Chaitra Shukla 9 Vik Samvat 2069. Yugabda 5114: April 1, 2012


1.  FESTIVALS: Hanuman Jayanti which falls on Chaitra Poornima, April 6th this year, is celebrated to worship venerated God Hanuman also known as Bajrangbali, Pavanputra, Mahaveer etc. It is celebrated at different dates in different parts of Bharat , Margshirsh in Southern Bharat, Vaishakh in Odisha and Andhra etc. On the day of Hanuman Jayanti, people flock to temples, apply Sindhur to the murthi of Hanuman and observe fast. Religious foods, coconut and flowers are distributed among people. Many devotees recite the Hanuman Chalisa.
Hanuman is the ardent devotee of Sri Rama and symbol of energy and strength. He is upheld as the model for human devotion to God. He is an epitome of Brahmacharya and also one of the seven ‘Chiranjiv’ (Immortals).
2. Akhil Bharatiya Pratinidhi Sabha (ABPS) meeting of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh was held in Nagpur on 16, 17, 18 March 2012. First of all shraddhanjali was given to Sangh adhikaris and other prominent personalities from social life passed away during the year. Sarkaryavash Suresh (Bhaiyyaji) Joshi presented the annual report. In 2011, a total of 69 Sangh Shiksha Vargs were held in the country. In Pratham Varsha Vargs a total of 11507 trainees participated from 7322 places; 2781 trainees came from 2102 places for Dwitiya Varsha. A total of 732 trainees from 675 places attended regular Tritiya Varsha and 447 trainees from all over country attended Vishesh Tritiya Varsha.
At the concluding program of the Samanya Tritiya Varsha Varg Pujya Jayendra Saraswati Maharaj, Peethadheesh of Kanchi Kamakoti Math, delivered his benediction. Sri Gana Raju of Vijayawada was the Chief Guest. Sarsanghchalak Mohanji Bhagwat also addressed the swyamsevaks.
There are 40891 Shakhas in 27978 places. Saptahik Milans are 8508 while Sangh Mandalis are 6445. In the Akhil Bharatiya Shareerik Varg held at Vadodara 227 karyakartas participated.
This year in Purva Andhra 'Jaibheri', in Chhattisgarh 'Nadsangam', in Deogiri 'Rashtra Chetana' special camps of Ghosh Vadaks (Bands) were organized. An All Bharat baithak and orientation of Prant Bouddhik Pramukhs and workshop for speakers were organized after the Sangh Shiksha Varg.  Various training programme were held by Prachar Vibhag in 2011-12 on subjects like panel discussion, press conference etc under the guidance of some media experts.
'Sewa Sangam' programs were organized in 10 places by Sewa Vibhag. 3153 representatives including 480 women of 706 organizations from 17 prants participated in these programmes.
With the positive effects of Vishwa Mangal Go-gram Yatra and active participation of our swayamsevaks in village development, nearly 200 villages have been converted as 'Prabhat Gram'.
Vishesh Vritta of Dakshin Tamil Nadu, Hindu Shakti Sangam Maha Shibir in Uttar Karnataka, Paschim Andhra, Gond Samaj Sammelan, Devgiri Prant, Gujarat Prant, Malwa Prant, Madhya Bharat Prant, Mahakoshal Prant, Punjab Prant, Meerut Prant, Dakshin Bang, Earth Quake Relief Work in Sikkim, Programs held against Communal and Targeted Violence Bill -2011, were included in the report of Sarkaryavahji.
The report mentioned launching of massive popular campaigns for bringing in Jan Lokpal Bill and bringing back black money from banks abroad.
It was stressed that the draft of Communal and Targeted Violence Bill 2011 needs to be rejected lock, stock and barrel by all sections of the society including all political parties and religious and social leaders. The decision of the Union Govt. to extend 4.5% reservations to Muslims out of the OBC quota of 27% following the recommendations of the Sachar Committee was opposed tooth and nail.
It was resolved that in 150th birth Anniversary year of Swami Vivekananda we should endeavour to inspire our society of crores with a divine message, kindle pure emotions in their hearts and, inculcate discipline to use that collective strength with judiciousness.
ABPS passed two resolutions.
Resolution-1: Uphold Unity and Integrity of Our Society as Paramount
Bharat is witnessing upsurge of popular movements in different parts of the country over various issues like land rights, political rights, dams and river water sharing, movement of people from one state to the other, conflicts between different groups based on tribe, caste, religion etc. The Akhil Bharatiya Pratinidhi Sabha expresses concern over the growing ill will among various sections of our society due to the actions of certain vested interests of these movements.
The ABPS exhorts that mature polity should handle such movements with utmost care and sensitivity. It should accord greater priority to unity and integrity of the society while handling these issues. Unfortunately what we experience today is exploitation of public sentiments for political expediency resulting in harm to our social cohesion.
Media plays an important role in public education and awakening. Sensationalism of sections of media in such matters will not only cause harm to the interest of the movement but also adversely impact the social fabric. Leaders of voluntary and Non-Government Organisations, who take active part in several such movements, have an onerous responsibility of ensuring that fissiparous tendencies don’t creep in and vested and foreign interests don’t take advantage of the movements to vitiate the atmosphere of social harmony and national unity. The ABPS calls upon the media and the NGO leadership to play a constructive role in providing right direction to such movements.
There are bound to be genuine grievances and complaints from each side in most of the issues that give rise to such movements. However the ABPS appeals to the leaders and participant people of these movements to never lose sight of the greater unity and integrity of our society. Nothing should be said or done in the course of pursuing demands that would create fissures in our social fabric and weaken our national bonds.
It is a matter of grave concern for the ABPS that the actions of the Government in issues like Communal and Targeted Violence Bill and Minority Reservations are potential triggers for creating disunity and discord among various sections of the society. Anti-Constitutional decision of the Union and certain State governments to carve out 4.5% as Minority Quota from the OBC Quota of 27% reservations calls for rejection by the entire nation. The ABPS exhorts that the national policy should be guided not by short-term political gains but by the principle of One Nation – One People.
The ABPS calls upon the countrymen in general and Swayamsevaks in particular to play a proactive role in ensuring that the attempts by some sections of our society to destroy our social unity for narrow selfish ends never succeed.
Resolution-2: Draft National Water Policy-2012 Needs to be Reconsidered  
Natural wealth of the nation is sacred heritage of all the living beings. Hence the Akhil Bharatiya Pratinidhi Sabha is of the considered opinion that our water resources, soil, air, minerals, cattle wealth, biodiversity and other such natural resources should not be treated as means of commercial profit. Our approach, policy and practices towards utilization and conservation of these resources should be based on the principle of our long sustained reciprocal coexistence of entire living universe, rather than being based on short term motive of private profits. We constitute 17 percent of the world population and are dependent upon 2.5 percent of the earth’s land mass and 4 percent of fresh water. In view of the above facts, Government’s initiative towards private monopoly and commercial profiteering in water which is one of the sacred elements among the “Panch-Mahabhootas” is a matter of grave concern.
In the recently circulated draft National Water Policy – 2012 of the Central Government while describing water as the basis of life, has very cleverly incorporated the formulations and models of the World Bank and MNCs. This clearly manifests the evil designs of the Central Government. The proposals in the new draft on water policy regarding increase in water and electricity tariffs in the name of rationalizing consumption of water and also making it cost based, will only make water scarce for ordinary people and will pave the way for earning massive profits by the corporates engaged in water trade. As suggested by the World Bank, attempts at handing over the control of water distribution in the hands of private monopoly in the name of public-private  partnership, indicates  the intentions of handing over this vital basic necessity of life totally in the control of private ownership and to a large extent foreign multi-national corporations. Experiences of private monopoly of water across the world have not been satisfactory with respect to the quantity and quality of water supply, regularity of supplies and tariffs. By accepting water as a tradable commodity or as an economic good in the water policy, the Government is in fact supporting the logic of those international business consultants who view privatization of water as booming trade opportunity worth billions of dollars in Bharat and other developing countries.
ABPS is of the opinion that water is life line for our entire living world. Therefore, rational water resource management ensuring availability of pure water to each and every citizen, appropriate water supply to agriculture and different meaningful economic activities at proper rates are administrative imperatives for the Government.   Serious debate and deliberations from village panchayats to top level regarding the National Water Policy, changes in land utilization and other basic issues concerning management of natural wealth, should form the first priority of the Government while formulating the policies.
In such a scenario, the Akhil Bharatiya Pratinidhi Sabha calls upon all the countrymen to desist themselves from misuse, wastage and all those activities which pollute this divine gift of nature. They should leave no stone unturned in the conservation of water. The Pratinidhi Sabha also expects from the Government that instead of handing over natural wealth like water in private monopoly, it should adopt all appropriate measures to ensure water conservation, harvesting and proper management. In view of the growing demand, effective steps like reprocessing, desalination and optimum utilization of river water should be taken for easy availability of water. For conservation and augmentation of major sources of water it is necessary to curb pollution in sacred rivers like Ganga and Yamuna. It is also equally important to take effective steps for revival of the ancient river Saraswati. The Government should also call upon the society, social organizations and Dharmacharyas to co-operate in this endeavour. With respect to the National Water Policy draft, the Pratinidhi Sabha also cautions the Government that if it accepts the recommendations of the new water policy document in toto and makes the water tariff cost based to ensure private profit out of it, then it would have to face public wrath.
3. After Gandhi and Patel, Modi third Gujarati on Time cover: Sixty-five years ago, on January 27, 1947, the venerable American magazine Time had featured Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel on its cover. It was captioned: ‘Bharat’s Vallabhbhai Patel’. But he wasn’t the first Bharatiya leader to make it to the cover of the world’s largest circulated news weekly. That honour went to Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi who appeared on the cover of the March 31, 1930 issue of Time. The caption read: ‘Saint Gandhi’.
With the March 26 issue of Time hitting the stands, Chief Minister Narendra Modi becomes the third Bharatiya leader from Gujarat to feature on its cover. The caption reads: ‘Modi means business — But can he lead India?’ Inside the magazine, the story is headlined: ‘Boy from the Backyard’. A blurb follows: “Narendra Modi has defied humble origins to become the powerful leader of booming Gujarat. Here’s why Indians both love and loathe him.”
As Time puts it, Gujarat is today “India’s most industrialised and business-friendly territory”, a state that can boast of “good planning - exactly what so much of India lacks”. The credit for that goes to a leader with the “ability to get things done”.
Under Modi’s leadership, Time says, Gujarat has “largely escaped the land conflicts and petty corruption that often paralyse growth elsewhere in the nation”. Listing the many achievements of the Government led by Modi, the magazine points out that Gujarat is the only State in Bharat where both big businesses and small farmers can expect uninterrupted power supply.
“Unlike many Bharatiya politicians, Modi doesn’t put his faith on display. There are no religious icons in his office; the only adornments are two statues of his hero, the philosopher Swami Vivekananda,” Time says, adding, “In a country where nepotism and dynastic politics are the norm, Modi’s family is invisible.” His brother, who works in the State Government, hasn’t visited him even once at his office.
“To his loyalists,” Time points out, “Modi is a decisive leader deserving a bigger platform than Gujarat, deserving, indeed, of all India, and of the prime — rather than just a chief — ministership.” Modi is “perhaps the only contender with the track record and name recognition to challenge Rahul Gandhi”, the magazine says, adding, when people “think of someone who can bring Bharat out of the mire of chronic corruption and inefficiency — of a firm, no-nonsense leader who will set the nation on a course of development that might finally put it on par with China — they think of Modi”.
Gujarat’s success, “even Modi’s detractors acknowledge”, is a “result of good planning”— something which, as Time highlights, “exactly what so much of India lacks”.
Other Bharatiya leaders and politicians have featured on Time’s cover, most notably Subhas Chandra Bose, Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi and Manmohan Singh. The leader who has been featured on the magazine’s cover the most is Nehru.
4.  Educate mind & heart, Dalai Lama tells DU: Spiritual guru Dalai Lama, during his visit to Delhi University on March 22, spoke on the education of the mind and heart. He stressed on the knowledge of the heart and soul along with the principle of meditation.
His Holiness Dalai Lama emphasised on the need for analytical meditation while speaking at the Seminar Hall of the Vice Regal Building. “Meditation does not mean closing the doors from the world and going blank. Meditation cannot be done with vacant mind,” he said.
Dalai Lama insisted that good meditation can be done only with good reading and ideas in the mind. He added that for successful meditation, self-analysis and focus were important.
5.   TREE PLANTING PROJECT IN KENYA: A major tree planting program was set out by 55 representatives of Hindu Religion and Service Center and Hindu Council of Kenya on 18th March 2012 at the Escarpment Primary school, 45 km from Nairobi, at the slopes of the Great Rift Valley. The Hindu Council of Kenya representatives were Vice Chairman Dinesh Shah, Assistant Joint Secretary Bhimjibhai Patel and Sunil Shah. The Hindu Religious & Service Centre was led by Chunibhai Shah.  The group reached the School at 10.30 am.  
The opening prayers were led by Ms Mary Wangari and Damjibhai Koriya chanting the Gayatri Mantra and the Ekata Mantra. Escarpment Primary School was started in 1954 in mud walled temporary shelters with the first class of less than 20 pupils. From 1972, permanent stoned wall buildings were erected with great assistance of the Jani Family.
About 300 parents and children were invited to participate in the exercise. 1200 trees were planted. 1000 were Bluegum and 200 were indigenous trees.
6.  Festival welcomes spring and all its colors:  If you found yourself at Lacey’s Rainier Vista Park on March 18, you probably saw members of the South Sound Bharatiya community laughing, running, playing games, enjoying a traditional meal and doing it all covered head-to-toe in springtime colors, such as yellow, orange, purple and red.
The Sunday afternoon event was organized by the Olympia chapter of Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh, and the celebration was the festival of colors – a springtime tradition in Bharat in which the community gathers, in part, to cover each other in a powdery form of paint.
Organizer Krishna Kumar said it was the event’s fourth year in the Olympia area and is a time for the community to come together and bond by painting each other’s faces.
 After the face painting, there were games, such as tug of war and a water balloon toss.
The Olympia chapter of Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh is part of a national organization that operates under the same name.
7.   A Youth Day Camp at Woodlands Hindu Temple: Hindu Temple of The Woodlands (HTW), one of the newest temples in the Greater Houston area, celebrated for the first time ever, two fun events over weekend. One was Holi and the other, a day camp for kids and youth.
The day camp, on Saturday, March 17, organized by HTW’s Education Youth and Service (EYS) committee was for kids and teens from 6-18 years in which 30 kids participated. The highlights of the camp were yoga, jeopardy and skits. The participants were divided into groups and enacted thematic skits centered around specific moral values.
Sunil Gopalkrishna, a young computer hardware engineer and HTW adult scripture instructor, held an exclusive session only for the youth, middle and high-school students.
On Sunday, March 18 Holi celebration was held at the temple. The morning started with a puja performed by the temple’s priest. Colored water was available for youngsters (and some older people!) to spray on friends and families. Lots of colored powder was available to share and enjoy. Various games and contests including a hula-hoop contest and a dance contest for teenagers were part of all the fun.
8.  DTU students develop lightweight aircraft for surveillance: A team of under-graduate students at Delhi Technological University (DTU) has designed and built a light Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) that can be used for urban surveillance purposes.
The aircraft, Arush X1, has a high-definition camera which can transmit images in real-time to a ground-based station, and is being flight tested by the students. The team comprises 11 first- and final-year students from different branches of engineering at the University.
The aircraft is made of a composite of carbon and glass fibres and has been assembled using parts made in Bharat, most of them sourced from Delhi. The engine and the software have been sourced from outside Delhi, Gaurav said. The vehicle has now completed six flight tests, attaining heights of up to 700 feet. The model can work on auto-pilot mode and transmit signals to ground stations in a 30-km range. It can take off and land in a runway length of 10 feet.
9. Community comes to rescue of Ladakh’s heritage: Tsering Angchuk, a social worker from Basgo village in Leh district, was recently awarded Bharat Jyoti Award for his meritorious service, outstanding performance and commendable role in the field of conservation of Ladakhi cultural heritage. The 10th-century Maiterya Buddha temple in Basgo village was restored by the village community. In 2007, Basgo village was conferred with the UNESCO Asia Pacific Heritage Award of Excellence. 
A civil engineer by profession, he has been devoting his spare time to promote the conservation of cultural heritage since 1992. Angchuk is also convener of INTACH (Ladakh chapter).
10.  BHARATIYA boy wins YouTube Space Lab competition: Bangalore boy has been adjudged the Asia-Pacific winner of the newly-launched YouTube Space Lab contest for young minds conceptualizing and executing innovative scientific experiments in space research. Eighteen-year-old Sachin S. Kukke came up with an experiment exploring transfer of heat in ferrofluid – a special liquid that gets magnetized when subjected to a magnetic field. It is touted as a study that can help develop advanced cooling and heat transfer systems.
A student of mechanical engineering from Bangalore’s BMS College of Engineering, Kukke is one of six global winners in the competition, hosted by YouTube and Lenovo.
11.   Google says Delhi boy’s 1 of 10 smartest kids: Abhishek knows computers, and how. He can design websites with HTML, he can work Photoshop like a pro and, if push should come to shove, he can code in C and C++!
Code In, one of the most prestigious of its kind, booted up on November 21 last year. Open to children between the ages of 13 and 17, it aims at introducing the world of open source software to teenagers. Each completed task, depending on its level of difficulty, is worth a certain number of points and contestants are expected to accumulate as many points as possible.
Between November and January, the competition saw 542 students from 56 countries completing 3,054 tasks. The results were announced on February 14. Of the 10 winners, five were from Bharat. Abhishek, second on the list with 150 points, was the youngest of them all. Shitiz Garg, also from Bharat, topped the list with 200 points. Gaurav Narula, Gautam and Aneesh Dogra are the other winners from Bharat.
12.   Now, a tablet that's also a mini lab for doctors: Swasthya Slate (Health Tablet) - a first-of-its-kind diagnostic tool - created by a US-returned Bharatiya biomedical engineer Kanav Kahol will not only work as a diagnostic tool for multiple activities like conduct ECG, measuring heart rate, testing quality of water and also takeing body temperature but will also test blood pressure and blood sugar on the spot.
Kahol, who has worked with Nobel laureate Dr Lee Hartwell at the University of Arizona's Biodesign Institute on creating "persuasive technology," said the Slate will now help Auxillary Nurse Midwives (ANMs) and Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs) working in far-flung villages to diagnose diseases on the spot. Swasthya Slate is likely to be ready for operation in next three months.
13.  Ajab story: Online classes in Gujarat village: It's a typical 6 X 6 classroom of a village school - dimly lit and dusty with furniture crying for repairs. But, what catches one's attention is a big TV monitor, a wireless microphone enabling web conferencing and internet connectivity. At sharp 7 am, students of Shri Krishna Vidya Mandir in Ajab village jostle for space in this room keenly waiting for Chiman Delwadia who is about to log on from Birmingham in Alabama, US.
When Delwadia appears on the TV monitor, students throw a volley of maths problems at him and he patiently starts solving them. The class continues for 90 minutes where students of classes 7, 8 and 9 learn mathematics with fun.
They have also started conversing in English. The tri-weekly online classes have ensured that a subject most dreaded by students has become a favourite of nearly 36 children in this obscure village.
Delwadia, 58, born and brought up in Ajab, migrated to the US in 1978 and works as a system engineer for Southern Company Services, a utility company of four southern states in the US. Savan Nishu, who recently took class X exams, said, "I don't fear maths anymore. I expect to get at least 80 marks, thanks to these online classes."
14. SHRIMADBhagavadGita now in Polish: Shrimadbhagvadgita, in Catholic-dominated Poland, the sacred scripture has for the first time been translated into the Polish language from its original Sanskrit text.
The present translation has been done by Anna Racinska, who has spent almost a decade in Varanasi to master the nuances of Sanskrit. Racinska is in her 60s and completed her doctorate from the Oriental Institute of Warsaw University two years ago.
15. CLEAR STAND ON RAM SETHU AS NATIONAL MONUMENT: SC TO GOVT
The Supreme Court on 27th March asked the Centre to specify within two days its stand on grant of national monument status to the Ramsetu.
A bunch of petitions, including by Janata Party president Subramanian Swamy and Tamil Nadu CM J Jayalalithaa, had questioned the Sethusamudram shipping channel alignment on the ground that it was breaching the mythological bridge, mentioned in epic Ramayana.
16. Kristin Cavallari says yoga `helps with giving birth`:  Kristin Cavallari went for a yoga session on March 17 for the first time, after hearing the exercise would make it easier for her to give birth to her baby.
The former ‘Hills’ star announced in January that she was expecting her first child with NFL quarterback fiance Jay Cutler.
The actress’s bump could be seen through her loose-fitting, long-sleeved top, which she paired with black yoga leggings. “About to try yoga… I hear it helps with giving birth so sign me up! Whatever I can do to help that process!” the Daily Mail quoted her as tweeting. She had briefly split up with the 28-year-old Chicago Bears star in July, which had ended their engagement. But they were back together by November.
17. Pak's deputy attorney gen works off Taliban's sins at Delhi gurdwaras: A man in a maroon kurta sits hunched on the floor on March 25 afternoon, polishing the shoes of devotees at a room in Delhi's Gurdwara Rakabganj. This man is Pakistan's deputy attorney general, Muhammad Khurshid Khan, who had requested he be allowed to perform seva (community service) at the shrine.
Khan, 62, is an eminent lawyer and a devout Muslim from Pakistan's Peshawar province. He is in Delhi for a judicial conference. Khan's tryst with temples and gurdwaras began in 2010 to "heal the wounds of minorities in Pakistan by becoming their sevadar (performer of service)". For him, it was a "penance" for crimes committed by the Taliban.
In February that year, the Taliban had kidnapped three Sikhs from Peshawar and demanded a $235,000 ransom. Pakistan army rescued two of them, but the third, Jaspal Singh, was beheaded by the captors. After the killing, Khan performed service at a gurdwara in Peshawar.
18.  China tries in vain to quell growing protests in Tibet: The Tibetan unrest against the repressive policies of the Chinese authorities has spread from the Tibetan areas of Western Sichuan to Qinghai.  The latter has been in a state of growing unrest since the beginning of February, with large numbers of Tibetan monks and students frequently protesting in the streets — separately as well as jointly. The spreading wave of unrest started in the Nangchen County in Qinghai Province’s Yulshul Prefecture on February. At a local stadium, a large number of students and other civilians gathered and shouted slogans like, “Freedom for Tibet” and “Long Live the Dalai Lama”. The same day, another large group of Tibetans, including many monks, gathered in the main monastery in Nangchen town, and chanted prayers for the return of the Dalai Lama.
The spread of the non-cooperation movement seems to be the result of local initiatives with calls for non-cooperation disseminated through word of mouth, but the Chinese fear that there is a hitherto unidentified Tibetan group which has been orchestrating the protest movement.
19. 5th missile hub in Andhra Pradesh to fire up defence sector: Bharat's missile power is set to get a boost with a surface-to-air missile unit set to come up at a cost of Rs 30,000 crore at Ibrahimpatnam in Andhra Pradesh's Rangareddy district. The foundation stone for the project by Bharat Dynamics Ltd (BDL) was laid by chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy on March 18. The infrastructure for the project, spread over 630 acres, will be ready in three years' time. Once ready, an estimated 6,000 missiles are expected to be produced at the unit.
Maj Gen Ravi Khetarpal (rtd), chairman and managing director of BDL, said the Ibrahimpatnam unit would be the company's fourth manufacturing unit in Andhra and the fifth in the country. He said the Ibrahimpatnam project would kick off with an initial investment of Rs 2,500 crore.
20.  Union Govt withdraws Gou Maans (Beef) Exports Proposal: In 12th Planning Commission of Union Govt recommendations, it was proposed that the ban on Gou Maans (Beef) exports be lifted. Sadhu-Sants, VHP, other Hindu Organizations & Hindus in Bharat opposed the move totally. In VHP’s nation-wide campaign the demand was made not to allow such a brutal proposal to go through. Govt has issued a press note on March 16, 2012 that there would not be Gou Maans – Beef – exports.  
21.  Coins in Tirupati temple traced back to pre-Christian era: Members of a numismatic scholars' committee, formed to segregate the huge collection of coins in the famous Tirupati Tirumala temple, have found that some of the earliest coins in the collection belonged to the Satavahana period and pre-Christian era. The panel, which included 20 numismatic scholars from the south, has segregated more than 36 tonnes of coins from the total 48 tonnes in three sessions.
The earliest coins found in the collection belonged to the Satavahana period, pre-Christian and the Chola era. The remaining 12 tonnes will be segregated in a couple of months, said T Sathyamurthy, one of the members in the team and vice president of South Indian Numismatic Society.
22. ANNA NOW PART OF SCHOOL SYLLABUS: Anna Hazare’s campaign for a Jan Lokpal bill is now part of school curriculum  Several CBSE-recognised schools included a chapter on the anti-graft activist in their general knowledge textbooks for Classes 7 and 8. Some have given him the flattering epithet of ‘India’s second Gandhi’. “Hazare is an Indian social activist recognised for his participation in the 2011 Indian anti-corruption movement,” says a book written by Dhiren M Joshi and brought out by a private publication. This introduction is followed by a fill-in-the-blanks exercise on Hazare’s life and his agitation.
23.  BHARAT 2nd best for rapid growth among emerging nations: Bharat has emerged as the second most promising market after China in terms of maximum opportunity for rapid growth among emerging market economies, says a survey by Tata Communications in association with research company Vanson Bourne. More than half of the respondents believe China offers the maximum opportunity for rapid growth opportunities, followed by Bharat at 46 per cent and Brazil at 26 per cent.
24.  On 100th anniversary, Bihar gets state anthem, prayer: Bihar on March 21, got its own state anthem and state prayer when Chief Minister Nitish Kumar released CDs featuring these at a press conference. Earlier, a special Cabinet meeting declared the selected songs as “Bihar Gaan” and “Bihar Prarthna Geet”.
The state government has prepared around 1 lakh CDs of both songs. These will be distributed free in 76,000 schools across the state.
25. Lowly dhaniya fights arthritis better than drugs: AIIMS study: An AIIMS study has found that dhaniya or coriander plays a significant therapeutic role in managing rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The study, published in the latest issue of the Indian Journal of Medical Research, evaluated the anti-arthritic activity of the herb among rats. Dhaniya or Coriandrum sativum was found to inhibit joint swelling and prevent progression of the disease among adult albino rats.
Dr Surender Singh, professor of pharmacology at AIIMS and one of the authors of the study funded by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), said: “Arthritis is an inflammation of the joints. This swelling is triggered by the release of some mediator substances known as proinflammatory cytokines. We have found that extracts of dhaniya seeds prevent the release of these mediators in the body.”
26.  IIT Kanpur makes prototype of lunar robot for ISRO: IIT Kanpur has developed a prototype of a lunar robot for ISRO mission to the moon. The project, which was started in 2010, has a larger objective to send a mobile robot to the moon for performing experiments and developing maps of the lunar terrain.
There were fundamentally two components which had to be completed by IITK, Dr Ashish Dutta, Associate Professor of mechanical engineering said.  This included the structured light based 3D map generation of lunar terrain that is being carried out by Dr. K.S. Venkatesh, Associate Professor of Electrical engineering.
The second component is kinematics and path planning.  After the map is generated the robot has to move to a desired location. As the lunar terrain consists of dust, rocks etc the robot has to choose the safest path to travel by. The focus of this part is to analyse all the possible feasible paths and then choose the best path in terms of safety and least energy consumption, he said.
27.  SHRI VISHWA NIKETAN: Pravas: Shri Saumitra ji Gokhale, samyojak Vishwa Vibhag will tour Netherlands (in the European Shibir from April 5-8) and UK in April. Shri Ravikumar, sahsamyojak is on tour to Thailand, HongKong, Singapore and South Korea. Dr.Ram ji Vaidya, sahsamyojak returned to UK after ABPS in Nagpur and will tour Netherlands and other European countries. Visitors: Devdutt Sethi – UK.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT: All power is within you. You can do anything and everything. Believe in that. Do not believe that you are weak; do not believe that you are half-crazy lunatics, as most of us do nowadays. Stand up and express the divinity within you. – Swami Vivekananda
JAI SHREE RAM

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