Tourism Minister R.V. Deshpande is seen presenting the award to Rohit Mehta, CEO, Skanray, as Union Minister Ananth Kumar and others look on.
Bangalore :
Skanray, a Mysore-based Primary Healthcare Technologies Company, has won the prestigious Export Excellence Award in recognition of its significant contribution to the State’s Forex earnings.
Union Minister for Chemicals and Fertilisers Ananth Kumar and Tourism Minister R.V. Deshpande presented the award to Rohit Mehta, CEO and Executive Director, Skanray Healthcare business unit, at a function held at Hotel Taj Westend in Bangalore on June 21.
Shaida Mohammed Abdali, Ambassador of Afghanistan to India; Dr. Nahid Rashid, Commercial Consul, Embassy of Bangladesh; S. Sampathraman, President-Elect, FKCCI; R. Shivakumar, President, FKCCI; Tallam R. Dwarakanath, Sr. Vice President-Elect; K. Shiva Shanmugam, Immd. Past President; Sudarshan Tirunarayan, Secretary General, FKCCI; R. Krishna, Chairman, International Trade Committee, FKCCI, were present on the occasion.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> General News / June 25th, 2014
ConvaTec , has announced the opening of an advanced Wound Clinic and Limb Salvage Centre’ in association with M.S. Ramaiah Memorial Hospital in Bengaluru.
With 15 per cent of India’s total diabetic population develops foot ulcers resulting in approximately 45,000 lower limb amputations annually, the US-based company saw the need to open the facility in India.
The clinic has state-of-art technologies essential for prevention and healing of chronic foot ulcers . it would not just control the limb salvage rate but assess for peripheral circulation and predict wound healing.
While inaugurating the wound clinic, Naresh Reddy, president, M.S. Ramaiah Memorial Hospital, said that the initiative with ConvaTec would be one of a kind venture that would create a specialty clinic focusing on Wound Management in the country. This synergy will initiate new benchmarks and best technological and medical trends in our country.
According to Anand Shirur, managing director, ConvaTec India & China the Advanced Wound Clinic would change the way foot ulcers are perceived and treated in India.”
“An upsurge in incidences of limb associated complications necessitates the requirement for wound management and centres. This initiative will enable us to expand footprint for the benefit of the people across the country and fulfill the tenets of care required for foot diseases, he added.
The clinic is a ray of hope for patients suffering from foot and limb associated diseases. Amputations and complications are preventable, provided appropriate diagnosis and management is done at the right stage and with the launch of this clinic we aim to educate the patients and reduce these complications.
The Centre’s Wound Management Plan includes a standardised record of clinical assessment and etiology of the wound. The model of care would be to apply a stepwise approach implementing Advanced Wound Management modalities as a part of the wound care algorithm. All aspects of care from initial presentation to treatment and evaluation would be documented. Following assessment, treatment goals would be agreed with the patient and a time frame for their achievement set. Underlying factors which could influence the potential for wound healing would be addressed thus ensuring holistic and all round care as well as treatment.
The key focus of ConvaTec which kicked off operation in 2012 in India is Ostomy Care, Wound Therapeutics, Continence and Critical Care and Infusion Devices.
source: http://www.pharmabiz.com / PharmaBiz.com / Home> News> Hospitals & Clinics / by PharmaBiz Bureau , Bengaluru / Thursday – June 26th, 2014
CAMTech India, a public-private health partnership funded by the United States Agency for International Development, will hold its first medical technology ‘Jugaad-a-thon’ in Bangalore from July 18 to 20.
The Jugaad-a-thon will tap into the know-how of local experts in engineering, public health and business to develop new tools to improve healthcare, Elizabeth Bailey, director, Consortium for Affordable Medical Technologies (CAMTech) at Massachusetts General Hospital’s Center for Global Health, said in a release.
CAMTech India is working towards finding innovative ways to provide healthcare to women and children in India, Bailey said.
The Jugaad-a-thon (derived from the Hindi word jugaad meaning an innovative fix or work-around) will be a 48-hour event where 250 clinicians, engineers and entrepreneurs collaborate on new solutions for unsolved clinical problems.
Cross-disciplinary teams will work on developing functional prototypes and commercialising their innovations. At the end of the event, the teams will be awarded a variety of prizes to help take their innovations forward. The event is being organised in partnership with Glocal Healthcare and will be hosted at GE’s John F Welch Technology Centre in Bangalore. Applications can be sent by July 7. For more information visit: www.jugaadathon.com.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Bangalore / by Express News Service / June 25th, 2014
Ann Sarah Koshy is happiest pulling out sticky, wailing babies into the world. For her, delivering the bundles of poor women and sharing their joys matters most. Now, the young intern with a rural hospital off Sarjapur Road is off to Harvard University to research how Vitamin B12 helps in neonatal growth.
Ann, 22, who completed MBBS at St John’s Hospital, Bangalore, is the recipient of the Obama-Singh 21st-Century Knowledge Initiative. This fellowship was planned as a part of US aid in Indian education when President Barack Obama came to India in 2010. Ann was one among 10 students selected for the research mentorship.
“It hasn’t sunk in yet. I can’t believe they would approve my research and allow me to do a course in global nutrition,” she told TOI.
Ann, though, never wanted to be a doctor. She recalls, “When I was selected to give a farewell day speech in school, I saw my mother walk out to attend a surgery while other parents listened to me in rapt attention. I told myself I’d never become a doctor. I haven’t got enough of my parents because both are doctors. But I don’t know why I gave up maths and studied MBBS, though I scored 99 in mathematics and 95 in biology. I wanted to be an astronaut but they broke my heart when they said I was short.”
It was in 2008 that St John’s Research Institute was chosen under this initiative, and tied up with National Institute of Health, USA.
Ann’s mother Dr Annamma Thomas is professor of obstetrics and gynaecology, and father Dr Reji Koshy Thomas is professor of ophthalmology at St John’s Hospital. She owes her leadership skills and go-getter attitude to her father. “I was the first woman general secretary of the students’ association in St John’s College. I knew I had to break the glass ceiling. I like my job in hospital as I’m the resident doctor and have to take my own decisions,” she added.
At Harvard, Ann will research how vitamin B12 can boost neurological development in a foetus. As a prelude, she’s begun research on 300 pregnant women in Bangalore, across economic strata, and treated 150 of them with vitamin B12 supplements. She plans to compile the research at Harvard in the next six weeks. She also applied for a course in clinical epidemiology and audit course on global nutrition which the US varsity has accepted. Missed by nurses, patients
Karunapalyam, the rural hospital off Sarjapur Road where Ann Sarah Koshy works, is going to miss their only resident doctor. “Nurses say they’re sad as they won’t have a doctor for the next six weeks. But I’ve promised to come back and complete my internship. My patients also look on me to bring them better service,” says Ann.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> India / TNN / June 28th, 2014
The seventh annual general body meeting of the Karnataka Non Resident Indian Forum (KNRI) Jeddah was held here recently.
Roshan Rodrigues of Mangalore was unanimously elected as the president of the Forum. KNRI is the only nonprofit social organization in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia which represents entire Karnataka state and strives to help needy Kannadigas in the Saudi Arabia and India.
Speaking on the occasion, Roshan Rodrigues thanked all the members of the Forum for trusting him and accepting his leadership. He highlighted that KNRI is one family and othat has goal to take care of our all needy Kannadigas. He offered his congratulations on behalf of the Form to the first student from Dharwad district, adopted by the Forum for completing her studies for her selection in a campus interview by one of the leading software exporting companies. He also reminded the aims and objectives of KNRI Forum and appealed to struggle for achieving those goals by providing financial and social support to needy Kannadigas. He urged Committee members to put in concerted efforts and appealed to the seniors to guide him to perform these tasks smoothly.
A Committee of 29 members was formed:
Manzoor Ahmed (Hassan) and Sabu Chandran (Bangalore) – Vice Presidents; Syed Nasir Khursheed (Gubarga) – General Secretary; Yashwanth Amin (Mangalore) – Joint Secretary; Aijaz Ahmed (Shimoga)- Meeting coordinator; Sri Harsha (Bangalore) – Treasurer; Habib Rahaman (Udupi) and Syed Haseebuddin (Bangalore) – Joint Treasurers; Niaz Ahmed (Mysore) – Press and Public Relation Secretary; Mohammed Saif (Mysore) – Cultural Secretary; Mohammed Kaleem (Raychur), Mohsin Khan (Bidar) and Pravin Netekar (Sirsi-Kharwar) – Joint Cultural Secretaries; Peter Mascarenhans Udupi – Sports Secretary; Arif Shimoga – Joint Sport Secretary; Shaikh Saoud (Udupi) – IT Coordinator; Mukarram Khan (Bangalore) – Membership Coordinator; Mohammed Mansoor,(Mangalore) Vasu Manchegowda (Mandya) and Krish Jangal (Hubli) – Advisory Council Members; and Mohammed Arif (Udupi), Alok Pattar( Hubli), Mohammed Saheb,(Karkala) Imtiaz Ahmed,(Shimoga) Syed Shakeel Ahmed,(Bangalore) Momin Mohammed Iylas (Bhatkal), Faizee Razak Sheik, (Mangalore) Mohammed Saleem Khaleefa (Gulbarga) were elected as Executive Members.
S M Jafar conducted the proceedings and advised the new Committee to come up with ambitious plans for the welfare of Karnataka residents in particular and the Indian community in general. Mohammed Mansoor congratulated the newly elected body and advised them to work with positive spirit and elevate the forum to a higher level.
Vasu Manche Gowda outlined the KNRI Forum’s vision and urged Kannadigas to play a vital role to reach and help poor and needy people. Outgoing President Krish Jangal congratulated the new team and said social work demands time, energy and dedication. He said God will reward for serving the community, and it will also develop managerial skills.
The secretary Nasir Khursheed described this Forum as a group of family members and requested members to “keep the same spirit of unity which is our identity.
Yashwanth Amin appealed to Kannadigas residing here to feel free and join the forum. They can be reached us through email knriforumjeddah@gmail.com
The program was compered by Niaz Ahmed Mysore) and Sabu Chandran delivered the vote of thanks and specially thanked the Indian Consulate for their tremendous support towards the KNRI Forum in Jeddah.
source: http://www.bellevision.com / BelleVision.com / Home> News / by Arun Palimar, Bellevision Media Network / Jeddah (Saudi Arabia) – June 24th, 2014
Though of an age as tender as 14, yet this prodigy is all set to prove that she is matchless when it comes to creative talent. Having preferred to accomplish in a tough art like Harikathe that hardly impresses the present generation, little girl Srilalitha Uliyaaru has already left masses spellbound by her enchanting performances.
Hailing from a simple family residing at N.R. Mohalla in city, she is the lucky daughter of G. Vasudeva Uliyaaru and Veena, who are leaving no stone unturned to ensure that their child turns out to be a great achiever one day. Says Vasudev, an artist by profession, “Lalitha started learning and practicing Harikathe when she was a little girl of six. Impressed by the Harikatha’s of Harikatha Pitamaha of Karnataka, Gururajulu Naidu, she began showing immense interest in the art of story telling,”
Besides, Shrilalitha is not being formally trained by any and all she has in the form of her Harikatha teacher is a little tape recorder and loads of Harikatha cassettes. “She is not being trained by anyone. Whatever she has learnt so far is by listening to the cassettes, apart from me training her a little. I’m planning to get her trained by city based Harikatha exponent Beluru Vasantha Lakshmi shortly,” says her father. Harikatha by Gururajulu Naidu that she heard two years back became her first inspiration. The prodigy is gifted with such abilities that a one-and-a-half hour long Harikatha ‘Aadisuvaathana Aata’ that she once presented at a progamme was also practiced by listening to a cassette itself.
She has given several performances at various places across the State like Bangalore, Udupi, K.R. Nagar, Mandya and Mysore. The little one is a fearless and enchanting entertainer who not just excels in story telling but is also a good, singer, dancer, performer and orator. Ask her what she likes best and she says, “I love presenting Harikatha as it involves many stories, sub-stories and humour. I also love presenting speeches.” And unlike many others who wish to be doctors, engineers and scientists one day, this little one says she wants to be a famous ‘Harikatha dasa.’ She is also good at presenting Harikathas on the modern day life, which she makes interesting for listeners by interspersing with several humorous stories. The little one embraced the Haridasa Deekshe from Bhadragiri Achyutadas in city when she was of 8 years of age and a souvenir ‘Dasana Madiko Enna’ on Srilalitha’s achievements was also released on the occasion.
Says her proud father, “She is God’s gift to us. I thank him immensely for having blessed us with a daughter like her, for though interested, none in my family could achieve something that she has done. She started her stage performances in other disciplines when she was just a little child of three years. Hence, I want to encourage and help her to the best of my abilities.” “I feel happy to say that people even in this generation show great interest in an art from like Harikatha and come in hoards to listen to her. We have received great response from people so far,” he adds.
Till date, Srilaitha has given over 250 Harikatha performances at places in and outside the State including places like Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. She has also been extensively appreciated for her talent by heads of various religious institutions such as the Seer of Mantralaya, Pejawar Seer of Udupi, Veerendra Hegde of Dharmasthala, Shavaratri Deshikedra Swami of Suttur Mutt and Ravishankar Guruji of Art of Living, to name a few. Also, the child has presented shows in various televisions channels of both Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.
However, currently, the girl has reduced her stage performances a bit to concentrate on her studies since she would be in class X next. Meanwhile, her four-year-old little brother Srihari V. Uliyaaru is following his sister’s foots.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Feature Articles / June 23rd, 2014
The first ever Karnataka Teachers Eligibility Test (KARTET) to be held on Sunday will draw as many as 3,77,277 candidates. The test will determine their eligibility to apply for teaching posts in primary schools.
According to the Centralized Admission Cell (CAC)conducting the KARTET, 1,87,886 candidates will write Paper 1 from 9.30 am to 12 pm seeking to become eligible to teach Classes 1 to 5 and 2,14,492 will write Paper 2 for Classes 6 to 8 from 2 pm to 4.30 pm. Candidates are allowed to appear for both papers.
Each test will have 150 multiple-choice questions from five subjects. Candidates are required to secure 60 per cent (90 out of 150) to become eligible to apply for teaching jobs (55 per cent or 83 marks for reservation categories).
At present, candidates wishing to teach Classes 1 to 8 should hold a pre-university or degree certificate and a Diploma in Education or Bachelor of Education. Now, TET scores will become mandatory to become eligible for recruitment.
The KARTET will be held in 694 centres across the state and prohibitory orders will be issued in areas near each test centre, according to a statement released by CAC special officer B V Rajashekhar.
The test will be conducted under the supervision of deputy commissioners. Candidates will be allowed inside the centres 30 minutes prior to the TET.
Legal action will be taken against candidates who attempt to indulge in malpractice, the CAC has stated, adding that chief superintendents and other officials will be present at the centres two hours before the test to ensure everything is in order.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Bangalore / by Express News Service / June 21st, 2014
The State government has decided to increase the number of day-care centres for the elderly from four to 14, according to Minister of State for Women and Child Development Umashree.
She announced this at the inaugural session of a workshop on ‘Differently-abled persons – opportunities and challenges’, jointly organised by the Administrative Training Institute, Abdul Nazir Sab State Institute for Rural Development, and the Department of Women and Child Development here.
Presently such centres were in Bangalore, Hubli, Belgaum and Gulbarga, she said. Such centres would be set up in the districts of Mysore, Hassan, Chickballapur, Bidar, Bellary, Dakshina Kannada, Dharwad, Tumkur, Chitradurga and Bagalkot, she said.
The government had increased the annual allocation for these centres from Rs. 4.15 lakh to Rs. 11.2 lakh. Similarly, the helpline for the elderly, which covers 14 districts, had been extended to the entire State, she said.
Ms. Umashree said the government had decided to set up two centres in Bangalore to cater to the needs of children with cerebral palsy.
Legislators were supposed to earmark 10 per cent of their Local Area Development Funds to works related to the welfare of persons with physical disabilities, she said, and sought a report from officials on funds spent for the purpose. Similarly, Ms. Umashree called for a review to know if all the departments had properly executed the gender budgeting concept.
Talking computers
Principal Secretary, Department of Women and Child Development, Amita Prasad, said that “talking computers” (computers with voice-prompting facility) would be provided to visually challenged students. She said the workshop had been organised to create awareness among persons with physical disabilities about their rights and the benefits available from various government schemes. Similar workshops would be held in Mysore, Dharwad and Gulbarga within September, she said.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> National> Karnataka / by Special Correspondent / Bangalore – June 22nd, 2014
Hemamalini Maiya (43), Vikram Maiya (40) and Arvind Maiya (30); Picture Credit: Durgesh Kumar Y
They might not be best friends, but they are great business partners and always look out for each other
This brother and sister might be poles apart, but when it comes to their 90-year-old family business they are a single unit. Though Hemamalini Maiya (43) and Vikram Maiya (40) are the faces of the landmark Mavalli Tiffin Rooms, popularly known as MTR, not many know that the business has a sleeping partner ( 35 year old sibling Priya) and a low-key partner (30-year-old youngest sibling Arvind).
Ironically, the siblings never imagined that one day they would be spearheading the family business. They didn’t want to.
As we settle down in the deluxe area of MTR on Lalbagh Road with Vikram and Arvind, waiting for Hemamalini to join us, Vikram jokingly tells his brother Arvind, the quieter of the siblings, “We should speak before Hema comes in…we won’t get a chance after that.” Bingo! The affable (and talkative) Hemamalini walks in. And the room is filled with laughter.
Going back in time Hemamalini was thrown into the restaurant business a day after her father Harishchandra Maiya’s death in 1999, after a prolonged illness. (Her father was the nephew of the founder of MTR, Yajnanarayana Maiya, and took over the reins of the restaurant after his death in 1968)
Hemamalini reminisces about her father wanting her to “study engineering” and go overseas. “But things changed with my father’s illness,” she says. “I think my taking over the restaurant wasn’t all that sudden. I guess somewhere along the way my father knew that I would have to and started preparing me mentally.”
Today, when she looks back on those troubling initial years, she clutches her head in her hands and says: “Overwhelming experience.” From being hands-on in the kitchen, doubling up as cashier and dealing with troublesome staff… Hemamalini doesn’t have many pleasant memories of those years. She recalls fighting her way through in the “male-dominated space”. It wasn’t at all easy for her to slip into her father’s ‘big’ shoes and she says women “at the top are never taken seriously. In fact, at one point people thought it was time I pack up and leave. But the more I was told that, the more determined I was to show them that I was here to stay”. She adds, “Looking back I don’t know how I did it.”
By 2000 Vikram decided to leave his job at the Global Trust Bank and join the family business. Till then it “was all about friends, parties and rock music,” Vikram confesses. “I hardly remember being at home during my teenage years.” He also doesn’t remember being particularly “close” to his siblings while growing up. “After we turned teenagers, our friends circle was completely different,” admits Vikram. That’s another reason that even to this day he says, he isn’t as close to his cousins as his siblings are.
But Hemamalini has fond memories of cycling and skating with her brother. Pointing to Vikram, she says, “He’d fall down often and hurt himself. We had an old cook, who would follow him around as he learnt to cycle. He was always in a hurry to learn. On the other hand, I would meticulously follow the rules.” Hemamalini’s biggest grouse during their growing years was having to follow several rules. “Vikram got all the freedom and I had so many restrictions…like I had to come home before dusk, while he hardly came home in the night,” she recalls.
At school they were always referred to as the ‘ones from MTR’. “And every school picnic would have food catered from the hotel,” Vikram remembers.
Growing up in the MTR House, (located close to the restaurant, which is now turned into MTR’s central kitchen and manufacturing unit), brother and sister recall playing with the children of the staff, which later led to many awkward situations. “Many of ‘those children’ became employees of MTR. And when we took over and had to order them around it was quite odd,” Vikram says.
“We had a wild childhood, which this guy missed,” the duo chorus pointing to Arvind who quietly listens as his older siblings go down memory lane. Arvind who was in class 10 when his father passed away recalls his friends mistaking his dad as his grandfather. “I just remember that by the time I was in class 7, I didn’t want my father to come to any PTA meetings,” Arvind says. Soon Hemamalini replaced her father at these meetings. “My parenting skills began back then,” says Hemamalini.
Arvind is considered the calm and level-headed sibling. “Growing up he was the exact opposite of Vikram,” Hema says. “But he did trouble our mother as a three-year- old, refusing to walk; he’d sit on the sofa all day and watch television. He’d sing Bruce Springsteen’s Born in the USA with an imaginary mic…” Arvind interrupts: “I must have had the cleanest feet!”
The here and now Today the three of them handle different areas of the business — Hemamalini takes care of finance, Vikram, the overall growth, expansion and quality control and Arvind the human resources department. Though MTR still stands in the same place as it did for more than five decades, the youngsters have been the wind beneath its wings — from a stand-alone restaurant, MTR expanded into a restaurant chain with the opening of its second restaurant in Rajajinagar in 2004 and in Singapore in 2013.
They still might not be ‘close’ as siblings are expected to be, but they have a clear understanding and respect for each others’ strength. “I must say I’ve learnt everything from both of them,” says Arvind. And Vikram chips in: “If I’ve learnt to be focused, it is thanks to Hemamalini.”
They sure look out for each other. “We connect at a more mature level now,” Vikram says. And when it comes to business, they are all on the same page.
City bodybuilder Najeeb Khan, who participated in the bodybuilding competition organised at Dundamma Government School at Ashokapuram in city recently as part of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar’s birth anniversary celebration, won ‘Dr. B.R. Ambedkar-2014’ title.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Sports News / June 22nd, 2014
