Feb 02 2015 : The Times of India (Delhi)

Obesity could lead to cancer, finds study

Janani Sampath1





Indians At Risk; Docs Advise Dietary Changes To Reduce Threat

Nearly everyone knows that obesity is a major cause of cardiovascular problems and diabetes. But what many do not know is that extra kilos can also lead to that emperor of maladies -cancer.Obesity is now pandemic and researchers have noted a statistically increased risk of developing cancers, especially that of the breast, endometrium, colon and rectum, among overweight people. Several studies including one by National Cancer Institute, USA, indicate that there is a direct link between obesity and cancer. Doctors who conducted these studies say unless obese individuals make appropriate dietary changes, obesity could soon overtake tobacco as the top cause of cancer.
The Overseas Development Institute, an independent think tank, found that Indians constitute a huge chunk of the one in three adults who are obese, a total of up to 1.46 billion across the world. Simultaneously ,a 16-year-long study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, which followed 90,000 American adults, revealed that the heaviest participants were more likely to develop and die from cancer than participants with healthy weight.
“Though there are no Indian studies on the subject, research done abroad is relevant to us as well as we are increasingly aping the West in terms of diet. The number of obese people in India has increased exponentially ,“ Rigid Lifeline Hospitals surgical gastroenterologist Dr J S Rajkumar said.
The surgeon recently submitted a paper to the Journal of Obesity and Metabolic Research exposing the link between cancer and obesity . He said though the answer to how obesity causes cancer may be different for each type of cancer, the overall explanation is that obesity triggers changes in bodily functions, which can lead to harmful cell growth and cell division.
Explaining the link, senior diabetologist Dr A Ramakrishnan said the link between obesity and cancer is insulin resistance.“Both obesity and cancer result from body losing its ability to burn fat as fuel. Obesity is linked to excess levels of insulin circulating in blood and this can stimulate harmful cell proliferation. It also increases oxidative stress levels in overweight people, increasing risk of cancer,“ he said.
Stressing on the link between obesity and breast, colon and endometrial cancer, oncologist Dr Deb Narayan Dutta of Apollo Hospitals said excess fat cells, when partially metabolised, become carcinogenic.
“In women, obesity exposes them to higher estrogen levels because estrogen is produced in fat tissue. Obese women therefore have more estrogen, which can lead to insulin resistance and the development of more fat tissue, which produces even more estrogen, making it a vicious cycle that raises the risk of estrogen-sensitive cancers,“ he said.
Dr Rajkumar said overweight people can significantly reduce the risk of developing cancer through behavioural, pharmaceutical and surgical strategies.

Economic & Political Weekly: Table of Contents

Forty Years After

The Great Indian Railway Strike of 1974

Vol - L No. 4, January 24, 2015 | Ranabir Samaddar 

• Special Articles

Even as one of the most distinctive aspects of the Great Railway Strike of 1974 was the autonomy of the rank and file, the significance of the struggle had much to do with the nature of the times. The country was in the midst of a general political crisis; even sections of the peasantry were in revolt. Despite these favourable circumstances, and the expression of solidarity from the industrial working class, the National Coordination Committee for Railwaymen's Struggle was not resolute and decisive enough, as much as the situation demanded, and in this respect it failed the rank and file. In the absence of a political vanguard, the uprising was left without a determined subject.

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Editorials Quarter Century of Exile Kashmir's Pandits have been abandoned by a callous state and society, and cynical supporters. Read more	Editorials The Dead We Did Not Mourn Why does the world ignore the killings in Nigeria by Boko Haram? Read more
Editorials Long on Eloquence, Short on Detail The draft National Health Policy 2015 needs to pay more attention to the basics of healthcare. Read more	Commentary From the Planning Commission to the NITI Aayog Prabhat Patnaik The transition from the Planning Commission to the Niti Aayog reflects the completion of the transition from a state professing anti-imperialism to a neo-liberal state.Niti Aayog will oversee a greater centralisation of powers in the central... Read more
Commentary Role and Functions of NITI Aayog M Govinda Rao The architecture, engineering and management aspects of the new institution, NITI Aayog, will have to be crafted carefully, if it is to serve as an institution to impart dynamism to the developmental process in a harmonious manner. Its... Read more	Commentary Notes on a Literary Death V Geetha The vicious campaign by local Hindu and caste groups in Tamil Nadu against the prolific Tamil writer Perumal Murugan's book Mathorupagan is rooted in the perverse politics of caste honour. Also, this strategy of bullying him into silence... Read more
Commentary Brushing Aside the Conspiracy Angle (UPDATED) Manisha Sethi The order by the Central Bureau of Investigation providing a clean chit to former Gujarat Home Minister Amit Shah has wiped out the entire slate of the Supreme Court's intervention in various encounter death cases. The discharge of the "... Read more	Commentary Pope Francis: Opening the Doors a Bit More Savitri Hensman Pope Francis has been an outspoken critic of a social and economic system based on massive inequality and surprised many by his famous statement on gays, "who am I to judge?" From brokering a thaw in the relationship between the United... Read more
Commentary Did Argentina 'Default'? T Sabri Öncü, Jorge Vilches A US court ruling has warped the otherwise precise meanings of three key words - "republic", "sovereign", and "default" - leading to absurdities like a New York district court holding the Republic of Argentina in... Read more	Book Reviews Unrealised Democratic Potential Rahul Banerjee Panchayati Raj by Kuldeep Mathur (New Delhi: Oxford University Press), Oxford India Short Introductions, 2013; pp 224, Rs 195. Read more
Book Reviews Surviving Land Grab Kalpana Sharma The Durable Slum: Dharavi and the Right to Stay Put in Globalizing Mumbai by Liza Weinstein (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press; published in India by Orient BlackSwan), pp 216, Rs 695. Read more	Perspectives A Tale of Two Commissions and the Missing Links Y Venugopal Reddy There have been several missing links in the recent debate on the future of the Planning and Finance Commissions. First, it is not clear whether the debate was more about the future of planning or about the future of the Planning Commission. How... Read more
Special Articles India's Failed Transition to a Gold Currency in the 1860s Sashi Sivramkrishna Recent historical research on the emergence of the classical gold standard tends to omit India's failed attempt at moving to a gold currency in the 1860s. Though this was extensively deliberated upon in contemporary studies and in the works of... Read more	Special Articles Forest Rights Act Land Distribution and Livelihoods of Forest Dependent People Madhusudan Bandi This paper, based on an empirical study in Chhattisgarh and Gujarat, attempts to examine the land and livelihood facets of forest dependent people following the claims made by them under the Forest Rights Act. It also touches upon factors... Read more
Special Articles Design of Regulatory Institutions TRAI as Work-in-Progress Maruthi P Tangirala Telecom Regulatory Authority of India was first created by promulgating an ordinance; it was also restructured using the ordinance route. Reluctance of the executive branch to establish a truly independent regulator is palpable in the statute... Read more	Postscript Beyond Grief Anjum Altaf Recent incidents around the world remind us that we will not be able to limit violence till we internalise the norm of individual civil rights and accept the sanctity of the human body. Read more
Postscript Good Touch, Bad Touch C K Meena In interactions between adults and children there is a thin line between genuine affection and lascivious intent. Read more	Postscript Net Work Mrinmoy Majumder The global growth in internet-based labour activism augurs well for a new social and political paradigm built around the digital space for negotiation and bargaining. Read more
Postscript A Noble First Dhirendra Sharma Abdus Salam, the founder-director of the Third World Academy of Sciences at Trieste, was the first Indian Muslim Nobel Laureate.

Hindustan University announces dates for HITSEEE 2015 -

Hindustan University has announced the dates for HITSEEE 2015 – the Hindustan Engineering Entrance Examination for this year. The online entrance examination for the streams of study includes B. Tech & B. Arch and will be held on 25th and 26th April 2015.

The application form for the entrance exam can be downloaded from the university website. The last date of submission of the form is 20th April 2015. The student applying for the BTech program must be under 19 years of age and must have scored at least 50% average marks in Physics, Mathematics and Chemistry put together under the curriculum prescribed by the Government. And the students applying for B. Arch Courses, he / she should pass in plus two with an aggregate of not less than 50% in (10+2) level or its equivalent examination with Mathematics / Business Mathematics as one of the subjects is required.

The University focuses on Emerging technology areas by offering Engineering Degrees in specialised fields of study such as Nano Technology, Clean Energy, Cyber Security &Defense Technology Studies. . The university will focus on these innovative and new areas of study to fulfill the huge shortfall of skilled workforce needed to bridge the gap in the growing requirement created by these emerging technology areas.

Additionally, Hindustan University has also introduced Outcome Based Curriculum and syllabus across all streams of study. This will not only help offer students a better grasp of the fundamentals of study but will also offer an integrated approach toward research within a structured learning environment with exposure to cutting edge technologies that is required by the modern industries.

The University has instituted a scholarship programme for students. Known as Dr. KCG Verghese Scholarship Scheme is offered under three categories:

1)     Merit Scholarship – Tuition Fee Waiver Scheme. This is offered to HITSEEE participants based on their scoring.

2)     Merit Cum Means Scholarship – This is offered to meritorious studentswho are economically weak/physically challenged/ Children of Ex service men and those serving in defence.

3)   Sports & Cultural Scholarship – This is offered to students with outstanding performance records in sports & cultural activities in state and national levels.

The University has also entered into collaborative agreements with over 40 leading International Universities and has also signed several collaborative agreements with the industry for customized training and placement of students with companies such as Toyota and Volkswagon, IBM etc.

- See more at: http://digitallearning.eletsonline.com/2015/01/hindustan-university-announces-dates-for-hitseee-2015/#sthash.gMnrTThw.dpuf

Alma matters

Are alumni meets just occasions to revive memories? It looks like there is more to it.

College is the place where memories are made. No matter how much one cribs about different aspects of the college throughout the course, when it’s time to leave, there is always a sense of nostalgia. Memorable times spent with friends hanging out in the canteen, bunking classes and the rush to finish an assignment as the deadline approaches, become things to reminisce about. But how can this bond be

maintained even after leaving college? This is where alumni associations come into the picture, bringing together people and facilitating the sharing of knowledge and experience.

Getting together

For the Alumni Association of College of Engineering, Guindy (AACEG), the journey began when a group of CEG alumni met up. “We realised that for the last 15 years, a substantial population (almost 50 per cent) of the College of Engineering, Guindy (CEG), has migrated to different parts of the world. We also realised that like us, other alumni wanted to give back something to the college through their experience and expertise, or assist a startup by a college alumnus. So, our original goal was to create an infrastructure for that,” says A.J. Balasubramanian, an independent business consultant who is a part of the AACEG. “Typically, alumni meets are restricted to a specific batch. Our primary idea was to pool together their experience and expertise, and create a platform to enable interaction between alumni from different batches,” says Vish A. Viswanathan, a 1985 alumnus of CEG, also a part of its core committee.

The alumni association of Madras Medical College, the second oldest medical college in India, restarted its activities in 1994 after a long break. “At the medical college, I got the opportunity to travel to different places across the world. This exposed me to how things work there. We found that alumni associations are really strong in colleges abroad and sought to emulate the same,” says Dr. Arulpitchai Narayanan, president of the alumni association of Madras Medical College (MMC).

Staying connected

The progress of the alumni association of MMC has been phenomenal. “Earlier, we used to circulate posters as other modes of communication were not easily accessible. Then, we moved to SMS and email. Now, we have established a strong virtual network and keep in touch through a Facebook page, email and Whatsapp,” says Dr. Narayanan. What holds this together is a committed group of voluntary members. “We have a website, besides a Facebook page, which helps us stay connected. We believe that it is important to have a connection from across batches rather than just with your batch mates,” says CEG’s Balasubramanian.

The organisation not only encourages alumni who are in the engineering field, but also others who studied engineering but chose to excel in other areas, such as social work, journalism, sports, movies, etc.

Networking

Driven by the tagline ‘secure, strengthen and sustain’, the AACEG has a threefold plan to help students and alumni.

The first plan is to set up a virtual incubator and an angel fund for students who are working on startup ideas. The second plan involves creating a cell and an infrastructure through which alumni who have a job but are looking for a change, or are planning to begin a startup, can get assistance.

“Our third idea was to pool in some money and start a scholarship for physically challenged students. We managed to collect around Rs.10 lakh for this purpose,” says Balasubramanian.

Another advantage of having alumni meets is that students get to showcase their talents. Says Arulpitchai Narayanan, “We have a research support group to aid students and encourage them to do medical research. The alumni are an integral part of this system and help in passing contacts which helps in the development of the college and the students.”

There are several other benefits. “Alumni Association and their Divisions play the role of a mediator in helping the students in their academic/research needs. On the other hand, by getting involved in these activities, the alumni stay emotionally connected to their Alma mater,” says Veeky Baths, faculty Incharge, BITS Alumni Affairs Division.

Keywords: alumni meet, alumni networking, alumni associations

The dynamics of inequality

Occupational and geographic mobility across the region are bridging income and consumption-related disparities, says the World Bank report, ‘Addressing Inequality in South Asia’. The findings accordingly underscore the role of urbanisation and private sector participation as being critical to mitigating socio-economic disadvantages. Inequality should be understood in terms of monetary and non-monetary dimensions of well-being, contends the report. The share of the poorest 40 per cent of households in total consumption shows that inequality in South Asia is moderate by international standards. The comparison is valid even though estimates elsewhere are based on income per capita. Significantly, but not surprisingly, economic mobility of the recent decades has proved beneficial to the population at large, cutting across traditional divides and challenging stereotypes. This finding, if anything, underscores the positive effects of legal safeguards for the protection of minorities. Indeed, monetary inequality of enormous significance is manifested in India’s highly disproportionate billionaire wealth, amounting to 12 per cent of gross domestic product in 2012. The ratio is considerably large even compared with other countries at a similar level of economic development, says the report.

Conversely, non-monetary indices of well-being pertain to opportunities available to people in the early years, outcomes during adulthood and support systems through the life-cycle. Thus, although it is not the poorest region, South Asia accounts for some of the worst human development outcomes in basic education and health care. Besides the highest rates of infant and child mortality that prevail in many parts of the region, more than 50 per cent of poor children below five years of age in Bangladesh and Nepal are stunted; the proportion for India is over 60 per cent. Pervasive tax avoidance and regressive fuel and electricity subsidies are primarily responsible for the inadequate provisioning of public services. Of no insignificant value is the non-dogmatic stance the report adopts on a fundamental moral question such as inequality. Drawing upon influential academic debates in economics and philosophy, the study argues that the rewards linked to hard work and entrepreneurship serve as incentives to give one’s best and enhance overall well-being. It would be fair to infer that non-monetary inequalities are arbitrary and potentially more detrimental to economic growth over the long term. To bring such ideas into the public and political mainstream would enhance the quality of the debate, and further consolidate contemporary competitive electoral democracies.

Keywords: South Asia, World Bank report, inequality, education, health care, human development, social protection programmes

Jan 30 2015 : The Economic Times (Delhi) Gandhi's Navajivan Trust Opens Café for Youth Gandhinagar: Our Political Bureau   No charge for food, reading books on Gandhi; trust to rely on contributions of visitors While the state government showcased Mahatma Gandhi in a glitzy state of the art museum in Gandhinagar, ahead of Pravasi Bharatiya Divas, Navajivan Trust set up by Mahatma Gandhi himself quietly opened a café a day before the death anniversary of Gandhiji to take his message to the youth.What marks this café apart is the fact that it will not charge any specific amount to visitors for the food they have. Instead, they will hand them over an envelope for a contribution. Visitors also get to read the books published by the trust on Gandhian thoughts for free. There is also a provision to buy books if one wants. Along with the café, there is also an exhibition of some never seen before photographs of Mahatma Gandhi and the printing machines he had bought in 1922 to start his Harijan newspaper. The café will serve simple food like idli, dhokla, thepla and upma as well as soft drinks on five working days and ‘Gandhi Thali’ com prising khichdi, kadi, roti or bhakri (a form of chapatis) and sabji with milk on weekends. “The trust is doing this on its own without any support from anyone,” said Manilal Patel, consultant to the trust. The café with both indoor and outdoor settings has a museum next to it with several rare photographs of Mahatma Gandhi. “Many of these photographs were given to the trust by German Photographer Peter Ruhe after we got in touch with him,” said Vivek Desai, the managing trustee of Navajivan Trust. The museum also has for the first time put on display the printing machines that Gandhiji had procured in 1922 to publish his newspaper apart from the typewriters used by his secretary Mahadev Desai.

Jan 30 2015 : The Times of India (Delhi)

HIV fears rise over dip in condom supplies

Sushmi Dey

New Delhi:





At least six states are facing a severe shortage of condoms distributed under the government's AIDS control programme, giving rise to a public health concern over the risk of HIV infections spreading.These shortages have been continuing for around eight months in states such as Haryana, Uttarakhand and MP , which have relatively high HIV prevalence. UP , Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan also face a supply crisis.“While government manufacturer HLL Lifecare is un able to keep up with demand, negotiations with private players is a long-drawn process,“ a source said. Target intervention groups, which distrib ute condoms as part of public health programmes, have written to the State AIDS Prevention and Control Society (SACS) and other bodies, urgently seeking supplies, sources said.
The matter was recently raised with the Union health ministry , following which the health secretary met senior officials from the National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) on Thursday .
“The issue has been brought to my notice. We have a meeting again tomorrow where we will analyse the situation and take measures to address the problem,“ health secretary Lov Verma told TOI.
Sources said the shortage Source: NACO factsheet, 2013-14 is primarily caused by bureaucratic delays. “Several target invention groups working in these states have written to us seeking supplies of condoms as there are shortages. We have reported the matter to the government in our recent meeting,“ said Nochiketa Mohanty, country program man ager at AIDS Healthcare Foundation India. AHF, a Los Angeles-based nonprofit organization, provides anti-retroviral medicines and advocacy in 36 countries.
The crisis is not limited to condoms. There is also a shortage of HIV testing kits as well as anti-retroviral medicines, mainly pediatric drugs, across the country , health activists working with HIV patients informed.
Medecins Sans Frontieres, another leading international group working with HIVAIDS patients, confirmed the shortages of condoms as well as anti-retroviral drugs and testing kits across many states.
The UN estimates that India currently has the third largest population of HIV infected people in the world.