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Spreading Positive Vibrations Issue No 150 – August 2019 Published by Prime Point Foundation

Cover Story of the Month

In This Issue: P4

Editorial – Withdrawal of Special Status (Article 370)

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Cover Story – Pride of India – Achievements of Institutions and Services

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Report – Launch of PreSense150

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Genesis of our eMagazine

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Princetoon

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Health – We Are What We Eat

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Sports –National Sports Day and the Fit India Movement

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Nation –Women MPs Top the Performance in First Session of 17th Lok Sabha

Contact editor@corpezine.com www.corpezine.com www.digitalpresense.com

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Indian Sports Scores Again!

A Befitting Tribute to National Sports Day

Indian sportspersons from three sports events gave a befitting tribute to the National Sports Day falling in end-August, when they won gold medals for India.

The national para badminton team brought back 12 medals from the World Badminton Championship Tournament, held in Basel, Switzerland in the last week of August 2019. This included two gold won by Pramod Bhagat and another gold by Manasi Joshi.

Later in the week, P.V. Sindhu won the first gold for herself and India in the World Badminton Championship Tournament held in the same place.

Not to be beaten in this gold rush for India, Elavenil Valarivan won a gold medal in the 10metre Air Rifle category for Women in the ISSF (International Shooting Sport Federation) World Cup Tournament in Rio De Jeneiro, Brazil.

These sports performers have won national applause and the Hon’ble Prime Minister’s personal congratulations. PreSense congratulates the winners for bringing pride, and raising the Indian flag in the international sports arena! The achievements are a befitting tribute to the National Sports Day on August 29th 2019.

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From the Desk of Editor-in-Chief Greetings from all of us @ The Editorial Team, to our readers.

I am reminded of a popular song of 1982 titled ‘It’s Raining Men’. I would like to modify the title a little to read ‘It’s Raining Women’ because we have quite a few women lined up for applause for their achievements. While we applaud the para badminton player, Pramod Bhagat for winning two gold medals in the men’s section, we also congratulate Manasi Joshi for winning a gold medal in the women’s section so that the national para badminton team returned with 12 medals from the World Championship Tournament. P.V. Sindhu too won gold in the World Championship Tournament in Badminton. Another woman, Elavenil Valarivan bagged gold for rifle shooting. Back home in the Lok Sabha, two women Members of Parliament have turned out to be top performers – Smt Supriya Sule and Dr Heena Vijaykumar Gavit. As I said, “It’s raining women” right now!

The Editorial this month touches on a topic that has taken the people of India by storm – about Article 370 and the Union Government’s action relating to it. We have expressed our concerted opinion about it. As usual, Prince, our mascot too has an opinion of his own about it and shares it on his cartoon page.

India has some prestigious institutions and services that do outstanding work in the background. The Cover Story recognises these institutions and services and aptly calls them The Pride of India.

As announced in our previous issue, an event was held to launch the eDigest, PreSense150.

We carry a report on the event, along with its video recordings for your leisure viewing. We felt it an apt time to reminisce on how the first issue of our eMagazine was brought out. We share the story about it from one of our former editorial members.

Besides a review of the performance of the first session of Lok Sabha, we also carry couple of articles on sport and health.

I hope you will enjoy this edition. Please share editor@corpezine.com. Your feedback is important to us.

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Please download in PDF format from the link below, the fourth edition of the Digest titled PreSense150, containing select articles from 150 issues of the ezine PreSense. http://www.prpoint.com/ezine/presense150 You can download the earlier editions of your eMagazine, PreSense from https://www.corpezine.com

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Editorial Withdrawal of Special Status – Welcome Home, Fellow Countrymen!

On August 5th 2019, The President of the India issued an order, withdrawing the special status that was conferred to the state of Jammu and Kashmir in the year 1954.

The special status of Jammu and Kashmir, among other things, deprived citizens from other parts of the country from acquiring property in the state while the ‘citizens’ of the state had full liberty in the rest of the country.In case of an internal law and order crisis in the state, the Central Government could not impose a state of emergency without the permission of the state government.Job opportunities in the state were available only to the residents of Kashmir.The state had a flag of its own, along with the Indian flag, and its residents enjoyed dual citizenship of Kashmir and India.

Thus, the state was not integrated with the rest of the country and stayed ‘isolated’ so much so that when the writer had toured the state even as early as in the 1980s, the local taxi driver boasted that their apples were exported to India too!

As we are all aware, the state of Jammu and Kashmir has always been a vulnerable spot for infiltration of terrorists from across the border. The development of the state was affected by terrorist attacks, infiltration of illegal arms and ammunition, insecurity, and internal unrest, incited by mischievous trouble-shooters. The lack of proper development in the state also led to a very high unemployment rate in the state (way above the country’s average) so that the local youth were easily enticed into anti-national activities orchestrated by terrorists. Besides, this special provision brought about a division among the people of the state on communal lines.

The separatist leaders constituting a minority, exploited the vulnerable situation in the state and incited constant clashes between the ignorant and emotionally provoked people of the state and the peace-keeping soldiers, who could not retaliate in defence against the protestors because of specific orders debarring it. These separatists also incited irrational emotional demands for an independent Kashmir. But in the wake of the heavy monsoon rains and flash floods in the state in 2014 which killed hundreds and left thousands homeless, it was the Indian Armed Forces which came to their rescue for relief, relocation and humanitarian assistance.

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In its sovereign duty and responsibility, the country has been supporting the state.

However, the state in its special status, did not have corresponding responsibility to the rest of the country and its citizens. This unhealthy imbalance has been affecting the welfare of the other states in terms of expenditure and security. For example, with the population of the state of Jammu and Kashmir constituting 1% of the country’s population, it gets about 10% of the Central funds. In sharp contrast, Uttar Pradesh which constitutes 13% of the country’s population, receives only about 8% of the funds. Military forces, numbering far more than in any other part of the country, were present in the state and at its borders round the clock.

The special provisions of Article 370 were extended to the state for a specific purpose and for this reason, Article 370 was intended only as a temporary provision. The lack of drive to repeal it cannot and should not argue for making the temporary relief a permanent one. The action by the President of India on August 5th 2019 had done exactly what should have been done long ago – withdrawing the temporary provision so that the state is rightly and completely integrated with the rest of India as a legitimate part of the country.

Almost the entire world has acknowledged that this action of repeal is an internal matter of the country and respects it by staying neutral in its stand, and rightly so.

The withdrawal of Article 370 has ruffled feathers in the state among the local and neighbouring separatists, who provoke out of vested interest. Therefore, in a precautionary measure to guard against trouble and violent reaction and opposition, the Government has imposed restrictions to ensure law and order. Knowing the notoriety of the social media in spreading fake news and inciting violence, this facility too has been curbed. Obviously, these are meant to be temporary till such time when normalcy is assured.

Most of the political parties in the Indian Parliament have acknowledged in consent, to the withdrawal of the special status under Article 370. Some of them have only been asking for withdrawal of the house arrests, reinstating communication facilities and freedom in movement. A plea has already been filed in the Supreme Court about the special status and the case has been admitted for hearing. Let the law take its legitimate course. In the meantime, the political parties should not precipitate the integration of the country by making out-of-turn statements which are unscrupulously quoted by Pakistan with malicious intentions.

Our men in the Army are now finally able to perform their legitimate duties in maintaining law and order in the state, without having to face stone-throwing and violence from reckless protestors, incited by mischief-makers. We must allow our soldiers to do their duties by respecting the military presence and action in the state.

In this backdrop, we too must act as responsible citizens of India. Let us be conscious of our fundamental duty to country and fellowmen and unite as one, in support of the long-term benefit of this move to integrate the whole of India. This is a time to stand in unity as one country and one people.

Let us celebrate the reintegration of the state of Jammu and Kashmir in its complete legitimacy, with the sovereignty of India. Let us welcome our fellow citizens from the beautiful Himalayan state to join us in saying with patriotic sincerity and in one voice – Jai Hind!

Susan Koshy, Editor-in-Chief

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Cover Story The Pride of India – Achievement of Institutions and Services in the Country India as a country has travelled a long way since its independence. India is the world’s largest and oldest continuous civilisation. As per the 1961 census, India had 1,652 languages. It has the world’s largest democracy, is rich in culture and tradition, is known for its warmth in hospitality, and has vision and passion. There have been great moments of immense pride for Indians to belong to this great country, and for good reasons. One of the reasons is that India has the second largest pool of scientists and engineers in the world, and they are doing a great job behind the scene, building India and etching its name in the hallmark of achievements.

ISRO Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), established on August 15th1969, has the motto "Space Research to Benefit the Nation". With a mere $90 million annual budget, it has developed the cryogenic technology indigenously, and produces all the rocket and satellite components inhouse. ISRO has its own atomic clock and plans to have its own GPS (Global Positioning System). India is the only country which was able to reach the moon in the first attempt itself. Again, India is the only country to have put in orbit 104 satellites in one launch itself. The mission to Mars was flawless in the first attempt itself.

ISRO’s achievement is especially commendable when we compare with NASA of USA. NASA, with an annual budget of around $1200 billion and an enviable record of more than 1000 successful unmanned launchings and about 200 manned launchings, was able to reach the moon only after 12 failures.

NASA's Mars mission cost 10 times more than ISRO's Mars mission. However, in all fairness, compared to NASA's expertise on deep space rockets and satellites, ISRO's space journey is still in the infant stage.

DRDO The Indian Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), established in 1958, does researches through its respective specialised research boards in Life Sciences (LS), Missiles and Strategic Systems (MSS), Micro Electronic Devices, Computational Systems & Cyber Systems (MED, CoS), Aeronautical Systems (Aero), Electronics & Communication Systems (ECS), Armament & Combat Engineering Systems (ACE) and Naval Systems and Materials (NS&M).

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Like USA, India officially has the following as its own: unmanned, armed, combat aerial vehicle and unmanned tank, nuclear delivery capability from land, air and sea, self-ejectable black-box for airplanes, anti-satellite system, electronic intelligence satellite and intercontinental ballistic missiles - all developed at DRDO. Nuclear Research As of 2016, India has signed civil nuclear agreements with 14 countries, viz. Argentina, Australia, Canada, Czech Republic, France, Japan, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Namibia, Russia, South Korea, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Vietnam.

India produces more than 75 radioisotopes benefitting more than 10 lakh (1 million) cancer patients annually through about 120 nuclear medicine centres and through the National Cancer Grid. India is the first country in the world to purify blood using certain liquid nuclear wastes and even countries like USA buy these blood purifiers commercially from India. India now has a Global Centre for safe, sustainable and secure nuclear energy operationalised in India, in collaboration with the International Atomic Energy Agency.

On the military front, India has a declared nuclear No-First-Use (NFU) policy and is in the process of developing a nuclear doctrine based on "Credible Minimum Deterrence” which assures second strike capability.

Health World Health Organization (WHO) has officially declared that India is ‘Polio Free’. As a vast country with a very large population, eradicating polio is no mean feat and it is a commendable achievement that all Indians should be proud of.

The health care facilities available in India is world class, both in terms of the competence of its physicians and surgeons as well as hospital infrastructure. Besides, the cost of healthcare is low (an ultrasonic scan of the abdomen costs about ₹350 in India as against about ₹25,000 in USA) and the waiting period in India is ‘little to no waiting period’. (An average American has to wait for about 2 to 3 weeks for a dental root-canal treatment whereas in India you can get it done even without an appointment in some cases).

The facilities offered at the specialty hospitals in India are at par with other world class centres. It was found that the cost of treatment in India start at around one-tenth of the price of comparable treatment in the United States or in the United Kingdom. This economy has drawn many patients from across the world to India, mostly for alternative medicine, bone-marrow transplant, cardiac bypass, eye surgery, and hip replacement.

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In India, anyone in the general public can visit a doctor at any time they need to, order any investigation and get any procedure done as per their plan - such options are not available even in developed countries like USA and UK. A Great Leap for Integral Coach Factory The "Made In India" initiative has made India visible across the world, with our metro trains and monorail trains finding ready markets in Brazil and Australia. Other western countries are also positively looking at India. With an aim to turn the country into a global manufacturing destination, a total of 450 metro coaches are to be made in India for export to Australia over a period of the next two and a half years.

Our Society India is one of the most diverse lands in the world. From language/dialect to dressing-style, the country has been hailed as one of the most complex amalgamations of various cultural identities.

India produces the largest number of engineers in the world. India is the second largest troop contributor in the world to the UN (United Nations) Peacekeeping. India is the largest producer of feature films in the world. India has the largest English-speaking population in the world. India has the largest number of vegetarians in the world. India has the largest workforce in the world. Thus, we find that India’s large population is its asset.

Our Nature UNESCO has included the Western Ghats in the list of World Heritage Sites, along with 39 other places in India. The Western Ghats is considered one of the top eight hotspots of biological diversity in the world. The area plays host to around 5,000 species of flowering plants, 139 mammal species, 508 bird species, 179 amphibian species and 288 freshwater fish species. It is believed that many undiscovered species live in the Western Ghats and at least 325 globally threatened species are found here. The perennial rivers like the Ganges, Brahmaputra, Yamuna, Narmada, Tapti and Sindhu with their river basins are amazing wonders of India.

Conclusion The large number of different cultures in a closely knitted matrix makes India’s diversity one of the wonders of the world. India has everything for every Indian to feel proud about. It is time for all Indians to celebrate the diversity and achievements of this great country, and infuse pride in the succeeding generations of India. In 1982, when the first Indian to go into space, Rakesh Sharma was asked by the then Indian Prime Minister, Mrs Indira Gandhi, how India looked from outer space, he replied, “Saare Jahan Se Achcha” (meaning “better than the rest of the world”), taking the cue from the Indian patriotic song, “Saare Jahan Se Achcha, Hindustan Hamaara” (meaning “Better than the rest of the world is our India”).

By Dr R.Jagannathan, Editorial Advisor

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Report Launch of PreSense150

The landmark of the 150th edition of PreSense was celebrated in an event held at Chennai on August 24th 2019. The Chief Guest, Hon’ble Minister of Tamil Nadu, Shri Ma Foi K.Pandiarajan did the honours of releasing the eDigest, PreSense150 which is a compilation of select articles from the 150 editions of the eMagazine. Shri M.R. Sivaraman IAS (Retired), Former Revenue Secretary to Government of India and Former Executive Director, International Monetary Fund (IMF) was the Guest of Honour.

The Hon’ble Minister lauded the performance of the eMagazine and reminisced about his association with it during his early days as a corporate CEO. He suggested expanding the reach of the eMagazine as well as publishing the Tamil version of the eMagazine articles.

Shri Sivaraman in his message spoke about the role and responsibility of the journalists in the changing technology and environment of the media. His message was especially significant since he gave an elaborate presentation about his experience with the media in the earlier days of his career when journalists were “clean, matter-of-fact, polite and well-behaved and responsible” about the truth of the news he reported. In contrast, he found the journalists of the current trend less accountable.

He gave a detailed and comparative account of the role of the journalists and the media of the yesteryears vis-à-vis those of the current changing environment, and enumerated the key attributes of a good journalist. He concluded by saying, “journalism is an extremely important wing in the M R Sivaraman IAS (Retired) governance of the country.” The public must be

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informed and the media is the source of the information. The media as the fourth estate, is like the fourth leg of a chair which cannot stand on three legs. (The complete video recording of his address is available on https://youtu.be/riO4B5WYXM0).

Smt Rehana, Member of City of London Corporation, shared the experience of her journey from a corporate personality to a political figure. She appreciated the Next Gen Political Leaders (NGPL) initiative of PreSense. Shri Ramasubbu, former Member of Parliament (MP) and five-time Sansad Ratna Awardee also shared his experience and perspective as an MP and Awardee.

The launch was followed by a talk by renowned neurologist, Dr A.V. Srinivasan who spoke about ‘Brain Health’, and a panel discussion on ‘Current Trends in Media’. The expert panellists who participated were Shri T K Rangarajan MP, Shri Rangaraj Pandey, Founder and CEO, Chanakyaa and CEO, Vendhar TV channel, and Smt Banu Gomes, Popular Political Analyst. The discussions were moderated by Prime Point Srinivasan.

The video recording of the event can be viewed from the following YouTube links:  Hon'ble Minister Shri Ma Foi K Pandiarajan, launching the eDigest PreSense150 https://youtu.be/Di6oL3x0f34  Address by Shri K Pandiarajan, Hon'ble Minister https://youtu.be/dKGKk8P8bbs  Welcome address by Prime Point Srinivasan tracing the history of PreSense https://youtu.be/XVO0R5Gj80g  Address by Shri M R Sivaraman IAS (Retired), Former Revenue Secretary to Govt. of India and Former Executive Director of IMF. (He talks on the current trends of Media and Journalism) https://youtu.be/riO4B5WYXM0  Address by Ms Rehana Ameer, Member, City of London Corporation - The first Indian to become a Member of London Corporation - She talks about the challenges she faced and how she overpowered them. https://youtu.be/nuKQh_UEtMI  Address by Shri S S Ramasubbu, Former MP and five times Sansad Ratna Awardee in 15th Lok Sabha. He shared his experience on how he was able to perform and win the Best Parliamentarian award. https://youtu.be/BIrgLCpaRe4  Address by Dr AV Srinivasan, internationally renowned Neurologist. He talks about Brain Health. https://youtu.be/2bkiTnpJHtI  Panel discussion on "Current Media Trends" (Shri T K Rangarajan MP, Shri Rangaraj Pandey and Smt. Bhanu Gomes) https://youtu.be/6K1-fCWcG-0  Photos of the launch event: http://www.tinyurl.com/presense150launch

by Susan Koshy, Editor-in-Chief

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Report Booklet on the Five Initiatives of PreSense Released

After launching the eDigest PreSense150, Shri K Pandiarajan, Hon’ble Minister launched a 16-page booklet containing information about the five initiatives of PreSense. The editorial team members and the heads of the five initiatives were present on the stage.

1. Education Loan Task Force (ELTF) (to create awareness among the students about Education Loan) 2. Sansad Ratna Awards (to honour the outstanding Parliamentarians every year) 3. Digital Journalists Association of India (DiJAI) (to create awareness about Digital Journalism amongst the students and the working journalists) 4. Digital Security Association of India (DiSAI) (to create awareness about Digital Security among the public) 5. Next Gen Political Leaders (NGPL) (to develop young political leaders across all parties and mentor them)

Download www.prpoint.com/ezine/presense150

Download www.prpoint.com/ezine/initiatives

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Looking Back Genesis of our eMagazine PreSense One day in February 2006, some students from the Anna University –Selvakumar, Satish Nagarajan, the author – and professionals from the communication industry – Vidya, Meera Ramakrishna – met up with Shri K. Srinivasan (‘Sir’ as we used to call him) at his residence.

This small team was a bunch of freshers from college except for Satish who was still a student and Vidya who was a professional in a Multi National company then.

The team, under the guidance and direction of ‘Sir’, had already completed a few communication projects such as an image audit of Post Offices for the Postal Department, and a conference with journalists and PR professionals. ‘Sir’ then called us for a meeting to discuss what we could do next – something new and positive in communication. The discussions began with ‘Sir’ telling us about the need to start a positive communication platform as suggested by Dr APJ Abdul Kalam, former President of India. The idea was specifically to start something on the digital platform.

As we discussed and debated upon many ideas, ‘Sir’ got a spark of an idea, and tapping his finger on the table, he immediately asked us,“Why don’t we start an eMagazine?”

All who were present promptly agreed to the idea, and as is the First issue (March 2006) of working style of ‘Sir’, we immediately started to work on the eMagazine PReSense eMagazine then and there! ‘Sir’ asked us to suggest a name for the eMagazine. We wanted the eMagazine to convey PR (Communication) in a positive theme on the digital platform. After much debate and deliberation, the name ‘PReSense’ was finalised.

Satish, who was the designing expert, started working on the design for the new name and logo. The team which was present there formed the first editorial team. Work started for the first eMagazine at a lightning speed and the first ‘PReSense’ was released online in March 2006 by Dr Y S Rajan, co-author of the book India 2020 with Dr APJ Abdul Kalam. The launch of the eMagazine was done within 20 days of the meeting. Within one year, we improved the layout and the contents. Dr Abdul Kalam was our regular reader and he gave an exclusive interview to our eMagazine in Feb 2008. A new masthead was designed in Feb 2008 (the one which is currently used) and after the 60th edition, the name was modified as ‘PreSense’ The key lesson for all of us in the first editorial team was that when a decision to start something was made, we must quickly act on its implementation and execution without delay, and we must ask for support if we stumble along the way. We would surely get the support we need. When we start something with the right objective and purpose and move ahead in the right direction, we are bound to create something which is long-lasting. Our PreSense stands testimony to this.

Now I am proud I was part of the first editorial team of PreSense, which has now published the 150th edition.

by Sakthi Prasanna, Former Editorial Member (of the First Issue of the eMagazine titled PReSense)

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Health We Are What We Eat – How Food Affects Our Actions and Behaviour In the recent years, due to changes in the life style and food habits of our people, especially the youth, the society is facing major health issues. Those health issues which used to affect people after the age of 55 years, are affecting even youngsters in their twenties these days.

In this regard, what modern science explores in research today was explained in detail by Lord Krishna in the Bhagawad Gita (Chapter 17, Slokas 2 to 10) over 5000 years ago. The food we consume affects not just our health but also our behaviour and responses too.

In the Bhagwad Gita, Lord Krishna defines three types of food viz. Sattvic (mode of goodness), Rajasic (mode of passion) and Tamasic (mode of ignorance). These three types of food influence the mood of the person differently.

Sattvic Food Bhagwad Gita Sloka 17.8: आयु :सत्वबलारोग्यसु खप्रीतिति​िर्धना: | रस्या: तिग्धा: स्थिराहृद्याआहारा: सास्त्वकतप्रया: || 8|| (Meaning: Persons in the mode of goodness prefer foods that promote the life span, and increase virtue, resilience, health, happiness and contentment. Such foods are juicy, succulent, nourishing, and naturally tasteful).

Naturally available fruits, nuts, vegetables, pulses, cereals, grains like rice/wheat, green tea (fresh leaves), natural juices, Idly, plain roti and fish are Sattvic foods. This type of food is suitable for those who work using their brains, viz. intellectuals like IT professionals, teachers, researchers, scientists, and so on.

The word Sattvic is derived from the Sanskrit word Sattva which means pure, essence, nature, vital, energetic, clean, conscious, strong, courage, true, honest, wise, rudiment of life. Sattvic diet emphasises food and eating habits which promote, maintain or restore a sattvic style of living.

Rajasic Food Bhagwad Gita Sloka 17.9: कट्वम्ललिणात्युष्णिीक्ष्णरूक्षतिदातहन: | आहाराराजसस्येष्टादु :खशोकामयप्रदा: || 9|| (Meaning: Foods that are too bitter, too sour, salty, very hot, pungent, dry, and spicy are dear to those persons in the mode of passion. Such foods produce pain, grief, and disease.)

Rajasic food is consumed for good taste. Vegetables consumed as spicy food, fast food, masala-added foods, Dosa, stuffed chapattis, soups, non-vegetarian items like red meat, egg, black tea andcoffee come under this category. This type of foods increases muscle

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strength. Rajasic food is suitable for people engaged in outdoor sports and games, the army, police professionals and those who use physical strength in their work.

Tamasic food Bhagwad Gita Sloka 17.10: याियामंगिरसंपूतिपयुध ति​िंचयि् | उस्िष्टमतपचामेध्यंभोजनंिामसतप्रयम् || 10|| (Meaning: Foods that are overcooked, stale, putrid, polluted, and impure are dear to those persons in the mode of ignorance.)

Rajasic foods are those that are consumed after 6 hours of cooking, as well as reheated food, beverages like cold coffee, artificial juices, junk food, cakes and biscuits. This type of foods reduces the coordination of the mind with the body. Such food should be avoided in order to maintain good health and a sound mind.

What Human Beings Need Human beings require a diet that is a combination of Sattvic and Rajasic foods in a balanced proportion. The proportion depends on the nature of the job the person undertakes. It is similar to adorning jewellery craftedwith a balanced blend of pure gold and copper.For example, a person engaged in a job where he uses intelligence like the IT industry, research, teaching, etc., should have adiet consisting 80% Sattvic food and 20% Rajasic food. Scientists should have a diet of around 90% Sattvic food to achieve excellence.

People like Dr Abdul Kalam, Albert Einstein and (Image Courtesy: www.heymonicab.com) Bernard Shaw used to have a diet that contained more than 90% Sattvic food and they have achieved excellence in their respective areas of work. It is reported that Adolf Hitler had a diet that was more than 90% Sattvic food.

People working in the police, the army and those working towards great physical strength require about 60% Sattvic and 40% Rajasic food. Ancient kings used to have a diet of this proportion to maintain their valour.

It is suggested that to maintain a balanced mind and body, a minimum of 50% of one’s diet should beSattvic food. If the intake of Rajasic food increases (more than 60% of the diet), it could negatively affect one’s mental balance. They may become very emotional. It is believed that if a majority of people in a society consumes a diet that is predominantly Rajasic, it could affect their emotional balance, threatening a law and order issue in that society.

Youngsters of upto about 25 years of age are generally more engaged in physical activities.

These youngsters therefore need high nutrition. Sattvic food is highly nutritional. If they consume more of Sattvic food, such a diet will help them over the following 50 years of their lives to maintain good energy levels, strength (stamina) and intelligence.

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Tamasic food is to be generally taken only for medicinal purposes under the guidance of doctors. When the portion of Tamasic food is increased, drowsiness occurs, adversely affecting the coordination of the motor senses with the brain.

For example, when a person consumes excessive alcohol, he loses his balance and the quality of work suffers. pH level is a measurement of the acidic/alkaline ratio in the body. The ideal pH ratio is 80% of alkaline and 20% of acid, which ensures good health. Sattvic food is more than 80% alkaline which protects the immune system and makes it stronger. The recovery rate of patients taking Sattvic food is faster than that of people who consume Rajasic and Tamasic food. People suffering from hypertension and constipation can improve their condition by including more Sattvic food in their food habit.

Interesting Facts about Animals Interestingly, this kind of food habit is applicable even to animals.Herbivorous animals (animals that eat herbs) have a long digestive system like human beings. Animals like the cow, goat, elephant, sheep, buffalo and horse eat only vegetarian food. They live without attacking other animals and human beings and are helpful in preservation ofthe environment. They belong to the Sattvic category of food consumers.

Human beings fall under the herbivorous category due to the anatomy of their body.

However, human beings consume all three types of food, viz. Sattvic, Rajasic and Tamasic.

Animals like the cheetah, the lion, the tiger and certain breed of dogs (known as the carnivorous category) eat the flesh of ‘herbivorous’ animals.

These animals have a veryshort digestive system, so that the digested particles get eliminated from the digestive system quickly. These animals are aggressive in nature.

Carnivorous animals have short bowels to allow minimal transit time for the unstable and dead animal food which putrefies and decays fast. On the contrary, humans have longer digestive tracts for the slow digestion and better absorption of plant food. The stomach of carnivores is more acidic than that of human beings, and this enables them to digest raw meat. Animals like the fox, and birds like the crow andthe vulture (omnivorous category) eat dead animals and leftover foods. They are not aggressive, but they attack from behind.

Conclusion The nation has to develop not only economically. It needs to promote healthy people.

Progress in technology and advanced life style have changed our food habits but not for the better. We should therefore be conscious about what we consume and develop healthy eating habits because our behaviour, attitude and thinking are affected by the kind of food we eat.Healthy people make a healthy society and a healthy nation.

by K. Srinivasan, Publisher and Managing Editor (Information input: courtesy Shri Suresh Veera, Yoga Expert)

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Sport National Sports Day and Fit India Movement

August 29th commemorates the National Sports Day for India. The Government of India had proclaimed this day in 2012 as a tribute to the national sportsman, Dhyan Chandwho was one of the greatest field hockey players of all time.

Dhyan Chand was born on August 29th 1905. Famously known as “The Wizard”, he used to display extraordinary goal-scoring feats. He won three Olympic gold medals in hockey for India in 1928, 1932, and 1936. In a sports career spanning over 22 years, he scored over 400 goals. In 1956, he was conferred the Padma Bhushan, the third-highest civilian honour.

Focussing on the essence and importance of physical fitness and sports, the Hon’ble Prime Minister launched the ‘Fit India Movement’ on the National Sports Day on August 29th 2019.

The objective of the Movement is to encourage people to start/increase their physical activity and sports in everyday life.

In his motivational address, Shri Modi said a fit mind in a fit body was important and that lifestyle diseases were on the rise due to lifestyle disorders, and one could ensure against them by being fitness-conscious. He urged the people to use stairs instead of escalators, to walk daily instead of taking a rickshaw, or to bicycle for short distances, to exercise daily, and to involve family members in exercise and physical activities on a daily basis.

Let’s get more active in our lifestyle. Let’s have a fitter and healthier India.

by Susan Koshy, Editor-in-Chief

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Nation Performance of First Session of 17th Lok Sabha – Women MPs Top the Performance The Budget Session of the Parliament was held from June 17th 2019 to August 7th 2019. This was the first session of the Parliament after the elections for the 17th Lok Sabha. In the past, the Parliament used to hold a short session for oath-taking after the election of the new Lok Sabha. This session would be followed by the Budget Session.

In the 17th Lok Sabha, the oath-taking session was combined with the Budget Session.

Initially, the session was planned to be held from June 17 th2019 to July 26th2019. It was extended to August 7th2019. During the Budget Session, Lok Sabha had sittings for 37 days and Rajya Sabha had sittings for 35 days.

Productivity – Highest in 20 Years

During this session, Lok Sabha worked for 281 hours which is 135% of the scheduled hours.

This is higher than any other session of the Parliament in the past 20 years. On an average, Lok Sabha worked for 81% of its scheduled time in the past 20 years. Rajya Sabha worked for 195 hours which is 100% of the scheduled hours. On an average,Rajya Sabha has worked for 76% of its scheduled time during a session in the past 20 years.

Questions – Highest in 20 Years for Answers Question Hour functioned for 95% of its scheduled time inLok Sabha and, 65% inRajya Sabha during this session.During this session, 36% of the questions were answered orally in Lok Sabha by ministers. This is higher than any other session in the past 20 years. 40% of the questions received an oral answer from a minister in Rajya Sabha. This is the second highest among all sessions in the past 20 years.

On an average, 15% of the questions in Lok Sabha and 17% of the questions in Rajya Sabha received were answered orally during a session in the past 20 years.

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Legislative Business is the Highest in Ten Years The time spent by Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha during the first session is given in the chart displayed.

Lok Sabha spent 46% of its time on legislative business. The corresponding figure for Rajya Sabha is 51%.

38 Bills were introduced in Parliament during the Budget Session (excluding the Finance and Appropriation Bills). 28 Bills out of these were passed during this session.

This is the highest for any session in the last 10 years.

265 first-term MPs (Members of Parliament) have been elected to the 17th Lok Sabha. The number of women MPs in the 17th Lok Sabha is 78.

94% of the first-term MPs participated in a debate in the Budget Session. This is significantly higher than the 16th Lok Sabha where 82% of the first-term members participated in a debate in the first session.

Top Performers – Two Women MPs Top the Entire Lok Sabha The performance of Members is evaluated by their Initiated Debates, Private Members Bills and Questions.

Ms Supriya Sule (NCP, Maharashtra) participated in 34 Initiated Debates, introduced 4 Private Members Bills and raised 109 Questions, bringing the total tally to 147. She is a third-time MP. She had secured the No 1 position in the 16th Lok Sabha also. She is a Sansad Ratna Awardee.

Dr Heena Vijayakumar Gavit (BJP, Maharashtra) participated in 12 Initiated Debates and raised 106 questions with a total tally of 118. She is a second-time MP. She was honoured with Sansad Ratna Awards consecutively for four years during the 15th Lok Sabha.

PreSense congratulates both of them for their excellent performance during the first session of the 17th Lok Sabha.

The 17th Lok Sabha has started with a big bang. It is hoped that the Members will continue to maintain this high spirit and guide the nation towards prosperity.

By G Priya Dharshni, Deputy Editor (Data Source: PRS Legislative Research)

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Presenters of PreSense Editorial Team

K. Srinivasan Publisher &Managing Editor

Susan Koshy Editor-in-Chief

V. Rajendran Editor

Team

T N Ashok Consulting Editor

Triambak Sharma

Editorial Advisors

G Priya Dharshni Deputy Editor

Dr R Jagannathan

Dr Sudarsan Padmanabhan

Dr Prabhakar Krishnamurthy

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