• SC: Anticipatory bail only prior to arrest
• Jaipur limb for Indonesians
• Indian Americans hold key positions in US universities
• Harappan site discovered in Haryana
• Chilli pepper from India sets record for heat: US researcher
• 'Hindutva' high on agenda of global Hindu meet

• Seminar on prevention of corruption act
• HPV vaccine: What you need to know
• Ambani, Kamath among six on London city's advisory panel
• Indian-origin students in UK outshine White British
• Indian newspaper circulation increases 33 per cent
• Body language can identify terrorists: Experts

"Corruption has perhaps been there in our society ever since the civilisation grew. It continues to be perpetually current. It cannot be eradicated but it can be controlled," said Lokayukta Justice Santhosh Hegde. Inaugurating a seminar on 'Prevention of Corruption Act-1989', Justice Hegde said that the Prevention of Corruption Act is only a weapon in the hands of the prosecuting agency to bring to book the corrupt public servants. He said that though past generations have failed to eradicate corruption from Indian soil, now the younger generation must be educated in such a way that they do not become a party in corruption. "Address the young minds. Education imparted to the youth must teach them how to lead a value based life and they must develop hatred for corrupt money," Justice Hegde said suggesting that value education must be a part of the curriculum for the students in the university too. Value education, he said need not essentially be just another subject that the students need to study to pass an examination. But it could be informative in nature to tell the students what is right and what is wrong and help them live within the four columns of their assured income. He said that any punishment will be futile while a person is determined to be corrupt. Quoting example of China, he said that China has death sentence for corruption inspite of which China stands above India in corruption. "The root cause for corruption is desire for money if this desire is controlled corruption will be controlled automatically," he said.

Courtesy: www.newindpress.com, February 27, 2007

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In a ruling on pre-arrest bail benefit defined under the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), the Supreme Court has held that anticipatory bail can be granted by courts only prior to the arrest of the accused and not thereafter. Once an accused is arrested or surrenders, he or she is entitled for release on bail only under Sections 437 or 439 of the code and not anticipatory bail, a Bench of Justices Arijit Pasayat and R.V.Raveendran said. The Bench passed the ruling while allowing an appeal filed by the family members of an alleged dowry death victim who challenged the anticipatory bail granted by the Madras High Court to the accused husband and his family members. In this case, the accused Manokaran and two others, apprehending arrest in the dowry death case, had applied for anticipatory bail by invoking section 438 of the CrPC. The Madras High Court granted the anticipatory bail after asking the accused to surrender before the appropriate court and also imposed certain restrictions on their movement. Upholding the complainant's plea, the apex court held that under Section 438 of the code, the rule is that in the event of arrest of an accused on an accusation of committing a non-bailable offence, he shall be released on bail subject to such conditions as the court may deem fit to impose. ''An application under Section 438 of the code can be moved only by a person who has not already been arrested. Once he is arrested, his remedy is to move the concerned court either under Section 437 or Section 439 of the code,'' the Bench observed in a recent order.

Courtesy: www.newindpress.com, February 26, 2007

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by Ben Wasserman

1) What is the HPV vaccine?
HPV vaccine is a drug comprised of elements from a few strains of human papillomavirus, a virus that is sexually transmitted, and is used against a couple of HPV strains which would have a very rare chance to cause cervical cancer.

2) Which company makes the HPV vaccine?
The HPV vaccine available on the U. S. market is made by Merck and marketed under the trade name of Gardasil. Another HPV vaccine made by Glaxo has yet to be approved for marketing in the U.S.

3) Who should use the HPV vaccine?
The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommends routine vaccination for girls 11-12 years of age. The ACIP recommendation also allows for vaccination of girls beginning at nine years old as well as vaccination of girls and women 13-26 years old, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

4) Is the HPV vaccine effective?
The HPV vaccine is intended to protect against two strains of HPV, which are responsible for about 70 percent of cervical cancer. Merck, the maker of HPV vaccine says that not all recipients of the vaccine are immune to cervical cancer. The vaccine can't help those who have already acquired any HPV strains. That is why it is important for girls to get the vaccine before they begin having sexual contact. Regardless, the CDC admits that no one knows for sure if this HPV vaccine may protect women against HPV/cervical cancer for a period longer than that during which trials were conducted, usually no longer than 5 years. Because of this, no one knows if a booster is needed.

5) Is the HPV vaccine safe?
The vaccine was tested in a number of short term trials and it was well tolerated. Health authorities believe that the HPV vaccine is safe. However, post-market feedback on adverse effects to the federal agencies indicates that the HPV vaccine induces quite some adverse effects such as fainting, injection site swelling, fever and nausea. More than 500 cases have been reported, among which three are Guillian-Barre syndrome, a debilitating condition. But all the side effects, according to the government, are not uncommon with use of other vaccines.

6) Does the HPV vaccine contain mercury?
This HPV does not contain methylmercury that many parents are concerned about. However, there may be an aluminum compound, which may concern some parents who believe aluminum has a negative effect on the nervous system. But no one really knows how any ingredient in the vaccine could affect the vaccine recipient. Concerned consumers should check out the drug information sheet for the vaccine.

7) Is the HPV vaccine absolutely necessary for prevention of cervical cancer?
Although HPV is extremely common and it's believed that the majority of Americans will get infected with the virus in their life time, the virus does not cause any harm to most people who have a sound immune system. Also the virus spreads from person to person through sexual contact, meaning that those who can refrain from having multiple sexual partners and who can avoid premarital sexual contact have lower or no risk of HPV infection and cervical cancer. Studies show that condom and good nutrition also help prevent HPV. The last preventative measure is the Pap smear test, which is intended to examine abnormal cells from the cervix. It's believed that this screening is highly effective in preventing cervical cancer. Because many measures are available for cervical cancer prevention, many people, particularly those who do not think it is a good idea to pollute the sacred blood with any unnecessary drugs oppose mandating HPV vaccine for young girls. And they believe the HPV vaccine is worthless.

8) Does the HPV vaccine save medical expenditure for treatment of cervical cancer?
News media calculated and found that the statewide immunization of girls with the HPV vaccine demands a huge sum of funding. Take Texas for example, mandating HPV vaccine for girls aged 11 and 12 each year may need $120 million compared to 10 million for treatment of cervical cancer.

9) How much can Merck make from the HPV vaccine?
Analysts believe that Merck can make at least $1 billion a year in revenue out of the HPV vaccine. When the states require a mandate for the HPV vaccine, the sales can be as much as $3 billion.

10) How much would the HPV vaccine cost?
The vaccine is administered in three shots, although it is unknown if all three are absolutely necessary. Each shot costs $120. So in total, one needs to pay $360 for the vaccine. Many states may have set aside funding to help low income families to get the vaccine for free. Health insurance plans may also cover the cost.

11) What do the opponents have to say about the HPV vaccine?
People reject a vaccine for a variety of reasons. Two types of reasons include personal religious and philosophical beliefs, and concerns about the safety and efficacy of a vaccine. Some have a hard time justifying use of the HPV vaccine. In sum, the following reasons are typical:

a) The cervical cancer is rare compared to many other causes of death. Compared to the risk of death from cervical cancer, women are 5 times more likely to die from a traffic incident, at least 10 times more likely from breast cancer, 100 times more likely from incidents related to drugs and doctors. Even trans fat may kill 50,000 women a year, according to Harvard University nutritionists. This means that the risk of death from cervical is too low to warrant a state mandate for vaccinating of girls with the HPV vaccine.
b) HPV/cervical cancer can be behaviorally avoided. This disease is a side-effect of one's lifestyle. When one follows a healthy lifestyle, the risk is minimized.

12) What should a parent know if he decides to have his or her girl vaccinated with the HPV vaccine?
As the HPV vaccine is not foolproof when it comes to prevention of cervical cancer, parents need to know more about cervical cancer and HPV virus if they do care about their girls' future. The following are the tips offered by foodconsumer.org.

• The long term efficacy and safety of the vaccine remain unknown. The number of young girls in the trials was small, meaning that anything adverse could occur when the vaccine is applied to millions of young girls.
• The vaccine protects against two HPV strains only that are responsible for 70 percent of cervical cancer.
• The vaccine cannot protect every recipient against two HPV strains the vaccine is intended for. Those who receive the vaccine still need to undergo Pap smear screening regularly, which is believed to be highly effective in lowering the risk of death from cervical cancer.
• This vaccine does not protect against HPV types that are already in the vaccine recipient. That is why young girls need to get the vaccine before they have any sexual contact.
• The vaccine does not protect against other sexually transmitted disease. This means that those vaccinated with the vaccine still need to use other protective measures to protect against other sexually transmitted diseases.

13) If I as a parent choose not to give my girl(s) the HPV vaccine, what can I do to help her reduce risk of cervical cancer?
Again, according to foodconsumer.org, the following may be useful:

• Abstinence is the best preventive measure, which can also protect against other sexually transmitted diseases.
• Condom use can reduce the risk for those who are sexually active.
• Good nutrition helps. Early studies have found certain nutrients such vitamin C and folate help clear the virus in the body.
• Cervical cancer screening is highly effective. The current screening of cervical cancer for women is believed to reduce the risk of cervical cancer death by 80 percent, according to Angela E Raffle from Public Health Network in the UK, who published her correspondence in The Lancet 2007; 369:367-368 to oppose the compulsory inoculation of the HPV vaccine.

Courtesy: www. foodconsumer.org, February 23, 2007

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At least 350 Indonesians who lost their limbs due to disease, accident or disasters like the tsunami will be fitted with Jaipur-made artificial limbs in Jakarta. "On the invitation of a non-resident Indian association, we are organising a 15-day camp in Jakarta from Friday, in which 350 people will be fitted with the Jaipur Foot," D R Mehta, the founder of the Bhagwan Mahaveer Viklang Sahayta Samiti in Jaipur, told IANS here. He said the association received over 1,000 applications, but "as we are carrying material for less numbers, we will be able to fit the artificial limbs free of cost to only 350 people". Mehta added: "This would be our 21st visit to a foreign country. So far we have held camps in Sudan, Afghanistan and parts of Latin America. Last year, we provided limbs to over 19,000 people in India and overseas." "After the Indonesia camp, we propose to go to Lebanon and then to Colombo," he said. The Lebanon trip - scheduled in April - was at an invitation by the Indian Peace Keeping Force there. The 'Jaipur Foot' was conceived by a Jaipur resident, Ram Charan Sharma, in 1968. Sharma, who hails from a family of sculptors, conducted successful trials of such limbs with guidance from orthopaedic surgeon P K Sethi. The artificial foot is attached free of cost at the Bhagwan Mahaveer Viklang Sahayta Samiti in Jaipur, which was established in 1975. Mehta, the former chief of the Securities and Exchange Board of India, is a chief patron of this group. The beauty of the Jaipur foot is its lightness and mobility - those who wear it can run, climb trees and pedal bicycles - and its low price. While

Courtesy: www.newindpress.com, February 22, 2007

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Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani and ICICI Bank CEO K V Kamath are among the six top corporate leaders from the country who will advise the city of London in developing economic ties with India. Ambani and Kamath along with Tata sons executive director Alan Rosling, HSBC CEO Naina Lal Kidwai, HDFC chairman Deepak Parekh, Development Credit Bank chairman Nasser Munjee and Zia Mody, senior partner of Azb & Partners, have been appointed by city of London as members of its Advisory Council for India. The council, which met for the first time here today, will guide the activities of London's soon-to-be-established Liasion office in the country. "I am delighted that business leaders with such a wealth of experience and knowledge have agreed to be the city's advisory council. The overall aim of the city of London's engagement with India is to strengthen trading and investment links in both directions through the provision of world class financial services and products," city of London's policy chairman Michael Snyder said.

Courtesy: www.zeenews.com, February 21, 2007

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Over 8,000 Indian professors are enriching university campuses all across the United States with many holding top positions in their respective fields and making their mark. In an era of the global economy some of the brightest minds shaping international economics include Amartya Sen of Harvard University and Jagdish Bhagwati of New York's Columbia University. The impact of Indian academics is being felt all the way to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), where Raghuram G. Rajan is economic counsellor and director of research. Rajan is the first person of Indian origin - and the youngest ever - to be chief economist at IMF. Business guru C.K. Prahalad, professor of business administration at the University of Michigan, has been named among the top 10 management thinkers of the world and is recognised as a specialist on corporate strategy, according to Little India, a South Asian magazine. Indian academics are making their mark in every discipline. "You take any field and the top people are Indian," said Bhagwati, who has authored several books and articles. "The only thing we haven't got into yet is the mafia. But then I think, maybe we have, but just haven't been caught yet!" he said jokingly. According to Homi K. Bhabha, professor of English and American Literature and Language at Harvard University, "the rise of Indian intellectuals who were brought up in post-colonial India were deeply immersed in western ideas, western languages and western cultures, while also being very much a part of our own Indian societies and traditions and values." Several noted Indian-American writers like Bharati Mukherjee, Vikram Chandra and Amitava Ghosh teach creative writing in major US universities. Indian immigration to the US was earlier driven by students coming to pursue their master's or Ph.D. programmes at universities. Many of them ended up in academic careers until opportunities opened up in corporate America in the 1990s. Many Indian academics have risen to hold important posts in the US educational set-up. Beheruz N. Sethna, professor of business administration, is in his 12th year as president of the University of West Georgia, Carrollton. He is also currently serving as interim executive vice chancellor and chief academic officer for the University System of Georgia, which covers 35 institutions. Michael Rao is president of Central Michigan University in Mount Pleasant, Michigan. He heads one of the country's largest campuses with 28,000 students. He earlier served as president of Mission College in California's Silicon Valley and chancellor of Montana State University. Similarly, several Indian-Americans academics are deans of educational institutions. While Ajay Menon is dean of College of Business, Colorado State University, Yash Gupta is dean of Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California.

Courtesy: www.newindpress.com, February 20, 2007

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Indian-origin students are among the best performing ethnic groups in England's education system, coming a close second to the Chinese. Chinese pupils are best-performing ethnic group with 86 per cent passing National curriculum tests at the age of 11 while those of Indian origin come second with 85 per cent achieving the same standard. But only 80 per cent of white British pupils manage to reach a similar level in the assessment. Also children of Chinese origin outperformed every other British group in English by the age of 11, according to an ethnic breakdown of exam and test results released by the department for education and skills'. And these figures include recent Chinese immigrants who do not have English as a first language. The success of Chinese is carried through to GCSE level- the standard high school exam in England and Wales taken at the age of 16 - where 65.8 per cent of Chinese-origin pupils obtain five A- to C-grade. Pupils of Indian origin also outperform the white British with a 59.1 per cent pass rate compared to 44.3 per cent. The figures are revealed in an analysis of last year's GCSE and National curriculum test results for pupils aged seven, 11 and 14. Experts say the culture at home for families of Chinese and Indian origin families puts more emphasis on the importance of education.

Courtesy: www.newindpress.com, February 16, 2007

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The Haryana Archaeological Department has discovered a new Harappan site near 'Kirsola' village in Jind district. Minister of State for Archives, Archaeology and Museums Meena Mandal on Thursday said the new site could produce ''valuable information about the downfall of the Harappan culture and its merger with post-grey ware cultures.'' The site was discovered on a link road from Julana to Kirsola village during an exploration expedition by a team of archaeological department led by Deputy Director J S Khatri. She said the explorations were conducted by Archaeological Department from January 2006 onwards in the paleo-channel of Drishadvati river, specifically in and around Meham of Rohtak district. The discovery of Harappan city site near village Farmana, locally known as Daksh-khera, led the departmental team to explore further areas towards Julana in Jind district. Mandal said the site was spread over an area of 11 acre 5 Kanal, rising to a height of about 4 meters from the present ground level. The deposit contains two-fold cultural material of Harappan and painted grey ware. The painted grey ware had been associated with the Mahabharta period. The maximum portion of the site was intact and a little area was under cultivation. The recently discovered site was situated near three sites namely Bedwa, Farmana-2 and Kheri Meham discovered earlier in this area. These Harappan and late Harappan sites proved the existence of 5000-year-old civilisation in the area, the Minister said. About 1500 Harappan sites had been discovered till now in India and Pakistan in the Indus valley and its tributaries including Saraswati and Drishadvati. Over 900 sites were located on the ancient banks or paleo-channel of lost Saraswati and Drishadvati in Haryana and Rajasthan in India and in district Bahawalpur in Pakistan. The Minister said the discovery of all these sites had proved that a large number of proto-historic sites must have existed in the paleo-channels of rivers Saraswati and Drishdvati. Some of the important Harappan sites, which had been discovered after the inception of Haryana, included Banawali, Kunal, Bhirdana, Balu, Mitathal, Rakhi Garhi, Daultpur, Jognakhera

Courtesy: www.newindpress.com, February 15, 2007

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The circulation of Indian dailies jumped 33 per cent to over 7.86 crore during 2001-05 even as global newspaper circulation increased 9.95 per cent in the same period. Contrary to conventional wisdom, newspaper circulation is growing and new newspapers are being launched at a 'remarkable rate', the Paris-based World Association of Newspapers (WAN) said in a release. Daily newspaper titles surpassed 10,000 for the first time in history, with India accounting for 1,834 dailies in 2005, up 22.8 per cent from 1,493 dailies in 2001, according to World Press Trends, WANs annual statistical compendium of the newspaper industry. "What we are seeing completely contradicts the conventional wisdom that newspapers are in terminal decline," said Timothy Balding, CEO of WAN, an organisation that represents 18,000 newspapers. "Newspapers are doing far better than commonly believed. In fact, the figures confirm that the industry is healthy and vigorous and is successfully dealing with increasing competition from other media. "The fashion of predicting the death of newspapers should be exposed for what it is -- nothing more than a fashion, based on common assumptions that are belied by the facts." The circulation of India's dailies consistently increased from 5,91,29,000 in 2001 to 7,29,39,000 in 2003 to 7,86,89,000 in 2005. Newspapers represent a 180-billion dollar industry, with more advertising revenues than radio, cinema, magazines and Internet combined, Balding said.

Courtesy: www.ibef.org, February 7, 2007

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India's Bhut Jolokia chilli has been confirmed as the world's hottest pepper by The Guinness Book of Records, a US researcher said. Bhut Jolokia comes in at 1,001,304 Scoville heat units, a measure of hotness for a chilli. It is nearly twice as hot as Red Savina, the variety it replaces as the hottest. By comparison, an average jalapeno measures at about 10,000. Paul Bosland, a regents professor at New Mexico State University, recalls taking a bite of the chili pepper and feeling like he was breathing fire. He gulped down a soda, thinking, "That chilli has got to be some kind of record." The Guinness Book of Records agreed, confirming recently that Bosland had discovered the world's hottest chilli pepper. The Bhut Jolokia is a naturally occurring hybrid native to the Assam region of northeastern India. A member of the university's Chille Pepper Institute who was visiting India sent Bhut Jolokia seeds back to New Mexico for testing in 2001. The plant does not produce fruit easily, so it took some years to get enough for field testing, Bosland said. He then grew Bhut Jolokia, Red Savina and habanero peppers under controlled settings and found that Bhut Jolokia had significantly higher Scoville ratings. Those findings were confirmed by two independent laboratories. The Bhut Jolokia variety has potential as a food additive in the packaged food industry, Bosland said. It could be pickled while green, dehydrated and used as seasoning. Because the heat is so concentrated, food manufacturers would save money because they would use less. The pepper's name translates as ghost chilli, Bosland said.

Courtesy: www.hindu.com, February 19, 2007

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With terrorist organisations targetting civil aviation and railway services, experts feel the "body language" of a militant can be used as a tool to identify him. "As such there is no writing on face of anyone declaring him or her as a terrorist. But a trained security person can easily identify the person," said Defence Institute of Psycological Research director Manas K Mandal here at the seventh International National Bomb Data Centre seminar. He said training should be imparted to security officials on how to identify a terrorist in a crowd. "Besides body language, the person can be identified from his or her modes of speaking, eye tickling, posture of hands and other activities," Mandal said. Railway Protection Force DIG Anoop Srivastava said that large numbers travel by train and it was very difficult to identify terrorists among them. Stating that railway security was totally different from aviation security arrangement, DIG (RPF) said, "a terrorist can enter and go out of the train without using stations."

Courtesy: www.zeenews.com, February 16, 2007

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Allahabad, Feb 11 'Hindutva' will be heavy on the agenda of the three-day global Hindu meet organised by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) here that could not take off Sunday due to incessant rain over the past 24 hours. Evidently, the objective behind the meet is to revive Hindu religious passions in the larger interest of providing political mileage to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ahead of the assembly elections in India's most populous state, Uttar Pradesh, later this year. Apparently, that speaks for the expected convergence of all prominent state BJP leaders who are set to arrive at the giant 300-acre tent colony set up for the meet, along the banks of the holy 'Sangam' confluence of Ganga, Yamuna and the mythological Saraswati rivers, highly sacred to millions of Hindus.

Significantly, the sprawling sandy bank was also host to the just-concluded 42-day long 'Ardh Kumbh' festival that drew as many as 70 million Hindus. Leading the band of BJP leaders will be BJP national vice-president Kalyan Singh, who as Uttar Pradesh chief minister had played a key role in the demolition of Ayodhya's 16th century Babri Mosque on whose debris stands a makeshift Ram temple, where VHP now proposes to erect a magnificent structure. Other BJP leaders attending the meet will be former union human resource development minister Murli Manohar Joshi, state BJP president Keshrinath Tripathi and two of his predecessors, Kalraj Misra and Vinay Katiyar among others. It was Katiyar, who in his earlier role as the founder of Bajrang Dal, a Hindu hardliner outfit, spearheaded an aggressive campaign against the Babri Mosque. He also figures among the main accused in the mosque demolition case pending before an Uttar Pradesh court since the shrine was pulled down Dec 6, 1992. According to the VHP, construction of the much-debated Ram temple at Ayodhya was on top of the agenda here. 'Besides evolving a final strategy for building a grand Ram temple at Ayodhya, the key issues to be taken up here include conversion of Hindus to Islam and Christianity, threat to Hindus due to the unabated rise in Muslim population and increasing trend of successive non-BJP governments towards Muslim appeasement', VHP international general secretary Praveen Togadia told IANS here. 'Each of the delegates from India's 100,000 villages will be entrusted with an idol of Lord Ram at the end of this three-day meet,' he added. Togadia said: 'These idols would be installed in each of these villages across the country on the occasion of Ram Navami (the birthday of Lord Ram) later in April.' Nearly 300,000 delegates from 100,000 villages across the country, besides about 350 non-resident Indian (NRI) Hindus are stated to have already arrived here to participate in the third such conference organised by the VHP.

Courtesy: www.earthtimes.org, February 11, 2007

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