Monday, June 22, 2015

In India’s largest Muslim ghetto

Uprooted from Mumbai after the 1992-93 riots, thousands of Muslim families found safety in Mumbra on the city’s outskirts. Visiting it over a few days, Basharat Peer discovered islands of progress amid large seas of neglect in the township that nine lakh people call home

On a recent afternoon, after a two-hour drive out of Mumbai, I followed a highway hugging the low hills of Mumbra, north-east of the city, near the Thane creek. As the road forked downhill, hundreds of grimy, teetering buildings stacked like tattered books in a neglected public library were the first glimpse intimation of Mumbra, India’s largest Muslim ghetto. Despite the heat, young boys played cricket in a clearing by a graveyard. A chaotic medley of vehicles choked the main street leading into the Kausa area of the ghetto.
Mumbra expanded with great velocity in the aftermath of the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya. The Bombay riots of December 1992, which overwhelmingly killed Bombay Muslims, and the retaliatory bomb blasts in January 1993 by the Muslim underworld, reconfigured the social geography of the city. Bombay Muslims from riot-hit areas sought safety in numbers and found it in Mumbra, where Muslims from the Konkani coast had a long-standing presence. Through a combination of the desire for safety among Muslims, the relatively cheaper price of apartments, and continued rural-urban migration, Mumbra’s population grew 20 times from about 45,000 before the 1992 riots to more than 9,00,000 in the 2011 Census — possibly one of the fastest expansions of an urban area in India.
"Not Bombay, a village"
Assadullah Khan, an electrical engineer in his late 40s, was among the first groups of people who moved to Mumbra from Mumbai after the 1992-1993 violence. Mr. Khan was living in Kannua Nagar in the suburb of Vikhroli, a mixed neighbourhood, where Hindus and a smaller number of Muslims lived together without incident. Mr. Khan, who also gave part-time tuitions to students, was the only Muslim in his building. After the riots, most of his Muslim neighbours began to migrate to areas with a heavier concentration of their co-religionists. Mr. Khan was weighing his options.
A female neighbour warned him. “You should leave now,” she said. “Things are going to get worse.” He moved his wife and children to his in-laws’ house overnight. “A little later, I sold my apartment for much less than it would fetch on the market,” Mr. Khan told me. The market for distress sales was booming.
Mr. Khan found shelter in his brother-in-law’s apartment in Mumbra. “We then bought an apartment of our own and have lived here since,” he said. Thousands followed him, from Bhandup, Vikhroli, Ghatkopar, Behram Baug, and Walkeshwar. Uprooted from the charred geography of the city, they converted a semi-rural backwater into a promised land.
The Maharashtra and central governments, which had watched impassively through the riots, left the migrants to their own devices, but Mumbra grew. Power and water supply was feeble. There was little public infrastructure. The crisis provided a business opportunity for Mumbra builders; they set out to build illegal and substandard apartment blocks, which were (and still are) a lot cheaper by Mumbai standards. In the early 90s, an illegally built two-bedroom apartment in Mumbra would sell for around Rs. 2 lakh. “Most of the buildings are illegal,” a builder told me. “Today, an illegally built three bedroom costs Rs. 8-10 lakh. If I built that legally, it would cost Rs. 25-30 lakh.” Mumbra is a mixture of middle, lower-middle, and working class Muslims, but the majority are from the lower-middle and working classes. “Most people here couldn’t afford the legal market prices,” he said.
The poor building quality exacted a terrible cost in 2013 when a building collapse killed more than 70 people. It did not deter new arrivals. Rafiuddin Khan, a retired teacher in his 70s, lived most of his life in a tenement near Mohammad Ali Road — one of the oldest Muslim majority areas in Mumbai. “Our area was safe but I was tired of living with a growing family in two rooms,” he said. He sold his chawl; it fetched enough money to buy an apartment in a Mumbra apartment block. “It is a lot more space than we had in Bombay,” he said. He paused for a while, as if reimagining the vistas of his earlier life in the middle of the bustling metropolis. The ease of travel and the proximity to major public hospitals, schools, and colleges was missing in Mumbra. A journey to the city in a sardined local train took about an hour and half. “It is not Bombay, it is a village.”
Desire for upward mobility
The signs of aspiration are seen in the names of apartment blocks: Shimla Park, M.M. Valley, and Wafa Park. The impatience with the status quo and the desire for upward mobility screams from roadside billboards advertising the achievements of Mumbra boys and girls in coaching classes and private schools. A higher secondary level school, Al Hidayah School, has advertised with a collage of smiling student photographs and the percentages of their Senior Secondary School marks. There was pride in that data: Out of 24 students, 9 have secured above 75 per cent and 14 between 60 per cent and 70 per cent. Meanwhile, Shoeb Junior College simply said: 89.16 per cent success.
“When we moved here, we clearly felt the absence of things we were used to in the city,” said Mr. Khan, the engineer. The ghetto had a few government schools, which were abysmally overcrowded and lacked infrastructure. Mr. Khan gave up engineering and set up a tuition centre, Unique Classes. When an old Sikh family, which had run a private high school in Mumbra decided to sell the school, Mr. Khan bought it, renaming it Assadullah Khan English High School and Junior College. It already has 1,400 students. “We are trying to fill the gaps ourselves,” he said. Despite having around a million residents, the Maharashtra government has not set up a single public college in Mumbra.
Beyond the doors of the ghetto, a Mumbra address often carries a degree of prejudice and suspicion. A lawyer spoke of trying to buy an Idea Internet dongle at a Thane shop and being turned away; an Urdu publisher spoke of waiting months to get a landline and broadband connection from BSNL. A few weeks ago, a private school in Panvel, a suburb 24 kilometres from Mumbra, decided to ban admissions of students from the ghetto, claiming that they behave badly. Waris Pathan, the Byculla area legislator from Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen, led a protest against the school administration, which eventually revoked its decision.
Neglect and discrimination
One evening, I met Nazim Qazi, a sanitation officer with Thane Municipality. Before moving to Mumbra, when his wife, a schoolteacher, got a job in the area, he lived in Andheri and Thane, working as a freelance Hindi journalist, writing about cinema and the underworld — the two great Bombay themes. He gave it up for a more stable income at Thane Municipality.
Mr. Qazi lived in a relatively spacious, meticulously neat two-bedroom apartment with his wife, son, and two daughters. He saw certain benefits in living in Mumbra. “Women can walk around anytime and nobody will bother them. We have been here since 1999 and we sleep in peace, without any fear of riots or disturbances.” He loved hearing the azaan, the call for prayer, five times a day. “It has been easy to raise my children with Muslim values here,” he said.
As we spoke, Shehzad Faisal Qazi, his 20-year-old son, who has a mechanical engineering degree from Anjuman-I-Islam College, a minority institution in Panvel, joined us. A fashionable young man with rimless glasses, Mr. Faisal had recently returned from Coimbatore, where he and his college mates had won several top positions in a Go-Kart design competition. They were trying to patent an anti-skid mechanism for cars. He was about to leave for New Delhi to take classes for the Indian Administrative Services examination.
Along with the strivings, a sense of neglect and discrimination pervades Mumbra, which does not have a single public hospital. The nearest public hospitals are in Kalua and Thane. Several clinics and rudimentary private hospitals have come up. Mumbra goes without electricity for at least six hours everyday. “We are No. 1 in load-shedding,” Mr. Qazi laughed. “But things are a lot better compared to even five years ago.”
The evidence of incremental progress was visible in Mumbra. Some streets had been paved with tar. State Bank of India, HDFC, and Bank of Maharashtra had opened branches or ATMs. A Domino’s Pizza outlet opened last year. The absence of banking facilities or companies denying home delivery of products has, for years, been the standard attitude towards India’s Muslim ghettoes. Barely an hour from the Indian Parliament, the Okhla Muslim ghetto in New Delhi did not have a single bank despite a population of several lakh. Two years ago, Jammu and Kashmir Bank opened a branch in Zakir Nagar. Juhapura, the Ahmedabad ghetto, whose population doubled after the 2002 riots, still does not get piped water or gas, and remains excluded from Ahmedabad’s vaunted public transport network.
Run-ins with police
Mumbra also lives with a hostile relationship with the police. It was home to Ishrat Jahan, who was killed along with three other men by the Gujarat police. The Central Bureau of Investigation later described the killings as a “fake encounter”. Taunts of being a safe house for terrorists are often thrown at Mumbra. Last March, several hundered policemen raided Mumbra one and a half hours after midnight. A video recorded by a local journalist shows scores of men being paraded through dark streets by the police, bundled into police vans, and held for hours in Mumbra police station. Around 80 people, including young students, poets and old men were arrested. The police claimed to be looking for two petty thieves wanted for chain-snatching.
One afternoon, I met Ishrat Jahan’s family in Mumbra. They continue to litigate and fight the everyday battles of existence on the periphery. Ishrat’s sister Musarat Jahan recently completed her B.A. in Psychology through a correspondence course, but her mother, Shamima Kausar, is too scarred to let her step out and seek work. “I can’t trust the world anymore,” said Ms. Kausar. Yet, there are bills to pay. Ishrat’s brother Anwar Iqbal used to do odd jobs to support the family. Initially, he was denied employment because he was Ishrat’s brother, but he persisted and found work at a BPO in Thane. “It is an American company,” said Ms. Jahan. “He doesn’t make calls, he does data entry.”

Students of Trinity College of Engineering, Kerala are developing TASSAT


  • By Kaustubh Katdare, June 19, 2015 at 9:33 AM
    Engineering students at the Trinity College of Engineering, Thiruvananthapuram have taken up an innovative project - to develop a student satellite called TASSAT. The TASSAT stands for Trinity Adrak Student Satellite; with Oman based company 'Al Adrak' as the main sponsor of the project. The student-professor team is aiming to complete the project with a functional prototype by 2018. As the final year students working on the project graduate, the team will include juniors from the college to keep the team size intact.

    The city of Thiruvananthapuram has several divisions of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) along with the Vikram Sarabhai Space Center which is responsible for launching majority of the ambitious ISRO missions. This apparently has influenced the local engineering talent. Arun Surendran, the strategic director of Trinity College said that they visited Nanyang Technological University (NTU) at Singapore to understand the feasibility of the TASSAT project.

    Trinity-COE-Nanyang-University-TASSAT.
    Trinity Team at Nanyang University [ Photo Credit: Facebook]​

    The NTU has been using ISRO facilities to launch satellites using PSLV and they have a similar, sustainable program at their campus. Surendran aims to have similar project at his college that would allow for continuous creation of CubeSats and NanoSats.

    The project is expected to see contribution from various engineering departments at the college in order to help keep the project on schedule. The project will offer a big boost for all the engineering students to explore new ideas while sharpening their engineering and technical skills. 
  • Source: http://www.crazyengineers.com/threads/students-of-trinity-college-of-engineering-kerala-are-developing-tassat.81235/

Rahmani 30 sends 81 to IIT in 7 yrs, calls it ‘revolution’

Thirty one students from different Rahmani centres have cracked IIT-JEE this year. The centre in Patna alone had 15 successful students out of 21 candidates.


 
Rahmani, Rahmani 30, Bihar, Rahmani, IIT, Rahmani IIT, Rahmani 30 IIT, Maulana Wali Rahmani, All India Personal Muslim Law, IIT-JEE, indian express










Rahmani plans MBBS entrance preparatory centre for girls.
Written by Santosh Singh | Patna | Published on:June 22, 2015 1:45 am

With 80 students in IITs in seven years, Rahmani 30 is helping poor Muslim aspirants overcome a “mental block” that they cannot make it to prestigious institutes, and look beyond ITIs (Industrial Training Institutes), says Maulana Wali Rahmani, founder of the IIT-JEE preparatory centre and also general secretary of the All India Personal Muslim Law Board. He believes under the mentorship of former Bihar DGP Abhyananad, who conceptualised Super 30 to teach poor students to crack the entrance exam, “we are at cusp of social revolution without any government support”.
Thirty one students from different Rahmani centres have cracked IIT-JEE this year. The centre in Patna alone had 15 successful students out of 21 candidates. Speaking at a function to felicitate the successful candidates, Maulana Wali Rahmani said instead of blaming the system for poor education among Muslims, the society itself should take an initiative in this direction. “We have been preparing Muslim girls for medical entrance tests now, and are looking for space to start a coaching of Muslim girls,” said Rahmani, who was Bihar Legislative Council deputy chairperson.

Rahmani 30 is the first non-government venture that came up in 2008 to prepare poor Muslim students for engineering entrance tests. The institute, which provides free food and lodging for students for its one-year and two-year programme, has so far helped 138 candidates succeed in various engineering entrance tests.

Abhayanand, also a physicist, said the proposal for Rahmani 30 came after he had dissociated himself from the successful venture of Super 30, and noted that the success rate of Muslim students was dismal in engineering exams.
“It is gratifying to see the journey of students who came from far-off villages and very humble background. People learn about us through word of mouth and Urdu press. We have provided them only basic facilities here. But, they generally have great minds — 42 of them have made it to Olympiad tests of science papers,” said Abhayanand.
Ashar Ahmad, who belongs to Gilani in Nalanda and secured 2167th rank in the IIT-JEE, said: “The rigorous revision of the combined test paper, informal teaching set-up and interaction with seniors were the key.” Ashar’s father Imdad Ahsan is a private teacher, who earns only around Rs 8,000 a month.
Saif Ali, whose father is a mill worker in Kolkata, said: “I will be the first IITian in my family. I will ensure my father does not have to work. I will come back to Rahmani 30 during vacations. Abhayanand’s words of ‘give back to society’ rings in ear.”

Friday, June 19, 2015

DCG(I) to formulate guidelines for e-commerce marketplace to ensure safety of consumers

FICCI appointed as the nodal agency for consolidating the guidelines
The role, responsibilities and liabilities of e-commerce marketplace and the product sellers
need to be clearly defined. It becomes even more critical to have a framework in place when 
the intermediary is selling drugs where the safety and health of the consumer is of paramount
importance. This was stated by Dr GN Singh, Drugs Controller General (India) at a FICCI 
consultative meeting on ‘Pharma Guidelines for Reinforcing Due Diligence for Intermediaries 
(E-commerce Marketplace)’ in New Delhi.
FICCI talks of due diligence by marketplace to ensure consumer safety while selling of drugs online. FICCI has been appointed as the nodal agency by the DCG(I) for consolidating the guidelines and was seeking views of OPPI, All India Chemists and Druggists Association, States Chemists and Druggists Associations, Indian Medical Association, CIPI, BDMA, PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry and consumer forums, in this regard.
Singh said that pharmaceuticals industry needs a new regulatory framework to effectively bring e-pharmacy under its ambit. The Drugs and Cosmetics Act does not have any guidelines for e-commerce players in pharma. Hence, it is essential to create guidelines for e-pharmacy that checks efficaciously the use of technology as safety of patient, quality of drugs and robust supply chain are prerequisites for DCG(I).
With the advent of technology, e-commerce industry has entered in healthcare space in the form of e-pharmacy. However, there are issues such as complaint being filed against e-commerce player/s for online sale of prescription based drugs. To resolve these issues, Singh suggested that it would be beneficial for the regulator to engage with stakeholders in constructive brainstorming deliberations to reach a consensus. He added that the Indian Government was forthcoming in adopting industry’s recommendations and the DCG(I) would assist in providing a legal status to implementable suggestions of industry.
Singh assured that the interest of small retailers will be protected and it would be ensured that e-pharmacy does not disturb the existing supply chain system in place. The aim would be to integrate e-pharmacy in the existing system. Besides industry, in the consultative meetings, consumers, doctors and pharmacists should be adequately represented to have a holistic view on the issue, which would enable formulation of an innovative policy framework. He added that the Indian regulatory body was also engaging with international regulators in the space to derive a forward looking policy.
Dr. Arbind Prasad, Director General, FICCI, said that FICCI in consultation with stakeholders had prepared a representation for DCG(I) titled ‘Suggestive Guidelines for Reinforcing Due Diligence for Intermediaries (E-Commerce Marketplaces)’. He informed that the document comprehensively discusses the challenges faced by the sector and also proposes recommendations which can be deliberated upon to resolve these issues.
During the meeting, Singh actively interacted with the stakeholders, noted their concerns and responded to their pertinent queries. Among the stakeholders who spoke on the occasion was Dr KK Aggarwal, Honorary Secretary General, Indian Medical Association.

Government gears up for e-pharmacies

The new rules will be drafted in four months
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New Delhi: The government wants to examine rules and regulations to make e-pharmacies—online chemists—a “safer and viable option” for consumers, drugs controller general G.N. Singh said.
The new rules will be drafted in four months.
Several guidelines and issues were discussed between the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) and various stakeholders on Wednesday at a meeting organised by industry lobby the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry.
“New rules need to be drafted and that shall take anywhere between three-four months before being presented to the government for discussion but the outlook is positive for e-pharmacies,” the DCGI said.
“The government and regulatory authorities welcome the inclusion of technology but we must keep in mind the interests of chemists and the safety of patients,” Singh said.
As of now, there is no provision in the law to properly govern online retailers for medicines, he added.
Wednesday’s discussions highlight an urgent issue.
Selling prescription drugs on the Internet is banned in India. But in May, Maharashtra’s Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) filed an FIR against e-commerce website Snapdeal.com’s CEO Kunal Bahl and directors of the company in a case related to online sales of prescription drugs.
The website had on sale about 45 drugs with claims that the FDA alleged contravened provisions of the Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act, 1954.
Snapdeal’s defence was that it played the role of an intermediary and had tried its best to educate retailers on how to engage in fair and safe sales and the consequences of selling inappropriate products—Schedule H drugs in this case.
The Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940, Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, 1945, and Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act, 1954 have guidelines on the sale of scheduled drugs, which can be sold only on prescription.
“The Drugs and Cosmetics Act does not cover all loopholes and we also need a clearer definition of OTC (over-the-counter) drugs to make e-commerce of drugs a safer and viable option,” Singh said on Wednesday.
Currently there are three models of online pharmacy that exist in India—organised, unorganised and illegal. In the organized sector, technology is used to either connect local licensed pharmacists to the end user or an off-line pharmacist takes orders over the internet. Prescriptions are checked in the organised sector while the unorganised sector does away with this requirement.
Increased convenience, availability and greater access to medicines some of the few benefits of online pharmacies but vetting pharmacists for licenses and storage was a concern voiced at the meeting.
Prashant Tandon, CEO of 1mg.com, an online pharmacy start-up, said, “There needs to be a marketplace model to ensure consumers are equipped with information and they have to upload prescriptions to ensure authenticity of the purchase.” He said security concerns over the misuse of such portals were valid and that they could be addressed by putting in place proper mechanisms for verification.
The national general secretary of Indian Medical Association (IMA) India, Dr. K K Aggarwal, voiced several concerns. “Doctors, patients and pharmacists have a relationship based on trust. If a website were to display cheaper variations to the medicine I prescribe, without offering an explanation, this relationship suffers. Quality comes at a cost,” he said.
He added that verification of doctors could be a problem as medical licenses could easily be forged.

Bhopal will be ever indebted to Correa


— By SMITA  | Jun 18, 2015 12:56 am 



BHOPAL : 84-years-old Charles Correa a renowned architect and urban planner died on June 16 in Mumbai. He is considered to be ‘India’s greatest contemporary architect, who designed three popular buildings of city of lakes including ‘Bharat Bhawan’, ‘Vidhan Sabha’ and ‘Paryavas Bhawan’. He is also known as founder of Navi Mumbai.
He also designed several government buildings, academies, resorts and low-income housing units across India, and was the chief architect of the suburb of Navi Mumbai, built across the harbor from Mumbai proper. He was a staunch critic of the way modern cities were designed, once saying: “Market forces do not make cities, they destroy them.” “I’ve never designed a glass building,” he’d said once. “I’ve never felt the need to. I’ve used glass, but I wouldn’t say I’ve ever designed a glass tower. I wouldn’t be so stupid as to do that.” Some city architect and artists spoke to Free Press and shared their experience about Correa.
“Charles Correa was master man. He was not only popular in India but world wide too by his work and got many awards. I met him once in 1993. His intimacy was with Bhopal and use to feel very close to Bhopal. We are very lucky that he designed three world class buildings in Bhopal and Bharat Bhawan is one of them where legendary artists of country used to perform here. And due to this building only Bhopal is known as one of the cultural capital city of India. His contribution is lot in Bhopal,” says Ajay Katariya, a senior architect.
” He was not only an architect but a great planner too with ultimate vision and Navi Mumbai is its best example. He took two years to make it. He used to build organic building. He was academician too and used to teach children world wide. We have lost world level contemporary architect”, Katariya added.
“He was very creative architect and amazing person. He defined the Indian architectural in a traditional and modern way beautifully and Bharat Bhawan, Vidhan Sabha and Paryavas Bhawan are best example of his work. In 80s, ten museums were selected from across world and Correa got prestigious award for designing Bharat Bhawan in 1989 or 99,” says senior artist Akhilesh.
He also adds that “He was great art lovers too. He has his art collection of legend artist across world and I feel lucky that my work is one of them. He always keeps in touch with artists. He made a church in Mumbai and which was painted by noted painter Fida Hussein. It is great loss for Indian society which we can’t be fulfilled.”
“He came last time Bhopal during the inauguration of Vidhan Sabha in 1995. And he made a lot of work in ceramic workshop which held in Bharat Bhawan. He built Bharat Bhawan with Courtyard planning by using local material which is great thing of him. He was best modern architect and had mastery on it. He was very polite and down to earth person,” said Devilal Partidar, in-charge of ceramic department of Bharat Bhawan.
“He was state architect of MP. He designed central hall of Vidhan Sabha and Antrang hall of Bharat Bhawan amazing. He also designed the Jawahar Kala Kendra, Jaipur on the basis of Bharat Bhawan. He used to build the building by using local material. He was recognized in India as great architecture and is being taught in syllabus of Architecture. As many as 5,000 architect students across country use to visit Bharat Bhawan every year,” said deputy director Rupankar, Bharat Bhawan.
In the same vein, administrative officer of Bharat Bhawan, Premshanker Shukla said, “We have lost the renowned architect of India who has vast knowledge on world ancient architecture. He had great imagination as well as vision. Bharat Bhawan will remain debtor of this great architect and pay tribute to him. We are very sad to hear his death news.”
SOURCE: http://www.freepressjournal.in/bhopal-will-be-ever-indebted-to-correa/

Pharmacist's prescription for docs, write in capital letters to save lives

Reporter: Prabeerkumar Sikdar (Hyderabad)
A one-man campaign that started in the sleepy town of Nalgonda in 2012 is on its way to rewrite (literally) medical history -making it mandatory for doctors to write prescriptions in CAPITAL letters so as to make these legible.Prescriptions, the way they are written now, have taken lives.
While a formal gazette notification by the Union health ministry is round the corner, the Medical Council of India (MCI) is circulating a prescription format to be used by doctors to all state medical councils across the country . The letter, which TOI has a copy of, says doctors must write the name of medicines, dosage, strength, duration and total quantity in “capital letters only“.
From his run-down pharmacy in Nalgonda, 47-year-old Chilkuri Paramathma used the Right to Information Act, filed PILs and wrote innumerable letters to the Union health ministry, the Medical Council of India (MCI), the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) and the Director-General of Health Services (DGHS) to enforce his 'prescription' for prescriptions.
“In my 25 years of practice as a pharmacist, names of medicines always fascinated me.There are several similarly spelt drugs that can stump a pharmacist as one single letter or even a hypen can sometimes be the only difference between two completely opposing drugs.Imagine the havoc it can cause,“ said Paramathma.
And havoc it often caused.
On February 22, 2012, Para mathma got to know of a Hyderabad-based pregnant woman who was advised Microgest 200 mg (used for fetus growth). “So illegible was the writing in the prescription that the pharmacist mistook Microgest for Misoprotol -which is used for abortion. The woman lost her baby ,“ he recounted.
In July 2013, a patient died in Hyderabad after he was administered a wrong injection by a pharmacy . The drug control administration later shut down the pharmacy .
Paramathma cites a plethora of drugs that spell and sound almost the same, but have quite different effects on the body .“Consider L-CIT and L-COT, KARDIA and KARDIN, JUCAN and JUGAM, IKA and IKKA, IDEBEN and IDIBEND, NEPOMOX and NEPOTOX, NIFDEC and NIFEDINE, OCUVIT and OCUWET, E-PRIN and EPRIL...The list is endless,“ he says.
Following several missives to various departments and a hearing at the Andhra Pradesh high court, a division bench in 2014 directed MCI to look into the aspect of illegible handwriting of doctors. Following this, the Union health ministry directed MCI to look into the case.
Now with formal notification on the way , doctors and MCI have welcomed the move.“This man's move has catapulted the MCI into action. Once it's a law, the responsibility will also lie with the pharmacy council as well as drug control administration,“ MCI member K Ramesh Reddy told TOI.
A few corporate hospitals in Hyderabad already got the cue and have started giving typedout prescriptions to their patients. “All our in-patients are given typed prescription so there is no chance of any prescription error. We are working towards implementing the same shortly for our out-patients too,“ said Hari Krishna, chief executive officer, Maxcure Hospitals, Hyderabad. True to his name, Nalgonda's Paramathma, has just given a boon of life to many in this country .

Conscience-keeper of the urban skyline, Correa rose above all

Reporter: Bachi Karkaria

He Did Not Spare Designers Who Fed Appetite For Alienating Towers
When you walk to the edge of all the light you have, and take that first step into the darkness of the unknown, you must believe that one of two things will happen. There will be something solid for you to stand upon, or you will be taught to fly .' Patrick Overton's lines glide into the mind every time you gaze upon the work of Charles Correa, who passed away on Tuesday .His iconic architecture across the world conveys both solidity and flight. Many cliches have rushed into the void left by his death, and, like all their breed, they are both apt and inadequate. Yes, he was `the greatest architect of independent India' (was there a comparable Indian one before that?), but his oeuvre tells you that he stands with the world's greats.
Yes, his was a god-given `mastery of light and space', but his contribution was not just to architecture but to the whole skyline. Correa was about cities, and the way they should be built. His works were only the handmaidens of his urban vision.
If you had the good fortune to visit the retrospective of his work at London's Royal Institute of British Architects, held in the summer of 2013, you'd have realized the limitations of all that has written about him, globally .
The diversity and the detail were awesome in themselves, but more notable was the urban aesthetic that canopied them all.
Earlier that year, Correa had donated his entire archive of 6,000 architectural drawings and other material to RIBA, the largest gift ever by a nonBritish architect to this hoary institution with its historic collection of 2.5 million items. In 1984, Correa had received the Royal Gold Medal, the Big Drool of architectural honours. Ironically, in that year, the other Charles, the Prince of Wales, dismissed modernist architecture as a `monstrous carbuncle', a description that our Charles tried all his life to excise.
Consider the Champalimaud Centre for the Unknown in Lisbon's historic Betel district. Apart from its breathtaking design, it reveals Cor rea's genius in melding past and present. It's built at almost the exact spot from where Vasco da Gama sailed out on his unmapped voyage to India; this state-of-the art facility for neurosciences and cancer too is dedicated to another genre of discovery . Its huge porthole-shaped windows frame a panoramic view of river segueing into ocean. Another aspect presents the hilltop chapel where Portugal's legendary mariners prayed before set ting out into the unknown. The tropical gardens inspire both research and recovery . The complex marks a historic spot, but does not appropriate it, tourists and citizens have open access to the beach, and to the Centre's own beauties.
This is another marker of Correa's design for urban living: the essential interaction between private and public spaces. For him these were the complementary Yin and the Yang which interlocked to release a third force greater than the sum of its parentage.
Correa didn't just mouth platitudes even when he'd reached the international stature that would allow him obiter dicta. Every one of his creations illustrates his oft-quoted statement, `Certainly architecture is concerned with much more than just its physical attributes. It is a many-layered thing. Beneath and beyond the strata of function and structure, material and texture, lie the deepest and most compulsive layers of all.' He rejected, with caustic disdain, the Legoland to which India's cities aspire--and never spared the architects who feed this appetite for alienating towers. If he weren't so lofty, he'd be on a permanent collision course with these high priests of high-rise who have converted the India's urban skyline, with no chance wapsi to the ghars of comforting tradition. His PREVI affordable housing project in Lima, Peru, or even his award-winning Tube House in Ahmedabad, are a conclusive riposte to those who pooh-poohed his lowslung concepts as impractical and anachronistic.
He was equally unsparing of journalists, including this writer, when they failed to convey the nuances of what he'd told them, or, heaven help us, if he believed that we sympathised even marginally with the Evil Empire of sky-mauling architects and rapacious builders.
He extended his conceptual sweep to the wider landscape, and was appointed chairman of the first National Commission for Urbanisation.Long before the siren song of FDI made urbanisation an official chant, Correa had anointed cities as `places of hope'. He'd added that `the skills we need are urban skills', and that `we never have to ask the World Bank' for these, because `we already have a rich storehouse'.
However, his hometown Mumbai became for him a city of disappointments. He was the architect of Navi Mumbai, but the lack of political will made it dead on arrival--till it was resurrected by Mumbai's bottomless need for land and housing. The bigger travesty was the way his mill-land plan fell to what would swell into the death-knell of the megalopolis, the politician-builder nexus.
It is Mumbai's tragedy that it was home to one of the world's greatest architects, but has recklessly spurned his world-acclaimed imprimatur.
Forgive us our ingratitude, Charles.
Funeral in Dadar today
The funeral mass for Charles Correa is to be held at 11 am on Thursday at the Church of Our Lady of Salvation (Portuguese Church) at S K Bole Road, Dadar. The burial will take place later at the Haines Road cemetery.
Some prominent Indian buildings he designed:
1 Salvacao Church, Dadar, in the mid-1970s.The church consists of a series of inter-linked spaces, some covered and others open to the sky Kanchenjunga,
2 Kemps Corner, Mumbai, 1970-83 | A condominium of 32 luxury apartments with double height terrace gardens at the corners. One of Correa's most famous landmark buildings
3 British Council building, New Delhi, 1987-92 | Building houses a diverse functions including a library, auditorium, art gallery and its India headquarters. It recalls historic interfaces that have existed between India and Britain over the last several centuries Mahatma Gandhi
4 Memorial at Sabarmati Ashram, a museum and memorial center in Ahmedabad
5 Cidade De Goa, Dona Paula, Goa, 1978-82
6 The City Centre, Salt Lake City, Kolkata, 2004
7 The National Handicrafts Museum, Delhi, 1975-1990
8 Kala Academy in Panjim, Goa
`Politicians' insensitivity to urban issues upset him':
The legacy he left behind is an incredible one because it spans everything from urban planning to jewels of architecture. While he was imagining New Bombay, he was also building the Gandhi ashram -that itself was amazing.
In urban terms he anticipated what happened to Bombay, New Bombay was about avoiding what has happened. Nationally, he constructed a theory about how we should be imagine cities in the Indian context. In recent years, he was frustrated with politicians and bureaucrats and their myopia and insensitivity to urban issues.The idea that you can leave cities to market forces -that's what Correa was resisting. Planning has to be a state subject because it's about the common good.
In architectural terms, there's a plethora of incredible buildings, buildings that grew out of locality, time, climate and more than that he was able to articulate these ideas beautifully in the written word, which is there for us to read in all time to come.
The Gandhi ashram was seminal in many ways, to find an architectural expression for the values and sensibility that Gandhi stood for, to represent values in architecture. At the other end, we have Kanchenjunga, which you can compare with everything around it and realise the complexity of what he tried to do, in designing apartments that breathe. Kanchenjunga was ahead of its time and is studied across America and Europe today..-Rahul Mehrotra (Rahul Mehrotra is an architect and son-in-law of Charles Correa)



SOURCE: June 18 2015 : The Times of India (NaviMumbai)

Friday, June 12, 2015

Career Prospects in Pharmacy after Graduation

For Higher studies: After a B.Pharm in pharmacy there are various opportunities for students, they can either go for higher studies like M.Pharm, MBA. or Ph.D degrees for improving their skills and up gradation of their degree or they can go for jobs in the chemical companies, research institutes ,Pharma companies ,even universities and colleges.

Overseas career: Some of the B.Pharm graduates are choosing to fly overseas and make their career bright. By scoring well in  GRE, TOEFL, IELTS etc entrances they can pursue M.S, MBA and other pharmacy related courses in US, UK, Australia etc.

M.Pharm is master degree of pharmacy in various branches or subjects like pharmaceutics, pharmacology, pharmacognosy, pharmaceutical/medicinal chemistry, pharmaceutical marketing, pharmacy practice, quality assurance, ph. technology, ph. administration, ph. science, Bulk drug Tech, Industrial Pharmacy, pharmaceutical analysis, pharmaceutical biotechnology. All the branches are distinct and have rejoicing scope. Many industries are reliance on master students than bachelors as they are specialized in particular branch with better knowledge. GATE-PY is discontinued from 2010, so it may effect some academically good students but still some good universities have their own enterances.

Pharm.D is brand new option for graduates in India. It is total 3 years course out of which 2 years of academics and 1 year of training in hospital. Then, appear for NAPLEX and one can registered as pharmacist in most of the countries. It involves all the aspects of clinical pharmacology and drug administration covering chiefly drug interactions and adverse effects. It will going to prove more ascent to pharmacist.

Marketing: There is a big scope in sales dept of pharmaceutical companies making tools and machines for research, these companies hire graduates for their marketing and sales as MR, project managers etc. Here salary ranges from 7-20 thousand. Pharmaceutical MBA is most heyday in this field.

Clinical research: Recently, Clinical research has also open its door for B.Pharm graduates as medical underwriter, CRO, data validation associate, clinical research associate etc.

Production: Large rate of vacancies are appearing in pharma industries for production. All the big firms invite suitable skill pharma individual in manufacturing units. Initial pay is less around 6000-10000 per month but later it show faster growth rate than any other line. Manufacture of pharmaceuticals involve all the drugs in different dosage forms and cosmetics.

Quality control: Some government jobs like government analysis is associated with it. They have to develop, apply, revise, and maintain quality standards for processing materials into partially finished or finished products. Helps in designing and implementing methods and procedures for inspecting, testing, and evaluating the precision and accuracy of products and prepares documentation for inspection testing procedures.
Scientists: Pharma graduates can absorb as scientist in R&D and F&D. It is field of innovation where talented people in pharmacy working as scientist. Numerous researches are going on in India though compare to less than US and other British industries. Very less candidate from B.Pharm are selected because lack of knowledge but those who have all ideas of subject are greeted in this field.

Lecturer: Usually, graduates in pharmacy can also make their career in academics. In some institutions they are eligible to work as lecturer for diploma students.



Pharmacist Career Information

What is a pharmacist?
According to the American Heritage® Dictionary, a pharmacist is a person trained in pharmacy or a druggist.
What is pharmacy?
According to Britannica Encyclopedia Concise, pharmacy is the science dealing with collection, preparation, and standardization of drugs. Pharmacists, who must earn a qualifying degree, prepare and dispense prescribed medications. They formerly mixed and measured drug products from raw materials according to doctors' prescriptions, and are still responsible for formulating, storing, and providing correct dosages of medicines, now usually produced by pharmaceutical companies as pre-measured tablets or capsules. They also advise patients on the use of both prescription and over-the-counter drugs. Laws regulating the pharmaceutical industry are based on the national pharmacopoeia (in the U.S., the U.S. Pharmacopoeia or USP), which outlines the purity and dosages of numerous medicinal products.

Where do pharmacists work?
Pharmacists work in a number of different settings to include: retail, hospitals, clinics, home health care facilities, home infusion facilities, long-term care facilities, managed care facilities, Armed Services, mail service, internet companies, public health service, veterans administration, local, state, and federal government, association management, community pharmacy, consultant pharmacy, pharmaceutical sales and marketing, drug research and development, managed care, universities and numerous other settings.

Why pharmacy as a career?
Pharmacists are considered one of the most visible and one of the most accessible health care professionals in the world. Every day, millions of Americans walk into drug stores and depend on pharmacists for assistance and advice for their health care needs. Pharmacists are trusted to help you with some of your most personal concerns and are trusted to help you. Pharmacists are regarded as one of the most trusted professions in the world. Pharmacy has always been an exciting and rewarding career, but has recently become on the most pursued fields in the health care industry.

What do pharmacists do?
On a daily basis, many pharmacists dispense medications to patients in accordance with doctor's orders and consult patients on medication usage and contraindications. Pharmacists communicate directly with physicians in order to correctly deliver medications. Many pharmacists consult patients on over the counter medications and provide information on home health care supplies and various other health care products. Many pharmacists manage and controlling the environment of the store or facility. Some pharmacies provide services that are not related to health care, such as mail and package delivery, key cutting, soda fountains, deli's, and movie rentals. Many pharmacies provide specialized services associated with your traditional corner drug store pharmacy. Pharmacist can provide specialized services according to the specific area they are specialized. Some pharmacists specialize in psychiatric disorders, intravenous nutrition support, oncology, nuclear pharmacy, and pharmacotherapy.
 
Is pharmacy easy?
Even though pharmacist have rewarding careers, pharmacy is not easy work. Many pharmacists spend a vast majority of the day on their feet. Many work with chemotherapy medications and other semi dangerous products. Pharmacists may be asked to work a variety of shifts, including mornings and nights 365 days a year. Taking care of patients that are sick does not start at 8 and end at 5.