Union Budget 2015-16 is Growth Oriented, Reformist and Pragmatic Budget – CII

By 121 News Reporter

Chandigarh 28^th February:-  Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) compliments the Hon'ble Finance Minister announcing for sticking to fiscal deficit target of 4.1 per cent for 2014-15, inspite of resource crunch in view of the higher devolution of taxes to the State Governments, weak private sector investments and decline in manufacturing, said Zubin Irani, Chairman, CII Northern Region & President -Building & Industrial Systems (India), United Technologies Corporation India Pvt Ltd.

Commenting on the budget provisions Zubin Irani said the Union Budget 2015-16 has been a comprehensive and pragmatic one as it lays out vision for achieving higher and inclusive double digit growth rate. Through the Union Budget, the Government has fortified its focus on curbing the generation of black money in the economy and dealing with its concealment effectively and forcefully. The announcements for introduction of Bill for a comprehensive new law to deal with black money parked abroad along with Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Bill are the steps in the right direction. Zubin Irani added that focus on the manufacturing sector is of utmost importance for growth and to create job opportunities for millions and in this regard, Budget lays the roadmap ahead, opined Mr Irani. Rationalisation of indirect tax rates by cuts in Customs and Excise Duties will go long way in boosting the domestic manufacturing sector. He felt that reduction in Basic Custom duty on certain inputs, and components in 22 items will minimise the impact of duty inversion. Deference of GAAR, which has been a sticky points with many of the investors by two years is a commendable move. 

 Shreekant Somany, Deputy Chairman, CII Northern Region & Chairman & Managing Director, Somany Ceramics Ltd. Said that india is presently ranked at 142^nd position among 185 countries in the 'Ease of Doing Business' as per the World Bank Report. Through the Union Budget 2015-16, the Government has fortified its focus on ease of doing business to improve investors' confidence in the economy. He added that CII appreciates the steps taken in this regard like simplification of tax procedures, rationalisation of penalty provision in indirect taxes to encourage compliance and early dispute resolution, abolishing the Wealth Tax, online central excise and service tax registration within two working days, usage of digitally signed invoices and electronic maintenance of records for Central excise/Service tax assesses etc.

 Talking about the proposed GST roll out,  Vishesh Chandiok, Co-Chairman, Regional Committee on Economic Affairs & Taxation and National Managing Partner, Grant Thornton India LLP said that CII has been for long advocating for the early rollout of GST and we believe that Finance Ministers commitment towards rollout out GST by 1^st April 2016 is really commendable. CII believes that GST regime is expected to add about 1.0 – 1.5 per cent in the country's GDP. As a movement towards GST, the education cess and secondary and higher education cess getting subsumed in Central Excise Duty is a positive indication.

R M Khannna, Past Chairman, CII Northern Region & Managing Director, Stanley Engineering Ltd said that the announcements are positive for the MSME sector. He felt that the setting up of Micro Units Development Refinance Agency (MUDRA) Bank with a corpus of Rs 20,000 crore and credit gurantee corpus of Rs 3,000 crore will encourage MSMEs to grow and graduate to the next level. Further, setting up of a Trade Receivables discounting System for electronically financing trade receivables of the MSMEs will ease out working capital pressure on this sector.

Sharing the northern perspective of the Union Budget, Pikender Pal Singh, Regional Director, CII Northern Region listed some of specific measures benefiting the region such as AIIMS like institutions at Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir; IIM at Jammu & Kashmir; Post Graduate Institute of Horticulture Research and Education at Amritsar (Punjab); National Institutes of Pharmaceutical Education and Research in Rajasthan; Apprenticeship Training Institute for Women in Haryana and Uttrakhand; provision of resources to World Heritage Sites such as Kumbalgarh and other Hill Forts of Rajasthan; Leh Palace, Ladakh, J&K; Varanasi Temple town, UP; Jalianwala bagh, Amritsar, Punjab.

 

 

Funskool Launches Action Based Educational Products

By 121 News Reporter

Chandigarh 28^th February:- Funskool India Ltd., has launched a new range of creative, educational and action based products. The Plus Minus Cross from the educational series takes your children through a fun learning experience! Set a new trend by creating handmade stylish bracelets of different colors and patterns with the new Rainbow Loom Kit. The action packed NERF Zombie increases the adventurous drive in one that will last infinitely.

 

Yash Sinha & Manish Chaudhari visit Chandigarh to spread awareness about societal frailties

By 121 News Reporter

Chandigarh 28^th February:- COLORS as a channel has always been at the forefront of creating meaningful entertainment and shows that are a reflection of our society, an embodiment of a belief that moral transformation is conceivable. Taking this premise further, COLORS' show Code Red provides a beacon of hope, addressing issues of human frailty. To shed light on the inner conflict a human being goes through when faced with a crisis of conscience, Yash Sinha and Manish Chaudhari who are seen on the show were in the city today.

Each week, Code Red features six episodes which bring forth stories based on various human frailties, presented through three prominent themes under the brand umbrella of Code Red -  Umeed – focusing on stories who are on the verge of ending their lives, Awaaz – focusing on violence against women and children and Chakravyuh – focusing on various forms of entrapment: physical and psychological. The show features actors Yash Sinha essaying the character of a crime reporter named Kabir, and Manish Chaudhari portraying the role of an NGO representative named Bhaskar, who take viewers through various instances where circumstances and conditions often push a person against the wall. In upcoming weeks, Code Red will touch upon issues such as gender bias, sports-based exploitation of women, abandonment, domestic violence, the plight of NRI brides and apathy from administrative bodies.

Speaking about the show and his experience of being in Chandigarh, Yash Sinha said, that every part of the country today is speaking up about the injustice that is meted out against citizens and the steps that are required to be taken in this regard. Code Red is a movement which leads the way in creating layered conversations with finding a solution at its helm. Portraying the character of a crime reporter has been a tough journey, but today many viewers recognize me and reach out to me in the hope that I will be able to help them. Being in Chandigarh today has been an incredible experience. The city is quite sensitized towards such issues and citizens are motivated to make Chandigarh a better place.

Elaborating on his experience of being a part of the show, Manish Chaudhari said, that the amount of positive change that we are enabled to bring about is very encouraging. I have gotten the opportunity the work with the suicide cases and, to me it has brought to light the different psychological factors that can drive people to take such adverse steps. My experience of working on this show has been quite enlightening and I am happy to be in Chandigarh today – a city that has always been very kind to me, whenever I have come here.

 

 

9 Official Retires from PGI:Director PGI honor them with Momentoes

By 121 News Reporter

Chandigarh 28^th February:- Prof. Yogesh Chawla, Director PGI honored nine officers/officials on their superannuation today by presenting mementoes to them.   Chetan P.S.Rao, DDA and Sushil Thakur, Financial Adviser handed over beneficiary cheques comprising GPF, gratuity and group insurance. Respective Heads of Departments wished them well in life by presenting bouquets to them.

 

PHD Chamber Welcomes Budget; To Boost MSME Sector; Create Employment Opportunities

By 121 News Reporter

Chandigarh 28^th February:- PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry's Past President, R K Saboo, termed the Union Budget, 2015-16, to be one aiming at bringing India on to the world stage in the long term. While welcoming the union budget, he said that the Budget encourages business and economic confidence with fine tuning of socio economic policies and announcement of some steady reforms like tax regime, proposals in social security, enhancing health situations in the country. He said that FM has tried to touch upon all the major sectors including Agriculture, Rural Development, Youth Empowerment, BIFR, introduction of Bankruptcy Code et al.

R K Saboo, said that reforms in corporate tax structure; reducing it from 30% to 25% over the next 4 years, funds for infrastructure; rural infrastructure and agriculture credit; and  deferment of GARR by 2 years are good steps and  would go a long way to help Indian economy grow strength to strength in the coming times. He added that however, we were expecting more in MSMEs segment in terms of its scalability and financial problems. The high expectations on reduction in MAT have also remained unfulfilled. Increase in services tax can have impact on the ever expanding services sector trajectory as the costs of services are going to rise.

Echoing Saboo's views, Amarjit Goyal, Senior member, Managing Committee, PHD Chamber said, that the budget rightly addresses the policy environment & provides roadmap for growth prospects. He added that roadmap for GST implementation before April 2016 is a potential game changer. 

R S Sachdeva, Co-Chairman, PHD Chamber said that estimated GDP at 8-8.5% in 2015-16 is encouraging and we expect the economy to attain double digit growth trajectory in the medium term, Allocation of Rs 25,000 cr for rural infrastructure would generate the ripple effect in terms of employment generation, raising of per capita income and overall quality of life. It will lead to re-fuel rural demand and help manufacturing sector to attain growth.

Welcoming the allocation of Rs 20,000 crore through Micro Units Development Refinance Agency (MUDRA) Bank for the SME sector in the Union Budget, 2015, Dalip Sharma, Director, PHD Chamber said, that this shall not only enhance the much required credit facility to the MSMEs but thereby boost the growth of small businesses and manufacturing units also." The Rs 1000 cr allocation for support of Start-ups, shall help harness India's demographic dividend as well, he said. This shall encourage entrepreneurship in India, and act as a catalyst to attract private investors by way of providing equity and soft loans, bringing much relief to the MSME Sector across the country.

 

Pandit Satish Vyas Receive 11th Guru Madan Lal Koser – Guru Shobha Koser Award

By 121 News Reporter

Chandigarh 28^th February:-  The 11^th  annual "Guru Madan Lal Koser - Guru Shobha Koser Award" instituted by Pracheen Kala Kendra for excellence in performing arts was presented at a glittering function at Tagore Theatre here today. The Governing Body of Pracheen Kala Kendra S.K. Monga, Chairman, Sajal Koser, Secretary, Smt. Shobha Koser, Registrar,  Additional Registrar Dr. Samira Koser and other members, conferred the award on Santoor maestro Padma Shree Pandit Satish Vyas, carrying a cash prize of Rs. 1.00 lakh, a shawl, a citation and a memento for his lifetime contribution in popularizing Santoor in particular and Indian classical music in general. The award ceremony was followed by Santoor recital by Pandit Satish Vyas,   Disciple of Ustad Allah Rakha  tabla exponent Aditya Kalyanpur  provided admirable support to him on Tabla.

He opened concert with Raga "Bageshri". He reposefully rendered alap, jod-alap followed by jhala which brought out the inner depth of the raga and touching the listener's heart. Then followed a couple of gats – vilambit, and drut – set to teen taal, and ek taal respectively where Satish  showed his abundant imagination and technical virtuosity in full measure. His every note had something to say of its own and his soft strokes were reminiscent of the graceful tones of his masters.

 

ANOVUS Bags 2nd Prize in 9th CHASCON 2015

By 121 News Reporter

Chandigarh 28^th February:-  Chandigarh based Anovus Institute of Clinical Research bagged the second prize in poster presentation at the recently concluded Chandigarh Science Congress 2015 at Panjab University.

Anovous received the award in Dental Sciences category out of 71 poster presentations, for its presentation on "The Association of Flurosis and Dental Caries with high levels of Fluoride in Drinking Water and its Health Impact" by Dr. Jasmine and Dr. Shelly under the guidance of Anovus faculty Dr. Sanjeev and Dr. Shweta. Large parts of India are at risk of fluoride toxicity, since it falls within a geographical fluoride-belt extending from Turkey to China, and study highlighted problem of dental fluorosis.The other category in which our students Sharandeep Kaur and Vaibhav Jain got selected for poster presentation was Pharmaceutical Sciences.

Anovus Institute of Clinical Research, a Regional Centre of Punjab Technical University,  is a pioneer in Clinical Research for the last six years in this part of the country and is training and guiding the young scientists for innovation in research.  

 

 

9th Annual Workshop Perioperative and Critical Care Trans-Esophageal

By 121 News Reporter

Chandigarh 28^th February:- The day 2 (28^th feb) of the 9th Annual Perioperative and Critical Care Trans-Esophageal Workshop was attended by a whole lot of enthusiastic faculty and delegates at Conference Hall, Teaching Block, D Block, Advanced Cardiac Centre, PGIMER, Chandigarh. The scientific fiesta comprised of Understanding how TEE demonstrates cardiovascular pathology, TEE for Intraoperative assessment and Perioperative management of Paediatric diseases and TEE in Cardiac Catheterisation Lab & OR. Distinguished national & international faculty and delegates attended the workshop. The day ended with podium presentations of interesting cases (competitive) by the delegates.

The theme of day 3 of the conference is Advanced TEE (3D TEE). Participants have shown overwhelming response to attend the workshop later on the day on 3D TEE demonstration with Phillips EPIQ 7 system by Dr. Usha Narasimhan, who is a senior consultant in Anesthesia at NUHS, Singapore. The day is scheduled to open with a comprehensive examination of the delegates followed by guest lectures and workshop on 3D.

Maharishi Dayanand Public School Celebrates National Science Day

By 121 News Reporter

Chandigarh 28^th February:- Maharishi Dayanand Public School Day in association with Chandigarh Renewal Energy, Science and Technology Promotion Society (CREST), Chandigarh organized an Essay Writing Competition on National Science. A good number of students participated in the competition. Through this competition students expressed that Science has contributed a great deal to human welfare. It has enabled man to acquire intellectual excellence. It has broken barriers to bring peace and prosperity.  Vikas, Mamta, and sarah bagged first, second and third respectively. Parvesh Sahni and Prem Kumar from Chandigarh Renewal Energy, Science and Technology Promotion Society were guests of honour. They inspired the students to carry on such activities in future also. They gave away prizes to the winners.

 Principal Dr. Vinod Kumar told that the main aim of this competition was to spread the message of importance of science and its application among the students.

 

Indo Global Colleges Conduct Campaign against Drug Abuse

 

 

By 121 News Reporter

Chandigarh 27^th February:-  Indo Global Colleges conducted de-addiction camp carrying their fight against drug abuse to the numerous villages & Schools in and around their campus. The campaign began after Sukhdev Kumar Singla ,Chairman , Indo Global Colleges  precious wishes and guidelines for  the students. In his inaugural speech, he said that India is the youngest nation of the world and its biggest strength is its youth. But some selfish persons are converting our strength into weakness by spreading the fatal disease of Drugs in the veins of our young people.

The young engineering students of Indo Global Colleges conducted many activities to highlight the plight of drug addiction. Nukkad Nataks and discussions were held with the villages . Through activities and talks the NSS volunteers highlighted to the village youth, The punishment for drug trafficking is very stringent and in rare cases it may even include death penalty for perpetrators of this crime. Even harboring drug offenders is a serious crime. Later ,ill effects of drug abuse were presented on the stage and they were motivated that  If any youth knows someone who is an addict, then immediate steps should be taken to de addict the person by counseling him and rendering whatever best help that can be given. Students advised residents to take interest in the career of their children and give them a clear-cut aim of their life. This will motivate them to go for constructive work instead of destructive work.Students were divided into four groups and they approached almost all the houses in the village and discussed with the residents about the problem of Drug abuse in their respective homes. Villagers gave very vital information to the students about the circumstances under which drug abuse was spreading. Villagers suggested that counseling sessions should be organized for the kids of the villages at the village itself. They said that proper guidance and sports facilities can help their children to keep away from drugs.In the evening all the villagers assembled at a central place discussed various means to eradicate the problem of drug abuse.

 

Symposium on “Male Reproductive Health”

 

 

By 121 News Reporter

Chandigarh 27^th February:- PGI, Chandigarh is organising a one day symposium on "Male Reproductive Health". This symposium intends to cover commonly encountered problems pertaining to male reproductive life which are less discussed and often ignored.  Eminent national Faculty will be delivering lectures and give their expert opinion.The areas covered in the symposium would be prenatal issues like management of ambiguous genitalia (indeterminate sex) including surgery for sex reassignment, followed by adolescent sexual behaviour including homosexuality, then Reproductive problems in adults and aging sexual disorders. This will be followed by an interesting case discussion session. 

The symposium is organised by Department of Urology, PGIMER under the chairmanship of Prof A K Mandal, Head of Dept. of Urology at PGI. Prof SK Singh and Dr Ravimohan S Mavuduru are the organising secretaries.  They emphasize that the topics covered in the symposium are important in clinical practice of internal medicine and are usually missing from the undergraduate medical training.

The Symposium will be inaugurated by Prof Yogesh Chawla, Director PGI at 9 AM in Lecture Theatre 1, PGI. The Proceedings of the symposium in the form of printed book of study material would be released by the Prof S Malhotra, The Dean, PGI.  This symposium has been accredited with four CME hours by Punjab Medical Council.

 

SAB TV's Chai Pe Chutkuley:Receives overwhelming Response for in Chandigarh

 

 

By 121 News Reporter

Chandigarh 27^th February:- SAB TV's Chai Pe Chutkuley culminated with a bang in Chandigarh this Friday. SAB TV, the channel which offered this unique audience engagement cum talent hunt platform, unveiled their campaign with Rajasthan late last year.  Chai Pe Chutkuley is the country's first ever platform by a television channel to encourage local and fresh talented individuals who can perform stand-up comedy acts and make people laugh with their comical timing and anecdotes.

The event in Chandigarh saw many talented individuals participating in the auditioning phase, out of these select 10-15 were shortlisted to perform on stage. The Bal Bhavan Auditorium saw a packed house as they all had gathered to witness an evening of sheer hysteria and fun over tea and snacks. Some of the best local talents tried their hand at entertaining and wooing the audience.

According to the Spokesperson from the SAB TV that SAB TV's Chai Pe Chutkuley has successfully managed to tour and find amazing talent from the towns of Kota, Hanumangarh, Bikaner, Jodhpur, Alwar, Ajmer, Bharatpur, Sri Ganganagar and Jaipur in the past. Winners from each of the towns not only won the trophy but some also got a chance to become a part of the SAB TV family. Either through acting or content development, the lucky winners at Chandigarh can now also get a chance to project their talent on-air nationally.

 

 

 

 

Dikshant Students Gets Entry in NASA Contest

By 121 News Reporter

Chandigarh 27^th February:- Thirteen(13) students of Dikshant International School, Zirakpur have registered a major achievement & made the tri-city proud by designing an Orbital space settlement project, which has been selected for NASA Ames Space Settlement Design Contest – 2015. Students from grade 8 and 9 have participated in designing of the project, while Devanshu Chaudhary, Karthikey Sharma, Harsh Sharma, Dev Vats, Archit Talwar, Vishal Verma, Kunal Bhalla, Vedant Kapoor, Paras Gupta, Akshat Dhadwal, Manav Madhok are from grade 8, Hitesh and Himanshu are from Grade 9.

Himsanshu said that the project designed by students is based on an orbital settlement with a self sufficient life support system.  The budding space scientists have created a model of an orbital space colony, where approximately 10,000 people can live, work & enjoy life. The model also covers the scientific techniques that will be used for fulfilling the basic and general needs like production of oxygen and methane, water recycling and power generation using solar panels, antennas, & radars for communication, solar powered transport vehicles and research centers.

Devanshu Chaudhary, said that the project also describes the scope for industries that can be set up at the colony and how some of them can even be useful for supporting earth. We have used raw material like corrugated cardboard boxes, pipes, and used toys to construct the model.

Mitul Dikshit, Chairman, Dikshant International School said that it is important for students to realize their interests. Our school provides encouragement and right opportunities to pupils. We are also setting up a fixed digital planetarium in the school premises soon. This I am sure will be a turning point in propagation of Space Science not just in the school but also the schooling system of the country.

National Workshop on Clinical Pharmacology

 

 

By 121 News Reporter

Chandigarh 27^th February:-  Dr Vinu Jose, an alumni from the Department of Pharmacology currently in Biocon Ltd,Banglore kick started the day with an engaging lecture on the conduct of non-inferiority clinical trials and drug-drug interaction studies. Prof PrathibaSinghi then gave a talk on paediatric clinical research. Dr SumedhGaikwad, another alumni, now Director Medical services, Richter Themis Medicare Ltd introduced the audience to the new drug approval process, current road blocks and concerns in clinical research. Dr Deepika Bansal gave an introductory lecture and Dr Usha Dutta gave the delegates group exercises on evidence based medicine. Dr. Pinaki Dutta talked about the issues with using stem cells in clinical research. Dr Girish Guddi then delivered a talk on population pharmacokinetics and Dr Varun Gupta followed it up with a talk on economic analysis of drug development. After Lunch, there was a practical demonstration of methods for assessment of cardiovascular and  central nervous system in clinical pharmacology and pharmacokinetics. The day ended with Dr Bikash Medhi giving the delegates a lecture on national and international funding agencies and on clinical trial inspection.

 

Shemrock School organize Seminar To Channelize Energy of Children

By 121 News Reporter

Chandigarh 25^th February:- Shemrock Senior Sec. School organized a seminar for the overall development of the students for  parents. Dilbagh Singh had a counseling session with parents. He discussed about the various life stages and problems related to childhood. He talked about the paucity of time these days parents are finding it to cope up with needs of growing kids. He emphasized the need of Emotional Stability and Emotional intelligence. He talked about the various aspects of parenting such as attachment, attunement, empathy and communication.

According to Dilbagh Singh due to busy schedule of parents in social commitments and professions, children nowadays start lagging behind, though, some parents too has so much expectation from their children being over ambitious and do not appreciate their efforts of their children so mental and physical development of the children hamper due to burden and pressure that the reason these kind of  seminars plays crucial role to eliminate  pressure from of the life of the children  .

Principal , S.K.Sharma while speaking at this moment said that joint efforts of parents and teachers are required for the overall development of the students. Later,Dibagh Singh listened to the problems of the parents and suggest  them possible solutions.

 

 

Microsoft Devices Brings Irresistible Cashback Offers on LUMIA 830 AND LUMIA 930

By 121 News Reporter

Chandigarh 25^th February:- Microsoft Devices announcing exciting cash back offers on gorgeous Lumia devices. Microsoft Devices will ensure that you capture your colourful memories and never miss a moment on a Lumia 830 and Lumia 930 with the Rs.7000/-guaranteed cash back offer. Availing this offer is really simple- just walk into the retail store and ask for either a Lumia 830 or Lumia 930 to get the cash back amount upfront.

 

CII Expects Union Budget to Ease Burden on Industry

By 121 News Reporter

Chandigarh 25^th February:- The first full-fledged budget of the new Government would go a long way in reviving investors' sentiments and set the 'Make in India' tone for providing fillip to manufacturing, said Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in a press release issued here today. CII hopes that the budget will ease the burden on industry in more than one way.

Darpan Kapoor, Chairman, CII Chandigarh Council & Vice Chairman, Kapsons group said that he corporate tax rate inclusive of surcharge, education cess and other levies for domestic companies as well as for unincorporated bodies i.e. Firm, Limited Liability Partnership, etc. should be reduced to 25 percent. It is 33.99 % for domestic companies and 30 % for unincorporated bodies presently. Imposition of increased surcharge on tax makes cost of doing business in India significantly high. This has adversely impacted the investors' sentiments and is a blow to the investments, economic growth and entrepreneurship. He added further, the present rate of Minimum Alternate Tax ("MAT") is 18.50%. The rate was 7.5% in 2007. Therefore, the rate of MAT has almost doubled in last 10 years and hence CII suggests that the rate of tax under MAT should be restricted to 10%. CII has submitted that investment allowance eligible for deduction should also be reduced while calculating MAT. The period for availability of MAT credit may be extended from 10 years to 15 years to enable developers to claim credit in long-gestation projects.

Sanjeev Pahwa,Chairman, CII Punjab State Council & Managing Director, Ralson India Ltd.said that to promote investments, it is critical to fast track the stalled projects. It should be ensured that these projects are awarded to private sector by first securing the key sovereign clearances for PPPs, so that unnecessary delays are avoided. He highlited that it is highly imperative to introduce and implement Goods & Services Tax to boost Indian economy without exclusion of any products as suggested by Parliament Standing Committee. For GST to be acceptable and effective, the Revenue Neutral Rate (RNR) should be maintained at a reasonable level. CII believes that introduction of GST will result in adding of another 1.0 – 1.5 percent in GDP. In addition, reduce CST from 2% to 1% on account of delay in implementation of GST.  

Pikender Pal Singh, Regional Director, CII NR said that "CII suggests creation of Fuel Price Stabilization Fund to check volatility in fuel prices. This should be done without adding further tax burden. He further said that to boost the education sector, which is key for sustained economic development, its important to initiate deregulation of education sector. We suggest announcing a roadmap for increasing expenditure on education to 6% of GDP in the next three years. Enhance the allocation for funding research. Provide education vouchers to the needy.

 

Rotary Club Chandigarh Gives Touching Fraewell to 7 Children from Rwanda

By 121 News Reporter

Chandigarh 25^th February:- Rotary Club of Chandigarh gave a touching farewell to the seven children from Rwanda who returned to their home with new lease of life.Past Rotary International President Rajendra K. Saboo, who initiated the Heartline Project along with District Governor of Rotary District 9150 from Rwanda Jean Runuya, and other members of the Club gave a touching farewell to these seven children at the Rotary House here today.Jean Runuya profusely expressed his country's gratitude to the Rotary Club of Chandigarh and team of doctors under Dr. T.S. Mahant, for saving the lives of these children. It is heartening to see how parents handover their little children to the Rotarians with great hope and expectation, to travel to distant land and await their safe return. Prof. Paramjit Singh, President of the Club informed that one boy and six girls accompanied with Dr. Rutare Samuel and male nurse Heshima Christophe, reached the city on 30^th January this year, suffering from various congenital cardiac disorders, and were operated at the Fortis Hospital Mohali. Heartline Project chairs Sukhjit Singh Gill and Mona Khattar added that children have recovered well and Rotaractors of the club had also taken to the city for an outing last week and entertained them. Rajendra K. Saboo informed that the Club had been able to save 546 lives of the children, which included several children from abroad, since India is at a stage when it can give back to the world its knowledge and expertise. All this had been made possible from the donations by individuals and organizations to support the cost of the surgery which is shared by the Club's partner hospitals, PGIMER and the Fortis Hospital Mohali. Out of the 546 children saved under the project, there had been 30 children from Rwanda, 15 each from Malawi and Nepal, 34 from Pakistan, 7 from Uganda, 5 from Nigeria, two from Afghanistan, and one from Iraq. Dr. T.S. Mahant, Executive Director, CTVS, Fortis Hospital Mohali. who led the team of surgeons, said that the children suffered from serious condition called rheumatic heart disease which often requires repair or replacement of heart valves. Such children can't play, walk or do normal activities due to breathlessness, chest pain, heart palpitations, etc. The valve-replacement surgeries were long and complicated yet successful and we are happy that these children would be able to lead happy and healthy lives.

 

CRT to Support Underprivileged Through FM Radio

By 121 News Reporter

Chandigarh 25^th February:- To spread awareness on several issues related to the underprivileged children, Chandigarh Round Table (CRT 216), has tied up with MY FM. CRT 216 is an extended arm of the Round table India movement in Chandigarh.

Elaborating on the tie-up Atul Luther, Chairman CRT 216, said that the NGO plans to take up several issues which would be dealt with through radio shows by the brand ambassador who has extended full support to the cause. CRT an NGO of non political people mainly consisting of young people between the ages of 30-40 years only making a difference in society and put in a lot of efforts to uplift society by providing education to the underprivileged. It had last week organised a Blind Man Car Rally where blind students were the navigators using a Braille script.

CRT is also supporting 'Support my School' project in which it would be lending help to underprivileged studying in city government schools. The objective of CRT216 is Freedom through education. Under the various activities of CRT 216 include funding projects, holding fund raiser events, and community service activities. 

 

BUDGET MUST CREATE EMPLOYMENT, INDUCE DEMAND AND INVESTMENTS: PHD CHAMBER

By 121 News Reporter

Chandigarh 25^th February:- Rajiv Bali, Chairman, Punjab Committee, PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry, while complimenting the new Government for big-bang reform announcements said the forthcoming Union Budget 2015-16 is being formulated in a benign macro-economic environment at domestic and international level after many years. The economy is looking up and the real GDP growth rate has improved significantly.

He said that the key drivers of economic growth would be creating more and more employment opportunities with increasing the share of manufacturing in GDP to 25%. While giving suggestions for creating employment with growth and competitiveness of the manufacturing sector. He said that around 50 crore people in India are under-20 years of age and, thus, will be under the working age in the next 20 years, implying a need for the creation of about 10 lakh new jobseach month to provide them gainful employment. However, less than 10% of the workforce at around 5 crore is skilled only. An unskilled labour force implies that expansion of skill-intensive services cannot be the primary job creating solution for India. So, in this regard, manufacturing sector must grow fast with a sizeable contribution in the overall economic growth.

For the growth of manufacturing sector, the MSMEs segment should be looked into seriously. MSMEs have immense potential to create millions of new employment opportunities due to labour intensive production processes, however, MSMEs definition in India is limited and far away from global standards. It should be turnover basis; Rs. 1crore to 25Crore for Micro enterprises, Rs25crore to Rs100Crore for Small enterprises and Rs100crore to Rs1000crore for Medium enterprises.

 

 

SSP Interact with the Students of GGDSD College:Brief about the Smart 24x7 Women app

By 121 News Reporter

Chandigarh 25^th February:- To make aware of newly launched women app "Smart 24x7" and i-clik kiosk to the students of G.G.D-S.D. College, Sector-32, Chandigarh, Dr.S.S.Gill, IPS, Senior Superintendent of Police, UT Chandigarh  hold the interaction session with the students.  SSP assured the students to ask open heartedly without any fear, any type of question in their mind related to police. 

The function was started with welcome song presented by the college students. SSP/UT also honoured the volunteers of NGO 'AAVAHAN' who contributed towards Road Safety. A short video film about road safety was also shown to the audience. Ms. Urvija Goel, IPS, ASP/South briefed the students about the "iclik" (instant complaint login internet kiosk) machine installed at Sector-22 HDFC ATM premises and mode of logging the complaints available in the newly launched machine. She advised the girl students to contact the police for any type of harassment. 

Roshan Lal, DSP/Communication and Law & order briefed the students about the steps followed by the Police on each and every distress call.  DSP also requested the students to maximum publicize the app and iclik  machine to their near dears in addition to using dial-100 system. 

Bhupinder Singh Saini from smart group given the tips of down loading the app and its technical features.  Inspector Harjit Kaur of W&CSU motivated the girls to contact police either through women app or through dial-100 in case of eve teasing or any type of harassment to the girls even through social media. She also requested to girls not to make the friends to unknown girls/persons and do not share their photographs & video on social network. 

 

 

 

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Maharishi Dayanand Public School organizes Quiz

By 121 News Reporter

Chandigarh 25^th February:- Maharishi Dayanand Public School organized quiz in collaboration with department of Chandigarh Renewal Energy of Science and Technology. This quiz was divided into two categories i.e., junior and senior which was started with ten teams of each category. Five teams A, B, C, D and E were selected for middle round .Team B, C & E participated in final round for junior category. It was tough competition. Team: B, Rohit and Dhruvsh stood first by getting 80 marks. Team: E, Deepika and Muskan got 70 marks and received second place. Team: C, Rahul and Sunny achieved 60 marks and stood third for the junior category.  In senior category participants of E team Shivraj and Jaspreet stood first. Arti and Archana participants of team: B got second position. Nikita  and Sania of team: A received third position.

 Principal Vinod Kumar gave away prizes to the winners. He told that the main aim of this competition was to create awareness of energy conservation.

 

 

11th Annual “Guru Madan Lal Koser – Guru Shobha Koser Award 2015 on February 28th at Tagore Theatre

By 121 News Reporter

Chandigarh 25^th February:- To promote art & culture Pracheen Kala Kendra, will be going to hold the 11th Annual "Guru Madan Lal Koser – Guru Shobha Koser Award 2015" at Tagore Theatre on February 28th  2015 at 6:30 PM  and will be bestowed upon the acclaimed Santoor Wizard Pt. Satish Vyas.

Disclosing the details of the programme Kendra's  Secretary  Sajal Koser said that the award this year will be conferred  upon Pt. Satish Vyas by  Anurag Agarwal (Home Secretary) who has very kindly consented to be the Chief Guest of the function as well. The award ceremony will be followed by a captivating Santoor recital by Pt. Satish Vyas.     He added that through this award we humbly pay tribute to those stalwarts who have rendered substantial contribution in the realm of classical art and culture. This award is special and unique because it is a kind of recognition and salute to the talent of an artist by an artist. Since the governing body of the Kendra comprises of artistes as well as connoisseurs of art and culture and the same decides the name of the personality to be honored, therefore, it is considered that the award is given not only to the legends whose contribution is recognized and known world wide but so also to the highly talented artists whose contribution in the field of art and culture is tremendous but the same was not so recognized by the concerned authorities.

The Koser couple – Guru Shobha Koser and late Guru Madan Lal Koser – needs no introduction in the realm of art and culture. They have rendered yeoman's service for the promotion of the classical performing arts for the last about six decades  and their untiring efforts have not only put the city beautiful on the art map of the world but have also succeeded in kindling the interest of young generation towards the classical art of music and dance. As a tribute to the Koser couple for their outstanding contribution towards the promotion of Indian classical music and dance by establishing Pracheen Kala Kendra, which now has become an organisation of international repute dedicated to art and culture having more than 3000 affiliated centres situated in India and abroad, the governing body of Pracheen Kala Kendra in the year, 2004 instituted Guru Madan Lal Koser-Guru Shobha Koser Award.

 

7 Day NSS Camp Starts at CGC Landran

By 121 News Reporter

Chandigarh 25^th February:- A 7 days NSS Camp was inaugurated on 24^thFebruary, 2015 at Chandigarh College of Education, Landran by the Chief Guest Baljinder Singh Thakur, Hon'ble  Member, Punjab State Human Rights Commission in the presence of Dr. Vikas Singh, Campus Dir., CGC and Dr. Neena Sawhney, Principal, CCE. The lamp lightening ceremony marked the auspicious beginning of the 7 days NSS camp. A motivational poem on the importance of social service was recited by B.Ed student Chandarkala. Mrs. Meenakshi Jaswal, NSS Co-ordinator, briefed the NSS volunteers on the entire schedule of forthcoming camp activities. The NSS volunteers also enacted a Nukkad Natak depicting various prevalent social evils in Punjab.

Baljinder Singh Thakur shed light on some of the very useful articles and law provisions enumerated under the Constitution of India. Baljinder Singh also informed in detail the working system of Human Rights Commission and the interventions that Human Rights Commssion makes to solve cases of atrocity and injustice.

The chorus sang the song  'Hum Honge Kamyaab Ek Din' which symbolizes the high spirit and devotion of NSS theme. The students also made a pledge of conducting NSS camp with utmost devotion and sincerity.

Dr. Vikas expressed his sense of gratitude to Sh. Baljinder for making his presence at the inaugural session. He further apprised  that CGC is running a mission ' Huner Se Rozgaar' under which the institute endeavours to identify the qualified but unemployed youth and train such youth in the workshops provided by CGC and thus make them employable. Dr. Vikas also appreciated Dr. Neena Sawhney and her able team of faculty along with her able students to have organized 7 days NSS camp.

Quest Institutes organize Lecture on Writing Skills

By 121 News Reporter

Chandigarh 25^th February:- Quest Group of Institutions organized guest lecture on Writing as an Essential Skill. The Guest Speaker at the moment was Sanjay Singh, Business Head, ProBiz Consultants. The lecture was focused on the importance of writing skills in student life as well as in professional life. He motivated students to develop good hobbies and urged them to remember three main things while writing i.e writing content, how it can be written and why to write.

He emphasized on the importance of correct grammar, punctuation and spelling in written communication. He also threw light on some of the points to be kept in mind while writing Resume & professional email. He briefed students how to strengthen the writing skills and become a more thoughtful, efficient, and confident writer of academic and professional prose. He also talked about various opportunities related to writing skills.

Vice Chairman H P S Kanda said that better  writing skills means  better  impression one will make on the people around including boss, colleagues, and clients etc .Such interactive and enlightened  students with the art of good writing skills.

 

World Architecture Festival:Chandigarh Hosts the Second Leg of the first ever 16-City Design

By 121 News Reporter

Chandigarh 23^rd February:- World Architecture Festival (WAF), the globally known, premier architectural event set its foot for the first time in India with Chandigarh, the city designed by famous French architect Le Corbusier. After a successful inauguration at Jaipur, the 2-day Design Tour of WAF was held in Chandigarh between February 22-23, 2015. From here the tour will continue its journey across 13 more Indian cities. Held at College of Architecture, Chandigarh, the WAF Design Tour provided  a never-before platform for practising and aspiring architects and interior designers to witness glimpses of over 350best architectural marvels from 65 countries of the world which includes the World Building of the Year 2014.

On the first day students from various architectural colleges attended the event. The event witnessed the participation of leading architects viz. Ar. Yashwant Ramamurthy, President, Hyderabad Design Forum, Ar. Ranjodh Singh, Habitat, Ar. Vikram Pannu, Positive Axis, Ar. Rajiv Mahajan, Aadharshila, Ar. Chetan Ahluwalia, Architects File alongwith Mr. Vinit Kumar Tiwari, Country Head (Ply & Board), Greenply Industries Limited and Prof. Pradeep Bhagat, Principal, Chandigarh College of Architecture. The assembled speakers deliberated on the topic 'Is Chandigarh poised to lead the growth of futuristic architecture in India?'

Vinit Kumar Tiwari, Country Head (Ply & Board), Greenply Industries Limited said that chandigarh epitomises one of the best experiments in urban planning and modern architecture in the twentieth century India. However, since then, there haven't been many modern architectural masterpieces, so to say, in India. There is a need to think beyond heritage in order to create modern architecture which will be regarded as iconic in times to come. We feel the architect and student community here are very receptive international designs and architecture. Hence, we thought of organizing the Design Tour first in Chandigarh in order to inspire the designer and architect's fraternity for creating a legacy of international-standard architecture in India through discipline and innovation.

Why WAF in India:-

Rajesh Mittal – Managing Director, Greenply Industries Limited. Said that WAF is held at international locations like Barcelona and Singapore. Owing to the high participation fee and cost of travel to international location, the participation of Indian architects and interior designers in this event is limited to only a prominent few names. As per official estimates of Council of Architecture, India has more than 60000 registered architects and 35000 interior designers practicing across the country. The top 200 colleges of architecture and interior design are further churning out close to 7000 freshers every year. This large audience from the design fraternity is deprived of the exposure to the world's best and path-breaking designs. We, at Greenply, have always been a pioneer in supporting knowledge-based initiatives in the field of design and architecture. In line with this ideology, we are bringing the highly acclaimed WAF to the Indian design fraternity in form of a post event design tour. With the burgeoning body of architects, India has a lot of prospects to make its mark in futuristic and innovative architecture space. We hope that the whole design fraternity will stand benefitted from this exposure to the world's best designs.

 

SSP Interact With GCG 42 Students: Briefed Them about Women App “Smart 24x7”

By 121 News Reporter

Chandigarh 23^rd February:- Dr. S.S.Gill, IPS, Senior Superintendent of Police, UT Chandigarh today briefed the students of Government College for Girls Sector-42 about the newly launched and I clik kiosk. SSP assured the students to ask open heartedly without any fear, any type of question in their mind related to police. 

Ms. Urvija Goel, IPS, ASP/South briefed the students about the "I clik" (instant complaint login internet kiosk) machine installed at Sector-22 HDFC ATM premises and mode of logging the complaints available in the newly launched machine. She advised the girl students to contact the police for any type of harassment.

Roshan Lal, DSP/Communication and Law & order briefed the students about the steps followed by the Police on each and every distress call.  DSP also requested the students to maximum publicize the app and I clik  machine to their near dears in addition to using dial-100 system. 

Bhupinder Singh Saini from smart group given the tips of down loading the app and its technical features.  Inspector Harjit Kaur of W&CSU motivated the girls to contact police either through women app or through dial-100 in case of eve-teasing or any type of harassment to the girls even through social media. She also requested to girls not to make the friends to unknown girls/persons and do not share their photographs & video on social network. 

 

CEAMA Facilitates Soon Kwon for Winning the “Man of Electronics” Award

By 121 News Reporter

Chandigarh 23^rd February:- In addition to his outstanding contribution towards the Consumer Electronics & Home Appliances sector, Immediate Past President, Consumer Electronics and Appliances Manufacturers Association (CEAMA) Anirudh Dhoot, felicitated Soon Kwon, Managing Director, LG Electronics India Pvt. Ltd for winning the "Man of Electronics" award, 2014. CEAMA welcomed Manish Sharma for taking over as the new President, and the newly elected executive committee of 2014-15.

Mohan Kundariya, Hon'ble Union Minister of State for Agriculture and the Chief Guest for the occasion congratulated Soon Kwon for winning the Man of Electronics Award – 2014 and said that India has the potential to develop and manufacture electronics hardware for the global markets and gain higher global share besides meeting country's future requirement. Advancements in the electronics sector also contribute in strengthening country's Agricultural sector. The way forward for electronics industry is a healthy relationship between the Govt. & the industry to put India in a strong and dominant position in the global electronics map.

Soon Kwon, Managing Director, LG Electronics India Pvt. Ltd said that he was honored to receive the "Man of Electronics Award" – 2014, he further quoted that with the manufacturing pitch coming directly from the PM, reflects the direction in which he wants to take the country. This will strengthen India's global footprint, manufacturing and investments in the country.

Anirudh Dhoot, Immediate Past President, CEAMA and Director of Videocon industries on the occasion highlighted the achievements of CEAMA during the last year, he said that consumer Electronic segment is one of the sectors which plays a major role in raising the GDP of the country and providing ample opportunities to the people in terms of job creation and improving quality of life. He highlighted the efforts made by CEAMA to convince the Government on several issues. He added that CEAMA has been helping members in resolving their issues with Central and State Governments, to facilitate manufacturing in the country. He congratulated Manish Sharma, for taking over as the new President of CEAMA and welcomed the newly elected committee for 2014 -15.

Manish Sharma, President, CEAMA and Managing Director, Panasonic India congratulated Soon Kwon for winning the 'Man of Electronics Award- 2014' and thanked the Executive Committee of CEAMA for providing him the opportunity to lead the growth trajectory of CEAMA and assured that he will work towards sustainable growth of the industry.