Union Minister for Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation, Road Transport & Highways and Shipping Nitin Gadkari said in Dushanbe yesterday, that India is trying to make Chabahar Port in Iran operational by 2019. Mr. Gadkari was addressing the Indian Community at the inauguration of the Swami Vivekananda Cultural Centre at the Indian Embassy in Dushanbe. He said the opening up of the Chabahar Port would make the CIS countries more accessible.

Mr. Gadkari also spoke at length about the efforts and initiatives taken by the NDA Government in the last four years to bring qualitative change in the lives of people. He talked about the massive work being done in the infrastructure sector, with National Highways being built at an unprecedented pace of 28km/day. He said the country is growing at a very fast pace under a corruption free, transparent and committed government led by PM Narendra Modi. India’s image and respect has grown across the world in the last four years and our rankings have improved globally on various parameters like ease of doing business, cleanliness etc, he added.

Nitin Gadkari was on a two day official visit to Tajikistan to represent India at the high level global conference on “International Decade for Action: Water for Sustainable Development”. He held wide-ranging talks with Sirodjidin Muhridin, Foreign Minister of Tajikistan during this visit, in which the two leaders underlined the need to give further impetus to the ongoing bilateral cooperation in various fields and agreed to enhance mutual cooperation in the area of sustainable water development. He had also conveyed to the Tajikistan leader, Prime Minister Modi’s commitment towards expanding economic cooperation between the two countries and said that New Delhi would be willing to share with Tajikistan, Indian expertise in building quality infrastructure.

Swami Vivekananda Cultural Centre at Dushanbe will offer classes in Hindi, Sanskrit, Yoga and various performing arts like music and dance to the Indian diaspora as well as Tajik people. The Centre has generated a lot of interest and excitement amongst the Tajik people.

A new study has suggested that yoga can prove beneficial in preventing falls among the elderly, restore balance and mobility and, hence, effective in preventing injuries.

Falls are an emerging public health issue in India and a major cause of mortality and morbidity globally. It is estimated that 75 per cent of the fall injuries occur in low and middle-income countries and the impact set to rise as the population ages.

In a new study conducted by the George Institute for Global Health, the researchers observed that there was an improvement in time taken by the elderly in rising  up from a chair and an increase was observed in the length of steps taken by them while walking. The study had a qualitative component and through the focus group discussions and interviews, it was found that the fear of falling had reduced as compared to before, among the elderly who participated in the study. 

A central concept emerging from the focus groups and interviews was that yoga has a wide range of benefits beyond improvements in balance and mobility— ‘yoga for healthy ageing’. These findings suggest that yoga is a holistic approach to healthy ageing and the other health benefits, such as diabetes and hypertension status, should be evaluated in addition to falls. Yoga may be best positioned as a program for ‘healthy ageing’ rather than simply for fall prevention, and this could alleviate the challenge of engaging with older people who have multiple competing health priorities

The study titled, ‘A mixed methods evaluation of yoga as a fall prevention strategy for older people in India’, was published this month in the journal BioMed Central. It was led by Dr Lisa Keay of the Injury Division, The George Institute for Global Health in Sydney. Researchers from Population health and Cardiovascular divisions of the George Institute India, musculoskeletal division of the Sydney School of Public Health, University of Sydney, Centre for Physical Fitness and Sports Sciences, University of Hyderabad and Osmania Medical College also participated in conducting the study.

The study spread over three months involved 50 people aged between 60-81 years, of whom 29 were women. As part of the study, participants 

attended 27 yoga sessions, with each session lasting for an average of one hour. 

Mixed methods were used to evaluate the acceptability and feasibility of a yoga program. Thematic analysis was conducted in the context of perceptions, barriers and benefits of yoga participation and fall ascertainment. Physical performance using the Short Physical Performance Battery, fear of falling, blood pressure and weight loss were measured before and after the program.

Talking about the findings, Dr. D Praveen, Programme Head-Primary Health Care, George Institute for Global Health India said, the study results show that yoga is well accepted and resulted in improved ability to rise from a chair, weight loss, increased step length and reduced fear of falling. These results provide impetus for further research evaluating yoga as a fall prevention strategy in India.

He further added, “This was a pilot study with small sample size which showed a positive impact. Now, we want to do a larger study using randomised control trials to prove effectiveness of yoga.” 

The last dancing bear in Nepal who spent four gruelling months at a substandard zoo in Nepal will finally be released and sent to a specialist sloth sanctuary in India.

Late last year, two sloth bears were dramatically rescued from a life of suffering as a dancing bear in Nepal by the Jane Goodall Institute of Nepal, World Animal Protection and Nepali police. The bears were placed in temporary accommodation at Parsa National Park, intended to go to the wildlife sos (WSOS) sanctuary in India but were instead secretly moved to a substandard zoo in Kathmandu that provided terrible conditions.

The rescued bears, Rangila and Sridevi were Nepal’s last dancing bears. Tragically, one of the bears, Sridevi died whilst in the care of the zoo, which has been previously criticized for its extremely poor conditions. 

This decision by Nepalese government council (cabinet ministers) comes after months of working behind the scenes to pressure the Nepalese government toprovide vital information about Rangila’s welfare, and continue to work for his safe release to a specialist sloth bear sanctuary.

Dr Neil D’Cruze, Senior Wildlife Advisor at World Animal Protection said after months of tirelessly working behind the scenes, Rangila will finally be moved to the specialist sanctuary in India, who can properly care and rehabilitate him.

“The journey has been an emotional and gruelling one. The loss of one of the rescued bears, Sridevi, was devastating for everyone involved in her rescue. The secret move to a zoo unable to properly care for the bears was a real blow. It is a huge relief that Rangila will now live the life he deserves, free from harm and with all of the proper care he needs,’’ he said.

According to Manoj Gautam, Jane Goodall Institute of Nepal after such an exceptional but dramatic rescue, it was heart breaking to see how the story took a twisted turn. “It has been a painfully slow process to release Rangila but we couldn’t be happier to see positive results from the Nepalese government. We hope Rangila can now live the rest of his life in peace.”

There are many unanswered questions about why the bears were moved to a zoo without consultation with World Animal Protection or Jane Goodall Institute Nepal. However, we want the government to immediately expedite the process in order for Rangila to be safely transported to the WSOS sanctuary, a joint statement said.

The suffering of bears in Asia is still not over, World Animal Protection continues its campaign to protect bears; across Asia we are working to stop the exploitation of bears used for the horrific blood sport of bear-baiting and in the cruel and unnecessary bear bile industry, where approximately 22,000 Asiatic black bears stuck in tiny cages, with permanent holes in their stomach and constantly milked for their bile. Their bile and gallbladders are dried, powdered, and sold as panacea to be used as ‘traditional medicine.’ t.he statement added

NEW DELHI: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday pulled out of the government in Jammu and Kashmir and ended its three-year-old alliance with the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).

Announcing the decision to end the BJP-PDP alliance in Jammu and Kashmir, BJP national secretary Ram Madhav said that continuing in the alliance had become “untenable” for the party.

“Violence increased in the Valley… fundamental rights are under threat… radicalisation has increased,” Mr Madhav said point to the factors behind the saffron party’s decision to quit the alliance.

The BJP blamed PDP supremo and Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti for the deteriorating law and order situation and “rise in radicalism” in the state but said once ‘normalcy’ returns the political process can be again taken forward.

Replying to queries at the press conference, Mr. Madhav said: “It is time that the matter (governance) is taken over by the Governor and the situation is restored to normalcy.’’

Besides deteriorating law and order situation, he said the “rise in radicalisation and terrorism are also matters of concern” for his party. He said the party’s decision was came in the “larger national interest”.

The BJP leader who had played a key role in stitching the alliance with the PDP said under the Mehbooba ministry the developmental works have been inadequate in two other regions of the border State — Ladakh and Jammu. “We needed much more to be done for Ladakh and Jammu, we find that happening to our satisfaction”.

Mr. Madhav  said “Suspension of military operations during holy month of Ramzan was announced as a good gesture. This was done from a position of strength. This opportunity was not accepted ….so to bring things under control, we have taken today’s decision”.  He defended BJP’s original decision to share power with PDP saying that was done only to respect the mandate of the people.

The BJP’s decision to exit the government in J&K came within days of the brutal killing of senior journalist and editor of Rising Kashmir English daily Shujaat Bukhari in the heart of Srinagar. Mr Bukhari was gunned down by unidentified assailants a day before Eid and his funeral witnessed participation from thousands of people in Baramulla. His two personal security guards were also killed by the assailants. On the same day, a soldier Aurangzeb was abducted as he was on way home to Poonch to celebrate Eid with his family. His bullet riddled body was later found from jungles in Pulwama.

“After the killing of Shujaat, there was no question of not continuing anti-terror operations,” Mr. Madhav said. In a number of tweets on Sunday, Union Home Miniter Rajnath Singh said that security forces had been directed to resume operations, indicating that the Ramzan ceasefire would not be extended.

While the BJP has 25 MLAs and the PDP 28 in the 89-member Assembly, the Congress has 12 members. The party has already ruled out an alliance with the PDP. The National Conference has 15 seats and its supremo and former chief minister Omar Abdullah tweeted:  “And so it has come to pass.’’

Meanwhile, Mehbooba Mufti has submitted her resignation to the Governor N N Vohra.

The Communist Party of India (Marxist) has said that the decision of the BJP to withdraw from the coalition government with the PDP in Jammu & Kashmir at this particular moment has the potential of creating greater political instability in the State.

It signifies the total political failure of the BJP’s approach in Jammu & Kashmir, the CPI (M) said in a statement issued here. 

This alliance was untenable since the beginning. It was an alliance between forces that never saw eye to eye on any issue but came together in an act of sheer opportunism to share the spoils of office.

The BJP was party to all decisions of the state government during the past three years and hence cannot absolve any responsibility for contributing to a further deterioration in the state and towards deepening the
alienation of the people.

The BJP being a coalition partner of the State government and holding office in the central government had promised the people of Kashmir an immediate introduction of confidence building measures and immediate starting of a political process by initiating a comprehensive dialogue with all stakeholders in the valley. Neither of these two promises which were publicly announced by the Union Home Minister after the all Party delegation visited the valley in September 2017 have been fulfilled. If they were sincerely followed up the situation could have improved, the statement said. 

The BJP central government unilaterally announced, first, the ceasefire and later, its withdrawal.

Under these circumstances, plunging the state into greater uncertainty and the impending imposition of President’s rule may not help in addressing the issue of the deepening alienation of the people.

A tailor-made Monitoring and Evaluation framework forms one of the foremost components leading to the successful implementation of any project activity. Prior to suggesting tips for the implementation of Monitoring and evaluation in CSR activities, understanding the meaning of both monitoring and evaluation in the context of project framework is important.

Monitoring is a periodically recurring task that allows results, processes, and experiences to be documented and used as a basis to steer decision-making and learning. It is a progress checking mechanism created to see whether the project is on track and meeting the outputs set within the time limits as mentioned in the project design and implementation plan. 

Evaluation of a project revolves around how well or how badly has the project been implemented, to what extent it has achieved the results (outputs & outcomes), the challenges faced during the implementation and how they have or could have been mitigated. It also provides a base to see whether the same can be scaled up and if the model is replicable. 

One of the most pertinent factors to be kept in mind is that monitoring happens during project implementation while evaluation takes place after the project has been implemented. Thus, even mid-term evaluations falls in the category of monitoring as it is focused on what type of hindrances are occurring which is holding back the successful implementation of the project and what type of course corrections needs to take place in order to put the project implementation back on track. 

Without tailored performance indicators and specific parameters that reflect the context and focus of the program, both monitoring and evaluation is likely to produce generic results and be void of relevant lessons learned and useful recommendations for future programs. Thus, proper creation and management of a monitoring and evaluation framework is a critical element for the success of any developmental project. 

The 8 key factors that need to be kept in mind while formulating a monitoring and evaluation framework for a project are as follows:

1. Track necessary Information only: M&E tools often ends up capturing a lot of information that is not required or has no potential use for the program. For instance: if we are conducting an education program that works to improve student’s learning outcomes by providing books, then the M&E team doesn’t have to collect information about the student’s mid-day meals. The idea behind it is to collect only necessary information that is required to ascertain whether the project is on track in case of monitoring and whether it has achieved the results to address the issues successfully in case of evaluation. This would result in optimization of resources in terms of cost, effort and time deployed for M&E studies.

2. Selection of Appropriate Data Collection Tools: Selection of tools with respect to the requirement of the nature of the project is a vital component in any monitoring and evaluation framework. It is well known fact that one size does not fit all, in the same way, the tools selected have to be as per the nature of the project, budgetary constraints and available timeline. Defining the methods for data collection will have important implications for the entire study and will have a direct impact on how the results will be reported. 

3. Identifying M&E roles and responsibilities: It is imperative for any good monitoring and evaluation framework to assign specific roles & responsibilities within the project team personnel. Further, the assessment is to be done on the basis of specific indicators which are to be achieved within specified timelines. It is important to decide from the early planning stage who is responsible for collecting the data for each indicator. Data management roles should be decided with input from all team members so that everyone is on the same page and knows which indicators they are assigned and are supposed to record and keep track of. This way when it is time for reporting, appropriate actions can be taken based on real time data collected from the ground and learning’s can be synthesized.

4. Indicators should be SMART: The indicators to be decided for any monitoring and evaluation plan should be SMART (Specific, Measurable, Accurate, Realistic & Time Bound). This implies that it should be specific in terms of what it wants to measure/assess, measurable quantitatively/qualitatively, able to accurately capture data, based on realistic parameters as per the on-ground situation and should have a specific timeline. These are the most significant elements to be considered while framing the performance indicators and parameters. 

5. Use of Logical Framework Matrix (LFM): It is one of the most critical tools for ensuring that the entire project implementation plan along with the results and the performance indicators are drawn up in a matrix so as to make it easier for any project implementation team to see if the project is going as per the plan. It aids in effective monitoring of the entire implementation phase by checking if the project results (outputs and outcomes) are being met in a timely fashion. Further, it also aids in assessing the risks and assumptions and creating a mitigation plan for the same. Moreover, it helps in analysing the roles and responsibilities of various stakeholders and helps in the better management of the entire project. At the end of a project, it also helps in assessing whether the project has been successful in meeting the outcomes and objectives that the project had set out to achieve. 

6 Create a Comprehensive Analysis Plan: The accurate analysis of data is a key component for the success of any monitoring and evaluation plan. It is very important for the data to be analyzed by a management professional who has had prior experience in analyzing both qualitative and quantitative sets of data. The analysis of quantitative and qualitative sets of data requires different sets of competence and it is imperative for the data analysis personnel to be well versed with both of them. The inferences drawn from the analysis should be substantiated with data comprising of facts and figures (quantitative data) or/and views, opinions, perceptions of the relevant stakeholders (qualitative data). 

The M&E plan should include a section with details about what data will be analyzed and how the results will be presented. Do research staffs need to perform any statistical tests to get the needed answers? If so, what tests are they and what data will be used in them? What software program will be used to analyze data and make reporting tables. All these elements should also be given equal importance.

7. Verification through Triangulation of Data: One of the most important factors to be kept in mind while designing of the monitoring and evaluation framework is that the data collected needs to be verified from multiple sources both through primary and secondary research. This is imperative in order to increase the authenticity and accuracy of the data. 

8. Sharing of Data with Relevant Stakeholders- The data collected and the resulting analysis should be shared with all the relevant stakeholders. This will ensure that the data collected and analysed leads to real time change/course correction on the ground or leads to better planning and design of future similar projects. Data should always be collected for a particular purpose that will inform the staff and stakeholders about the success and progress of the program. It must also assist the staff to make modifications in real-time. The M&E plan should also include plans for internal dissemination among the program team, as well as wider dissemination among stakeholders and donors. 

For example, a program team may want to review data on a monthly basis to make programmatic decisions and develop future work plans, while meetings with the donor to review data and program progress might occur quarterly or annually. Dissemination of printed or digital materials might occur at more frequent intervals. These options should be discussed with stakeholders and the M&E team to ascertain reasonable expectations for data review and to develop plans for dissemination early in the program.

Thus, in a nutshell monitoring forms the lifeline of any project as it makes sure that the right decisions are taken at the right time in order to mitigate the risks and challenges facing the project in real time while evaluation shows to what extent the overall targets and outcomes set at the time of the project designing phase has been met post implementation of the project activities.(The Author Shariq Jamal is a Programme Management professional.)

Mr. Jaitley may not be back at North Block but is certainly making his presence felt through social media. His latest blog hits out at former Finance Minister P. Chidambaram’s idea of capping excise duties on petroleum products at Rs. 25 per litre. Describing it as a trap, he says such a plan will end up by pushing the country into unmanageable debt. No doubt he is alarmed by the idea, since it has been estimated that a one rupee cut in excise on oil products will lead to an annual revenue loss of Rs. 13000 crore. A drastic cut in excise duties can thus create serious shortfalls in revenue inflows and impact efforts to keep the fiscal deficit in check. So far the NDA government has been able to consistently keep reducing the deficit for the past four years. It is committed to keeping it within the target of 3.3 per cent in 2018-19 as compared to 4.5 per cent during the last year of the UPA regime.This has resonated well with foreign credit rating agencies and investors which have been impressed that it has not succumbed to populist pressures and kept to its fiscal targets.

But one of the main reasons for being able to maintain such discipline has been the bounty showered on this government by the crash in world oil prices shortly after it assumed power. Prices had reached a low of 40 dollars per barrel in 2014, a far cry from the peaks of 100 dollars per barrel that had to be dealt with by the UPA. To take full advantage of the low oil prices, the new government reduced fuel prices only marginally and instead increased excise duties on petroleum products. As Mr. Jaitley himself points out in his blog, duties were raised nine times since 2014. This brought in a revenue bonanza for the exchequer which has been used to balance the central budget. 

International prices started hardening, however, in the last quarter of 2017. These have now risen to about 73 dollars per dollar of the benchmark Brent crude, though it had reached a peak of nearly 80 dollars just a few weeks ago. Excise duty has only been reduced once since then so consumers are bearing the brunt of the high oil prices. This has naturally increased inflationary pressures on the economy. The inflation rate has recorded a rise of 4.28 per cent in March to 4.58 per cent in April 2 this year, largely due to higher fuel prices.The Reserve Bank of India has, in turn, raised interest rates at its latest meeting in line with its role of keeping a check on inflation, a move which has naturally not been viewed favourably by the Finance Ministry.

The question is, what is the government now going to do to deal with the situation. It should ideally try to shift crude oil and petroleum products  to the discipline of the Goods and Services Tax (GST). But there is no movement simply because states, of which a large number are ruled by the BJP are opposed to taking away this cash cow from their purview. The central government should ideally be able to convince at least the BJP ruled states, which are now in a majority, to put oil products under the new tax and hence easily have the proposal approved by the GST Council. But for some strange reason, there is little movement on this issue apart from declarations being made that the centre is keen to put petroleum under GST.

As a measure of relief to consumers, both retail and industrial, the government should at least cut excise duties to some extent and try to raise additional revenue from other sources such as disinvestment. But it appears that the Finance Ministry is watching the international market and waiting for prices to subside instead of taking any concrete action for the time being. The fact is that oil prices have already slid down from their peak of 80 dollars largely because there is a realization by major producers like Saudi Arabia and Russia that extremely high prices could lead to a drop in demand. Besides, shale oil production has also picked up recently in the U.S. which will contribute to the softening trend. Hopes are being pinned on the forthcoming meeting of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) on June 22  where production quotas are expected to be raised significantly. Russia which has been acting in collaboration with OPEC since the middle of last year is also reported to be in favour of raising output in line with the cartel.

The future outlook for fuel prices for the Indian consumer thus depends right now more on OPEC rather than the government. In case the OPEC meeting brings some relief in terms of higher production quotas for members, world prices are bound to recede to some extent. This in turn should lead to a decrease in prices of petrol, diesel and other petroleum products at the retail level in this country within a few weeks. But if these hopes are belied, the government may need to take some hard decisions to provide relief to consumers, otherwise inflation will spiral out of control. In addition, it would be politically unwise to allow high oil prices to continue in a year when the ruling party faces elections in several states and ultimately the general elections next year. The OPEC meeting will thus have a high stakes outcome not just for the members of the cartel for the political future of this government.

(Views are personal.)

After one month of treatment for Lupus, a chronic autoimmune disease, a 29 year old young female from Iran gets a new lease of life at Wockhardt hospital, Mumbai central.

A young woman from Iran met doctor with symptoms of joint pains and swelling. She was treated as Rheumatoid arthritis for more than 1 year. 

Gradually her symptoms worsened and further investigations revealed she had Lupus, a chronic autoimmune disease due to which her internal organs were affected. She developed skin rashes; kidney function tests were high, and also she had heart involvement in form of valve dysfunction and fluid around her heart due to active inflammation of the disease. The patient travelled to India in very bad condition due to Lupus.

Dr. Dipti Patel, Consultant Rheumatologist at Wockhardt Hospital, SOBO Said “Patient came to me with complaints like joints pain, skin rashes, kidney damage, problem in heart and was very short of breath due to anaemia and heart problems secondary to her active lupus. It was a complicated case of lupus with multi system involvement. A detailed assessment and investigations were carried out at Wockhardt Hospital and a multidisciplinary treatment protocol was created with the help of other leading doctors Dr M M Bahadur, Dr Chandan Chaudhari – Consultant Nephrologists , Dr Nazir Juwale – Consultant Cardiologist

She was commenced on biologic drugs which are modern immuno suppressive drugs, now available to suppress the disease process and save damage to major organs. She underwent successful treatment for over a month. Eventually fluid around the heart decreased, creatinine levels (kidney function) was stabilised and the symptoms much improved.

Lupus normally affects young people, the age groups of 15-40 is the most vulnerable, more common in women than men. “The ratio of women to men is 9 to 1 or 90%. Lupus can often trigger after childbirth, at menopause or puberty due to hormonal activity and change. It is more common in Asian and black women than Caucasians. It is important to not ignore symptoms of joint pains with swelling and consult a Rheumatologist early as it could indicate different forms of inflammatory diseases one of them being lupus,” adds Dr Patel.

Mrs Haleema says, “I am really happy with the decision of coming to Wockhardt Hospital in Mumbai for the treatment. With the help of proper treatment now I can lead a normal life.”

Senior journalist Shujaat Bukhari was shot dead by unknown attackers in Srinagar on Thursday evening.

Shujaat Bukhari, the editor of “Rising Kashmir” was attacked when he had just stepped out of his office in Press Colony in the city. He was reportedly hit by multiple bullets fired at a close range. A security guard protecting him and his driver were also shot. One of them has died as well.

It was not immediately clear how many gunmen attacked Bukhari, who earlier worked with The Hindu newspaper as its Kashmir correspondent.

This is the first attack on a journalist in a long time in Kashmir and has shaken the entire fraternity

Shujaat Bukhari was given police protection since an attack on him in 2000. He was instrumental in organising several conferences for peace in the Kashmir valley. He was also part of the Track II process with Pakistan.

Press Club of India strongly condemns the killing of Shujaat Bukhari, Editor of Rising Kashmir, by a group of terrorists in Srinagar on Thursday evening. 

Press Club of India is shocked and saddened by this mindless terror attack that claimed the life of Shujaat Bukhari in the holy month of Ramzan. He had started his career as a young reporter with Kashmir Times and moved to The Hindu as its Kashmir correspondent in the 90s where his in-depth, analytical and objective reporting from the Valley got him recognition on the national and international level. 

Later, he established his own English daily Rising Kashmir. 

Press Club of India has time and again underlined the threat to the lives of journalists working under difficult and challenging circumstances and demanded protection for them.. Reports said that Mr. Bukhari’s two personal security guards also sustained injuries in the terror attack. 

Terror attack that took Shujaat Bukhari’s life shows that lives of journalists are not at all safe. Forces inimical to restoring peace in Kashmir Valley have silenced a voice of reason, logic and peace. 

Press Club of India deeply mourns the loss of Shujaat Bukhari’s life and extends its condolences to the bereaved family in this hour of crisis. 

TOKYO: Well known Indian Social worker and the man behind low cost toilet revolution “Sulabh Sauchalya “ Dr. Bindeshwar Pathak was on Wednesday honoured with this year’s prestigious “Nikkei Asia Prize for Culture and Community “ at an award ceremony here.

Japan’s Prestigious Nikkei Asia Prize is an award which recognizes the outstanding achievements of people and organizations that have improved the lives of people throughout Asia.

Launched in 1996 by the Nikkei Inc , the coveted prize honours people in Asia who have made significant contributions in one of the three areas: regional growth; science, technology and innovation; and culture and community. 

Former Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh and Infosys Chairman   Narayan Murty are among a few Indians who have won this coveted prize in the past. 

The award was presented by Mr. Naotoshi Okada, President of Nikkei Inc, to Sulabh International founder here.

While conferring the award, the Chairman of the Award Committee Mr Fujio Mitarai said that Dr Pathak was being bestowed with the honour for “tackling two of his country’s biggest challenges—poor hygiene and discrimination.” 

He was awarded under the category of “Culture and Community”. 

The other two winners of the award are Ma Jun (Economic and Business Innovation), a Chinese environmentalist, for using the power of the internet to promote cleaner industry and Professor Nguyen Thanh Liem (Science and Technology), a Vietnamese doctor, for bringing cutting-edge medicine to children. 

Dr. Pathak invented two-pit pour-flush ecological compost toilets that have helped provide low cost environment friendly toilets to millions of people in the developing world.  

It has also ensured the safety for rural women and freedom from the manual labour of removing human waste. 

The Nikkei Asia Prizes were established in 1996 to commemorate the 120th anniversary of Nikkei Inc’s main Japanese-language newspaper. 

While accepting this award, Dr. Pathak dedicated it to the downtrodden section of the society for whom he has been waging campaign for more than five decades. 

“This award will be another milestone in my commitment to the service of the society in Asia in particular and world in general,” he added.