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The first phase of polling in assembly elections in western belt of Uttar Pradesh witnessed 64.22 per cent voter turnout on Saturday. The  polling was held in 73 constituencies of the State. Briefing media persons in New Delhi, Deputy Election Commissioner, Vijay Dev said, the polling passed off peacefully.He appreciated the exemplary participation of voters in the polling process. He said, 42 EVMs had to be replaced due to malfunctioning.Mr Dev said, the final figure of poll percentage is likely to be higher as there were several voters in queue at the time of scheduled closing of the poll. He said, 13 cases of paid news were reported out of which 10 were confirmed and action is being taken.He said that a case of poll boycott was also reported from a polling station in Mathura. He said preventive actions were taken against nearly 3 lakh trouble makers. He said, 19.56 crore cash and liquor worth 14 crore rupees have been seized.Chief Electoral Officer UP, T Venkatesh released the data on Saturday evening saying that Shamli polled highest with 67.12 percent. While in Agra, the voters turn out was 63.88 percent, in Aligarh 64.66 percent, Muzaffarnagar 65.50 percent, Hapur 65.67 percent, Firozabad 63.59 percent, Mathura 65. 39 percent, Noida 59.17 percent, Ghaziabad 58.10 percent, Bulandshahr 64.65 percent, Etah 64.73 percent, Kasganj 64.83 percent, Meerut 66 percent, Hatharas 64.10 percent, Baghpat polled 64.99 percent of votes.”

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Even as the Shiv Sena supremo Uddhav Thackeray is confident of victory in the civic polls in Mumbai, he wants to unite all the regional parties in forming a Third Front specifically against the BJP. Several attempts to form such a Front against the Congress and the Lotus party in the past has come a cropper. 

Thackeray underlined the need for deciding on a Common Minimum Programme in “”countering the arrogance of the present rulers.”” Clearly the Shiv Sena is keen to make a big bang debut in the national arena.

Significantly, the Shiv Sena supremo has only singled out the BJP for special treatment but kept the doors ajar in case the Congress is willing to join such a grouping. 

Does it mean the Shiv Sena is seeking to bring about a subtle change in its policy which was akin to that the Lotus party. This assumes significance as it is the first time that the Old Lady of Bori Bunder has entered into an alliance with the Samajwadi party in UP, reminiscent of the 2015 a la ‘Mahagatbandhan’ in Bihar resulting in the BJP losing this battleground state in the Cow belt. 

While being proud of denying the Saffron brigade a majority on its own in the Maharashtra assembly elections in 2014, Thackeray has made no bones of his growing angst against the Lotus party. He has not shied away from launching a frontal attack against the BJP leaders both at the Centre as well in Maharashtra. In a far reaching move he has threatened to snap electoral ties with the BJP which can hurt the latter in the crucial state of Maharashtra. 

Thackeray was unsparing in his attack against Mahrashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis who has sought to underplay the serious differences affirming that his coalition government was not in any danger. He has not forgotten the Shiv Sena’s betrayal by the BJP’s sudden decision of going it alone in the state assembly elections 2014. 

He has expressed his pain at missing the thought and vision of leaders like former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, sidelined party stalwart and former Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani as well as the late Pramod Mahajan. The importance of ruling Maharashtra cannot be undermined which is a highly industrialised state and most importantly Mumbai being the financial capital of the country. 

Fresh from his stunning victory in the April-May general elections in 2014 when Narendra Modi managed a majority for the BJP on its own bagging 282 seats in the 543-member Lok Sabha. Along with its allies the NDA crossed the rubicon of 300 finishing with a tally of 340 seats. 

Boosted by Modi’s charisma the saffron brigade moved past the three figure mark in the Mahrashtra assembly for the first time three years back. There is no doubt the Shiv Sena is turning the heat on the BJP with Mumbai Civic elections barely a fortnight away. There is intense speculation that the Fadnavis government might be rocked by mass resignations of the Shiv Sena ministers. These ministers met the chief minister earlier this week and submitted a memorandum demanding a loan waiver for the state’s farmers. 

After meeting Fadnavis, the Shiv Sena ministers spoke to the media saying they were carrying their resignation letters in their pockets. Sources suggest that the resignations might be submitted close to he civic polls thereby creating a stir and a sympathy wave for the Shiv Sena. A similar stunt had been evidenced in 2015 before the elections to the Municipal Corporation of Kalyan- Dombivli, Mumbai’s satellite city. 

It may be recalled that Eknath Shinde resigned publicly at a rally on the last day of campaigning where the Shiv Sena and BJP contested separately. Shinde’s resignation grabbed attention and facilitated in building pressure on the government after which Thackeray rejected his resignation. It is, therefore, not surprising that the BJP is highly circumspect about the Shiv Sena resorting to pressure tactics against the Fadnavis government yet again.”

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The 11th edition of Aero India will be held at Air Force Station, Yelahanka,  Bengaluru from February 14 to 18, providing a significant platform in bolstering business opportunities in International aviation sector. It has favourably poised an exponential growth over previous edition. A rapidly growing economy, defence preparedness challenges and opening up of defence production to private sector, have given a major fillip to the defence industry in India. It has also become a hub centre for defence business in the Asia.

Among international participants, the U.S. will be a leading contributor to Aero India 2017, stressing the strength of the United States and India’s strategic partnership.  The high-level U.S. delegation, impressive array of American military platforms and personnel, and significant representation from U.S. industry are a concrete example of our enduring ties. 

U.S. assets this year include 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 will showcase the capability of one of the U.S. Air Force’s leading fighters and a combined India-U.S. parachute demonstration is also planned.

Over 20 U.S. companies are participating in Aero India, 17 with exhibits in the U.S. Partnership Pavilion with three companies recently entering the Indian market and five new to the show. U.S. participation in Aero India provides industry and the military services opportunities to strengthen military-to-military relations and invigorate defense cooperation as we work together to safeguard against global instability, protects freedom of navigation in the air and sea, and combat terrorism and violent extremism.  This robust public and private participation from the United States in Aero India demonstrates the importance we place on advancing our Major Defense Partnership with India.

From Indian public sector undertakings, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) will reveal the mock-up of India’s first indigenous multi-role helicopter. The medium-category helicopter is sought after by the services, and such helicopters have so far been imported. Ã¢Â€ÂœThe main attraction of HAL’s indoor pavilion on 1,282 sqm is a mock-up of the Indian Multi-Role Helicopter,” HAL said in a statement. HAL is expected to put up the initial design before the services for their response, and the “design and development will commence based on a firm demand from the Army and the Air Force.” 

It is planned as a twin-engine helicopter in the 10-tonne category, capable of flying at a height of 15,000 feet, and with a range of 500 km. It can perform several tasks, including counter-insurgency operations, casualty evacuation and combat search and rescue. In all nearly 750 Indian and global companies will be participating in this year’s Aero India show and delegations of senior officials from 109 countries will be visiting the show which will attract about 30,000 visitors and 15,000 business visitors.”

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With buyers entitled to seek relief under the Real Estate (Regulation & Development) Act,2016 with effect from the first of May this year, the central government has cautioned the States of a serious situation of vacuum arising if necessary institutional mechanisms, as required under the Act were not put in place before that.

So far only four States and six Union Territories have notified the final Real Estate Rules. Union Minister of Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation M. Venkaiah Naidu last week urged the Chief Ministers to take personal interest in ensuring implementation of the Act in letter and spirit.

In a letter dated February 9, 2017, to all the Chief Ministers of States, he stressed that “Real Estate Act is one of the most important reforms for the sector, which would bring benefits to all stakeholders. It is therefore, my sincere request to please bestow your personal attention to this matter so that the Act is implemented in time and in the spirit with which it was passed by the Parliament”.

Mr Naidu also cautioned the Chief Ministers stating “Appropriate Governments are required to establish the Real Estate Regulatory Authorities and the Appellate Tribunals, maximum by 30th April, 2017. The timelines are important as the Act would commence its full operation from 1st May, 2017and in the absence of Rules and Regulatory Authority and Appellate Tribunal, the implementation of the Act would be affected in your State, leading to a vacuum in the sector”.

The Minister in his two page letter to the Chief Ministers said that the Real Estate Act, 2016 was one of the most consumer friendly laws passed by the Parliament and its timely implementation is the responsibility of both the Central and State Governments and this would not only provide the much needed consumer protection, but would also give a fillip to the sector, benefitting all the stakeholders.

Ministry of HUPA had organized a consultative workshop with all the States/UTs on the 17th of last month to review the progress made by them and apprise them of their responsibilities under the Act and the timelines to be met to enable the consumers take benefits of the Act from the first of May this year and the need to ensure that the Rules were not in variance with the spirit of the Act.

Over 60 Sections of the Act were notified by the Ministry of HUPA on May 1st last year, including Section 84 under which States were required to notify Real Estate Rules by October 31st last year thereby setting the ground for implementation of the Act.

The Ministry mandated with the responsibility of making Rules for UTs without legislatures has done so for Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Chandigarh, Dadra & Nagar Haveli, Daman & Diu and Lakshadweep while the Ministry of Urban Development has done so for Delhi. A few other States have been reported to have notified only Draft Rules seeking views and suggestions from stakeholders.

States that have notified final Rules are: Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Kerala and Uttar Pradesh. The Ministry has received some complaints of violations of some of the provisions of the Act by some of these States resulting in dilution of the spirit of the Act. The Ministry has referred the complaints to the Committee on Subordinate Legislation of Rajya Sabha. In this back drop, Shri Venkaiah Naidu urged the Chief Ministers to ensure compliance with the Act, as passed by the Parliament.

From May 1st this year, under the provisions of the Act, both buyers and developers of real estate property can approach Real Estate Regulatory Authorities seeking relief against the other for violation of the contractual obligations and other provisions of the Act. For this to happen, Real Estate Rules including the General Rules and the Agreement for Sale Rules, Real Estate Authorities and Appellate Tribunals were required to be in place and in a position to start functioning.”

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Days after the royal family of Jaipur firmly stood behind the Shri Rajput Karni Sena that had stalled the shooting of Bollywood movie `Padmavati’ at the historic Jaigarh Fort last month, makers of the movie have announced that there would be no scenes between Rani padmini and Allauddin Khilji now.

This was indicated by the Padmavati team in a series of tweets. “”Anyone working on #Padmavati will confirm that there NEVER was any scene or dream between #RaniPadmavati and #AlauddinKhilji @ShobhaIyerSant.’’ The team also tweeted, “”Repeating. #SanjayLeelaBhansali revers #ARaniPadmavati and will NEVER do anything to hurt #Rajput sentiments. Do not believe otherwise.’’ In the film, Rani Padmini is being played by Deepika Paudukone and Ranveer Singh plays Alauddin Khilji.  

Activists of the little-known Karni Sena had disrupted the shooting of `Padmini’ in Jaigarh Fort and roughed up the director Sanjay Leela Bhansali alleging that the movie had attempted to distort history by suggesting that Padmini had an affair with Allaudin Khilji.

Just last week, in a statement, Rajmata Padmini Devi of Jaipur has said that “anyone attempting to distort the heritage or the history will not be tolerated at any cost. Jaipur royal family stands with Shri Rajput Karni Sena and other such national organizations which want to keep alive the rich and proud history of Rajasthan’’. The statement further added that shooting for films, serials and advertisements take place frequently in the different historic palaces belonging to Jaipur royal family on a regular basis. To take care of such shootings and to take necessary permissions in this regard, the Jaipur royal family has setup a separate Department. This Department did not provide full information to the royal family relating to the film ‘Padmawati’ and gave permission to shoot it. When it came to the knowledge of the royal family, disciplinary action is being taken against the erring officials of the Department, it said.  

Jaipur royal family stands committed to protect the proud history of Rajasthan. Anyone attempting to twist or change the history of Rajasthan will not be tolerated. In future before any such shootings take place in the historic monuments of the royal family, the narration of the entire story will be thoroughly checked, Rajmata Padmini Devi said.

Sanjay Leela Bhansali had subsequently suspended the shooting and left for Mumbai with the team while refusing to make changes in the film as sought by the Karni Sena.”

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NEW DELHI: In its 39th flight (PSLV-C37), ISRO’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle successfully launched the 714 kg Cartosat-2 Series Satellite along with 103 co-passenger satellites on Feb. 15 from Satish Dhawan Space Centre SHAR, Sriharikota. This is the 38th consecutively successful mission of PSLV. The total weight of all the 104 satellites carried on-board PSLV-C37 was 1378 kg.
PSLV-C37 lifted off at 0928 hrs IST, as planned, from the First Launch Pad. After a flight of 16 minutes 48 seconds, the satellites achieved a polar Sun Synchronous Orbit of 506 km inclined at an angle of 97.46 degree to the equator (very close to the intended orbit) and in the succeeding 12 minutes, all the 104 satellites successfully separated from the PSLV fourth stage in a predetermined sequence beginning with Cartosat-2 series satellite, followed by INS-1 and INS-2. The total number of Indian satellites launched by PSLV now stands at 46.
After separation, the two solar arrays of Cartosat-2 series satellite were deployed automatically and ISRO’s Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC) at Bangalore took over the control of the satellite. In the coming days, the satellite will be brought to its final operational configuration following which it will begin to provide remote sensing services using its panchromatic (black and white) and multispectral (colour) cameras.
Of the 103 co-passenger satellites carried by PSLV-C37, two – ISRO Nano Satellite-1 (INS-1) weighing 8.4 kg and INS-2 weighing 9.7 kg – are technology demonstration satellites from India.
The remaining 101 co-passenger satellites carried were international customer satellites from USA (96), The Netherlands (1), Switzerland (1), Israel (1), Kazakhstan (1) and UAE (1). With today’s successful launch, the total number of customer satellites from abroad launched by India’s workhorse launch vehicle PSLV has reached 180. President Pranab Mukherjee, Vice President M. Hamid Ansari and Prime Minister Narendra Modi have congratulated the ISRO for the successful launch into space of PSLV – C37, carrying a record 104 satellites.

In a message to Shri A.S. Kiran Kumar, Secretary, Department of Space and Chairman of ISRO, the President said: “This day shall go down as a landmark in the history of our space programme. The nation is proud of this significant achievement, which has demonstrated, yet again, India’s increasing space capabilities.”

Prime Minister Modi said: “This remarkable feat by ISRO is yet another proud moment for our space scientific community and the nation. India salutes our scientists. Spoke to the Secretary, Department of Space and congratulated him & the entire team of scientists on today’s exceptional achievement.””

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The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), which is addressing the nutritional gap in the population through fortification of various foods, has now constituted a scientific panel on “Food Fortification and Nutrition” to take the program further.

The Panel will identify critical nutritional gaps in the Indian diet in general as well as in specific target groups based on diet surveys and credible scientific evidence, define strategies to address nutrition needs of the general population and vulnerable groups, and review the standards for all suitable food fortifying vehicles, in addition to the healthy dietary intake of fat, sugar & salt.  It will also address regulatory and related technological issues, review proposals from industry using modern risk assessment methods, and prescribe standard sampling and test methods for effective monitoring, surveillance and enforcement of the relevant regulations.

The scientific panel has eleven distinguished experts and scientists and includes Dr Ambrish Mithal from Medanta, Dr C. S.Pandav and Major General (Dr) R. K.Marwaha (Retd) from AIIMS, Dr Anura Kurpad from St. John’s Medical College, Dr Yogeshwar Shukla from CSIR- Indian Institute of Toxicology Research, Prof. H. P. S.Sachdev from Sita Ram Bharatia Institute of Science and Research, Dr K. M. Nair from National Institute of Nutrition, Dr P. Ramachandran from Nutrition Foundation of India, Dr Sumit Arora from National Dairy Research Institute, Dr Sirimavo Nair from the MS University, Baroda, and Prof. Harsulkar from Bharati Vidyapeeth. Apart from these, members from Scientific Panels dealing with fortification of food such as wheat flour, refined flour, rice, milk, edible oil and salt will also be a part of this Panel. In addition, Ministries of Women & Child Development as well as Health & Family Welfare; Department of Biotechnology; and the Indian Council of Medical Research will also be working with the Panel.

Micronutrient Malnutrition Disorders are ubiquitously prevalent in all age groups of the population. According to National Family Health Survey (2006-07) and the World Bank (2006), about 70% preschool children suffer from iron deficiency anaemia and 57% preschool children have sub-clinical Vitamin A deficiency respectively. Further, as per the World Bank (2006), Iodine deficiency is endemic in 85 per cent of districts. Moreover, folate deficiency which leads to Neural Tube Defects (NTDS) are the most common congenital malformation in Indian context with an incidence that varies between 0.5-8/1000 births. It is estimated that 50-70% of these birth defects are preventable.

FSSAI being the standard setting and regulatory body has taken a step in public health domain to address these and other vitamin deficiency-related Malnutrition Disorders through fortification of food. 

It may be noted that FSSAI had earlier brought out Draft Regulations for fortified food namely “Food Safety and Standards (Fortification of Food) Regulations, 2016 which were operationalized at the National Summit on Food Fortification held in mid-October, 2016. Based on the comments received on the draft Regulations, the Panel will finalize the Regulations. As a consequence of the National Summit, FSSAI has launched the Food Fortification Resource Centre (FFRC) to promote large-scale fortification of food across India. An online portal of FFRC to nudge and facilitate food businesses and bring fortified foods into Government programs was launched on November 17, 2016 in the presence of Mr. Bill Gates.

Meanwhile, four Zonal Consultations for States/UTs covering Northern region at Delhi, Western region at Bhopal, Eastern region at Bhubaneswar, Southern region at Bengaluru have been convened jointly with Ministry of Women and Child Development, other line Ministries/Departments and development partners such as Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN), World Food Programme (WFP), Micronutrient Initiative (MI) along with continued engagement with staple food manufacturers. The fifth Consultation with the North Eastern region is scheduled for February 15, 2017 at Guwahati.

FSSAI anticipates that with an effective regulatory mechanism ensuring food safety and quality along with the continuous support of the Government and programme partners, stakeholders and the consumers, the problem of malnutrition in general and micronutrient malnutrition in particular would be overcome soon.”

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A small but clinically important trial of a new ultra-low dose four-in-one pill to treat high blood pressure is said to have produced remarkable results. Every patient on the pilot trial conducted by The George Institute for Global Health saw their blood levels drop to normal levels in just four weeks. The four medicines used in the pill are already in use.

Recognizing the need to check whether trial results were “too good to be true”, the researchers also completed a systematic review of past trials, including 36 trials with 47,500 patients testing single and dual quarter-dose therapy. This previous evidence also indicated little or no side effects with very low doses, and important benefits with three or four drug combinations.

According to Prof Clara Chow of the George Institute the results, published in The Lancet, were exciting but larger trials were still needed to see if these high rates could be maintained and repeated. Hypertension or high blood pressure affects about 119 million adults in India.

“Most people receive one medicine at a normal dose but that only controls blood pressure about half the time. In this small trial blood pressure control was achieved for everyone. Trials will now test whether this can be repeated and maintained long-term. “Minimising side effects is important for long-term treatments – we didn’t see any issues in this trial, as you would hope with very low dose therapy, but this is the area where more long-term research is most needed.

“We know that high blood pressure is a precursor to stroke, diabetes and heart attack. The need for even lower blood pressure levels has been widely accepted in the last few years. So, this could be an incredibly important step in helping to reduce the burden of disease globally,’’ Prof Clara said.

Over four weeks 18 patients in Sydney were either given a quadpill – a single capsule containing four of the most commonly used blood pressure-lowering drugs each at a quarter dose – or a placebo.  This was then repeated for a further four weeks with the patients swapping their course of treatment. Blood pressure levels were measured hourly over a 24-hour period at the end of each treatment, allowing researchers to significantly reduce the number of patients normally required in a clinical trial.

During trials 100 per cent of patients saw their blood levels drop below 140 over 90. Just 33 per cent of patients on the placebo achieved this rate. Also, none of the patients experienced side effects commonly associated with hypertension lowering drugs, which can vary from swollen ankles to kidney abnormalities depending on the type of class of the drug, the researchers have claimed.

Professor Chow said: “What makes these result every more exciting is that these four blood pressure medications are already in use. We are increasingly finding there are opportunities to treat many commons diseases hiding in plain sight. This ultimately means we will be able to deliver life changing medications much more quickly, and more affordably.”

Researchers at the George Institute are just about to commence a much larger trial into the “”quadpill”” which has been funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia.The project was funded by The National Heart Foundation of Australia and the University of Sydney. The project was started in January 2016 with an aim to investigate in a double blind randomised controlled trial whether initiating treatment with ultra-low dose quadruple combination therapy will low blood pressure more effective.

The George Institute India partners with over sixty national and international institutions such as the Public Health Foundation of India, the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, University of Hyderabad; and affiliations with University of Sydney, Oxford and Peking.”

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Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) would soon sign a contract to supply 73 Advanced Light Helicopters (ALH) to armed forces, HAL Chairman and Managing Director T. Suvarana Raju said at a press conference here on February 15. The contract is expected to be worth over Rs. 14,000 crore.The order for 106 HTT-40 to the IAF is also expected to be inked soon and it would be worth Rs. 4,770 crore, he said at the conference. HAL has already delivered 231 Advanced Light Helicopters to the armed forces since 2002. “”The indigenously designed and developed basic trainer aircraft has to complete stall and spin manouvre for certification. We plan to produce 100 of them initially,”” Mr. Raju said as the biennial Aero India 2017 entered its second day at Yelahanka Air Base. 

HAL is waiting for orders to supply its multirole Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) to the IAF and the army as the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) cleared 15 of them, including 10 to IAF and five to the Army. The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) has cleared the IAF order for an additional 83 Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas Mark-1A worth Rs 50,000 crore. “”The government has recently sanctioned Rs 1,000 crore to ramp up our production capacity for rolling out 16 Tejas fighters every year from eight currently,”” the HAL chief said.
In accordance with the agreement, the IAF and Indian Navy will each share 25 per cent of the investment while HAL will invest the remaining 50 per cent. The company has an order to produce and deliver 40 Tejas Mark-1 fighters to the IAF, including eight in the limited series production for IOC (initial operational clearance) and FOC (Final Operational Clearance).

Answering a question on the Government’s plan for giving a vigorous push to Make in India programme under which there are plans to produce a fighter jet in collaboration with global giants like Swedish SAAB, Lockheed Martin and Boeing, Mr. Raju said that as per the government’s thinking the Indian partner could be any entity other than HAL despite the fact that HAL has seven decades experience in the manufacture of jet fighters and their upgradation.”

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BANGALORE: In first official word on extending the range of supersonic BrahMos cruise missile, DRDO chief S. Christopher declared on February 15 that India was looking at increasing the range of BrahMos to 450 km from the present 290 kms. A test is likely to be conducted around March 10, he said.

Addressing a press conference on the second day of the ongoing Aero India 2017 at Yelahanka Air Base here, the DRDO chief further said that new blocks of BrahMos could have a range capability of 800 to 850 kms. He also disclosed that talks were on with Vietnam for sale of Akash and aircraft missile system. Also talks with other nations for Akash, BrahMos and Helina missiles were going on, he added. 

However, he denied any plans of extending the range of the Agni missile, which has a range above 5,000 km. The DRDO announcements come post- Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) developments as India became its member in June last year. The MTCR is an informal and voluntary partnership of countries to prevent the proliferation of missile and unmanned aerial vehicle technology capable of carrying above 500 kg payload for more than 300 km. It bans member countries to give such technology to countries outside the club. The range of the BrahMos missile, a joint venture of India and Russia, can be extended beyond the present 290 km.
The DRDO chief said that a change in the software will be needed, after which the missile (BrahMos) will be tested for an enhanced range of 450 km. “”We will tentatively test it around March 10,”” he said. Asked if India will also increase the range of the Agni V missile, Dr. Christopher said: “”We may not do it, because it can antagonise someone,”” he said without taking name of any country.”