Prime Minister Narendra Modi, today, welcomed all the new MPs ahead of the first session of 17th Lok Sabha.

In the media statement before the start of session, Prime Minister said ,“Today marks the start of the first session after the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. I welcome all new MPs. With them comes new hopes, new aspirations and new determination to serve”.

The Prime Minister expressed happiness in the increased number of women Parliamentarians in the 17th Lok Sabha. He said that the Parliament is able to fulfil the aspirations of people when it functions smoothly.

In the Parliamentary election in 2009, there were 59 candidates who won the election. In the current elections, 61 women have secured seats in Lok Sabha. This is the highest ever number of seats won by women ever and comprises 11.23 per cent of the total 543 seats. The lowest ever was in 1977 when only 19 women representatives won elections.

The Prime Minister also underlined the importance of opposition in parliamentary democracy. He expressed hope that the opposition will play an active role and participate in House proceedings. The opposition need not worry about their numbers in the Lok Sabha, the PM said.

“When we come to Parliament, we should forget Paksh and Vipaksh. We should think about issues with a ‘Nishpaksh spirit’ and work in the larger interest of the nation”, PM added.

Among the many flagship initiatives taken up during Modi 1.0, ‘Housing for All by 2022’ seemed highly ambitious – indeed, over-ambitious – though doubtlessly noble in intent. It certainly struck the right chord, and many of its beneficiaries in India’s hinterlands ultimately voted the incumbent Government back to power with a thumping majority.

The stated target year 2022 clearly envisioned a second term for the Modi Government, and signified not only its confidence in re-election but also awareness that this gargantuan task could not be accomplished within just a single term in power. Now, the mandate of Housing for All by 2022 stands underscored as one of the primary deliverables whose fulfilment the Indian electorate looks forwards to.

With just three years remaining for meeting this intended target, the task ahead is daunting but perhaps doable with concerted political will – if not by 2022, then at least by the culmination of the Modi Government’s new five-year term.

A Challenge Worth Rising To

Under the scheme of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) that provides subsidies for building low-cost homes in both rural and urban areas, ‘Housing for All’ will transform India when fully achieved. This mega initiative’s progress has understandably been under constant scrutiny, but one cannot wish away the inherent challenges in carrying out this mammoth task – both at the central and state levels.

Execution challenges due to lack of clear policy framework, high construction costs, unavailability of urban land at reasonable prices – the issues are numerous and complex. Worse, they differ from state to state, and so do the solution that could potentially tackle them.

Before delving into possible remedies and analysing steps to speed up the pace of development under this scheme, let’s look at its progress so far.

As per MoHUA, more than 80.96 lakh homes have already been sanctioned in urban areas under PMAY scheme between 2014 and May-end 2019, of which over 61% are already completed or occupied. The remaining 39% of sanctioned homes are currently under various stages of construction. If we compare this with their previous numbers early this year, of the total 79.78 lakh homes sanctioned under PMAY as on March 2019, only around 47% were either complete or occupied.

There has been significant progress in just a few months. With Modi 2.0, we can expect further momentum for the real estate sector, which has been regaining ground in recent times – and this scheme can therefore not only maintain its pace but pick up speed.

In fact, many of this Government’s initiatives will embark on the final leg of their journey. Housing for All is one of the mega initiatives which now actually stand a real chance of seeing fruition.

How the Government Can Fast-track Development of Affordable Housing

• Release Government-held land: One of the major challenges of this scheme is land scarcity in cities. To overcome this, some portions of land held by various Government bodies across cities – including the Department of Heavy Industries, Indian Railways, Port Trusts, etc. – could be released for affordable housing development. Unlocking such land will, by enabling more supply, also help curtail property prices to a significant extent.
• Use seized Benami Properties for affordable housing: With the IT department reportedly having confiscated real estate assets worth over INR 7,000 crores already, this can be a viable option.  Some of these, if not all, can be effectively used for providing affordable homes and help the Government fulfil its vision of ‘Housing for All’.
• Develop peripheral areas in proximity to employment hubs: The Government must ensure well-rounded, transit-oriented development for far-flung areas, giving emphasis to both physical and social infrastructure. This will make more low-cost areas viable and liveable.
• Streamline the approval process and create incentives for the participation of private players: This will help significantly. Apart from faster approvals for affordable housing projects, Government incentives to developers of such housing, especially in terms of taxation, will further boost its viability as a compelling business proposition.
• Employ the PPP model: Affordable housing can be created by increased funding via the promotion of Public-Private Partnerships and harnessing long-term funding.
• Adapt development models successfully used abroad: Public housing in Singapore is developed by the Housing Development Board (HDB). In nearly 60 years, it has built homes that housed more than 80% of the population. To acquire private land, the Singapore Government passed a series of laws to expedite a process wherein it acquired properties at current use value, often below the market price. HDB then took this land from the Government at a lower value, thus significantly reducing costs.
• Use new-age construction technology: This will enable the Government to build homes faster and at a lower cost. Recognising this need, the Government also launched a Global Housing Technology Challenge early this year to encourage improved construction technologies for building faster at a lower cost.

No previous Governments has given as much importance to affordable housing as the current one. The initiatives it has launched to this end were not just hot air – they were backed by multiple sops and incentives to induce on-ground action in the budget homes segment. These incentives have successfully drawn interest from both buyers and developers. The previously undesirable ‘affordable’ tag has become respectable and even garnered a patriotic angle, which developers have been quick to capitalize on.

Housing for All is all set for a renewed lease on life – and indeed faster momentum – under Modi 2.0. Given the continuing shortage of affordable housing where it is needed the most, this is a very encouraging initiative which will require the unstinting support of all industry stakeholders.

(The Author is chairman of Anarock Property Consultants. Views expressed are personal.)

Most of the teens these days spend most of their time partying or scrolling social media. But this 17-year-old Indian-American girl Esha Kode is not like your ordinary teenage girl. She is an extraordinary young girl who has achieved some great things at a very young age.

Just at the age of 17, Esha Kode has won multiple beauty pageants. Like she is the current Miss Teen India USA 2019, and she was also crowned s Miss Teen India NJ in both 2016 and 2018. Her beauty has caught the attention of the social media community, and her pictures are going viral. Other than that, what most people do not know is that Esha is more than just a beautiful face.  She is pursuing a medical profession and aspires to become a  pediatric surgeon in the future. Along with that, she also wants to become a mental health advocate.

Being so focused on her medical education, Esha also hopes to bring better mental health awareness throughout the world. To do so, she has also organised an internationally recognised TEDx show about mental health. She is also working on setting up her own company called Happy2Thrive that will strive to end the mental health stigma.

Esha is so much passion and focused on her dream of becoming a surgeon and mental health advocate. As most of the people would prefer to stick with just their medical profession, Esha’s plan is a little different here. Even after becoming a doctor, she wants to continue with her modelling profession. While doing so, she is going to be one of the rare doctors who is also a model.

Even after having an extraordinary life and aim, Esha is also just like your girl next door as she loves to watch Bollywood movies, reading books and dance. She is a super ambitious girl who has achieved quite a lot of things and will be going to reach many more goals in future.

DJ Chirag from Dubai has established himself as one of the most popular and youngest DJ and Producers in the country. At a very young age, he has  achieved success because of his talent and understanding of music and style of mixing the right tunes 

To learn the skill of being a DJ and understanding the music perfectly, DJ Chirag kept on listening to various kind of music genre’s from various artist across the globe which inspired him a lot. His main forte and passion was always in Bollywood music 

The talented DJ has worked with several popular artists like Neha Kakkar , Guru Randhawa, Badshah, Arjun, Juggy D, Deep Money, Jasmin Walia, Mika Singh , Raaftar, Manj Musik, Pav Dharia and many others. 

He believes that without music, life would be a mistake. To make sure his work reaches a lot of people, he also came up with his album called ‘Desi Nation’. His album crossed more than 3 million views on YouTube.

DJ Chirag has performed at a lot of major events. He currently is the resident DJ for Asian nights at some of the biggest and trendiest clubs all over Dubai. 

In 2017 and 2018, he was  nominated for ‘Best Asian DJ’ at the most coveted Masala Awards which is one of the most prestigious award functions in The Middle East.

With his music and his work, DJ Chirag Dubai wants to strike the right chords with the audience and give the best to those who love remixes.

Digital Marketing can turn business fortunes from Zero to millions & billions too based on the efforts.. But for that, you need an expert who understands the concept of business and applies his/her tactics to take clients business or individual popularity to a distinct level. We have heard about Neil Patel, Rand Fishkin and many ultra mind influencers who are changing the world with their skills and magic work of Digital Marketing.

Till now no name from India has made his/her mark globally like other influencers. But now the time is changing as we say “Apna time aaega” there is a young Digital marketing guy who is young, dynamic and master of Digital marketing and the most important thing is, he is our Indian, very well known as “Digital Pratik”.

Digital Pratik will surely make name count in the top list of Digital Marketing experts and influencers. He is already showing his talent and is changing fortunes for his clients by giving them his expertise on how to increase brand value by using technology in the right way.

Pratik knows how to outrank people with right marketing strategies and to do that you need sound knowledge because you are not the one in the market there are many experts roaming around to cut your path and clients from you with their skills. So if you feel it’s easy, when you are taking things lightly. Digital Marketing is not an easy thing today, as many people are trying their hands in it.

To come out at the top, you need continuous effort to learn new things, share things with people as Pratik feels learning, applying & sharing daily, makes you more perfect in your knowledge and also try different and unique things in life. Digital Pratik is India A listed Digital experts under 35. Which is an achievement, A young guy who has not even completed Graduation is leading his way on top in the Digital world is excellent.

His way of approaching Digital marketing is exciting and catchy. He knows how to drag people to his social media platform, and you want proof of that then listen to his daily updated Podcast, Instagram Videos, YouTube videos, and other social Media platform by writing Digital Pratik in google. He is hugely famous, and people wait for his videos and content for their business.

Well, on ending note must say, the way Digital Guru aka Digital Pratik is going. We will see him in the top list of the world as a leading Digital Marketing Guru, and that would be a proud movement for him and Our country.

Social media is indeed a powerful tool in today’s 21st century as it can make someone a star over night.

Gagan Sethi from Amritsar, known from his famous name Jazz Gagan, is a social media influencer by profession. Gagan works in Punjabi Music industry and has worked with famous Punjabi celebrities like Jassmanak, Guri, Bjay and many more.

He is famous for his work on YouTube channel name Geetmp3. Geetmp3 is famous Punjabi music channel and digital promotion company.

Jazz Gagan is now planning to make his own record label for fresh upcoming Punjabi singers to give them chance and also to new talents who have no money to spend on songs and promotion.

In a tragic incident in the Muzaffarpur district of North Bihar, at least 69 children within a week have lost their lives due to the outbreak of a disease, colloquially known as ‘Chamki Fever’. Unofficial records claim the total number of deaths is over 105 in the last ten days and over 100 children are fighting for life. On Monday itself, 20 children succumbed to severe high fever, nausea, and headache in Sri Krishna Medical College Hospital (SKMCH, a government undertaking) and Kejriwal Hospital (a private entity) at Muzaffarpur.

Several reports in media cite ‘Acute Encephalitis Syndrome’ (AES) as the potent reason behind the deaths of children between the ages of 4-12 years. Doctors say there is a serious deficit of Glucose known as Hypoglycemia in the bloodstreams of the affected children.

According to a research published in the Indian Journal of Medical Research (IJMR), between 2008 and 2014, there have been more than 44,000 cases and nearly 6000 deaths from ‘Encephalitis’ in India, particularly in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. It also says, in 2016, there has been a rise in encephalitis, with over 125 children reported to have died in one hospital in Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh alone.

On the other hand, some health experts, doctors, and politicians in Bihar are also drawing connections between Litchi fruit and death of the children. Actually, this theory has been inspired by research done by the prestigious health journal, The Lancet, in 2017, which says that the consumption of Litchi empty stomach has led to mortality of hundreds of children. Muzaffarpur is known as the hub of producing maximum Litchi in the country. Now there are government advisories to the parents not to feed Litchi to their children. 

In an interview given to The Hindu, Chief Minister of Bihar Nitish Kumar said, “It generally hits those children who go to sleep empty stomach at night and eat litchis fallen on the ground. Earlier, three different teams of doctors had reached three different conclusions about the reason for children’s deaths in summer season in Muzaffarpur… last year, very few deaths were reported because an extensive awareness drive was launched.”

However, there are contrary arguments against the theory of Litchi and AES. In a telephonic conversation, a well-known Pediatrician at SKMCH, MBBS, MD (Pedia), Dr. Gopal Shankar Sinha spoke extensively and exclusively to ‘The India Saga’.  

‘Heat-stroke’ the main cause, not Litchi’

In the last two weeks, there is a steep rise in the temperature in the Northern part of India. Last week, Muzaffarpur, recorded 42 degree Celsius with humidity more than 60%, posing a great threat for the children who are exposed to the heat wave during the day and also at night.

Dr. Gopal Shankar Sahni, Head of Pediatrics Department at SKMCH, is not quite convinced with the association of Litchi and death of 54 children. He said, “I don’t think there is any connection with Litchi and death caused by Chamki Fever. It is more of a hypothesis. It is caused due to severe ‘heat stroke’ in the month on May-June every year in Muzaffarpur. It is the most adverse season for those children who belong to the poor financial background and suffer malnourishment at large scale. I have been working on this crisis since 2005. Today’s temperature at Muzaffarpur is more than 42 and humidity more than 60%. It makes the malnourished children vulnerable to the threat of Chamki fever. At least 30 patients have been admitted since morning. I forecast that the number of patients is going to be increased up to 50 till next morning. Next four days are going to be extremely critical and dangerous for us as the Monsoon is not going to come anytime sooner than 22nd June.”

However, The Lancet in its case-study, ‘The enigma of litchi toxicity: an emerging health concern in southern Asia’, says, “Ingestion of the hypoglycine-rich fruit of Ackee, a relative of lychee (Litchi), can induce a dose-dependent toxic hypoglycemic encephalopathy in poorly-nourished children. The syndrome is best known from Jamaica, where ackee is widely eaten and occurs most frequently in 2- to 10-year-old children, who develop severe hypoglycemia and metabolic acidosis.”

The research says that the cause behind the death of the children is ‘hypoglycemia’, low levels of glucose in the blood vessels and brain. Most of the affected children belong to a poor economic background. Malnourishment poses a great threat. Often they used to fed over the unripe fruits of Litchi and develop the syndrome of Chamki fever.

Contrary to the above theory by The Lancet, Dr. Sahni believes, “The Lancet is a very prestigious journal but I too have my own findings. They have confused the research by comparing the Jamaican Ackee fruit and Indian Litchi and Vietnamese Litchi. Both the fruits, Ackee and Litchi, belong botanically to the same family. The Jamaican fruit has ‘MCPG’. Its consumption causes the deficit of glucose level in the body. Jamaica has a history of losing its children due to this very reason. In India, researchers have attached the same hypothesis that Litchi also contains the same chemicals, causing death to the children.

“In the year 2014, 700 such cases were registered. However, for the next four years until 2018, only 30-40 cases were recorded. Does it imply that the children did not consume Litchis during those four years? The symptoms of Jamaican Ackee fruit is extreme vomiting and severe pain in the abdomen. However, here at Muzaffarpur, no such signs are recorded in Chamki-affected children. In 90% of the Chamki cases, not only glucose level but sodium and potassium level also differ. Consumption of Jamaican Ackee leads to a lower level of glucose in the children’s body. In India, not only glucose, multiple supplements are missing in the blood and it does clearly sync with the symptom of heat stroke. There is electrolyte imbalance in malnourished children.”

‘No more deaths if Monsoon comes today’

“Monsoon is the best treatment for this epidemic. In one of my research papers and articles published in Journal of Indian Medical Association (JIMA) in February this year, I have mentioned how heat stroke has played a villain in the increasing number of deaths of the children in Muzaffarpur. In the history of Muzaffarpur, the most severe epidemic occurred in 1995 and 2005 when more than 500 and 100 deaths occurred, respectively. It approaches when the environmental temperature approaches 38°C-44°C and remained sustained for 3 to 4 days. The outbreak is 100 percent associated with high environmental temperature and humidity. Heat stroke is a life-threatening medical emergency- defined clinically as core temperature >40°C accompanied by central nervous system dysfunction. My experience says if today Monsoon strikes in Bihar, there will be less or no cases of Chamki fever.”

‘Not AES, it is Metabolic Encephalopathy’

Dr. Gopal Shankar Sahni does also not align with the clinical term of Acute Encephalitis Syndrome. On the contrary, Dr. Sahni says, it is a case of Metabolic Encephalopathy. “Encephalopathy implies there is no infection in the human brain. The presentation of Encephalitis and Encephalopathy are almost same; both have same symptoms of acute fever, but the former causes infection to the brain, however, the latter occurs due to weak body mechanism and affects the brain. All the bi-chemical findings lead to the symptoms of heat stroke, not AES or Litchi consumption.”

(Sources- Inputs on phone by Dr. Gopal Shankar Sahni {Muzaffarpur}, research papers published in Lancet Global Health, Journal of Indian Medical Association (JIMA), Indian Journal of Medical Research (IJMR), Research Gate, local newspapers Bihar and Ministry of Health.)

Karan Oberoi is an Indian model. The Delhi born lad comes from a humble, upper middle-class and highly academic family. A fact that led him to get a B.Com(H) degree followed by two post graduate degrees – one in Mass Media and another in MBA in International Business. A chance foray into modelling was the break he needed to quit his graphic designing job in a reputed advertising firm, and set out in the world of modelling.

Almost a decade of hard work resulted in, Karan Oberoi building up a name himself. He has been the face of top health magazines like Men’s Health and Health & Nutrition.

He has walked the ramp for famous designers like Rohit Bal, Varun Behl, Shantanu and Nikhil, Rajesh Pratap Singh and Arjun Khanna. He has even been face of some famous commercial brands like Royal Enfield bikes, Lamborghini, Aldo, Peter England, Reebok and was recently part of Isuzu brand commercials during its launch in India. He has been on Lakme India Fashion Week, India Couture Week, GQ Nights and Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week. ‘Supermodel Tag’ came along his way naturally.

He is one of the few who has made it big in both fashion and fitness world as a model. Karan Oberoi’s ten year long journey has also seen him bagging a number of titles along the way.

He won the ‘Youth Icon Model of the Year’ at the Global Leadership Awards in 2018 and ‘Best Body’ at Mr. India International. He was also appointed as ‘World Peace Messenger’ by WPDO, closely affiliated to United Nations as was seen as the icon for the young generation who follow his style and fitness. Karan Oberoi in his clan is among the few who has touched a million mark on Instagram as a model. This 31 year old icon has also worked with more than a century of commercial brands and fashion photographers from all over the country till date, few of the famous names include Dabboo Ratnani, Rafique Sayed, Amit Khanna, Tarunn (Banglore), Suvo Das and Rahul Dutta.

He has walked in more than 300 plus shows across the world especially in the Middle East. He has also walked ramp for top-notch brands such as Aldo, Peter England, Jack & Jones, Lamborghini, FTV, Shoppers Stop and McDowell’s Signature in the past. Karan was also voted as ‘Top Fitness Model’ by Hindustan times Brunch magazine in March 2018. In early 2018, Hindustan Times had while also calling him a ‘Knockout’. The term and its abbreviated form K.O., is used in full-contact combat sports to denote what is usually the match or fight-winning move. Soon later,  his colleagues in the industry started referring to him as K.O. It just so happened that Oberoi’s initials also spelled K.O., a fact that makes him partial to the nickname. As someone for whom fitness is way of living than a passing fad, being called K.O. is honourable . I personally like the boxing connotation of it, and imagine myself ‘knocking out’ my competition!” jokes Karan. Now because majority of people know him more by his nick name “KO” therefore it has become quite imperative that his digital branding is done as Karan Oberoi (KO) or just “KO”.

World is witnessing the growth of startups either its UBER, Unacademy, Testbook.com , Zomato and many more. Slowly and steadily these entrepreneurs are creating a Startup Ecosystem. Not all startups need funding, but all of them need visibility. .The India Saga has launched www.thestartupsaga.com exclusively for budding entrepreneurs across the globe to share their journey on how they build their startup idea into a company. 

It’s rightly said “Being An Entrepreneur is nothing like being an employee. Speed of action is more critical in a startup; otherwise, your competition will wipe you off.“ This ecosystem is growing at a very fast pace across the world. Media plays an important role in helping these startups to reach  masses. Budding entrepreneurs find it very difficult to get placed in any media portal in the initial days due to lack of knowledge about how to pitch media people to get featured. Keeping these things in mind The Startup Saga has been created which will give the entrepreneurs to showcase about their product and the journey of making that product. 

The Startup Saga can be contacted at https://www.thestartupsaga.com/contact

GENEVA : A large clinical research study conducted in four African countries found no significant difference in risk of HIV infection among women using one of three highly effective, reversible contraceptive methods.

Published today in the Lancet, the study showed that each method had high levels of safety and effectiveness in preventing pregnancy, with all methods well-accepted by the women using them.

The three methods investigated in the trial ? known as the Evidence for Contraceptive Options and HIV Outcomes (ECHO) study ? were:

• DMPA – intramuscular (DMPA-IM), a three monthly, progestogen-only, reversible injectable contraceptive;
• Levonorgestrel implant, a progestogen-only implant inserted under the skin in the upper arm that can be used for up to five years;
• A copper-bearing IUD, a device inserted into the uterus that can be used for up to 10-12 years.

“These results support making available to women and girls a broad choice of effective contraceptive methods that empower them to make informed decisions about their own bodies – including if and when to have children,” said Dr James Kiarie, from the Department of Reproductive Health and Research at the World Health Organization. “Better access to contraception and quality reproductive health services would have a dramatic impact in improving the lives of millions of women and their families.”

The study found, however, that incidence of HIV infections among all of the women participants was high – an average of 3.8% per year- indicating that HIV remains a significant personal risk and public health challenge for many women in these countries.

“The study highlights the need to step up HIV prevention efforts in these high-burden countries – particularly for young women,” said Dr Rachel Baggaley from WHO’s HIV and Hepatitis Department. “These should include providing HIV testing and a range of HIV prevention choices within contraceptive service programmes.”