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Mumbai school students are heading overseas

Exchange programmes are slowly becoming popular with school students and parents alike, widening their horizons and enhancing their cultural experience.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

Students these days have several things going for them – unconventional work options while they study, a multitude of courses to choose from, and most importantly, the opportunity to travel to foreign countries on short stints as exchange students.

Shubhra BharadwajIt is this last that is slowly picking up pace in our country – and Mumbai is particularly responsive to the trend of students travelling to distant shores to gain life experience and a chance to study other cultures up close. The Metrognome spoke to Ferriswheel’s founder Shubhra Bharadwaj (in pic on left) to gain more insights into the trend.

Excerpts from the interview:

What is the response from Mumbai students like, to the CEPs (Cultural Exchange Programmes)that you plan?

The response is phenomenal. We have used word of mouth as our marketing tool and it has offered extremely satisfying success on all fronts. Schools have supported us whole-heartedly and even the feedback from the people has been great.

Currently, students in Mumbai or any other part of India are not completely aware of such student exchange programes except the ones who have already gone on such programmes. We hope to create more awareness among kids, schools and parents about the benefits of our CEPs for children.

Can you describe the first CEP you planned? Which was the country the students visited?

This first International Children’s Festival was organised in 1996 where the children’s group was taken to Turkey to celebrate the National Children’s Day on April 23. It is the Ferriswheel Youth Ensemble presents- Ticket To Bollywood (5)world’s largest children’s festival that has seen participation from over 30,000 children from 116 different countries since its inception by Kamal Ataturk. Each year close to 50 countries participate in this festival. The gala performance is and was telecast live on all Turkish channels.

The prestigious event bestowed the honour and privilege on individually selected Indian children representing the team, to meet the Prime Minister and President of Turkey, the Honourable Mayor and Governor of Gaziantep, as well the Head of Turkish Parliament, a moment of pride for India.

So children also get to meet heads of State in the countries they visit?

Every time we travel under our CEPs, the children are taken to meet various dignitaries like the Governor and the Mayor of the host city and other heads of States. Every year one child from each participating country is chosen to meet the Prime Minister and President of the host state and is flown in a chartered aircraft. The event gets covered by the local press and media followed by a special dinner for the children.

A few of the heads that we have met earlier through our CEPs are the Prime Minister of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdoðan, the President of Turkey, Abdullah Gül, the Mayor of Izmir city, Aziz Kocaoðlu and Governor of Izmir city, M Cahit KIRAÇ.

What do students and their parents look for in a programme of this sort?

They are looking for education through travel, friends, carnivals, different cultures, sports, fun and international exposure. These exchange programmes are short dream lives that children and youth experience towards a future that is wholesome, open-minded and confident. Children get the unique experience of living with the host families and experience their culture on a first-hand basis. More importantly, they get an opportunity to exhibit their culture and represent their country on an extremely prestigious platform.

The objective of every parent and every school is to provide a child with the experiences and tools to develop holistically and learn to be a ‘global citizen’. While parents look for learning and their child becoming more responsible, students look for it as an opportunity to meet children of different countries, broaden their horizons, learn to adapt to new cultures and having fun.

Ferriswheel Youth Ensemble presents- Ticket To Bollywood (2)Thus, such programmes help children develop holistically and learn to be ‘global citizens’. The child learns to be independent and confident, becomes responsible, overcomes prejudices and pre-conceived notions about people of different cultures, gets to intermingle and make friends with children from all across the world. Also, the cultural exchange programme certificate is a great addition to their resume as it helps them in admissions abroad.

Of all the States and cities in India, from where do you see maximum participation? 

We have a strong base in Gujarat and Mumbai for years and now we will be looking at operations pan India. We have a tie up with Italy, Turkey, USA, Canada, UK, Switzerland, Spain, Portugal, Czech Republic and France for the programme.

How are foreign students able to adjust to life in India?

We only take a group of children from India to International festivals across the globe. We do not invite their children over to our country. The reason why this programme is called Exchange Programme is that the children live with the host families and interact with many children from other countries.

Please describe an interesting incident from the CEPs, which has remained with you till date.

Ferriswheel Youth Ensemble was awarded the best performing group trophy at a prestigious International Youth Festival in Canada through public voting. Our Executive Producer, CEP, Sabeena Kapur fondly remembers her CEP trip to Taiwan. During that trip, the children were sharing their memorable moments with us and one of them went up to her with a handmade card that said, “I don’t miss home because of you and whenever I will celebrate Mother’s Day, I shall think of you.” We were truly touched.

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Mumbai gets laparoscopy-only surgical facility

The newly opened Khar-based centre will offer surgeries across many diverse specialities under one roof, and will use 3D technology.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

Laparoscopy is fast becoming the preferred option for surgery for several people; be in cancer or a simple cosmetic procedure, surgeons too, are looking for ways to use laparoscopy in their surgeries.

Mumbai recently got its own all-laparoscopy surgical facility at Khar. The Beams Hospital claims to be a pioneer in laparoscopic gyneac surgery, and was inaugurated by Niraj Manglam, CEO Beams Hospital  and founder of UK-based Nu Cosmetic Clinic, apart from Dr Mahesh Patwardhan, chief laparoscopic gyneac surgeon from London.

The center will deliver the entire gamut of services spanning across different specialties, including bariatric surgery, laparoscopic surgery, maternity, general surgery, gynecology, and cosmetic surgery. The facility has 18 boutique beds and is spanned over four floors, and includes three HDU/ICU beds.

The surgeries at the facility will be carried out using the 3D technology.

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Senior citizens will use NOTA option this election?

Associations of senior citizens threaten to tell their 1 crore members to exercise NOTA option if their demands are unmet.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

Though they are not considered to be a part of mainstream society – and hence, there are not many policies implemented or infrastructure devised to suit their needs – but when one thinks about it, senior citizens form a considerable part of the country’s population.

And if this population decides to hit back at the Government, there is the potential to do some serious harm.

NOTAKeeping this in mind, the office bearers of several notable senior citizen associations in the country recently met to press for long-pending demands. All India Senior Citizens Confederation (AISCCON), Federation of Senior Citizens Confederation of Maharashtra (FESCOM), Association of Senior Citizens Organisation of Pune (ASCOP), HelpAge India and the International Longevity Centre (ILC) were a part of the meeting.

“Seeing the apathy of the Government with regard to senior citizens’ issues, especially, with reference to the changing of the age definition of senior citizens from 60 to 65 years, a resolution was passed at this meeting. It was decided that 10 per cent of seniors would use the NOTA option for voting this election if their demand to lower this age limit is not met at the earliest,” said Anjali Raje, Executive Director, ILC.

She added, “When we realise that 10 per cent of the total population translates in to nearly 20 per cent of the voting population, this makes a big difference and when this big vote bank does not vote for any particular party, but uses the NOTA option, then the [political] parties would be the ones impacted.”

As per a resolution passed during the meeting, “The Government of Maharashtra has not allocated any amount in the State Budget for 2014-2015. The Action Group therefore recommends that 10 per cent of the total budget allocated to the Department of Social Justice, Government of Maharashtra, be spent for senior citizens.” If the Government fails to meet these demands, the Action Group will ask its members – numbering over 1 crore in the country – to exercise the NOTA option while casting their vote this election.
Do you think it is fair to influence members of senior citizen associations on the issue of casting their votes for political parties or using the NOTA option? Tell us in the comments section below.
(Picture courtesy www.thehindu.com, silverinnings.blogspot.com)
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IT, pharma, banking will generate more jobs in 2014

Survey says that IT will remain the biggest draw as the US economy recovers and American firms increase their spends.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

The job market slowed down considerably in 2013, but things are not so bleak in 2014. As per a survey by ASSOCHAM (Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry in India), Information Technology (IT), pharmaceuticals, agri-based industries, banking and agri-related industries such as farm equipment and fertilisers and seeds will remain the largest employment generation sectors in 2014.

“These sectors will stand out despite the fact that the present state of the economy, where in a large majority of sectors, net employment is being lost and does not support large scale employment,” the study said. But, thanks to the recovery in the US economy, IT will remain the net aggregator of jobs in 2014. The US economy is showing signs of improvement which was also reflected in the Federal Reserve announcing the tapering calendar of its USD 85 billion a month bond-buying programme.

A large number of American firms are expected to increase their IT spend as consumer sales pick up there. Over 60 per cent of the India’s 75 billion software and service exports are dependent on the US market.

The other reason for the IT sector to stay fit and keep hiring is the continuous pressure on Indian currency, which results in their net income rising.

But the pace of hiring may, however, not be strong since the haze of uncertainty still remains, forcing company promoters to remain conservative in adding to the headcount. Top end IT firms and consulting firms will remain active in campus recruitments in the year 2014. Over and above the recruitment at the freshers’ level, the IT sector will see a lot of hiring and the professionals moving in and out as the top-end firms want to build capabilities to move up the value chain in the wake of rising competition in low-end services, though the sales volume would continue to come from this segment.

“Since our economy still remains a good mix of organised and unorganised, large corporates and small enterprises, a large number of people in rural India dependent on agriculture and the tertiary industries,  there are inherent and inbuilt strengths which come handy when the chips are down,” ASSOCHAM president Rana Kapoor said.

Pharmaceutical is an ever-green sector and is least affected by the economic downturns since it is related to the healthcare.  While people may cut their budget on nutritional segments, they need to spend anyhow on basic healthcare.

The Indian pharmaceutical industry, largely thriving on the generic segment, is well spread out in India and abroad, deriving sales from all over the world. This sector will continue to hire. However, because of some setbacks and tightening regulations in the US and some other markets, the companies will have to invest more in improving their manufacturing and R&D facilities making them at par with the global standards. The recruitment from the pharmaceuticals sector would remain active, though the aggregate number would be much smaller than the IT sector.

Banks, particularly in the public sector have found that 2013 has been one of the most challenging years for them. The non-performing assets have zoomed with the Reserve Bank and the Finance Ministry raising serious concerns over the high level of stressed assets. However, the year 2014 is expected to be a better year for the banking. The NPAs would be reduced since the focus is very much there on the issue and there are signs of recovery in some segments of the economy. Besides, a huge number of backlog vacancies have to be filled up in the public sector banks.

For the private sector, new licences likely to be given before April , will throw new opportunities. While the new banks will leverage technology, job opportunities will arise both in the brick and mortar as also in development and implementation of the technology solutions.

(Picture courtesy www.expatica.com)

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Medical Association debunks harmful cell radiation theory

Is radiation from cell phone towers harmful or not? Indian Medical Association says the Sun causes more harm to humans.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

The clamour against cell phone towers in residential areas, and worse, atop residential buildings, is growing louder by the day. Activists are up in arms against cell phone towers, citing harmful cancer-causing radiation and a spate of other illnesses in humans.

However, the Indian Medical Assocation’s (IMA) West branch yesterday declared that the fear over harmful effects and health hazards from these radiations and emissions is “an unwanted and unfounded one.”

cell phone towersThe IMA Mumbai West addressed a press conference in Mumbai, during which doctors declared that “cell tower radiation is lower compared to RF emissions from radio FM and television, and is not hazardous to human health as has been perceived so far in some quarters.” Dr SK Joshi, President, IMA Mumbai West, said, “Radiations from the mobile towers poses no threat to health or cause cancer, as is commonly believed. There are no empirical findings to establish that mobile tower radiation causes cancer or any such diseases. Radio and TV have been in operation for over 50 years without any known health consequences. Cell tower radiation is lower compared to RF emissions from FM radio and television, hence it is not alarming. The radiation emitted is just too weak to be harmful. Across the globe, these emissions are monitored by UN bodies like World Health Organization (WHO), which comes out with fact sheets from time to time.”

He added, “We understand that the emission levels are prescribed and monitored by WHO in consultation with other UN bodies like International Telecommunications Union (ITU) and an academic body of physicists, International Commission for Non Ionising Radiation Protection (ICNIRP). The Government of each country adopts these standards to the best of their knowledge addressing public health concerns. These organisations monitor the situation across the globe in this sector and come out with fact sheets and advisories from time to time.

“A person absorbs five times more RF from FM radio and television than the base station tower. Radiation from mobile towers has also been found safe internationally and if the Government of India-prescribed levels of radiation limits are observed, then the fear of health hazards from radiation of mobile towers is merely hysteria.”

Other doctors explained that cancer, of the kind mediated by radiation, is known to be caused by mutations in the cell-division machinery—a clear bond breaking process—which results in uncontrolled multiplication of the cells. X-rays are well known to cause such mutations, which is why X-ray technicians are required to wear lead aprons. UV rays from the sun, those which are not stopped by the ozone layer, can cause skin cancers in people who do not have enough pigmentation to block them. “Any electromagnetic wave whose frequency is smaller — such as infra-red, microwave, radio waves, and the typical cell tower waves (900 MHz) used for cell phones – do not have enough energy to cause a mutation in our DNA. The AIIMS building (in Delhi) itself has cell phone towers, which clearly proves that the medical community trusts the WHO-prescribed emission levels. Though only a few epidemiological studies have been conducted, it has found no evidence of cancers in children,” Dr Joshi said.

“Radiation emitted by the Sun is thousand times stronger than ones emitted by a tower. A microwave oven heats up the food inside by bombarding it with microwave photons. The energy inside an oven in one second is multiple times stronger than the cell phone tower emissions. When people are comfortable with such ovens, then they should not have fears about telecom tower emissions,” he added.

(Pictures courtesy IMA Mumbai West and www.dnaindia.com)

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Four Campa Cola residents go on hunger strike

Campa Cola building society is about a week from demolition; residents want CM Prithviraj Chavan to intervene in the matter.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

With just one week to go before the demolition of their homes, four Campa Cola residents today went on an indefinite hunger strike till Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan intervenes to save them from being homeless.

The Campa Cola demolition issue is about to take centrestage once again as the demolition date nears. The apartments were constructed on land leased to Pure Drinks Ltd in 1955, which was permitted by the BMC in 1980 to develop it for residential purposes. Without getting the plans approved, Pure Drinks, along with builders Yusuf Patel, BK Gupta and PSB Construction Co. erected seven buildings, two of which were high-rise buildings of 17 and 20 stories. During the construction period, the authorities issued notices to the builders to stop work. The builders were fined and they paid the penalty and resumed work. After the construction was completed nobody prevented the buyers from occupying their apartments or the buildings from forming co-operative housing societies.

Four Campa Cola residents go on hunger strike

Unaware of these violations, the residents bought the apartments believing that they would get the occupation certificates in due course, as was the norm 25 years ago. Since 2005 the residents have been in litigation with B.M.C. trying to defend their homes and save their families from being thrown on the streets.

The four residents who are on hunger strike are Kamal Parikh, (42), Surendra Kumar Daga (49), Vinaychand Hirawat (67) and Kapoorchand Daga (67). The residents have also requested CM Chavan to intervene in the matter and come up with a solution to save the homes and lives of hundreds of residents.

Vinaychand Hirawat said, “So far the Chief Minister has been very cooperative with us and everyone here is expecting a positive response from him. We have taken this drastic step as we do not have much time and we don’t know what lies in store for us. As days are passing by, our fear and heartbeats are rising. We are unable to sleep and neither we are able to concentrate on our daily routine work. This is our last attempt to save our homes.”

Apart from these four residents who are on a hunger strike, other residents are planning a one day relay hunger strike.

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