C-DOT to Launch Broadband Products

C-DOT, the premier R&D institute of the Department of Telecommunications, Govt. of India, has developed indigenous technologies attuned to the sensitive needs of Indian landscape aim at the digital convergence of rural and urban India with a vast potential for building the citadels of “Digital India”. The following 4 products are to launched by Hon’ble Minister of Communication & IT, Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad on 6^th July the Digital India week as observed during 1^st- 7^th July 2015.

1.      Long Distance Wi-Fi System

2.      Solar Powered Wi-Fi System

3.      100Gbps OFC Link

4.      C-DOT Next Generation Network in MTNL Network

1.      Long Distance Wi-Fi System:

C-DOT’s Long Distance WiFi Solution is an all-encompassing, versatile wireless platform that is capable of extending WiFi & IP connectivity to the remote and inhospitable terrains of India in a cost-effective and power-efficient manner. The product is capable of providing 100Mbps broadband speed to users of distant locations. C-DOT’s Long Distance WiFi differentiates itself with the following unique attributes as wireless connectivity:

·        Direct Optical Fibre at WAN interface, which enables high speed connectivity with consistent bandwidth.

·        Mesh technology, which makes connectivity possible even where direct Line of Sight (LoS)is not present. This shall prove effective in its deployment to NE India where connectivity and hilly terrain remains a challenge.

·        Support to link redundancy in case of failure of one radio/link.

·        This technology is backed by robust operations, management  & maintenance software 

Provisioned with a solar powered green energy source, this solution can utilize enabling the seamless WiFi access over long distances in an efficacious manner.

2.      Solar Powered Wi-Fi System :

Solar Wifi operates in license exempt bands of 2.4 & 5.8GHz. The solution is specifically designed for outdoor environments, inaccessible terrains, where there is no guarantee for continuous power. The system is designed to work in variable input volatages and in harsh conditions. It  can  also  be  used  for  Backhaul  link  for  Wi-Fi  hot  spots,  cellular  base stations and base station controllers, ATMs, Database servers etc. Also the solution is well suited to extend last mile  wireless connectivity beyond Panchayat which are being connected to C-DOT developed Gigabit Passive Optical Network (GPON) technology forming the backbone of  Bharatnet -The National Optical Fiber Network (NOFN),

3.      100Gbps OFC Link :

Keeping in view the ever increasing demand for superior bandwidth, high speed and power efficiency in the fiercely competitive market scenario, C-DOT’s Suteevra is poised to play a significant role. In this fast moving digital world where it is hard to find PC port of less than 1GbE speed, Suteevra carries valuable significance in creating enabling infrastructure for providing high-speed user experience anytime, anywhere. The solution is capable of serving multiple applications and protocols ranging from the Data, Storage, TDM, ATM and Video networks. Suteevra is a versatile mini 100G OTN (Optical Transport Network) platform based on the latest standards offering the ease of being deployed in both Greenfield networks and existing OTN(Optical Transport Network) environments. Capable of supporting a distance of upto 50 Km without an amplifier, its uniquely designed system and management interfaces with clearly defined performance monitoring features make it ideally suited to the current market trends.

4.       C-DOT Next Generation Network (NGN) in MTNL Network

C-DOT’s  cost-effective NGN solution addresses the need of the changing  telecom scenario and enables TELCOs to make a smooth transition from legacy TDM ( Time Division Multiplexing) technology to  advance VoIP  Telecom technology. The technology has various components of hardware and software and they are all indigenously designed by C-DOT . In fact , a successful trial of the developed live network has been done for 1000 landline connections of legacy PSTN technologies to C-DOT’s IMS-compliant NGN technology. With this successful trial,  MTNL can  think of launching  various services ( voice, video and data) through various access based on IP. Also, it now possible to migrate its existing 3.5 million landline subscribers of MTNL  to IP based network.

These uniquely architected indigenous solutions can play a catalytic role in fulfilling the objective of holistic digital empowerment resulting in the creation of a knowledge economy as envisaged under the flagship mission, “Digital India” – A prorgamme to transform into digitally empowered society and knowledge economy.  Hon’ble MoC&IT  will launch C-DOT products designed and developed to take Broadband to every nook and corner of India. These products are essential infrastructure for broadband connectivity and enabler to facilitate delivery of services.

Social Welfare: Best Practices

Best Practices 

i. The UT of Chandigarh is giving petrol/diesel subsidy to PwDs @Rs.2500/- per month. Transportation being important for the category, this needs to be followed by other States/UTs also. 

ii. Programmes like Hum Raahi of Government of Haryana could be started by other States/UTs for which Central Government assistance under awareness generation scheme can also be available. 

iii. The Himachal Pradesh representative informed that they had no homes for the mentally retarded persons in the State. The same was required in 3 regions. It was stated that the Central Government could give one-time grant for the purpose whereas the recurring expenditure will have to be borne by the State Government. 

All the States could follow the pattern of Assam Government for half-way homes. 

iv. The Government of Telangana representative informed that under their SADAREM scheme they are issuing disability certificate within 1 day. Under this disability data of a person is fed into computer and the computer itself assesses the percentage of disability. 

v. The State Government of Tamil Nadu is operating Chief Minister's Health Insurance Scheme under which financial assistance is given for Cochlear Implants. Other States can also from such schemes. 

Human hands more primitive than chimp hands

Human hands more primitive than chimp hands
Wednesday, 15 July 2015 Jennifer Viegas
Discovery News

The development of an opposable thumb that enables humans to grip and manipulate objects is widely believed to give us an evolutionary edge.

But new research finds that human hands are more primitive than those of our closest primate ancestors chimpanzees.

The study, published in the the journal Nature Communications, found that human hand proportions have changed little from those of the last common ancestor of chimps and humans, while the hands of chimps and orangutans have evolved quite a bit.

"The findings suggest that the structure of the modern human hand is largely primitive in nature, rather than, as some believe, the result of more recent changes necessary for stone tool-making," says Kurtis Hiatt, a spokesperson for The George Washington University.

The researchers, led by Sergio Almécija, a scientist in the university's Center for the Advanced Study of Human Paleobiology, analysed the hands of humans, chimps and orangutans, as well as the remains of hands for early apes like Proconsul heseloni and the hands of human ancestors, such as Ardipithecus ramidus and Australopithecus sediba.

Almécija and colleagues, Jeroen Smaers and William Jungers from Stony Brook University, discovered that human hands today are not that different from those of the early human ancestors.

"Human hands are marked by a relatively long thumb when compared to the length of their four other fingers — a trait that is often cited as one of the reasons for the success of our species because it facilitates a 'pad-to-pad precision grip,'" says Hiatt.

Conversely, chimp hands are much longer and narrower. Since the thumb is not as long, it just meets up with the palm, while the chimp's other four fingers extend upward. As a result, chimps and orangutans do not have opposable thumbs as we do.

Gorillas also appear to have inherited our more primitive hand structure. Like human hands, gorilla hands have five fingers, including an opposable thumb. Gorilla feet are similar to ours too. Each gorilla foot has five toes, but their big toe is opposable and can move much more flexibly than ours can.

Almécija and his colleagues suspect that all living primates survived a late Miocene (12 to 5 million years ago) extinction event by specialising to exist in certain habitats. While chimps and orangutans became tree-climbing specialists, humans evolved to become more terrestrial.

Gorillas did too.

While we tend to think that gorillas spend much of their time hanging around in trees, the truth is that they only spend about 5 to 20 percent of their time in trees. Even then, the tree scaling is just to escape threats or to forage for food.

The new study challenges the assumption that the evolution of a more "sophisticated" hand in humans first appeared in the common ancestor of chimps and our species.

Our hands, however useful, may instead represent a very primitive anatomical structure that's been around for millions of years.
hands
Friday, 23 January 2015 Jennifer Viegas
Discovery News

The researchers analysed the internal structure of hand bones from a range of species and found that the hands of A. aftricanus resemble those of modern humans (TL Kivell)
Related Stories
First conversations may have been about tools, Science Online, 14 Jan 2015
Ancient ancestor had chimp and human traits, Science Online, 17 Apr 2013
Tool-making ancestor may rewrite history, Science Online, 09 Sep 2011
Some of the earliest, and still very ape-looking members of our family tree were the first to process foods, make handcrafted stone tools, and do relatively sophisticated tasks, suggests a new study.

The study, published in the latest issue of the journal Science challenges the long-standing assumption that Homo habilis, aka. 'Handy Man', was the first crafter of stone tools around 2.4 million years ago.

"Instead, I think our findings show that the traditional view that stone tool use was something that only members of our own genus Homo were capable of is outdated," says senior author Dr Tracy Kivell of the University of Kent .

Stone tool usage "goes back much earlier -- long before the appearance of Homo -- than we originally thought," she adds.

Kivell, lead author Dr Matthew Skinner, and their colleagues came to that conclusion after analysing the internal bone structure from Australopithecus hands from the Pliocene Epoch, approximately 5.3 - 2.6 million years ago.

Australopithecus individuals had a mixture of ape and human features. They sported foot and leg bones suited for walking upright, but had long arms appropriate for tree climbing.

The researchers found that Australopithecus africanus had human-like hands that were capable of precision grips, such as squeezing small objects. These early members of the human family tree also had an opposable thumb. The hand features likely evolved from even earlier human ancestors that possessed long fingers and short thumbs, which facilitate manoeuvring in trees.

Prior studies have found that both making and utilising stone tools by hand requires forceful, precision-pinch grips. Since A. africanus could use its hands in such a way, logic holds that they were indeed making stone tools, but where are the tools?

That is now a big mystery, because the earliest known stone tools date to after A. africanus lived.

First stone tools
"The first recognisable stone tools consist of stone pebbles and simple flakes and date to about 2.5 million years ago from Ethiopia," says Skinner, who is a paleoanthropologist at the University of Kent and the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology.

"This is also when we start to find animal bones with cut-marks made from stone tools."

"However," he adds, "there is some evidence for these type of cut-marks at 3.4 million years ago, a time period only associated with Australopiths."

There are challenges to finding very early stone tools, he explains, because "they are likely very simple flakes that were originally scattered across the landscape."

Dr Matthew Tocheri, who is Canada Research Chair in Human Origins at Lakehead University, says the new study makes a convincing case that "Australopiths were not only capable of using their hands in more human-like ways than living great apes, but also that they actually used their hands in more human-like ways. That's why the bone (in A. africanus) has remodeled in response to that more human-like hand use."

He suspects that the lack of stone tools in the archaeological record prior to 2.5 million years ago suggests that the tools were not as adaptively important to A. africanus as they were to later humans.

Dr Brian Richmond, a curator in the Division of Anthropology at the American Museum of Natural History says "With this study, we finally have evidence of what we long suspected--Australopiths used their human-like hand proportions to handle objects in human-like ways."

He says that the study raises many new questions, and not just about the missing tools. For example, he wonders if all Australopiths had human-like hands, or if it was just A. africanus. Also, he is curious if the bones provide evidence for frequent, or infrequent but high-intensity, hand activity.

The answers to these and other related questions could help to resolve when and how the first stone tools were made, who exactly made them, and what they might have been used for millions of years ago. They could also shed direct light on the evolution of our species, which has relied so much on tools -- from prehistoric stone hammers to present day high tech computers -- since the earliest days of our existence.

Health Minister directs officials to gear up for monsoon: Review meeting held on preparedness of States

Shri J P Nadda, Minister for Health and Family Welfare, has given topmost priority to advance preparedness of states affected by dengue, in order to prevent the disease and effectively manage it. He has been personally monitoring the situation and the preparedness of the states. The Minister has directed the officials in the Ministry to gear up to meet the possible incidence of Dengue during monsoon. “We are coordinating with states concerned and are ready to provide all necessary support,” said Shri Nadda. Under his direction, Shri B P Sharma, Secretary (Health and Family Welfare) chaired a high-level meeting to review the dengue situation in four northern states viz. Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and National Capital Territory of Delhi, here yesterday. Dr. (Prof) Jagdish Prasad, DGHS, Shri C K Mishra, Additional Secretary and Mission Director (NHM), and Health Secretaries and representatives from the states participated in the meeting.

Reviewing the preparedness of the states in view of the ensuing transmission season, the states were advised that as no vaccine is available for prevention and as there is no specific drug for treatment of the disease, source reduction activity to eliminate the mosquito vector breeding needs to be the top priority to reduce the risk of transmission.

The states were asked to strengthen and work towards focussed IEC activities in coordination with Swachha Bharat Campaign to maintain a mosquito free environment. The Health Secretary pointed out that community awareness campaign plays a crucial role to create awareness and prevent panic in case of dengue positivity. The states have been advised to launch public awareness campaigns to disseminate information on the DO’s and DON’Ts of Dengue to enable and educate communities for prevention of Dengue.

The Health Secretary also stressed on inter-sectoral coordination for prevention of mosquitogenic condition. The states were advised to give priority to training of doctors based on the recent National Guidelines on Dengue case management. The states were also asked to ensure availability of dengue diagnostic kits (ELISA based NS1 and IgM) in all the Sentinel Surveillance Hospitals. Provision of implementation of legislation for the construction sites and residential areas was identified as one of the thrust areas during the meeting. 

The Health Minister was briefed about the proceedings and the preparedness of the states. He directed the concerned officers to continuously monitor the situation and to keep him apprised. 

modern model NandGhars - Anganwaadi

Smt Maneka Sanjay Gandhi inaugurates the first Public Private Partnership model based anganwadi centre ‘NandGhar’ in Sonipat District of Haryana

4000 such modern model NandGhars to be set up across the country under the new initiative

The Union Minister for Women and Child Development, Smt. Maneka Sanjay Gandhi inaugurated the first of its kind modern and model Anganwadi centre ‘NandGhar’ on PPP model at Hasanpur village in Sonipat district of Haryana today.

The Union Ministry of Women & Child Development will set up 4000 such multifunctional NandGhars across the country to benefit over 4 lakh women and children.

Addressing the gathering after the inauguration, Smt Maneka Sanjay Gandhi said that the 4000 NandGhars proposed to be set up under this partnership, will have all facilities that can contribute to the healthy development of children. Their whole life will be better if they are provided good care and facilities in pre-school level, the Minister said. Smt Maneka Gandhi said that each Anganwadi should be treated as a centre where children can receive some education, can be fed and take part in play activities, she said.

The Minister explained that this place can also be used as a community centre for women of the village to share their feelings and thoughts. The centre will also act as a platform for skill development.

Smt Maneka Sanjay Gandhi also announced that the Central Government is soon going to open ‘One Stop Crisis Centres’ for women who are under any kind of physical, mental or psychological crisis. She said that the first such centre is being opened in Raipur District of Chhattisgarh and the first centre of Haryana will be opened in Karnal district of Haryana.

Addressing the gathering on the occassion, the Women and Child Development Minister, Government of Haryana, Smt. Kavita Jain said that the state Government will provide all support including land and administrative support for development of these centres in the state of Haryana. She said that it will set a commendable example of partnership between the Government and corporate sector for the development of society. Smt Kavita Jain said that Haryana Government is functioning in the direction of achieving the target of ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padao’ scheme of the Government of India and ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padao Cell’ has been established by Haryana Government for this purpose.

These Anganwadis have been named as “NandGhar” by the Prime Minister and a singular design will be followed for these centres at all locations. NandGhar initiative adds to the existing Anganwadi model of the Ministry’s ‘Integrated Women and Child Development Scheme’ and this centre will act as a focal area for immunization, gender sensitization and maternal care.

The integrated Anganwadi model ‘NandGhar’ will provide smart education, mobile vans, Health Awareness and Skill training. The ‘NandGhar’ centres are proposed to be run as a shared space in which 50% of the time will be devoted to children’s education and the remaining half will support women’s skill development.

The NandGhar structure has low lifetime maintenance cost, is spacious with ample light, and is fire, dampness and earthquake proof. NandGhar offers amenities of smart education through interactive graphics, Hygienic toilets, Safe drinking water, a dedicate kitchen and storage space and will run on Solar Panel Power.

In this unique partnership, the Union Ministry of Women & Child Development and Vedanta will share the cost of construction of the buildings, which are prefab structures. The land for the Anganwadis will be provided by the Gram Panchayats and the construction will be undertaken by NBCC.

The Member of Parliament from Sonipat, Shri Ramesh Chandra Kaushik, Shri Anil Agarwal ji, Chairman of Vedanta Group, senior officials of the Union Ministry of Women and Child Development and Government of Haryana were also present on the occasion.

****

memorandum submitted to the DoNER Minister, the Asom Gorkha leaders also demanded Scheduled Tribes (ST)

Gorkha community's sacrifices are example for others: Dr Jitendra Singh

Citing Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw’s famous observation “if a man says he is not afraid of dying, then he is either lying or a Gorkha”, the Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr. Jitendra Singh said here today that the Gorkha community has served the nation through thick and thin, and their sacrifices are an example for others to follow. He was speaking to a delegation of ‘Asom Gorkha Sammelan’ led by its President, Shri Arun Upadhyaya, who called on the Minister to represent some of the long pending grievances of the community.

Among the various issues put forth before Dr. Jitendra Singh, the delegation claimed that in the North Eastern Region of India, the history of ‘Assam Rifles’ and the ‘Gorkha Regiment’ is indeed the history of the bravery of Gorkha soldiers but unfortunately in recent times, the recruitment of Gorkha youth in India’s defence forces has declined. This is partly because of the reason that a Gorkha domicile certificate is expected from them. In addition, as per the gazette notification, the word ‘Nepali’ is used synonymously for a Gorkha individual and it creates confusion for the recruiting agencies. They demanded that the Gorkha Community Certificate issued by the ‘Asom Gorkha Sammelan’ should be honoured for the purpose of employment or recruitment to defence forces.

In a memorandum submitted to the DoNER Minister, the Asom Gorkha leaders also demanded Scheduled Tribes (ST) status for their community and creation of autonomous council constituency comprising Gorkha inhabited areas. 

The other demands made in the memorandum included setting up of a Gorkha cultural and heritage centre and simplification of the process for inclusion of Gorkha community members in the National Register of Citizens.

Dr. Jitendra Singh gave a patient hearing and said, he would personally follow up the issues falling within the purview of his Ministry whereas the other issues will be taken up with the concerned Departments and Ministries. 

maggi controversy- PIB

Press Note 

Pursuant to the adverse results received after sampling and testing of M/s Nestle India Private Limited’s “Maggi Instant Noodles with Tastemaker” in U.P., the Food Safety & Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) had advised Commissioners of Food Safety in various States to draw samples and get the same tested from authorized laboratories.

Analysis of the reports received, and the record of the case, revealed the following 3 violations in the product:

(i)          Presence of lead in excess of the permissible level of 2.5 ppm

(ii)        Misleading label of “No added MSG- Monosodium Glutamate”

(iii)       Release of “Maggi Oats Masala Noodles with Tastemaker” without risk assessment and grant of product approval.

The Company representatives were given a hearing on 4.6.2015 by the Chairman and CEO of FSSAI to seek their response in the matter.  The Company contended that testing protocols had not been complied with; that the “No added MSG” label was fixed on account of lack of clarity and in accordance with industry practices; and that the Oat Noodles had been launched at a time when the advisory dated 11.5.2013 (on the subject of product approvals) had been stayed by the Court. 

The above response was considered by FSSAI and not found to be satisfactory.  The violations of the law have been held to be established. 

Accordingly, vide Order dated 5.6.2015, FSSAI has directed the Company as follows:

(i)           Withdraw and recall all the 9 approved variants of Maggi Instant Noodle from the market; and stop further production, processing, import, distribution and sale thereof.

(ii)         Comply with the labeling regulations and remove the label of “No added MSG”.

(iii)        Withdraw and recall the food product “Maggi Oats Masala Noodles with Tastemaker” and any other product for which risk assessment has not been undertaken and product approval granted.

(iv)      Take appropriate action to re-ascertain the safety of its products in compliance of the obligation contained in Section 26 of the Food Safety Standards Act, 2006.

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