18 new Ayurveda colleges received government nod in 2014

NDA Government has given nod to 18 new Ayurveda colleges in 2014. Government by this decision is seeking to promote traditional forms of treatment and integrate them into the existing health care system.
Among the 18 new Ayurveda colleges, 7 new colleges will come up in Uttar Pradesh, 3 in Maharashtra, 2 in Rajasthan and besides six others in as many states.  The approval to these new institutes was given by Ayush Ministry which is in charge of Ayurveda, yoga and naturopathy, unani, siddha and homeopathy.
Earlier, then UPA government had granted the permission to only one college last year against proposals for 30 new colleges the previous government had received. No permission was given in 2011 and 2012.
Background
Currently, there are 281 Ayurveda colleges in the country offering 15,057 graduate and 3,081 post-graduate seats.
NDA government is pitching for integration of Ayurveda, yoga and other traditional forms of treatment in the existing health care system on the recommendations of committee to promote holistic health.
The committee had recommended there is need to bring reforms in medical education, research and legal framework.
Earlier in September, 2014, the government had notified National Ayush Mission (NAM) to lay down a detailed road map to shore it up as Ayush infrastructure is not satisfactory besides the industry being poorly regulated.
NAM aims to improve Ayush education and provide better access to its service through increase in number of Ayush hospitals and dispensaries, besides offering quality drugs by increasing pharmacies, drug laboratories and “improved enforcement mechanism”.
The Centre is also aiming to improve legislative framework to regulate Ayush practitioners and drugs with the help of states.

Dubai to build world’s largest airport

Dubai is planning to build world’s largest airport in order secure its position as the world’s aviation hub. It will be located at Dubai World Central at Al Maktoum, 30 km off the present Al Maktoum International airport which already is the second busiest in the world after London’s Heathrow airport.
This project is expected to complete in 2020.

Key facts

• The cost of this airport will be USD 32-billion.
• The proposed new airport will become the world’s largest aviation facility on completion.
• It will have five runways which all will be simultaneously operational, all A380-compatible with a length of 4.5 km each.
• In the first phase, it will be able to handle 120 million passengers, which will go up to 200 million when the project is completed.

Dubai is becoming global aviation hub due to its geographical location and the availability of cheap fuel.
This new airport will help to boost aviation industry of Dubai and will contribute USD 53.1 billion to its economy, which is 37.5 per cent to its GDP and will support over 750,000 jobs by the turn of 2020.
In 2013, aviation sector as a whole contributed USD 26.7 billion to the Dubai’s economy, which was almost 27 per cent of the national GDP and supported 416,500 jobs accounting for 21 per cent of Dubai’s total employment.

Government adds 18 more coal blocks to fuel the power sector

Government has added 18 more new coal blocks exclusively for the power sector in order to revive the this sector  which was facing hurdles due to poor supply of coal to thermal plants. These 18 coal blocks are added to the existing 74 reserves, which have been earmarked for e-auction as well as for allotment by March 16, 2015.
With the inclusion, the total strength of blocks which would be offered by the Centre through auction as well as direct allotment route is 92.
Top priority to the power sector: Government has given top priority to the power sector, as 59 out of these 92 blocks will be given out for it. Of these 59 blocks, 25 will be put up for e-auction while the remaining 34 will be allotted directly to Centrally-owned as well as State public sector undertakings.
The PSUs, apart from being given blocks directly, also have the option of participating in the auction exercise, as per the Ordinance promulgated by the NDA Government in October 2014. The PSUs will be identified and given blocks (depending on the criticality of their demand) through the already in place Government dispensation route.
Remaining 33 blocks will be offered to the steel and cement sectors.
Ramp up production of Coal India Ltd (CIL): Government is also planning to ramp up production of Coal India Ltd (CIL) which is the largest supplier of dry fuel in the country. For this government is aiming to increase CIL’s current production capacity of 460 million tons annually, to take it to 1 billion tons by 2019.
To achieve the target, Government is planning to introduce modern coal evacuation as well as handling technologies within the next three to four years, as well as by expediting the environmental clearances to CIL’s nearly 200 projects.

India’s first annual hemp conference held in New Delhi

India’s first annual hemp conference was held in New Delhi at Indian Habitat Centre (IHC). The aim of the conference was to provide an opportunity to international agencies get idea of India’s hemp agencies.
This conference was organised by Indian Industrial Hemp Association (IIHA) in association with World Association for Small and Medium Enterprises (WASME), European Industrial Hemp Association (EIHA), Hemp Foods (Australia) and Hemp Age.
Hemp: It is the common name for plants of the entire cannabis. This term is often used to refer only to cannabis strains cultivated for industrial (non-drug) use.
Industrial hemp: It has many uses, including paper, textiles, biodegradable plastics, construction, health food, fuel and hemp oil, wax, resin, rope and pulp.
Implications of hemp industry: Industrial hemp can bring a revolution in the industry as hemp fibre is the strongest one in the world. It has the potential to cure cancer and a next generation crop to bring revolution to our Indian economy.

Russian Film ‘Leviathan’ adjudged best film of 45th IFFI

Russian film ‘Leviathan’ has bagged the Golden Peacock at the closing ceremony of the 45th International Film Festival of India (IFFI).
Key Highlights of 45^th IFFI

• Marathi movie ‘Ek Haazarachi Note’ has bagged the centenary trophy for best film i.e. Silver Peacock.
• The Lifetime Achievement award was presented to Hong-Kong filmmaker Wong Kar-wai, known for his films like ‘In the Mood for Love’, ‘Ashes of Time’ and ‘Chungking Express’.
• The best actor award was shared by Russian actor Alexel Serebriakov and Indian actor Dulal Sarkar.
• The best actress award was shared by two international stars they are Cuban actress Arina Rodriguez and Israeli actress Sarit Larry.
• The festival also paid tribute to departed legends of cinema including Robin Williams, Richard Attenborough, Zohra Sehgal, Suchitra Sen and Farooq Shaikh by screening some of their works.

P V Sindhu wins Macau Open Grand Prix Gold Badminton Title

Indian badminton star P V Sindhu has won Macau Open Grand Prix Gold Badminton Title held in Macau. She defeated Kim Hyo Min of Korea in the women’s singles finals by score of 21-12, 21-17.
She has defended 120000 US dollar Macau Grand Prix Gold title which she had won earlier in 2013.

About P V Sindhu

• P V Sindhu is two-time World Championship bronze medalist. Currently she is ranked World No. 11.
• She had created history by becoming the first Indian to win two back-to-back medals in the World Badminton Championships.
• She was first Indian woman to win a medal in singles at the World Championships (India’s first singles medal since Prakash Padukone won bronze in 1983).