Cadila Pharmaceuticals Launches Lung Cancer Drug

AHMEDABAD: Cadila Pharmaceuticals Ltd, an Ahmedabad-based drug maker has launched a lung cancer treatment drug - Mycidac-C.

The company claims that the drug Mycidac-C is for the first time in the world an affordable, unique and innovative drug for the treatment of lung cancer. As per the company's statement, Mycidac-C is an innovative research product for the patients suffering from Non Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC). The drug has been approved for launch in India by the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI). It targets Desmocolin-3, a novel target.
                                               

   
Dr Rajiv I Modi, Chairman and Managing Director of Cadila Pharmaceuticals said, "We expect it to be available in the Indian market by December 2013. Thereafter, we will introduce it in other regions like SAARC countries and European markets over the next five years."

This is a first in the class active immunotherapy as well as drug targeting Desmocollin-3. It is a breakthrough in the management of squamous cell NSCLC. There has been no significant innovation in management of squamous NSCLC since the introduction of platinum containing doublet in 1983. Besides affordability and other advantages, Mycidac-C has no systemic side effects during the treatment. Mycidac-C is to be used with platinum containing doublet therapy.

As per the World Health Organisation (WHO) report, approximately 1.25 million people are diagnosed with lung cancer every year worldwide. Around 30% of them suffer from squamous NSCLC. Lung Cancer kills more people than the three next commonest cancers combined.

ISRO Performed Last Orbit Raising Manoeuvre on its Mars Mission

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on 16 November 2013 performed the last of the five orbit-raising manoeuvre on its Mars Orbiter, raising the apogee (farthest point from Earth) of the spacecraft to over 1.92 lakh km.
                                                         

In the series of five orbit raising manoeuvre with a supplementary operation after the fourth one, the space agency had raised the apogee of the spacecraft to over 1.92 lakh km.

After the successful completion of these operations, the Mars Orbiter mission is expected to take on the crucial event of the trans-Mars injection around 12.42am on 1st December 2013. It will reach the orbit of the red planet by 24th September, 2014 after taking on a voyage of over 10 months.

ISRO's PSLV C 25 on 5 November 2013 successfully injected the 1350-kg 'Mangalyaan' Orbiter (Mars craft) into the orbit around the earth, from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota, Andhra Pra 

Mangalore University Presented With Indira Gandhi NSS Best University Award 2012-13

President of India Pranab Mukherjee on 19 November 2013 presented Indira Gandhi National Service Scheme Best University Award 2012-13 to Mangalore University of Karnataka.
                                                 

Mangalore University Indira Gandhi NSS is fourth in the row of universities winning Indira Gandhi NSS Award in Karnataka. Prior to this university, RGUHS, Bangalore University, and UAS Dharwad had received this award.

The award comprises a memento and a citation along with a cash prize of 2 lakh Rupees.

President of India also gave NSS Best Plus 2 Council Award for 2012-13 to Directorate of Higher Secondary Education, Thiruvananthpuram while Upcoming University Award was presented to Kumaun University, Nainital. The awards are given to educational institutions, faculty and students for their contribution in various beneficial and voluntary activities.

The awards were presented on the occasion of National Integration Day (19 November 2013) at a function in Rashtrapati Bhawan, New Delhi. National Integration Day is the Birth anniversary of the first woman Prime Minister of the India, Indira Gandhi.

National Integration Day Observed on 18 November

18 November: National Integration Day (Birth anniversary of Indira Gandhi) 

National Integration Day is observed on 19 November 2013 all over India. It is celebrated as the birth anniversary of the first woman Prime Minister of the India, Indira Gandhi.

The National Integration day is celebrated to enhance the love and unity among people all across the India.                                                                

                                     
National Integration Day is celebrated every year in India by conducting variety of programmes and activities like Inter State Youth Exchange Programme (ISYEP), National Integration Camp (NIC), National Youth Festival, National Youth Award and etc.
                               
Symposia, seminars, cultural activities are organized to deal with issues related to the national integration. Research activities and publications are held in the camp. Variety of community services are done by youths of different social backgrounds, regions, faiths and religions.

About Indira Gandhi

Indira Gandhi, the first woman Prime Minister of India, was born at 19th of November in the year 1917 in Allahabad. She was the daughter of the first Indian Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. She got her higher education from the Vishwa Bharati University and Oxford.

She got married to the Feroze Gandhi in 1942 and got an opportunity to become Congress Working Committee member in the 1955.

Indira Gandhi was a great political leader and thus selected as President in the year 1959. She also became a Cabinet member of the Lal Bahadur Shastri as the Minister for Information. After the sudden death of the Lal Bahadur Shastri Ji in 1966 at Taskant, Russia, she was selected as the Prime Minister of India.

She played a major role in strengthening the Indian democratic structure and tradition. She handled the war of 1971 against Pakistan and won it. Signing of the Shimla Pact with Pakistani Premier Z.A. Bhutto, Indo-Soviet Treaty of Peace, Friendship and Cooperation was done under her leadership.

Under her leadership the first nuclear tests at Pokhran took place. First Asian Games in the New Delhi, first Astronaut Squadron Leader, Rakesh Sharma had went to the Space and the growth of the Indian Space Research and Peaceful Nuclear development gone under her proficient guidance.

She was very much interested in the music, literature and fine arts. She was awarded with the great Indian award, Bharat Ratna in 1971.

She has proved to be a fascinating leader of the modern India who has left an impression on the world affairs and the Non-alignment Movement. She was died on 31st of October in 1984 by the bullets of assassin at her residence.

Waheeda Rehman to Receive First Centenary Film Award At IFFI

Waheeda Rehman, the veteran actress of Bollywood will be conferred with the inaugural Centenary Award for the Indian Film Personality of the Year 2013 at the 44th International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in Goa on 20 November 2013. The award will be given to her in recognition of her contributions to the film industry. She has been selected unanimously by the team of five member jury.

                                                           

                                                   
The award has been instituted by the Government of India to mark the 100 years of Indian Cinema. It includes a prize amount of 10 lakh rupees and a citation Waheeda Rehman to receive first Centenary.

About Waheeda Rehman

• Born in 1936, Waheeda Rehman is known for her performance in films Kaagaz Ke Phool, Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam, Chaudhvin Ka Chand (1961), Guide and more.

• She is the winner of several awards, which includes the Padma Shri in 1972 and Padma Bhushan in 2011.

• She started her career in film industry with a Telgu film named Jayasimha in 1955 and her debut in the Hindi films started in 1956 with CID

The 100 years of Indian cinema was celebrated on 3 May 2013 on the day of release of the first film of India by Dadasaheb Phalke in 1913, namely Raja Harishchandra. 

Fifth Session of India-Ukraine Inter-Governmental Commission Held in New Delhi

The fifth session of India-Ukraine Inter-Governmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technological, Industrial and Cultural Cooperation held in New Delhi on 13 November 2013. The Commission was chaired by E. Ahamed, the Minister of State for External Affairs.
                                                               

The Ukrainian delegation was led by Ihor Mykolayovych Prasolov, the Minister of Economic Development and Trade of Ukraine.Fifth Session of India-Ukraine Inter-Governmental He was accompanied by a 15 member official and 12 member business delegations from Ukraine.
                                                     
During the session current status and future prospects of cooperation in trade and investment, heavy/light industry, fertilizers, pharmaceuticals and healthcare, mining and metallurgy, science and technology, energy (coal, nuclear), transportation, agriculture and food processing, education, culture and tourism were reviewed.

The Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers, Government of India, and the State Administration of Ukraine on Medicinal Products signed the Memorandum of Understanding for Cooperation in Joint Ventures and Research and Development in Pharmaceuticals and Bio-pharmaceuticals.

The Ukrainian Business Delegation held an interactive session with Indian business community organized by the Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FICCI). The Ukrainian side agreed to address the concerns of Indian pharmaceutical companies operating in Ukraine. Both sides also agreed to work on an agreement on simplification of visa procedures to ease movement of business people and tourists. The bulk of India’s exports of pharmaceuticals to Ukraine amount to about 375 million US dollars per annum.

India and Ukraine also agreed to increase trade beyond the existing level of 3.2 billion US dollars.

The fourth session was held in Kyiv in June 2012 and the sixth session of the Commission will take place in 2014 at Kyiv.

Yogesh Agarwal,The Chairman of PFRDA Resigned; Anup Wadhawan Took Over

The Chairman of Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA), Yogesh Agarwal resigned from the post of Chairman on 13 November 2013. He resigned because of the Government’s decision to not allow him to be a part of the selection panel for members of the regulator.

In the meanwhile, Joint Secretary Anup Wadhawan was appointed as the new Yogesh Agarwal Chairman of PFRDA by the Finance Ministry. It is important to note that Yogesh Agarwal had one and half years more as his tenure of the Chairman.                                                              

                                 

Inclusion of Chairman in the Selection Panel as Per the PFRDA Act 2013 

The selection panel members include Economic Affairs Secretary Arvind Mayaram, Financial Services Secretary Rajiv Takru, Department of Personnel and Training Secretary Syamal Kumar Sarkar, Chairman of the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA), TS Vijayan, former LIC Chairman S B Mathur. According to the PFRDA Act 2013, the body should include the Chairperson and not more than six members (out of which three should be the full-time members), to be appointed by the Union Government of India.

Term of the Chairman of PFRDA

The Chairman as well as every full-time member of PFRDA holds the office for the term of five years. Also, the Chairman and members are eligible for reappointment. The age limit for a Chairman of PFRDA is 65 years and that of the full-time members is 62 years. Part-time members, in the meanwhile, can hold the office for the term not exceeding five years from the date of joining the office.