Newborn in Aktau city, Mangystau oblast, Kazakhstan. Photo: UNICEF/UN044581/Kim

There is no period more critical in a child’s development than the first 1,000 days of life, and yet 32 countries – including Bangladesh and the United States – lack three basic national policies to support parents of babies and young children, says a new United Nations report issued today.

According to Early Moments Matter for Every Child, published by the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), only 15 countries – including Cuba, France, Portugal, Russia and Sweden – have the three policies critical to support young children’s healthy brain development: two years of free pre-primary education; paid breastfeeding breaks for new mothers for the first six months; and adequate paid parental leave.

These policies, UNICEF noted in a news release, help parents better protect their children and provide them with better nutrition, play and early learning experiences in the crucial first years of life when the brain grows at a rate never to be repeated.

The report states that around 85 million children under five are growing up in 32 countries without any of the three critical policies in place; 40 per cent of these children live in just two countries – Bangladesh and the US.

“What’s the most important thing children have? It’s their brains. But we are not caring for children’s brains the way we care for their bodies – especially in early childhood, when the science shows that children’s brains and children’s futures are rapidly being shaped,” said UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake.

“We need to do more to give parents and caregivers of young children the support they need during this most critical period of brain development.”

The report also points out that millions of children under five live in areas affected by conflict, are starved of nutritious food, and are deprived of stimulating activities fundamental for healthy brain growth.

Urging governments to invest in children and their families, UNICEF called for actions to support early childhood development. Among these is to make family-friendly policies, including two years of free pre-primary education, paid parental leave and paid breastfeeding breaks, a national priority.

“Policies that support early childhood development are a critical investment in the brains of our children, and thus in the citizens and workforce of tomorrow – and literally the future of the world,” said Mr. Lake.

At the beginning of 2017, UNICEF launched the #EarlyMomentsMatter campaign, aimed at raising awareness about the critical impact that early experiences have on children’s brain development during their first 1,000 days of life.

NEW YORK, SEPT. 25: In a strong rebuttal of Pakistan’s charge of India being “mother of terrorism in South Asia”, India on Monday asserted that the Permanent Representative of Pakistan had sought to divert attention from her country’s role as the hub of global terrorism.

A young Indian diplomat Paulomi Tripathi, in her statement at the UN in exercise of India’s right of reply, accused Pakistan’s Permanent Representative of misleading the assembly to spread falsehood against India by displaying a 2014 picture of Rawya aby Jom’a, a girl from Palestine, to show “brutality” of India in Kashmir.

The Indian diplomat accused Pakistan of brandishing a fake picture to embellish its false narrative on Kashmir. Ms. Tripathi waved the photo of a martyred Indian Army officer from Kashmir Lieutenant Umar Faiyaz who had been killed by Pakistan supported terrorists in May this year.  She pointed out that Lt Faiyaz was kidnapped at a wedding celebration, brutally tortured and killed by Pak-supported terrorists. 

“This is a true picture. It portrays a harsh and tragic reality. A picture of terrorism emanating from across our border that the people of India, especially in the state of Jammu and Kashmir have to struggle with everyday. This is the reality which the Permanent Representative of Pakistan sought to obfuscate,” the Indian diplomat who handles human rights at India’s Permanent Mission at the U.N. pointed out while taking on Pakistan’s seasoned diplomat at the U.N. 

Paulomi Tripathi  held up together the two photographs – one of Lt- Umar Faiyaz and the other of Pakistan’s permanent representative to UN Maleeha Lodhi showing the picture of a Palestinian girl and declared, “True face of Pakistan is not hidden from anyone.” 

Ms. Tripathi belongs to 2007 batch of the Indian Foreign Service and is a junior ranking diplomat at India’s permanent mission to the U.N. which is headed by Syed Akbaruddin who had earlier served in New Delhi as the MEA’s spokesperson. 

NEW DELHI: Former Union Home Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi today took over as the Comptroller and Auditor-General of India (CAG) on Monday.

Mr Mehrishi took the oath of office during a ceremony held at the Rashtrapati Bhawan. President Ram Nath Kovind administered the oath of office and secrecy to Mr. Mehrishi. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was among the dignitaries present on the occasion. 

Rajiv Mehrishi will have a tenure till August 7, 2020.

Mr. Mehrishi belongs to 1978 batch of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) of Rajasthan cadre. He completed his two- year fixed term as the Union Home Secretary last month. He will have a tenure of three years as the CAG who is the top auditor of the Union Government. CAG reports are presented before Parliament. 

NEW DELHI : Prime Minister Narendra Modi has launched a new scheme Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana –“Saubhagya” to ensure electrification of all willing households in the country in rural as well as urban areas.

The total outlay of the project is Rs. 16, 320 crore. The Government of India will provide largely funds for the Scheme to all States/UTs. The States and Union Territories are required to complete the works of household electrification by the 31^st of December 2018.

The beneficiaries for free electricity connections would be identified using Socio Economic and Caste Census (SECC) 2011 data. However, un-electrified households not covered under the SECC data would also be provided electricity connections under the scheme on payment of Rs. 500 which shall be recovered by DISCOMs in 10 instalments through electricity bill.

The solar power packs of 200 to 300 Wp with battery bank for un-electrified households located in remote and inaccessible areas, comprises of Five LED lights, One DC fan, One DC power plug. It also includes the Repair and Maintenance (R&M) for 5 years. The Rural Electrification Corporation Limited (REC) will remain the nodal agency for the operationalisation of the scheme throughout the country.

On this occasion PM Modi said that New India will require an energy framework that works on the principle of equity, efficiency and sustainability. He said the change in work culture in the Union Government is strengthening the energy sector. This in turn, will positively impact the work culture of the entire country, he added. 

“We are turning them from job-seekers into job-providers.”

In 2015, we set ourselves a target of 2030 to find solutions to many challenges on this Agenda. Two of these years have already passed. Surely it is already time to ask how much has happened. If complacency defines the next 13 years then we are in danger of losing control. We need a sense of urgency as well as unshakeable fortitude to take decisions that can avert catastrophe.

India has displayed the courage and leadership to take tough decisions which have launched the interlinked process of sustainable development. The complete eradication of poverty is the most important priority of the present government. There are two ways of addressing the curse of poverty. The traditional method is through incremental levels of aid and hand-holding. But our Prime Minister Narendra Modi has chosen the more radical route, through economic empowerment. The poor are not helpless; we have merely denied them opportunity. We are eliminating poverty by investing in the poor. We are turning them from job-seekers into job-providers.

All our economic programmes have a principal purpose, the empowerment of the poor: Jan Dhan, Mudra, Ujjwala, Skill India, Digital India, Clean India, Start-Up India, Stand-Up India. 

The Jan Dhan plan must surely count as the world’s largest financial inclusion scheme. Those who did not have any money their bank accounts were opened with zero balance and this would not have happened anywhere in world that if you do not have any money you have a bank account. They have a bank passbook. But this impossible has been made possible in India. At least 300 million Indians, it’s not a small amount. This is the total population of USA. At least 300 million Indians who had never crossed the doors of a bank today have bank accounts: this is equivalent to the population of the United States of America. This was, understandably, not easy to complete in three years, but our banks, achieved this visionary goal set by our Prime Minister. While some remain to be included, the target has been set – every Indian family will have a bank account.

Mudra yojana has enabled government to fund the unfunded. Those who had never dreamt that bank credit was within their options, today, through Mudra, are getting soft loans without collateral to begin micro businesses. I am particularly delighted to inform you that over 70 per cent of these loans have gone to women. Unemployment spreads despair. Through Skill India, Start-Up India and Stand-Up India poor and middle class youth are being trained to match their honed talent with bank credit and become self-employed or small-scale entrepreneurs.

Ujjwala is a signature scheme of our government for poor women. They had to work hard for their kitchens, and sometimes they lose their eye sight because of smoke. Free gas cylinders are being provided to the poor so that women do not have to suffer the dangerous consequences of wood-fired kitchens. Uniquely, gender emancipation is at the creative core of this programme.

Demonetisation was a courageous decision to challenge one of the by-products of corruption, the “black money” that disappeared from circulation. Today, India has passed the Goods and Services Tax legislation, through which there is one-tax across the country, without the untidy and punishing system of multiple taxes under differing categories in different parts of the country. Our “Save the girl, Educate the girl” campaign is reducing gender inequality. Our Clean India programme is generating what can only be described as a revolutionary change in social attitudes and habits. 

The nations with rising capabilities will be able to generate such change, but the developed world must become an active partner in helping those vulnerable countries which are still mired in stagnant poverty reach SDG horizon within 2030. That is why the principle of Global Partnership was included in SDGs. 

“India has risen despite the principle destination of Pakistan’s nefarious export of terrorism”

Why is it that today India is a recognised IT superpower in the world, and Pakistan is recognised only as the pre-eminent export factory for terror? What is the reason for this have they ever thought? There is only one reason. India has risen despite the principle destination of Pakistan’s nefarious export of terrorism. There have been many governments under many parties during 70 years of India’s freedom for we have been a sustained democracy. Every government has done its bit for India’s development. We have marched ahead consistently without pause creatingIIMs, IITs, AIIMS and in the fields of education, health, space and across the range of human welfare.We established scientific and technical institutions which are the pride of the world. But what has Pakistan offered to the world and indeed to its own people apart from terrorism? We produced scholars, doctors, engineers. They have produced terrorists and terrorist camps. Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammad, Hijbul Mujahideen, Haqqani Network. We produce scholars, doctors, engineers, scientists. What did you make Pakistan? You created terrorists and Jihadis. And you know, Doctors save people from death; terrorists send them to death. Your terrorist organisations are not only attacking India but are also affecting our two neighbours, Afghanistan and Bangladesh.

In the history of UNGA it may be a first that a country asked for a right of reply and it had to answer to 3 countries. Does this fact does not depict the reality of their actions? If Pakistan had spent on its development what it has spent on developing terror, both Pakistan and the world would be safer and better-off today. 

Terrorism is at the very top of problems for which the United Nations is searching for solutions. We have been the oldest victims of this terrible and even traumatic terrorism. When we began articulating about this menace, many of the world’s big powers dismissed this as a law and order issue. Now they know better. The question is: what do we do about it?

“Terrorism is an existentialist danger to humankind”

India has proposed a Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism (CCIT) as early as in 1996, yet two decades later the United Nations has not been able to agree upon a definition of terrorism. If we cannot agree to define our enemy, how can we fight together? If we continue to differentiate between good terrorists and bad terrorists, how can we fight together? If even the United Nations Security Council cannot agree on the listing of terrorists, how can we fight together?

Through you, with utmost sincerity, I would like to request this august assembly to stop seeing this evil with self-defeating and indeed meaningless nuance. Evil is evil. Let us accept that terrorism is an existentialist danger to humankind. There is absolutely no justification for this barbaric violence. Let us display our new commitment by reaching agreement on the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism this year itself.

“We mean peace not only among human beings but also peace with nature” 

Climate change has been indentified as one of the significant dangers to our existence. India has already said that it is deeply committed to the Paris Accord. This is not because we are afraid of any power, influenced by friend or foe, or tempted by some imagined greed. This is an outcome of a philosophy that is at least 5000 years old. Our Prime Minister has, on his personal initiative, launched the International Solar Alliance as witness to our abiding commitment to a cause.

When we talk of world peace, we mean peace not only among human beings but also peace with nature. We understand that human nature is sometimes inimical to nature, but we would like to amend human nature when it tends in the wrong directions. When we inflict our greed upon nature, nature sometimes explodes. We must learn to live with the imperatives, cycles and creative urges of nature; in that lies, our own salvation.

NEW DELHI : Vice President Venkaiah Naidu has said that the media has to avoid sensationalism and maintain its credibility while disseminating news. He was addressing the gathering after presenting the 14^th Shailikaar Prabhakar Samman Award to eminent journalist Smt. Anuradha Prasad, today. The award was instituted in memory of well-known Hindi writer, journalist and freedom fighter, Pt. Kanhaiya Lal Misra ‘Prabhakar’

Mr. Naidu said that the credibility was the most important thing in journalism and said, “Information with confirmation is more than ammunition”. He further said that any content that offends the sensibilities of the people was a matter of concern and self-regulation was the best way to address such a problem.

Recalling the pioneering role of journalism in freeing India from colonial rule and subsequently in strengthening democracy in post-Independent India, the Vice President said that a vibrant electronic and print media were continuing to play an important role in moulding public opinion. He further said that news values appear to have changed over the years. What would not have been considered to be even a filler in the past was becoming ‘Breaking News’ today and many a time, an off-the-cuff remark becomes a screaming headline, he added.

Asserting that he was not advocating any censorship, the Vice President pointed out that the media because of its reach and impact has a huge responsibility in ensuring that the people were not swayed or agitated by controversies which are best ignored. He further said that the cinema too must avoid obscenity, vulgarity, violence and double meaning dialogues. Of late there was a tendency of mixing news and views, he added.

Referring to freedom of expression, the Vice President said that it is best utilized when the value of such freedom was fully appreciated. He called upon newspapers and channels to refocus on developmental journalism so that different social and economic issues affecting the people and the country get highlighted and even bring about policy changes at the highest level. Development journalism was all the more relevant in a country like India to unravel various complexities and put things in the right perspective, he added.

Vice President said that we need to accord importance to mother tongue, while pursuing English as the link language. Describing various Indian languages including Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Assamese, Oriya and Gujarati as national languages, he said that proficiency in the mother tongue was vital before learning other languages.

Often you must have come across elderly with memory loss that disrupts daily life. There are some who face challenges in solving problems or difficulty in planning familiar tasks. If these are occasional problems then it could be age related changes. If not, then these are symptoms of Alzheimer Disease (AD). As per King’s College London’s World Alzheimer Report 2015, there are more than 9.9 million new cases of dementia each year worldwide, implying one new case every 3.2 seconds.

Alzheimer’s disease is a neurodegenerative condition that gradually destroys memory and thinking ability and, eventually, the ability to carry out the simplest tasks. Affected individuals may also develop confusion with time or location while few others may have poor judgement of things and frequent change in moods. Symptoms first appear generally in individuals above 60 years of age and AD is the most common cause of dementia. It often leads to behavioral symptoms, inability to combine muscle movements, jumbled speech, or loss of appetite.

Behavioural changes such as aggression, agitation, difficulty with self-care, irritability, meaningless repetition of own words, personality changes, restlessness, lack of restraint, or wandering away randomly and not being able to find way back are often seen. This is because the brains cell connections and the cells themselves degenerate and die, eventually destroying memory and other important mental functions.

The sad part about this disease like many others is that in the early stages the condition is almost unrecognizable. In the beginning, the patient may forget words and misplaces objects. The early stages do not interfere with ability to work or live independently.  In later severe stages, the patient loses memory to the extent that he/she cannot remember even basic abilities such as eating, walking, sitting etc.

Currently, there is no cure for Alzheimer’s disease and management only includes supportive care and medications. “Cellular therapy is making innovations and attempting newer heights in the field of science and making possible treatments for conditions that was difficult to treat earlier. Damaged nerves were earlier considered to be difficult to treat, but regeneration of these nerves is possible with Cellular therapy(with the help of cells taken from one’s own body) . As stem cells exist in the brain, it helps repair neurological damage. With the help of a personalized holistic treatment plan encompassing cellular therapy, memory tasks to boost mental health as well as physical exercises and diet modifications treatment is offered,” said Dr. Pradeep Mahajan, Regenerative medicine researcher.

Dr. Dasaradhi Palakodeti with his team members. Image : Dhiru Bansal

In an ideal world, one would like to live with no deformities. How often you think about being able to re-grow limbs after an amputation or any injury. Imagine being able to regenerate your spinal cord after an accident has left you paralyzed. Nature has many examples of some tiny organisms completely re-growing from their small pieces. Scientists are studying such organisms to learn important lessons in regeneration.

Researchers at the Bangalore-based Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine have reported that deformities in the epidermis (outer skin layer) of an organism called planaria cause the defect in their stem cell function and regeneration. This is significant because epidermal cells are not stem cells.

Planaria are flatworms that live in fresh water and have the ability to regenerate from almost any pieces to form a completely new animal with all functional organ systems. Researchers used planaria as a model organism to understand the mechanism behind its immense regenerative ability.

“Our study has shown how the organization of epidermal cells during planarian regeneration is crucial for regulating stem cell function,” said Dr. Dasaradhi Palakodeti, a scientist at the Bangalore based Institute, and a co-author of the study published in the journal Development.

Regeneration is often synonymous with stem cells and most of the studies focus on understanding factors essential for ‘stemness’. “Here, for the first time we show how planarian epidermis (non- stem cell) plays a critical role in wound healing and stem cell function,” said Dhiru Bansal, first author of this paper.

However, it is still unclear how the environment surrounding stem cells regulates their function. Researchers believe stem cells are instructed by surrounding cells to make right decisions to proliferate and differentiate for regeneration, to give rise missing tissues. The team is working to understand the role of a specific protein called PABPC2 (cytoplasmic poly A binding protein) in regeneration.

“Our report about a crosstalk between stem cells and epidermis in planaria opens new possibilities that can be addressed in other systems as well,” said Jahnavi Kulkarni, one of the authors of this paper.

The study opens up a new possibility to discover the role of non-stem cells in the skin regeneration. Skin is often well-thought-out for its protective function but this new study highlights other potential roles of the skin. 

The research team included Dhiru Bansal, Jahnavi Kulkarni, Kavana Nadahalli, Vairavan Lakshmanan, Srikar Krishna, Vidyanand Sasidharan, Shilpa Dilipkumar, Akash Gulyani, Srikala Raghavan and Dasaradhi Palakodeti (Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, Bangalore); Jini Geo and Renu Pasricha (National Centre for Biological Sciences, Bangalore). (India Science Wire)

NEW DELHI: : In a reiteration of the U.S. commitment to remain an enduring strategic partner of India, U.S. Defence Secretary Jim Mattis is paying a three-day visit to New Delhi from September 26 to 28. It will be the first Cabinet level visit under the President Donald Trump’s new administration at the White House.

Apart from meeting his Indian counterpart Nirmala Sitharaman who only recently took charge of the Defence Ministry, Mr. Mattis will also have a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The U.S. Defence Secretary’s visit will also emphasize the view of his country which sees India as an influential partner with broader mutual interests extending beyond South Asia, official sources said.

His visit comes within three months of Prime Minister Modi’s maiden meeting with President Donald Trump. The June meeting between President Trump and Mr. Modi signaled continuity in the U.S.-India defence and security relationship. The U.S. Defence Secretary will also express his country’s appreciation for India’s important contributions toward Afghanistan’s democracy, stability, prosperity, and security.

Beyond the optics, India is likely to tell the visiting U.S. Defence Secretary, a former Lieutenant-General, that Pakistan’s role in subverting institutions and giving shelter to terror outfits is a key factor in preventing peace and stability returning to Afghanistan. 

As U.S. needs Pakistan bases to strike at Taliban, it would remain to be seen as to which extent the U.S. would go in asserting its say to Islamabad. Defence analysts say that Mr. Mattis would also try to hardsell Lockheed Martin’s F-16 Block 70 fighter aircraft to India which had earlier been rejected by the Indian Air Force. However, in the broader geopolitical and strategic scheme of things, Washington would need New Delhi in balancing and checking the power and rise of China.

“The growth of the defence relationship has been nothing short of astonishing. In the span of about a decade, defence trade shot from $1 billion to over $15 billion. The US and India take part in numerous and combined exercises, and the US now authorises the sharing of sensitive technologies with India on a level commensurate with America’s closest allies. There has also been a (somewhat under the radar) substantial deepening of the security partnership, with a focus on counter-terrorism cooperation and intelligence sharing,’’ Joshua A. White, Associate Professor of the Practice of South Asian Studies at the John Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies in Washington, wrote in a recent article.

India also remains a major defence partner of the U.S. and both President Trump and Mr. Modi underlined avenues for further cooperation. The partnership grew in strength with the 2017 edition of Malabar maritime exercise in the Indian Ocean in which US-India-Japan participated. In Aero India show in Bengaluru this March, the U.S. was a leading contributor which was a testament to the strength of the US-India strategic partnership.  The high-level U.S. delegation, impressive array of American military platforms and personnel, and significant representation from U.S. industry showcased enduring ties.

U.S. assets in Aero India 2017 included F-16C Fighting Falcons, a P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol and reconnaissance aircraft and a C-130J Super Hercules transport. A Pacific Air Forces F-16 demonstration team showcased the capability of one of the U.S. Air Force’s leading fighters.

During the Obama regime, the then U.S. Defence Secretary Ash Carter had visited India three times, spearheading efforts to further deepen and broaden US-India Defence Cooperation and realizing the joint vision of the two countries for the Asia Pacific and Indian Ocean Region.

Mr. Carter had called the engagement a “strategic handshake” between the two countries as the American policy of rebalance to the Asia Pacific converges with  Prime Minister Modi’s “Act East” policy. A “technological handshake” between the two countries also sought to leverage the respective industrial and technological capabilities to meet mutual security needs.

Some of the strategic handshake elements include India’s designation as a “Major Defense Partner”, launching of a new bilateral Maritime Security Dialogue in April 2016, a joint strategic vision for the  Asia-Pacific and IOR in January 2015 by President Obama and Prime Minister Modi, signing of the Framework for the U.S.-India Defense Relationship in June 2015 by Mr. Carter and the then Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar and conclusion of US-India Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMA) in August 2016.

Under the technological handshake, U.S. and India in 2012 launched the Defense Technology and Trade Initiative (DTTI). Under DTTI, the United States and India have launched seven joint working groups to explore collaborative projects and programs and signed two Science and Technology government-to-government project agreements – the Next Generation Protective Ensembles and Mobile Hybrid Power Sources – worth roughly $2 million.

Official fact sheet reveals that since 2008, U.S.-India defense trade has increased from roughly $1 billion to over $15 billion, including Indian procurement of 13 Lockheed Martin C-130 Hercules aircraft, 10 C-17 Globemaster and 12 P-8 Poseidon aircraft from Boeing, as well as 22 AH-64 Apache and 15 CH-47 Chinook helicopters. In December 2016, the United States and India signed a deal worth approximately $732 million to provide the Indian Army with 145 M777 Howitzer guns.

Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj in her speech at United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) slammed Pakistan on various issues. In a befitting reply, she thrashed Pakistan on the front of terrorism. 

10 points:

“Pakistan should not preach India on Human-right grounds.”

“We made doctors, Pakistan produced terrorists.”

“Good and bad terrorism is the new definition coined by Pakistan.”

“We have to fight terrorism together. Let us have an even vision for terrorism.”

“When Pakistani PM was preaching us yesterday at UN, people said, ‘look, who is talking.’ ”

“We produced scientists, doctors and engineers. Pakistan produced LeT, Hakkani Network and Jaish-e-Mohammad.”

“Pakistan forgot the Shimla Agreement and Lahore Declaration, that we will solve our matter without any foreign intervention.”

“India and Pakistan were liberated together. We are IT superpower, Pakistan is known as terrorism hub.”

“30 crores Indians linked to banks in mission mode.”

“Pakistan should be ashamed to give safe haven to terrorists and militant groups.”