Med school first step in Shetty project

Business & Economy, Education, Science & Technology, Uncategorized, World Opinion

Dr. Shetty

Cardiologist Dr. Devi Shetty plans to partner with a local educational institution to open a medical school this year in Cayman as part of his medical facility.

Dr. Shetty, who was in Cayman for four days this week to meet government officials and local partners, also revealed that the first phase of the hospital project was expected to break ground in August this year.

“It is our plan to work with a current local institution to get [the medical school] going quicker… In the [initial] plan, the medical school was not supposed to start till the third or fourth year. We decided to expedite that,” explained local partner Gene Thompson.

The medical school will be based within an existing building at a local institution. Dr. Shetty declined to identify which local institution he was partnering with, saying the deal had not yet been “tied down”.

Dr. A. Raghuvanshi, managing director of Narayana Hrudayalaya Hospitals, the group behind the proposed project, said: “By the end of this year, the coming academic year, we should start a medical school that will take about 100 students.”

Dr. Shetty said about 700 students graduated in Cayman every year, only one or two of whom opt to take medical courses after leaving school. He said that if there were a medical school on the island where they could train as doctors, nurses or technicians, one in seven graduates would go into the medical field,

“Healthcare jobs are the only recession-proof jobs,” he said, adding that in recent years, the only industry that created jobs was the healthcare sector. “Currently there is a shortage of three to four million jobs in the healthcare sector,” he said.

“No country should depend on foreign medical specialists to look after healthcare in their country. It is very important that the Cayman government and Cayman people train adequate numbers of doctors, nurses and technicians to look after their own healthcare,” Dr. Shetty added.

The hospital project, officially called the Narayana Cayman University Medical Centre, is slated to be built at the High Rock area of East End, where the Shetty group has bought 200 acres of a 600-acre site. The hospital, its associated assisted living facility and research centre will be built on the 200 acres, while related infrastructure, such as a hotel, will be built by Joseph Imparato, who sold the land to the Shetty group and who still owns the adjacent 400 acres.

The initial phase of the project involves the establishment of a 140-bed hospital, which if all going to schedule, should start accepting its first patients in August 2013, Dr. Shetty told reporters at a briefing Friday, 6 January, shortly before flying off island.

source: http://www.CompassCayman.com / by Norma Conolly,  norma@cfg.ky / January 06th, 2012

Women set to rule the country, says Puttappa

Arts, Culture & Entertainment

Hubli:

Women folk are set to rule the country in the future, said noted journalist Patil Puttappa. Releasing books on the first day of the three-day 12th All India Poetess’ Conference here on Friday, Puttappa said, women folk suffered harassment in family and society. Now with the change of time, women are set to lead, he said.

In the past, there was dominance by Brahmins, followed by warriors and industrialists. Now women are prepared to dominate, he said. He asked men to provide opportunities for women to serve the society and the country.

He also said that women’s role is important in maintaining peace and cordial life. Commending the work of Shilpa Shettar, wife of Minister Jagadish Shettar, in organising the mega event, Puttappa said, women of the state would soon see her addressing them as a minister in the future.

Presiding over the function, Jagadish Shettar said every person needs to have a poet’s heart. Saying that majority of the politicians lack poet’s heart, he termed former prime minister A B Vajapayee as a renowned poet who ‘awakened’ people through his poems.

He said the state is concerned about all round development of the region. Hubli would soon see Kala Grama and Janapada Loka, he informed.

Inaugurating the event, former minister Leeladevi Prasad elaborated the contributions of poetess from the time of Akkamahadevi.

Prof Lari Azad, founder of AIPC, spoke on the occasion.

source: http://www.ibnlive.in.com / Express News Service, The New Indian Express / Karnataka / January 07th, 2012

 

 

Straight out of the ‘tawa’

Arts, Culture & Entertainment

DELIGHTFUL FLAVOUR

If you are looking for a good eatery in Channammanakere Achchukattu, your search will definitely end at ‘Kavali’, an open-kitchen darshini located opposite the Telephone Exchange, Katriguppe East.


 

 

Known for its wide range of dosas, the joint caters to the residents of the area. It is owned by Meena Rao, a dedicated entrepreneur who is continuing the legacy of her father, who was an expert in the hotel industry. Before starting ‘Kavali’, Meena used to run ‘Shringar Dosa Palace’ in Jayanagar 8th Block. However, she had to close the place down due to some problems.

When she decided to open a new place, she wanted to have a unique name for it, a name that would reflect their speciality of making dosas. “Without kavali (dosa pan), one cannot prepare dosas. And when we hear the word kavali, it instantly reminds us of tasty dosas. Moreover, I didn’t want my new outlet to have a convention name. In that sense, ‘Kavali’ is unique and also symbolises the food we serve,” she says.

To steer the business, she quit a lucrative job in the IT industry. Her friends Sindhu and Abdul supported her in this venture. “My family and friends have always been with me. My father Vittala Udupi Rao is an expert in this field and takes care of most things even today.

My brother Raghavendra Rao manages the quality and oversees other things. My uncle Prabhakar is a food consultant and I always take his advice in improving quality and service,” adds Meena. The menu includes a range of dosa items like masala dosa, onion dosa, set dosa, capsicum dosa, neer dosa, pineapple dosa and chilli dosa.

The methi dosa is an exclusive item and is not easily available elsewhere. The other delicacies include rava idli, shavige idli, pulav, bonda soup and vada. The khara bath is also a special item which is different from the usual khara bath available elsewhere. They prepare three types of chutney as well — coriander and coconut chutney, fried gram chutney and sweet chutney. Akki roti and ragi roti are also available.

The sweet section has jamun, jalebi and Bowring kulfi. The eatery opens at 7 in the morning and closes at 12.30 pm. It reopens again in the evening and these timings ensure that the staff gets enough rest. For the evening session, all the items are prepared fresh once again.

“We use only quality products to prepare the food. No colours or preservatives are added. Anyone can come and take a look at our preparation methods. In a couple of days, we will be adding ten more varieties of dosas to our menu which already has 35 different dosas,” says Raghavendra Rao.

Arpitha, a professional, comes here regularly for coffee and breakfast. “These days, I have stopped having breakfast at home. I like the masala onion dosa, which is very special to this place and also the capsicum dosa. The coffee is awesome too,” she says. ‘Kavali’ is closed on Tuesdays.

For details, call 9740357836.

source: http://www.DeccanHerald.com / Home> Supplements> Metrolife / by: Sudha Hegde / Sunday, January 08th, 2012

 

Mangalore: Youth Festival – Palemar Seeks Wholehearted Cooperation, Not Donation

Arts, Culture & Entertainment

Mangalore, Jan 6:

“For the first time, our city will be hosting National Youth Festival. We solicit contribution and cooperation from everyone for the success of the festival. We have not asked organizations or institutions to foot the bills. We do not seek monetary assistance, but we need wholehearted participation of the people, institutions and organizations,” said Dakshina Kannada district in-charge minister, Krishna J Palemar.

He was addressing a press conference held at the office of the district deputy commissioner here on Thursday January 5.

He requested managements of schools, colleges, banks, and other business establishments etc to illuminate their buildings with tasteful lights since January 11 onwards till the conclusion of the festival to create a festive atmosphere in the city. He also asked people to decorate important circles in the city with electric lights and green festoons, and wished that the entire city will get bedecked like a bride for the occasion.

He said that the students and staff of all schools and colleges in the district have permission to take part in all the programmes of the festival, without applying for leave. He revealed that buses will be run from rural belts to the city during these days free of cost, to enable villagers to participate in the festival.

Deputy speaker in state assembly, N Yoigish Bhat, MLA, U T Khadaer, MP, Nalin Kumar Kateel, city mayor, Praveen Kumar, S Ramesh, chairman of Mangalore Urban Development Authority, chairman of Coastal Development Authroity, B Nagaraja Shetty, district deputy commissioner, N S Channappa Gowda, zilla panchayat chief executive officer, Dr K N Vijay Prakash, principals of colleges and bank officials participated in the programme.

source: http://www.DaijiWorld.com / Daijiworld Media Network, Mangalore (SP) / Friday, January 06th, 2012

 

One self-made Indian woman can reform healthcare: The New Yorker

Business & Economy, Inspiration/ Positive News and Features, Leaders, Science & Technology

New York:

Amid concerns about runaway health spending, American industry leaders have said the world can find inspiration in India’s ability to provide low-cost medical innovation. Almost on cue, The New Yorker has a big profile of Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, the founder of Biocon, India’s first and largest biotech company, started in 1978. The piece asks the question “Can one self-made woman reform health care for India, and the world?”

Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, the founder of Biocon, India’s first and largest biotech company, started in 1978.  Reuters.

It cites her company’s work on diseases that are prevalent in countries like India, and also her philanthropic work to bring health care to the poor. Since 1996, Biocon has been developing its own drugs, in addition to generics. Biocon produces drugs for cancer, diabetes and auto-immune diseases.

“I would love to see one of our novel drugs make it big with the ‘Made in India’ label,” Mazumdar-Shaw, who at 25 created a biotech company by working out of the garage of a rented one-bedroom house in Bangalore,  told The New Yorker’s Ariel Levy.

Never mind that no one in the ’70s knew what biotech was, that she is a woman and that backers were hard to come by because of these two points. Today, Mazumdar-Shaw’s Biocon is a $1 billion operation.

Most importantly, it is in stage-three clinical trials for both a cancer treatment drug and a variety of insulin that can be taken orally, a product that has long been the global pharmaceutical industry’s “holy grail,” said the US magazine.

“I grew up being apologetic about India,” Mazumdar-Shaw told Forbes. “I felt a strong urge in me to create something that would be a piece of the new India. I did not want the new generation to feel apologetic.”

Well, India is far from apologetic about Mazumdar-Shaw’s Biocon Park which sits on a verdant 90-acre campus in Bangalore and houses some 5,000 molecular biologists, technicians and employees. At the entrance is an enormous sculpture of a double helix with the words “Recombinant Revolution” on the base.

Mazumdar-Shaw works a few doors down from her husband, John Shaw, who became Biocon’s vice chairman in 2001, three years after the couple married. John Shaw, who grew up in Scotland, came to Bangalore in 1991 as chairman of Madura Coats Ltd.

Mazumdar-Shaw told the magazine that she thinks of her husband as a “very secure person” who is comfortable in his role. “After we got married,” John Shaw told The New Yorker “we sat down and Kiran said, ‘Now, John. You’ve got a career in the textile industry. I’ve got a career in the biotech industry. One of us has to give up our career, and it’s not me.” When he looked at her accounts ledgers, he agreed.

In 2004, Biocon held an initial public offering (IPO), which brought Mazumdar-Shaw’s net worth to half a billion dollars. It is now almost double that, indicated The New Yorker. Not long afterward, she started the Biocon Foundation, to carry out her philanthropic work.

“Although charity is not prevalent among wealthy Indians — they give at about a quarter of the rate of Americans — Mazumdar-Shaw has spent $15 million on her cancer hospital and the Arogya Raksha,” noted The New Yorker.

The magazine highlighted Mazumdar-Shaw’s model for sustaining the 1,400-bed Mazumdar-Shaw Cancer Centre in Bangalore which treats poor patients for free or at steep discounts. At the center, the wealthy pay market price for MRIs and other diagnostic procedures, subsidising discounts for the poor.

“At 4 a.m, it’s free, 8 a.m to 5 p.m it is full price, 6 p.m to 10 p.m it’s half price,” Mazumdar-Shaw explained. She said that one-time donations — what she describes as a “turn-on, turn-off mentality” — won’t bring change; the market has to adjust.

What the Mazumdar-Shaw Cancer Center is doing is similar to the Madurai-based Aravind Eye Hospital. Deceased management guru CK Prahalad had trumpeted how the Aravind Eye Hospital had created a new hospital business model. Aravind’s founders use a tiered pricing structure that charges wealthier patients more for fancy meals or air-conditioned rooms, letting the firm cross-subsidise free care for the poorest. Aravind rotates its staff at its five hospitals to deal with both paying and non-paying patients so there is no difference in quality.

In addition to starting the Huskur clinic and nine others like it in Karnataka, Shaw-Mazumdar’s Arogya Raksha programme has started a micro-insurance programme and hired local women to go door-to-door offering screening services for oral cancer. Every year, Shaw donates $2 million to support health insurance coverage for 1,00,000 Indian villagers.

“Mazumdar-Shaw has become a national mascot for rectitude,” observed The New Yorker,adding that her company is run with deep “corporate nationalism” — you know there is going to be no tax fiddle. Not surprisingly, Mazumdar-Shaw was one of the first civic-minded Indian business leaders to tweet support for Anna Hazare.

source: http://www.FirstPost.in / by Uttara Choudhury / January 05th, 2012

New Year bash, the Anglo-Indian way

Arts, Culture & Entertainment

Bangalore :

Each community in India ushers in their new year celebrations on different dates through the year. The community that religiously celebrates the new year is the Anglo-Indian community. And they are organising a massive reunion on December 31 at Palace Grounds for a double celebration.

Adding flavour to the celebrations is the community’s attempt to discover singing talent within the community and crown the best as the ‘Anglo Indian Icon’. Following auditions on December 28 and 29, seven finalists were selected to perform at their new year party and the winners will be declared on December 31, when the community comes together.

In its second year, the reunion brings together members of the community and singing is something they love. “It is a nice feeling to meet people from your own community. I am looking forward to it and I am sure that the event will be a blast. This is the first time we are going to participate in the event, said F B Conway, a resident of Fraser Town. His daughter was auditioning for the Anglo Indian Icon.

The event is attracting participants event from other cities including Chennai and Coimbatore. They say that the competition is not the reason they are here. It is in the spirit of the community to sing and party on a joyous occasion like new year. Shaskh, who works in a event management company, said: “I have come here to render my support to my community. I do not want to miss the good opportunity to reunite and bond with each other. This is a good way to usher in the new year.” While Tanya Fernandez from Chennai said, “I am happy I came here.”

The organiser of the reunion, Brian Coter, consciously chose music to attract people. He said: “We expect over 1,800 people to participate in the event following the response to the event last year. I chose music as a key to attract the people of our community.”

City Express spoke to the only Anglo Indian MLA in the Karnataka State Assembly, Derrick M B Fullinfaw, he said, “Any kind of reunion is always welcome. I had been to the venue on December 28 and I saw some auditions.” He however said that he celebrated Christmas by organising a party and was planning to end the year with a quiet dinner at home  with his family.

source: http://www.ExpressBuzz.com / Home> Cities> Bangalore/ Expess News Service / by Sangeeta Bora / December 31st, 2011

 

PM to open Science Congress on Tuesday

Business & Economy, Science & Technology

Bhubaneswar, Jan 1 (PTI):

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will inaugurate the 99th Indian Science Congress here on Tuesday during which scientists will deliberate on issues like climate change, food security, clean energy and space technology.

The theme of this year’s Science Congress is ‘Science and Technology for Inclusive Innovation – Role of Women’ and will be headed by Geetha Bali, vice chancellor of Karnataka State Women’s University. She is the fourth woman to head the Indian Science Congress.

The five-day Congress would see scientists deliberating on preventing maternal and child mortality, assisted technology for disabled, science and education in rural areas, women in science, water scarcity and security.

While the Children’s Science Congress will be inaugurated by former President A P J Abdul Kalam on Wednesday, India’s Ambassador to the US Nirupama Rao, would kick off the Women’s Science Congress on Thursday. The mega event, to be attended by about 20 Nobel laureates, corporate bigwigs, scientists and leaders, is being hosted by Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT) and National Institute of Science Education and Research (NISER).

Some of the focus areas of the Congress are climate change and food security, clean energy from renewable sources, space technology and human welfare, rural livelihood security, nanoscience and nanotechnology and food and nutrition security, according to NISER director T K Chandrashekar. Around one lakh students are likely to participate in the Congress, being held for the second time in Odisha after a gap of 34 years, according to KIIT founder Achyuta Samanta. About 1500 volunteers, including students of KIIT, have been engaged for smooth conduct of the Congress. The venue of the Congress has a capacity to accommodate 20,000 people.

Near the main Congress venue, an “Odishi Mandap” has been prepared to showcase the rich cultural heritage, art, history and traditions of the state.

The prestigious UNESCO-Kalinga award would be presented during the ISC while a science film festival would also be organised during the mega event.

source: http://www.ibnlive.in.com / PTI / January 01st, 2012

Make Chai Not War :U.S sponsored NRI comedy team to spread religious harmony in India

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Nri's / Pio's, Uncategorized, World Opinion

Ohio, Jan 1 (TruthDive):

A trio of Indian origin comedians – Rajiv Satyal, Hari Kondabolu and Azhar Osman will be on an US sponsored Indian tour in an effort to strengthen ties and spread religious harmony. The state department officially announced the trip.

Victoria Nuland, a State Department official said, “We are, indeed, sending an Indian-American comedy group,” adding, “I believe the full tour costs about $100,000. The U.S. Embassy in New Delhi is supporting them with a grant of $88,000.”

The tour named “Make Chai, Not War” will be on from January 4th to 17th and will perform in seven Indian cities: Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Patna, Kolkata, Durgapur and Mumbai. Nuland cited it as “part of our regular global cultural exchange program that we do around the world,” explaining, “The reason we decided to support this tour is because among the things that they are known for is their talk about religious tolerance, about the importance of breaking down prejudices, and about the positive experiences they had growing up as Indian-Americans in the United States.”

“In addition to doing shows, they’ll also be holding audience discussions on these issues of religious tolerance and doing workshops and having some interviews with the press,” added Nuland.

Rajiv Satyal, who is best known as “The Funny Indian” said, “I’m pretty much going to do my act. But the tone changes, if I do a lot of Indian jokes with an Indian audience, it’s a ‘you guys know what I’m talking about’ thing, whereas, if I’m in Alabama, it’s more explanatory.”

“It’s cool to be able to go to India because that’s where a lot of religious strife has been happening,” he said. “We’re not even really religious on stage. We might do some religious jokes, but it’s more just bringing people together,” he added.

Usman, who is a Muslim is known for his religious swipes. “I never make religion the butt of my jokes,” he said, adding, “I target stupidity, human foibles and fundamentalism.”

source: http://www.truthdive.com / posted by Mohan Ramraj / January 12th, 2012

 

Rotary Mysore Felicitates Harvard Prof.from CityTY

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, Education, Nri's / Pio's, Records, All

Caption: Prof. Gita Gopinath who was felicitated by Rotary Mysore is seen with Club President Rtn. T.K. Chittaranjan, chief guest Rtn. Vasudev Murthy and Hon. Secretary Rtn. S.V.Sridhar.

Mysore, Dec. 27:

Rotary Mysore recently felicitated Prof. Gita Gopinath, a Mysorean who is holding the Professorship in the Department of Economics, Harvard University and is the only lady from Asia to hold such a coveted position.

Gita Gopinath completed her schooling and college at Nirmala Convent and Mahajana PU Collage in city before pursuing her studies in Sriram College of Commerce and the Delhi School of Economics. She continued her studies at Princeton University and got her Doctorate from the same University.

Prof. Gita holds a number of honors, Fellowships and awards including the 2011-13 National Science Foundation grant, 2011 Young Global Leader-World Economic Forum and 2006-09 Andrew E. Furer Fellow, Department of Economics, Harvard.

Prof. Gita Gopinath was awarded the Bagwathi prize for the best paper published in the Journal of International Economics for 2003 & 2004. She has also supervised a number of Ph.D students.

Gita is the daughter of T.V. Gopinath and Vijaya Lakshmi of the city.

 

City’s Agri Scientist bags ‘Best Science Communicator’ Award

Business & Economy, Records, All, Science & Technology, Uncategorized

Mysore, Dec.30:


City-based agriculture scientist Dr. Vasanth Kumar Thimakapura has been selected for the “Best Science Communicator Award” by the Vision Group on Science Technology, Department of Information Technology, Biotechnology, Science & Technology, Govt. of Karnataka.

The award comprises a cash prize of Rs. 50,000 and a citation which will be presented by Chief Minister D.V. Sadananda Gowda at Bangalore soon.

Dr. Vasanth Kumar is a well- known agriculture scientist, teacher and science writer. He has penned many popular science articles in both Kannada and English and published in many leading magazines in order to promote science.

He also delivers scientific lectures in schools and colleges to enthuse the students to pursue basic and applied science research. He gives talks in AIR and Doordarshan on various aspects of science and agriculture.

He is a successful and popular communicator among the farmers and conducts free training programmes at village level on a regular basis. Dr. Vasanth has produced a video film on “Scientific Nursery Management in Tobacco” and telecast it through local cable TV to reach the scientific methods to the farmers at their doorsteps. He has saved the damaged crops of poor farmers on several occasions, at his own cost. He is also the recipient of “Agricultural Extension Service Award” of Indian Phytopathological Society, Delhi.

source: http://www.StarofMysore.com / General News / December 30th, 2011