Odissi Performance Regales Audience at Old Fort Dance Festival

New Delhi, Oct 11, 2015:  Veteran Odissi exponent and Padma Shri Madhvi Mudgal and her group of dancers performed at the Old Fort Dance Festival today, bringing alive the oldest surviving dance form of India for Delhi’s connoisseurs of classical dance.

Presented by the Sahitya Kala Parishad & Department of Art, Culture & Languages, Government of Delhi, the Old Fort Dance Festival is showcasing some of India’s most treasured classical dance forms.

The festival, that will end tomorrow, has been much appreciated and loved by the audience who have turned out in good numbers every day. The majestic ruins of Delhi’s Purana Qila have provided a fine ambience to this unique festival celebrating India’s classical dance forms.

The five-day festival of choreographies in classical dance forms has seen participation of veteran and legendary dance artists and their groups in multiple dance forms including Bharati Shivaji, Raja and Radha Reddy, among others. Legendary Kathak exponent Pandit Birju Maharaj will perform with his group on the last day of the festival.

On the sidelines of the festival, critically acclaimed artist Manav Gupta is displaying 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”, says Mr. Gupta.

“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.

“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.

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.

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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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World Heart Day: Columbia Asia Hospitals organizes Walkathon

Gurgaon, Sept 28, 2015: Gurgaon Deputy Mayor Mr. Parminder Kataria today joined a large number of city’s residents including students, young corporate professionals as well as the elderly in a Walkathon organized by Columbia Asia Hospitals, Palam Vihar to drive people towards healthy lifestyles and physical activity ahead of World Heart Day.

Despite cardiovascular diseases becoming more of a disease driven by lifestyle rather than genetic predisposition, a radical shift towards heart healthy living is yet to be achieved in India. While urban Indians have adopted western lifestyles and food habits, they are yet to adopt the high degree of consciousness towards health. The walkathon was aimed at awakening people about the importance of heart and its health, and the need for regular physical activity to prevent cardiovascular disease.

Under the message of ‘Walk, Run, Stay healthy, the walkathon was flagged off by chief guest, Mr. Parminder Kataria, Deputy Mayor of Gurgaon, and witnessed a wide participation from corporate heads and professionals, customers, staff members, consultants and relatives and friends of patients.

The walkathon started at 6.30 am and covered a stretch of 3 kms from Columbia Asia Hospitals, Gurgaon, to Palam vihar block A and B and back to the hospital. The event also saw participation from 350 individuals who ran across the track and covered up to 9 kms.

“It is a matter of concern that urban Indians especially in cities like Gurgaon are today highly exposed to unhealthy lifestyles and the resultant high risk towards cardiovascular diseases. Amidst the high stress of daily sedentary lives, it is very important for people to draw some time daily to indulge in physical activities such as walking, running or yoga. It is good to see a healthy participation at the walkathon as it shows that awareness about healthy living is increasing,” said Mr. Parminder Kataria, Deputy Mayor, Gurgaon.

Organized in association with Run with Me Foundation, the “Stay Healthy Walkathon” by Columbia Asia Hospitals, Gurgaon is a special initiative on World Heart Day. The effort aims to educate people about the importance of healthy lifestyle in ensuring a long and productive life.

“Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are the leading cause of deaths across the world, including in India. While, the risk of acquiring CVD increases with age, unhealthy lifestyle factors such as poor diet and lack of physical activity today are making relatively younger people prone to the disease. Research shows that even 30 minutes of daily exercise can reduce the risk of acquiring cardiovascular disease to a large extent. This can be done by adopting simple measures like taking stairs instead of elevators, parking your vehicle at a distance from your office, walking to the nearby market rather than driving. It is very simple, yet it needs consciousness and motivation. Activities such as the Walkathon are aimed at increasing consciousness and providing motivation,” said Dr Sanjat Chiwane, Consultant Cardiology, Columbia Asia Hospital.

The walkathon also saw active participation of schoolchildren from Chirag School and Rotary School Gurgaon, working professionals to the city’s elderly residents and Senior Citizen Forum. Additionally, encouraging more people to join the walk were the runners and experts from Run With me Foundation.

“Enrolling in expensive gyms and fitness centers is not necessary. Basic health can be maintained even by walking and running daily. This can reduce the risk of several diseases including diabetes, hypertension and heart disease. With cardiovascular diseases (CVD) becoming an epidemic, it is important to educate people about its causes, prevention and treatment. While treatments are available today, it is best to prevent disease by adopting a healthy and active lifestyle,” said Dr Amit Gupta, Consultant Cardiology, Columbia Asia Hospital

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Paras Hospitals organises Mini Marathon on World Heart Day

Gurgaon, Sept 28, 2015: India’s leading kabaddi player and captain of U Mumba Pro-Kabaddi league team, Anup Kumar today joined Gurgaon’s citizens for a mini marathon as part of Paras Hospitals, Gurgaon’s initiative to promote the absolute importance of running, walking and exercising to fight the cardiovascular disease epidemic facing India.

The mini marathon saw active participation of a wide spectrum of people from school children, working professionals to the city’s elderly residents who ran across a 5.5 km stretch from Paras Hospitals, Gurgaon to HUDA City Centre.

Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are the leading cause of deaths across the world, including India. While, the risk of acquiring CVD increases with age, unhealthy lifestyle factors such as poor diet and lack of physical activity today are making relatively younger people prone to the disease.

Anup Kumar, the Arjuna awardee kabaddi player, who recently led U Mumba to a spectacular victory in the 2015 Pro Kabaddi League, joined the mini-marathon as Chief Guest. He advocated greater focus towards sports and physical activities in schools and colleges to improve public health.

“Physical sport is a great way of keeping oneself fit. Fitness is a habit that needs to be instilled in people right from their young age. I believe it is important that schools and colleges give more focus to sports for their students so that we not only reap more successful sportspersons but also a healthy generation of Indians,” said Anup Kumar.

Aimed at encouraging and motivating people to make heart health a focus, the “Our Health Our Heart” mini marathon is a special initiative by the hospital on World Heart Day. The effort aims to awaken people about the importance of healthy lifestyle in ensuring a long and productive life.

“While medical advancements have increased life expectancy of the world’s population, unfortunately our lifestyle shifts have curtailed this achievement by augmenting our risks for several diseases. Factors such as sedentary jobs, near total mechanization of work, heavy dependence on technology, unhealthy food habits, and highly stressful lives that include irregular sleeping patterns form the prime reasons for the surge in prevalence of heart disease today. 

The prevalence of this faulty lifestyle is higher in city like Gurgaon where the people live by deadlines. Long working hours, night jobs resulting in irregular sleep, excessive dependence on fast food, absence of any physical activity and high degree of stress are common factors today. We need to counter these negative factors by adopting positive modes of action such as regular physical exercise, running, jogging and walking every day. 30 minutes of exercise daily goes a long way in reducing our risk for several diseases including diabetes, hypertension and heart disease,” says Dr. Tapan Ghose, Director and HOD, Cardiology, Paras Hospitals, Gurgaon.

Starting at 7 am, the marathon covered a stretch of nearly 5.5 kms, with wide participation from corporate personnel, school and college children and other residents of Gurgaon, the mini marathon recorded an encouraging footfall of nearly 400 Above people from all age groups.

“Cardiovascular diseases are not only the world’s largest killer but also the silent ones. With no specific symptoms, CVD tends to develop slowly until they cause a heart attack or stroke all of a sudden one day. Factors such as hypertension, diabetes, stress or depression often increase the risk of developing CVD. Through a marathon we not only want to draw youngsters to the idea of exercise but also exhort the administration for creating exercise friendly environment in the city including clean and safe spaces to walk, run or cycle,” said Dr. Bharat Kukreti, Senior Consultant, Cardiology, Paras Hospitals, Gurgaon.

The benefits that running brings to heart health are known to everybody. Running improves heart healthy by increasing blood circulation that further forces the heart to pump more blood. Likewise, not only the blood circulation improves but also the muscles of heart become strong and active. Running helps keep body weight in control, thus checking another risk factor for heart disease. It also helps reduce risk of high blood pressure and diabetes.

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Ferns N Petals Weddings hosts Wedding Fraternity Meet 2015

Ferns N Petals (FNP) Weddings, leader in the wedding planning arena since two decades in India, successfully hosted a grand evening to celebrate the fourth edition of Wedding Fraternity Meet (WFM) at The Ritz, Gurgaon. FNP played host to some of the biggest names in the business of wedding planning with the chief guest being Mr Daniel Ost-Master Floral Designer from Belgium.

Mr Vikaas Gutgutia, Founder and MD, Ferns N Petals said, “Wedding Fraternity Meet is an exclusive initiative for industry to come together and share their expertise in such a big experiential platform. WFM has grown big in last 3 years. This year we had best of the brands from the entire wedding arena collaborating with us. I am hoping WFM Season 4 will be a grand success”.

The evening commenced with anchor Nakuul Mehta welcoming the guests and introducing moderators Swati Pandya Sood-Director, Ferns N Petals and Samit Garg- Founder Director E Factor to the audience.

After the exchange of pleasantries and handshakes and hugs the movers and shakers of the wedding industry engaged in a debate on the topic “Weddings: 2020- Society v/s Industry- the scenario of wedding industry 5 years down the line”.

This year there were 2 sets of panellists- one side depicting society and the other depicting wedding fraternity, each discussing their own perspectives. Speakers representing Fraternity included prominent names like Prince Lakshya Raj Singh Mewar- Executive Director HRH Group of Hotels, Mr Aditya Motwane - Founder & Director Motwane Entertainment & Weddings, Ms Seema Pande- Corporate Director of Sales & Partnerships of Emaar Hospitality Group and Emaar Hotels & Resorts, Ms Nupur Mehta Puri- Editor Harper’s Bazaar Bride and Mr Vikaas Gutgutia, Founder & MD, Ferns N Petals.

The Speakers representing Society included prominent names like Mr Naveen Ansal- Business Head Casa Paradox, Mrs Raseel Gujral Ansal-Creative Head Casa Paradox, Mrs Neelam Pratap Rudy, and Ms Sanjana Jon-Fashion Designer.

The discussion was based on emerging trends, futuristic weddings, facts, and fiction and technology trends in the future. The grand evening came to a close with stellar performances by Sufi Singer Lalima Dixit and Bollywood Singer Janki Parekh.

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ATDC holds workshop on ‘Skill Knowledge Enhancement’ in Gurgaon

Continuing with its training programs and workshops in the Apparel Industry, ATDC (Apparel Training & Design Centre), India’s largest vocational training network for the apparel sector organized a 3 day workshop on ‘Skill Knowledge Enhancement’ aimed at training the supervisors and floor managers. The workshop was held at ATDC Gurgaon and various experts from the industry guided the participants. Mr. Nimish Dave, CEO & Founder, The Idea Smith; Ms Neera Chandra, Consultant; Team of Experts from Shahi Exports Pvt. Ltd under the guidance of Shri J D Giri, Director, Shahi Exports Pvt. Ltd imparted the training to the participants. More than 30 participants from various industries of Apparel sector attended the workshop. Prominent among them were Blackberry’s (KLPL), Blackberry’s (AVM), Shahi Exports Pvt. Ltd, Gupta Exim India Pvt. Ltd and Panorama Industries.

This training was professionally designed so that the participants could understand their roles and responsibilities and also learn the ‘Best Practices’ from Leading Experts of Apparel Industry. They were enlightened that they should focus on productivity, quality and cost, without applying and implementing these three aspects one cannot contribute to the optimum utilization of the resources and growth of organization. Workshop sessions were conducted and the focus areas were Garment classifications, Measurements Techniques, Fundamental of specs sheets, Seam and stitches, Industrial Engineering basics, Workflow in the apparel industry, SAM/SMV calculations, Productivity and quality improvement and compliances in the factory etc.

Dr Darlie Koshy, DG&CEO ATDC & IAM encouraged the participants and said that “While this 3 days’ training programme has given the impetus for supervisory staff to especially look at Industrial Engineering, Cost Saving Methods and Labour Control and Motivation. It is necessary that training is taken as a continuous process. The example of Mr. Julferkar Ali Bhutto who has been trained for 8 months to compete on the world stage. The word ‘Skills’ are a very different level in Korea, China etc. and we need to train staff at every level including the labour force to become more efficient and productive. He requests the export community to continuous focus on training and retraining for better commitments and for improving competitiveness.

Shri J D Giri, Director, Shahi Exports Pvt. Ltd also shared his views “In apparel industry too, we have challenges as well as solutions. This is the time to go full steam. The industry is under immense pressure due to open-costing era and it’s about time to bring greater efficiency in value creation. This calls for higher levels of automation, productivity and quality in manufacturing. He also feels this is hard to keep the shop floor ticking. Correct techniques and knowledge permits automation and this is the key to efficiency.

This workshop was conducted by ATDC TOT Academy, which trains the trainers. It is an institution that operates as a resource centre which sets benchmarks and overall quality parameters for those in the business of skilling in the apparel sector. TOT Academy upgrades the knowledge base and skill levels of the faculty resources to develop industry oriented approach in their pedagogy. 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.

The training particularly benefitted Supervisors, floor in-Charges/Managers and the middle Level managers who play a pivotal role in Apparel Production Manufacturing Organizations. They are the backbone of the apparel industry and are responsible for training and guiding their subordinates and can ensure finesse and increased productivity.

TOT Head, ATDC, Ms. Roopali Shukla said, “Today newer technologies have swept the skilling movement and it is imperative to provide quality training. It is not just enough to certify learners. It is important to train them well and equip them for a better tomorrow. ATDC as always with its latest strategies & techniques is well poised to train the professionals in right direction”.

Speaking on the occasion a delighted participant Mr. Vipin Sharma, Gupta Exim India Pvt. Ltd said, “I have learnt a lot in this 3 day training programme as it was interesting, easier to grasp and with this learning I can extend my efficiency”.

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Koenig Solutions recognized for Being a Great Employer

Singapore, Aug 14 ,2015: India’s leading IT training institute Koenig Solutions has been honored at the prestigious CMO Asia Awards for its innovative HR practices that make employee happiness the cornerstone of the organization’s policy.

Koenig Solutions was awarded the "Organization with Innovative HR Practices" at the sixth edition of the prestigious Asia's Best Employer Brand Award at a ceremony held at Singapore this week. On behalf of Koenig Solutions, Mr. Sanjay Manocha, Manager, Branding & Marketing Communications, received the award.

Asia's Best Employer Brand Award is hosted by Employer Branding Institute, World HRD Congress and Stars of the Industry Group, & Endorsed by Asian Confederation of Business.

At the grand event held at Pan Pacific, Singapore, awards were given out in 33 individual and 38 organizational categories selected out of several nominations from countries such as India, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Bangladesh participating at the event.

Koenig Solutions stands steadfast in its belief that happy employees form the bedrock of a successful organization. With this realization, the organization has worked relentlessly to mould its HR policies towards ensuring maximum employee satisfaction.

“Koenig’s culture and ethos have been created to encourage employees to feel cared for. That human resource is not to be treated as dispensable is our core belief. With this idea in mind, we have over the years adopted a series of innovative HR policies such as encouraging better work-life balance, following a strong approach to meritocracy and a inculcating a happiness paradigm in our everyday culture. We are proud to be a happy organization and this award further encourages us to continue innovating on HR,” says Ms. Sakshi Gaba Dhawan, Manager, Human Resource, Koenig Solutions.

Koenig was established in the year 1993 by Mr. Rohit Aggarwal in New Delhi as a modest training centre for the domestic market. However, in 2001, the dotcom bubble burst led Koenig to turn to offshore opportunities in order to remain afloat in a highly competitive market. Since then, Koenig has dramatically risen to be one of the most sought after IT education companies with delighted customers from over 50 countries across the globe. It is now the fastest growing IT training company in India with the largest no. of in-house trainers under one roof (more than 300).

Koenig Solutions also lays special emphasis on retention of talent. It follows a transparent system that encourages people to share ideas through open communication and feedback at all levels of hierarchy. The organizations practices engagement programs such as an internal book club, involving employees in CSR programs, continuous training and development.

Yoga at Koenig is a daily practice, and the company organizes free yoga sessions for its students, staff as well as society's underprivileged students. This is part of Koenig's Ethos and Koenig Culture to take care of your mind, body and soul.

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Audi Noida Glam Night

Tuesday 4 August 2015: Noida
Audi Noida opened its doors today for the glitterati and fashionistas of the city for a stylish evening featuring the talented designer Deepa Goyal. At a monochrome themed fashion extravaganza set amongst the opulent and plush interiors of Audi Noida, India’s largest 3S Audi Terminal, designer Deepa Goyal showcased her exclusive collection “d’Eclipse” in hues of bold black and whites. The collection took inspiration from the twilight hour with intense color schemes and asymmetric cuts and sharp silhouettes.
The exclusive by invitation only event was a combination of glamour and power as Audi TT and Audi Cabriolet took centre stage alongside the glamorous models. Driver focused, Innovative and Progressive – The futuristic and iconic Audi TT coupe is in a league of its own comes with a virtual cockpit which further redefines the interiors of this much sought after sports car with its brilliant graphics, 3D display and highly quality detailing and best in class features. Whereas the Audi Cabriolet another showstopper with its adrenaline pumping performance sets the heartbeats racing.


Deepa’s muse for this collection was the modern empowered Indian woman-deeply rooted in India’s rich cultural heritage and confident of her position in the 21st century. The collection comprised of sophisticated drapes, clean structures, premium fabrics and impeccable fit and finish. Speaking on the occasion Deepa says, “I wanted to surprise my audience with a bold collection. Keeping in mind the progressive brand values of Audi I designed my collection to seamlessly transition between contemporary couture and modern silhouettes. ”
Speaking on the occasion Mr. Tarun Kapoor, Managing Director Audi Noida and Audi Delhi West said, “We are delighted to showcase Deepa’s creations in our world class Audi terminal offering the largest collection of India’s No. 1 luxury car brand under one roof. We are committed to providing world class service and a unique and unparalleled luxury car purchase experience amidst the confines of India’s largest Audi Terminal. Keeping in line with our constant steps towards comfort, style and luxury Audi brings an experience of fashion to the table for its clientele. While the iconic Audi TT is the newest and futuristic car, the stylish and unique Audi cabriolet wins the hearts of young and young at heart alike.”
The crème dela crème of Delhi and NCR were present at the event and were seen admiring the monochrome collection of Deepa Goyal.

About Deepa Goyal:
The Deepa Goyal label embodies eminent flair for conception and design that truly captures breathtaking appeal in each of its individual creations. She manifests richness of style, cuts, drapes, colors and weaves in all her exquisitely handcrafted Couture. Her signature style is originality, as she moves between perfectly structured contemporary Couture statements and stunningly crafted Indian Bridal wear.
Her USP? Definitely the glam quotient, the desire to have her clientele stand out in a crowd with her unique cuts, her vibrant colors and her judicious choice of fabrics.
About Audi Noida:
• Largest and only after sales facility for AUDI in Delhi.
• Largest Audi 3S terminal in India in NOIDA.
• Best Debut Audi partner 2012.
• Best Audi Marketing partner 2012.
• Fastest Sales ramp up award 2013.

Achievements & Accolades
• Best Debut Audi Dealer- 2012.
• Best Marketing Manager Category B -2012.
• Best Audi Investor 2013.
• Best Audi Approved Plus Partner 2013.- Ist runner Up
• Best Qualitative Partner after Sales – 2ND Runner Up.
• Largest Workshop of Audi in India
• Largest 3S Audi Terminal in India.
• First Approved Plus Facility In Delhi.
• Highest YOY Growth-Fastest Ramp up.

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ATDC Conducts Workshop on World Youth Skills Day

In light of Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently launched Skill India campaign on World Youth Skills Day and National Skill Development Mission Document, aiming to skill 400 million Indians by 2022, ATDC organized a two day workshop on ‘Skilling India’. The workshop was conducted on 15th & 16th July at their different centres and campus pan India.

Speaking on the occasion Dr. Darlie Koshy DG & CEO, ATDC said, ‘The “World Youth Skills Day” is celebrated across the world on 15th July.  It is particularly a happy day for ATDC as Julferker Ali Bhutto, a student of ATDC Rohini center will be representing India at the World’s Skills Meet from August 14th to 17th in Sao Paulo, Brazil having won at National level in “Fashion Technology” section in the world competitions.

Under this scheme, the government will provide financial assistance ranging from Rs. 5000 to 1.5 lakh to 34 lakh youth seeking to attend skill development programmes over the next five years. 160 training partners and 1,722 Trainers are connected with National Skill Development Mission. Under the dynamic leadership of Mr. Rajiv Pratap Rudy, the Hon. Minister for Skill Development, a new version of Skill Development Policy 2015 has been brought out with a separate section on entrepreneurship.

ATDC is launching ‘Apparel Manufacturing and Entrepreneurship’ as a new three year B.Voc programme, which will open up avenues for potential Gen next entrepreneurs. With currently 12 million people directly working in the apparel sector alone, it has the highest employment potential with 9 million additional people required till 2022.  ATDC is the largest skill-vocational training provider in the country with over 176 centres having trained over 165,000 candidates under ISDS.  The Ministry has given a further target of 78,000 candidates for the next 2 years to be trained across ATDC-SMART centres.

Apparel Training & Design Centre (ATDC), under the aegis of AEPC has emerged as India’s Largest Vocational Training Network for the Apparel Sector with around 200 ATDCs including 65 ATDC Vocational Institutes and over 135 ATDC- SMART Centres and Skill Camps present in major Apparel clusters spread across 22 states & 85 cities Pan India.

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Indian Spinal Injuries Centre marks 50 Years of Mount Everest Expedition

Indian Spinal Injuries Centre Commemorates 50 Years of India’s Historic First Successful Expedition to Mount Everest

New Delhi, June 1 2015: Four surviving members of the India’s first successful expedition to Mount Everest came together today to relive the historic moment that put them on top of the world, literally, 50 years back in 1965.


A mammoth five decades have elapsed since they became the first ever one-country expedition to climb the Mount Everest, but that hard fought victory remains the most cherished moment of the lives of the few surviving legendary members of that historic team.

Indian Spinal Injuries Centre, organized a special golden jubilee celebration to commemorate the historic episode and re-unite the team that made India proud on a fateful May morning in 1965. Reunited after years, the members of the mountaineering fraternity indulged in nostalgia, as they recalled the difficult expedition and the events preceding their final victory.

Capt M S Kholi, the leader of the Indian Everest Expedition Team, 1965 was the Chief Guest of the day. The celebrations were joined by Col N Kumar, the Deputy leader of Indian Expedition 1965, and Major HPS Ahluwalia, one of the members of the Expedition Team, 1965.
Col H S Chauhan, President, Indian Mountaineering Foundation, also joined in the special golden jubilee celebrations at the Indian Spinal Injuries Centre and spoke about how advancement in technology over the years has helped in making difficult mountaineering treks easier today.
In May, 1965, 19 brave hearts, led by Captain M. S. Kohli and assisted by 50 Sherpas and 900 porters, stretched themselves beyond limits of human endurance and made history by putting nine climbers -- Major HPS Ahluwalia, Ang Kami, Phu Dorji, Harish Rawat, Sonam Wangyal, Nawang Gombu, Avtar S. Cheema, C P Vohra, & Sonam Gyatso on top of the world, electrifying an entire generation of Indians.

Such was the national euphoria that acting Prime Minister Gulzarilal Nanda, along with Defence Minister Y.B. Chavan, led the historic reception that was accorded to the team on their return to New Delhi at the Palam Airport.

Interestingly, India had held its first expedition to Mount Everest in 1960 and then in 1962; but both failed due to bad weather. Eventually the 3rd expedition of 1965 brought glory and pride as India became the first country in the world to put 9 men atop Everest in a single expedition.
The celebrations were followed by a special screening of the film, ‘Everest 1965’.

“I am often asked how I felt on the summit of Everest. When we finally stepped on the summit, it was freezing cold, maybe 30 degrees below zero. We took a long, wheeling look from the highest point on the earth. There were Mt. Makalu and Lhotse, Nuptse and Kanchenjunga looming on the horizon and host of other endless peaks far below us. The view was unforgettable. Of all the emotions which surged through us as we stood on the summit looking over miles of the panorama below us, the dominant one was perhaps of humility. The experience makes you conscious of your smallness in the immeasurable universe,” says Major HPS Ahluwalia.

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Workshop on Compensation issues in Clinical Trial Industry

With a young and informed workforce, high density of population and prevalence of all major diseases, India is an attractive destination for conducting clinical trials. However, lack of clarity surrounding recent regulations and guidelines are hampering new research projects, pushing some of them to other countries.

In this light, Deptt of Academics and Research, Fortis Health Care headed by Prof Upendra Kaul, today organized a one of its kind workshop to bring together all key stakeholders on one platform, generate a discourse on the key subject and raise the issues that need to be clarified or ironed out.

Supported by JK Risk Managers and Insurance Brokers Limited, the “Workshop on compensation issues in Clinical Trial Industry - Harmonization and Solutions” aims to create a more open and conducive environment and to let the policy makers realize the progress made in executing new trials and some of the issues which are still of concern so that clarifications are made in this regard.

The day-long discourse had as speakers senior members of regulatory body (DCGI), Dy.Drug Controller General Mr A K Pradhan, Sponsors of Clinical Trials like Astra Zeneca, Boehringer Ingelheim, Medtronics, Boston Scientific, Biotronik, St Jude etc., representatives from Clinical Research Organizations (CROs) like Quintiles, Max Neeman etc and representatives from Insurance Companies like ICICI Lombard, New India Insurance, and Oriental Insurance etc.

The clinical aspects will be brought to light by senior doctors from the Fortis chain of hospitals including reputed Medical Oncologist Dr Vinod Raina, leading Neurologist Dr Shamsher Dwivedi, apart from eminent Cardiologist Prof Upendra Kaul. Other prominent personalities who have been associated with the field of Clinical trial in India such as leading clinical pharmacologist Prof Ranjit Roy Chaudhury; Dr. S. K. Gupta - Director & Dean, Institute of Clinical Research (India); and legal luminaries such as Dr B T Kaul Chairman, Delhi Judicial Academy.

“India offers a very lucrative environment for clinical trials. It has a large English educated young population including scientists and researchers. India also offers significant cost advantage as compared to developed and other emerging economies, 40- 60% lower than in developed countries and around 10- 20% lower than emerging economies. Indian companies have already proven its capabilities in discovering and developing drug candidate molecules and they are highly capable in research and development particularly in drug discovery. Given the concerns raised globally about practices in clinical trials, Indian authorities have rightly revised their guidelines to make the process more transparent. We as stakeholders need to make sure that there is absolute clarity about the new guidelines, efficiency in execution and rectification of lingering concerns so that crucial clinical trials go on smoothly,” said Dr Kaul.

India has 3–4 million scientists, 500 investigators, 572,000 doctors, 43,322 hospitals and dispensaries and about 8.7 lakh beds including both private and public. Many of these scientists are English-speaking and have an excellent technical skill. A number of contract research organisations , pharma companies from developed countries forging R&D alliances with Indian companies because they offer quality and cost-effective services in medicinal chemistry, formulation development, and toxicology areas. These alliances are also giving preclinical candidates or clinical candidates proof of concept in humans.

The scope of the workshop was to track & discuss the current regulations in clinical research which have been made by the regulatory authorities during the last few years. These new guidelines were made to make clinical research more transparent, ethical and meaningful. The issues of proper consenting process and regulations for compensations for the subjects participating in clinical trials evaluating drugs or devices have also been incorporated as new rules. Many of these guidelines and rules still are not very clear to various stakeholders involved in clinical research leading to hesitation to start new Research projects.

As they discussed the issues around clinical trials in India, the organizers and participants hoped to instill greater confidence in various stakeholders regarding the progress made in encompassing the amended guidelines so as to get India back on the global map as a safe, logical and efficient clinical trials hub.

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V Resorts bags the PATWA International Award

Resorts, a chain of boutique resorts in offbeat destinations of India, recently received the Pacific Area Travel Writers Association (PATWA) International Award at ITB Berlin 2015, the world's largest tourism trade fair. At a gala awards ceremony following the World Tourism & Aviation Leaders Summit on Culture: Vehicle for Tourism and PATWA International Seminar in Germany, V Resorts was selected as the ‘Emerging Chain of Resorts in India’.

Commenting on this honor, Aditi Balbir, Founder & Managing Director- V Resorts, said, “V Resorts brings superior quality and standardization to the less explored but breathtaking destinations of India. We have also broken new ground in immersion travel by exploring and developing many unique experiences for the leisure traveller in India. This honour shall further motivate us and we will continue to strive for higher service standards that create bespoke holiday experiences for our guests.”

Backed by institutional investors and a team of experienced professionals; V Resorts is a growing chain of boutique properties where homely interiors, impeccable service, local cuisine, caring staff and contemporary technology blend to create an experience that is both warm and intimate. The company offers advanced management services to owners of properties between 5-25 rooms located in beautiful unexplored destinations where nature, peace and solitude reign supreme. V Resorts already has 6 properties across 3 states bordering Delhi and recently raised approximately $2 million in pre-series A funding from seedfund for further expansion.

This year's PATWA International seminar was attended by many acclaimed personalities from the global travel and tourism industry. The list of esteemed speakers included Dr. Taleb Rifai, Secretary General, UNWTO; Dr. Mahesh Sharma, Minister of State for Tourism, Culture & Civil Aviation, Government of India; Eglantina Gjermeni, Minister of Urban Development & Tourism, Albania; Amel Karboul, Minister of Tourism, Republic of Tunisia; Mohamed Nazri, Minister of Tourism and Culture, Malaysia; Mohamed Hisham Abbas Zaazou, Minister of Tourism, Egypt; Martin Buck, Vice President, ITB Berlin and Ray Bloom, Chairman, IMEX Group were in the panel of speakers at the event. The event also featured a celebration of International Women’s Day during the award ceremony.

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Chankaya IAS Academy to conduct Seminar Art of Success

Reputed coaching institute for UPSC preparation, Chanakya IAS Academy will organizing AK Mishra’s Art of Success Seminar at New auditorium, Maitreyi College, New Delhi on Feb 18th, 2015 from 12 pm until 3pm. The renowned Success Guru AK Mishra is the chief speaker of the Seminar. The seminar will be largely attended by students from different departments of the College.

‘AK Mishra’s Art of Success’ seminar is a special programme which has been developed by Success Guru AK Mishra. Through this special programme he gives the mantras of success to the Civil Services aspirants as well as he gives the insight to get success in every sphere of life. After learning these mantras, aspirants get the ability to rectify even tiny weaknesses and hence they march onwards with more sincerity and conviction for building the path to success. In this programme Success Guru extricate the unique inner forces of human being and present its scientific interpretations. This programme is very popular throughout the country. In this seminar SuccessGuru A.K.Mishra will discuss the importance of development of administrative traits in civil services as an important condition for their success in the civil services examination. He will briefly explain “How to discover yourself?”

Success Guru AK Mishra gives emphasis on the development of leading abilities, ethics, social responsibilities and capable minds. He explains how one can attain the heightened form of his/her success. In this programme he will guide the audience to get success in future, by narrating many inspirational stories, showing movie clips and by explaining motivational incidents.

Successful candidates passed out from Chanakaya IAS Academy and those who are working as an IAS, IFS and other civil servants are invited in the program. This approach will help in supporting Success Guru’s thought on success and raising motivation level in the participants. Motive behind the invitation of successful candidates is to trigger the spark within students to serve their country and how to succeed in the chosen field with right focus, dedicated hard work and the struggles they faced during the preparation.

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Foodhall’s Wine and Cheese Festival

It’s a love affair that just refuses to end. From the days of Charlemagne — who ordered local tithes to be paid in Pinot Grigio wines— to General de Gaulle, who voiced the dilemma of “governing a country producing 324 different kinds of cheese”. Wine & Cheese have been together for decades enhancing the world’s gastronomic bliss. Foodhall is all set to showcase the best quality Cheese & Wine from all across the globe to add up to India’s culinary eminence. Soak in the spirit of love with a special wine and cheese festival, as Foodhall helps you pair the wines with an array of cheeses and condiments.

Discover the rarest of rare pairings of wine, cheese and fruits as Foodhall unfurls, the widest assortments to pick, choose and pair, from all over the world under its arcade. From Gouda paired with Merlot, from Parmesan paired with Chianti wine to Double Gloucester paired with Zinfandel wine, Foodhall vows to offer an array of cheeses and wines, this Valentine month!

Experience the sweet ways of saying you care, as the innovative kitchens at Foodhall rustle up whole new range of bakery and patisserie products like Cheddar Cheese scones, Sundried tomato and feta baguette, cheesecake, Apricot and Prune cheesecake Soufflé, Lemon ricotta Cheesecake, to pamper the taste buds of you and your loved ones.

An ambrosial range of freshly baked strawberry cheese cakes, heart shaped cookies, heart shaped macaroons, awaits you, under the warm arcade of Foodhall.

The live kitchen at Foodhall promises great infusions with cheese and wine. An extensive range of dips ranging from the Blue Cheese dip to Cracked Pink Peppercorn & Chive Cream Cheese dip to Roasted Garlic & Rosemary Cream Cheese to Tomato Nigella chutney to Caramelized red onion relish, Foodhall has them all to offer!


Date: All throughout February
Timings: 10:30 am to 10:00 pm
Venue: Foodhall@ DLF PLACE Saket, Foodhall@ DLF Promenade & Foodhall@ Central Mall Gurgaon

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2nd Cultural Dialogue on Contemporary Cultural Issue

An air of excitement was evident at the 2nd Cultural Dialogue on Contemporary Cultural Issue at the National School of Drama recently. The event witnessed the presence of Sh. Waman Kendre (Director National School of Drama) Mr. RC Dalal (Executive Director, JD Institute of Fashion & Technology), Mr. Ajit Rai (a renowned Film Critic) and Mr. Anuj Garg (MD of IAAAN Institute of Mass Communication).

The Cultural Dialogue was addressed by Mr. Nasarullah Qureshi, The Festival Director, Bollywood Festival Norway on the gaining popularity of Indian cinema in Europe especially among the people not familiar with Hindi and English as a language.

He also talked about how Indian cinema is changing the way Europe looks at India.

On felicitating Mr. Nasarulla Quershi, Mr RC Dalal said, ‘It is a moment of sheer pleasure and pride for all of us to come together and honour Mr. Quresh for his tremendous contribution in popularising Indian Cinema in Europe”.

The event ended on a note that such cultural dialogues are essential and should be initiated amongst different strata’s of the society to keep up the culture and tradition alive amongst the youth of our nation.

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NIIT Limited CEO Designate Felicitated With the Distinguished Alumni Award

NIIT Limited CEO Designate Felicitated With the Distinguished Alumni Award 

NEW DELHI, 

Mr. Rahul Keshav Patwardhan, CEO Designate, NIIT Limited, a global skills and talent development corporation, has been felicitated with the Distinguished Alumni Award at The Daly College Indore, by Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Chief Minister, Madhya Pradesh.


Receiving the award, Mr. Rahul Keshav Patwardhan said, "This is indeed a very proud moment for me. I feel honored to have become part of the great legacy, of being recognized as a distinguished alumnus of The Daly College. This institution has helped shape my thinking and has been my learning ground for lessons in leadership, teamwork, discipline and fair play, which I value even to this day. I accept this medal on behalf of all my professors, my batch mates and my family. I look forward to seeing the future generations take significant strides in their profession to further establish the honor of their alma mater."


A distinguished alumnus of The Daly College, Indore and an MBA from IIM Calcutta, Rahul has spent first 20 years of his career in diverse roles with NIIT.

He has returned to the company with 10 years of extensive global experience in scaling managed services operations with Logica.

With a proven track record and excellence in strategy, technology services management, training services and channel management, Rahul is now spearheading the transformation of NIIT's offerings and brand positioning in the global skills and talent development space.

Photo caption:
From R to L: Mr. Rahul Keshav Patwardhan, CEO Designate, NIIT Limited, receiving Distinguished Alumni Award from Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Chief Minister, Madhya Pradesh

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University Rankings: Significance, Pitfalls and Implications for India

University Rankings: Significance, Pitfalls and Implications for India – Presentation to be Held on Sunday January 4 at the 102nd Indian Science Cong

MUMBAI, January 1, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -

India''s universities and research institutions account for 10% in the THE Top 100 University Rankings for BRICS Countries and Other Emerging Economies (2015), but did not make the cut for the Top 10. Why not?

In THE Top 100 University Rankings for BRICS Countries and Other Emerging Economies (2015), India's top institutes only rank 25 or higher. Research based on SciVal*, presented at the 2015 ISC, shows that Indian institutes would benefit significantly from stronger collaborations, either internationally or between academia and industry.

Some key findings include:
Academic - corporate collaborations are shown to have a very strong, positive influence on citation impact: 5 x for IIS, 3-12 x for IITs, and 14 x for India overall.
Impact of international collaboration is very positive: 1.5-4 FWCI for the highest ranked institute, IIS (ranks #25), with a significant jump in citation impact for collaborations with Cambridge (x2), UC Berkeley and Harvard (x3), Ohio State (x4).
Panjab University, is the highest ranked Indian university (ranks #39), benefitting strongly from its international collaboration in high-energy physics.
For international articles from India, esp. India-EU and India-US there is steady growth: 50% in 5 years, and doubling forIndia-China but from low level.

Overall conclusion by Dr. Michiel Kolman, SVP Global Academic Relations Elsevier; "Collaboration (international or corporate-university) can significantly boost India's research performance and will impact rankings positively. Leading science nations, such as US, China and EU have strong high-impact collaboration potential for India."

Why are university rankings important? What variables influence university rankings? On which of these variables do Indian universities and research institutes perform well? On which points should they focus on to boost their overall position in the rankings next year?

During his presentation Dr. Kolman will zoom into the BRICS ranking results, using research data from Scopus to further analyse the research performance of Indian universities and research institutions. He would provide valuable insights on publication output, impact, the influence of international and corporate collaboration, patents, and compare results to universities from other BRICS countries.

Presentation details

Indian Science Congress, University of Mumbai, 3-7 January 2015

Presentation: University Rankings: Significance, Pitfalls and Implications for India

Presentation date: Sunday January 4, 9:15 am, Green Technology Auditorium (GT-001)

By: Dr. Michiel Kolman, SVP Global Academic Relations, Elsevier

Current standing of Indian research institutions in THE BRICS and Emerging Economies Ranking (2015)

Rank 25: Indian Institute of Science: Score 37.6

Rank 37: Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay: Score 33.3

Rank 38: Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee: Score 33

Rank 39: Panjab University: Score 32.9

Rank 43: Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur: Score 31.6

Rank 44: Indian Institute of Technology, Madras: Score 31.5

Rank 56: Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi: Score 29

Rank 71: Jawaharlal Nehru University: Score 25.9

Rank 74: Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur: Score 25.8

Rank 78: Aligarh Muslim University: Score 25.4

Rank 98: Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati: Score 22.6

More information on the THE BRICS and Emerging Economies Ranking:

http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/world-university-rankings/2015/brics-and-emerging-economies

*SciVal is a research metrics analysis tool, part of the Elsevier Research Intelligence portfolio of integrated tools and services.

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