The counting of votes for General Election 2019, which concluded on Sunday, will begin tomorrow, i.e., 23rd May at 8 AM.  The election was conducted in 7 phases for 543 constituencies of Lok Sabha.  The Election Commission of India (ECI) uses Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) to conduct elections. Since 2000, ECI has conducted 113 assembly elections and three general elections using EVMs.[1]  Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) system was added to EVMs in 2013 to increase transparency and improve voter confidence in the system.  The VVPAT system generates a printed paper slip bearing the name and election symbol of the candidate.  On April 8, 2019, Supreme Court instructed the ECI that printed VVPAT slips from randomly selected five polling stations in each assembly segment of a parliamentary constituency should be matched with EVMs.[2]  In this blog, we explain the election counting process in India.
Who is responsible for counting the votes?
The Returning Officer (RO) is responsible for conducting elections in a constituency, which also includes counting of votes.[3] The RO is an officer of the government or a local authority nominated by the ECI for each constituency in consultation with the state government.[4]
Where does the counting take place?
The RO decides the place where the votes will be counted for the parliamentary constituency.  The date and time of counting is fixed by the ECI.  Ideally counting of votes for a constituency should be done at one place, preferably at the Headquarter of the RO in that constituency.  It should be performed under the direct supervision of the RO.  However, each Parliamentary Constituency has multiple assembly segments.  In this situation, counting can take place at different locations for various assembly segments under the direct supervision of an Assistant Returning Officer (ARO).
Page 431, Handbook for Returning Officer Document 23 Edition 1, Election Commission of India
Counting of votes for each assembly segment of a parliamentary constituency is performed in a single hall.  In each round of counting, votes from 14 EVMs are counted.  In case of simultaneous parliamentary and assembly elections, such as Odisha, the first seven tables are used for counting votes for assembly elections, and the rest for parliamentary elections.
In constituencies with a large number of candidates, it may not be possible to count votes for all candidates in a single hall without overcrowding it.  In such a situation, the number of counting halls or tables can be increased with the prior permission of the ECI.  A hall can also be used for counting votes of another assembly segment after the results of the first segment are declared.  However, counting may be done for only one assembly segment in a hall at any point of time.
What is the counting process?
Counting is performed by counting supervisors appointed by the RO.  Counting staff is appointed through a three stage randomisation process to ensure impartiality.  Candidates along with their counting agents and election agents are also present in the counting hall.
Counting of votes begins with Electronically Transmitted Postal Ballots (ETPB) and Postal Ballots (PB). These votes are counted under the direct supervision of the RO. Counting of EVMs can start 30 minutes after the commencement of PB counting, even if all PBs have not been counted.  At the end of each round of counting, the results from 14 EVMs are declared.
What is the process for counting VVPAT slips?
The ECI prescribes the process for randomly selecting one EVM for each assembly segment of a parliamentary constituency for VVPAT matching.  The verification of VVPAT paper slips is conducted inside a secured VVPAT Counting Booth in the counting hall with access to authorised personnel only.  Any counting table in the hall can be converted into VVPAT Counting Booth after completing EVM vote counting.  Parliamentary constituencies generally have between five and ten assembly segments.
The Supreme Court has decided that VVPAT slips of five randomly selected polling stations for each assembly segment shall be matched with the result shown in the respective EVMs.  This implies that VVPAT paper slips need to be matched for about 25-50 machines for each parliamentary constituency.  This process requires personal supervision of RO/ARO.  The ECI has decided that the counting of five VVPATs will be done sequentially.[5]  The RO can declare the final result for the constituency after the VVPAT matching process has been completed.
What happens if there is a discrepancy between the VVPAT count and the EVM results?
In such a case, the printed paper slips count is taken as final. The ECI has not clarified whether there would be any further action (such as counting of all VVPATs in a constituency or assembly segment) if there is a discrepancy in the counts of one of the five VVPATs.

Source – PRS

Born in Latvia in the year 1995, Linard Zarins is a Spanish based singer and songwriter. He is the most up-and-coming music stars who perform an intuitive blend of both pop and R&B tracks. Owing to his versatile singing expertise, he has multiplied his broad and engaged fan base day by day. Linard Zarins is mainly known for his 2017 appearance in the Latvian version of The X Factor.

With an aim to excel in this profession, Zarins has capitalized his success through a slew of appreciable covers of international superstars like Ed Sheeran, Ariana Grande, Mabel, Justin Bieber, and many more. All the covers are widely acclaimed by his fans and this has been seen on his social pages. Day by day, he organically grew his followers on Instagram and other social platforms.

As his online presence started gaining the attention of producers, other artists, and A&R executives he started getting acclaimed and recognition. Many of the producers and other artists started pitching him to work with him and they are even ready to feature him on their tracks/songs. Few asked him to collaborate with him as a singer. With all these acclamations at one side, Linards Zarins has something as his aim and he then decided to write and release his own music album. This is what made him the stand on the list of emerging artists of the time.

When asked him about his genre and his passion of singing and song writing, he said, “When I write my music, I want to make sure I not only appeal to a greater demographic of music lovers, but also to make sure I’m true to my own style as a musician,” says Linards. “By composing and performing a combination of both pop and R&B songs, I feel I’m able to reach out to a wider audience and express myself organically.”

Besides, he also said “Though performing these covers really helped to launch my career, I was very grateful to garner the attention of reputable producers, other artists, and A&R executives,” states Linards. “They all wanted to work with me to develop my own music and collaborate, which led me to release my own work.”

With all his passion and expertise, he has released his debut single, Good Thing, which mainly reflects on the vast array of emotions he felt in past relationships. 

The Linards Zarins song has intimate connections, where the listeners can connect to the moments of pure happiness and bliss, even in the times of soul-crushing stress and sadness, pride, and excitement in between. He encouraged is fans stating “Through Good Thing, I want to help listeners to understand that through turmoil, there is still hope and lessons to be learned,” says Linards. “We must all go on and prepare for future exciting new adventures in love.”

Digital Entrepreneur: Today Branding, Promotion and Digital marketing are becoming the need of an hour to survive in this competitive world. Yes, you can sell your product, can do personal promotion which can make a person famous and we can see many examples today how people get famous online. Smart work can help businessman earn fast and big due to digital marketing and for that, you need a person with sound knowledge who can work smartly and make a solid campaign for online marketing to take you from zero to millionaire. We are taking here about Digital Entrepreneur who drives business throughout the world online. 

JP Silwania, 20( Now student at Ramjas college , Delhi University): In this competitive world you need to be smart to sell your product and make a mark in this Digital world. His Company Smartplay Media  is Leading Brand in Digital Marketing. At the Age of 20,JP Silwania Have Achieved An Honour of Digital Marketing Expert in very Less time Span. Worked with Leading Brands T-Series, Sony India,  Drake, Badshah, and Many More in Very Short Period of Time. Digital Marketing to grow in India: Today world is getting used to mobile and internet every guy is now having a mobile with internet facility it is like a new habit of India. JP Silwania feels India is yet to understand the power of online marketing and has jumped into this business early in India and he feels more people become aware of this online benefits his business will grow even bigger. 

JP Silwania and his team:  JP Silwania has dedicated team he knows this work needs a good team and luckily he has that. Company website https://smartplaymedia.com/ from where clients can contact him. JP Silwania  and his team have worked for many Companies, Firms and Celebrities their Motto is simple to make people famous through an online platform and they are doing it successfully.

Nikhil Wairagar who is known for the movies like Jalsa , Gatmat , headline and also for his famous song Bai Wadyawar Ya  from movie jalsa , now turns into direction. He is going to direct his direction debut movie “Hero” in upcoming days. 
As Gatmat movie which was written by Nikhil Wairagar himself and which was presented by Avdhood Gupte, got good response by the audience . And now he is working on a project named HERO which  is also written by him and he is going to direct it for the first time . He is working in film industry from more then nine years and he thinks that working in acting field he has learned many things related film making , so he confident that he has chosen a good subject for his direction debut. He is working on a script from 6 months and now ready to go on floor soon .
His upcoming movies like “tu fakta ho mhan” and “Tanga palti ghode farar “in Which he has done acting in a lead role are also in Post production level and will also release soon .Nowadays Marathi film industry is going on top level and breaking many box office records,He thinks bringing unique films will make Marathi industry grow more stronger, so he has also chosen a unique concept for direction, the casting of the film will soon be finalized , this film will go on floor in September for shoot. The more details about the movie will be declared soon.

NEW DELHI: After the conclusion of the long-drawn seven phase polling on Sunday, leading exit polls predicted the return of Narendra Modi government at the Centre with easy and clear majority.

If exit polls predictions come true on May 23, the day when results will start pouring in, it would be a first for the BJP-led NDA coalition to have another go at governing the country for a second five-year term.

The Congress-led UPA coalition was predicted to see its tally of 60 seats of 2014 of more than doubling but exit polls indications are that it would not prove to be a strong challenger to dislodge the Modi government from the Centre.

In the most crucial state of Uttar Pradesh which sends 80 members to the Lok Sabha, ABP News exit poll predicted 22 seats for the BJP while 56 to SP-BSP alliance and two to the Congress. Poll of Polls projected 55 seats to BJP in UP and 23 to SP-BSP tie-up and two to the Congress. In the last 2014 polls, BJP had bagged 71 seats in the State on its own.

All leading exit polls on Sunday evening indicated a comfortable majority for the ruling BJP led NDA dispensation, strongly projecting its return to power in the 17^th Lok Sabha elections.

As the seventh and final phase of Lok Sabha elections concluded on Sunday, all eyes turned to the projections being made by the exit polls by several news channels and surveys for the 542 seats that went to polls.

Times Now-VMR exit poll predicted 306 seats for the BJP-led NDA ruling dispensation. It projected 132 seats for the Congress-led UPA while gave others 104 seats.

Republic-C Voter projected 287 seats for the BJP—NDA coalition and 128 for the Congress-UPA.

According to News Nation predicted 282-290 seats for the BJP-led NDA, 118 – 126 seats for UPA and 130-136 for others.

According to surveys, BJP seems to have regained lost ground in three crucial Hindi heartland states of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh which the Lotus party had lost last years in assembly polls to the Congress. The exit polls indicate that BJP could win 22 out of 25 total seats in Rajasthan, 25 out of 29 seats in Madhya Pradesh and seven out of 11 seats in Chhattisgarh. In the national capital of Delhi, exit polls predicted a clean sweep for the BJP on all seven Lok Sabha seats.

The first phase of polling had kicked off on April 11 and the long drawn campaign and polling amidst heat and dust proved to be a long drawn and tiring affair for the political bigwigs as well as the people who turned up to cast their votes. A 90-crore strong electorate was registered in 2019 general elections, showing an increase of nine crore electors as compared to the last polls in 2014.

Harshit Agarwal, more commonly known as DJ Zenith, is the talk of the music industry. Hailing from Jaipur, he started his music journey in 2014, since then he has become one of the most prominent artists in the country as well as globally. He has worked with artists like Alan Walker, Tiesto, One Republic, David Guetta and so one.

Zenith recently produced a song called “Junglee” with Charan on vocals, the duo were winners of the Bacardi House Party Sessions for whom this Anthem was created. They were mentored by the legendary Bollywood singer Benny Dayal. The music video created quite a buzz in the industry and even caught the attention of renowned Bollywood Music Producer; Amit Trivedi who congratulated the duo for such an amazing song.

“Junglee” explores the dynamics between a Madari (master) and his monkey, the music video has a twist wherein the roles are reversed between the Madari and the monkey which leads to a change in the perspective. The Madari and the monkey become overnight sensations after listening to the song. The unconventional storytelling and music vibe that makes you want to move is what makes this video a must watch.

2018 was a milestone for Zenith as he started blending independent Hindi music with his own beats. His song “Kho gaye” was a nationwide success and was trending on all social media platforms. When asked what drives him to create music, Zenith said, “I was always an avid listener of different kinds of music since I was a kid and I’ve grown organically into it”

In the coming months, Zenith will be releasing a number of songs. Some of them will be independent releases, while the others like Junglee will be in collaboration with brands. 2019 is shaping up to be an even bigger year for this young artist as he sets out as a songwriter on multiple upcoming projects.

People can reduce their risk of dementia by getting regular exercise, not smoking, avoiding harmful use of alcohol, controlling their weight, eating a healthy diet, and maintaining healthy blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar levels, according to new guidelines issued by the World Health Organization (WHO).

“In the next 30 years, the number of people with dementia is expected to triple,” said WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. “We need to do everything we can to reduce our risk of dementia. The scientific evidence gathered for these Guidelines confirm what we have suspected for some time, that what is good for our heart, is also good for our brain.”

The Guidelines provide the knowledge base for health-care providers to advise patients on what they can do to help prevent cognitive decline and dementia. They will also be useful for governments, policy-makers and planning authorities to guide them in developing policy and designing programmes that encourage healthy lifestyles.

The reduction of risk factors for dementia is one of several areas of action included in WHO’s Global action plan for the public health response to dementia. Other areas include: strengthening information systems for dementia; diagnosis, treatment and care; supporting carers of people with dementia; and research and innovation.

WHO’s Global Dementia Observatory, launched in December 2017, is a compilation of information about country activities and resources for dementia, such as national plans, dementia-friendly initiatives, awareness campaigns and facilities for care. Data from 21 countries, including Bangladesh, Chile, France, Japan, Jordan and Togo, have already been included, with a total of 80 countries now engaged in providing data.

Creating national policies and plans for dementia are among WHO’s key recommendations for countries in their efforts to manage this growing health challenge. During 2018, WHO provided support to countries such as Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Qatar, Slovenia and Sri Lanka to help them develop a comprehensive, multi-sectoral public health response to dementia.

An essential element of every national dementia plan is support for carers of people with dementia, said Dr Dévora Kestel, Director of the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse at WHO. “Dementia carers are very often family members who need to make considerable adjustments to their family and professional lives to care for their loved ones. This is why WHO created iSupport. iSupport is an online training programme providing carers of people with dementia with advice on overall management of care, dealing with behaviour changes and how to look after their own health.”

iSupport  is currently being used in eight countries, with more expected to follow.

Dementia: A rapidly growing public health problem

Dementia is an illness characterized by a deterioration in cognitive function beyond what might be expected from normal ageing. It affects memory, thinking, orientation, comprehension, calculation, learning capacity, language and judgement. Dementia results from a variety of diseases and injuries that affect the brain, such as Alzheimer disease or stroke.

Dementia is a rapidly growing public health problem affecting around 50 million people globally. There are nearly 10 million new cases every year. Dementia is a major cause of disability and dependency among older people. Additionally, the disease inflicts a heavy economic burden on societies as a whole, with the costs of caring for people with dementia estimated to rise to US$ 2 trillion annually by 2030.

Currently there is no cure for dementia. However, much can be done to support people living with dementia. Early diagnosis is important; regular health checks can help to ensure that accompanying physical illnesses are diagnosed and treated; and health and social care systems, when adequately resourced, can ensure care at all stages of dementia.

More than 20 million babies were born with a low birthweight (less than 2500g; 5.5 pounds) in 2015—around one in seven of all births worldwide according to the first-ever estimates documenting this major health challenge.

These findings and more are documented in a new research paper developed by experts from the World Health Organization, UNICEF and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, published in The Lancet Global Health.

More than 80% of the world’s 2.5 million newborns who die every year are of low birthweight. Those low birthweight babies who survive have a greater risk of stunting, and developmental and physical ill health later in life, including diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

“Low birthweight is a complex clinical entity composed of intrauterine growth restriction and preterm birth,” says co-author Dr Mercedes de Onis from the Department of Nutrition at WHO.

“This is why reducing low birthweight requires an understanding of the underlying causes in a given country. For example, in Southern Asia a large proportion of low birthweight babies are born at term but with intrauterine growth restriction, which is associated with maternal undernutrition, including maternal stunting.

“Conversely, preterm birth is the major contributor to low birthweight in settings with many adolescent pregnancies, high prevalence of infection, or where pregnancy is associated with high levels of fertility treatment and caesarean sections (like in USA and Brazil). Understanding and tackling these underlying causes in high-burden countries should be a priority.”

Although close to three-quarters were born in Southern Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, the problem remains substantial in high-income countries in Europe, North America, Australia and New Zealand. High-income countries have seen virtually no progress.

What is being done to tackle this major public health problem

Reducing the incidence of low birth weight requires a comprehensive global strategy, which must include improving maternal nutritional status; treating pregnancy-associated conditions such as pre-eclampsia (hypertensive disease of pregnancy); and providing adequate maternal care, perinatal clinical services and social support.

Affordable, accessible and appropriate health-care is critical for preventing and treating low birthweight. Reductions in death, illness and disability in newborn babies will only be achieved if pregnancy care is fully integrated with appropriate care for low birthweight babies.

Recently Kunal Kamra a standup comedian tweeted and thanked Mr. Narendra Modi in helping him to get 10 Million Youtube Subscribers. Kunal Kamra is a Bombay based stand-up comedian and host of the popular political-comedy podcast Shut Up Ya Kunal. With only 22 Videos on his youtube channel Kunal Kamra he has subscriber of more than 10 lac. 

One person who has found a way with his words is Kunal Kamra. His latest video hit a million views on YouTube the day it released. The 12-minute act begins with the cracker: “Yeh mere aur Ambaniji ke beech mein Modiji kya kar rahe hain?”

Kunal Kamra Tweeted earlier today

Kunal Kamra

@kunalkamra88

Without you this milestone would have been impossible. Thank you bro @narendramodi

How can we forgot Shyam Rangeela who did a hilarious parody of Akhsay Kumar’s Non – Political Interview with Narendra Modi.  The questions that were asked in the real interview were only modified to make them sound like they were a part of the parody interview. For example, Akshay Kumar’s “Kya Aap Aam Khate hai?” was replaced with “Kya Aap kulfi khate hai?”  However, the one thing remained constant throughout was Shyam Rangeela saying, “Dekhiye main bahut hi gareeb parivaar se hoon.” LOL! One of the most hilarious questions asked in the spoof video was what kind of difficulties were faced by PM Modi when he used to sell tea.  This one was hilarious when Shyam Rangeela Said ‘I sleep for only three hours at night. I sleep during the day to cover the rest of the hours.’ The interview received its equal share of both appreciation and criticism on social media.

Comedian Rajeev Nigam is also among one of them his latest video on Radar Wale Baba | The Multi Shades of Modi Ji. 

The Indian stand up industry is still unorganised and uncertain for comics. 

Instagram and Youtube content creator Sarah Hussain, popularly known as ZingyZest is a 23 year old girl having one of the most number of organic followers in Delhi in her genre, that is, food blogging.

She started it at the age of 19, while graduating from Shaheed Bhagat Singh, Delhi University. Her first big purchase was a Santro car at the age of 21, which she bought from her savings, and is very proud of. She hates taking money from anyone, even her parents, that’s the main reason she started working in college, and and still works very hard for it. Hussain, started ZingyZest with no experience in hand, not even a camera. She started clicking pictures and making videos with her phone, and in no time started gaining popularity and began receiving branded promotions.

Sarah has worked with Nexa Cars, Renault Motors, Mother Dairy, Domino’s, Lays Chips, Pepsi to name a few. She has always collaborated with luxury hotels, like Roseate Hotels, Westin Hotels, JW Marriott Radisson Blu, The Address Hotel, in India and Dubai. 

Asking about her future plans, she said she might consider having a PR company as she has a post graduate degree for Corporate Communications and Public Relations from Canada. However, right now her plan is only to travel across the globe and make the world see it on her social media. She feels, change is the only constant thing in the world, and you need to keep changing and evolving to stay relevant in today’s fast paced world.

One advice Sarah has to give to young bloggers who are just starting is to work hard and wait. Success comes to those who wait, and work hard for it.