Lockheed Martin is in jet speed to make the latest variant of its F 16 Block 70 in India.

During the Paris Air Show in June, the company announced a coproduction agreement with the Tata Advanced Systems Ltd (TATA), and now it has disclosed that in anticipation of a contract from the Indian Air Force (IAF) for a single engine aircraft manufacturing facility, it has already initiated steps to create the required ecosystem in the country. Diplomatic sources indicate that the US Government is also aggressively backing the Lockheed Martin proposal in Government-to-Government (G-2-G) talks with the Indian Government.

Mr Abhay Paranjpe, Executive Director, International Business Development and Mr Randall L Howard, Business Development head for F 16 said during a recent interaction with India Strategic here  that the company had already worked out the best available systems that could be integrated in the aircraft, assuring: “We will provide whatever the IAF asks for, and our technology will be unmatched and unprecedented.”
Recently, IAF chief Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa, had said that IAF now logically expects better specifications than were asked for in the 2007 tender for the Medium Multi Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA). The F 16, which was the first to bring a powerful Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar on board in its Block 60 aircraft delivered to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) way back in 2004, does not yet have the Infra Red Search and Track (IRST) system.

IRST, which is there on board the French Rafale already taken by IAF, is a passive system and can detect hostile aircraft and targets between 60 to 100 km or so without being detected itself, unlike any radar system including the AESA. As the world’s biggest military hardware company, “We will be able to offer whatever the IAF wants, on time and cost,” said Mr. Paranjpe, adding that the Lockheed Martin proposal will include assured periodic upgrades.

AESA is a key component for contemporary and future aircraft, and can look up to 400 km depending upon the radar’s power and aircraft’s height.

Mr. Paranjpe also said that the new AESA, to be acquired from Northrop Grumman which had made it first for F 16 Block 60 and later for F 22 and F 35, will be of a new 4th generation, and compared to the earlier versions which are liquid cooled, will be air cooled and still perform better. It will be multimode, able to lock onto 20 targets simultaneously, and a pilot can priorities which targets to engage first.

Mr. Howard said that the company will meet any specs required by the IAF. The aircraft is comfortable in power and weight and can accommodate whatever is needed. Lockheed Martin will leverage some future technologies from its F 35.

“As the F 16 Block 70 will be a new generation aircraft, it will also share some components and latest technologies with those of the F 35 to the extent of 70-75 percent. The Block 70 will also have conformal fuel tanks for longer range.”

The company will shift the entire factory and production line from Fort Worth in Texas to India if – repeat if – the Ministry of Defence (MoD) selects the aircraft.

Notably, the global standard for aircraft availability is about 70 percent. This, or whatever is required by IAF, will be matched, Randall Howard said.

Paranjpe pointed out that IAF’s urgency in aircraft requirement is no secret, and the Indian order for a minimum of 100 first to be followed by many more later will be huge. “We have a great partnership with TASL, and we should be able to produce three to four aircraft every month for Indian and global requirements. We will create a big defence industrial base, a supply chain for not only India but for the world, and that will include spares.”

Asked about how much investment the company will put in, Mr. Panajpe and Randall Howard said that they hoped that India will follow the US business model. There, a runway is shared by the US Air Force (USAF) and industry, the two being on either side of it, and that will determine how much Lockheed Martin will have to invest. Sharing facilities will help save costs and production and testing time.

Mr. Panajpe added: “We are also ready to pass on the required knowledge and know-how to local partners.”

Randall Howard said that Lockheed Martin had produced nearly 4,600 aircraft in 138 variants and sold to 27 countries, including the US. Sixteen of these countries placed repeat orders.

He also pointed out, significantly, that while the India’s Ministry of Defence is yet to place the order under its new policy of Make in India and having a Strategic Partner, Lockheed Martin is doing its homework in anticipation of winning it. We have worked out the technologies onboard, Display Systems, Software, Air to Air and Air to ground Targeting Systems, and what to do with whom as part of our effort to create an enabling ecosystem and move literally at jet speed.  

New Delhi – MDI study has found that the Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP) has been able to provide Sustainable Employment.

Management Development Institute in its study found that the units set up under the scheme provided employment throughout year and for large number of years. The institute was entrusted with the task of conducting Evaluation Study of PMEGP in January, 2017.

The aim of the study was to examine the impact of the scheme in terms of employment generation and improvement in income of the rural and urban artisans and unemployed youth, major problems in implementation of Scheme and ways to resolve them and to make recommendations on making further improvements in the Scheme.

To conduct the study, the sample size was selected on stratified random sampling basis. The total number of micro units setup from 2012-013 to 2015-16 was 2,00,885 units. This units were taken into consideration, out of these a sample coverage of five per cent i.e. about 10,108 units were sought listed on random basis from among the three implementing agencies viz. KVIC, KVIB and DIC in proportion of 30:30:40.

Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) Giriraj Singh was presented with evaluation study of the PMEGP. 

The following were the key observations of the Study:

• Scheme has been able to provide Sustainable Employment. Units set up under the scheme provided employment throughout year and for large number of years.
• Scheme has good reach, it has targeted at almost all sections of the society (based on social background, education background, location etc)
• Average Employment per Project Â– 7.62
• Average Cost of Generating Unit Employment  Â– Rs 96,209
• Maximum Cost of Generating Unit Employment Â– Rs  2,75,621 (Nagaland)
• Minimum Cost of Generating Unit Employment  – Rs 64,735 (Tamil Nadu)
• Average Cost per Project –  Rs 7,33,423

Problem areas:

•      Delay in the process of sanctioning of loans at different stages.

•      Hypothecation & collaterals asked for.

•      Physical verifications & delay in adjustment of margin money.

•      Records keeping, hand holding, access of data & reporting by implementing agencies.

•      Marketing for products.

Key recommendations:

• Increased availability of field officers (They are a key connect between beneficiary and agencies and are currently sparse)
• EDP Training content needs to be more relevant and rigorous. On line EDP could be encouraged.
• Content partnership/Integration with MOOCs (Massive Open Online Coursewares) of recognized reputational technical and managerial institutes (such as IITs and IIMs)
• Agencies could consider hiring interns from leading management institutions (India/Abroad) to further handholding of beneficiaries
• Integration with Aadhar to authenticate the trainee identity and progress.
• For motivating beneficiaries to repay loans – The people whose Margin Money has been successfully adjusted, need to be rewarded with an option of 2nd round of subsidized loans (at say 15 per cent of subsidy).
• Enforcement of deadlines (either of 60 or 90 days) on banks to decide about decision (acceptance or rejection) of the loan application

viii.     Cash credit account (CCA) component of the loan could be reduced. Maximum CCA may range up to 40 per cent of total loan.

Laboratory worker testing antibiotics on a resistant infection. Photo: PAHO/Joshua Cogan

The report released today by the World Health Organization (WHO) says most of the drugs currently in the clinical pipeline are modifications of existing classes of antibiotics and are only short-term solutions.

“Antimicrobial resistance is a global health emergency that will seriously jeopardize progress in modern medicine,” said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom.

The report found very few potential treatment options for those antibiotic-resistant infections identified by WHO as posing the greatest threat to health, including drug-resistant tuberculosis which kills around 250,000 people each year.

“There is an urgent need for more investment in research and development for antibiotic-resistant infections including TB, otherwise we will be forced back to a time when people feared common infections and risked their lives from minor surgery,” Mr. Adhanom said.

In addition to multidrug-resistant tuberculosis, WHO has identified 12 classes of priority pathogens – some of them causing common infections such as pneumonia or urinary tract infections – that are increasingly resistant to existing antibiotics and urgently in need of new treatments.

The report identifies 51 new antibiotics and biologicals in clinical development to treat priority antibiotic-resistant pathogens, as well as tuberculosis and the sometimes deadly diarrhoeal infection Clostridium difficile.

Among all these candidate medicines, however, only eight are classed by WHO as innovative treatments that will add value to the current antibiotic treatment arsenal.

There is a serious lack of treatment options for multidrug- and extensively drug-resistant M. tuberculosis and gram-negative pathogens, including Acinetobacter and Enterobacteriaceae (such as Klebsiella and E.coli) which can cause severe and often deadly infections that pose a particular threat in hospitals and nursing homes.

The report also found that although oral antibiotics are essential for treatment outside hospitals or in resource-limited settings, few are in the pipeline.

“Pharmaceutical companies and researchers must urgently focus on new antibiotics against certain types of extremely serious infections that can kill patients in a matter of days because we have no line of defence,” said Suzanne Hill, Director of the Department of Essential Medicines at WHO.

To counter this threat, WHO and the Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative (DNDi) set up a research and development partnership.

According to Mario Raviglione, Director of the WHO Global Tuberculosis Programme, research for tuberculosis is seriously underfunded, with only two new antibiotics for treatment of drug-resistant tuberculosis having reached the market in over 70 years.

“If we are to end tuberculosis, more than $800 million per year is urgently needed to fund research for new anti-tuberculosis medicines,” he said.

Whether you are child in Baltimore, Beijing, Nairobi or New Delhi, The onset of adolescence triggers a surprisingly common set of rigidly enforced gender expectations that are linked to increased lifelong risks of everything from HIV and depression to violence and suicide. 

This is the key finding from a groundbreaking 15-country study released today by the Global Early Adolescent Study, a collaboration between the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and the World Health Organization (WHO) as a collection of articles in the Journal of Adolescent Health. 

Whether the adolescent is in Baltimore, Beijing, Nairobi or New Delhi, public health experts across the globe who collaborated to learn how an assortment of culturally enforced gender stereotypes long associated with an increased risk of mental and physical health problems become firmly rooted between the ages of 10 and 14. “We found children at a very early age—from the most conservative to the most liberal societies—quickly internalize this myth that girls are vulnerable and boys are strong and independent,” said Robert Blum, director of the Global Early Adolescent Study based at Johns Hopkins University. “And this message is being constantly reinforced at almost every turn, by siblings, classmates, teachers, parents, guardians, relatives, clergy and coaches.” 

The findings emerged from a series of comprehensive interviews conducted over the last four years with approximately 450 early adolescents matched with a parent or guardian (totaling nearly 900) in Bolivia, Belgium, Burkina Faso, China, the Democratic Republic 2 of Congo, Ecuador, Egypt, India, Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, Scotland, South Africa, the United States and Vietnam. Blum said the work shows a need to rethink adolescent health interventions, which typically focus on youth 15 years or older, so that they target a much younger age group. 

“Adolescent health risks are shaped by behaviors rooted in gender roles that can be well established in kids by the time they are ten or 11 years old,” said Kristin Mmari, DrPH, associate professor and lead researcher for the qualitative research at the Global Early Adolescent Study. “Yet we see billions of dollars around the world invested in adolescent health programs that don’t kick in until they are 15, and by then it’s probably too late to make a big difference.” 

The Perils of Outfitting Adolescents with a “Gender Straitjacket” the conversations conducted by the researchers revealed that, around the world, young boys and girls are outfitted with “gender straitjackets” at a very early age, with lifelong negative consequences that are particularly perilous for girls. The researchers found that gender-based restrictions rationalized as “protecting” girls actually made them more vulnerable by emphasizing subservience and implicitly sanctioning even physical abuse as punishment for violating norms. They observed that “in many parts of the world” these stereotypes leave girls at greater risk of dropping out of school or suffering physical and sexual violence, child marriage, early pregnancy, HIV and other sexually transmitted infections. 

For example, the researchers found boys in both New Delhi and Shanghai talked about being encouraged to spend time outside of the home in unsupervised exploration of their environment, while girls said they were advised to stay home and do chores. Shaming and beatings for those who sought to cross the divide was reported by girls and boys in both cities. 

In all but one city, Edinburgh, Scotland, both boys and girls were clear that it was the boy who had to take the initiative in any relationship. Across all settings, young girls reported a constant emphasis on their physical appearance and their bodies as their key asset. “In New Delhi, the girls talked about their bodies as a big risk that needs to be covered up, while in Baltimore girls told us their primary asset was their bodies and that they need to look appealing—but not too appealing,” Mmari said. The researchers noted that their findings bore out conclusions from previous work that “during adolescence, the world expands for boys and contracts for girls.” 

But the researchers note that boys do not emerge unscathed. They point out that the stereotypes they learn in early adolescence—the emphasis on physical strength and independence—make them more likely to be the victims of physical violence and more prone to tobacco and other substance abuse, as well as homicide. Also, when researchers examined attitudes about gender roles among young adolescents in China, India, Belgium and the United States, they found a growing acceptance for girls pushing against certain gender boundaries, but almost zero tolerance for boys who do. 

In all four countries, it appeared to be increasingly acceptable—to varying degrees—for girls to engage in certain stereotypically male behaviors, like wearing pants, playing sports and pursuing careers. But the researchers report that “boys who challenge gender norms by their dress or behavior were by many respondents seen as socially inferior.” Both boys and girls told researchers that the consequences for boys who were perceived as adopting feminine behavior, like painting their nails, ranged from being bullied and teased with harsh epithets to being physically assaulted. “We know from research studies and programmatic experience that unequal gender norms can be changed, but this takes carefully planned and implemented interventions that target both young people and the environment they are growing and developing in,” said V. Chandra Mouli, MBBS, MSc, co-director and scientist at the Adolescents and at Risk Populations Team, Reproductive Health and Research Department, World Health Organization. While many of the gender stereotypes documented in the study are not surprising, the fact they are so common across cultures and economic status— and ingrained in children at such a relatively young age—is unexpected. She said the research could help shape new initiatives that foster greater awareness of the health consequences of gender stereotypes and focus on the critical “transitional” years of early adolescence. 

Over the past six years, an international consortium of fifteen countries has been working on the Global Early Adolescent Study (GEAS). The GEAS aims to understand how gender norms are formed in early adolescence and how they predispose young people to subsequent sexual and other health risks. As children move into early adolescence and start to develop into young men and women, they also start to take up social roles that are linked to masculinity and femininity. The roles they take on have huge implications for their own health and well-being and that of people around them. Hence, this is a critically important period to study. The GEAS has generated valuable information from fifteen countries around the world, and developed a tool kit to assess gender norms in early adolescents. 

Studies undertaken at Delhi and Shanghai suggest that parents teach their children to adhere to inequitable gender norms in both the places. However, education and career expectations for boys and girls in the two sites differed. Although gender norms varied by site according to the particular cultural and historical context, similar patterns of gender inequity reflect the underlying patriarchal system in both settings. The tendency of parents to pass on the norms they grew up with is evident, yet these results illustrate the social construction of gender through children’s interaction with the social ecology, including evolving political and economic systems. Efforts to bend gender norms toward greater equality can build on these results by empowering children and parents to reflect critically on inequitable gender norms and roles and by mobilizing economic and social support at key turning points in adolescents’ lives.

Their findings reveal that boys and girls growing up in the same community are socialized differently during their transition from early to later adolescence. In both sites, for example, boys, in contrast to girls, spent time outside their home in undirected activities, taking advantage of the opportunity to explore their environment and develop dominant behaviors. Gender inequitable norms related to dress, demeanour, roles (education and career) and boy-girl relationships are transmitted by instruction, beating and scolding, as well as positive reinforcement and mitigation. 

Interactions with the opposite sex were tightly controlled for boys and girls in both countries during early adolescence. This may be due to the fear of pregnancy, which would jeopardize family honor and may put in play a series of lifelong negative physical and emotional consequences. Adolescents and their parents identified mothers as the primary socialization agent, but fathers, siblings, extended families, and peers also played important roles. These results are consistent with early cross-cultural research on socialization which demonstrated the influential roles of parents, siblings, peers, and task assignment on learning gender and suggested that socialization processes operating throughout the life course can increase, reduce, or eliminate gendered behavioural differences.

Photo- Dr Anil Kumar Suri

Cancer of the uterine cervix, also known as cervical cancer, is the second leading cause of cancer deaths among women in India. Almost one lakh women fall victim to the insidious disease every year in the country. 

Researchers at the New Delhi-based National Institute of Immunology (NII) are in the process of fine tuning a solution that promises to add a highly potent weapon to the armoury against this type of cancer. They have extracted and identified a tumour antigen which seems to hold a lot of promise. The antigen has been named SPAG9.

“The tumor antigen, which is expressed in reproductive tract cancers and a variety of malignancies, has proved successful in phase I trials. This means it has been proved to be safe on human subjects. Phase II clinical trials are presently underway to gauge its efficacy. We hope to get positive results by next year,” said Dr Anil Kumar Suri, NII director, in an interview.

The therapeutic vaccine based on the antigen is being tested among 54 patients at Cancer Institute (WIA) at Adyar in Chennai. The trials are being conducted by a team of oncologist led by Dr T. Rajkumar. If proven efficacious, it could change the face of cervix cancer treatment. The human trials are being conducted subsequent to elaborate trials with animal models.

Invasion of foreign bodies like bacteria or virus usually trigger a volley of fighter cells called T cells. These T cells surround germs and fight them. Each type of virus or bacteria requires specific antigen T cells. Vaccination primes the body to potential threats and keeps the arsenal of antigens ever ready to fight an invasion. 

However, this cannot happen with cancer. Even though they are rogue elements, cancer cells are after all from within the affected persons themselves. Body’s immune system cannot normally recognize them as a ‘threat’. They, therefore, allow them to proliferate and spread all around the body. 

Immunotherapy is a new approach that exploits body’s inner capability to put up a fight against cancer. Under the approach, either immune system is given a boost or the T cells are “trained’’ to identify recalcitrant cancer cells and kill them. 

The NII scientists are using this strategy to develop the new weapon against cancer of the cervix.  Â“We take cells called monocytes from the patient’s blood and modify them into what are called dendritic cells. These cells have efficient antigens to stimulate the ‘fighter’ cells, or T-cells, in the body. They are then primed with the tumour antigen SPAG9, for ten days, and given back to the patients in the form of a vaccine. The ‘educated’ T cells are able to discriminate the cancer cells and put up a fight against them,” explained Dr Suri. 

Poor health, malnutrition, unhygienic environment are the main cause of Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection that leads to cervical cancer. Normally our body has tumor suppressor genes and proteins which are able to suppress formation of tumours. The cells in a tumour multiply uncontrollably with hardly any cell death.

NII has outsourced the manufacture of recombinant SPAG9 to Syngene International (Biocon Limited), Bangalore. “If the trials succeed, it will be the first molecule identified in India and will be an example of translational research outcome. Our findings have opened new avenues for novel treatment modalities in battling the deadly disease of cancer worldwide,” said Dr Suri.

Dr. Suri graduated from Hans Raj College, Delhi University and after that did his post-graduation and doctorate from National Dairy Research Institute at Karnal. Subsequently, he did his post- doctorate from Laboratoire pour le contrôle des Reproducteurs, Maisons-Alfort, France. He returned to India in 1985 and joined NII as a scientist. 

The thrust of his research is on early detection and diagnosis of cancer and development of targeted approaches for therapeutic interventions for cancer medicine.

Dr Suri has authored 63 high impact publications in reputed international journal and has 15 patents on novel immunotherapeutic method for cancer treatment and diagnosis in India and abroad. He has won the S.S. Guraya Memorial Award, Dr T C Anand Kumar Memorial Oration Award and Rabindra Nath Chakravarti Citation Award. (India Science Wire)

As the debate continues on connection of climate change with growing intensity of hurricanes like Harvey and Irma, climate change is already becoming a ground reality for scores of farmers in the hill state of Mizoram. Changing rainfall pattern and rising temperatures are forcing them to move away from traditional farming and to grow exotic crops that are heat-resistant and can survive erratic rains.

This year has been particularly bad. There has not been a single day when it has not rained. “Farmers are completely confused. They don’t know whether it was early monsoon or it is ‘everyday monsoon’. All important dates on the agriculture calendar have been missed,” pointed out Dr James Lalnunzira Hrahsel, a scientist with the Mizoram State Climate Change Cell.

Data of the past thirty years shows a rise in average temperature of Aizawl in the month of January. The lowest maximum was 18.7 degree in 1992 while the highest was 28.2 degree in 2005. This January it was 26.3 degree. On the other hand, minimum temperature in January has dipped. The difference between daily minimum and maximum temperature has been widening. The maximum and minimum temperatures in July also have seen a similar trend.

The rainfall pattern has changed so drastically that farmers are left clueless. The dates for burning jhums (shifting cultivation) had to be shifted twice this year due to rains. While there is an increasing trend in monsoon rainfall, there is decrease in post-monsoon rainfall and winter rainfall. Heavy precipitation events have gone up.

“The rainfall pattern in Mizoram has traditionally been so nuanced that Mizo language has different names for rain during different months, like To ruah (for April-May rains), Ruah Bing (for June-July rains), Ruah var pui (September rains), Ai Ruah (for October rains), Pawl del Ruah (December rains) etc. Even wind patterns have unique names – Vahtlao thli (February winds), Pa-sawntlung thli (March to May) and Pa leng thli (July winds) etc.,” explained Dr Lalrokima Chenkual, a disaster management expert with the Administrative Training Institute.

“But nowadays, it is difficult to distinguish one rain or wind from another,” said Dr Chenkual. 

All this is directly affecting farming communities. “Earlier farmers could grow a variety of fruits and vegetables throughout the year. Now they are approaching us to help them with new crops and varieties that can withstand changing climate. That’s why we have introduced dragon fruit from Thailand, new cabbage variety from China and two tomato varieties from Bangalore,”  Henry L Varte, horticulture extension officer, told India Science Wire.  

Dragon fruit is a cactus that can grow in warm and humid climate, needs less water and its fruits have high commercial value. As dragon fruit is climbing cacti, concrete pillars are erected to train the vine and on the top old tyres are used. “Dragon fruit cultivation is helping famers to adapt to rising temperature and erratic rainfall, while protecting their incomes,” said Varte. Similarly the cabbage variety imported from China is heat-resistant. Two  tomato varieties – Araka Smrat and Araka Rakshak developed the Bangalore-based Indian Institute of Horticulture Institute can withstand high temperatures and are disease-resistant. 

“Earlier I used grow oranges from seedlings imported from Israel, but pest attacks started due to heat and the yield dropped. Then I planted area nut. Last year I shifted to dragon fruit and have harvested 20 quintals of fruits this year. The market for this fruit is good, each fruit of about half a kilo sells for about Rs 100 to Rs 150,” said Zoramthanga, a dragon fruit farmer from Viapuanpho village in Mamit district. 

Mr Saurabh Sharma, state nodal officer for climate change, said adaptation had become necessary as districts in the state face ‘moderate to high’ vulnerability to climate change in terms of agriculture, forestry and water sector. The National Adaptation Fund for Climate Change is funding a three-year project to augment livelihood of rural communities by building resilience in agriculture in four districts – Aizawl, Mamit, Kolasib, Serchhip.  

“The idea is to develop one climate resilient village in each district so that they can serve as model for the rest,” Sharma explained while speaking at a media workshop. Mr Pradeep Chettri from Directorate of Agriculture (Crop Husbandry) said pilot projects were underway in three agro-climatic zones – humid mild tropical zone, humid sub-tropical hill zone and humid temperate sub-alpine zone- to increase tolerance and suitability of crops to climate change. 

The media workshop was organized by the Indian Himalayas Climate Adaptation Programme (IHCAP) and Department of Science and Technology (DST) in collaboration with Mizoram State Climate Change Cell; Directorate of Science and Technology and Centre for Media Studies. (India Science Wire) 

Gone are the days when only the elderly could or would buy homes on the back of their life savings. Thirty years ago, the typical Indian home buyer was invariably aged above 50 and cashed in his or her provident fund to finally make the dream of homeownership come true. Today, home buyers in India are younger than ever, with the age group of 34-38 populating a majority of sales deeds. Furthermore, these young buyers are maximizing the advantages of youth with the power of team leverage.

With dual-income nuclear families having become the new norm, young married couples are the preferred customer ‘configuration’ for banks and home loan companies. Their combined creditworthiness is boosted by the very healthy risk profile which banks see in people who have two decades or more of active professional life ahead of them. The result? The ability to buy a sizeable home in a good location today, locking in its value and capital appreciation potential. The Great Indian Dream is alive and kicking in its vibrant and highly aspirational youth.   

Understand your fundamentals

The decision to buy a home should not be influenced by other people’s thoughts and opinions. At the end of the day, this is a very personal decision which does not lend itself too well to ‘one-size-fits-all’ investment philosophies. While one young couple with a certain degree of financial agility may see a lot of sense in buying a home as soon as possible, another of comparable fiscal ability could be content to live out their lives in rental homes and invest their surplus money elsewhere. There is also no shortage of fence-sitting real estate agnostics who are perpetually waiting for changing market dynamics, rather than their own innate desires, to convince them of home purchase.

The ‘Starter Home’

Definitely, young aspiring homebuyers should keep in mind their current and future finances and balance these with their current needs. The concept of ‘starter homes’ is a very valid one in India – the kind of homes that a majority of young couples prefer or able to buy in the initial stages of their careers and/or married life. Such homes are generally only as big as they need to be but are in well-connected locations which allow for easy transit to and from work.

The idea of buying a starter home is to secure a property within one’s existing means, and then upgrade to a larger home as the family as well as financial capability grows. Ensuring that the starter home, though compact, is in a good project with good amenities, and in a well-connected location, will enable the couple to sell it off more quickly and at a better price when the time to upgrade to a larger flat finally comes.

This is by no means the default choice for all young couples – many prefer to invest in larger homes, which their combined credit-worthiness can certainly permit. Herein lies a primary fact of the market – a budget for home purchase is not always only a function of financial ability, but often also of personal choice.

Budget is the Key

When it comes to deciding on how much to spend on buying a home, much depends on whether the newly-baked family comprises of a single income earner or whether it is a dual-income scenario. If it is a single-income household, a starter home in a good project by a reputed developer is the way to go. In the case of a dual-income situation, a couple can set its sights a little higher – but it is important not to overreach.

The main focus at this point in one’s family life should be to secure home while simultaneously retaining the ability to enjoy the first years of married life in reasonable style. Travel and entertainment will and should be on the cards. Later, they also need to factor in the financial pressures of parenthood, and these eventualities should be prepared for in advance. The objective for a newly-married couple – unless they come from wealthy families – should not be to immediately buy the biggest, flashiest home on the block.

Buy or Rent 

For a considerable segment of young married couples in India today, the purchase of a home is definitely still a priority because:

• It frees the family of empty rental expenses which reap no returns and instead secures a performing asset which will appreciate in value
• With the predictable expense of monthly EMIs on a home loan factored in, one gets a clear view of what other investment options and life flexibility is still available
• A self-owned home in India has a singular power to provide not only accommodation but also a sense of security and comfort

For others, it makes more sense to stay in rental homes and invest into other instruments like mutual funds or even more adventurous speculation on the stock market. While it is obviously a challenge to judge how many young couples in India lean towards one philosophy or the other, what can be said is that home purchase has become a far more attractive option in India than ever before

The current market scenario

Over the past couple of years, we have seen significant property price rationalization in many cities. As a result, many more properties have now become affordable for a much larger cross-section of aspiring buyers. Also, thanks to more ready inventory, the legendary mental torture of ‘waiting for possession’ is now an option, not a necessity.

We will not see any further lowering of prices, especially now that RERA is cleaning up the market of fly-by-night operators and causing supply to slow down. However, as of now, residential property in India has become more affordable than it has been in several years. Simultaneously, home loan interest rates have declined to further boost the logic of home ownership in the country.

As the economy gathers further impetus and the real estate market recovers faster, bringing with it inevitable price escalations, locking into the currently prevailing low rates is the best possible investment choice for young couples who have decided on home purchase. Even the extended suburbs of our larger cities will densify over the coming years, adding better social infrastructure while simultaneously bringing forth a dearth of supply due to depleting land. As our cities widen, today’s extended suburbs will become more central locations. Buying a property in such locations now will lock in their future potential

Investment rationale, emotional value – or both?

While the Internet, as well as advisory columns in financial dailies, continue to offer conflicting advice, one immutable fact of the property market remains – property always appreciates in the long run. All over the world, real estate as an asset class provides excellent risk-adjusted returns in the long term. This is not to say that investment in other instruments does not reap comparable or even better returns; what it largely boils down to is one’s own outlook.

The intrinsic value that a self-owned home holds for an end-user differs a lot from that which it conveys to a pure investor. The pride and security of home ownership in a country like India is a rather unique phenomenon which cannot be replicated by other asset classes. Real estate is a performing asset in the truest sense since it can either generate rental income or provide freedom from rental outgo even as it gains in value.

Finally, we do know that RERA will significantly crimp the supply pipeline going forward, and reduced supply has a direct implication on prices. Losing out on the best opportunities today in the hope of further price corrections can imply a significant loss to those who defer their decision too long. The best strategy for young couples who are firmly decided on buying a home today is to negotiate the best possible price and go in for purchase.

(The author is property consultants)

In independent survey has shown that 85% of the household members use their latrine to defecate. Considering the medical costs averted as a result of open defecation free community, the financial saving for each household is Rs 50,000 per year.

In terms of cost benefit ratio, considering on the one hand the expenditures from the households and from the government, an on the other hand the financial savings induce by improved sanitation, the study found a cost-benefit ratio of 430% on average which means that Re 1 invested allows a saving of Rs 4.3.

The benefits are highest for the poorest quintile of the population. The survey was got one by UNICEF to mark the completion of three years of Swachh Bharat Mission and the Swachhta Hi Sewa fortnight. 

Releasing the findings of the survey, Nicolas Osbert, Chief WASH UNICEF said: “Having seen how poor sanitation can affect the health an lives of children and communities, the Mission is once-in-a generation opportunity.’’

Lack of hygiene and sanitation constitutes to spreading fecally transmitted infections, this is not only diarrhea, worms, other parasites. This is mainly due to widespread open defecation practice. It is estimated that in 2015, 117,000 under five children died of dairrhoea alone which is more than 13 children per hour an accounts for 22% of the global burden with regard under-5 mortality due to diarrhea.  This reduces their capacity to absorb nutrients leading to stunting. In India, 39 % children are stunted. 

As a consequence of weak infection prevention and control in health care facilities, sepsis is directly responsible for 11% of maternal and 15% of newborn deaths in India. 

With regard to economic development, India is paying a heavy price because of these preventable water-borne diseases; a study from the World Bank published in 2008 shows that the total economic impacts of inadequate sanitation in India was amounting to US $ 53.8 billion per year equivalent of 6.4% of India’s GDP in the same period. 

Speaking on the occasion, Mr Parmeshwaran Aiyar, Secretary, Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation said the major elements of Swachhta Hi Seva included massive awareness generation an community mobilization activities, large scale construction of twin-pit toilets, cleanliness drive an shramdaan. Also, Gandhi Jayanti would be observed as Swachh Bharat Diwas.

Photo- Prof Urmi Chatterji and Pritha Mukherjee

A group of Indian scientists have proposed a new strategy to make chemotherapy for triple negative breast cancer more effective.

Scientists at the University of Calcutta and the Saroj Gupta Cancer Care and Research Institute (SGCC&RI), Kolkata, have identified mechanisms that make breast cancer stem cells resistant to chemotherapy. This knowledge, they say, can be used to develop combination therapy along with conventional drugs to tackle aggressive triple negative breast cancer (TNBC). The study results have been published in journal Scientific Reports.

Breast cancer threatens one in every 28 urban women in India. TNBC is a subset of breast cancer which is resistant to most drugs and tends to recur once drug therapy is stopped. It is also aggressive and spreads easily. TNBC patients are generally given intense cycles of chemotherapy in addition to radiation. Clinical studies have shown that TNBC evolves prominently, especially in patients from West Bengal and Bangladesh.

Breast cancer stem cells are resistant to drugs, live longer and proliferate once chemotherapy ends. “This is because elevated expression of drug efflux pumps that throw out the drug from cells,” explained Pritha Mukherjee, a member of the research team. 

In this process, the study has found that three molecules – SOX2, ABCG2, and TWIST1 – play an important role. The researchers have further showed that on shutting down SOX2 (which further affects TWIST1 also) and treatment with anti-cancer drug, paclitaxel, restricted migration of cancer stem cells. Even after removal of the drug, these cells did not migrate. “This means obliterating SOX2 expression specifically in breast cancer stem cells before or during chemotherapy is a possible approach to eliminate their population within a tumour, with a promise to prevent post-chemotherapy recurrences,” said Prof Urmi Chatterji of University of Calcutta. 

The outcome of this basic understanding may be translated into a clinical method for controlling tumor recurrence. “A treatment strategy which ensures eradication of persistent drug resistant cells would serve as a complete therapy,” Dr Arnab Gupta, Director, SGCC&RI, told India Science Wire.

“Designing new methods which would target SOX2 would in effect render resistant cell population sensitive to anti-cancer drugs,” suggested Prof Dhrubajyoti Chattopadhyay, Vice Chancellor, Amity University, a co-author of the study.

“Further research in our lab by Dr Sreemanti Das has identified nanoformulation of anti-cancer drugs which have the potential to reduce SOX2 expression and effectively obliterate the cancer stem cell population in cells-in-culture as well as in tumors induced in mice. It has immense potential in being developed as a promising drug in future,” added Prof Chatterji. However, detailed clinical studies are needed to translate this research into treatment.

The research team included Dr Urmi Chatterji, Pritha Mukherjee, Dr Arnab Gupta, and Dr Dhrubajyoti Chattopadhyay. The study was funded by Department of Biotechnology.

Some 27 million children are out of school due to conflict, with girls facing a heightened risk of sexual and gender-based violence, the United Nations said in a report released today, calling on States and international organizations to integrate all uprooted children into the education system where they live.

“Many of the 50 million uprooted children in the world are in desperate need of education – not despite being uprooted from their homes but because they are uprooted from their homes,” the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) stressed in the report.

“For without education, how will they gain knowledge and skills to rebuild their lives? How will they be able to chart a path to a more peaceful and prosperous future for themselves, their families, their communities and the world?” queried the agency.

“Finding ways to provide education for uprooted children will require funding, creativity and commitment. Together, we can, and must, find solutions so every child can go to school and learn. Children’s futures – and our own – depend on it,” said UNICEF.

In 2015, nearly 50 million children were uprooted, more than 28 million of them forced from their homes because of violence and insecurity, with 27 million children of primary and lower secondary school age out of school in 24 conflict-affected countries, the report noted.

According to UNICEF, refugees are five times more likely to be out of school than other children, with only 50 per cent of refugee children enrolled in primary school and less than 25 per cent in secondary school.

In countries affected by conflict, girls are 2.5 times more likely to be out of school than boys and are more likely to become victims of sexual and gender-based violence.

Xenophobia, exclusion and stigmatization can create inhospitable, even dangerous environments for children seeking to join a new school system, while only 10 European Union Member States recognize the right of undocumented migrant children to enter the school system and five explicitly exclude them.