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indianexpress:  Pune-based Indian Institute of Tropical Management (IITM) is all set to play a pivotal role in a 1 million dollars initiative for furthering research in in the field of climate variation, change and impact.

Chancellor of Treasury, United Kingdom (UK) Gordon Brown under UK-India Educational Research Initiative has awarded the grant, which might go a long way towards exact forecasting of spatial distribution of rainfall in India.

IITM has been chosen as the nodal agency in India along with the Department of Atmosphere and Atmospheric Science at Indian Institute of Technology (Delhi), Indian Institute of Science (Bangalore) and the India Meteorological Department (IMD). Joining the project will be from the UK, Hadlee Centre, University Of East Anglia, University of Reading and the UK MeT department.

Brown presented the award in Delhi on On January 18. IITM director B N Goswami is the chief coordinator. Senior scientist K Krishnakumar said that the grant also includes provision for two scientists to complete their PhDs with fully funded scholarship and exchange of scientists and collaboration on research work between the institutes. Krishnakumar added that funds are not a constraint for research and an equal amount is being expected from the Indian government

indianexpress: Pune-based Indian Institute of Tropical Management (IITM) is all set to play a pivotal role in a 1 million dollars initiative for furthering research in in the field of climate variation, change and impact.

Chancellor of Treasury, United Kingdom (UK) Gordon Brown under UK-India Educational Research Initiative has awarded the grant, which might go a long way towards exact forecasting of spatial distribution of rainfall in India.

IITM has been chosen as the nodal agency in India along with the Department of Atmosphere and Atmospheric Science at Indian Institute of Technology (Delhi), Indian Institute of Science (Bangalore) and the India Meteorological Department (IMD). Joining the project will be from the UK, Hadlee Centre, University Of East Anglia, University of Reading and the UK MeT department.

Brown presented the award in Delhi on On January 18. IITM director B N Goswami is the chief coordinator. Senior scientist K Krishnakumar said that the grant also includes provision for two scientists to complete their PhDs with fully funded scholarship and exchange of scientists and collaboration on research work between the institutes. Krishnakumar added that funds are not a constraint for research and an equal amount is being expected from the Indian government

indianexpress: District Guardian Minister Ajit Pawar on Wednesday doused speculations about his party going for any post poll alliance with Bharatiya Janata Party and Shiv Sena to oust Congress from power in Pune Municipal Corporation, even as he reiterated his resolve to eliminate ‘Kalmadi Congress’ and the ‘politics of Bhaigiri’.

“We will get a majority in Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation. It will also emerge the single largest party in PMC. Both BJP and Shiv Sena have been our enemies. There is no likelihood that NCP will enter into a post-poll pact with them. However, NCP will not have any tie up with ‘Kalmadi Congress’ either,” Pawar, the man heading the NCP in civic polls told Pune Newsline on election eve.

Continuing his onslaught against Kalmadi, Ajit Pawar said, “Pune’s development has been taking a backseat as the ‘Kalmadi Congress’ lacks political will. The ‘Kalmadi Congress’ has been opposing development projects out of political interests. Development of Pune is not possible until ‘Kalmadi Congress’ is done away with.”

indianexpress:  A laboratory to identify anti-bodies of the avian influenza virus will start from February 15, joint commissioner of animal husbandry V M Bhuktar said. The Bird Flu Serum testing laboratory has been set up at the Disease Investigation Section (DIS) in Aundh. “We will examine the serum samples and find antibodies of the bird flu virus,” Bhuktar explained

With the Bhopal-based High Security Animal Diseases Laboratory (HSADL) being flooded with hundreds of poultry samples the whole of last year following the bird flu outbreak at Navapur in Maharashtra, a need was felt for setting up a laboratory in the State. If the samples test positive, they will be sent to HSADL at Bhopal for confirmation, Bhuktar said. Samples will be screened from five states of Uttaranchal, Uttar Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Goa and Diu-Daman.

Meanwhile, the animal husbandry department is keeping a vigil on migratory birds so that they do not bring the H5N1 virus, which causes avian influenza, to India.

indianexpress:  Even as the Indian Army is taking soldiers’ health seriously and asking them to keep physically fit with regular exercises, chronic diseases, specially Ischaemic heart disease, hypertension and diabetes are the leading causes of morbidity among the personnel, next only to injuries.

And it is the middle-aged men in uniform who have to watch their health. For, researchers at the Armed Forces Medical College (AFMC) have shown how Metabolic Syndrome X, a fast-emerging disease hits them. Apparently, healthy middle-aged soldiers have begun to have diabetes and syndrome X obesity where the lack of sufficient physical exercise can become a cause for concern. And in order to stay healthy, they may have to practise yoga and run more.

Metabolic Syndrome X disease has several factors like rise in blood pressure, diabetes and the constellation of metabolic disorders can lead to cardiovascular diseases.

According to AFMC commandant Lt Gen Saibal Mukherjee between 2000-04 the hospital admissions among soldiers increased by 50 per cent for Ischaemic heart disease, 30 per cent increase in hypertension, 25 per cent increase in diabetes and two fold (100 per cent) increase for psychiatric disease.

indianexpress: While the city is all geared up for the civic polls on Thursday, 21-year-old Mansi Sharma is blissfully unaware of the fact. “I was not even aware that the election are February 1. Anyway, it doesn’t make any difference to me,” says the BA student.

Several youngsters in the city share Sharma’s attitude. From lack of belief in the Indian democracy to anger over rising corruption and mal-practices, youngsters have decided to give a miss to the polls. In fact, statistics for the 2002 civic elections show that only 57 per cent of the population actually cast their votes

In a survey undertaken by NGO Manavseva Sanstha, citizens stated ‘corruption, criminal background, lack of confidence in candidates, illiteracy, lack of awareness about social and development issues, absence of name in the electoral rolls, non-availability of voters card and finally no belief in the democratic system as major reasons for why there is no 100 per cent voting.

Says software professional Amol Naidu, a resident of Dahanukar colony who won’t be voting this year even though he did in the last polls. “I don’t want to vote for a person I don’t even know.”

Name missing from the voters’ list, name wrongly spelt, change of residence not recorded, inability to find the polling booth or even wanting to spend the holiday granted by the state government as ‘retreat’ also accounts to at least 15 per cent of the total population not casting their votes.