Please see important news items below, normally do not appear in News Dailies.
Source: SAMVAD - Indraprasta (Delhi) 1 & 16 Aug 2009.
1. RSS SERVICE PROJECTS EXPAND MANIFOLD: The service projects being run by RSS swayamsevaks across the country under different banners have registered a phenomenal growth , the total number of projects touching 1,57,776 as on March 31. It include 59,498 projects of education, 38,582 projects of health, 42,304 projects of social and 17,392 projects of self-reliance.
According to the latest edition of Seva Disha 2009, the report of RSS service activities published from Pune after every five years, a total of 59,076 service projects are run by Rashtriya Sewa Bharati, 13,969 projects by Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram, 72,370 by Vishwa Hindu Parishad, 461 by Rashtra Sevika Samiti, 9,682 by Vidya Bharati, 1,000 by Deendayal Research Institute and 168 projects are run by Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad.
Seva Disha 2009, published on the occasion of annual meeting of Prant Pracharaks in Merath, also highlighted some remarkable features of the growth of social service projects. The service activities have grown by more than one lakh as compared to 2004. The Arogya Rakshak scheme being run in remote villages of various states specially in North-Eastern states, the 'Bal Gokulam' of Kerala, the 'Char Sutri Dhan' scheme of Maharashtra, the self-help groups of Tamil Nadu, projects for 'street children' in Delhi and other metros, the 'education for child labour project' in Andhra Pradesh, are but sample examples of the all encompassing initiatives of swayamsevaks in social service field. The complete issue of Seva Disha 2009 will be available on RSS website (www..rssonnet..org) shortly.
2. BHARAT'S FIRST NUCLEAR SUBMARINE LAUNCHED: Bharat on June 26 joined a select group of five nations, the other countries being US, Russia, China, France and Britain, with the launching of country's first indigenously designed and built nuclear-powered attack submarine, INS Arihant. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh described it as a 'historic milestone' in the country's defence preparedness.
He congratulated the Advanced Technology Vehicle (ATV) Programme and the people associated with it for designing and building the nuclear submarine, which he said was a reflection of the 'immense technical expertise' and the strength of the research and development organizations in the country.
The submarine will be commissioned in the Bharatiya Navy after extensive outfitting and sea trials. It is the first of three such vessels to be built in the country and marks a quantum leap in Bharat's shipbuilding capabilities. Bharatiya Navy will also get a Russian-built Akula class nuclear submarine INS Chakra, expected to be commissioned by this year-end.
3. 'TURMERIC IS RECEIVING ATTENTION FOR MEDICAL APPLICATIONS': Modern science has substantiated what grandma always knew: the extraordinary healing power of turmeric. A team of scientists led by Ayyalusamy
Ramamoorthy , an IIT Kanpur alumnus and a Professor of Chemistry and Biophysics at the University of Michigan, has deciphered the exact functioning of curcumin, a major ingredient of turmeric powder, in curing wounds, infections and other health problems. "Curcumin could be used as a supplement to boost health. However, more studies are essential to completely understand how it can be used to treat ageing-related diseases like type-2 diabetes and Alzheimer's disease, cancer and bacterial and viral infections. Some research along these lines is already in progress in our laboratory." He said.
4. BRITISH COUNCIL TO OUTSOURCE JOBS TO BHARAT: As the Gordon Brown government mulls outsourcing over 100 jobs at the British Council to Bharat as part of its cost-cutting drive, government employees' unions have denounced the move as an "absolute disgrace" and feared that it could be a blueprint for shifting more such services abroad.
The Council, which promotes British culture and language abroad, said that 500 of its 1,300 British workers would have to go in the next 18 months to save 45 million pounds.
More than a fifth of these posts are to be filled in Bharat and the body plans to bring some of the Bharatiya recruits over to "shadow" finance staff in Manchester .
The Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS), which represents civil servants, opposed the Council's decision saying it was against Brown's stated principle of "British jobs for British people" and could not be justified during a recession.
5. EMOTIONS RULE AS KARGIL BRAVES ARE REMEMBERED: Tears rolled down the faces of family members of the fallen soldiers of Kargil war at the sight of memorials for their loved ones who helped trounce the Pakistani Army 10 years ago while colleagues and superiors paid emotional tributes to the heroes.
"Looking at the faces of the brave soldiers, kin of martyrs and awardees, I wonder what these heroes are made of? "Former Army chief VP Malik, who commanded the force during the Kargil conflict, said while dedicating a war memorial gallery in Drass named after Paramvir Chakra awardee Capt Manoj Panday on July 25.
"After the demise of my son it is the only happy day of my life. I am thankful that my son is finally recognised and remembered," said S P Kalia, father of Lt Saurabh Kalia who was among the first casualties of the Kargil conflict and was captured and brutally tortured by the Pakistani forces
6. IVHP ADOPTS STREET CHILDREN: Indraprastha Vishwa Hindu Parishad (IVHP) adopted 25 street children from various slums of Delhi for providing free education, health and for all-round development. Most of the children belong to the families where parents are suffering from leprosy for a long time. About half a dozen children are from the families of Dadiya Luhar who are said to be the ancestors of the great emperor Maharana Pratap.
Blessing the children at Saraswati Bal Mandir, Nehru Nagar, social worker and director of an orphanage home Sadhvi Samta Shri said we feel proud when a child picked up from streets performs with flying colours. I am confident that the children would become educationally, culturally and physically sound, she added.
7. BHARAT CAN MAKE N-POWERED AIRCRAFT CARRIER: Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) chairman Anil Kakodkar has said that Bharat is capable of designing and developing nuclear-powered aircraft carriers. He was speaking to reporters after delivering the 15th Lalit Doshi Memorial Lecture on 'Nuclear Energy in Bharat: Way Ahead' in Mumbai on August 3. Asked whether Bharat has such capability, he said, ''Yes.''
A legislation is being planned on nuclear liabilities keeping in mind the growth of N-commerce, the AEC chief said. During the lecture, Kakodkar said AEC was ''close to the launch of the construction of the 300-MW advanced heavy water reactor. The reactor with a design life of 100 years will receive 65% of its power from thorium.'' Highlighting the importance of Indo-US nuclear deal and stating that the availability of uranium is limited, he said, ''the situation is getting precarious. Thorium will be available for two centuries.''
''We're planning power parks consisting of six to eight units of light water reactors. Bharat has set an ambitious target of generating 40,000 mw of nuclear power by 2020,'' he said.
8. IIIrd BASE AT ANTARCTICA: BHARAT TO JOIN ELITE CLUB: Twenty-five years after it established Dakshin Gangotri, the first permanent research station in the South Polar region, Bharat is all set to build the third such centre in Antarctica to take up cutting-edge research in various fields.
The new station, tentatively named Bharti, is scheduled to be operational by 2012, making Bharat a member of an elite group of nine nations that have multiple stations in the region.
Dakshin Gangotri, set up in 1984, was buried in ice and had to be abandoned in 1990, a year after Bharat set up Maitri, the second station. The National Centre for Antarctic & Ocean Research (NCAOR), Goa , will set up the new station on Larsmann Hill, 3,000 km from Schirmacher Oasis, where Maitri stands. While Maitri was more than 100 km from the Antarctic Sea , Bharti will be on a promontory by the sea. Bharat was admitted to the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR), an international body that coordinates scientific activities in the region, on Oct 1, 1984. Bharat holds the vice-chairman's post in the panel. Argentina , Australia , Chile , China , France , Russia , the UK and US have multiple stations in Antarctica .
9. RENEWABLE ENERGY PUSH: SOLAR PANELS TO LINE BORDER IN KUTCH: Until now, the only thing shining in the Rann of Kutch was a mirage. Now, the scorching sun could light up another sparkling ring along the inhospitable border with Pakistan , if a Rs 61,019 crore dream comes true. And, it won't be an illusion, but real mirrors..
With about 45 investment promises lined up in solar energy sector, Gujarat plans to promote the desert as a hub for renewable energy.
Gujarat has decided to allocate 1,500 hectares of land in the desert and a small stretch in Santalpur in Bankaskantha district. The Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation will create infrastructure for the ambitious ` Solar Park '.
Projects with 716MW of solar power capacity have been allotted to 34 national and international project developers, including PLG Power, Lanco Solar, Moser Baer, Solar Semi Conductor, AES Solar, Astonfield, Torrent Power, Adani Power, Abengoa, Electrotherm, Welspun, and NTPC. Put together, these projects will see investment worth Rs 12,000 crore over the next few years. US-based AES Corporation is mulling to set up the world's largest solar project in the state by 2010.
10. INDUS SCRIPT MAY SOON GIVE UP ITS SECRETS: Bharatiya and American researchers are close to breaking the code behind the script of the Indus Valley civilization, which flourished on the Bharat-Pakistan border 4,000 years ago.
The script, found as inscriptions on numerous objects dating from that period, has puzzled archaeologists ever since Harappa was discovered in 1842.
A study, a joint effort of Mumbai's Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Chennai's Institute of Mathematical Sciences and the University of Washington , was published this week in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
It says there are distinct patterns in the hieroglyphics used by the script, and creates a statistical model for the unknown language..
"The model provides insights into the underlying grammatical structure of the script," said lead author Rajesh Rao, associate professor of computer science, University of Washington .
11. TEACHING BHARATANATYAM IN PAKISTAN : For the last five decades, 80-year-old Indu Mitha has been teaching the beautiful and deeply religious Bharatanatyam dance to Pakistanis. Dance, it seems, can cross cultural and religious boundaries.
Teaching traditional Bharatiya dance in Pakistan required a delicate balancing act, which she successfully performed along her dance steps. Dance was considered "haraam" - or un Islamic - during the tenure of President Zia ul Haq, when a "no objection certificate" was needed for every performance. (Courtesy: Hindu Press International)
12. DURGA VAHINI ACTIVISTS TIE RAKHI TO SOLDIERS AT WAGAH AND POONCH BORDERS: Durga Vahini activists tied rakhi to the soldiers at Wagha border in Punjab and Poonch border in Jammu & Kashmir which boosted the morale of the soldiers. When some of the soldiers tried to give some money to the activists they said, "We want united Bharat, not this money. Only you soldiers can do it." The 30 member-delegation of Durga Vahini visited Wagah border on July 31 and Poonch border on August 3. After tying rakhi to the soldiers they also visited Budha Amarnath and prayed Lord Shiva to protect the Bharatiya borders. This delegation returned to Delhi on August 6 and tied rakhi to the Delhi police constables and officials in some Police Stations.
JAI BHARAT
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