PMC Budget 2015: No provision for counselling civic school students

In the 300-odd PMC schools across the city, there are 55 counsellors helping nearly one lakh 60,000 students. But the fate of counselling seems to be uncertain as the PMC has not made any allowance in its proposed budget document for the next fiscal.

The Academy of Personality Development, an NGO that is also into counselling services, says that while successive PMC commissioners, including the present one, agreed on the need for counselling in schools, the budget proposal does not reflect this view.

Budget 2015: An opportunity to play a long-haul game

PTIUnion Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. File photo

On the corporate tax front, rationalisation of the corporate tax rate is of top priority.

The first full year budget of this government is awaited with bated breath. Expectations are higher than normal more so since there are reports that big-bang announcement are in the offing.

Get Budget 2015 SMS notifications on your mobile

New Delhi: As the Modi government unveils its first and highly anticipated annual budget 2015 on Saturday, stay completely updated on your mobile phone for the main highlights and key features. 

Just give a missed call on the number 011-3006 2696 to register yourself right away and on Saturday and we’ll send you the top 6 pointers via Twitter from the Budget as SMSes.

The free SMS service is an ABP News TV-Twitter Budget 2015 Partnership.

Stay connected with your favourite news network ABP News on TV and on social media networks as India will be looking forward to wide-ranging reforms that may be announced to revitalize the economy.
Source - abp live.

Problem & Proposed Solution - While processing accidental death claims troubles caused to the beneficiaries, especially widows.


Problem

1) While processing accidental death claims Insurance Companies request Post Mortem Report and Police FIR in addition to Death Certificate.
2) In addition to nominees, Insurance Companies request the legal heirs certificates
3) Identity of the Beneficiary. Slightly if the name is mis-spelled then Insurance Companies request village officer's certificate that both are one person itself.

Proposed Solution

We propose the following solutions to the above problems.

1) In the Death Certificate itself, the local body (Panchayat / Municipality / Corporation) shall be entering the cause of the death (Accident / Disease / Natural Death or whatever). In such a case, please do not trouble the claim seekers by asking for FIR & Post Mortem Report.
2) In the Death Certificate itself, the name of legal heirs shall be mentioned. In such cases, please do not ask for Legal heir certificate and trouble the widows / beneficiaries.
3) Now a days, every one has bank accounts. While the subscriber is alive itself, let us link the policy with the beneficiary's bank accounts. Then there is no confusion about who the beneficiary is.

Advantages of proposed solution:
1) By doing this we are averting the requirement of Police FIR, Post Mortem Report & Legal Heir certificate and Village officer's certificate if needed.2) If we reduce one document, then that much multiple visit and chances of bribery is reduced3) Insurance claim shall be made a simple easy process with little chance for being subject to extortion corruption. Claim can be processed before Cremation
Let us make India the first country in the world to process the accidental death claim in the fastest pace.

Source - Facebook - Aravind Gangadharan

My Story : I Wanted To Adopt A Child In India : This Is Everything I Learned..

Read how Rajeshwari Sharma traveled from being completely clueless to finally adopting a baby girl. With the never ending paper work, long wait lists and legal wrnagles, adoption in India is not as easy as it looks. Here is all you need to know about what might be one of the most trying but ultimately fulfilling time of your life.
“Meet the PAPs,” exclaimed our friend while introducing us to other guests at a charity dinner event hosted at a luxury hotel in Bandra. Within seconds, the grey cells were doing multiple somersaults to decode this new term the ears had just registered.
Even before I could grasp what was going on, our right hands went through at least a dozen handshakes and congratulatory messages as my reaction went from startled, cringing to smiling shyly – all in the matter of a few minutes. At the first opportunity, I dragged this friend to a corner and demanded angrily to know what was PAPs? “Prospective adoptive parents, my dear,” she exclaimed with a wide grin and disappeared into the gathering.
indiapotty
Photo: heartofthematterseminars.wordpress.com
I nearly had a panic attack. We were still not sure if we wanted a baby at all – whether through adoption or biological means (the idea of adopting a child had just stemmed in our mind as the ‘cynical us’ did not want to add another soul to this big, bad, overpopulated world. It was one of those thoughts we keep having like wanting to live in the hills or do farming). And here we were, being introduced as PAPs!

My first thought was, what if we do not adopt? What if we decide to be childless? Will we be castigated by the very same people, who are venerating us right now?

10888883_894080010616496_7339618523172809839_nPhoto: CSA Facebook
The next half hour was all about meeting at least five proud adoptive parents (APs, pronounced as apps), including our hosts parents Shibani and Vipul Prashad Jain, who are adoptive parents themselves and founders of a group called Catalysts for Social Action (CSA), a Pune-based NGO that helps find homes for rural orphans; the grand dame behind the cause, Bharati Das Gupta, one of the co-founders of CSA and grandmother to Jain’s adopted children; and well-known choreographer and adoptive parent Sandeep Soparrkar, who also happens to be CSA’s brand ambassador.

How Adoption Works:

Children (below 6 years) whose care-takers are unable to care for them can be relinquished at an Adoption agency after following due process. Likewise, a child found abandoned and whose caretakers cannot be traced, if eligible, can be declared ‘legally free for adoption’ by the Child Welfare Committee. A court-committed child can come into adoption through the Juvenile Welfare Board.
The flurry of introductions, congratulatory messages, stories of joy of parenthood and advice became so unbearable at one point of time that I unmindfully picked a glass of red wine from a passing steward. The husband gave me one of his cross-eyed looks, which I completely ignored. A Ninja fight was going on in my head, and wine would bring truce. If I could, I would have got myself into a medicated coma.
With the promise of taking the stage in next year’s charity dinner (adoptive parents under the tutelage of Soparrkar perform a dance repertoire at the charity event every year), we finally left the love fest, much later than we had initially planned for.

Life as a PAP is not an easy one. And it only gets more confusing if you are not totally sure if you want to be a parent in the first place.

15609_S_indian-baby.l
Photo: facenfacts.com
It is a bitter sweet time – rife with a lot of ifs and buts; introspection and more introspection, debate over preferred gender and the resulting charge of gender discrimination (later, during the course of adopting procedure, I was told by this agency in Nanded that our insistence for a baby girl is in a way discriminatory after we said no to an adoptable baby boy), multiple calls to social workers of adoption agency and friends who are adoptive parents, seeking the services of an adoption counsellor to counsel fuming parents (in my case, parents-in-law), whether to keep it private or share with friends and family as one would do for any life event and above all, dealing with adoption cynics and people in your lives, who equate parenthood with apocalypse.

In India, one can adopt under three key legislations:
The Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act of 1956
The Guardians and Wards Act of 1890 and
The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection) Act of 2000, amended in 2006
There are warm, gooey moments, too. We were pleasantly surprised by the support coming in from unexpected quarters, complete strangers (adoptive parents) opening their homes and hearts to us.

At times like these, it feels like all humanity is indeed one big family.
indian_orphans1

Photo: indiannewsandtimes.com
All adoptions in India are required to follow the procedure for in-country or inter-country adoption set out by the Central Adoption Resource Agency (CARA), which operates as part of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India.

Related Read: DCCW: A Cradle of Hope for Abandoned, Physically or Mentally Challenged Children


Although adopting looks like a seemingly simple procedure, yet it is wrought with often long waits as you have to complete a mountain of paperwork, cool your heels at numerous government offices for proofs that you are capable of taking care of a child, get a home study report that evaluates the conduciveness of the home environment, and wait in a serpentine queue of parents registered with adoption agencies that will match you with your child.

The last bit may sound confounding as we have millions of orphans in our country. True, but the number of adoptable (legally free to be adopted) children is extremely less.

INDIA_Children
Photo: Asianews.it
It’s been close to two years since we started the adoption procedure. But thanks to CSA, we were able to meet a baby girl and boy at a CARA-recognized children’s home in Nanded in less than two months of registering with CSA.
The process
Submission of documents (prescribed by CARA) validating the parents ability to care for a child.
An assessment of the capability of the prospective parents to look after an adopted child, by way of a home-study by a professional Social worker.
Selecting the child and taking her home under foster care.
Filing of the Court petition and scrutiny of the dossier by the Scrutiny Agency.

We traveled to the children’s home and came face to face with the reality of homeless children. The entire experience at the home was so emotionally overwhelming that we came back dumbfounded and without being able to make any decision.

Things remained in a limbo for a very long time and we went back to living our carefree lives. We even justified in our heads that we are better off without a child.
gypsy-orphans-indiaPhoto: heavenschildren.wordpress.com
However, in a recent turn of events, which is nothing short of a miracle, the parents-in-law took upon themselves the onus of bringing in an adopted grand-daughter. We are about to meet a baby girl again. Hopefully, this time we will graduate from being PAPs to parents (I don’t like the APs term. Parents are parents. Right?) and get introduced as “meet the parents”.
- Rajeshwari Sharma
Source - the better india

9 stories which the media has underplayed

1. Coal windfall: 2G was such a big scam that it made it to No. 2 in the list of Time magazine’s Top 10 Abuses of Power (only the Watergate scandal was ahead). Then the Coalgate scam was touted to be much bigger.

The Indian media rubbished the claim strongly. Now with the way coal auctions are going it is clear that the figure of Rs 2 lakh crore is conservative and the final amount will be much higher.

Three things are clear…

a) The governments of India are in for a windfall.



b) There was a whopping scam.

c) Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh who is Coal Minister is under a severe cloud.

This translates into banner headlines but for some strange reason the media is quite lukewarm about the whole affair.


2. Decline in Kashmir terrorism: Terrorism began in Kashmir in 1990 when for the first time more than 1000 people died in a year. That number kept going up and peaked in 2001 when the toll crossed 4000.

However then 9/11 happened and the tables were turned. More people started dying in Pakistan and less in Kashmir. In 2008 for the first time since 1990, less than 100 civilians and less than 100 security forces died.

Since 2011, the combined toll for civilians and security forces has been less than 100 every year. Kashmir is becoming more and more peaceful and the high turnout in the recently concluded State Assembly elections was an indication of that.


3. Sunanda Pushkar death case: In January 2014, Union Minister Shashi Tharoor’s wife Sunanda was involved in a Twitter spat with Pakistani journalist Mehr Tarar and frantically called journalists invoking both IPL and ISI conspiracies.

When she was found dead suspiciously in a hotel room soon after, the media curiously played down the story. They may have totallyoverplayed it in January 2015, but they underplayed it in January 2014 for reasons known best to them.



4. Mexico’s drug war: Everyone agrees that drugs are a menace and there should be a war against them. However there is one country that has declared war on the drug cartel. Way back in 2006. More than 10,000 cartel members have been killed, more than one lakh detained and the convictions have crossed 8000.

And yet many Indians are totally unaware that such a drug war is taking place.


5. Boko Haram: They have similar goals like the Islamic State and have been killing for ages too and yet they get very little media coverage. The biggest story was when they kidnapped schoolgirls, but otherwise their killings sprees don’t even make news let alone front page headlines.

Listed here are some of their activities: 10 deadly Boko Haram attacks. 



6. Death of nuclear scientists: After the high profile Indo-US nuclear which almost brought down a government and may have got Prime Minister Manmohan Singh re-elected in 2009, the nuclear scene went cold thanks to the liability clause.

But that wasn’t the only thing. Indian nuclear scientists also have been dying mysteriously in the last couple of years. It is a story worthy of investigative journalism, but it is only an RTI activist that brought this fact to light and that was merely reported by some media organizations.

No-one wants to probe this issue further.


7. West Bengal becoming a failed State: In the 1970s, the Congress cracked down on Naxalites and broke the State. The 34-year-old CPM rule derailed the State. Now Mamata Banerjee in charge is proving to be worse than the two.

Intolerance has increased, the Saradha scam has rocked the leadership and the amount of bombs being discovered is alarmingly high. While individual events are reported here and there, there is no comprehensive coverage on how West Bengal is on course to become the worst State of India.


8. The end of caste/religion politics: In 2013 Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Vasundhara Raje stormed the hustings based on a lot of development talk. You will hardly find talk of caste and religion in hundreds of election speeches of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Maharashtra, Haryana and Jharkhand were won on promises of good governance. Even Arvind Kejriwal talked of Wi-Fi, power, water, anti-corruption measures etc to storm Delhi. 2013 could well be a landmark year ending caste/religion politics.

But TV channels are still obsessed with caste and religion as headlines like “non-Jat CM” “Brahmin CM in Maratha bastion”, “minority vote” as the media insists on discussing caste and religion politics in detail even though nobody seems interested.


9. How Sonia destroyed India: From 2004-14, Congress President Sonia Gandhi ruled her party men and ministers with an iron fist. She was the power behind the PM’s throne. The period also saw a record number of scams, foreign policy weaknesses, vote seeking out and out populist schemes and lack of governance. 

Yet there were virtually no stories, investigative pieces and TV panel discussions even mildly criticizing her let alone blasting her.

By Sunil Rajguru

Source : SIFY

5 yoga poses every woman should practice


Android app on Google Play (large)

From a teenager to becoming a mother, menopause and old age women go through different phases of life with many bodily changes. The physical postures combined with the breathing techniques in yoga can offer women with many potential health benefits. In order to stay fit and flexible all the time, Danielle Collins, a face yoga expert who is also a believer and practitioner of yoga, Pilates and well being, lists out top 5 yoga poses that every woman should incorporate into her daily exercise regimen.



Android app on Google Play (large)

Getty Images

From a teenager to becoming a mother, menopause and old age women go through different phases of life with many bodily changes. The physical postures combined with the breathing techniques inyoga can offer women with many potentialhealth benefits. In order to stay fit and flexible all the time, Danielle Collins, a face yoga expert who is also a believer and practitioner of yoga, Pilates and well being, lists out top 5 yoga poses that every woman should incorporate into her daily exercise regimen.

I would recommend a balance pose, a twist pose, a forward bend/inversion pose, a back bend and a side bend for women.

Back bend: Camel pose


Android app on Google Play (large)


The camel pose is excellent for strengthening the spine, opening the chest and toning the thighs. If you spend a lot of time sat down, it is a great pose to move the spine in the opposite direction, therefore giving you better posture in everyday life. Only attempt the pose if you know your back is strong enough. Here are some more yoga asanas for upper body strength.

Side bend: Triangle pose


Android app on Google Play (large)



If you are keen to tone up your waist, have more flexible hamstrings and reduce tension in your shoulders, then add triangle pose to your daily routine. Hold on each side for five breaths or more and you will soon be enjoying a more streamlined, relaxed body. Also, read yoga asana for instant relief from backaches.

Balance pose: One leg standing balance

Android app on Google Play (large)


Balance is essential for good health. It takes practice but it is worth the effort. It can prevent falls, improve sporting performance and holding balance poses can improve core and lower body strength. Try focusing on one point in front of you tostablilise you and to allow you to hold the pose longer. To challenge yourself further, try closing one eye or both eyes. For an easier alternative, practise against a wall. Here are 4 yoga poses to beat menstrual pain that really work.

Twist pose: Sitting spinal twist

Android app on Google Play (large)


Bring yourself gently into the posture as shown in the picture. Then, slowly rotate your spine to look over the shoulder where the arm is behind the back. Think about lengthening the spine as well as twisting it. Hold here for five breaths and then repeat the other side. This pose is excellent for releasing any tension in the muscles in either side of the spine. It is also a great detox pose as it boosts blood circulation and helps the lymphatic system remove toxins. It is perfect to do the morning. Here are 7 yoga tips for a happy pregnancy.

Forward bend/inversion pose: Downward facing dog


Android app on Google Play (large)


Start on hands and knees, then lift your bottom into the air and tuck your toes under. Adjust your legs until comfortable and look towards your knees. If your legs are tight lift alternate heels up to release the hamstrings. This pose is one of the most common poses in yoga and is excellent for quickly releasing tight hamstrings, calves and back. Try these yoga asanas Yyoga asana for thighs, belly fat and buttocks
Android app on Google Play (large)



The author is the founder of The Danielle Collins Face Yoga Method. To know more about this method, visit www.faceyogaexpert.com

Source - Originally published on www.thehealthsite.com

At 750MW, Madhya Pradesh to get world’s largest solar power plant



BHOPAL: Next year on Independence Day, India will have the world's largest 750MW solar power plant in Rewa district of Madhya Pradesh, which will pip America's much-vaunted 550-megawatt Desert Sunlight solar project in California, commissioned four days ago. 

Acquisition of 1,500 hectares of land for the Rs 4000 crore project is close to completion and government agencies are likely to invite tenders from developers by April. The state government is setting up the plant in a joint venture with Solar Energy Corporation of India. 

Millions of Facebook users have no idea they’re using the internet

Using the internet or just Facebook?(Reuters/Jason Lee)
It was in Indonesia three years ago that Helani Galpaya first noticed the anomaly.

Indonesians surveyed by Galpaya told her that they didn’t use the internet. But in focus groups, they would talk enthusiastically about how much time they spent on Facebook. Galpaya, a researcher (and now CEO) with LIRNEasia, a think tank, called Rohan Samarajiva, her boss at the time, to tell him what she had discovered. “It seemed that in their minds, the Internet did not exist; only Facebook,” he concluded.

घरों की छत पर बनेगी 40 हजार मेगावॉट बिजली

नई दिल्ली [जयप्रकाश रंजन]। मोदी सरकार ने गैर पारंपरिक ऊर्जा क्षेत्र में अपनी सबसे महत्वाकांक्षी योजना के तहत सौर ऊर्जा से एक लाख मेगावॉट बिजली बनाने के लिए रोडमैप तैयार कर लिया है। इस योजना को अमली जामा पहनाने में आम जनता की भूमिका भी अहम होगी, क्योंकि इसमें से 40 हजार मेगावॉट बिजली घरों की छत पर सोलर पैनल लगा कर किया जाएगा। घरों में सोलर पैनल लगाने और उनकी मरम्मत वगैरह के लिए देश में पांच लाख युवाओं को विशेष तौर पर प्रशिक्षित भी किया जाएगा।
नवीन व नवीकरणीय ऊर्जा मंत्रालय के एक वरिष्ठ अधिकारी ने बताया कि एक लाख मेगावॉट सौर ऊर्जा बनाने का एक हिस्सा आम जनता की भागीदारी होगी। एक सोच यह है कि शहरी प्राधिकरणों की तरफ से आवास निर्माण के उन्हीं नक्शों को पास किया जाए, जिनके छतों पर सौर पैनल लगाने की भी व्यवस्था हो। इस बारे में केंद्र सरकार राज्यों के साथ बातचीत कर रही है। साथ ही पिछले गुरुवार को सरकार ने देश के 30 बैंको व वित्तीय संस्थानों से भी इस बारे में बात की गई है।
बैंकों से कहा गया है कि वे होम लोन के साथ घरों में सोलर पैनल लगाने की लागत के लिए भी कर्ज मुहैया कराएं। इन कदमों के बाद ही दूरदराज के इलाकों में भी सौर ऊर्जा की पहुंच हो सकेगी। उक्त अधिकारी के मुताबिक सौर ऊर्जा प्लांट के लिए जमीन का अधिग्रहण सबसे बड़ी चुनौती बन रही है। ऐसे में घरों के छत पर प्लांट लगाकर काफी दिक्कत दूर की जा सकती है। इसी तरह से सरकारी उपक्रमों, विभागों, सेना की खाली पड़ी जमीन पर सोलर प्लांट लगाकर 20 हजार मेगावॉट बिजली बनाई जा सकती है।
अक्षय उर्जा के क्षेत्र में निवेश से दूर होगा भारत के गांवों का अंधेरा: मोदी
इसके लिए भी राज्यों को मदद करनी होगी। केंद्र चाहता है कि राज्यों के साथ मिलकर खाली पड़ी जमीनों का चुनाव किया जाए। यह काम छह महीने में पूरा कर लिया जाएगा। शेष बचे 40 हजार मेगावॉट के लिए जमीन अधिग्रहीत करने की जरूरत होगी। इसमें से 25 हजार मेगावॉट के सोलर पार्क बनाने के प्रस्ताव को पहले ही केंद्र मंजूरी दे चुका है।
एक लाख मेगावॉट क्षमता जोड़ने की तैयारी से देश में पांच लाख लोगों के लिए रोजगार के अवसर भी पैदा होंगे। घरों में सोलर पैनल लगााने, उनकी मरम्मत करने के लिए आइटीआइ कर चुके युवाओं को विशेष तौर पर प्रशिक्षण दिया जाएगा। जिस तरह से देश में केबल नेटवर्क ने बड़ी संख्या में रोजगार के अवसर उपलब्ध कराए थे, उसी तरह का काम सौर ऊर्जा में भी होगा।