PG Times

The central government increased the plan outlay for health by 13.9 per cent to Rs 3,04,777 crore in 2012-13 , the  Economic Survey  said on Wednesday. It said that under the National Rural Health Mission, over 1.4 lakh health human resources were added till September 2012, and under infrastructure strengthening 10,473 sub-centres, 714 primary health centres and 245 community health centres were constructed. A sum of Rs 520 crore was released to open 132 auxiliary nursing schools, 137 general nursing and midwifery schools in districts where there are no such institute. Opening of six nursing colleges at sites of AIIMS-like institutes at a cost of Rs 120 crore was also under consideration, the survey said. In the 12th Five Year Plan, the central outlay for health has been increased by 200 per cent to Rs 3,00,018 crore compared to the actual outlay of Rs 99,491 crore in the 11th Five Year Plan. This outlay will be directed towards building on the initiatives taken in the p

Conceding that there was an “acute shortage” of doctors in rural West Bengal, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday said the government would soon issue advertisements to hire more doctors. “In many parts of the state, we do not have doctors, nurses and even pathologists. We are facing an acute shortage,” she said at ASHA Anganwadi workers’ convention. She said the government would soon place advertisements on various websites for appointment of doctors from across the country. “If we find that doctors from other states are willing to work in rural Bengal, we will employ them under the West Bengal Medical Services,” she said. Banerjee also said the government would start giving a fixed salary to Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHA) from April. “From April, you will get a fixed monthly salary of Rs 1,300. The health department will give it. For this initiative, our government will have to spend about Rs 100 crore,” she added.

Second time lucky? An Australian billionaire has unveiled the  blueprints  for a successor ship to the doomed ocean liner Titanic, saying that the nostalgic trans-Atlantic voyage could set  sail  in 2016.  " The Titanic was the ship of dreams. Titanic II is the ship where dreams will come true,"  Clive Palmer  said on Tuesday at the Intrepid, Sea, Air & Space Museum, where he showed off the blueprints .  He said its maiden voyage will trace the trans-Atlantic crossing of the Titanic and could take place in 2016. Palmer said construction is scheduled to start soon in China , the  New York Post  reported.  Palmer plans to build Titanic II, a cruise ship that will be a near-replica of the luxurious liner that hit an  iceberg  and sank in the Atlantic on its maiden voyage to New York in 1912. More than 1,500 people perished on the vessel but Palmer insists he's not tempting fate this time around. This Titanic will have enough lifeboats, Palmer

Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Thursday announced, as part of the Union Budget 2013-14, that medical colleges under six All India Institute of Medical Sciences-like institutions will start functioning in 2013 . Chidambaram added that Rs 1650 crore have been allotted to start the functioning of these medical colleges . The colleges have been set up in Jodhpur, Bhopal, Rishikesh, Bhubaneswar, Raipur and Patna. In September 2012, the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (Amendment) Bill, 2012, had replaced an ordinance, which allowed the six AIIMS-like institutes to become operational from September 15, 2012.

NEET PG case (T.C.(C)No.98/2012) was listed as  item no. 3  in the final cause list for the Court no. 1. (28th Feb) The case discussion started around 11 am and continued till evening. Today the hearing started with Mr. Ambhoj Kumar Sinha, Senior Advocate. He represented Ramachandra University (Case – 90,123,129 S.(4001) ) He presented his arguments for about 1 hour 15 minutes. Next Mr.Pavani Parameswara Rao (P.P. Rao) presented his arguments on behalf of the State of Andhra Pradesh. Finally, Mr. Nageswara Rao presented his arguments (he represented private colleges). Summary of arguments: The MCI act does not empower the Medical Council of India with the authority to make regulations regarding entrance examinations The MCI can decide how to run MBBS and PG courses But the universities and colleges have the power to choose the process by which students are admitted into the colleges The MCI lawyers have not yet presented their arguments They can reply to the argumen

Amish Tripathi’s much-awaited book, “The Oath of the Vayuputras,” published by Westland Ltd., was launched Feb. 26 at Crossword Bookstore, Kemps Corner. The last book of the Shiva Trilogy was launched in the presence of special guests Kajol and Shekhar Kapur alongside columnist Anil Dharker. Fans of the series lined up outside the store to witness the launch, while others came dressed as their favorite characters from the books, fervently chanting “Har Har Mahadev.” Music and performances from the music album, “Vayuputras,” a compilation of songs based on the book launched by Times Music some weeks ago, embellished the launching ceremony.        The book has been released with an unprecedented 500,000 copies, 3,50,000 of which have been sold out even before release. This final book of the trilogy talks about how Evil has risen and only a God can stop it. Shiva is gathering his forces. He reaches the Naga capital, Panchavati, and prepares for a holy war against his true enemy, a

Ace filmmaker Shekhar Kapur, who was present at the launch of Amish Tripathi's 'Oath of the Vayuputras', third book in his Shiva trilogy, terms the author as 'India's first literary pop star'. Kapur says Tripathi makes him feel like he is in the wrong profession. "Amish Tripathi is 'India's first literary pop star'. I drove here and thought may be I am in the wrong profession. May be I should just sit down and write books. It should be easier than making a film and handling actors ," the 67-year-old said here. "When you are writing a book, your characters do what you exactly want them to do. When you are making a film, they (actors) have to go home, they have problems, their egos. But actually then, try writing one. You have no idea how difficult it is," he added. Kajol was also present at the launch and is all praise for Tripathi's writing style which she says even her nine-year-old daughter can easily understand

Complications , written by Atul Gawande, is a work of non-fiction that provides in-depth insights into the field of modern medicine. It presents several true accounts of doctors and patients to explore a form of science that is far from ideal. Every day brings new mysteries to be solved and complex decisions to be made. In a field that is simultaneously objective and deeply humane, ambiguity and limited information raise the stakes even further. Through numerous real life stories, the book explains how mistakes are made, how good surgeons turn bad, and how the perplexing cases are handled. From a case of persistent nausea, to one of inexplicable and debilitating back pain, the book lays bare the uncertainties in the realm of modern medicine. It was published in 2002. It has since been published in more than a hundred countries. It was also in the running for the National Book Award, which is an annual literary award in the U.S. Atul Gawande  is an American surgeon and journal

Today's arguments by Mr. Dhawan: 1. MCI is just a council and It is not a medical institute . 2. MCI has no powers to conduct or regulate Medical Entrance examinations .Only Medical institutions or Directorate of Medical Educations can conduct entrance examinations 3. It is a body like AICTE. AICTE has adopted perfect norms in conducting all India level exams without jeoparadising private institutions. 4. MCI has created chaos and taken large amount of money from doctors in the name of NEET-PG exams 5. NEET-PG conducted by MCI has to be declared null and void , since MCI is not an medical institute. Some points with respect to concurrent list 66 was highlighted in today's hearing which clearly states that MCI has violated norms. He will continue tomorrow for another 30 minutes . Most probably from tomorrow onwards Tamil Nadu case will start. Seniormost lawyer Mr L Nageshwara Rao will start his arguments on behalf of Tamil Nadu. MCI lawyers Amit

The introduction of MR technology as a clinical imaging modality in the early 1980s is responsible for a substantial increase in human exposure to strong static magnetic fields. Most MR systems in use today operate at fields ranging from 0.2- to 3-Tesla.  According to the latest guidelines from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, clinical MR systems using static magnetic fields up to 8.0-Tesla are considered a “non-significant risk” for adult patients. The exposure of research subjects to fields above this level requires approval of the research protocol by an Institutional Review Board and the informed consent of the subjects.  Currently, the most powerful MR system used for human subjects operates at 9.4-Tesla, but there are plans to develop even higher field strength scanners. Several investigations now describe physiologic findings obtained in human subjects, including volunteers, patients, and workers relative to exposures to the 9.4-Tesla MR system. For the short

One of the most illustrious doctors produced in the city decided to come back to it for what he calls his way of making his name last longer than him. This, despite having travelled across the globe and acquired laurels and applaud at all the places he visited. Dr M Khalilullah, a  cardiologist  who passed out from city's  Government Medical College  in 1956, has held various positions in reputed hospitals in cities like New Delhi and  London . He was in the city to release his book on cardiology. On the occasion, he compared the lives and difficulties of medical students, teachers and professionals during his earlier days and now. " During our time, much emphasis was laid on clinical assessment. We were encouraged to talk to the patients, get to know them and spend time with them in order to make better diagnosis. Bedside mannerism and compassion were among the qualities that were taught to us despite not being a part of the syllabus. Now, there are so many other m

With more and more Indians falling prey to cardiac diseases, it is more important to study the disease in an Indian context.  In order to contribute towards this end, a renowned  cardiologist  of the country, who has been involved in teaching and training students of the subject for five decades,  Dr M Khalilullah   has come up with a textbook of cardiology.  The  book  has contributions from 150 of the most renowned cardiologists of the country including Dr DS Saxena from Bombay Hospital, Dr MR Girinath from  Apollo Hospital , director of the National Heart Institute Dr S Padmavati and Delhi-based Dr Raj Tandon.  "There is no book on the subject by Indian authors, which I felt the students today really needed. This would also make it possible to have an affordable price for the book. So, I started contacting doctors I knew to contribute to this text," said Dr Khalilullah, during the launch of the book in Nagpur.  The collective teaching experience of all

To achieve success, learn to operate from commitment and not from complaint.  William A Ward said, “The four steps to achievement are to plan purposefully, prepare prayerfully, proceed positively, and pursue persistently”. You need to learn the joy of going beyond your limits so that you are not limited by your limitation. To make this happen, you have to understand that the mind should come from  can  and not  cannot,  for when you think you “can” you create success and when you say you “cannot” you create failure.   History is filled with stories of experts who were convinced that the ideas, ambitions, and projects of “others” could never be achieved.  But achievers proved them wrong, for achievers came from a mindset that says, “I  can  make this happen”. There is a significant distinction between aspiration and expectation. You should  have aspiration in life but not expectation. Aspiration seeks to be fulfilled in a creative mode, whereas expectation is part of a begging mo

Come 2016 and  Mayapur   will feature on the must-visit list of tourists and devotees. If things go according to plans, the small town - the headquarter of the religious cult  Iskcon  - will boast the biggest  Vedic temple  of the world . The temple with a height of 340 feet has been named Chandrodaya Mandir and in its completion will be a grand spectacle, bigger than the Hagia Sophia of Istanbul. The first phase of the temple is being built by Alfred Ford, the great grandson of the founder of the  Ford Motor Company , Henry Ford. Sources said construction is under way and the temple will be completed in 2016, the year Iskcon - the religious order founded by Srila Prabhupada - is set to celebrate its the 50th anniversary . The temple would have 6,750,00 square feet of covered area, of which Alfred Ford himself is building 4,250,00 square feet area. The remaining 2,500,00 square feet area would be built with subscriptions from the public for which an appeal was made on Monday

The  British firm Simpson and Brown  has recently reported that the  Angel of Victory  on top of its dome has stopped revolving . The observation is in stark contrast to the report submitted by the Victoria Memorial authorities to Calcutta high court  in 2006, stating that the ball bearing under the angel has been "salvaged" and it is "responding to wind". The court had accordingly refused to pass any further order on the matter. It may be noted that the British firm was engaged by the  National Buildings Construction Corporation  (NBCC) Ltd through a well-known architect to carry out a thorough inspection of the entire structure of the Victoria Memorial Hall. Environment activist Subhas Datta, who had filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) after the angel stopped revolving before 2006, now says that Victoria Memorial authorities may have misguided the court when they submitted that the revolving mechanism has been repaired. According to him, the s