IITTM, Ministry of Tourism to start an MBA (Tourism) program in partnership with IGNTU

Report by India Education bureau, New Delhi: The Indian Institute of Tourism and Travel Management (IITTM, Ministry of Tourism, Govt. of India) will now be offering a full fledged MBA in Tourism in partnership with Indira Gandhi National Tribal University(IGNTU) , Ministry of HRD, Govt. of India. 

AnMoUto this effect has been signed between IITTM andIGNTU, Amarkantak (M.P.). The Director of IITTM, Prof (Dr.) Sandeep Kulshreshtha and the Vice Chancellor ofIGNTU, Prof. T.V. Kattimani exchanged the signed documents of the MoUin the presence of the Minister of State for Culture (Independent Charge), Tourism (Independent Charge) and Civil Aviation and Chairman, BOG-IITTM, Dr. Mahesh Sharma in New Delhi today. 

The IITTM will now start the MBA (Tourism) program in place of the earlier PGDM course in collaboration with theNational Tribal University which has a pan India presence. 

Secretary, Tourism, Dr. Lalit Panwar and other senior officials of the Ministry were present on the occasion. 

INDIA TOPS WORLD HUNGER LIST WITH 194 MN PEOPLE: UN REPORT

NEW DELHI India is home to the highest number of hungry people in the world, at 194 million, surpassing China, according to United Nations annual hunger report.

At the global level, the corresponding figure dropped to 795 million in 2014-15, from 1 billion in 1990-92, with East Asia led by China accounting for most of the reductions, UN body Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) said in its report titled 'The State of Food Insecurity in the World 2015'.

Vedanta - Mind Repair, a Manual

RAJA M





Some of us believe that happiness is subjective. Others point out that its objective roots are beyond debate. Maintaining a balance of mind despite the bumps on the road of daily life means overcoming being miserable. Even a moment's perfect equanimity is actual happiness, peace of mind. Such a temperament does not come ready-made. It requires training.Occasional unhappiness, like bad health, is an inevitable part of life. But we don't shrug off an illness and say it's just part of life. We seek and get medical help. So why should we ignore mental short circuits, mood swings and depression? We need a powerful mind tool, and vipasana is an ancient mind-enhancing tech nology . In Pali, vipasana means `insight to see things as they really are'.Over 75 vipasana centres worldwide conduct residential 10-day courses for both beginners as well as senior students.
Any pleasant feeling in the body , and the mind clings to it.Unpleasant feelings are greeted with aversion. Instead of neither reacting nor suppressing reality within, the Buddha gave humanity the middle path of merely observing reality as it is. This technique of objective observation of mindmatter interaction at the level of sensation without blind reaction is vipasana. A vipasana practitioner realises everything changes constantly , including people and situations. Our full enjoyment of life is not dependent on any particular circumstance. Happiness means a balanced mind to face the reality of the moment. Only then can the mind calmly and dispassionately unleash its power to solving our problems.

May 29 2015 : The Economic Times (Delhi)

TISS Flounders as Sarkar Fails to Bolster It with Funds

Anubhuti Vishnoi

New Delhi:





NO SOCIAL SERVICE Top social science education institute forced to take bank loans and dip into reserves to pay salaries and keep organisation running

Tata Institute of Socia Sciences (TISS), widely recognise as a pioneer in the area of social sci ence education, is in the grip of a fi nancial `nightmare' even as the hu man resource development (HRD ministry and the University Grant Commission (UGC) work on a ne framework for government polic towards funding deemed universi ties in the country.TISS, set up in 1936 by the Tatas, i among eight deemed universitie funded by the government whic are faced with a financial crisis a UGC and HRD ministry are yet t decide whether the state shoul continue funding them.
TISS has had to take bank loans i March and April and dip into its re serves -essentially funds generat ed through fee collection -to pa employee salaries and keep the in stitute running. “TISS has sent a representa tion to both UGC and HRD ministry and it is now up to the government to take a decision We urgently need the money -some ` . 65-70 crore comes to us in grants from UGC. We are a fully public-funded institu tion and our existence de pends on this funding. While funds for 2014-15 were released to us last year, now we are fac ing a nightmare. Salaries, pen sions, maintenance of hostels water and electricity bills are all dependent on this fund ing,“ TISS Director S Parasu raman told ET in a telephonic interview.
He pointed out that TISS fol lowed government norms with regard to reservation and is also willing to adhere to any new rules.
“This is an 80-year-old insti tution with 4,600 students. We are ready to follow all govern ment rules, but stopping the grants while new rules are ye to come into effect is like chok ing you to death. For social sci ences, there is especially a need for financial support. We are only requesting the gov ernment to quickly release funds,“ Parasuraman said.
UGC Chairman Ved Pra kash confirmed there were funding issues with regard to eight deemed varsities, in cluding TISS, but said a solu tion would soon be found.
“UGC will take a considered view keeping in mind the in terests of both the institute and the students. The idea is to facilitate the growth and development of good institutions. We are exploring possibilities of helping them out from the present stalemate,“ the UGC chairman told ET.
Higher Education Secretary Satyanarayan Mohanty did not respond to queries from ET till press time.
INSUFFICIENT FUNDS
In a letter dated April 29, 2015, Parasuraman told the higher education secretary that funds were insufficient even to pay salaries. “The current financial year has commenced and we are yet to receive grants even to meet the salary and pension of March and April 2015 and other critical operational costs like electricity , water, security , annual maintenance contracts, etc. It has come to a situation that we had to take loans to pay salaries and pension for these months,“ Parasuraman wrote.
Acknowledging that the HRD ministry and UGC may be working on a fresh framework for funding of deemed universities, the TISS director had sought the secretary's intervention to ensure “the institute is not crippled and the grants for salary and pension are released immediately“.
The institute receives both plan and non-plan grants from UGC with the latter touching about ` . 50 crore in 2013-14. It has received funding from the central government since late 1940s. After it was declared a deemed varsity in 1964, it has been whollyfunded by the government. Its existing campus in Deonar, Mumbai, was inaugurated by India's first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru.
HRD MIN RAISED QUESTIONS
Questions were raised by the HRD ministry in SeptemberOctober 2014 about the rationale of government funding for these eight varsities. Subsequently , UGC held back funds for these varsities. While the institutes have been sending a stream of representations to the HRD ministry and UGC seeking release of funds, the two have yet to come to a resolution.
For about a year, TISS has been requesting that the HRD ministry directly fund its nonplan expenditure instead of UGC on account of delayed and irregular funding by the commission. TISS has also requested that its non-plan block grant funding be increased to . 100 crore per annum.` While TISS is probably the most prestigious among the deemed varsities, there are others as well who are faced with a severe cash crunch owing to the rethink in HRD ministry and UGC over their funding. Among these are Agra-based Dayalbagh Educational Institute, Gujarat Vidyapith in Ahmedabad, Gandhi Gram Rural Institute in Tamil Nadu, Avinashilingam University in Coimbatore. Government-run deemed varsities namely Lal Bahadur Shastri Rashtriya Sanskrit Vidyapeeth in Delhi, Rashtriya Sanskrit Vidyapeeth in Tirupati and Gurukul Kangri University in Haridwar are also facing funds shortage.

Educate In India





Retain young talent by permitting foreign universities in the country

India is rich in human resources and currently enjoys a youth demographic bulge. However, jobs needing high degree of skills won't be created unless there is an adequate supply of skilled personnel. In an unusual step, the commerce ministry has circulated a strategy paper that suggests allowing foreign universities to set up campuses in India. The idea is welcome and is part of a package of reforms urgently needed by India's higher education sector. The latter requires a large dose of internationalisation since India's youth are voting with their feet, fleeing its collapsing higher education for greener pastures abroad. And once educated abroad they tend to settle abroad as well. This means, in effect, that India is haemorrhaging its young talent.To stop this haemorrhage, it's essential to create an `Educate in India' brand. India's higher education is in need of competition and students deserve more options. At present, there is a paucity of top notch institutions of higher education. It is beyond the government's capacity to meet this need on its own. Therefore, it should ease the path of institutions of higher education promoted by the private sector, be they Indian or foreign. In fact, we should envisage a reversal of the present situation so that India attracts young people from abroad as a study destination. Also, `Make in India' isn't going to take off without `Educate in India'.
The source of the idea, however, points to one of the challenges confronting education. The HRD ministry, which should be brimming with ideas on education, is dormant. HRD minister Smriti Irani should now lend her support to this idea. Opening up to foreign universities is an area where HRD can move quickly as most of the issues have been debated extensively over the last few years. India's young deserve a more proactive HRD ministry. Enhancing the quality of education is a must for `sabka saath sabka vikas' to succeed.

Cancer is the 2nd biggest killer

Sushmi Dey

New Delhi





Deaths In India From The Disease Have Gone Up By 60%

Cancer has emerged as the second-leading cause of death globally after cardiovascular diseases.Proportion of deaths due to cancer around the world increased from 12% in 1990 to 15% in 2013 while the number of new cases almost doubled in India during the period.In India, deaths from the disease have increased by 60%, according to the latest report `Global Burden of Cancer-2013', released worldwide on Friday .
“Even if we adjust for the rise in population in India over this period, the new cancer cases have increased by 30% per unit population and deaths have risen by 10%,“ says Lalit Dandona, co-author of the study and Professor at the Public Health Foundation of India and Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation.
In 2013, there were 14.9 million new cancer cases regis tered globally, whereas 8.2 million people died due to the disease. The report is based on a global study of 28 cancer groups in 188 countries by a consortium of international re searchers from University of Washington and Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation.
The report suggests that new cases of virtually all types of cancer are rising in countries globally -regardless of income -but the death rates from cancer are falling in many countries primarily due to prevention and treatment. However, it says there is a threat of increasing incidence in developing countries due to ill-equipped health systems.
While incidence of breast cancer is highest in India as well as globally, most number of cancer deaths in India are caused due to stomach cancer, which is globally the second most common reason for death.
For the full report, log on to http:www.timesofindia.com

UN adopts resolution on protection of journalists in conflict zones

United Nations Security Council (UNSC) has unanimously adopted a resolution on the protection of journalists in conflict zones. The resolution has urged member nations, governments and armed groups to take appropriate steps in order to ensure accountability for crimes committed against journalists, media professionals in situations of armed conflict. It also condemns attacks on journalists and affirms the work of a free, independent and impartial media as it constitutes one of the essential foundations of a democratic society. The resolution also called for the immediate and unconditional release of reporters who are held as hostages in conflict zones. UNSC resolution comes after the number of deaths and kidnappings cases of media professionals continues to increase. In 2014, 66 journalists were killed and since January 2015, 25 more have died. In the last decade, 700 media workers were killed in the conflict zones.