. The present investment to set up a new plant of the existing installed capacity is around Rs 12.00 crore however, these plants also have problem in their economy of scale as a CSP should have installed capacity of 2000 ton per annum per plant. Under its marketing initiatives for brand production, the KVIC developed three brand names “Khadi”, “Sarvodaya” and "DesiI Aahaar". 

While the Khadi showcases premium and export oritented KVI products , “Sarvodaya” serves to fulfil the needs of Fast Moving Consumers (FMCs) to domestic market segments and “Desi Aahar” is meant for marketing organic food items. Experts say that the Khadi should be a single brand and that should be promoted instead of three brands.

“Like swaraj, khadi is our birthright, and it is our life-long duty to use that only. Anyone who does not fulfil that duty is totally ignorant of what Swaraj is. "We cannot claim to have understood the meaning of swaraj till khadi becomes as universal as currency.", Mahatma Gandhi had said on promotion of Khadi. Amid these fast growing developments and leapfrogging aspirations, the Khadi sector faces a slew of challenges like limited technological upgradation for optimising process of value addition with assured quality, no scheme to strengthen and support production infrastructure of institutions/units, no scheme available to provide long term design developmental input, competition from Multi Nationals and Corporates, inadequate technical manpower, lack of resources for aggressive advertisement and promotional campaign and absence of enabling scheme to set up flagship stores.

Experts say developmental supports are needed for khadi and proposals inter alia are engagement of technical manpower to carry out technological upgradation of tools, implements and other productive infrastructure for optimising the process of value addition with assured quality, innovation in design and development of trendy products by engaging renowned designers from National design institutes. They say there is an urgent need to develop distinctive items with focus on younger generation which would also attract high street fashion designers for production of items having high demand and good returns, strengthening of marketing network available in the Khadi sector by totally revamping and modernising to enable them to compete with best in trade by providing all requisite facilities including information, knowledge and expertise.

According to them, the sector must involve prominent individuals and bodies who have shown interest in Khadi encouraging them to adopt areas, products, traditional industries clusters, arrange marketing and popularize Khadi and Village Industry products. The experts also seek opening of designers stores in select cities abroad to showcase and promote Khadi and Village Industries products there in a sustainable manner. They advocate setting up of a professionally run organisation to fully realise the marketing potential of the products produced in the sector by creating a demand pull situation.

(*Neeraj Bajpai is joint Editor with United News of India(UNI). Views expressed are personal)

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JD Institute of Fashion Technology students host Freshers Party

New Delhi, 16th October, 2015: The freshers party of the fashion institute was quite a fashionable affair. The senior students of JD Institute of Fashion Technology organized a grand freshers' party for their juniors who have joined this year.

The 300 budding students of Interior, Jewellery and Fashion Design arrived in style and were dressed following JAZZ theme-based dress code.

The party began with Mr.Rc Dalal, Executive Director of the institute addressing the students which was followed by a briefing on the present scenario in interior and fashion designing industries by Ms.Rupal Dalal, Director of the institute.

The programme was all about the various enthralling performances including dances and musical performances which were followed by the ramp walk, and through the ramp walk, Mr and Miss Fresher were selected.

The students were marked over the walk, dressing sense and presentation. All the students tried their best to impress the judges on stage.

The party was a hit among the new students as they enjoyed introducing themselves, posing for pictures and performing various tasks given to them by the hosts. There was a grand dance party and the students tapped their feet on fast tracks of Bollywood songs.

The seniors in turn too entertained the guests with some well choreographed performances. The party ended with the freshers taking home some beautiful mementos to commemorate the day.

During this occasion, Ms.Rupal Dalal, Director, JD Institute of Fashion Technology said "The objective of such programme is to provide an opportunity to familiarization of new batch of students with the existing ones, wherein enthusiasm of display of various skills and talents are also witnessed. Moreover, cultural programmes enhance the spirit of unity amongst the students through good interactions. Such activities boost morale of all new students, who have joined the institution this year."

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Yale University and Ashoka University expand Their Collaboration

New Delhi, October 16: Yale University and Ashoka University announced an expansion of their ongoing collaboration  today. During his visit to India this week, Yale University President Peter Salovey signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Ashoka University Vice Chancellor Rudrangshu Mukherjee that reaffirms the long-standing collaboration between Yale and Ashoka and establishes a framework to jointly develop opportunities through faculty-initiated and faculty-directed teaching and research activities.

Yale University is among the world’s pre-eminent educational and cultural institutions and an innovator in liberal arts education; Ashoka University is rapidly emerging as India’s premier international-caliber university focused on multidisciplinary liberal education, which transcends the boundaries between the arts and sciences.

The announcement acknowledges a relationship between the universities built over the past five years grounded in research, teaching, and mentorship. During this time, Yale and Ashoka faculty, administrators, and alumni have engaged in a wide range of initiatives where Yale has contributed to advising and shaping Ashoka’s curriculum and infrastructure in admissions, development, student affairs and faculty affairs.

As part of the framework, an existing Yale-Ashoka faculty committee will work to strengthen this relationship and explore opportunities for visiting faculty, visiting students, and joint research and publications. Yale and Ashoka will also explore innovative opportunities for student experiences in India and develop new models for research and teaching on the liberal arts and sciences within India.

Commenting on the event, President Peter Salovey of Yale University said, “I applaud Ashoka’s founders and its new administration and faculty for the courage they have shown in seeking not just to launch a new college, but to rethink and reimagine the possibilities for higher education in India, in collaboration with Yale and others around the world who are trying to do the same thing with respect to their own institutions, however well-established or respected.”

Ashoka Vice Chancellor Rudrangshu Mukherjee added, “Ashoka University is delighted that Yale University has agreed to be a partner. We look forward to working together and to being enriched by the long years of experience that Yale brings in the field of research and teaching in the liberal arts.”

The Yale linkages to Ashoka have been a vital element of Yale’s engagement with India through its Yale India Initiative, the Yale South Asian Studies Council, and other research and teaching activities. Ashoka faculty and students have often welcomed Yale faculty as visiting lecturers and guest speakers, and Yale and Ashoka have collaborated on joint conferences and programmes. Yale administrators have also met with Ashoka leadership during their visits to New Haven to advise on best practices in a range of areas of academic administration.

Additional linkages and activities between Yale and Ashoka include:

• Kalyanakrishnan Sivaramakrishnan, Dinakar Singh Professor of India & South Asia Studies and Professor of Anthropology and Forestry & Environmental Studies, is a member of Ashoka University’s Academic Council and is an active lecturer and faculty mentor.

• Geetanjali Singh Chanda, senior lecturer in the Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies Program at Yale, has regularly taught in the Young India Fellowship as a visiting faculty member; Nayan Chanda, Editor Emeritus of YaleGlobal Online, will join Ashoka’s faculty to develop a new programme in media studies.

• Yale faculty in anthropology, economics, history, history of art, political science and other fields have lectured or are planning to lecture at Ashoka during their visits to India.

• Yale Professor Steven Wilkinson’s book Army and Nation: The Military and Indian Democracy since Independence was published by Ranikhet Permanent Black in association with the Ashoka University Press as part of the Ashoka University Indian History Series.

• Ashoka’s Center for Political Data is advised by senior faculty and scholars from around the world including those at Yale.

• Yale Ph.D. graduates are members of the Ashoka faculty.

• Alumni of Ashoka University’s Young India Fellowship are now regularly being admitted to and matriculating in the degree programmes of Yale’s graduate and professional schools.

• Ashoka Study Abroad has established the Ashoka@Yale Summer Programme for its students with Yale Summer Session for Ashoka students who want to study in New Haven.

• Ashoka and Yale were among the collaborators on two international conferences in 2013 and 2015, in Bangalore and in New Delhi, on the future of liberal arts education in India.

Looking ahead, Yale and Ashoka faculty are in discussion on visiting appointments for Yale faculty; hosting Yale Summer Session course at Ashoka; hosting Yale courses and study trips at Ashoka; staging conferences and workshops such as the Yale Modern South Asia Workshop at Ashoka; and supporting the recruitment of Ashoka faculty from Yale’s Ph.D. students.

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Kathak brings Curtains Down on Old Fort Dance Festival

New Delhi, Oct 12, 2015:  After five days of breathtakingly beautiful performances showcasing India’s most loved classical dance forms, the Old Fort Dance Festival ended today with a memorable performance by legendary Kathak exponent Pandit Birju Maharaj, and his group of dancers.

One of the most noted exponents of Kathak, Pandit Birju Maharaj has received numerous accolades over the years including Padma Vibhushan, Sangeet Natak Academi Award and the prestigious Kalidas Samman.

Presented by the Sahitya Kala Parishad & Department of Art, Culture & Languages, Government of Delhi, the Old Fort Dance Festival was loved and enjoyed by the people of Delhi who turned up in large numbers to witness the performances.

Over five days, the audience of dance lovers in the capital witnessed brilliantly choreographed performances in Mohiniyattam, Bharatnatyam, Kuchipudi, Odishi and Kathak, with the majestic ruins of Delhi’s Purana Qila providing a fine ambience to this unique festival celebrating India’s classical dance forms.

“The repertoire of Indian classical dances represents centuries of culture and tradition that has been preserved and sustained by generations of devoted exponents and earnest artists. Across the globe, Indian classical dance forms are appreciated and loved by dance lovers. Such festivals help extend the reach of classical dance forms to not just connoisseurs of dance but also to common people,” says Pandit Birju Maharaj.

On the sidelines of the festival, critically acclaimed artist Manav Gupta displayed his latest installation – a waterfront of Ganga made out of chilams and diyas which are elements of nature. He has been working since long to create public art sculptures that generate concern towards sustainability. “This innovative art practice with potter’s clay (chilams and diyas) represents the tool as a means of getting intoxicated with the rain of love and also explores sustainable development,” said Mr. Gupta.

The five-day festival of choreographies in classical dance forms saw participation from legendary dance artists and their groups in multiple dance forms including Kuchipudi exponents Bharati Shivaji, Raja and Radha Reddy; veteran Odissi exponent and Padma Shri Madhvi Mudgal; Bharati Shivaji & Group who performed Mohiniyattam; and noted Bharatnatyam exponent Leela Samson and her group.

“The idea behind the Old Delhi Dance Festival to juxtapose cultural heritage with structural heritage was a wonderful concept. The Purana Qila presents a poignant background to the performance of India’s most notable classical dance forms, some of whom originated centuries back in ancient and medieval times,” says Ms Leela Samson.

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China is going to be Big Market for Indian Handmade Carpets

India Carpet Expo at Varanasi has witnessed the overwhelming presence of 350 overseas buyers, in addition to 276 buying representatives, in the first three days.


A delegation from Yiwu city of China visited the India Carpet Expo on 13th October, 2015 on an invitation from CEPC. Mr. Wang Bi Rong, Director General Bureau of Commerce led the delegation of eight members to study the qualities of Indian handmade carpets displayed by 303 exporters from all over India.

 

The delegation from CEPC was led by Shri Kuldeep R. Wattal, Chairman, CEPC, accompanied by all Members of Committee of Administration of the Council.  A presentation was made about the economy and market position of the Yiwu City, by Mr. Wang Bi Rong.  

The Chinese delegation was very excited to visit the Expo and informed that they witnessed a very high quality in Indian handmade carpets, which they did not find in China. The delegation was confident that the Indian handmade carpets would get a very good sales response in Yiwu City. 

They informed that after the Expo, they will discuss with CEPC in arriving at a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for promoting and selling Indian handmade carpets in Yiwu. CEPC Chairman, Shri Kuldeep R. Wattal expressed hope that such collaborations would give a boost to exports of Indian carpets to China. 

While thanking CEPC for hosting them and giving them an insight into Indian handmade carpets industry, Mr. Rong, the Director General, expressed the desire to have a strong representation of Indian Handmade Carpet Exporters in Yiwu City in their May 2016 show. Chairman, CEPC appreciated the efforts of the delegation in making Indian carpets popular in China; he also assured them that the industry is looking forward to China as a  whole and Yiwu City in particular,  adding that China will be one of their major business partner countries in coming times.

Shri Ravinder Jaiswal, MLA, Varanasi also visited India Carpet Expo and saw the arrangement and facilities available at the fair ground.  He met the participating exhibitors also and appreciated the new developments made by the Indian carpet manufacturers. 

He met overseas buyers and Chinese delegation as well and assured the carpet exporters and CEPC that he will apprise Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi of the efforts made by Carpet Export Promotion Council in providing excellent infrastructure to the manufacturers from Varanasi-Bhadohi-Mirzapur belt in promoting Indian carpets and helping the artisans and weavers of this area.

Some of the leading and reputed buyers from US, U.K., Brazil, South Africa and other European countries who visited the fair spoke very encouragingly about the display of various handmade carpets, floor coverings and arrangements made by the organizers. 

Organizers are extremely happy with the results till today and hope that more and more buyers will come on the last day of the Expo as well, on 14th October, 2015, and make this Expo a very successful one. 

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Annual Meet of Global Schools’ Alliance in Gurgaon from Oct 14

New Delhi, 13 October 2015: Great educators from top rated schools around the world are coming together in Gurgaon for the first-ever annual meeting of the Global Schools’ Alliance (GSA). The agenda for this year’s event is “Co-creating the world’s best schools”. Due to the fact that the first and only school from India, Vega School, was the latest addition to the group, the head of GSA, Lene Jensby Lange from Denmark, chose India as the host country for the inaugural meeting.

Between 13th and 16th October, the heads and founders of progressive schools in the US, UK, New Zealand, Cambodia, Indonesia, Denmark, and India will travel to Delhi NCR to attend the 3 day annual conference and exchange research and best practises about how children learn. The GSA will also set goals on how to collaborate with each other for the coming years and select projects on which children can work together internationally. The three day conference will conclude with a Gala dinner where the international guests will speak with about 250 parents in Gurgaon whose children will form the first class of the school.

Sandy Hooda, Co-founder of Vega Schools, said, “Great educators from truly amazing schools like Allan Kjaer Andersen, Director ofØrestad Gymnasium in Denmark and Sandra Jenkins from Freemans Bay School in New Zealand, are coming here to share their experiences. We think there is a lot for Indian schools to learn from their counterparts and help put the child at the centre of learning.”

GSA head Lene Lange finds Gurgaon a very interesting place educationally. She said, “I see a lot of schools coming up in the region who intend to be progressive in nature. Schools in India still need to change a lot in order to become truly progressive 21st century schools”.

Within the GSA, partner schools and faculty are continuously learning from each other. Schools exchange research studies, best practises, and host other member schools’ teachers for visits and teaching opportunities. Students attending member schools also benefit from the partnership. Barbara Cavanagh from Albany Senior High School in New Zealand finds it very important for children from different kinds of schools to work together on projects, “Through online facilities children are able to collaborate with students in other countries on projects. By doing this they learn about different cultures and how to work together with people from different backgrounds. Our students are really excited about this.”

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The NorthCap University organizes academic economic fest - Arthshastra 2015

The NorthCap University recently organized its academic economic fest ‘Arthshastra 2015’ in which more than 500 economics and management students from various colleges and universities across Delhi NCR participated. The main aim of the fest was to give the students an insight into the world of economics.

It was organized by School of Management, NCU. Dr GB Singh, an independent economist and a visiting faculty member, Economics and Planning Unit, Indian Statistical Institute (ISI), Delhi Centre, graced the occasion as the Chief Guest.

The fest was also attended by Prof. Prem Vrat, Pro-Chancellor; Brig SK Sharma(Retd), Pro Vice-Chancellor; Dr Charu Shri, Head, School of Management; Dr DR Agarwal, and Mrs Archana Mehra. There were different events conducted to make students understand the concepts of economics namely Stock Fusion, a mock stock market; Seal the Deal; Idea buzz; Abhivyakti, a business board game and a quiz.

Students were invited from over 100 private as well as government colleges and universities. The winners were given cash prizes and certificate of participation to all participants.

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Mohiniyattam at Purana Qila: Old Fort Dance Festival Opens With a Bang

New Delhi, Oct 8, 2015: The majestic ruins of Delhi’s Purana Qila came alive today with the enchanting dance form of Mohiniyattam, as the five-day Old Fort Dance Festival opened to a resounding response.

Bharati Shivaji & Group opened the festival with a performance of Kerala’s beautifully graceful Mohiniyattam, one of the eight classical dance forms of India recognized by the Sangeet Natak Academy. Performer-choreographer, Bharati Shivaji is a Padmashri award winner whose name is today synonymous with the exquisite Mohiniyattam.
Presented by the Sahitya Kala Parishad & Department of Art, Culture & Languages, Government of Delhi, the Old Fort Dance Festival will showcase over five days some of India’s most treasured classical dance forms.

Hon’ble Chief Minister of Delhi, Shri Arvind Kejriwal inaugurated the festival this evening; Hon’ble Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi, Shri Manish Sisodia was the Chief Guest; and Hon’ble Minister of Water, Tourism, Art, Culture & Languages, Shri Kapil Mishra the Guest of Honor.

The festival of choreographies in classical dance forms will see participation of veteran and legendary dance artists and their groups in multiple dance forms including Pandit Birju Maharaj, Madhvi Mudgal and Leela Samson, among others.

“The repertoire of Indian classical dances represents centuries of culture and tradition that has been preserved and sustained by generations of devoted exponents and earnest artists. Across the globe, Indian classical dance forms are appreciated and loved by dance lovers. We believe the festival will help extend the reach of classical dance forms to not just connoisseurs of dance but also to common people,” says Pandit Birju Maharaj.

“The idea behind the Old Delhi Dance Festival to juxtapose cultural heritage with structural heritage is a wonderful concept. The Purana Qila presents a poignant background to the performance of India’s most notable classical dance forms, some of whom originated centuries back in ancient and medieval times,” says Ms Leela Samson.

Eminent Bharatnatyam exponent, Leela Samson and her group will perform on the second day of the festival, bringing the expressions and sculpturesque poses of Bharatnatyam to an audience of Delhi’s dance lovers.

Kuchipudi, the classical dance form from Andhra Pradesh, will be the dance of the day on the third day of the Purana Qila Dance Festival. The eminent dancing couple of Raja and Radha Reddy and their group will bring alive the much-loved art form from south India.

The oldest surviving dance form of India, Odissi will be at centre stage on the penultimate day of the festival, with Padma Shri Madhvi Mudgal choreographing the performance of the soft and graceful dance form.

The festival will end with a performance of Kathak choreographed by none other than Pandit Birju Maharaj and his Group. The legendary exponent of Kathak has received numeours accolades over the years including Padma Vibhushan, sangeet Natak Academi Award and the prestigious Kalidas Samman.

So, if you are a lover of unadulterated classical dance traditions, mark your evenings this week for a memorable rendezvous.

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Adding Extravagance to FDCI Amazon India Fashion Week

New Delhi 8TH October ,2015 :Typhoo UK’s finest tea brand since 1903 joined hands with India's biggest fashion extravaganza-FDCI Amazon India Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2016 and brought alive a stylish Tea Bar adding steam to this haute affair.

Celebrating the high spirit of fashion Typhoo Tea Bar hosted the post show success party for Designer Payal Pratap Singh. The party was well attended by fashionistas and friends of the designer. Prateek Jain, Gautam Rakha, Gautam Seth, Sunaina Chibba, Vikrum Baidyanath to name a few.
The Typhoo Tea Bar served their discerning audience visiting the fashion week and part of Delhi’s stylish milieu. Fulfilling their need to stock, sip and enjoy a rich variety of teas and delightful mocktails, the Typhoo Tea Bar will offer a tasting opportunity of over a dozen flavors and genres.
Besides the expected Earl Grey, Darjeeling and Assam teas, the Typhoo Tea Bar conjures up exciting fruit and herb based beverages, both hot and cold.

Typhoo Green teas (Traditional Tulsi, Masala, Coconut, Jasmine, Lemon Grass and Moroccan Mint, Plain green tea), Typhoo Fruit Infusions (Orange Spicer, Lemon & Lime Zest, Blackcurrant Bracer). Typhoo Black teas (Classic Assam, Darjeeling, Gold, 24 Carat tin, English Breakfast) and Typhoo flavoured teas (Earl grey, Masala chai, Adrak chai, Elaichi chai, lime & lemon) will be showcased amongst various mocktails.

Typhoo will host few more signature events at the Typhoo Tea Bar where fun cocktails and mocktails are rustled up with its fruit and herb based Fruit Infusions range. Some celebratory affairs @ Typhoo Tea Bar are with designer Pia Pauro’s on 9thOctober, designer Aneeth Arora’s post show party on 10th October (wherein visitors will have the sneak peak of Typhoo’s 100% Organic Infusions) concluding with designer Komal Sood’s and Sidhartha Tytler's stylish post show party on 11th October.

A stylish brand that caters to the young and fashion conscious consumer, Typhoo views the Amazon India Fashion week as a perfect platform to showcase their beverages.

Subrata Mukerji -Typhoo India Business Head, said, “We are delighted to have an association with The FDCI Amazon India Fashion Week. Typhoo has selected an extremely exciting range, to serve at the fashion week that compliments the many moods of the creative personalities who will be present at the event.The explosive burst of enticing fresh fruits and exotic herb flavours of100% natural fruit infusions and black tea range. The highlight of the evening will be a creative twist rendered by our innovative and expert mixologists. Who will create unusual concoctions for you to experience Tea like never before!”

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ATDC holds Training Program on Knowledge Enhancement in Textiles

ATDC (Apparel Training & Design Centre), India’s largest vocational training network for the apparel sector conducted a Customized Training Program for 45 days on Knowledge Enhancement in Textiles and Fabrics. The training was conducted for the top and senior managers of M/s ITX Services India, INDITEX (Zara) at their premises.

The training program was designed especially for professionals from non textile backgrounds. They were introduced to the Indian textile industry and basic study of textile. More than 23 participants attended the program.The training program was divided in 12 sessions which included the understanding ofNatural Fibers - Cotton & Flax, Natural Protein Fibers – Silk & Wool, Understand Fabric Construction Textile Dyeing and Printing, Finishing of Textile.

Training of trainers program was conducted by ATDC TOT Academy, a leader in Apparel sector. It is setting benchmarksof quality parameters in apparel industry. TOT Academy upgrades the knowledge base of the industry. The key objective of the Academy is to bring about an overall systematic change in the Apparel Industry while providing better quality trainers for industry.

Speaking on the occasion Dr. Darlie Koshy, DG & CEO, ATDC congratulated the entire Team of Training of Trainers Academy for the lead it has taken in this training and encouraged the team ZARA to take the initiatives to the next level of training especially in quality upgradation.

Ms. Roopali Shukla, Head, ATDC Training of Trainers Academy said, “ This customized training program was a unique blend of theoretical and industry relevant practical knowledge, and also shared that in one of the activity participants were blind-folded and were ask to identify the fabric with the smell of the burning fibre”

The concluding session was followed by the Valedictory function at ATDC Gurgaon. Dr. to address the participants to distribute participation certificate to the team from M/s ITX Services India; INDITEX (Zara).This was followed by the participation Certificate Distribution ceremony.

A delighted participant Ms. Triptman Kaur said, it was an amazing experience going through training phases like Understand Fabric Construction: Knits, Natural Protein Fibres – Silk & Wool, Manufactured Fibers: Synthetics & Regenerated Fibers Identification Methods etc. with ATDC Trainers”.

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Alia Bhatt unveils Autumn Winter collection for Jabong

After two successful clothing lines, B-town’s favorite style icon, Alia Bhatt unveiled her Autumn-Winter’15 collection exclusively on Jabong.

Splashes of blue, military prints, patent LBDs, edgy monochromes – all this and much more is available in Alia Bhatt’s well-awaited 2015 collection that aims to have your closet replicate the actor’s, known for her sartorial sense.

The collection, which primarily has four themes - Military, The Blues, Boho and Black & White, befits the actress’ personal sense of style. The actress-designer made sure she personally sat through those rigorous brainstorming sessions and discussed what works and doesn’t for her line. Alia feels the best part of the collection is that it doesn’t need much accessorizing; and you can just play with the make-up and you’re ready to go.

Alia Bhatt, Bollywood star and also the designer for the label Alia Bhatt for Jabong, said, “My collection largely is a reflection of my own sense of style which is easy yet glam. Fashion for me is a natural expression. It is as inherent as my personality. Alia Bhatt for Jabong line is meant for young at heart smart women, who love easy, affordable and edgy fashion. I define my Autumn/Winter 2015 collection as experimental yet wearable. Instinctive and unpredictable at the same time, it combines elements from both sports and work wear.”

Within just three weeks of its preview launch on Jabong.com, Alia’s AW15 collection has already broken the last year’s record by selling nearly double the number of apparel it did during the launch of her AW14 collection.
Jabong was voted as the leading consumer brand among all online fashion retailers in India according to a July 2015 report by Nielsen, a leading global information & measurement company that provides market research and insights in more than 100 countries. In the last year alone, Jabong’s total orders increased by a whopping 131.7%, while the total number of transactions went up by over 158%.
Jabong has in the past tied up with designers such as Gaurav Gupta and Rohit Bal for exclusive lines. The fashion e-commerce portal has also exclusively launched well-known international brands such as TOPSHOP, TOPMAN, Dorothy Perkins, Miss Selfridge and River Island in the Indian market.
Trend highlights from Alia Bhatt for Jabong
Military: The Military inspired trend is amongst Alia’s personal favourites. This is the first time that the actor is incorporating it in her own collection. There are pants, crop tops, blouses, jackets – all with subtle utility detailing.
Boho: The Boho theme is very wearable, comfortable and stylish in autumn colours and a strong Seventies vibe.
The Blues: This trend is dominated by fun denim jackets, boyfriend jeans, gap denims, distressed denims etc. It’s young, stylish and androgynous.
Black & White: This monochrome line is a chicer mini collection with a focus on soft tailoring and formals. It adapts well as day-to-night and the styles also work as eveningwear.

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Open Sesame

The Bundelkhand region of Uttar Pradesh conjures up a picture of poverty and backwardness in the minds of most people. The area has lagged behind agriculturally and economically due to its typical geographical terrain and climatic conditions.

The UP part of Bundelkhand comprises of seven districts falling under the Jhansi and Chitrakoot divisions respectively. The rabi crop is good here and high value crops like gram, lentil, pea etc are grown in the area in large quantities. However, the farmers of the region have largely depended on one just one crop; the area sown during kharif is much smaller.

Traditionally, in comparison to the area sown during Rabi, farmers cultivate only about 50% of the area during the season of Kharif in Bundelkhand. While the net cropped area during Rabi is approximately 18.50 lakh hectares, the area cropped during Kharif has hovered around 9 lakh hectares. The primary reason given is that the region suffers due to Anna Pratha.

This is a traditional system under which people leave their milch cattle unfettered to graze in the fields. These cattle eat up the crops and therefore the farmers are not inclined to sow their lands during the season of Kharif. This does not happen during the rabi season as he farmers keep their cattle at home. To understand this phenomenon, one has to appreciate the peculiar circumstances prevailing in Bundelkhand. Firstly, the entire area has traditionally been rainfed and suffers from shortage of water.

Due to the vagaries of monsoon, the farmers have preferred not to sow their fields. Secondly, the average size of the landholdings in the region has traditionally been much bigger as compared to the average landholding size of the state due to the low population density here. Therefore it was possible for the farmer to make do with even one good crop in the past but not so any longer. The situation has now changed with the increase in population and the size of average landholdings has gone down substantially in this region also.

Thirdly, due to the area being rainfed, there is a general shortage of fodder also in the region during the summer season. This forced the farmers to leave the cattle free to survive on whatever came their way in the fields. This slowly became an accepted practice and farmers stopped sowing their fields during the Kharif season in Bundelkhand. Such vast area remaining uncropped is also a national wastage of sorts for the country.

During last two seasons of rabi, due to unseasonal rains and hailstorm in Bundelkhand, farmers suffered severe losses in 2014 and 2015. The coverage of farmers under crop insurance in Bundelkhand is to the tune of 15%, which though much higher than the state average of 4-5% is still very small. As the farmers are mainly dependent on the proceeds from Rabi in the region, this was a big jolt for them. They were desperately looking for some additional income, when the state government stepped in with a unique policy announcement. Realizing the potential of cultivation of sesame (til) in Bundelkhand during kharif, the subsidy on its seeds for the farmers of the region was increased five times from Rs. 20/kg to Rs. 100/kg.

The decision to promote sesame was taken consciously in the light of the fact that the cattle do not eat this crop. Sesame seed was procured in large quantity to be distributed to the farmers of the area. An aggressive campaign to promote sesame cultivation during kharif was launched. Departmental officers, NGOs, district and divisional officers and all others concerned campaigned actively for increasing the area under sesame and also for generally bringing more area under coverage as compared to the last year’s figure.

The result has been extremely encouraging. As compared to kharif 2014, an additional 2 lakh hectares has been cultivated in Bundelkhand this year, out of which almost 1.25 lakh hectares additional area is under sesame! The premise that if farmers are able to get proper return from their crop then irrespective of Anna Pratha they would plant crops, has turned out to be correct! This has been made possible with the active intervention of local administration.

During my recent visit to Jalaun district, the farmers were thankful to the administration for restricting those farmers who used to leave their cattle unfettered to graze in others’ fields, which has resulted in the increased coverage. Along the Orai-Jhansi highway, it was a treat to watch kilometres and kilometres of sesame on both sides. The arrangement of fodder for the cattle is also a crucial issue, which definitely needs to be addressed. If the farmer has the purchasing power, he can definitely buy the required fodder from the market.


The economics of sesame cultivation is revealing. It is a crop meant for the rain fed areas. There is no dearth of market for the produce as there are very few countries cultivating sesame whereas almost every country consumes it in some form or the other. Sesame oil is used for cooking, making sweets, massage, medicinal and cosmetic purposes and many other uses. Sesame seeds are used for preparing sweets like gajak, rewari, laddoos and tilkut in India, tahini sauce in Middle East and on top of buns and burgers in the west. It is also used for different rituals on religious occasions. Sesame gets a better price for the farmers than the other oilseeds in the market.

This episode reminds one of the story of Alibaba and forty thieves. When Alibaba said “Open Sesame”, the mouth of the cave would open up showing a hidden treasure of wealth. This is an “Open Sesame” moment for Bundelkhand, a real turning point. Due to the highly deficient rainfall, the returns this year to the farmers may not be very lucrative but it holds tremendous hope for the future. The pattern of agriculture during kharif may have changed in the region for ever.

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Indo-China Joint Military Exercise HAND-IN-HAND 2015

The Indo-China Combined Military Training Exercise HAND-IN-HAND 2015 will be conducted from 12 to 23 October 2015 at Kunming Military Academy, Yunnan, China.

The exercise will bring together troops of an Infantry sub-unit and a formation headquarter of Indian Army and similar participation from the Chinese Army for the joint training. This will be the fifth exercise in the Hand-in-Hand series, which started in 2007. This exercise will strengthen and broaden interoperability & cooperation between both the Armies as well as complement a number of other exchanges between the two forces. Over the years, the two countries have decided to progressively increase the scope and content of the combined training. The twelve day exercise will lay emphasis on joint handling of insurgency at sub-unit level and related issues, while the aspect of Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief will be discussed at formation headquarters level.

Commanders and Staff Officers of both sides will work in close coordination to receive and collate intelligence and to issue suitable operational orders to the combined field training components, who in turn will execute these orders on ground. The exercise curriculum has been planned progressively where the participants will initially be made to get familiar with each others organisational structure, weapons, equipment and tactical drills. Subsequently, under Joint Tactical Exercises Battle Drill of both the armies will be rehearsed.

A Consolidation and Validation Exercise will be witnessed by senior officers and observers of both Armies at the end of the Joint Training, in which troops of both nations will carry out sub-unit level counter insurgency operation training. 

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Tolerance and co-existence are basic tenets of our civilization, says President

The President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee has said that tolerance and co-existence are basic tenets of our civilization. He was replying to written questions from Al Ghad, an Arabic daily of Jordan on the eve of his visit to Jordan, Palestine and Israel from October 10 to 15, 2015.

The President said “I have noted the speech made by His Majesty King Abdullah in the UN General Assembly on September 29 this year in which he has proposed seven steps to promote values of tolerance and co-existence in the face of extremism.  Tolerance and co-existence are basic tenets of our civilization. We hold them very dear to our hearts.

Our first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru propounded the five principles of peaceful co-existence amongst nations.  I agree with His Majesty King Abdullah that the world is confronted with a third world war to which we must respond with equal intensity.  I also agree that we must go back to the essence of our respective faiths and creeds.  Hate speech and fear mongering should come to an end.  Our values should become part of our daily life.

We must amplify the voice of moderation.  We should not permit religion to be used as a mask to satisfy hunger for power and control of some individuals.  I completely agree that leaders of every country, every belief, every neighborhood need to take a clear and public stand against intolerance of any kind, as called for by His Majesty”.

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Intertek inaugurates New Project

Intertek, a leading quality solution provider to industries worldwide, inaugurated its new project on the occasion of the first anniversary of the Swachh Bharat initiative. Recognizing its role and commitment toward the society, Intertek undertook this initiative to enhance general hygiene and sanitation of the Mohan Co-operative area as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan.

Mr. Nidhin Valson, Assistant Commissioner of Police, South East Delhi in the presence of Mr. Anil Kumar, Chairman and Mr. Rajesh Saigal, Regional Managing Director South Asia Intertek, inaugurated the initiative. The Mohan co-operative area consists of slum clusters that lack sanitation facilities and suffer in terms of health and quality of the environment. The initiative comprised of activities including maintenance/provision of adequate drainage system to promote sanitation, filling of the pot holes to avoid water borne diseases, ensuring regular cleanliness of the area and promoting a green environment by regular upkeep of plantation activities.

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Maharashtra No. 1 State for its Tourism potential

Mumbai: The survey compiled by HVS in association with the World Travel & Tourism Council, India Initiative (WTTCII) rated Maharashtra after analysing the state-wise potential of Travel and Tourism in India, and assessing the relative competitiveness of different states in the country.

The evaluation has been carried out for 30 states. Maharashtra ranks 1 in this year's survey moving up one position from the previous edition. The state benefits from a strong economy, good infrastructure, presence of a sizeable quantum of branded hotel rooms and a variety of demand generators to occupy these rooms. In line with these factors, Maharashtra has recorded perfect scores in four parameters – tourist visits, GSDP per capita, effectiveness of marketing campaign and aircraft movement. The state has performed well across all other parameters with the exception of its expenditure on tourism.

Ms Valsa Nair Singh, Secretary State Tourism and Cultural Affairs, GoM, said, “We are proud of being ranked as No 1. This recognition is prestigious, as Travel and Tourism is an integral part of our economy and we are happy that we stand as number one in attracting tourists. This is a team effort, through innovative promotional campaigns, marketing strategies, planned - focused and aggressive ideas we have reached such milestones and we are motivated to do better every day. Our recent thumping success of MITM attracted global buyers and sellers and we are confident to grow over the magic numbers in coming years, making Maharashtra number one destination on the world map.”

As per the Tourism Highlights 2015 Edition report by the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), the total number of International Tourist Arrivals (ITA) worldwide was 1,133 million in 2014, India attracted 0.67% of the world's international tourist arrivals out of which Maharashtra attracted 4.5 million tourists from foreign countries and over 8.4 million domestic tourists, which is largest than any other state in the country.

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Eco Recycling Ltd launches E-waste Mukt Bharat

India is home to a mammoth magnitude of e-waste arising mainly from the abandoned, obsolete or broken electrical or electronic devices. Thanks to India’s fast increasing load of e-waste originating from household consumption, enterprises and imports. All these put together, India’s E-waste is expected to grow to 20 million MT by 2020 from 3.2 million MT in 2015 consisting of monetary value of recoveries from e-waste to the tune of USD 4 billion (INR 25,000 crore) and expected to touch to 20 million MT by 2020.

A Social Drive called as ‘E-waste Mukt Bharat: Swachh Bharat’, hopes to contribute to the Prime Minister’s Mission of ‘Swachh Bharat Abhiyan’. Ecoreco envisage setting up 100,000 “Eco-Bins” across India in educational & spiritual places to facilitate individual and other small e-waste generators to ‘Deposit e-waste for Disposal’ with ease, effective & economic way of provide robust ‘E-Waste Collection Centres’ to the masses, so that every item of E-waste generated, be it a chip board, mobile handset or a mobile battery, can be thrown in allocated areas at various destinations.

Eco Recycling Ltd (Ecoreco), a BSE listed Company (Scrip Code: 530643) is India's first and leading professional E-waste Management Company. As the industry pioneer and market leader, Ecoreco provides an end to end seamlessly integrated solution for e-waste management to Multi-National Companies (MNC), Indian Multi-National Corporates (Indian MNC), other Corporates, Retailers, Bulk Consumers, Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM), Government Departments, NGOs, Households, Philanthropy Organisations, Educational Institutions and all other entities willing to discard their e-waste in an environment friendly manner.

Founded by Mr B. K. Soni, Chairman and Managing Director of the Company, Ecoreco has ISO 9001, 14001 & 18001 Certified Facilities. To meet the international standards and practices, Ecoreco preferred technologies from US, Europe & Japan to develop India-centric solutions. Ecoreco has developed its in

house technologies for recovery of Precious and Rare Earth Metals from the complicated e-waste, Recycling on Wheels Facilities for Data Destruction and Lamp Recycling Facilities for on-site & off-site services amongst other value added services.

Today, Ecoreco boasts of a unique business model that has evolved to meet changing customer needs and regulatory requirements of the India’s e-waste management industry. Its end-to-end services start from Removal of the asset from the client’s premise, Inventorization, Packing, Reverse Logistic, Data Destruction, Asset Recovery, Dismantling, E-waste Recycling, Lamp Recycling, Precious Metal Recovery, Extended Producers Responsibility (EPR) Implementation, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Enabling on pan India basis as well as in other neighbouring countries either directly or through its association with World Class E-waste Recycling Companies.

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2015 NASI-Scopus Young Scientist Awards

New Delhi, October 6, 2015–Elsevier, a world-leading provider of scientific, technical and medical information products and services, and the National Academy of Sciences, India (NASI)  announced the winners of the 2015 NASI-Scopus Young Scientist Awards.

The awards ceremony, held at the Hotel Hyatt Regency, New Delhi, was attended by more than 125 guests representing India's top scientific community. The awards were presented by Dr. R. Chidambaram Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India & Chairman Scientific Advisory Committee to Cabinet.

Elsevier first launched the Scopus Young Scientist Awards in 2006.In India, theprogram was officially institutionalized within its scientific community through Elsevier's collaboration with NASI in 2009. The program honors young researchers who are building their careers in academic research and helps them gain recognition of their work.

This year’s NASI-Scopus Young Scientist Awards program attracted nearly 650 applications from multiple premier research institutions acrossIndia. Applications were judged by a panel of 32 subject experts from India's academic community. Elsevier provided quantitative analyses using data from Scopus, the largest abstract and citation database of peer-reviewed literature.Furthermore, the jury looked at criteria such as:

·         Quality and number of publications;
·         Nature and uniqueness of research;
·         Outcomes of research;
·         Impact on society;
·         Vision of the researcher.


Special consideration was also given to novel and innovative ideasthathold potential for commercial application.

Per discipline, the award winners are:

Agriculture
Dr. GnanavelVenkatesan
Scientist
Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Nainital

Dr. Swarup K. Parida
Staff Scientist
National Institute of Plant Genome Research, New Delhi

Biological Sciences
Dr. Suvendra Nath Bhattacharyya
Principal Scientist
CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Biology, Kolkata

Chemistry
Dr. Subi Jacob George
Associate Professor
Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research, Bangalore

Earth, Oceanographic & Environmental Sciences
Dr. Tarun Gupta
Associate Professor
Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur

Engineering
Dr. SubhransuRanjan Samantaray
Assistant Professor
Indian Institute of Technology, Bhubaneswar

Mathematics
Dr. UK Anandavardhanan
Associate Professor
Indian Institute of Technology, Mumbai

Medicine
Dr. Rajnish Kumar Chaturvedi
Scientist
CSIR-Indian Institute of Toxicology Research, Lucknow

Physics
Dr. G. V. Pavan Kumar
Assistant Professor
Indian Institute of Science Education & Research, Pune

Social Sciences
Dr. Subharati Ghosh
Assistant Professor
Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai

“NASI Scopus Young Scientists awards are now considered as a premier recognition of hard work, innovations and aspirations of young scientists of India” said Professor AkhileshTyagi, President, NationalAcademy of Sciences, India. “We are proud to associate with Elsevier for the same as they encourage healthy competition, instill confidence and help establish credibility of first steps taken in the pursuit of scientific excellence.

Youngsuk "Y.S." Chi, Chairman of Elsevier, said, “I congratulate this year’s winners who continue to advance research excellence in India and all around the world. At Elsevier we are honored to support these award recipients and other stakeholders across the Indian scientific community with highest quality content and cutting edge digital solutions. We are thrilled to be part of this exciting time for Indian Science, and tonight’s event is a celebration of this country’s commitment to driving forward innovation and growth through research”.

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