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Year-7 Vol.-12 | 10 February 2014
E-mail : info@aiita.org | Website : www.aiita.org | www.alma.asia
PRESIDENT VIEW
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Sachin Tendulkar conferred Bharat Ratna NEW DELHI: Legendary Indian cricketer and eminent scientist Professor CNR Rao have joined the list of the nation's Bharat Ratnas. Tendulkar and Professor Rao were conferred with the country's highest civilian honour - Bharat Ratna - by President Pranab Mukherjee at a function held in 'Durbar Hall' of Rashtrapati Bhavan. Tendulkar, who retired from international cricket at the end of the Test series against West Indies in November 2013, is the first sportsperson to be given the honour; and at the age of 40, is also the youngest recipient of the award. He is the ninth person from Maharashtra to join the exclusive club of 43 Bharat Ratna awardees till date. Tendulkar, who is also a Rajya Sabha member, is likely to attend Parliament when it convenes for a two-week session. The announcement that Tendulkar would be awarded the Bharat Ratna was made official shortly after he had bid an emotional farewell at the Wankhede Stadium. An official Prime Minister's Office release called Tendulkar "an outstanding cricketer - a living legend who has inspired millions across the globe".
Santosh Shukla, Advocate president@aiita.org
Fad diets can work, but experts find no magic slimming bullet Resolutions to lose weight are often made in January yet almost as frequently abandoned as heavy hopefuls find diets that demand fasting, virtually no carbs or liquid food shakes notoriously hard to stick to. But even "fad" diets can lead to a slimmer, lighter New Year for those whose resolve remains robust, according to doctors and nutritionists analyzing them. Gathering for a London conference to review evidence behind popular weight loss diets - at just the time of year when slimming ideas are in peak demand - specialists concluded that food fads such as the hunter-gatherer "Paleo" plan or the 5:2 diet can deliver. But it's hard work. "If it was easy, our species would have died out years ago. As humans we have a default to eat," said Gary Frost, a professor and chair of nutrition and dietetics at Imperial College London. The results of that default are looming large in a global "wave of obesity", he said. According to the World Health Organization, worldwide obesity defined as having a body mass index of more than 30 - has nearly doubled since 1980. The latest global figure is that in 2008, more than 1.4 billion adults were overweight. WAVE OF OBESITY According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, almost 36 percent of American adults are obese and almost 70 percent are either obese or overweight. In Britain, a government health study predicts 60 percent of men, 50 percent of women and 25 percent of children will be obese by 2050. Against this background, experts say the search for effective diets must always take account of how easy it is for people to understand and follow, and how likely they are to abide by its restrictions. Michelle Harvie, a research dietician from the Genesis Prevention Centre at Britain's University Hospital of South Manchester, said that on this front, fasting diets - sometimes called intermittent diets - can be successful. "Energy restriction is difficult to maintain over the long term and people tend to find it easier to follow a diet with intermittent energy restriction," she said.
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PM hopes important bills Indian incentives to Japan for FAB industry are passed in parliament NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh hoped that important bills are passed in the last session of parliament. "We have important pieces of legislation ready for approval by the parliament and I sincerely hope that parliament will create an atmosphere where all sections TM
of the house work together to pass these bills," the prime minister told the media outside parliament. The last parliament session of the 15th Lok Sabha session begins. Singh added: "...this is probably the last parliament session and its my clear appeal to all sections of the house to contribute to creating an atmosphere so that it goes down as a historic session."
Alma Kids Preschool opens in Scheme -78, Indore (M.P.)
INDORE: Alma Kids as the latest b r a n d o f International P r e s c h o o l education by Alma Group is going to open it Scheme-78, Vijay Nagar in Indore of M.P. to promote the modernized concept of Preschool
Education across the country and global as well. This is informed by Shri Santosh Shukla, Advocate (Project Head) of Alma Kids. On briefing the opening of Scheme-78, Vijay Nagar Alma Kids Preschool, Shri Shukla told that this project has been given to dynamic and devoted personality of social activist Shri Baldev Singh Thakur and Shri Shailendra Singh Thakur to promote the modernized concept of Preschool
Education at Scheme-78, Vijay Nagar with enthusiastic approach. They further told that Scheme-78, Vijay Nagar Alma Kids Preschool offers best education for under five age group kids with natural learning that ranging from PreNursery to KG Senior standard. On this occasion, Shri Baldev Singh Thakur and Shri Shailendra Singh Thakur said enthusiastically that they has been honored to have this opportunity and s h o u l d e r t h e responsibility of giving the best learning ambiance through Alma Kids Preschool with his proficient staff. Opening of Alma Kids Preschool Center of Scheme-78, Vijay Nagar, P t . Vi s h n u P r a s a d S h u k l a (Chairman), Prof. (Dr.) Rajeev Sharma (Vice Chairman), Shri Santosh Shukla (CEO of Alma Kids) others congratulated Shri B.S.Thakur and Shri Shailendra Singh. Contact: preschool@alma.in
NEW DELHI: India extended a package of incentives to Japan in a bid to encourage investment in Electronic System Design and Manufacturing (ESDM) in the country. "Government of India has decided to offer a package of incentives to attract domestic and global investments into ESDM sector within Electronic Manufacturing Clusters (EMC) Schemes. In addition, the government has recently approved the proposal for setting up of two S e m i - c o n d u c t o r Wa f e r
Fabrication (FAB) manufacturing facilities in the country," Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma told Hiromasa Yonekura, chairman, Keidanren (Japan Business Federation) at a meeting here. Sharma invited all FAB manufacturers in Japan to avail subsidy/other benefits/support being offered by the Indian government for establishing FAB facilities in India. The Indian minister conveyed that Information Technology Agreement (ITA), now also known as ITA-1, a plurilateral agreement of WTO, has not benefitted India as far as manufacturing in the domestic hardware industry is concerned. www.almakids.com
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BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY
in Smiling Children
Email: preschool@alma.in Web: www.alma.asia, www.iiml.mu Helpline : 0 999 39 50000
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10 February 2014
NEWS
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Four of world's top five outsourcing destinations are Indian cities WASHINGT ON: In a listing of world's top outsourcing destinations, Indian cities acquire four out of top five spots, with Bangalore retaining its top ranking for another year. The Tholons report has b e e n acknowledged as the de facto ranking of outsourcing cities around the world. According to 2014 Tholons Top 100 Outsourcing Destinations Rankings report, after Bangalore at the top position, other Indian cities include Mumbai at third position, followed by Delhi-NCR at fourth and Chennai at fifth position. There are nine other Indian cities that have made it to the list and include Hyderabad, Pune, C h a n d i g a r h , K o l k a t a , C o i m b a t o r e , J a i p u r, Bhubaneswar, Ahmedabad, and Thiruvananthapuram. Metro Manila in the Philippines secured the second position and other cities on the list include Cebu City, Davao City, Sta. Rosa, Bacolod City, Iloilo City and Baguio City. Meanwhile, China's six cities also made it to the Tholons Top 100 including Shanghai, Beijing, Chengdu (Canton), Tianjin, and Xi'an.
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Aiita distributes Certificates in TIMELINE - Microsoft's journey: four decades, three CEOs Baramulla (Jammu & Kashmir) SAN FRANCISCO: Satya Nadella's elevation to CEO and cofounder Bill Gates' decision to relinquish his chairmanship at Microsoft Corp marks a changing of the guard at a 39-year-old company that fueled the PC revolution but is now struggling to establish its long-term identity. Here are some highlights in the
BARAMULLA: Aiita Sheeri completed its first centre to distribute the diploma awards in a function held at Aiita Sheeri Baramulla. The students perform their best to make this function a memorable one and the audiences enjoyed the every moment of it. Both boys and girls along with some kids perform in a delightful get to gather. The parents of the students were also present and hail the efforts of centre head Altaf Hussain and the Staff especially the female faculties Miss Rafia and Miss Shahzada who apart from computer literacy trained the students in G.K. and moral education as well. The residents of the area congratulated the Aiita H.Q. for establishing such a wonderful unit in the area which is providing quality computer education and requested the President of Aiita Santosh Shukla, High Court Advocate to introduce some sports activities through this centre as well in a near future successful year at Baramulla J&K. It was really an honour for Aiita. On this occasion, Pt. Vishnu Prasad Shukla, Prof. (Dr.) Rajeev Sharma, Dr. Suchita Shukla, Dr. Dilip N. Pandit, Dr. Rajeev Shrivastava, Dr. Pradeep Mishra, Shri Sanjay Panjwani, Dr. Monica Nagori and other dignitaries congratulated Baramulla staff and participants of this function.
four-decade journey of the world's largest software maker: 1975 - A 19-year-old Gates drops out of Harvard University and goes on to found Microsoft with childhood friend Paul Allen. They make their first product - a BASIC programming code interpreter for the Altair 8800 microcomputer. 1979 - With sales topping $1 million at the end of 1978, the company moves to Bellevue, Washington, from Albuquerque, New Mexico. 1980 - In June, Gates recruits former Harvard classmate Steve Ballmer to become the company's first business manager. 1981 - In August, Microsoft
releases its new operating software Microsoft Disk Operating System (MS-DOS). It begins running on IBM personal computers - a seminal moment for the company's future domination of personal computing systems. 1983 Microsoft announces its new software "Windows," which aims to enhance the MS-DOS interface with visual features. 1985 - After spending two years in development, "Windows 1.0" begins to ship. Moving on from MS-DOS commands, which some users found challenging to master, the system used simple clicks of a mouse to work through tasks on screens or "windows." 1986 Microsoft moves its corporate headquarters to Redmond, Washington. It goes public at $21 per share and raises about $60 million. 1988 - With the arrival of Windows 2.0 in 1987, computers start becoming more commonplace in the office. Microsoft becomes the largest PC software company based on global sales. 1990 to 1995 - Windows 3.0 is launched in 1990 and five years later, Windows 95 is released and sales surpass 1 million copies in four days. PC sales begin to explode as computers make their way into homes, schools and business, kicking off the "Windows era."
SECRETARY VIEW
Dr. Rajeev Shrivastav info@aiita.org
Modern humans more Neanderthal than once thought, studies suggest It's getting harder and harder to take umbrage if someone calls you a Neanderthal. According to two studies published on Wednesday, DNA from these pre-modern humans may play a role in the appearance of hair and skin as well as the risk of certain diseases. Although Neanderthals became extinct 28,000 years ago in Europe, as much as one-fifth of their DNA has survived in human genomes due to interbreeding tens of thousands of years ago, one of the studies found, although any one individual has only about 2 percent of caveman DNA. "The 2 percent of your Neanderthal DNA might be different than my 2 percent of Neanderthal DNA, and it's found at different places in the genome," said geneticist Joshua Akey, who led one of the studies. Put it all together in a study of hundreds of people, and "you can recover a substantial proportion of the Neanderthal genome." Both studies confirmed earlier findings that the genomes of east Asians harbor more Neanderthal DNA than those of Europeans. This could be 21 percent more, according to an analysis by Akey and Benjamin Vernot, published online in the journal Science. Still, "more" is a relative term. According to the paper by geneticists at Harvard Medical School, published in Nature, about 1.4 percent of the genomes of Han Chinese in Beijing and south China, as well as Japanese in Tokyo come from Neanderthals, compared to 1.1 percent of the genomes of Europeans. Anthropologists expressed caution about the findings. Fewer than half a dozen Neanderthal fossils have yielded genetic material, said Erik Trinkaus of Washington University in St. Louis, one of the world's leading experts on early humans. Using this small sample to infer how much Neanderthal DNA persists in today's genome is therefore questionable, he said. INTERBREEDING As expected, since Neanderthals never existed in Africa, Africans and those who trace their ancestry to that continent have almost no Neanderthal DNA, the Harvard team found. Human ancestors began migrating out of humanity's natal continent as early as 1 million years ago, paleoanthropologists infer from fossil evidence, and between 500,000 and 200,000 years ago evolved into the robust, large-browed Homo neanderthalensis in Western Europe. Ever since scientists extracted DNA from the remains of Neanderthals, they have known that people today carry snippets of cavemen genes, in the amounts of 2 percent to 3 percent.
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NEWS
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EDITOR CHOICE
NEWS
Alma Kids Preschool opens in Clerk Colony, Indore (M.P.) INDORE: Alma Kids as the latest brand of International Preschool education by Alma Group is going to open it Clerk Colony in Indore of Madhya Pradesh to promote the modernized concept of Preschool Education across the country and global as well. This is informed by Shri Santosh Shukla, Advocate, Chief Executive officer (CEO) of Alma Kids here. On briefing the opening of Clerk Colony Alma Kids Preschool, Shri Shukla told that this project has been given to dynamic and devoted personality of social activist Shri Sudhir Banka and Shri Nikhil Banka to promote the modernized concept of Preschool Education at Clerk Colony with enthusiastic approach. They further told that Clerk Colony Alma Kids Preschool offers best education for under five age group kids with natural learning that ranging from Pre-Nursery to KG Senior standard. On this occasion, Shri Sudhir Banka and Shri Nikhil said enthusiastically that they has been honored to have this opportunity and shoulder the TM
Dr. Dilip N. Pandit editor@aiita.org
responsibility of giving the best learning ambiance through Alma Kids Preschool with his proficient staff. Opening of Alma Kids Preschool Center of Clerk Colony, Pt. Vishnu Prasad Shukla (Chairman), Prof. (Dr.) Rajeev Sharma (Vice Chairman), Shri Santosh Shukla (CEO of Alma Kids), Dr. Suchita Shukla (GM), Dr. Dilip N Pandit, Shri Ravikant Sharma, Dr. Rajeev Shrivastav and others congratulated Shri Sudhir and Shri Nikhil with his staff.
A new university bets on a hybrid online-learning model Prominent Journalist Nimish Dubey Offering a twist on the learn-fromanywhere convenience of Internet classes, a new university is asking freshmen to take a large leap of faith. Minerva Schools of KGI, a radically experimental university in San Francisco, is sifting through applications for its first class, starting this fall. The school is an alliance between Minerva Project, a venture-backed for-profit company, and Keck Graduate Institute, one of California's Claremont colleges. The school launches just as studies are questioning the efficacy of Web teaching. In California, a high-profile program run by San Jose State University and startup Udacity was suspended after officials found that failure rates for online students were much higher than for traditional learners. Last month, the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education released a study showing that only about 4 percent of those who register for an online course at Penn complete it. The courses are free. The field nevertheless remains one of the hottest for startups. Minerva has raised $25 million from Benchmark, a leading venture-capital firm. Others with VC backing include Coursera, Udacity and 2U, which have raised $85 million, $20 million and $101 million, respectively. Harvard, MIT and other leading universities offer their own courses online gratis in an initiative called EdX. Minerva says what it plans to do is different. "Technology can be used in a much more effective way in higher education than has previously been the case," said Stephen Kosslyn, Minerva's founding dean and the former dean of social sciences at Harvard. Even though all classes will be held online, first-year students must live in a residence hall in San Francisco and take classes together in real time, deviating from the "anywhere, anytime" model prevalent in online education. "We are entirely focused on active learning," said Kosslyn. Before each class, students must complete assignments that will require vigorous participation during the online session, such as engaging in a debate, presenting their own work, or critiquing that of others, he said. Courses will be recorded, in part so faculty can track and measure growth in rhetoric and other skills. Final grades for those first-year classes will not come until just before graduation, so the grades will reflect progress in those skills over the years. For serving as guinea pigs, the first class of students will be rewarded with free tuition for all four years, although they will have to pay $19,000 annually for room and board. That compares to a price tag upwards of $50,000 a year at many other top U.S. universities, the group Minerva already compares itself to. Some financial assistance will be available for students, according to the school, but the university will not participate in the federal financial aid program.
NASA rover Opportunity finds signs Mars once had fresh water
inducts in Alma Advisory Committee REUTERS - NASA's decade-old Mars rover, Opportunity, INDORE: Prominent Journalist, Writer and dynamic youth personality Shri Nimish Dubey of New Delhi has been inducted in Alma Advisory Board recently. This is informed by the director Shri Santosh Shukla, Advocate. About inducting of Shri Nimish Dubey as the minister member of Alma Advisory Board (AAB), Shri Shukla told that Shri Dubey has long been associated with Alma Group and contributed his precious advice for last 14 years. Shri Nimish Dubey has long been associated with print and electronic media with prolific knowledge and expertise. Significantly, Senior
Journalist, Thinker and prolific writer Shri Dubey has deeply associated with Social, Political, Cultural, Environmental, Vedic Culture and International Diplomacy fields of journalistic approach. He has well command over Hindi and English language with a quite literary taste that underline his writings and articles in various issues related to deep concerns of humanity and national integrity. On being his induction, Pt. Vishnu Prasad Shukla (Chairman), Prof. (Dr.) Rajeev Sharma (Vice Chairman), Dr. Suchita Shukla (GM), Dr. Dilip N Pandit (Editor, Alma Times), Shri Rajesh Shukla, Dr. Monica Nagori, Dr. Rajeev Shrivastava along with members and dignitories congratulated Shri Nimish Dubey.
has found evidence that life-friendly fresh water once pooled on the red planet's surface, reinforcing similar discoveries made by newcomer Curiosity on the other side of the planet, scientists said. Opportunity, along with its now-defunct twin, Spirit, landed 10 years ago for concurrent 90-day missions to look for clues of the past existence of water. Both rovers did so, confirming evidence collected by orbiting spacecraft that Mars, the planet believed to be most like Earth in the solar system, was not always the cold, dry desert that appears today. In August 2012, Curiosity, equipped with an onboard chemistry lab, arrived for follow-up investigations to determine if Mars had other ingredients essential for supporting life. The answer, returned very early in the ongoing mission, was a definite 'yes'. On the other side of the planet, meanwhile, Opportunity has been analyzing water-bearing rocks at the rim of an ancient impact crater called Endeavour. Rather than the chemical fingerprints of acidic, salty water found at previous sites, Opportunity discovered telltale clays called smectites that form in Ph-neutral water.
P. Nagendra becomes Development Officer of Andra Pradesh of Alma Group INDORE: Leading International Brand in education sector Alma Kids a n d A l m a G r o u p t h a t o ff e r s international certification from International Informatics Mauritius Limited (IIML) has appointed Mr. P. Nagendra as their new development officer in Andhra Pradesh recently. Under the dynamic leadership of Mr. P. Nagendra, the promotional activities and expansion programs would be carried out. He would hold all his activities from Visakhapatnam city. He would shoulder the responsibility of the expansion of Alma Kids International Preschool education along with Alma Group activities and awareness campaigns to benefit student community over there. This is informed by Project Head (South Asia) Shri Santosh Shukla, Advocate. According to P. Nagendra, due to the presence of the Eastern Naval Command, Vizag Steel Plant and Hindustan Petroleum, the city is home to people from around the country and is cosmopolitan. Visakhapatnam's main commercial and shopping centres are in the Dwarakanagar, R.T.C. complex and Jagadamba Junction areas. It has two multiplexes: Varun Beach and CMR Central. Since 2000, the Dwarakanagar-R.T.C. complex area has become a commercial hub with shopping centres in a 2â&#x20AC;&#x201C;3 kilometre radius. The city is home to five-star hotels, such as Novotel, Taj group, ITC-Welcom Group, Four Points by Sheraton and Park Hotels. Upcoming three 5 Star Hotels are (1) Hyatt Regency (225 rooms) (2) Mariott Renaissance (200 rooms), (3) Golden Tulip. On this occasion, Pt. Vishnu Prasad Shukla (Chairman), Prof. (Dr.) Rajeev Sharma (Vice Chairman), Shri Santosh Shukla (PH of Alma Kids), Dr. Suchita Shukla (GM), Dr. Dilip N Pandit, Shri Ravikant Sharma, Dr. Monica Nagori, Dr. Rajeev Shrivastav Mr. Joseph Boston (Chairman, Africa), Mr. Anil Audit (Director, Mauritius), Mr. M. Damodar (Legal Advisor, Mauritius), Ms. Anishtha Audit (Project Head, Mauritius) and others congratulated Mr. P. Nagendra and his staff.
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