Archive: February 28, 2022

Business

Israel’s Technion researchers develop a fast, efficient technology to remove pollutants from water

Feb 28, 2022 by Neel Achary 0 Comments

February 28, 2022: Researchers from Technion – Israel Institute of Technology develop a fast, efficient technology for removing PFAS from drinking water: Dr. Adi Radian and post-doctoral fellow Dr. Samapti Kundu of the Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering have developed an innovative technology for removing dangerous pollutants from drinking water

PFAS are a family of problematic pollutants also known as “forever chemicals” because of their chemical stability and environmental persistence. These substances can be found in a large range of products, including Teflon pan coating, fire-fighting foam, flame retardants, and water repellent additives. They reach the groundwater in various ways, including agricultural irrigation using treated wastewater and fire-fighting substances seeping into the soil. As a result of their chemical stability, they remain intact in the ground for a long time, leading to extensive contamination of drinking sources, which in turn significantly increases human exposure.

International studies have demonstrated the many health risks posed by exposure to PFAS, including cancer, heart and liver disease, fertility problems, birth defects, and damage to the immune system. Consequently, Israel has begun monitoring these substances. In fact, last summer the extraction of potable water in the Krayiot region was stopped following the discovery of a high concentration of PFAS.

Today, removing these substances from drinking water is accomplished through relatively simple and inexpensive adsorption techniques. However, these methods are not sufficiently efficient, and, most importantly, they only transfer the pollutants from the water to the adsorbent material – which requires additional purification steps to get rid of the toxic adsorbed substances. Furthermore, these methods are not selective: they can also remove substances that are essential for people’s health.

There are two new and promising solutions: using oxidation processes and using targeted polymers that efficiently adsorb the polluting substances. Yet, until now these technologies have not exhibited satisfactory results.

The new research examined the possibility of combining these two methods – separating the pollutants with special polymers, and then using advanced oxidation processes to eliminate them. The findings indicate that proper planning leads to high efficiency under a wide range of acidity (pH) and salinity. The method depicted in the article shows the removal of seven types of PFAS – even when all of them are found in the same unit of fluid – at a level of efficiency that approaches 90%, and it does so within a few minutes.

The system described in the article is based on natural materials that are both safe and inexpensive. The researchers used ubiquitous soil minerals – iron oxides and clays, together with cyclodextrin polymers. The clay-iron-polymer composites act as accelerators that confine the PFAS on the surface and then accelerate the oxidation process that destroys the pollutants into non-toxic substances (fluoride ions, water, and carbon dioxide). This combination efficiently removes the PFAS and does not release unwanted substances in water used for drinking.

In their article, the researchers show that this system makes it unnecessary to carry out complementary processes such as heating, UV radiation, and using sound waves, which make the task more complicated and more expensive.

The research was conducted in the Soil Chemistry Laboratory in the Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering. The researchers wish to thank the Lady Davis Foundation for Samapti Kundu’s postdoctoral research grant.

ABOUT STUDY IN ISRAEL: The Council for Higher Education of Israel launched the Study in Israel initiative to promote internationalization in the Israeli higher education system and attract international students. The initiative focuses on increasing awareness of Israel’s excellent academia and research while communicating the distinctive, engaged approach to education that Israel offers students. Through “Study in Israel” students from all over the world are invited to “Engage in Excellence”. For further information, log onto – https://studyisrael.org.il/.

Business

BoAt sets sail for Nepal

Feb 28, 2022 by Neel Achary 0 Comments

New Delhi, India, February 28, 2022: Imagine Marketing Limited, India’s #1 ranking wireless wearables brands (in terms of volume over multiple quarters from 2019 to the second quarter of the financial year 2022 under its flagship brand “boAt”) announced a partnership with TeleTalk Pvt. Ltd., a part of Ramesh Corp (a company based out of Nepal), as the national distributor of Imagine’s products in Nepal. The association will enable the companies to meet the evolving needs of customers by delivering high-quality and aspirational lifestyle-focused hearable and wearable products in the growing Nepalese market.

Speaking on the partnership announcement, Vivek Gambhir, CEO, Imagine Marketing Limited, said, “We are very happy to be available in Nepal now as we seek to offer audio solutions to the young consumers everywhere. It is an important step for us as we strive to put an Indian brand on the global map.”

Entering a new market is an important milestone in boAt’s journey. Imagine Marketing Limited has made significant investments in developing its platforms, including investing in the areas of design, research and development of its products, and technology relationships through boAt Labs. Imagine Marketing Limited recently entered into a joint venture with Dixon Technologies Limited for manufacturing and developing Bluetooth-enabled hearable products and other electronic products.

Mr. Pratik Jalan, Executive Director, TeleTalk Pvt. Ltd. adds, “Over the years, boAt has built strong brand equity, capitalizing on its early-mover advantage with strong growth momentum through their high-quality audio devices which are known for their style and efficiency. Through our partnership, we aim to provide consumers in Nepal the best quality product at an affordable price.”

Business

GWI Drives APAC Expansion with Hire of Aditi Kohli

Feb 28, 2022 by Neel Achary 0 Comments

Singapore, Feb 28, 2022 – (ACN Newswire) – Following its successful US$180 million in Series B funding in February 2022, valuing the company at US$850M, GWI, the leading audience insights company, is well on its way to ambitious growth plans in the APAC region, spearheaded by the hiring of Aditi Kohli as APAC Senior Vice President. Aditi will be based in Singapore.

Aditi will drive the company’s growth, working with enterprise partners to help them gain a deeper understanding of local consumers. The investments are being utilized to further advance GWI’s software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform, as well as hiring new talent to support global expansion.

GWI has already seen strong growth in APAC, with over 20% of its clients based in the region. As the company continues to expand, it will offer much-needed alternatives to traditional market research, which is often not fit-for-purpose, too slow, expensive, and difficult to scale. Through GWI’s intuitive and easy-to-use platform, as well as its extensive data collection in APAC, organisations can access an instantaneous view of harmonised data-sets representing 2.7 billion digital consumers across 48 geographies, including 14 markets in APAC, gaining faster and deeper insights to make data-backed decisions.

Many of the world’s most influential brands, media organisations and agencies already leverage GWI to deliver global insights at scale. With Asia home to 60% of the world’s population, and over 2,300 languages, there is a clear need for brands and businesses to fully understand the demands of each individual segment and have clear, unique and localised insights that allow them to make real business decisions.

“We are deeply committed to Asia-Pacific,” said GWI CEO and Founder Tom Smith, “The size and breadth of the region means it can be hard for companies to navigate and be able to make proper data-driven decisions. GWI is able to provide them with deep insights and allow them to create the right strategy. When we launched our new office in Singapore we knew that we would need to find the right person to lead this exciting growth opportunity and Aditi is the perfect person for this. Her breadth of experience will be instrumental in growing our presence, talent and customer base. We’re very excited for the future of GWI in APAC.”

Aditi has a proven track record in scaling businesses from scratch. She joins GWI after two decades of experience working in APAC leadership roles with Foursquare, Near, The Walt Disney Company and MTV Asia.

“I am honoured to join GWI as we continue to revolutionise insights on digital consumers worldwide through technology,” Aditi said. “We’re seeking to bolster the APAC team, and looking to hire talented professionals (commercial sales and customer success) with a passion for market intelligence and innovation who can support the rapid expansion of our business.”

GWI has emerged strongly from the COVID-19 global pandemic, promoting a positive hybrid working culture and placing great emphasis on training and developing its staff. With five offices globally, GWI plans to strengthen its hiring to over 600 employees by 2023. See here for the latest open roles.

Business

Innoviti’s collaborations with leading mobile brands helps increase profitability for Mobile Dealers in Punjab

Feb 28, 2022 by Neel Achary 0 Comments

28th February 2022: Innoviti Payment Solutions, India’s largest provider of payment solutions to offline enterprise merchants shared the success of its BEAM (Brand EMI Accelerator Mission) scheme that the mid-market mobile dealers in Punjab are reaping. Over 10 mobile merchants from Chandigarh have earned promising extra margins via BEAM scheme, even as the markets are recovering from the pandemic.

BEAM was introduced by Innoviti in partnership with all leading mobile brands including OnePlus, Oppo, Xiaomi, Vivo, and Samsung amongst others in Q1 21-22 through G.E.N.I.E. BEAM empowers these mid-market mobile merchants to earn extra margins of 1% on mobile phones of the sponsored brands and 0.5% of all other brands by getting sponsored by these leading mobile brands.

Among the G.E.N.I.E. merchants, beneficiaries of the scheme include – Adidev Global from Chandigarh who earned over Rs. 1 Lakh, and Zealtel Global who earned over Rs.70k. Similarly, other mainline retailers such as Chawla Brothers, AD’s Mobile Arcade and Bansal Trading Co., and Shubh Electricals from Punjab have also extra margins through G.E.N.I.E.’s BEAM scheme.

G.E.N.I.E helps bring online customers back to retail stores, with the interests of the mobile dealer community in mind — particularly in light of the Covid 19 pandemic. G.E.N.I.E has been offering customers attractive instant cashbacks of up to Rs. 999, in addition to all the perks that online sites provide them, such as zero-cost EMIs, etc., to promote walk-ins into mid-market mobile stores and enhance their conversions. GENIE has consistently rewarded merchants across India with increased margins through various programmes and initiatives.

G.E.N.I.E has been empowering SMB mobile dealers to attract clients with attractive cashbacks on 110+ banks, zero-cost EMI plans on 60+ branded and unbranded products, and BEAM, a tool to make extra profits on branded product sales.

Just like in Punjab, several GENIE merchants across India from Haryana in the north to Tamil Nadu in the south are increasing their profit margins by using Innoviti’s GENIE to accept payments. Innoviti uses payment technology in unconventional ways to turn payment transactions into customer acquisition and retention tools for merchants, banks, and brands, by bringing them on to a common platform, and helping them deliver unique customer experiences. Each business gets access to 3X loyal consumers at 1/3rd the cost, accelerating sales with unmatched efficiencies.

Mr. Rajeev Agrawal, CEO, Innoviti Payment Solutions said, “G.E.N.I.E’s BEAM scheme has been an instant success in building collaboration between mid-market mobile stores and leading mobile brands., BEAM enables these mobile dealers to get sponsored by top mobile brands on Innoviti’s G.E.N.I.E Smart Marketing App and earn extra margins with every Brand EMI sale. We are pleased to see GENIE merchants benefiting with additional margins of over Rs. 100,000/- through this scheme.”

“This underlines the dedication of both Innoviti’s and sponsor mobile brands including as Oppo, Vivo, OnePlus, Samsung, and Xiaomi’s amongst others in assisting the mid-market mobile stores ecosystem in recovering from the challenges brought on by the pandemic,” he further adds.

With rapid growth in its business, the company today processes an annualized volume of US$10 Billion from 2,000+ cities. Innoviti has grown rapidly in the past year as leading enterprises chose Innoviti as their partner for their future growth. With a sharply segmented product strategy for each category of retail, Innoviti today is a leader in enterprise offline merchants in the food, fashion, healthcare and electronics categories, processing 76% of all digital payment volume happening there.

Education

Former B.Tech student from NIT Nagpur launched an app to explore the gravitational lensing of light near black holes

Feb 28, 2022 by Neel Achary 0 Comments

Piyush Shukla is an engineer and a programmer also known as neoned71 has recently launched an app that helps people to explore the gravitational lensing of light near black holes.

The application is a ray marched renderer of a gravitating black hole. It means that the system actually calculates the deviation in the path of the light due to the gravitational force, then finds the body the ray finally lands on, which causes an effect of the refraction of light around the black hole. Things that appear to be somewhere aren’t there because of the curving of the light like a mirage. This visualization is strange at first to a human eye.

Piyush Shukla said that “There are many reasons to choose this project. It required the knowledge of physics and the ability to program it in a graphics pipeline, similar to that of a game engine, but game engines do not let the curving of a light ray according to will. Having built such a system has let me create visuals of various strengths of gravitational fields. The Prime of my research was to visualize a body with a repulsive but strong gravity.”

Just for pedagogical reasons, he wanted to explore the surroundings of a supermassive gravitating body, which happens to bend even light, and upon reaching definite proximity, even light cannot escape and is doomed to fall inside the black hole. Systems and pipelines are in place nowadays to help you render even the most realistic environments with almost perfect light simulation. However, inside that virtual light simulation, light always moves straight. It is safe to say that it is impossible to bend virtual light inside a game engine. The solution lies in the technology called Shaders.

A shader is a program that paints over a plane or a sphere. It is the job of the shader to calculate for every pixel on that plane, by throwing a light ray out, and figuring out where it lands. Where ever it lands, just pick up the colour of that object and set it to the colour of the pixel. Do that for every pixel and you are done with the complete frame. For a game like an environment, this frame is constructed almost 60 times per second.

There is a similar technique for tracing a ray of light, Ray Marching. Light travels straight for some distance, then checks if it has collided with any object in the scene, if not find for how long it can keep going straight without hitting anything. Once a hit is acknowledged, a colour value is picked up from the object and set as the pixel value from where the ray has emerged. Straight-line motion is the only motion allowed.

Furthermore, Mr Shukla stated “There are many reasons to choose this project. It required the knowledge of physics and the ability to program it in a graphics pipeline, similar to that of a game engine, but game engines do not let the curving of a light ray according to will. Having built such a system has let me create visuals of various strengths of gravitational fields. The equation that governs the path of a ray is based on the Newtonian formula for gravity. Now, using that particular formula produced the classical black hole without rotation and charge, but alterations to the formula are the key for new research. Simple modifications, to the formula, created absolutely different visualizations. The Prime of my research was to visualize a body with a repulsive but strong gravity. These bodies may not exist, or definitely not, but it is intriguing to see the effect on space & time as if they exist.

Links to the App:
Play store: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.neoned71.shadertoyimport
Source code: https://github.com/neoned71/black_holes_godot.git

Business

Himalaya Wellness Company reiterates its commitment to feed government school children through Akshaya Patra Foundation

Feb 28, 2022 by Neel Achary 0 Comments

India, 28th February 2022: As part of its continued commitment to spread Wellness in every Home and Happiness in every Heart, Himalaya Wellness Company has strengthened its ongoing partnership with the Akshaya Patra Foundation, a not-for-profit organization, which strives to address issues like hunger and malnutrition in India. Through this initiative, Himalaya is supporting over 13,000 children studying in government schools across the city, with the mid-day meal scheme. Himalaya has also extended CAPEX support to refurbish the existing kitchen with a heavy-duty mixer, roaster machine, and bench drilling machine at the Bengaluru facility. 

School-going children, especially in the age group of 6-12 years, are prone to nutritional deficiencies suffering from malnutrition. The mid-day meal scheme, which provides children with timely, healthy, and nutritious food, aims at addressing the issue of malnutrition. It further plays a contributory role in reducing the dropout rate and increasing attendance in government schools. 

himalayas 4

“Undernutrition, hidden hunger, and obesity are deemed to be key factors that threaten the survival, growth, and development of children and young adults. It is vital to provide essential nutrition to children during their early years to ensure their healthy future. Himalaya has always been a strong believer in empowering and enabling communities to lead healthier and happier lives. Our endeavor is to create a positive and long-term impact through health, education, and hygiene interventions. This is the very spirit of our association with Akshaya Patra that we have strengthened since 2016. We will continue to provide the required support to bring joy among children, by providing them with a strong and healthy foundation through good nutrition and nourishment,” said Jayashree Ullal, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer. 

Expressing his gratitude, Mr. Sundeep Talwar, CMO of The Akshaya Patra Foundation said, “We are immensely grateful to Himalaya for becoming our valued partner over the years in our journey of providing health and nutrition to millions of children. We are thankful to Himalaya for their continued support of the noble cause of delivering healthy mid-day meals. This collaboration has taken us closer to our aim of providing nutritious meals to underprivileged children across India.” 

The Akshaya Patra Foundation provides nutritious meals to children studying in government schools and government-aided schools. As its corporate partner since 2016, Himalaya, so far, has supported more than 50,000 children in government schools, and around 5 million meals have been served to needy schoolchildren, along with sponsoring 7,146 ”Happiness Kits” or dry ration kits during the lockdown.

Entertainment

Lionsgate Play partners with Sony Music for their second original ‘Jugaadistan’ – brings on board Indian Ocean, Mika Singh, Akasa Singh and Yellow Diaries amongst others

Feb 28, 2022 by Rekha Nair 0 Comments

Hyderabad 28th February,2022: When was the last time you heard an album bubbling with fresh energy and transports you back to college? First crushes, bunking classes with friends and competition with peers seem like a trip down the memory lane. Sony Music and Lionsgate Play partner for ‘Jugaadistan’, where they bring the music of their upcoming Indian Original series ‘Jugaadistan’. There is vibrancy in the beats and mirth in the voices, even as the Akarsh and Adarsh Khurana helmed show take the viewers through the gritty side of colleges.

Putting together a diverse album that reflects the theme of the show, the makers have brought back homegrown music band Indian Ocean and have songs by Akasa, Mika Singh and The Yellow Diary amongst others. What stands out through the show is its stellar background music that complements and completes the vast narrative with ease. Put together by Anurag Saikia, Khamosh Shah, Prabhdeep Taba Chake, Traffic Jam and Moussak – the songs blend mainstream voices with the music of celebrated underground artists. The album has been picked by Sony Music who will be promoting it under their banner.

Echoing these sentiments, Rohit Jain, MD, South Asia and Networks – Emerging Markets Asia, Lionsgate said, “Right from the word go, we paid a lot of attention to the music of the show. It is a campus drama, and we didn’t want the usual run-of-the mill songs for it. Each track has been crafted with attention to detail and reflects the theme and mood of our story. We are glad that so many artists agreed to come and do the music for the show. We tried to keep the album’s vibe very diverse so that the songs appeal to college goers across the country. And for those who’ve passed out and adulted, it’s a trip back to good times!”

Talking about it, Sanujeet Bhujabal, Executive Director, Sony Music India tells us, “There is novelty in this album and that was our biggest draw. We were mesmerised by the use of the sounds by artists who come from such different worlds and yet fit in so beautifully with the album. It was a delight hearing the beats of Indian Ocean, the Yellow Diary and Akasa in a mainstream show, though they are well known for their pop tracks. And yet, the show has found such talented indie artists to score their background music. This is an eclectic album that is bound to strike a chord with everyone.”

Speaking about the partnership between Lionsgate and Sony Music, Gayathiri Guliani, VP, Licensing and Content Partnerships adds “In today’s dynamic global music ecosystem, we at Lionsgate want to give our audience a holistic experience which includes music by the finest. The music created for Jugaadistan is created with the best of singers, composers and artists that give a desi yet urban vibe. Jugaadistan’s music connects instantly to all age groups. We couldn’t have looked for a better partner than Sony Music for Jugaadistan’s music to reach new heights.”

Indian Ocean, in a joint statement, says, “It’s the kind of story that spoke to us, and scoring music for them was such a fun experience. The music had to be earthy and rooted but peppered with youthful beats. We challenged ourselves to deliver something that’s off the beaten path.”

Mika tells us, “Jugaadistan is a show that’s soaring with pulsating energy and lending my voice and song for this album was exciting. It was a great experience to be part of this show, and I’m sure the music is going to be a superhit among all ages”

Akasa Singh adds, “It’s like taking a trip down memory lane with an album like this. You bring your own by reflecting your own memories in the sounds you create.”

The Yellow Diary says, “Jugaadistan’s music is a confluence of different value systems and eras and the music mirrors just that. There is so much diversity in one album and it was an absolute blast working on this”

Education

21K School becomes World’s First Web 3.0 School

Feb 28, 2022 by Neel Achary 0 Comments

Delhi/Bangalore, February 28, 2022: 21K School, India’s first online-only school, has launched its very own NFT Marketplace, as well as, introduced Metaverse and Web 3.0 for their K12 students around the world. Transitioning online schooling from Web 2.0 to the world’s first Web 3.0., the visionary 21K School founders have taken their keen interest in technology and are adopting it for the school of the future, where students will be encouraged to use technology to amplify their learning journeys.

21K School students will soon be able to create and sell their Artwork, Books, Podcast, Music, Videos on 21K School’s NFT Marketplace. They can earn reward points in the form of coins for all activities, timely submission of assignments, assessments and marks scored in examinations, which can be redeemed for scholarships, etc. This ‘Learn to Earn’ model is truly one of its kind in the world! Students can also invite their friends to be part of a gamified learning journey and build the ecosystem. The Web 3.0 school is also launching a blockchain-based solution to identify marksheets, profiles of students and teachers with their accomplishments.

Santosh Kumar, Co-Founder & CEO, 21K School, said, “We are the world’s first school to transition into Web 3.0. At 21K School, we are immensely proud to reimagine education with emerging technologies like Blockchain, Metaverse, NFTs, and more to instil learning, thinking, and creativity in the DNA of our students. We are the world’s first Web 3.0 school to be implementing an NFT Marketplace, so children can have the opportunity to understand how cutting-edge technology can help them turn their creativity into financial empowerment. The NFT revolution is sure to impact countless industries unprecedentedly, and we are bringing it straight into our classrooms! We are thrilled to usher in a new era of learners who would be well poised to drive technology-led entrepreneurship in times to come.”

21K School is also introducing gamification within its classrooms, where students can complete their homework and assignments in a gamified manner, driven by the digital school’s artificial intelligence-enabled Learning Management System. This will not only create deeper engagements for students, but will also encourage them to finish their given tasks with perfection. 21K School will also provide rewards based on views on their class videos, assessment scores and student’s feedback by 21K school, while parents can also earn points for their involvement in their child’s education journey, all in the form of 21K coins.

21K School is the first online-only school in India, offering children aged 3 to 18 years a choice of three curriculums to study in – Indian, American and British. The school recently raised Pre Series A funding of $5 million from Ronnie Screwvala, Co-Founder and Chairman, upGrad. Founded in 2020 by Santosh Kumar, Yeshwanth Raj Parasmal, Dinesh Kumar and Joshi Kumar, the 21K School model aims to disrupt the traditional K12 school system and offer personalised, affordable and flexible schooling for students, regardless of where they are located or their time zone. The company already has nearly 3,500 students enrolled from over 400 cities across India and 35 + countries.

For more information on the new technologies, please refer to: https://21kschool.ai/

For more information on 21K School, please refer to: https://21kschool.com/

Health

Men’s Health: symptoms that you should not ignore

Feb 28, 2022 by Rekha Nair 0 Comments

Dr. Govardhan Reddy, Lead Consultant – Urology & Uro Oncology, Aster CMI Hospital

Health is not gender-specific. It is important for everyone to get a regular check-up regardless of age, gender, and have a balanced diet. Multiple studies show that men are ignorant about health and are highly susceptible to a lot of health problems. However, feeling healthy and being healthy are different terms, and ignoring symptoms until it gets worse can complicate the body. To lead a healthy life, we have to work on our body while we are young. Hitting 40 also indicates health has a pivotal role and ignoring it might cost our lives. If you experience any of these signs, consider getting a health check-up done immediately

Difficulty in passing urine

Frequent urine, feeling thirsty, pain while passing urine, are some of the signs that could possibly indicate signs of trouble. For example, a blood spot in urine can be a sign of some infection, or in some cases, be one of the early signs of prostate cancer or kidney stones. Frequent visits to the loo can be a sign of a bladder infection, urinary tract infection, diabetes, or indicate something wrong with your kidneys or the heart. This is one of the main signs of prostate cancer, which is the most diagnosed cancer in all men. Common signs and symptoms of Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) include frequent or urgent need to urinate, increased frequency of urination at night (nocturia), difficulty starting urination, dribbling at the end of urination, and incapability to fully clear the bladder.

Enlarged testicles and unnoticing moles

The testicles are very sensitive, and even a minor injury can cause testicle pain or discomfort. Having enlarged testicles is one of the main symptoms of testicular cancer. It is one of the rare diseases. Testicular lumps are common aged between 15 years to 34 years. Any moles or changes in skin texture, lumps, or swelling in other parts of the body should not be ignored for long as well. Few signs of testicular cancer include a lump or enlargement in either testicle, a feeling of heaviness in the scrotum, a dull ache in the abdomen or groin, sudden collection of fluid in the scrotum, pain or discomfort in a testicle or the scrotum. It is curable if treated at an early stage.

Erectile dysfunction

Diseases that can cause erectile dysfunction include diabetes, heart disease, atherosclerosis, kidney disease, neurologic disease, chronic alcoholism, multiple sclerosis, and vascular disease. These conditions affect a man’s ability to achieve an erection by damaging nerves, smooth muscles, arteries, and tissues. Erectile dysfunction is a common issue men face with age, but a lot of people do not consider it as a medical condition. Conditions like severe diabetes, any form of addiction lead to erectile dysfunction. Stress is another reason for this.

Excessive thirst

It’s important to intake 2-3 Litres of water (or, at least 8-10 glasses) every day. While it’s common to feel thirsty some days, chronically experiencing excessive thirst or drinking too much water in a day may be a warning sign of hyperglycemia. A family with a diabetes history should get checked immediately and follow up with the doctor. A man should drink lots of water to maintain his health. However, excessive thirst is also an indication of possible internal bleeding, severe infection, or a failure of the heart, liver, or kidneys.

Peyronie’s disease (Penile Curvature)

It is a condition resulting from fibrous scar tissue that develops on the penis and causes curved penis which leads to painful erections. This can prevent having sex or might make it difficult to maintain an erection (erectile dysfunction). For many men, Peyronie’s disease also causes stress and anxiety. Erections can also be challenging if the nerves or blood vessels of the penis have been damaged by inflammation or trauma to the penis, which is associated with Peyronie’s disease. Few symptoms include a lump in the penis, shortening of the penis, soft erections, and narrowing of the penis shaft. Massage and a few exercises recommended by doctors can treat this disease.

Low Testosterone

Testosterone plays a vital role in men’s bodies, including muscle and bone health, cognition, red blood cell, and sperm formation, and sexual and reproductive function in males. However, testosterone levels can decline for various reasons, including stress, aging, and certain health conditions, such as hypogonadism. Symptoms include extra body weight, loss of muscle, low sex drive, low ejaculation volume, and deprived sleep. Though hair loss is hereditary, low testosterone also plays a role.

Business

Awards and Recognitions pushing morals of Women Empowerment and Gender Equality

Feb 28, 2022 by Neel Achary 0 Comments

Despite advances in women’s rights, gender inequality remains a persistent challenge across India. Research shows that gender discrimination is mostly against women and in favour of men in many realms such as education, healthcare workplace, etc. Women’s empowerment has become a significant topic of discussion in the development and the economic sector nowadays.

One of the ways to address these issues of inequality, subordination, and marginalisation is through the empowerment of women which may be done through literacy, education, training and awareness creation. There have been improvements in some aspects of women empowerment in India, like literacy rates and the ratio of women to men at birth. The empowerment of women means promoting women’s sense of self-worth, their ability to determine their own choices, and their right to influence social change for themselves and others.

Several civil society organisations, government bodies & other institutions work to eliminate discrimination against women and girls, empower women in order to achieve gender equality as partners and beneficiaries of development, human rights, humanitarian action, and peace and security. To this end, there are several awards that have been instituted to promote and recognise the efforts of these organisations and individuals who have committed themselves to advance gender equality and women’s empowerment.

In a world where women are rarely recognised, here are the top 5 awards given in the field of empowerment of women and promotion of a gender-just society:

Nari Shakti Pusarkar

1. Nari Shakti Pusarkar –

Nari Shakti Puraskar is an annual award given by the Ministry of Women and Child Development of the Government of India to individual women or institutions that work towards the cause of women’s empowerment. The President of India presents the awards on International Women’s Day, which

is celebrated on 8th March, at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi. The awards were instituted in 1999 under the title of ‘Stree Shakti Puraskar’ and were renamed and reorganised in 2015.They are given in six institutional and two individual categories, which carry a certificate and cash prize of rupees two-lakh and one-lakh, respectively. In 2021, Savaniee Ravindra from Maharashtra received the award from the President.

Martha Farrell Award for Excellence in Women Empowerment and Gender Equality

2. Martha Farrell Award for Excellence in Women Empowerment and Gender Equality –

The Martha Farrell Award for Excellence in Women’s Empowerment and Gender Equality was instituted to honour Dr Farrell and her ideals. Launched in October 2016, it is a first-of-its-kind initiative to discover, recognise and honour mid-career individuals and committed institutions, which have made valuable contributions in the areas of women’s empowerment, gender equality or feminism in everyday life.

The award comprises two main categories: Most Promising Individual and Best Organization for Gender Equality. A Special Jury Award in both categories was also instituted in the year 2019. The award consists of prize money of INR 1,50,000 for the main category awardees and INR 1,00,000 for Special Jury awards.

Recent winners of the award (2021) include Deepa Pawar from Mumbai, Shaheen Women’s Resource and Welfare Association from Hyderabad, Suman Devathiya from Rajasthan, and Sappho for Equality from Kolkata.

Women’s Empowerment Principles Awards
3. Women’s Empowerment Principles Awards

The Asia-Pacific WEPs Awards is organised by UN Women’s WeEmpowerAsia programme funded by and in partnership with the European Union, which seeks to enhance gender-inclusive business cultures and promote women’s economic empowerment in the Asia-Pacific region and Europe.

Established by UN Global Compact and UN Women, the WEPs are informed by international labour and human rights standards and grounded in the recognition that businesses have a stake in, and responsibility for, gender equality and women’s empowerment.WEPs Awards recognise initiatives in 5 Main Categories. The award supports equal pay for work of equal value, gender-responsive supply chain practices, and zero-tolerance against sexual harassment in the workplace.

Recipients of the 2021 WEPS awards are Divya Hegde, Pallavi Sherring, NatWaste Group, and others.

International Inspiration Women Awards

4. International Inspiration Women Awards –

International Inspirational Women Awards is an initiative by the GISR Foundation that recognises and acknowledges the invincible potential of women change-makers.

IIWA promotes the commitment, courage, and confidence of exceptional women across dimensions and geographical boundaries. It aims to inspire female achievers in the present and into the future. The award comes with a certificate and no cash prize.

GISR Foundation is a non-government, not-for-profit organisation registered under the Central Government’s Ministry of Corporate Affairs, playing a proactive role in India’s development process by providing education to underprivileged Girl Children.

Mrs Anooja Bashir, Spriha Biswas, Dr Supraja are among those who got awarded with International Inspiration Women Awards in 2021.

BCIC Women Empowerment and Leadership Award

5. BCIC Women Empowerment and Leadership Award –

This award recognises successful women leaders who are scripting the future. The Women Empowerment and Leadership Award is organised by the Bangalore Chamber of Industry and commerce.

It celebrates the women leaders who have excelled in corporates, entrepreneurship, and academia. The award is given in 2 categories; Corporates & Individuals and 6 sub-categories.

Dr Lakshmi Jagannathan wins BCIC Outstanding Women Leadership Award in 2021.