Archive: August 31, 2020

mumbai congress
News

Mr. Ramkishor Trivedi is Media in-charge and spokesperson of Mumbai Regional Congress Committee (Indian National Congress)

Aug 31, 2020 by Gouri Achary 0 Comments #Media in-charge and spokesperson, #Mr. Ramkishor Trivedi, #Regional Congress Committee (Indian National Congress)

Journalist-turned-editor Mr. Ramkishor Trivedi is Media in-charge and spokesperson of Mumbai Regional Congress Committee (Indian National Congress). He is a renowned name in the field of Journalism. He came from Raebraeli, UP to Mumbai in the early 90s to start his career in journalism and in no time he established himself in this big metropolis due to his bold reporting and writing skills.

Sharing his views on switching from a successful career in journalism to entering politics and joining Congress, Mr. Trivedi said since his native place is Rae Bareli Congress is a natural choice. Mr. Trivedi and his family have a historical connection with Congress. Mr. Trivedi said, “Congress is in our blood, we spent our childhood in Rae Bareli and grew up seeing how Shrimati Indira Gandhiji, Sonia Gandhiji, Rahulji and Priyankaji shower their love on the people of Rae Bareli and they also considered them as their own family and I have experienced and seen this. I strongly believe that people like me should join and actively participate in Congress work and contribute to nation-building. And to make Congress and nation strong I’ve formally joined the Congress party as a loyal soldier.”In his 27 years of journalism, he worked at different positions in various esteemed newspapers of country & became a prominent name in Hindi journalism.

When Mr. Trivedi joined Punjab Kesari, it was turning point in his career as his journalism acumen reached till Delhi. Soon he was appointed Political Editor and at this juncture, Mr. Trivedi got an opportunity to closely see politics of Centre and State(Maharashtra) and uncovered numerous stories. He is considered a genius in political journalism and his weekly column“Master Stroke” grabbed attention and was followed diligently in political circles of Delhi & Mumbai.

In Mr. Trivedi’s career, another milestone came in 2017 when he took over Mumbai’s acclaimed Hindi Daily “2 Baje Dopahar” and gave it new energy and valour. His hard work was appreciated in Mumbai’s Hindi Journalism Fraternity.

Mr. Trivedi proved his grip over the BFSI sector by organising the National Summit of leading Insurance companies at the BSE Conventions Centre attended by Union Minister and top business and political leaders.

TASLPA
Education

TASLPA hosts two-day webinar on Tele-Learning for hearing impaired children, equips Speech Pathologists & Special Educators with best practices in the current pandemic scenario!

Aug 31, 2020 by Gouri Achary 0 Comments #Dr Jyothi and Dr Sridevi, #Dr Swathi., #Prof. MN Nagaraja, #Prof. R Rangasayee, #The Telangana Audiologists and Speech-Language Pathologists Association (TASLPA)

Hyderabad, August 2020: The Telangana Audiologists and Speech-Language Pathologists Association (TASLPA) – an association of over 270 audiologists and speech therapists, hosted a two-day Continuing Rehabilitation Education (CRE) webinar, under the aegis of the Rehabilitation Council of India (RCI), on “Tele-Learning for Children with Amplification Devices”, for Audiology and Speech and Language Pathology and Special Educators dealing with children with hearing impairment, from across the country. The first-ever RCI approved Webinar by any State Speech and Hearing Association in the country, was inaugurated by the Chief Guest Prof. MN Nagaraja, Former Dy. Director, Ali Yavar Jung Institute for Hearing Handicapped, Mumbai. Also present on the occasion were Guest of Honor Mr Peddi Reddy, South Zone In-charge, RCI and office bearers of TASLPA Dr CS Swathi, President; Mr P Rajender Kumar, (I/C) Secretary; Ms Garima V., Treasurer; Mr Madhusudhan Reddy, Program coordinator & EC; Ms M Sarala Rani & Mr S Satheesh,(I/C) EC members; Ms Aparna R. & Mr B Shiv Prasad, Advisors and Ms A Srividya, Ms Susan O. & Ms Santoshi, co-chairs R & D; Ms Amulya Research Associate, ISHA (Indian Speech and Hearing Association) and over 220 delegates from all over India including Delhi, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Orissa, besides Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. Dr Ratna, fondly known as ‘Father of Speech and Hearing field in India’, appreciated TASLPA’s efforts through a video message.

Speaking on the occasion Prof. MN Nagaraja, said, telerehabilitation is a leap forward for our profession, it helps to bridge the gap between people, though we all are in distant locations of the country still we could attend and learn from this Webinar, that way it helps in easy access to each other, becomes economical too. Tele-therapy needs a lot of preparation and homework from the therapist before he administers, as it lacks the feedback mechanism available during personalised counselling.

The Webinar extensively focused on topics which are of great relevance in the current scenario of social distancing with the emphasis being laid on online education and addressed the unique and compounded challenges faced by children with hearing impairment. The webinar reflected on Care and Maintenance of Hearing aids and Cochlear Implants during these pandemic times; challenges due to transition of speech therapy from in-person to online remote counselling for children with hearing impairment; web-based special education programs for pre-primary, primary and secondary school children with hearing impairment and Government schemes and policies for children with hearing impairment. The faculty comprised of eminent Audiologists and Speech therapists, Mr N Madhusudhan Reddy, Audiologist, Global Speech and Hearing Clinic, Kukatpally; Mr Shiva Prasad B., Senior Audiologist and Cochlear Implantation Advisor, Shravya Speech and Hearing Clinics, Hyderabad; Ms Nagamalleshwari, Speech Therapist, Shravya Speech and Hearing Clinic, Hyderabad and Special Educators Dr Jyothi and Dr Sridevi and Lecturer Mrs Aparna Ravichandran, from Ali Yavar Jung National Institute for Speech & Hearing Disabilities, Secunderabad.

“In these pandemic conditions dealing with children with special needs has become a herculean task for parents and caregivers. This webinar focussed on the challenges and ways to mitigate them with audiology and speech therapy specialists sharing tips. The experts also shared insight on online Speech Therapy and web-based educational programs for children with Amplification Devices. The webinar equipped the professionals of Audiology and Speech and Language Pathology and Special Educators, especially from Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, with best practices” says Dr Swathi.

The chief guest for the valedictory held today was, Prof. R Rangasayee, Chair Audiology Committee, International Association of communication sciences and Disorders (IALP) quoted Helen Keller, “Blindness separates people from things; while deafness separates people from people”. how can we allow our Children to be aloof in this pandemic, he questioned? The guest of honour was Dr S Santhi Prakash, Reader & Former Asst. Director (I/C) Ali Yavar Jung National Institute for Speech & Hearing Disabilities, Secunderabad.

women
News

WICCI launches Life Skills Council, unveils plans for awareness, knowledge sharing & policy creation

Aug 31, 2020 by Gouri Achary 0 Comments #Dr Bhavani Rao R, #Dr Harbeen Arora, #Dr Kuiljeit Uppaal, #Life Skills Council, #Life Skills in India-Past & Present, #National Business Chamber for Women, #Women’s Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (WICCI)

Mumbai, August 31, 2020: Women’s Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (WICCI), India’s First National Business Chamber for Women, announced the launch of Life Skills Council for enhancing life skills for women across all levels, profiles and sectors.

On the occasion of India’s 74th Independence day, the WICCI had announced its Mission and Vision on Life Skills Council and on Saturday evening it was officially launched. The launch was followed by a Panel Discussion on ‘Life Skills in India-Past & Present.’ The Council was launched virtually by WICCI’s top functionaries Dr Harbeen Arora, Founder President, Dr Kuiljeit Uppaal, National President, and Sivambiga Athianna, National Vice President.

On the occasion, Dr Bhavani Rao R, UNESCO Chair in India for Gender Equality & Women’s Empowerment, Dr Maninder Kaur Dwivedi, Principal Secretary, Rural Industries & GST, Government of Chhattisgarh, and Dr Jitendra Nagpal, Senior Psychiatrist & Life Skill Expert, Director-Expressions India shared their views as guests of honour. The experts and panellists called for the inclusion of life skills in school and college curriculums.

Appreciating the efforts of WICCI, Dr Bhavani Rao said, “Skills be it vocational or academic, they are deeply rooted in life skills. We need to adopt a sustainable development model with a new structure of life skills. I firmly believe that components of life skills need to be incorporated in school and college curriculum. Traditionally life skills components are aligned with the philosophy of Satyam, Shivam, Sundaram.”

Earlier welcoming the guests, Dr Kuiljeit Uppaal, WICCI National President said, “Given the current socio-economic conditions, it is important to create novel ways of enhancing life skills to empower women in business, industry and commerce across all sectors and fields. The Council shall build well researched and legit policies in the area, and suggest the acceptance and implementation of the same to the Government of India, for woman empowerment and a better-conditioned society.”

“Life skills are the abilities for adaptive and positive behaviour that enable individuals to deal effectively with the demands and challenges of everyday life to address a balance of three areas- knowledge, attitude and skills. A system needs to be in place to develop coping mechanisms and self-management skills that can effectively combat challenges, and help individuals evolve towards self- empowerment and success as professionals in business, industry and commerce across all sectors and fields,” she added.

The panellists were of the view that India needs to create a powerful and enriching eco-system of life skills in this dynamic and rapidly changing era. There is a need of an ecosystem that builds the psychosocial, interpersonal and affective capacity of an individual in multiple areas.

Dr Jitendra Nagpal said, “We have survival, livelihood, and academic skills in place in our system but India is missing out life skills- Psycho-Social Competency. Hence, we need to work on the 21st Century Skills model and bring in life skills inclusively as part of a potent development model, and not look at it in isolation. It is the strongest connecting medium within a family unit as well as a global society, and needs to be inculcated from childhood.”

According to the experts, the skills of knowing and living with oneself, with others, as well as the ability to explore, rationalise and establish effective behavioural iterations for oneself is imperative for evolution and productivity.

Emphasising on the importance of rational and effective policy framework for life skills, Dr Maninder Kaur Dwivedi said, “Life Skills are not new and they were always there. But we need to revisit them due to rapidly changing times and new normal socio-economic conditions emerging due to COVID-19 outbreak. We have adequate resilience to adopt changes, hence we need to restructure life skills to address the challenges of new emerging world.”

The WICCI National Council for Life Skills endeavours to operate and create well-defined policies, systems and processes, as well as engage with the population, in conjunction with the globally recognised concepts of Life Skills and their pertinence and applicability for Indian culture and progressive thought in the current dynamism. Awareness, R&D, Knowledge sharing, Community Network, Exchange Programmes, and Policy creation are the integral components of the WICCI’s Life Skills Mission.

In her video message, Dr Harbeen Arora, Founder President, WICCI said, “The Council would work on a mission mode. We are encouraged by the participation of UNESCO and a senior official from the Chhattisgarh government. The Council will work towards creating the awareness and relevance of the skills among professionals and aspiring professionals across sectors.”

UNESCO, UNICEF and WHO have listed ten core life skills that include problem-solving, critical thinking, effective communication skills, decision-making, creative thinking, interpersonal relationship skills, self-awareness building skills, empathy, and coping with stress and emotions.

The Council also plans to engage with business units, entrepreneurship institutions, start-up incubators, corporate houses, higher education establishments and other groups across domains to familiarise and disseminate life skills training through specially devised Life Skill Centres and Circles of Excellence to work toward balancing knowledge, skills and attitude. Moreover, the Council will explore opportunities to engage with groups and organisations that need assistance for knowledge sharing.

“Community engagement is critical for successful implementation of life skill programmes. We shall create ways to engage with the community at various levels in person or digitally. We also plan to aid direct learning and facilitation and thus effectively engage with the population as ‘friends of hope and resolve’, where there is scope for the community to openly share their feelings, feel a sense of belonging and mutually strengthen each other within the group,” Dr Uppaal elaborated.

Along with Policy Creation, the Council would also focus on encouraging and facilitating knowledge sharing within the states of India, at the national level and a global level with all possible means and modes.

Business World

Turning the tide of gig economy in the country, Amway India witnessed surge in people exploring its business opportunity in the last three months

Aug 31, 2020 by Gouri Achary 0 Comments #Achinta Banerjie, #Amway Business App, #Amway India, #Chatbot ‘Myra, #Future of Work Accelerated, #Senior Vice President – Sales

Amway India, one of the country’s leading FMCG direct selling companies is making significant strides towards strengthening the gig economy ecosystem in the country. The organization has a stated global A70 multi-year growth strategy which is focused on unleashing the power of entrepreneurship with social commerce. As part of this multi-year growth strategy, Amway India has identified the rise of the gig economy as a key global megatrend. In-line with this and in its endeavor to support the revival of the Indian economy, Amway India is focused on enabling growth for its Direct Retailers/Sellers and creating new sources of business generation for their profitable, sustainable success.

Commenting on this, Anshu Budhraja, CEO, Amway India said, “Currently, India has one of the youngest populations in the world, with 65% of its population below 35 years. According to a recent ASSOCHAM report, India’s gig economy is expected to grow at a CAGR of 17% and is likely to hit a gross volume of $455 billion by 2023. As the job market undergoes a tectonic shift, Amway India has witnessed a tremendous upsurge of interest in its business model from the U-35 category, who would otherwise opt for flexible roles in the gig economy ecosystem, a trend as per the present peculiar circumstances. Today, we have witnessed a significant surge in people exploring the business opportunity in the second quarter alone, of which 64% of the new registrations are under the U35 category, showing a strong affinity towards our product range and business opportunity. Additionally, at present 53% of the Amway customers are under the U35 category, keen to consume our high-quality products. We are committed to helping our direct sellers succeed and grow their business through continuous upskilling initiatives and world-class quality products.”

Quick Facts 64% new registrations are under the U35 category Currently, 53% of the Amway customers are under the U35 category.

Furthermore, adding to this Achinta Banerjie, Senior Vice President – Sales, Amway India, said, “Historically, direct selling has played a crucial role in fueling economic growth and offers an alternative to traditional employment for those wanting a flexible opportunity to supplement household income. Today, while the traditional employment landscape is witnessing disruption, the gig economy has been observing a contrasting trend. This surge is owing to the organization’s unique business model that allows members to own and operate their own business and have a steady source of income, through guided entrepreneurship. As the Indian employment landscape undergoes massive changes, with work-from-home and flexible working hours becoming reigning trends, the gig economy is all set to become the preferred model of choice.

As per the Deloitte’s ‘Future of Work Accelerated’ report, three in five organizations (60%) are gauging increasing share of micro-entrepreneurs to reduce the dependence on the full-time workforce. The FMCG industry, one of the most dynamic sectors in India today, is witnessing a surge in micro-entrepreneurs. Amway has witnessed higher consideration and participation, as it provides a better reputation, quality products and services people can believe, an opportunity to follow their passion and a sense of community. In line with the emerging trend.

There has been a paradigm shift in consumption, with holistic wellbeing at the core of consumer demands today. Amway India has been witnessing an increased preference for its new categories including Nutrilite Traditional Herbs Range, Premium Cookware, and Home & Car Air Purifier products representing the growing demand for health and wellness solutions by consumers.

In line with the Indian Government’s Skill India initiative, Amway India has been significantly focusing on a digital-first approach to enhance the competencies of its direct sellers to aid business growth and enable better market penetration, improve reach to potential customers, product accessibility and enhance the consumer experiences. Amway is also investing significantly to offer training, education and digital tools for the direct sellers. To this end, Amway has organized over 6000 training programs, engaging with over 900,000 direct sellers since the lockdown. The recently launched digital tools i.e. Amway Business App, Chatbot ‘Myra’ and improvisation of its e-commerce platform have further eased digital transformation for the direct sellers.

body shop
Business World

‘Your safe space’ campaign

Aug 31, 2020 by Gouri Achary 0 Comments #Marketing Merchandising and E-Commerce Asia South, #Ms. Harmeet Singh, #The Body Shop, #VP, #YOUR SAFE SPACE Campaign

The new normal guide ensuring your safety 

The prolonged pandemic scenario has led to a change in the consumer sentiments post lockdown. From the shift in priorities to shift in purchasing platforms along with constant fear of personal safety; these all have formed an inevitable part of everyone’s daily thought process.

The Body Shop well appreciates these concerns and believes in safeguarding & providing utmost security to their staff as well as customers alike. Thus, keeping all the preventive measures in mind The Body Shop introduced YOUR SAFE SPACE Campaign to ensure that the customers and store staff are all aware of the comprehensive and stringent safety measures that have been implemented at every touchpoint by the brand. The understanding that following government-issued distancing guidelines is imperative, along with implementing other necessary sanitary measures, has been embedded in every aspect of the brand’s practices across stores, warehouses & all other touchpoints in no time since he hit of the pandemic.

In spite of the current global fear, no advancements in technology can compete with—the ability to touch, feel and apply a formula to see how it sits on the skin before heading to the checkout counter. Needless to say, trying and testing of products prior to purchase has always been a mandatory part of the beauty buying process. However, in the current situation, avoiding any kind of contact with humans or other surfaces is the new motto of life and the only way to overrule this is to follow the new normal norms.

At The Body Shop, in line with its Safe Space campaign, the New Normal implies mandatory social distancing of 2m at all its stores and warehouses; extensive sanitization (of products and other touchpoints) as per WHO & government guidelines; compulsory temperature checks for staff as well as customers & encouraging contactless payments. Additionally, all the staff members have been thoroughly trained and equipped with regards to protective gear & measures. While the customers are also required to wear a mask inside the store – just like the store teams, they are also provided with a fresh pair of gloves upon entering the store.

Assured upon this campaign’s practice, Ms. Harmeet Singh, VP, Marketing Merchandising and E-Commerce Asia South, The Body Shop, says, “Nothing makes us happier than being able to serve our customers in our stores as we start to see the market open up in phases. At The Body Shop, we have taken this time to prepare for this step with a laser-sharp view & aim. Our Safe Space campaign has ensured to make our customers and staff feel safe inside our stores even today, by adopting numerous preventive steps and practices.”

The Body Shop under its ‘Your Safe Space’ campaign has ensured all possible safety measures to make your shopping experience stress free and in an environment that is safe for you even in times such as now.

zee bollywood
News

Celebrate Zee Bollywood’s 2nd anniversary with 101%Shuddh Bollywood

Aug 31, 2020 by Gouri Achary 0 Comments #101%Shuddh Bollywood, #Zee Bollywood’s

This 31st August, get ready for a dhamakedar jashn as the 101%Shuddh Bollywood channel – Zee Bollywood turns 2. Emerging as the ultimate destination for the 101% Shuddh Bollywood fans, Zee Bollywood started their journey with an aim to deliver 101% shuddh Bollywood films and in the past 2 years has built an unmatched content library that caters to the taste palette of every Bollywood aficionado. And as the channel gears up for the mega celebration, they are offering audiences double the fun and double the dhamaka with an all-day line up of 101% Shuddh masalon se koot koot ke bhari filmein.

Celebrating two bemisaal years with a big bang, the channel will showcase 101% Shuddh entertainers that are not only highly entertaining but also celebrates the larger than life colourful vibrant cinema. Kick-starting the celebration with full josh will be the 101% Shuddh romantic film ‘Raja Hindustani’ at 8 am. Redefining shuddh romance, the movie follows the life of a small-town taxi driver Raja who falls in love with a rich girl Aarti Sehgal on a trip to Palankhet and goes to any extent for the sake of his love. Post this, Bollywood fans can enjoy the Salman Khan starrer ‘Tere Naam’ at 11:30 am. This popular movie revolves around the life of Radhe Mohan whose world turns upside down after falling in love with Nirjara

At 2:15 pm, be ready to be pumped up with Rohit Shetty’s 101% shuddh comedy and drama film ‘Chennai Express’. The mega-blockbuster traces the journey of Rahul who sets out to immerse his late grandfather’s ashes at Rameshwaram but lands up facing the ire of a criminal family as he sets out to help a runaway bride, Meena. Making you groove to the tune of the iconic song ‘Tu Cheez Badi Hain Mast Mast’ will be the Akshay Kumar entertainer ‘Mohra’ at 5:15 pm. And, ending the day on a high note will be the 101% Shuddh blockbuster movie ‘Koi Mil Gaya’. Premiering at 9 pm, the movie revolves around Rohit, a boy with a mental disability who befriends an alien and puts all his efforts to protect him.

Celebrate Zee Bollywood’s 2 saal bemisaal with 101% Shuddh Blockbuster entertainers!

anaemia
News

#MoreThanBara is Indian women’s new anthem!

Aug 31, 2020 by Gouri Achary 0 Comments #Anaemia-Free India, #More Than Bara, #nation-wide campaign, #Twinkle Khanna

On August 15th, actor-author Twinkle Khanna digitally launched a nation-wide campaign called
‘Anaemia-Free India’ with the aim to spread awareness on this widespread condition that barely gets spoken about. A month later, the campaign is creating waves on social media with scores of Indian women, ranging from professionals and influencers to homemakers and new mothers, making sweet noise by performing to the catchy ‘Main Hoon More Than Bara’ jingle.

The jingle catches the spirit of the campaign with its short, direct and effective messaging of
‘More Than Bara’. According to globally accepted standards, a person should have haemoglobin levels in excess of 12. The initiative is, step by step, working towards ensuring we are on the right path to eliminate anaemia, which affects over 50% of children, women and pregnant women in India. Anaemia is a condition in which a person has low red blood cells, which in turn, reduces the iron content. If not controlled, anaemia can lead to several more serious diseases and is especially dangerous for pregnant women. The ‘Anaemia-Free India’ campaign elaborates the crucial steps in winning this war against the condition, like Awareness (Pehla Kadam, Sab se Eham), and action (More Than Bara).

The jingle has been a runaway success, thanks to its simplicity and impactful packaging. The simple hand gesture to signify ‘more than’, effectively helps the participants to indicate that their iron levels are a healthy ‘More Than Bara’. It has become extremely popular, like the new-age sign of women celebrating their good health. Women from even the farthest pockets of India are participating, truly taking the awareness to the places where it matters the most. If you want to know how India is practically jiggling her way to better health, follow and even participate in the #MoreThanBara campaign. Dance, act and perform to your fancy because the floor is yours. And while you’re at it, don’t forget to get your tests done and ensure you are #MoreThanBara!

farmer
News

Rise Against Hunger India initiatives aims at making small scale farmer self-reliant & self-dependent

Aug 31, 2020 by Gouri Achary 0 Comments #Executive Director, #Mr. Dola Mohapatra, #Rise Against Hunger India, #small scale farmer

New Delhi, 31st August 2020: The impact of COVID-19 & the subsequent lockdown was witnessed across India, with a lot of migrants losing their livelihood and returning back to their villages. Rise Against Hunger India (RAHI) stepped in and supported these migrants with nutritious fortified food over the past 5 months. However, the root cause of livelihood insecurity in their native places which pushed these vulnerable groups to undertake migration to other cities still remained unaddressed. Even the small and marginal farmers often supplement their agricultural income by working in nearby towns as daily wage workers. In order to address this issue, RAHI has initiated interventions across some States in India to support the migrants and the small-scale rural farmers, so that they can become self-sufficient and are under no stress to migrate to just to earn their basic livelihood.

With an average 80% of India’s farmers being small and marginal farmers with less than 2 hectares of landholding, RAHI’s approach is clearly directed towards affordable, small-scale, low-input initiatives as compared to large-scale, high-cost, production-oriented projects.RAHI’s project focuses on making the small-scale rural farmers self-reliant and less dependent on externalities. The emphasis is to build self-sufficiency through prioritization of family and local resource needs over massive production for commercial purposes. Local Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) form the primary vehicle to drive the initiatives. RAHI collaborates with technical resource agencies and experts to provide techno-scientific expertise. This, combined with the existing practices and knowledge of the rural participants provide a robust model for rural farmers to adopt new methods.

While the immediate short-term goal of these rural projects is to support the migrant labourers from the cities and towns to cultivate their lands, the broad objective of RAHI’s community empowerment through rural livelihood program is to enable the rural landholders and farmers generate enough income in the villages so that distress migration is minimal and they have a fall-back option to rely upon. This will bring resilience in the rural farmers who are now left with no option but to migrate to the cities.

As part of its COVID-19 response, few projects have been launched. One of the projects, focused on creating end to end value chain for millets, has been initiated in Bargarh, Odisha. For the past few years, some farmers have moved from paddy to finger-millet cultivation and this is now receiving wider acceptance in the area. RAHI is supporting five FPOs covering 800 farmers to improve yield through agricultural tools, equipment and other inputs. FPOs have become a common vehicle to share resources and inputs; they also provide an assured market platform in the absence of which an individual farmer would be subject to whims and fancies of private vendors. Farmers are expecting 80-100 per cent growth in production and 100 per cent increase their income per acre of land. With an assured income, these farmers will have better resilience with less dependence on migrant income.

“Hunger and lack of income is the biggest enemy for the rural poor. We are trying to make the vulnerable people in the villages self-sufficient & self-reliant. With adequate income available in villages, the need for migration can be stopped and the cycle of poverty reversed. With reduced economic vulnerability, the farmers shall also achieve more confidence to take part in socio-political issues and overall welfare of the village. Increased affordability shall help to improve household-level nutrition in all program areas.”, said Mr. Dola Mohapatra, Executive Director, Rise Against Hunger India

In the past, RAHI programs have been carried out in Ri-Bhoi district of Meghalaya to create value chains for pineapple and banana farmers. Currently, RAHI is working in 4 tribal villages of Bhil tribes in Dhar, Madhya Pradesh to create end to end value chain for goat farmers.

child
Health

Oasis Fertility’s path-breaking technology enables a cancer survivor techie to have his biological daughter!

Aug 31, 2020 by Gouri Achary 0 Comments #biological daughter, #Dr Durga G Rao, #Dr Krishna Chaitanya, #Scientific Head and Clinical Embryologist- Oasis Fertility

Hyderabad, August 31st, 2020: The happiness of a couple who underwent infertility care at Oasis Fertility, had no bounds with the arrival of their cute little bundle of joy, born from a sperm frozen seven years ago. The just married parents of the newborn had the shock of their life way back in 2012 when the father was diagnosed with cancer and their future seemed doomed. The couple however on the advice of Doctors took the prudent decision of preserving the semen prior to he underwent cancer treatment. Recently after recovering from the ordeal, they took the call to bring back cheer in their otherwise mundane lives by having a biological child with the frozen sperms.    

In 2012 the 23-year-old father, Karthik (name changed) was diagnosed with life-threatening cancer, the mediastinal tumour, which sprouts in the chest area separating the lungs, devastating the young couple. Assessing the side effects cancer treatment could have, especially on his ability to procreate offspring, his oncologist advised Karthik to preserve his semen with a sperm bank. Eight years ago, Karthik had preserved it at the Oasis Fertility Sperm bank, just prior to undergoing the extremely agonizing cancer treatment. Though he completely recovered from the disease a year ago, he lost the ability to father a child due to the strong chemo and radiotherapy dosage he was administered. That’s when the couple decided to opt for the infertility treatment and approached Oasis Fertility to retrieve the frozen semen and undergo infertility care. The hospital used advanced technologies like MACS to perform ICSI, transferred the embryo sometime in December 2019 and paved the way for the couple to fulfil their long-cherished parenthood dream. The mother delivered a healthy female baby last week and was discharged today.    

Dr Durga G Rao, Medical Director and Co-Founder, Oasis Fertility said, “Fertility preservation is the process of saving or protecting eggs, sperm, or reproductive tissue so that a person can use them to have biological children at a later date. It is the effort to help cancer patients retain their fertility, or ability to procreate, she also added that Karthik (Name Changed) came back to us in the year 2018 when he was fully recovered from cancer and decided to embark on his fertility treatment, we took all the necessary protocols and used advanced technologies like MACS to perform ICSI and transferred the embryo sometime in December 2019 and we have seen the miracle last week.”

Cancer therapy is known to affect fertility significantly and has always been a cause of concern for those becoming a victim of it at a young age. Certain drugs like alkylating agents or cisplatin used in chemotherapy are known to impede fertility in patients. Radiation used for cancer treatment is considered to be even more detrimental to reproductive organs, the intensity of damage only varies depending on the location and size of the radiation field and the dose administered. Studies have indicated that high radiation doses annihilate the eggs in the ovaries, partially or fully and diminish the ability to procreate. Surgical removal of the testicles, uterus or ovaries to prevent cancer spread is a bane too for bearing children. 

Therefore, it has become imperative for young victims of cancer and other serious ailments to preserve their semen or eggs with an Infertility Bank before opting for treatment. In fact it makes great sense to preserve the semen or eggs when one is healthy, especially considering the huge uncertainties of life on account of stress, lifestyle diseases and unimagined pandemics like Covid19, afflicting the youth in their prime. The state-of-the-art Infertility care, especially the advanced preservation techniques for semen and eggs are helping young couples world-over to have their biological children despite their health not being sound. Globally there is a new trend of couples postponing parenthood due to economic constraints and having children once they settle in lives. However as they would be biologically older to bear healthy offspring by then, the couples are opting for the preservation of semen and eggs immediately after tying the knot.            

Dr Krishna Chaitanya,Scientific Head and Clinical Embryologist- Oasis Fertilityadded, “At Oasis Fertility we have been doing cryo-preservation more frequently off late, be it fertility preservation for cancer patients or social freezing, we have been seeing that there is a greater awareness on the fertility preservation in the society. What makes us unique in treating such patients apart from the best of the technology is our holistic and a team approach of treating a cancer survivor with the help of the fertility specialist, embryologist, psychologist and a diet therapist.”