Dr. Ajai Kumar Singh has been selected as President of the 11th Akhila Bharatha Sharana Sahitya Sammelan to be held at Dharwad from Dec. 27 to 29.
Dr. Singh, the retired State Director General of Police (DGP), has obtained Post-graduate degree in Hindi from Bangalore University and a doctorate from Bangalore University for his thesis ‘Studies on 12th century spiritual leader Allamaprabhu and Saint Kabir of 16th century.’
Apart from two poetry collections, many of his short stories, poems and articles on tour experiences have been published in English and other language newspapers.
Even though Dr. Singh has professionally served the Police department, he has interest in different fields including literature, spirituality, yoga, expedition etc. Dr. Singh, who has special interest in Vachana sahitya is originally from Uttar Pradesh.
Dr. Singh is the second non-Kannadiga, who has been selected as President of Akhila Bharatha Sharana Sahitya Sammelan.
Earlier, Dr. Bhagwan Das Tiwari of Madhya Pradesh was selected as the President of the Akhila Bharatha Sharana Sahitya Sammelan held in Raichur.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> General News / December 02nd, 2013
Dr. Meenakshi Hegde, a Paediatric Oncologist at Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, was awarded the 28th Schweisguth Prize from the International Society of Paediatric Oncology for her scientific paper “Combinational targeting offsets antigen escape and enhances effector functions of adoptively transferred T cells in High Grade Glioma,” which was presented at the 45th Congress of the International Society of Paediatric Oncology in Hong Kong last month. The award is given in honour of Dr. Odile Schweisguth, renowned clinician, investigator, founding member and the first President of the Society.
Dr. Meenakshi, hailing from Sirsi, is the wife of Dr. G. Bharath Raj, a renowned Tennis Player and a Psychiatrist at Houston and the proud daughter-in-law of Sumana and D. Guru Raj of Kuvempunagar, Mysore.
Her completed research paper was recently published in Molecular Therapy. The prestigious Schweisguth Prize is awarded only to best scientific contribution to the Paediatric Oncology field in the world.
Her research focuses on developing novel treatment for malignant gliomas that targets more than one tumour associated-proteins simultaneously with the aim of decreasing the risk of tumour recurrence. Malignant gliomas are tumours that often do not respond to even the most aggressive forms of therapy currently available. Less than 25 percent of children with this type of brain tumour survive after five years.
Dr. Meenakshi Hegde completed the research during her fellowship training at Texas Children’s Cancer Centre and at the Centre for Cell and Gene Therapy at Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, USA.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> General News / December 01st, 2013
A file photo of Mysore Grahakara Parishat [MGP] holding its first meeting which was attended by (from left) Chiranjiv Singh, IAS, Dr. Bhamy V. Shenoy (Working President), V.P. Baligar, IAS, Dr. H.A.B. Parpia (President) and A.K. Ranganathan (Secretary).It was a cold winter night. Dr. Bhamy Shenoy and his wife were returning from Vontikoppal after making some purchases to their house on Vivekananda Road in Yadavagiri at about 8 pm. As they were nearing the house, walking, Dr. Bhamy Shenoy got a bit curious to find a person standing at his gate with a bicycle. On enquiry, about the reason for his being there at that odd hour, the answer surprised Bhamy. The man was wanting to complain to the Mysore Grahakara Parishat [MGP] against the Principal of the Regional College of Education [RCE] where he himself was employed as a Group D employee. His name was K. Madhu.
Madhu had two children, M. Tara and M. Bhaskara. After they completed their CBSE X, he admitted them to vocational courses at DMS in 1989. He had seen an advertisement in Star of Mysore by Demonstration Multipurpose School (DMS) that these courses were recognised by the government of India.
However, when his children completed their studies and got their certificates, he found that because of the failure on the part of RCE to get them recognised by the State government, they could not get jobs. It was then that he decided to approach MGP seeking help.
Usually MGP does not help individual cases. Since Madhu was illiterate and did not have one to help, MGP took his cause. He used to come to office by bike from RCE campus in the night and wait patiently for MGP members, says Dr. Bhamy Shenoy. “Even today I remember how he used to wait when MGP was closed. Some times he might have returned without meeting anyone. I do not know how many times he must have travelled to MGP office,” says Dr. Bhamy Shenoy trying to recollect the past.
“We first wrote to RCE and DMS officials. When it did not produce any results, we complained to Consumer Court in Mysore in 1993. They gave a judgement in favour of Madhu’s children in 1997. They gave an award of Rs 10,000 in each case finding fault with RCE. RCE went on appeal to State Consumer Court which again ruled in favour of Madhu in 2001. They then went on appeal to the National Commission,” recalls Dr. Bhamy Shenoy.
As Dr. Shenoy could recall, Madhu won the case at the National level also and RCE appealed to the Supreme Court.
In the mean time, as the case was going through, Madhu died. His children contacted MGP and it continued to help them. However, MGP did not think they got any compensation despite all our efforts. Bhaskara, despite his qualification, ended up as a day labourer and Thara worked as a seamstress. This is our justice system.
Though this was not the biggest achievement of MGP, which over the past 25 years has fought many battles for the consumers and the citizens of Mysore City, the case is suggestive of the sincerity of purpose with which MGP takes up any common cause or a complaint that comes before it.
Mysoreans are familiar with the city’s renowned-NGO Mysore Grahakara Parishat which was set up on March 15, 1989. It will be celebrating its silver jubilee in March 2014 and plans are underway.
MGP, like all well-intentioned organisations for common cause, had its own birth pangs. The first impediment came from the Government itself. Instead of playing the role of a facilitator in a Democratic Welfare State like ours, the Sub-Registrar’s office where the founders of MGP went to register the organisation as a society, found the officer their first road block. Dr. Bhamy, Dr. Parpia and others of the first seven members of MGP registered their first protest, in their long 25 years journey, in the Sub- Registrar’s Office !
Dr. Bhamy called the District Registrar to complain with no result except the assurance that he would look into it. When this was mentioned to the then Congress MLA D. Jayadevaraja Urs, the politician, as if by habit, said he would get it done. Dr. Bhamy refused the offer saying no such influence should be used.
The Deputy Commissioner was approached. The DC was requested to tell the Sub-Registrar not to make them visit his office again and again to give one document or the other; instead, ask the Sub-Registrar to give a checklist of documents he required so that they would furnish the same to him in one visit. They also said no bribe would be paid as a matter of principle. This worked and then came into existence the MGP.
Interestingly, the same group of good Samaritans of MGP had also formed an organisation called Mysore Lokswaraj Andolan to fight for civic rights, environment etc. However, this was ruined when certain persons with vested interest came to occupy the office of President and Secretary. The organisation died a natural death; of course, not without a Court battle.
According to Dr. Bhamy Shenoy whom this writer met, there are 687 members in MGP. Out of this, 676 members are life members and there are 11 annual members as on March 31, 2013. The members meet regularly once in a month at Dr. Bhamy Shenoy’s residence. Though there are 687 members, about 25 members who are active attend the meeting.
Over the years, MGP has fought many battles. Some may be mentioned here: The greening of the barren land around the Lakshmikanth Temple in Hebbal Industrial Area; the court battle fought against City Corporation to prevent it from constructing buildings inside the Cheluvamba Park; preventing the unholy barter deal the City Corporation and the Government of Karnataka had entered into in the matter of constructing a Public Library in the People’s Park with a land developer in exchange for leasing out a huge area of the park by the side of the main road free of cost for constructing a shopping complex and helped to conserve Kukkarahalli, Lingambudi, Hebbal, Bogadi and Karanji lakes.
Similarly, MGP had taken up steps to control air pollution in certain industrial areas. It was primarily responsible for closing down a lead battery factory which was polluting the air causing health hazard to the people living in the surrounding areas. It was the time when the unscrupulous elements in the society were selling petrol by adding lead into it to improve the petrol octane rating which enables the vehicle to run faster. It is a worst pollutant of the atmosphere. Happily these days lead-free petrol is also available.
At present MGP is pre-occupied with the Mysore Master Plan 2031 and also the issues related to JNNURM and JUSCO.
Asked about the nature of calls MGP receives, Dr. Bhamy Shenoy says there is a variety ranging from a complaint against dry cleaners, telephone exchange, electricity, water supply, MRP issue to such major issues like garbage accumulation and disposal and the Master Plan.
To run an NGO of this kind, it is imperative to have advocates to take matters to Court where it is unavoidable and inevitable. When asked if MGP has a panel of advocates, Dr. Bhamy says yes. It has right now four advocates on their panel and their service is free because MGP is an NGO. However, MGP gives them out-of-pocket expenses.
The MGP has for all its 25 years in the service of the tax payers of Mysore city has about Rs. 15 lakh, raised from the membership fee, put in Fixed Deposit. The interest derived from this is used for filing PIL, buying stationeries, to meet travel expenses and more importantly to publish its monthly newspaper called ‘Grahaka Pathrike’ in Kannada.
At present MGP has an Executive Committee of nine members. The new Executive Committee of Mysore Grahakara Parishat (MGP) was installed at its 24th annual general body meeting held recently.
The nine-member Committee, which will serve for the period 2013-2016, consists of Prof. R. Chandra Prakash, President; Ashok Kacker, Working-President; Vishwas Krishna, Secretary; K.R. Seshadri, Treasurer; Maj. Gen. (Rtd.) S.G. Vombatkere, B.V. Shenoy, Uma Shenoi, Prof. S. Sobana and Prof. S. Sekhar, are Executive Committee Members.
When MGP was registered on March 15, 1989 the Founder-Members were Dr. H.A.B. Parpia, who recently passed away, President; Dr. Bhamy V. Shenoy, Working-President, who has offered the cellar of his house free for running the office of MGP; D.K. Ranganathan, a retired Railway employee, Treasurer and A.K. Ranganathan, Secretary.
It may be interesting to mention here how politicians pursue their personal agenda, well reinforced with a big ego, that often affect the developmental works, discourage those who want to take up social service and sometimes even embarrass the lesser mortals.
It appears the Treasurer and Founder-Member of MGP D.K. Ranganathan was also a social activist at Metagalli, where he lived. The simple folks of the area with a sense of gratitude named a park in that area after Ranganathan. However, the politician changed the name of the park to his own name. No comments.
May the MGP, a torch-bearer for Mysore city as an NGO when there was none, grow from strength to strength.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Feature Articles / December 01st, 2013
So far, 69-year-old Sudha Durg has helped more than 90 households also get Aadhar cards and senior citizen cards
Government authorities, including the MLA and corporator of Jeevan Kendra Layout in Ulsoor, know that a call from Sudha P Durg always means business. Neither diabetes nor age — she is 69 — deters this grandmother of three from doing what she loves to do: Lending a helping hand to the needy. From shuttling between houses in her locality collecting voter ID card, Aadhar card and senior citizen’s card forms to admitting impoverished children to school, Sudha does it all.
Homemaker Sudha was always restless as a young bride, but in a positive way. Although she loved mothering her children – a son and a daughter – the magnanimous side of hers was compelling. “From a very young age, I tried to do whatever I could for the people around me,” Sudha said with a smile. “We were more privileged than many other people around us, so I couldn’t sit back and do nothing.”
For the last 40 years, Sudha has been involved in social work such as educating the underprivileged — she got 25 children from families of construction workers admitted in government schools in Murphy Town — paying tuition fees for her maid’s children and attending to the needs of the backward classes. About four years ago though, she began championing the importance of voting.
“I would go from house to house, telling people to vote. That’s when I learnt that there were many people who did not have voter ID cards and didn’t even have a clue where to get it made. Many people did not have the time to run around government offices, so I decided to take it up for them,” she said.
Now, all the residents in her layout – 90 odd houses – and many others in neighbouring areas owe a debt of gratitude to her for getting their government documents made. “I started out by helping a few people here and there near my house, but soon, a lot of people came to know about me. They would come to my house seeking help. Since the government officials in my area such as the MLA and corporator know me well, it was never a trouble to get forms.”
Her immediate neighbour Jyothi Verma and her family of seven have Sudha to thank for getting their documents made. “Sudha herself got us the forms. All we had to do was fill those out and stick the photographs which she later came to collect. After a few weeks, our documents were delivered to our home. We did not have to go and collect even voter ID cards. Sudha received them herself and delivered them to us,” says Jyothi.
Sudha has also got residents in the area to contribute to appoint a security guard to watch over the area. Each house donates Rs 100. At the start of his duty every day, the security guard reports to Sudha and he knows better than to miss a single day on the job. Since 1996, beat police tick a register — now a card access system which they swipe — at her house, while pourakarmikas inform Sudha about their leave, and she accordingly informs everyone else.
While several other residential areas in the city suffer from parking problems, Sudha has streamlined parking in Jeevan Kendra Layout.
MH Naagthe, inspector, Ulsoor police station, lauds Sudha’s crime awareness initiative. “I always say prevention is better than detection. Sudha has been actively attending the workshops organised at the police station and is very knowledgeable about crime and the importance of being alert. She goes back and relays our messages to the residents, thus tutoring them on how to prevent crime.”
Backing Sudha in her noble cause is her husband Prabhakar Rao Durg as well as their son, daughter and their families. “She has been doing social service for the last 40 years and I know she loves everyday of her job. I help her out in any way I can like keeping a record of the amount collected from the society, payments, etc.,” says 77-year-old Durg.
source: http://www.bangaloremirror.com / Bangalore Mirror / Home> Bangalore> Others / by Tapasya Mitra Mazumdar, Bangalore Mirror Bureau / November 20th, 2013
Organ receiver now runs foundation for organ donation.
Reena Raju (second from left), is the first woman in Karnataka to undergo a heart transplant. – A Veeramani/DNA
Reena Raju, the first woman from the state to undergo a heart transplant four years ago, is now running an organisation, Light a Life, that raises funds for and spreads awareness about organ transplantation.
“The best way to honour a donor is by living life to the fullest and making it worthy,” says Raju, as she celebrates the 4th year of her rebirth, post the transplant.
The awareness drives and funds raised have helped many patients across the country. The six patients who received free life saving medicines and over 75 patients and their family members who received counselling, remain thankful for the support.
“Everyone knows that transplant is a costly affair. But the ones who want to save lives of their loved ones often miss some critical information – of the challenges and cost involved in post transplant care,” she pointed out.
“A kidney transplant can cost anywhere between Rs5 lakh and 15 lakh and patients who sell their property and jewellery to manage this expense are then left with nothing to look after the post transplant expenses.”
Jayaram G, a second year B Com student who underwent a kidney transplant agrees.
“I only wanted to live. But I had no organ and no money. My parents are labourers. After the surgery, I realised that the anti-rejection drugs that I need to take everyday to ensure that the new organ does not get rejected by my body are very expensive.”
He is currently being given free medicines by Light a Life. The other challenges they are exposed to is that of infections.
“Maintenance and care are so crucial,” says Mayanna K, a 41-year-old kidney recipient and farmer, “After the surgery, I now know that life has become very difficult. I have to take so many precautions and care to maintain the organ and avoid infections. Even a fever can lead to an organ failure.”
Mayanna managed to undergo the transplant and avail medicines at subsidised rates from a government hospital and is now receiving free medicines for a year from Raju’s foundation.
Manikantan A, a cable operator from Chennai earns less than half of what he needs to spend on post-transplant medication, and so decided to reduce his dosage of the immuno suppressant drugs which led to many complications.
For a transplant to be viable, it should be affordable and people should be completely informed about the extra care, regular tests and the side effects that the medicines could bring, Raju said.
The first heart recipient in the country to complete a 5.7km marathon and 8km cyclathon, Raju did not allow anything to take her life away from her.
“The most thrilling experience was parasailing and underwater sea walk that I recently went to. Isn’t it wonderful that one could take one’s donor heart to the sky and the sea bed?” the adventurous woman asked. Awareness about transplant is not just in terms of financial or medical aspects.
There are a bundle of myths waiting to be busted, she explained.
“Many patients reject organs because they think their feelings and emotions will be changed with a new organ coming in, which is ridiculous. And religious views such as ‘eye donors will go to heaven without eyes’ and ‘bodies must be cremated within a certain period of time’ stops a donor from helping the needy.”
The 32-year-old also believes that Indians are givers and if we can spread sufficient awareness and make the system of transplantation transparent, people will come forward and donate.
source: http://www.danindia.com / DNA / Home> Bangalore> Report / by Shruthi EN / Place: Bangalore, Agency: DNA / Wednesday – November 20th, 2013
Prof. C.N.R. Rao with wife Indumathi in Bengaluru —DC/R. Samuel
Bengaluru:
Professor C.N.R. Rao’s office at the Indian Institute of Science in Bengaluru received a steady stream of visitors all through Sunday morning. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah was the first to arrive, at 8.30 am, followed by a brief interaction with the media.
A visibly exhausted Prof. Rao then retired to his study, where friends and well-wishers continued to drop by.
“I even got a phone call from someone at 1 am,” he told us, later. Why the rush? On Saturday afternoon, Prof. Rao, one of the foremost authority on solid states and materials chemistry, was conferred the Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian honour, felicitating decades of breakthrough research, 1,600 papers and 45 books.
In came Dr Roddam Narasimha, one of the country’s most prominent aerospace scientists and a dear friend to Prof. Rao. Dr Govindarajan Padmanabhan, Prof. Balram’s predecessor as the director of the Indian Institute of Science, the AGP and Prof. Kumar, and former director, Raman Research Institute, were also among the elite list of visitors.
Meanwhile, we were ushered into another room to speak with Prof. Rao’s wife, Indumathi, about the CNR Rao Educational Foundation.
The Foundation was formed back in 2005, the year Prof. Rao won the prestigious Dan David Prize for Science, a million-dollar grant. “We decided to use that money to give back to society,” said Mrs Rao.
The CNR Rao Hall of Science, Madan Mohan Malviya, was funded by the Ambani Trust. Each year, the Foundation honours two teachers, one from Karnataka, usually from a Kannada medium school and one from across the country.
“It’s not just what they do in class, but what they do outside of it, to enthuse their students,” Mrs Rao explained.
Prof. Rao celebrates his birthday each year (June 30) by organising a Teachers’ Day, of sorts, with lectures and a music concert. “Music is very important to us,” Mrs Rao added, with a smile. Why? “It’s so beautiful, don’t you think?” she replied.
The Foundation has remained, with intent, a tiny organisation, run on very low funding. “We don’t want to ask anybody for money and besides, I’m the one who has to manage it, which I really can’t do anymore,” Mrs Rao admitted. The couple is nearing eighty now and although they do seem full of beans, age has undoubtedly taken its toll.
The Foundation has worked with over 60,000 children since it was formed, with an average of about 2,000 students each year. “We work with rural children in particular, because they are so motivated and talented, but have no opportunities,” she said.
Prof. Rao, who was born into an educated middle-class family, attributes his success entirely to education. “We had no godfathers,” he remarked.
Nearly an hour later, we are allowed in to Prof Rao’s office. His little study is piled high with bouquets, hiding a most eclectic collection of books. Being of the firm belief that you are what you read, I rummaged only to find books on Persian poetry, music and art lying side by side with heavy volumes on Science.
I’d learned, through the grapevine at the Institute, that Prof. Rao had a green thumb.
“I’m the official tree planter,” he agreed, happily, saying he’s planted over 20,000 trees in his lifetime. Not too long ago, four trees on the border of the IISc campus were uprooted because the branches got in the way of a high-voltage wire.
“All they needed to do was trim the branches, but they cut down the trees. I was outraged and nobody said anything!” he said.
“I created a forest here, but they’ve gone and put a road there and done all kinds of foolish things,” he added crossly. “The JNCASR campus is beautiful. I don’t allow vehicles to drive through either. I like to stay in harmony with nature.”
We return to a question that first arose the evening before — should the government do more to bridge the gap between industry and research? “The industry isn’t interested in funding research,” said Prof. Rao. “In other parts of the world, nearly 60 per cent of the research being done is funded by private companies.” It is a little known fact that Prof.
Rao received a $5 million grant from Sheikh Saud of Saudi Arabia. “We met at a conference once and he really seemed to like me,” Prof. Rao explained. “Soon after, he flew down to JNCASR and gave me a grant, with no strings attached!” The Sheikh paid him another visit only last month.
“Wealthy Indians are more interested in funding universities abroad. Ratan Tata has done nothing for IISc yet, for instance. Give me three or four million dollars,” he said suddenly, “I’ll set up a university as good as Harvard.”
It doesn’t take him long to meander towards his second favourite thing in the world — music. “I listen to Hindustani classical music,” he said, delving into the small mountain of bouquets to locate his music collection —which includes cassettes, by the way! It has become customary for Prof. Rao to bring well-known musicians down to the institute, the most recent being Pt Amjad Ali Khan.
The conversation slowly veers back to science and the Bharat Ratna award. Will the award give careers in science and research a touch of glamour? Prof. Rao dismisses the idea. “Science doesn’t involve glamour for me,” he said at once. “All that matters is asking the right questions.” Prof. Rao is currently working on artificial photosynthesis, which he hopes to recreate in his lab. “I want to create material that is ordinarily useless, but which can be made to absorb sunlight.”
At the age of 80, Prof. Rao still manages to publish an astounding 30 papers each year, more than most scientists still in their prime. “I work all the time, I’m always writing something. I actually dream about how I’m going to phrase a particular sentence,” he said.
Back in 2007, Prof. Rao raised many eyebrows, by saying that IT employees are like coolies who work for wages without producing any significant intellectual material. Did Narayana Murthy call to congratulate him? “No,” he said. “I don’t call him; he doesn’t call me.” The Infosys Foundation has started giving out a Science Prize, we ventured helpfully.
“That’s not a very good prize,” Prof. Rao retorted. “There are far more deserving scientists. Besides, the Infosys Foundation tends to laud Indian scientists who are working abroad. They don’t need the help, while scientists in this country do,” he said angrily. “Narayana Murthy’s committees are full of nepotistic relationships.”
Prof. Rao then wades into an ocean of nostalgia for a little while, talking about Rajiv Gandhi, whom he served as Chairman of the PM’s Advisory Council from 1985 to 1989. “He was a wonderful man,” he said, staring glassily into the distance. “People would portray him as a party person, but he was a teetotaller.
He was also quite the moralist. The day he was assassinated was one of the saddest in my life,” he said, adding, quite succinctly, “I really admired Indira Gandhi too. She had class,” he said. Does that mean today’s politicians don’t have class? “Today’s politicians are a bunch of crazy guys,” he replied.
“Just look at the sort of language they use and the way they talk about women. The mindset in our political class today is that women are merely sex objects,” he said, a look of disdain marring his otherwise smiling face for a moment.
As the conversation drifted in and out of a plethora of issues, science, it seemed, was foremost on Prof. Rao’s mind. Funding science, he remarked, is last on the government’s priority list. “At best, we get about 20 per cent of the funding we require. I’ve never had political patronage and I’ve never sought it either. Politicians are here today and gone tomorrow.”
Prof. Rao’s Foundation does try to fill this void by promoting scientists from some of the least developed nations.
“We do offer grants of up to Rs 5 lakh each year,” he said. His family has been sending urgent messages to his study, beckoning him for lunch at once, so we take our leave too. What we did get, in the end, was a glimpse of the man behind the science – a remarkable man he is, too. All that’s left to say is this, “Professor Rao, you’ve done India proud.”
source: http://www.deccanchronicle.com / Deccan Chronicle / Home> News> Current Affairs / DC / by Darshana Ramdev / November 18th, 2013
Linguistic Society of India (LSI) President Prof. Anvita Abbi is seen lighting the lamp as CIIL Director Prof. Awadesh Kumar Mishra, New York State University’s Prof. S. N. Sridhar and others look on.
Mysore :
The three-day 35th annual and first international conference of Linguistic Society of India (LSI) commenced yesterday at the premises of Central Institute of Indian Languages (CIIL) on Hunsur Road here which has been organised jointly by CIIL and LSI.
The conference is being attended by 200 delegates from 18 countries which features paper presentations and discussions.
Inaugurating the conference, CIIL Director Prof. Awadesh Kumar Mishra said that the institute was striving to develop small languages. He opined that all linguists should work together to promote and develop all the Indian languages. He contended that education was mandatory in all the languages for an overall development.
Presiding over the programme, LSI President Prof. Anvita Abbi opined that language of North Eastern States were rich in culture which need to be developed fully. She suggested linguists to also focus on research in the field.
New York State University’s Prof. S.N. Sridhar delivered the keynote address on ‘The world of a multilingual: An Indian perspective.’
LSI Secretary Dr. Shailendra Mishra, Conference Co-ordinator Dr. L. Ramamurthy and others were present.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> General News / November 28th, 2013
The commercial ties between the US and India stretch back to 1792 when President George Washington, the first US President, sent an official envoy to the city of Madras and established a permanent presence in city. Ever since, both the countries have recognised the enormous potential of cultivating this partnership. US remains the leading investor in India, both in terms of projects and jobs generated. Foreign Direct Investment from US firms created more than 355,000 jobs between 2007 and 2011. IT industry dominates the sector, with 60%-70% of our revenues coming from the US, said S. Nagarajan, Chairman, CII Mysore.
With this background, CII Mysore is organising an interactive session with Dr. Rajan Natarajan, Deputy Secretary of State, Policy & External Affairs, State of Maryland, USA, on Nov. 28 at Hotel Quorum in city at 5 pm.
Dr. Natarajan will address and interact with industries on US-India Technology Partnership; How to do business with US; New Markets and Investment opportunities for Indian Companies.
Dr. Natarajan was appointed as the Deputy Secretary of State by Governor Martin O’Malley in June 2011. He is the first Indian born-American, who currently holds the highest administrative position in the US and in Maryland’s history. His portfolio include representing the Governor and the Secretary of State at designated public events, advising the Secretary on external affairs, fostering and promoting international diplomatic mission, building public, private and business partnerships, FDI and trade promotion, enhancing educational and institutional collaborations, facilitating technology commercialisation.
In addition, he is responsible for advancing international Sister-State programmes in more than 13 countries that include (China, Japan, Brazil, India, South Korea, Liberia, Nigeria, South Africa, Turkey, Vietnam, Estonia, Ireland, and Russia), coordinating legislative and executive branches of government agencies, policy development and legislative approval, monitor policy implementation, and overseeing the Maryland International Consortium. He is also currently serving as a Member of the Governor’s International Advisory Council.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> General News / November 27th, 2013
SPI CEO Sid Mookerji is seen receiving the award from S.R. Patil, Minister for IT, BT, Science and Technology as Shashi Tharoor, Union Minister of State for Human Resources, looks on.
Mysore :
Software Paradigms Infotech Pvt. Ltd. (SPI) has received the coveted ‘Highest IT Exporter-IT Services’ award for Mysore region (2012-2013). This award is conferred by Government of India and Department of IT, BT & ST, Government of Karnataka, in association with STPI.
The ‘Highest IT Exporter-IT Services’ Award is one of the most prestigious recognitions received by software companies for making a significant contribution to the total software exports of the country.
The award was presented to SPI CEO Sid Mookerji at Bangalore IT Biz-2013 recently. The trophy and certificate were presented by Shashi Tharoor, Union Minister of State for Human Resources and S.R. Patil, Karnataka Minister for IT, BT, Science and Technology, Planning and Statistics.
SPI was declared the Highest IT Exporter from the region in 2009-10, 2010-11 and 2011-2012. SPI had also received the Certificate of Excellence Award in IT exports 2003-04 and 2004-05.
“We are delighted to have won the Highest IT Exporter award for the fourth consecutive year. This establishes us as a leading IT player in tier II cities. SPI has been growing steadily both organically and inorganically; we have made two acquisitions this year. We will continue to deliver best of breed solutions that address the evolving business needs of our customers,” said Sid Mookerji.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> General News / November 27th, 2013
President Barack Obama plans to nominate Dr. Vivek Hallegere Murthy, the Indian-American head of a doctors group that promotes his signature healthcare law to be the next US surgeon general.
Murthy is a hospitalist at the Brigham and is co-founder and president of Doctors for America, a Washington, DC-based group of 16,000 physicians and medical students that advocates for access to affordable, high quality health care.If confirmed by the Senate, Murthy will replace Regina Benjamin, who was appointed by Obama in 2009 and left her post last summer.
The job focuses heavily on public health issues.Murthy was appointed to the President’s Advisory Group on Prevention, Health Promotion, and Integrative and Public Health in 2011. The prevention group was created as part of the Affordable Care Act health reform law.
His group, Doctors for America, was originally called Doctors for Obama and helped to campaign for Obama’s election.
Murthy co-founded VISIONS Worldwide in 1995, a non-profit organization focused on HIV/AIDS education in India and the United States, where he served as President from 1995 to 2000 and Chairman of the Board from 2000 to 2003.
Murthy received a BA from Harvard University, an MBA from Yale School of Management, and an MD from Yale School of Medicine.
“I am confident that these outstanding individuals will greatly serve the American people in their new roles and I look forward to working with them in the months and years to come,” Obama said in announcing Murthy’s appointment along with three other key posts.
The announcement came shortly after Obama acknowledging that his administration “fumbled” in the troubled rollout of his healthcare law offered a fix that would allow insurers to keep for another year people on plans that were to be cancelled for not meeting minimum standards under the new law.
In the midst of mounting criticism of the troubled healthcare website, former President Bill Clinton had Tuesday suggested that Obama should make sure Americans can retain their current health insurance plans, even if it means revamping the Affordable Care Act.
“I personally believe, even if it takes a change to the law, the president should honour the commitment the federal government made to those people and let them keep what they’ve got,” Clinton told OZY, a news website.
Murthy, though was born in London and shifted base to the US later, he has links with the Hallegere village of Mandya district.
source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> International / by Agencies / Washington – November 15th, 2013
![A file photo of Mysore Grahakara Parishat [MGP] holding its first meeting which was attended by (from left) Chiranjiv Singh, IAS, Dr. Bhamy V. Shenoy (Working President), V.P. Baligar, IAS, Dr. H.A.B. Parpia (President) and A.K. Ranganathan (Secretary).](http://www.bangalorefirst.in/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/MGPbf07dec2013.jpg)
