Thursday, April 09, 2015
India’s first centre for chronic conditions launched
A centre to study and find solutions to chronic diseases was launched by Minister of State for Science and Technology Y S Chowdary in New Delhi on Tuesday.
The Centre for Control of Chronic Conditions (CCCC) is an international partnership among the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Delhi; Emory University, USA; the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, UK and the Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI), Delhi.
On this occasion, AIIMS director M C Misra said, “India, alongside other developing nations, has not yet got over infectious disease burden in all age groups, and childhood, in particular. It is also projected that India and China will house the largest proportion (80 per cent) of elderly population with all antecedent health issues, which would include chronic disease burden, which has not been witnessed earlier.”
What CCCC is all about
The centre headquartered at PHFI will boast of a multi-disciplinary group of researchers and health professionals from a wide range of disciplines like clinical, public health, genetics, biochemistry and social sciences.
Primarily, CCCC will focus on chronic conditions like cardiovascular diseases and stroke, mental disorders, diabetes, chronic lung diseases, cancers, injuries and chronic kidney diseases.
On this occasion, Chowdary also released a report on Chronic Conditions in India—Evidence based Solutions for a Growing Health Crisis. The report addresses the rising number of chronic diseases in India and argues that the cost of inaction towards chronic conditions would be too high for the country to bear.
Expert comments
Expert comments
Talking about injuries, Misra said, “Injury epidemic is real in developing countries and 88 per cent of injury burden remains in Asia which is contributed largely by India and China.”
He added that when we compare death in all age groups, injury stands at number three. But when it comes to years of productive life lost and Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALYs) due to injury, the number exceeds both cancer and heart disease put together.
In his address, James Curran, Dean, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, said, “The challenge of chronic conditions confronting India cannot be overstated. It is assumed that chronic conditions are diseases only affecting rich countries or the rich people in poor countries. Evidence now tells us that this is untrue. Chronic conditions are now a global challenge and there is a pressing need for greater understanding on how it affects people, and even threatens to undermine economic development.”
Srinath Reddy of PHFI said, “India currently faces the dual burden of communicable diseases and chronic non-communicable diseases The increasing burden of chronic conditions has had not only obvious health implications but also economic and developmental consequences. …Centre for Control of Chronic Conditions will generate world-class knowledge which can impact policy and practice, and will work with and educate the wider community about lifestyle-associated diseases to improve quality of life and reduce the burden of chronic conditions.”
India among world’s top 5 MBA destinations”
It is an important development for management schools across India, as the country is ranked among the top five preferred study destinations worldwide, ahead of countries such as Hong Kong, Germany, Singapore, Netherlands and Australia.
According to the study by Graduate Management Admission Council which conducts the GMAT for admission to 6,100 graduate business and management programs worldwide, rankings don’t feature in top five consideration criteria for actually selecting a program and a study destination. The study revealed that during the decision making process for selection of B-school criteria, quality of faculty, job placement, programme type and fee structure matter more than the rankings for aspiring management graduates.
The number of B-school aspirants seeking to study outside their country of citizenship has increased from 40% in 2010 to 52%. India features among the top five destinations, while the leader’s (the US), popularity decreased from 73% of prospective students in 2010 to 66% in 2014. Two-thirds (66%) of prospective students across the globe, however, still prefer the US, followed by the UK (6%), Canada (5%), France (3%), India (3%), Hong Kong (2%), Germany (2%), Singapore (2%), Netherlands (2%) and Australia (1%).
Plan to make namma IIT numero uno
Eminent intellectuals, engineers and former IIT professors from the state came under one roof with a strong plan to make namma IIT in Karnataka the best institute among the country’s 23 branches.
Speaking at a seminar on ‘IIT Karnataka – optimal location and guidelines towards making it world class,’ organized by the Institution of Engineers, SS Murthy, former professor of IIT-Delhi suggested that the IIT should be established at a location that offers a cosmopolitan ambience to attract students from different parts of the country, and one that’s within a two-hour drive from an international airport. “If we don’t establish the IIT in such a place, then there’ll be interference from babus (politicians) wanting to help locals get jobs in the institution.”
He pointed out that 11 IITs are situated in state capitals and five others are located close to them. The remaining are suffering, he added. With a huge demand from across districts wanting to house the prestigious institution, Murthy suggested that the government establish one main IIT in one city and two sub-centers at other places. “This concept is followed in US universities; Uttar Pradesh itself has two IITs,” said Murthy. BVA Rao, former professor, IIT-Madras, said ever since their establishment in 1950, none of the IITs has managed to attract foreign students.
Vedanta - The Faith, Reason Link
ANURAG
|
A little girl was to undergo surgery . The surgeon told her, “Before we can make you well, we must put you to sleep for a little while.“ The little girl looked up and smiled, “Oh, if you are going to put me to sleep, I must say my prayers first.“She knelt down beside the table and prayed, “Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray thee, Lord, my soul to keep, If I should die before I wake, I pray thee, Lord, my soul to take.“
The surgeon said afterwards that he prayed that night for the first time in 30 years. Prayer doesn't change things. It changes people, and they change things. So, don't pray for lighter burdens; pray for stronger backs.
Faith, as em bodied in reli gion, and rea son, as embo died in scien ce, are often but errone ously thought of as being in opposition to each other. Science is not an enemy of religion, only of superstition. Both science and religion are engaged in the search for truth, the main difference lies in the methodologies used.
Science is an investigation of truth in the finite nature outside, the object. Religion is an investigation into the nature of the infinite, the subject. Science aims for universally verifiable knowledge. Religion aims for individual realisation. It is true that universal laws operate regardless of one's beliefs and faith. We are closer to the physical world than to the metaphysical. We respect science, because it is premised on reason.
The surgeon said afterwards that he prayed that night for the first time in 30 years. Prayer doesn't change things. It changes people, and they change things. So, don't pray for lighter burdens; pray for stronger backs.
Faith, as em bodied in reli gion, and rea son, as embo died in scien ce, are often but errone ously thought of as being in opposition to each other. Science is not an enemy of religion, only of superstition. Both science and religion are engaged in the search for truth, the main difference lies in the methodologies used.
Science is an investigation of truth in the finite nature outside, the object. Religion is an investigation into the nature of the infinite, the subject. Science aims for universally verifiable knowledge. Religion aims for individual realisation. It is true that universal laws operate regardless of one's beliefs and faith. We are closer to the physical world than to the metaphysical. We respect science, because it is premised on reason.
Women 68% of adult illiterates in country
Kounteya Sinha
|
London
|
The world is now home to 781 million illiterate adults with 68% of illiterate adults in India being women.India has failed to reduce its adult illiteracy rate by 50% as planned and since 2000 on ly managed reducing it by 26%, according to a new UN ESCO global education re port to be launched on April 9 Even though there is good news with India expected to become the only country in South and West Asia in 2015 to have an equal ratio of girls to boys in both primary and sec ondary education, the bad news is that early marriage and adolescent pregnancies are keeping girls out of schoo in India. In 41 countries, 30% women aged 20 to 24 were married by the age of 18. As many as 36.4 million women in developing countries aged 20 to 24 reported having given birth before age 18 and 2 million before age 15.
India has the dismal record of having the highest absolute number of child brides: about 24 million. This represents 40% of the 60 million world's child marriages. India is also home to 225 million adolescents, consisting nearly one-fifth of the nation's total population. Around 16% of these girls -aged 15-19 -have already begun child bearing and 12% have had a live birth. The report had some good news for India -rural India saw improvement in nearly all aspects of school facilities and infrastructure.
India has the dismal record of having the highest absolute number of child brides: about 24 million. This represents 40% of the 60 million world's child marriages. India is also home to 225 million adolescents, consisting nearly one-fifth of the nation's total population. Around 16% of these girls -aged 15-19 -have already begun child bearing and 12% have had a live birth. The report had some good news for India -rural India saw improvement in nearly all aspects of school facilities and infrastructure.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)