Turning its focus on the region and its huge potential, Sri Lankan Airlines  is very bullish on the Indian market. Not only Sri Lanka has become a favourite destination for Indians, Colombo is also becoming a big hub to connect Indian cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai with Asian nations with efficient and effective strives and network by Sri Lankan airlines.

Member of the OneWorld alliance, Sri Lankan airlines is giving a big push to the new wave of tourism into Sri Lanka and has decided to go all out to woo the Indian consumers. It has launched the Delhi-Sydney flight via Colombo and is also connecting cities like Melbourne and Perth in Australia with Delhi  and Mumbai.

It has lined up expansion plans to  top the huge potential of the Indian market especially the cities in Northern India. Till now, Sri Lankan had focussed mainly on South India but now wants to turn its attention to cities in North India.

Sri Lankan Airlines North India region Manager, Chinthaka Weerasinghe is very bullish about charting a new course with the Indian customer and with his needs in mind. Currently operating from 14 destinations in India with 125 flights per week, the airline is not resting on its laurels and has lined up massive expansion plans to connect Indians to destinations like Male and Gan Island in Maldives, Sydney and Melbourne in Australia, Bangkok and Indonesia and China. “We are seeking to bring destinations in Asian region closer to India and link them with our vast network. Colombo will be our hub  which will provide fast and efficient connectivity to the customers,” he remarked.

As Sri Lanka has one of the highest expatriates community living in Australian cities of Mebourne and Sydney, it is providing a direct link from Colombo to Melbourne and other cities in Australia. Now it has extended that link to India by starting the New Delhi-Melbourne flight. The Srilankan Airlines is seeking to tap the key markets of Delhi, Mumbai, Gujarat and Punjab for the New Delhi-Australian circuit. `We have come up with a schedule of double daily flights from Colombo with transit time of less than one and half hours. The total flight time from Delhi to Melbourne would be around 15 hours which is unique. Similarly, connectivity would also be provided on the same basis from New Delhi to Sydney,’’ Mr. Weerasinghe said.

In order to tap the huge potential of markets in Punjab and Gujrat, Srilankan Airlines has tied up with Vistara and some other local carriers to give special fares so that it could be coupled with Delhi Melbourne flight. And the response has been overwhelming.

The airline has also tied up with OneWorld alliance partners to give auto price rates through Sydney and other domestic points in Australia and New Zealand to make the route lucrative for passengers. And the bonanza does not end with a tight flight schedule, the pricing is also very competitive as the New Delhi-Melbourne route price is coming to an attractive Rs. 43,000 all inclusive. The price for the Delhi-Sydney flight is also the same. The response has been amazing as this route is selling like hot cake in the North India market.

Offering a whole compact package for the passengers, there is the attractive baggage policy with the economy class being allowed 30 Kg, Business Class 40 Kgs and 50 Kgs allowance for the students

Mr. Weerasinghe said in addition to this, the focus would also be on regional routes at Asia and South Asia. China is a big market for us and Srilankan Airlines has good connections to Bangkok, Indonesia.“We are looking at consolidation in India with a larger focus to get Indian tourists on our national airlines. Tourism has been a big attraction with a double digit growth along with wedding, leisure and MICE.

Mr. Weerasinghe said Sri Landkan Airlines has been operating for the longest time in India since 1979 from Bombay and Madras at that time. It commenced its Delhi operations from 1993 and now presently are in 14 destinations in India. “We are celebrating 25 years of operations from Delhi next year which speaks volumes about our services and commitment to the Indian market. We have 125 flights per week from India which we plan to increase to 134 flights in the coming months,’ he added.

He said Srilankan Airlines has over 28 frequencies given in the bilateral agreements and we are one of those airlines which has utilised these most making us the number one career in terms of points of operations. In terms of frequencies, we stand around third. On the cards is a double daily flight to Mumbai. The Sri Lankan airlines gives a lot of importance to the Indian market which is indicated in the number of tourist arrivals from India into Sri Lanka.

Last year nearly 3.75 lakh Indian tourists visited Sri Lanka making it the number of inbound tourist country. This year it is expected that this number will cross the 400,000 market. Over the years, the airline has mainly focused on the South Indian market but now has turned its focus on the Northern region sensing its huge potential. Plans are already afoot to open three new stations in India – Hyderabad, Vishakhapatnam and Coimbatore. Double daily flights from Delhi and Mumbai are now operated. The airlines has three flights from Kolkata which will soon be increased to four.

In addition to this, there is the chartered flights traffic to to Bodh gaya and Varanasi to cater to pilgrim traffic. After US, United Kingdom and Bangladesh, Sri Lanka ranks fourth in terms of tourist arrivals into India. The focus in the North Indian market is on leisure traffic and MICE. “We are seeking to build relationships with stakeholders and tour operators.

Talking about the potential of the Maldives market, where Srilankan Airlines has a strong presence, Mr. Weerasinghe said the airline is quite established for the Maldives market in South India and Mumbai. In Delhi, there were initial hiccups due to single flight but now that has changed and we have a second flight operating from Delhi giving more choice and convenience to the tourists. Now Delhi is properly connected with Male and tourists can now reach their destinations in Maldives by evening instead of spending one night in Male. This brings down the tour expenses and also gives convenience to the tourist to plan their trip.

Srilankan Airlines is sure that the double daily flight from Delhi will give them more numbers ffor the Maldives market. The connectivity from the airline hub of Colombo is seamless as now five flights operate to Male. “We are also looking at guest houses and hotels to increase our volumes. Also last year, we were first operator to operate to Gan Island in Maldives. We have four flights a week, and we hope to increase it further. We need to give more options of connectivity to tourists going to Gan island to various resorts of Island destinations from there. We need to work with the industry, government and the resorts in Gan Island to increase the frequency of fights. We could look at sea plane services which will reduce the transit time Male to various destinations through Gan island,” he remarked.

Similarly, with Colombo emerging as a major hub, Srilankan has been able to provide options to the Indian travellers. Now Indian tourist to go to Seyshells seamlessly and the pricing is also very competitive. The Syeshells route is doing fairly well in terms of traffic from India.

Chief Justice Mohit Shah Made An Offer Of Rs 100 Crore To My Brother For A Favourable Judgment In The Sohrabuddin Case: Late Judge Loya’s Sister

In July 2010, the CBI arrested Amit Shah in connection with the allegedly staged killing in 2005 of Sohrabuddin Sheikh. In September 2012, the Supreme Court shifted the case out of Gujarat, to Maharashtra, stating that it was “convinced that in order to preserve the integrity of the trial, it is necessary to shift it outside the state.” Shah was discharged by the special CBI court in Mumbai in December 2014.

Brijgopal Harkishan Loya, the judge presiding over the CBI special court in Mumbai, died sometime between the night of 30 November and the early morning of 1 December 2014, while on a trip to Nagpur. At the time of his death, he was hearing the Sohrabuddin case, in which the prime accused was the Bharatiya Janata Party president Amit Shah. The media reported at the time that Loya had died of a heart attack. But my investigations between November 2016 and November 2017 raised disturbing questions about the circumstances surrounding Loya’s death—including questions regarding the condition of his body when it was handed over to his family.

Among those I spoke to was one of Loya’s sisters, Anuradha Biyani, a medical doctor based in Dhule, Maharashtra. Biyani made an explosive claim to me: Loya, she said, confided to her that Mohit Shah, then the chief justice of the Bombay High Court, had offered him a bribe of Rs 100 crore in return for a favourable judgment. She said Loya had told her this some weeks before he died, when the family gathered for Diwali at their ancestral home in Gategaon. Loya’s father Harkishan also told me that his son had told him he had offers to deliver a favourable judgment in exchange for money and a house in Mumbai.

Brijgopal Harkishan Loya was appointed to the special CBI court in June 2014, after his predecessor, JT Utpat, was transferred within weeks of reprimanding Amit Shah for seeking an exemption from appearing in court. According to a February 2015 report in Outlook, “During the CBI court’s hearings that Utpat presided over for this one year, or even after, court records suggest Amit Shah had never turned up even once—including on the final day of discharge. Shah’s counsel apparently made oral submissions for exempting him from personal appearance on grounds ranging from him being ‘a diabetic and hence unable to move’ to the more blase: ‘he is busy in Delhi.’”

The Outlook report continued: “On June 6, 2014, Utpat had made his displeasure known to Shah’s counsel and, while allowing exemption for that day, ordered Shah’s presence on June 20.  But he didn’t show up again. According to media reports, Utpat told Shah’s counsel, ‘Every time you are seeking exemption without giving any reason.’” Utpat, the story noted, “fixed the next hearing for June 26. But on 25th, he was transferred to Pune.” This was in violation of a September 2012 Supreme Court order, that the Sohrabuddin trial “should be conducted from beginning to end by the same officer.”

Loya had at first appeared well disposed towards Shah’s request that he be exempted from personally appearing in court. As Outlook noted, “Utpat’s successor Loya was indulgent, waiving Shah’s personal appearance on each date.” But this apparent indulgence may just have been a matter of procedure. According to the Outlook story, “significantly, one of his last notings stated that Shah was being exempted from personal appearance ‘till the framing of charges.’ Loya had clearly not harboured the thought of dropping charges against Shah even when he appeared to be gentle on him.” According to the lawyer Mihir Desai, who represented Sohrabuddin’s brother Rubabuddin—the complainant in the case—Loya was keen on scrutinising the entire chargesheet, which ran to more than 10,000 pages, and on examining the evidence and witnesses carefully. “The case was sensitive and important, and it was going to create and decide the reputation of Mr Loya as a judge,” Desai said. “But the pressure was certainly mounting.”

Nupur Balaprasad Biyani, a niece of Loya’s who stayed with his family in Mumbai while studying in the city, told me about the extent of the pressure she witnessed her uncle facing. “When he was coming from the court, he was like, ‘bahut tension hai,’” she said. “Stress. It’s a very big case. How to deal with it. Everyone is involved with it.” Nupur said it was a question of “political values.”

Desai told me, “The courtroom always used to be extremely tense. The defence lawyers used to insist on discharging Amit Shah of all the charges, while we were demanding for the transcripts of the calls, submitted as evidence by the CBI, to be provided in English.” He pointed out that neither Loya nor the complainant understood Gujarati, the language on the tapes.

But the defence lawyers, Desai said, repeatedly brushed aside the demands for transcripts in English, and insisted that Shah’s discharge petition be heard. Desai added that his junior lawyers often noticed unknown, suspicious-looking people inside the courtroom, whispering and staring at the complainant’s lawyers in an intimidating manner.

Desai recounted that during a hearing on 31 October, Loya asked why Shah was absent. His lawyers pointed out that he had been exempted from appearance by Loya himself. Loya remarked that the exemption applied only when Shah was not in the state. That day, he said, Shah was in Mumbai to attend the swearing-in of the new BJP-led government in Maharashtra, and was only 1.5 kilometres away from the court. He instructed Shah’s counsel to ensure his appearance when he was in the state, and set the next hearing for 15 December.

Anuradha Biyani told me that Loya confided in her that Mohit Shah, who served as the chief justice of the Bombay High Court between June 2010 and September 2015, offered Loya a bribe of Rs 100 crore for a favourable judgment. According to her, Mohit Shah “would call him late at night to meet in civil dress and pressure him to issue the judgment as soon as possible and to ensure that it is a positive judgment.” According to Biyani, “My brother was offered a bribe of 100 crore in return for a favourable judgment. Mohit Shah, the chief justice, made the offer himself.”

She added that Mohit Shah told her brother that if “the judgment is delivered before 30 December, it won’t be under focus at all because at the same time, there was going to be another explosive story which would ensure that people would not take notice of this.”

Loya’s father Harkishan also told me that his son had confided in him about bribe offers. “Yes, he was offered money,” Harkishan said. “Do you want a house in Mumbai, how much land do you want, how much money do you want, he used to tell us this. This was an offer.” But, he added, his son refused to succumb to the offers. “He told me I am going to turn in my resignation or get a transfer,” Harkishan said. “I will move to my village and do farming.”

I contacted Mohit Shah and Amit Shah for their responses to the family’s claims. At the time this story was published, they had not responded. The story will be updated if and when they reply.

After Loya’s death, MB Gosavi was appointed to the Sohrabuddin case. Gosavi began hearing the case on 15 December 2014. “He heard the defence lawyers argue for three days to discharge Amit Shah of all the charges, while the CBI, the prosecuting agency, argued for 15 minutes,” Mihir Desai said. “He concluded the hearing on 17 December and reserved his order.”

On 30 December, around one month after Loya’s death, Gosavi upheld the defence’s argument that the CBI had political motives for implicating the accused. With that, he discharged Amit Shah.

The same day, news of MS Dhoni’s retirement from test cricket dominated television screens across the country. As Biyani recounted, “There was just a ticker at the bottom which said, ‘Amit Shah not guilty. Amit Shah not guilty.’”

Mohit Shah visited the grieving family only around two and half months after Loya’s death. From Loya’s family, I obtained a copy of a letter that they said Anuj, Loya’s son, wrote to his family on the day of the then chief justice’s visit. It is dated 18 February 2015—80 days after Loya’s death. Anuj wrote, “I fear that these politicians can harm any person from my family and I am also not powerful enough to fight with them.” He also wrote, referring to Mohit Shah, “I asked him to set up an enquiry commission for dad’s death. I fear that to stop us from doing anything against them, they can harm anyone of our family members. There is threat to our lives.”

Anuj wrote twice in the letter that “if anything happens to me or my family, chief justice Mohit Shah and others involved in the conspiracy will be responsible.”

When I met him in November 2016, Loya’s father Harkishan said, “I am 85 and I am not scared of death now. I want justice too, but I am extremely scared for the life of my daughters and grandchildren.” He had tears in his eyes as he spoke, and his gaze went often to the garlanded photograph of Loya hanging on the wall of the ancestral home.

(Story Source- www.caravanmagazine.in)

During the Cleaner Planet Convention (CPC) organised in Amsterdam last year, the impact of digital transformation in the waste industry was the bottom line. Artificial Intelligence and automation and big data are playing increasingly important roles in most industries and waste is no exception. 

Using data and connected devices to optimise waste collection and its end usage has become the new buzzword. Coupled with this the Internet of Things is helping cities improve everything from traffic data, weather, and parking, to water usage and waste management.

Sensing the increasing role of technology and need to reduce the carbon footprints in the use of energy, oil giant  Shell in collaboration with technology company Bio-Bean has launched an initiative power some of London’s local transport buses using a biofuel made from waste coffee grounds.

Interestingly, as a part of its commitment to reduce the dependence on crude oil and increase the use of biofuel and reduce CO2 emissions, India had encouraged use of ethanol mix in petrol from 2003 onwards. “It’s a great example of what can be done when we start to reimagine waste as an untapped resource. We’ve started in the UK, but imagine the potential of a country like India that drinks more than 13 billion cups of coffee a year. By rethinking our approach to waste, we can create smarter global cities and a brighter future for everyone,” says Bio-Bean Founder Arthur Kay.

In case of London, the B20 biofuel contains a 20 percent bio-component which contains part coffee oil. This coffee oil is added to the London bus fuel supply chain to help power some of the buses, without need for modification. Biofuel provides a cleaner, more sustainable energy solution for buses across London’s network by decreasing emissions. 

“Our Coffee Logs have already become the fuel of choice for households looking for a high-performance, sustainable way to heat their homes – and now, with the support of Shell, bio-bean and Argent Energy have created thousands of litres of coffee-derived B20 biodiesel which will help power London buses for the first time.” said Bio-Bean’s founder Arthur Kay.

The average Londoner drinks 2.3 cups of coffee a day which produces over 200,000 tonnes of waste a year, much of which would otherwise end in landfill with the potential to emit 126million kg of CO2. bio-bean works to collect some of these waste coffee grounds from high street chains and factories.  

Bio-Bean works with its fuel partner Argent Energy to process this oil into a blended B20 biofuel. 6,000 litres of coffee oil has been produced, which if used as a pure-blend for the bio component and mixed with mineral diesel to form a B20, could help power the equivalent of one London bus for a year. 

This latest collaboration is part of Shell’s #makethefuture energy relay, which supports entrepreneurs turning bright energy innovations into a positive impact for communities around the world. In fact, Shell has diversified its portfolio last year itself making renewable energy as one of the big focus of its future expansion plans and vision.

Sinead Lynch, Shell UK Country Chair, said: “When it comes to clean energy, we are always looking for the next inventive solution.  A good idea can come from anywhere, but with the scale and commitment of Shell, we can help enable true progress.  We’re pleased to be able to support bio-bean to trial this innovative new energy solution which can help to power buses, keeping Londoners moving around the city – powered in part by their waste coffee grounds.”

In India, the use of ethanol has been encouraged by the government from time to time and in its latest thrust to push usage of this fuel, the Narendra Modi  Government raised the price of sugarcane-extracted ethanol used for blending in petrol by around Rs. 2 per litre to Rs 40.85 from next month onwards.

The approval will facilitate the continued policy of the government in providing price stability and remunerative prices for ethanol suppliers. It will also help in reducing dependency on crude oil imports, saving in foreign exchange and benefits to the environment. t is estimated that for ethanol supply year 2016-17, about 65 crore litres of ethanol will be procured.

Doping petrol with 5 percent ethanol was launched in 2003 to promote the use of alternative and environment-friendly fuels and also cut import dependence. However, since 2006, oil firms were not able to receive offers for the required quantity of ethanol against the tenders floated by them due to various constraints like state specific issues, supplier related issues, including pricing of ethanol.

A team of researchers from Indian Institute of Technology, Hyderabad, has developed a new device that promises to help detect infectious diseases at low costs and very early.

The device uses a biochip and a nanomaterial based on Zinc Oxide. As a proof of concept it has been demonstrated in rapid detection of malaria.

The biochip comprises of a sensing platform integrated with a three-electrode system. The sensing electrode consists of antibody conjugated nanofibers. In the case of the device which has been tested, nanofibres were conjugated with histidine-rich protein II antibodies, which are specific to malarial antigen. Upon recognizing the presence of even a trace of malaria’s biomarkers in blood serum, the device registered a signal. It is calibrated to assess the quantitative level of infectious biomarker present in the sample. Samples obtained from a hospital were tested using the device.

The device can also quantify the extent of infection and does not require a trained technician to use it. “It can be used as a point of care device. It will be particularly useful in rural areas where diagnostic facilities are not available readily. People in endemic areas can keep the device at home and when someone in the house falls sick, they test if there is infection,” Shiv Govind Singh, leader of the team, said while speaking to India Science Wire. 

The device is highly sensitive. It can detect malaria parasite at a concentration of even as low as a trillionth of a gram in a millilitre. This means it can detect minutest presence of a parasite, and help detect the infection on day one itself. 

Dr. Singh said he and his team members were working on taking the device to the next level wherein the diagnosis could be transmitted to a medical professional via a smart phone. In addition, they are working on a device through which several diseases could be detected in one go.

The research team included Brince Paul and Asisa Kumar Panigrahi (IIT Hyderabad) and Dr. Vikrant Singh from School of Medicine, University of California. The study results have been published in journal ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces. 

Everyone loves to watch a good video online, but the format is often misused by digital cheats. This is making ‘copy –paste’ forgery a menace. Indian scientists have developed a set of techniques to detect such frauds. 

The fraud detection techniques, developed by Raahat Devender Singh and Naveen Aggarwal at University Institute of Engineering and Technology, Panjab University, can help in validation of digital video content by detecting and localizing copy-paste forgeries. 

Copy-paste forgery involves insertion or removal of an object or region into or from a set of video frames which can alter overall message of the video. Digital videos serve as an important source of information and are also considered evidence in criminal investigation, litigation and defense planning. Easily available video editing software are used for copy-paste forgery. 

However, manipulation of a video alters its original configuration leaving behind particular detectable traces, known as ‘forensic artifacts’ or forensic fingerprints which cannot be detected by mere subjective inspection. Locating such tampering requires statistical analyses of certain relevant features. Manipulated digital content shows variations in normal behaviour or patterns. 

The new techniques involve detecting Sensor Pattern Noise (SPN), interpolation artifacts and clustering of identical pixels to pin down tampered portions in a video. SPN is an improved and forensically stronger version of an existing noise-residue based copy-paste detection.

SPN is the unique uncorrelated noise pattern that every digital recording device introduces in every image or video that it records. “When a video frame undergoes copy-paste forgery, its SPN patterns exhibit certain inconsistencies. They arise due to resultant missing regions or holes in the affected frames which need to be filled-up in a visually plausible manner. By analyzing unnatural similarities or correlations between regions of successive video frames or regions of the same frame, we can detect forgery,” explained Raahat Singh while speaking to India Science Wire. 

Another technique detects copy-paste fraud by detecting abnormalities in interpolation in video frames. Interpolation is the process in which new pixel values are estimated with the help of known values of surrounding pixels. A video frame obtained using a digital camera without any post-processing exhibits uniform ‘de-mosaicing’ artifacts on every group of pixels. “In a frame with tampered regions, these artifacts will be markedly inconsistent. By analyzing local inconsistencies in these artifacts, copy-pasted regions can be identified,” added Singh.  

The third technique uses clustering scheme to detect pixels that are copied and pasted from one frame-region onto another. The techniques have been found to be of high accuracy in test videos. This work has been published in journal Forensic Science International.

The two phase crucial assembly elections in Gujarat next month (December), the home state of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has put the Centre in a bind about curtailing the Winter session of Parliament. There is no instance of junking it. Though no formal announcement has been made about the dates so far, there is speculation of a short session being convened later this month. 

The poll in Gujarat is scheduled for December ninth and fourteenth. This will be followed by the simultaneous counting of votes of both the assembly elections in Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat on December 18. 

The ostensible reason is to allow politicians and other party leaders to tour Gujarat to pep up support amid growing reports that the BJP is facing a tough time because of widespread disappointment among the small and medium businesses on account of the GST coupled with the widespread distress caused to the farmers. 

Earlier this week the Congress had demanded that the winter session of Parliament be convened immediately and asked the Modi government not to weaken the country’s glorious democratic tradition on the pretext of assembly elections. “…Let not the assembly election in one state or the other become an excuse for the government to run away from facing Parliament. It is not about the government or the opposition, it is about the people as Parliament represents the soul of demoracy,” emphasised Manish Tiwari of the Congress.  

The notification for the winter session of Parliament should have been issued by now in the normal course. As it has not been done so far there is avoidable confusion in the polity. Parliament has met by and large for 20-day winter session beginning in the second half of November. 

The Centre’s ambivalence is creating serious doubts. There has to be a 15-day gap between the notification and the start of the session. Questions are being asked if this is another instance of the BJP leadership not giving Parliament the importance it deserves in convening the winter session along with side stepping the opposition. 

It may be recalled that the one-day polling in Himachal Pradesh concluded on November ninth. The meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs can be convened at short notice for issuing the necessary notification convening the winter session of Parliament. 

There is discernible apprehension in ruling circles that the opposition is gearing up its loins to put the government on the mat connected with last November’s demonetisation fiasco coupled with the poor and hurried implementation of the GST from the first of July this year. 

Even though the winter session of Parliament has never been dropped, the question doing the rounds is about the Centre giving it a go by this time around. At the same time a determined opposition is keen to pin down the Modi government on the failure of demonetisation and the goof up connected with implementing the GST. 

This can lead to disruptions both in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha sending contrary signals in poll bound Gujarat with the ruling BJP already under considerable pressure. 

The Lotus party has been in power in Gandhinagar on the trot for for no less than 22 years. The signficance of the Prime Minister being associated with the selection of candidates for the Gujarat elections this time cannot be overlooked. 

The relevance of Parliament in a democratic system cannot be undermined. In the overall scheme of things the number of sittings of both the Houses of Parliament has steadily declined to 60-70 annually which has been causing concern. This despite the understanding reached that Parliament should meet at least for a hundred days every year. 

The Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha have been witness to the MPs exercising their lung power in a vain bid to be heard above the din in pilloring the Centre. Major legislative matters are being approved in Committees rather than the provisions being dissected and debated purposefully on the floor of the House. 

For shaping of proper policies it has become necessary to have a free, frank and interruption free debates in both the Houses of Parliament. The increasing trend of one-upmanship in the polity has been a major factor leading to disruptions and frequent adjournments not only in Parliament but state assemblies as well. 

It may be recalled Attorney General K K Venugopal had told the court in July that NRIs could not be allowed to vote by merely changing the rules made under the Representation of the People Act. Recently, the Centre informed the Supreme Court that a Bill to amend the electoral law to allow Non-Resident Indians to vote through postal or e-ballots would be introduced in the upcoming winter session of Parliament. 

It is not the first time that assembly elections are being held in the country coinciding with the winter session of Parliament. And it is unlikely to be the last time. The ball is in the court of the Prime Minister. It is for the BJP led NDA government to convene the winter session of Parliament so that it is not accused of deliberately giving a go by to established Parliamentary practices. 

(T R Ramachandran is a senior journalist and commentator. The views are personal.)

NEW DELHI : With an objective of dealing with tuberculosis (TB) at a war-footing, the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare has shifted to a daily regimen for TB patients across the country under the Revised National TB Control Programme (RNTCP).

The Health Ministry has been providing the thrice weekly regimen for the treatment of tuberculosis (TB), however, it has now decided to change the treatment strategy for TB patients from thrice weekly to daily drug regimen using fixed dose combinations (FDC) for treatment. This change will bring transformation in the approach and the intensity to deal with this disease which accounts for about 4.2 lakh deaths every year, a statement issued by the Ministry said here.

The daily FDC anti-TB drugs will be made available to private pharmacy or at private practitioners to dispense to TB patients who seek care in private sector, depending upon the convenience of patient and practitioner free of cost. The Health Ministry will take this forward with all major hospitals, Indian Medical Association, Indian Association of Pediatricians and other professional medical associations to expand the access to daily FDC to all TB patients.

The salient features of this treatment strategy are use of Ethambutol in continuation phase for all patients, drugs to be given daily (as against only 3 times weekly previously), fixed dose combination (FDC) tablets to be used which will reduce pill burden (as against separate 7 tablets previously), for children, child friendly formulations as dispersible tablets and use of Information Technology (IT) enabled treatment adherence support system.

Current WHO Global TB Report, 2017 has reported that incidence of TB has reduced from 28.2 lakh to 27 lakh and mortality by 60 thousand over the last one year, which is a testimony of anti TB drive by the government.

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) and the Stop TB Partnership have called for countries with high burdens of tuberculosis (TB) to implement the latest international treatment and testing standards by World TB Day, 24 March 2018.
The appeal comes ahead of the first-ever WHO Global Ministerial Conference on Ending TB to be held in Moscow.
TB remains the world’s top infectious disease killer, with 1.7 million deaths in 2016. According to the latest World Health Organization (WHO) Global TB report, progress in diagnosing and treating all forms of TB is stalling in most countries: more than 4.1 million people with TB remained undiagnosed or unreported in 2016, and only one in five people with multidrug-resistant (MDR–TB) were started on treatment. Of those people, just over half were cured.
According to a survey in the third edition of ‘Out of Step’, a joint report by MSF and the Stop TB Partnership that reviews TB policies and practices in 29 countries—which account for nearly three-quarters of the global TB burden—40 percent of people with TB remain undiagnosed. Only seven of the countries* have made Xpert MTB/RIF, a rapid molecular test, widely available for diagnosing TB. Newer medicines and regimens for treating drug-resistant (DR-TB) have demonstrated better outcomes than today’s standard regimens, which cure just half of people with MDR-TB and only 28% of people with the even more deadly extensively drug-resistant (XDR-TB). Seventy-nine percent of countries surveyed include the newer drug bedaquiline in their national guidelines, and 62% include delamanid, but globally, less than five percent of people who could have benefitted had access to these drugs in 2016.
This week, MSF and the Stop TB partnership released the report ‘Out of Step in Eastern Europe and Central Asia’ (EECA), presenting the results of an eight-country survey of national TB policies and practices. An epidemic of DR-TB is on the rise in Eastern Europe, where nearly half of all TB cases are MDR and the number of people with DR-TB is increasing by more than 20% each year. Among the countries surveyed, 75% have adopted a policy to use rapid molecular testing instead of older, slower testing methods, yet only half of those countries are actually using the test widely. An estimated 46,000 people with DR-TB in the EECA region went undiagnosed in 2015.
“Despite its deadly toll, most countries lag behind in implementing the existing and new tools that are available to tackle TB,” said Lucica Ditiu, Executive Director of the Stop TB Partnership. “The WHO Global Ministerial Conference is the first step for concrete, bold and measurable commitments by ministers of health towards a strong accountability framework for heads of state and governments during the UN High Level meeting on TB.”
At the Global Ministerial Conference this week, Mariam Avanesova, who was treated for MDR-TB in Armenia in 2010-2012 and represents TB people, the Eurasian network of people with TB experience, will hand over a petition to WHO’s Director-General, Dr. Tedros Ghebreyesus. The petition is an urgent call for health ministers in key TB-affected countries to get their TB policies and practices in line with international standards, as defined by WHO including testing and treatment of TB and its drug-resistant forms. Initiated by MSF and the Stop TB partnership, the petition has been signed by more than 30,000 people from around the world united with people affected by TB.

In a strong message to the trading community to pass on the tax benefits and to the consumers that their interests were being protected, the Union Cabinet on Thursday gave a formal shape to the formation of the National Anti-Profiteering Authority (NAA) under the Goods and Services Tax Regime to ensure that benefits of rate reduction are passed on to the consumers by way of reduction of prices.
The NAA formation comes closes on the heels of reports coming in that despite a reduction of tax from 18 to 5 per cent for restaurants under the GST regime, the owners of these outlets have hiked prices pleading that they had to adjust for the higher costs due to withdrawal of the input credit scheme to them. However, the consumers are up in arms against this move and have complained to the authorities that the restaurants have hiked rates in their restaurants from 7 to 15 per cent.
Keeping this in mind, the Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi gave its approval for the creation of the posts of Chairman and Technical Members of the National Anti-Profiteering Authority (NAA). This paves the way for the immediate establishment of this apex body, which is mandated to ensure that the benefits of the reduction in GST rates on goods or services are passed on to the ultimate consumers by way of a reduction in prices. 
The establishment of the NAA, to be headed by a senior officer of the level of Secretary to the Central Government with four Technical Members from the Centre and/or the States, is one more measure aimed at reassuring consumers that Government is fully committed to take all possible steps to ensure the benefits of implementation of GST in terms of lower prices of the goods and services reach them.
It may be recalled that effective from midnight of November 14, 2017 the GST rate has been slashed from 28 per cent to 18 per cent on goods falling under 178 headings. There are now only 50 items which attract the GST rate of 28 per cent. Likewise, a large number of items have witnessed a reduction in GST rates from 18 per cent to 12 per cent and so on and some goods have been completely exempting from GST. 
The “anti-profiteering” measures enshrined in the GST law provide an institutional mechanism to ensure that the full benefits of input tax credits and reduced GST rates on supply of goods or services flow to the consumers. This institutional framework comprises the NAA, a Standing Committee, Screening Committees in every State and the Directorate General of Safeguards in the Central Board of Excise & Customs (CBEC). 
Affected consumers who feel the benefit of commensurate reduction in prices is not being passed on when they purchase any goods or services may apply for relief to the Screening Committee in the particular State. However, in case the incident of profiteering relates to an item of mass impact with ‘All India’ ramification, the application may be directly made to the Standing Committee. After forming a prima facie view that there is an element of profiteering, the Standing Committee shall refer the matter for detailed investigation to the Director General of Safeguards, CBEC, which shall report its findings to the NAA. 
In the event the NAA confirms there is a necessity to apply anti-profiteering measures, it has the authority to order the supplier/ business concerned to reduce its prices or return the undue benefit availed by it along with interest to the recipient of the goods or services. If the undue benefit cannot be passed on to the recipient, it can be ordered to be deposited in the Consumer Welfare Fund. In extreme cases, the NAA can impose a penalty on the defaulting business entity and even order the cancellation of its registration under GST. 

In India 35-40% women, who develop Gestational Diabetes Mellitus, run the risk of developing type-2 diabetes within 5 years of delivery. However, only 17.5% of women are aware of the disease and its complication, a new research has shown.  

Gestational Diabetes Mellitus is a form of diabetes which develops among women during pregnancy because the hormones secreted by the placenta for the development of the foetus also block the action of the mother’s insulin. These hormones may cause resistance to the actions of insulin and lead to higher blood sugar levels in women who have risk factors for diabetes.

India has a high prevalence of Gestational Diabetes with 17.8% women in urban areas and 9.9% in rural areas developing Gestational Diabetes Mellitus. Type -2 diabetes is the world’s fastest growing chronic disease, according to the research carried out by the George Institute of Global Health.

Gestational Diabetes Mellitus was thought to be a relatively benign condition, however, now it is known to put women at high risk of subsequently developing Type 2 diabetes – a condition that needs lifelong treatment and is associated with a number of serious complications.

Globally, over 380 million people suffer from diabetes with more than 80% of these living in low-middle income countries. Of this, almost 180 million are women.  Around 15% of pregnant women worldwide are diagnosed with gestational diabetes annually.

As per a recent study conducted in South India, there is a high prevalence with 17.8% of women in urban areas and 9.9% in rural areas developing Gestational Diabetes Mellitus. Despite the high incidence of Gestational Diabetes Mellitus in India, only 17.5% of women are aware of thedisease and its complications. Women who have had Gestational Diabetes Mellitus are at higher risk for type-2 diabetes later in life. Data suggests that in India 35-40% of women with Gestational Diabetes Mellitus run the risk of developing type-2 diabetes within 5 years of giving birth.

Researchers from The George Institute for Global Healthhave teamed up with All India Institute of Medical sciences (AIIMS) to conduct research that will explore whether a lifestyle modification program can delay the onset of type- 2 diabetes in women with Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM) in South Asia. The LIVING (LIfestyleinterVentionINGestational diabetes) study is aimed at determining whether an affordable and culturally acceptable lifestyle intervention, provided to women with Gestational Diabetes Mellitus soon after the delivery of their child, can help reduce the incidence of type-2 diabetes.

Talking about the study, Dr.Josyula Lakshmi, Senior Research Fellow, The George Institute for Global Health said, “The impact of gestational diabetes mellitus on the pregnant woman and her baby are acknowledged and addressed to some extent. However, GDM is not to be taken as seriously as it should be. With a substantial proportion of women with GDM going on to develop Type-2 diabetes mellitus within 5 years, GDM should be taken as a call for increased and sustained attention to the health of affected women.”

“The LIVING study is a trial of a cost-effective, efficient, low-intensity intervention to prevent, or at least delay, the onset of type 2 diabetes mellitus in South Asian women (from India, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka) who have had GDM.” she added.

This randomised controlled open-label trial will be based in around 24 public and private hospitals across India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. The intervention will comprise group sessions and text/voice message prompts on physical activity, healthy diet, and stress management. Trained study staff will deliver the intervention, and monitor the outcomes over the study period of approximately three years.

This study will generate knowledge related to the implementation of a preventive strategy embedded in existing resource-constrained health systems. If shown to be successful, the intervention could be scaled up across the region, and has the potential to help prevent or delay the development of type-2 diabetes in more than a quarter of a million South Asian women with prior Gestational Diabetes Mellitus.

The George Institute for Global Health is works across a broad health landscape by conducting clinical, population and health system research aimed at changing health practice and policy worldwide.