Category: Uncategorized

India’s first new chemical entity (NCE) Lipaglyn (Saroglitazar) is discovered and developed indigenously by an Indian Pharmaceutical Company …Zydus Cadilla.

Zydus Cadilla announced a breakthrough in its research effots with Lipaglyn, a drug targeted at bridging a hitherto unmet healtcare need for treating diabetic dyslipidemia or hypertriglyceridemia in Type II diabetes, not controlled by statins.

Lipaglyn is the world’s first drug for treating diabetic dyslipdemia and combines lipid-and glucose-lowering effects in a single molecule. Lipaglyn has an active ingredient Saroglitazar and is the world’s first glitazar to be approved anywhere in the world.

Discovered by Zydus Research Centre, the dedicated NCE research arm of Zydus Cadilla – the Ahmedabad headquartered group.

The drug has been approved for launch in India by the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI)and is expected to be in the market by 2014.

Lourembam Brojeshori Devi, aged 19 was the first and only female judoka in the Indian Olympic contingent who participated in the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games in the Judo event ‘ Women’s Half-lightweight ‘.

Brojeshori Devi at 19 was a National champion . She  participated in 20 international and 16 national judo championships. Took part in the 2002 Busan Asian Games, the Commonwealth Games 2002 (Manchester) and in 2006 (Melbourne). This judoka won 2 Gold medals in SAF Games in 2006 and 2010. She won a Silver medal at the Vietnam International Judo tournament at Ho Chi Min city. Also represented India in the 2008 Olympics in Beijing (China).

Brojeshori Devi was coached by Deven Moirangthem from Imphal (Manipur)for the period 1995-1988.

L. Brojeshori Devi born January 01st,1981 hails from Imphal, Manipur. She is the 3rd child amongst 5 children born to Lourembam Manglem and Taruni L. of Khagempalli, Huidrom Leikai. She was married to Th Rojen of Tabungkhok Mayai Leikai.

Brojeshori joined the CRPF in 1999 and worked as ‘Inspector’ of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF). She was undergoing training in July 2013 at the CRPF Training Centre in Coimbatore on a Departmental training programme to become ‘Assistant Commandant’ when she became unwell.

She expired prematurely at 10.45pm, July 21st,2013 – aged 32,  at G.K. Hospital, Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu where she was rushed for health related treatment. Lourembam Brojeshori Devi’s last rites were carried out by her husband Rojen Singh in Tabukhok Mayailekai near Imphal.

India’s first indigenous state-of-the-art ‘Manned Chamber Welding’ MCW shop was inaugurated at HAL’s Koraput(Sonabeda)facilities in Odisha by Jitendra Singh, the Minister of State for Defence on Thursday, May 19th, 2013. This makes India the second country in the world after Russia.

HAL Chairman Dr. R K Tyagi handed over the symbol of ‘robotic argon chamber’ dedicated to the nation to the Minister in the presence of the Defence Production Secretary R K Mathur.

The Indian equipment was developed indigenously by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) with the help of other vendors. The Indian MCW system at HAL is unique that it offers both robotic and human (manual) welding in argon atmosphere. Russia and India are the only 2 countries having this facility with the Russian welding process being carried our manually.

In this robotic system, HAL does welding of 17 major modules of Sukhoi engine. The entire outer casing module of the engine is welded inside this chamber. The welder working inside has all life support and health maintaining features.

India’s Prime Minister’s Office has paved the way for the first woman head at a Public Bank. Arundhati Bhattarcharya has been appointed as the Managing Director and Chief Financial Officer of the Country’s largest bank – The State Bank of India (SBI). August 02nd, 2013.

Arundhati Bhattarcharya breaks the glass ceiling and will be the first woman Mangaging Director of the Country’s largest bank – State Bank of India (SBI). She has been promoted from her previous position of Managing Director and Chief Executive Offier of SBI Capital Markets, the merchant banking arm. She replaces Diwakar Gupta who retired just a few days ago.

Prior to her role at SBI Capital Markets, Bhattacharya was also the Corporate Development Officer. She has been instrumental in setting up various initiatives of SBI General Insurance, SBI Macquarie Infrastructure Fund and SBI SG Global Securities Services. She has over 3 decades of experience at SBI and has undertaken various assignments spanning credit, forex, treasury and retail operations.

The SBI has 4 Managing Directors, 5 Deputy Managing Directors and 18 Chief General Managers apart from the Chairman Pratip Chaudhuri. The other 3 Managing Directors are A. Krishna Kumar, Hemant G. Contractor and S. Visvanathan.

Note: There are other women who made it to the top in the domestic Banking and Financial Services industry . You may use the ‘Search’ feature to access the information.

The country’s first private sector, self financed yoga university ‘Lakulish Yoga University’ was inaugrated on May 23rd, 2013 (Thursday) in Ahmedabad, by Narendra Modi, the Chief Minister of Gujarat.

The University has been set up by the Surendranagar based Life Mission Trust which already runs several yoga training centres across the state and overseas. The newly appointed Vice Chancellor is Bansidhar Upadhyay. The Varsity founder Swami Rjarshi Muni said “..there would not be just one medium of teaching in the insititution”.

The University will award degrees for the 3-year courses. Students of the 3-year degree course will be taught Ashtang yoga, Karma, Knowledge, Bhakti yoga, Philosophy, Psychology, Anatomy, Ayurveda and Naturopahy.

The Gujarat government had earlier enacted a law for the creation of Yoga University in the State.

The Varsity is established in a lotus-shaped building on the Sarkhej – Gandhinagar highway on the outskirts of Ahmedabad.

Milkha Singh the legendary hero is Independent India’s first and only* male athlete to win an Individual gold medal in Athletics Track event at the ‘ 1958 Commonwealth Games ‘ (*as on July 2013) where he won the 400 yards at Cardiff by defeating the favourite Malcolm Fence.

A true champion, a real life hero, a graceful runner Milkha Singh was born in a country, and won medals against all odds in a country that had savoured independence for just 11 years, and where there was no support from any quarter, where facilities were few, contending for medals was then a romantic pursuit.

Milkha Singh a story of guts and glory. A former track and field sprinter was born in Muzaffargah district in Kot Addu tehsil, British India (currently Pakistan) on October 08th, 1935. A village about 10 Km from the city. He was orphaned during partition of India, when his parents, a brother and some sisters died tragically. At the age of 15 in 1947 he moved to Delhi where he lived with his sister Iswar Kaur. Amongst a string of adversities he faced, his temporary home for a month was a platform on Delhi’s railyway station.

In 1951 he joined the Indian Army and while stationed at the Electrical Mechanical Engineering Centre in Secuderabad was introduced to Athletics. The Brigade Meet in Secuderabad was Milkha’s first exposure to a competitive environment where he ran in front of 8,000-10,000 spectators.

Milkha Singh represented India in the 400m competition of the  1956 Melbourne Olympics. It was here that he got the opportunity of travelling by air for the first time in his life during the Melbourne Olympics. In 1958 he set the recrods for the 200m and 400m in the National Games of India held in Cuttack. He represented India in the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome and came 4th. In the 4th Asiad – 1962 Asian Games held in Jakarta (Indonesia) he won the gold in the 400m and in the 400 x 4 relay as well.

Awarded ‘Padma Shri’ India’s 4th highest civilian award in recognition of his sporting achievements.

‘ Flying Sikh ‘ : in 1962 he got the epithet ‘Flying Sikh’ from (then Pakistan President )General Ayub Khan, after defeating Abdul Khaliq, Pakistan’s fastest runner. When he gave away the medals, he whispered to me in Punjabi ” you did’nt run today, you flew ‘. Since then the name crowned and stuck to him ‘ Milkha Singh – The Flying Sikh ‘.

In 1962 Milkha Singh became the Director of Sports in the Punjab Ministry of Education. He retired in 1991 as Director of Sports & Youth Programme , Punjab Government. Married to Nirmal Kaur, a former Captain of the Indian Women’s Volleyball team. They have 3 daughters and one son – Jeev Milkha Singh, Professional Golfer and India’s first Golfer to join the 1988 European Tour. In 1999, they also adopted the 7-year old son of Havildar Bikram Singh, who had died in the Battle of Tiger Hill. He currently lives in Chandigarh and the family run a Trust established in 2003- Milkha Singh Charitable Trust, Chandigarh to help the poor and needy sports persons and their families.

Donated his sporting treasures :

Milkha Singh who in total won 77 of his 80 races, has donated his medals to the nation. They were displayed at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi. Subsequently they were moved later to a sports museum in Patiala.

Books: (1) Autobiography: The Race of My Life : an Autobiography by Milkha Singh and co-authored by his daughter Sonia Sanwalka – Published by Rupa Publcation.

(2) Film : ‘ Bhaag Milkha Bhaag ‘ (English: Run Milkha Run) a biographical film on Milkha Singh, released nationally in India and worldwide as well on Friday, July 13th, 2013. Produced and directed by Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, script by Prasoon Joshi. Milkha Singh’s role played by actor Farhan Akhtar.

(3) website http://www.milkhasingh.co.in/biography.htm

Ranbaxy Laboratories Limited (Ranbaxy) launched the country’s first in-house developed new medicine, a new malaria drug, to be priced at one-third the cost of the current therapies.

The drug ‘Synriamtm’ was launched in New Delhi on the occasion of World Malaria Day , April 25th, 2012.  The unveiling of India’s first new indigenously developed new drug for Malaria was done by Ghulam Nabi Azad, Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India and Vilasrao Deshmukh, Minister of Science & Technology and Earth Sciences, Government of India, with Ranbaxy dedicating the new age cure for malaria to the nation.

What is most exciting about this drug is that its raw material is synthetic unlike the popularly used Artemisinim based drugs that are derived from a plant.  This allows for scaling up of commercial quantities with ease and opened a new chapter in the history of Research and Development in India thus ending a 15-year drug discovery drought for Indian medicine makers.

Ranbaxy’s anti-malaria drug, a combination of two molecules, arterolane maleate and piperaquine phosphatethe will be needed to be taken once a day by patients for three days for the treatment of uncomplicated Plasmodium Falciparum malaria in adults.

India’s first ‘Confucius Institute’ was inaugrated at the Kalinga campus in Santa Cruz, Mumbai by Mumbai University and Tianjin University of Technology (TUT), People’s Republic of China (PRC) on Thursday – July 18th, 2013.

The Confucius Institute (CI) will initiate a Chinese language course, promote art and culture in India . It will also start a student and faculty exchange programme between the two nations.

A symbolic plaque was unveiled by Rajesh Tope, Minister for Higher & Technical Education. Also present at the occasion were Padamalkar Valvi – Minister of Sports & Youth Welfare, Meng Qingong – Chairman of TUT Board and Liu Youfa, Consul-General of People’s Republic of China (PRC)in Mumbai.

The Confucius Institute, once set-up will be headed by 2 officials, one from Mumbai University and the other from TUT or Hanban. Once Indian teachers learn Chinese, they will then go to China and teach Hindi and English language to the Chinese students and teachers.

Confucius Institutes (CI) headquarters are located in Beijing. They are non-profit public institutions aligned with the Government of the People’s Republic of China that aim to promote language and culture, support local Chinese teaching internationally and facilitate cultural exchanges. The CI programme is overseen by the Office of the Chinese Language International (Hanban).

3 specialist ENT Surgeons, Dr.Madan Kapre, Dr.Devendra Mahore and anatomist Dr. Ashutosh Mangalagiri from Bhopal got together to provide a hand-on repository on thyroid surgery.

India’s first ‘Atlas of Thyroid Surgery’ was launched on May 11th in Nagpur by Dr.Ved Prakash, proChancellor and Chief Advisor at Datta Meghe Institute of Medical Sciences, Sawangi. It is a model guide on thyroid surgery for the post graduate medical students and thyroid surgeons.

It is the first time an ‘Atlas’ was put together keeping in mind the Indian context. This has been done previously in USA, Italy and Brazil. The uniquely Indian ‘Atlas of Thyroid Surgery’ was created as a byproduct of camps and workshops in the tribal villages of Central India ,with focus on Chikhaldara in Melghat. This scientific work was carried out with the support of the Rotary club of Nagpur South.

The foreword of the Atlas is written by Dr. Ashok Saha, a world renown authority on thyroid cancer, based in New York.

Sir Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman (Sir C.V. Raman) was awarded the Nobel in 1930,  for his work on the scattering of light and for the discovery effect named after him. This phenomenon is now called the ‘Raman scattering’ and is the result of the ‘Raman effect’.  1930 .

More at ink: http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1930/