General Knowledge Current Affairs

Monday, February 28, 2011

Sahitya Akademi Awards for 2010.

 

Eight books of poetry, four novels, three collections of short stories, four works of criticism, one travelogue, an autobiography and a play were among the literary works in 22 languages that have won the Sahitya Akademi Awards for 2010.

The awards announced here on Monday were recommended by jury members representing 22 languages, and approved by the Executive Board of Sahitya Akademi which met under the chairmanship of its president Sunil Gangopadhyay.

The poets honoured are Aurobindo Uzir (Bodo), Arun Sakhardande (Konkani), Gopi Narayan Pradhan (Nepali), Vanita (Punjabi), Mangat Badal (Rajasthani), Mithila Prasad Tripathi (Sanskrit), Laxman Dubey (Sindhi) and Sheen Kaaf Nizam (Urdu).

The novelists who have won the award are Bani Basu (Bengali), Esther David (English), Dhirendra Mehta (Gujarati) and M. Borkanya (Manipuri).

Uday Prakash (Hindi), Nanjil Nadan (Tamil) and Manoj (Dogri) have won the awards for their short story collections.

Keshada Mahanta (Assamese), Rahamath Tarikere (Kannada), Basher Bashir (Kashmiri) and Ashok R. Kelkar (Marathi) won the awards for their books of criticism.

The other winners are the former Union Minister M.P. Veerendra Kumar (Malayalam) for his travelogue, Pathani Pattnaik (Oriya) for his autobiography and playwright Bhogla Soren (Santhali).

Sahitya Akademi secretary Agrahara Krishna Murthy said the awards for Telugu and Maithili would be announced in a few weeks. He said the books were selected on the basis of recommendations made by a three-member jury in the respective languages.

The awards, which include a cash prize of Rs.1 lakh, will be presented to the winners on February 15 next year during the Festival of Letters in the capital. The festival will also include a seminar on the works of Rabindranath Tagore.

Mr. Murthy said the Akademi is instituting the Yuva Sahitya Puraskar for debutant writers in Indian languages under the age of 35 from next year. Earlier this year, the Akademi had instituted the Bala Sahitya Puraskar for writers of children's literature.

    Career in Pharmaceutical Technology


    The Indian pharmaceutical companies continue expanding their base despite the slow down. The pharmaceutical industries in India seem to be more stable compared to other industries and they would continue with their impressive performance.

    According to available figures the size of the Indian Pharmaceutical industries is poised to grow from Rs. 30,200 crore in 2007 to Rs. 33,500 crore in 2008 and further to Rs. 140, 000 crore in 2020. India is known as pharmacy of the whole world especially to third world countries. The country exports pharmaceuticals to more than 200 countries including USA, Russia, Germany, United Kingdom and Brazil. India is the leading supplier of AIDS drugs to the world. Pharmaceutical exports (valued in US dollar terms) registered an impressive growth rate at 30.7 % terms during April – October 2008 compared to corresponding period in the previous year. This growth further increases to 38.5 % when valued in rupees terms. Not withstanding the fears of a global recession, pharma exports are expected to grow by 25.2 % in 2008-2009. The Department of Pharmaceuticals estimated to have creation of 5 lakh new jobs within next four years involving investment of Rs. 5,000-10,000 crore through public – private partnership model.

    Drug approvals given to Indian pharmaceutical firms were 30% of total generic approvals given by USA Drug Regulatory Authority (USFDA) in 2008 while the share was 26.5 % in 2007. The trend is likely to continue as Indian companied account for 35 % of all Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) approvals given by USFDA in first two months of 2009. ANDA is an application for a generic drug approval for an existing licensed medication or an approved drug. With over US dollar worth 47 billion drugs are expected to go off patent by 2011, promising further growth in generic medicine market.

    Pharmaceutical industries usually employ pharmacy graduates and post graduates for most of the operations.  The various activities include manufacturing, quality control (including quality assurance), and distribution (marketing). The expertise required to perform all these activities are usually the course programme of Pharmaceutical Sciences or Pharmaceutical Technology. Pharma being knowledge based industry; special skills are required for all these operations or activities. The available career opportunities for pharmacy graduates in pharmaceutical industries and government/private sector include:


          * As Manufacturing Chemist (called as competent technical staff): under whose active direction and personal supervision manufacturing of medicines takes place. The pharmaceutical production companies need such persons to obtain license for manufacturing. Graduates of pharmacy with 18 months of experience in manufacturing are treated as competent technical staff under Drugs and Cosmetics Act which regulates the Drug Industries. This job of looking after manufacturing of medicines is very interesting and responsible. There are scopes of promotion too to the highest position as works manager or factory manager.
          * In Quality Control/Quality Assurance: Quality Assurance is a total process for assuring the quality of pharmaceutical products as per standard specified in National or other approved pharmacopoeias. Quality Assurance is a component of Quality Assurance programme which deals with checking of representative samples of production to find out their compliance with standards. The graduates with aptitude in analysis of pharmaceuticals and handling of sophisticated instruments find the job interesting. There are promotional scopes too from Quality Control chemists to Quality Assurance Manager.

      There are private and independent drug testing laboratories too. The graduate pharmacist can join these laboratories as analyst.

          * In Marketing: Pharmaceutical marketing is different from marketing of other consumer goods. Here, real consumer, the patient, has little or no choice. The marketing takes place through doctors and chemists. Thus the job is more challenging and requires special skill and training as they deal with highly qualified doctors in one hand and the professional business man (often called drug trader in common terminology). This is a never saturating professional area and jobs are available always. The sales personal are called as medical representatives or business executives. They can grow from medical representatives to general manager.
          *  In regulatory affairs: The medicines are not only required to be effective but must be safe and of assured quality. In order to assure efficacy, safety and quality, the entire pharmaceutical scenario, from manufacturing to sale of medicines, is regulated by the central and state government through a process of licensing and inspecting. The pharmaceutical graduates can join the government services usually through public service commission as Drugs Inspectors. They have promotional scopes to grow up to the rank of Drugs Controller.
          * As Hospital Pharmacists: The pharmacists in hospitals do wide range of functions ranging from procurement of medicines to dispensing to the patients. In short they are responsible for medicine management in the hospitals. Though legally Diploma in Pharmacy qualification is sufficient for medicine dispensing, the degree pharmacists are preferred in procurement system in government sector and service sector in corporate hospitals. The promotional scope in this sector is limited.
          * As Community Pharmacist (working in Drug Store or Retail Pharmacy):  Our medical systems are well developed and are on par with any developed country. But this community pharmacy sector is still in primitive stage. In western countries community pharmacists are well paid and many of pharmacists who have migrated to UK or USA work in community pharmacy. The scenario of community pharmacy now started changing in India too. Many chain stores are entering into the market. Diploma in Pharmacy qualified pharmacists. Like hospital pharmacy sector, the graduate pharmacists too started entering into the retail business as entrepreneur.  Self owning pharmacy in a good location not only gives good revenues but also provides ample opportunities to provide professional pharmaceutical services to the consumers. A license from the state Drugs Control Authority is necessary start a retail pharmacy business.
          * As Government Analyst: The medicines that have been sampled either from manufacturing units or retail drug stores are tested in government drug testing laboratories. The graduate pharmacists can join these government laboratories as government analyst. But the graduate pharmacists do need to under go training on testing of drugs under a government analyst or in approved laboratories.

    Sunday, January 9, 2011

    Bollywood Screen Awards 2010

    Screen Awards: Udaan Best Film, Salman Khan-Vidya Balan Best Actor-Actress

    Year 2010's mega blockbuster Dabangg bagged a total of six awards with superstar Salman Khan getting the Best Actor Award for his fitting portrayal of a fearless rustic cop. Best Playback Singer (female) went to Mamta Sharma for chart buster 'Munni Badnaam Hui'. The song also got Farah Khan the trophy for the Best Choreography. Vidya Balan won the Best Actress Award for her feisty role as a widow in Ishqiya. Newcomers Sonakshi Sinha and Ranveer Singh bagged the most promising female and male award for Dabangg and Band Baaja Baraat respectively. The Promising Newcomer Director Award went to Manish Sharma for his film on two wedding planners.

    Shahrukh Khan and Katrina Kaif were adjudged as Best Actor and Actress in the popular choice category for their performances in My Name is Khan and Raajneeti respectively. The special Ramnath Goenka Award also went to the Khan-Kajol starrer.

    Tuesday, December 28, 2010

    Career in Radiation Physics

     

    Physics is a branch of science concerned with the study of properties and interactions of space, time, matter and energy. Energy is required in one form or other and is very important for the survival of life on earth and its study attracts lot of attention. Radiation is also energy and is defined as energy (in the form of light, heat or sound) which travels through any medium or space and ultimately absorbed by another body. Radiation physics is a branch of Physics which deals with the interaction of the radiation with matter in general and involves calculation of doses for radiation therapy in medical field in particular. The radiations could be ionizing or non-ionizing depending on the energy carried by the photon. Since the ionizing radiations could be harmful, an important ethical question is the safe extent of exposure of the radiations to humans in the industry, research institutions or for medical diagnostics. From this very property of radiations to harm the human tissues, it is imperative to have trained personnel in the field who can provide the safety measures and expert handling of all such issues. In order to moniter the establishments dealing with radiations, Atomic Energy Regulatory board (AERB) was established on November 15, 1983. Its responsibility is to monitor the establishments using radiations and give them acredition to use radiation facilities after fulfilling crieteria laid by the board. One of the mandatory requirement is to have radiation safety officer(RSO) in the organisation to monitor the usage of radiation and to curtail the extent of damage caused in case of any uneventful accident.

    It is hoped that 25,000 MW of nuclear power capacity will be added through imports of nuclear reactors and fuel by 2020. With the increase of nuclear power plants in future , the human resourse for radiation safety measures will increase tremendously. Another area where the Radiation Physicist or Medical Physcist  plays important role is the calculation of safe radiation doses in medical treatment with radiations. Here also crucial role of Radiation Physcist comes into play for calculation of doses.   Thus radiation physics could not only be an alluring career option but also a challenging career with an aim for providing safety to the humans engaged in welfare of mankind by making constructive use of radiations.
    Due to its tremendous scope for research besides application in medical diagnostics this  has been a very active field. The field garners lots of interest because it has provided some of the path breaking inventions and  has been instrumental in providing improved manufacturing processes, nuclear energy, and advanced medical diagnostic and treatment options. Further the field involves rich physics and generates interest from all, either physicist , biologist, chemists or medical fraternity. It is highly multidisciplinary in nature and is now backbone of the nuclear medical diagnostics.

    Radiation physics is an active field of research and persons taking it as a career option can also go for the advance research as well in the field. Another point which makes it a lucrative career option is the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board’s (AERB) mandatory regulations of trained people in institutions dealing with the radiations. These institutions need to have trained radiation safety personnel for their routine work. Since hitherto it is less known field few people have ventured in this area, and the field is facing acute shortage of trained people available for organizations dealing with radiations, thus demand is high and excellent paid jobs are available. 

    With the increase and better prospects of trained radiation safety personnels, many universities like Osmania University, Anna University, Manipal University, Panjab University etc. have started diploma and degree courses in radiation Physics or medical physics besides the pioneering work done by BARC, Mumbai. Under AERB regulations all medical imaging and radiation therapy machines have to be evaluated by a Qualified Medical Physicist. The medical physicist oversees quality assurance programs and is a resource for ensuring the safe use of radiation in the medical setting.

    For more article visit http://www.onlinegk.com

    Sunday, November 28, 2010

    CAREER IN HUMAN RIGHTS

    The experience of past two decades has demonstrated the crucial importance of human rights. Traditionally, the human rights violation occurred due to State or its actors, however, the contemporary time has witnessed human rights violations by individuals, institutions and at societal levels. Over the years, the National Human Rights Commissions of India has been recording and reporting a number of human rights violations including civil, political, social and economic rights. These violations and victimizations are with regard to the issues concerning right to food, right to health, right to education, rights of women against violence and exploitation, rights of Children against abuse and exploitation, rights of migrants and their violation based on caste, creed, region and region.

    Nature of Job

    The human rights field has huge potential and need for multiple professionals. Work in human rights can be challenging and intense. Organizations use a variety of disciplines in their approach to Social Justice, Juvenile Justice, Gender Justice, Custodial Justice, and now emerging area of Climate Justice including direct service, monitoring & evaluation, lobbying and networking, advocacy, policy development, documenting and research. Activities include research focusing on preventing and ending human rights abuses in all regions of the world, monitoring human rights development, conducting on-site fact finding and investigations, writing case studies and reports on human rights conditions, engaging in advocacy to publicize and curtail human rights violations, litigation, lobbying, and promoting human rights practices in social and political structures. In addition, human rights professionals provide advisory and educational services, refugee assistance, victim’s rehabilitation, policy analysis for national and international institutions, assistance in institution building and project development and management in the field of human rights based civil society organizations.

    The human rights based job includes

    1.  Human rights activist,
    2.  Human rights defender,
    3.  Human rights analyst,
    4.  Human rights professional,
    5.  Human rights researcher,
    6.  Human rights programmer,
    7.  Human rights advocate,
    8.  Human rights worker,
    9.  Human rights teacher,
    10. Human rights consultant,
    11. Human rights campaigner,
    12. Human right fundraiser
    13. Human rights manager.

    Skills required

       1. Writing skills
       2. Management skills
       3. Legal skills
       4. Communication Skills
       5. Reporting skills
       6. Research Skills
       7. Interviewing skills
       8. Language skill
       9. Inter-personal communication skills
      10. Documenting skills
      11. Fundraising skills
      12. Crisis Response Skills
      13. Advocacy Skills
      14. Active Listening and questioning Skills
      15. Teamwork skills
      16. Analytical and critical thinking skills
      17. Negotiating and Mediating Skills
      18. Conflict Resolution Skills
      19. Networking Skills

    Organizations working in Human Rights

    Having a Degree or Diploma or Certificate in Human Rights, one can work in the human rights field with a broad spectrum. There are governmental (National and State Human Rights Bodies), intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations (Amnesty International, CRY, Oxfam, Human Rights Watch, Commonwealth Human Rights Initiatives, Asian Centre for Human Rights, South Asian Human Rights Documentation Centre, PUCL and PUDR etc). Besides, a number of UN agencies working on the human rights issues might be useful for human rights, based employments in India and overseas as UNDP ((United Nations Development Programme), UNDESA (UN Department of Economic & Social Affairs), World Bank,  UNICEF (UN Children Fund), UNEP( UN Environment Programme), UNFPA (UN Population Fund), WHO (World Health Organization), IMF (International Monetary Fund), UN- HABITAT (UN Human Settlements Programme), FAO (Food & Agriculture Organization),  IFAD  (International Fund for Agricultural Development), ILO(International Labour Organization), ITU(International Telecom Union), UNAIDS (Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS), UNCTAD (UN Conference on Trade and Development), UNDG (UN Development Group), UNESCO (UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization ), UNHCR (UN Refugee Agency), UNIDO (UN Industrial Development Organization),  UNIFEM (UN Development Fund for Women), OHCHR (Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights ), UNRWA(UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East ), WFP (World Food Programme).

    Thursday, November 11, 2010

    Career in Library and Information Science


    Librarianship as a profession provides a variety of employment opportunities. Today there are a number of career prospects in Library and Information Science. The qualified professionals are employed in various libraries and information Centers. Trained library professionals can find opportunities for employment both as teacher and as a Librarian. In fact, it is possible to choose the kind of library to suit one’s interest and background. In Librarianship, designations could be Librarian, Documentation Officer, Assistant Librarian, Deputy Librarian, Scientist (Library Science/ Documentation), Library and Information Officer, Knowledge Manager/ Officer, Information Executive, Director/Head of Library Services, Information Officer, and Information Analyst.

    * In School, College, Universities;
    * In Central Government Libraries.
    * In the training centers of banks.
    * In National Museum and Archives;
    * In NGOs working in different areas.
    * In R&D Centre like ICAR, CSIR, DRDO, ICSSR, ICHR, ICMR, ICFRE, etc.
    * In Business Houses.
    * In Foreign Embassies and High Commissions.
    * In International Centers like WHO, UNESCO, UNO, World Bank etc.
    * In the libraries of Ministries and other government departments.
    * In National Level Documentation Centers.
    * In Library Networks.
    * In the newspaper libraries.
    * In News Channels.
    * In the Libraries of Radio Stations.
    * In the Databases provider firms.
    * In publishing companies for preparing Index, abstracts, bibliographies etc.
    * In various digital library projects like ‘Digital Library of India’ etc.
    * In Training Academies.

    The role of libraries in providing widespread and inclusive access to knowledge is widely acknowledged. In today’s context, libraries have to play two distinct roles - to serve as a local centre of information and knowledge, and be a local gateway to national and global knowledge. Some of the issues under consideration of National Knowledge Commission are:

    * institutional framework of libraries;
    * networking;
    * education, training and research;
    * modernization and computerization of libraries;
    * maintenance of private and personal collections and
    * staff requirements to meet changing needs.

    This commission has recommended the formation for the National Library Commission to strengthen the Library networks in India. The Department of Culture (DoC) has proposed setting up a National Mission for Libraries (NML) as a Central Sector Scheme. The NML will cover libraries under the DoC and the activities under it will include: National Census of Libraries; Modernisation including networking of Libraries under DoC; establishing Knowledge Centres and Digital Libraries. Recently under National Mission for Libraries there is a proposal for establishing 7000 libraries having computers with internet facility across the country.

    It was recommended that the initial recruitment should be direct at the level of library and Information Assistant. The qualification requirement would be graduation and BLISc degree. Thus, the scope of librarianship becomes brighter. Career in LIS is multidimensional, ever growing bright and significantly enriching the knowledge base of the society for prosperity and progress.

    Source : Employment News

    For More Career Scope Click Here

    TAG: Library Science, Career in Library Science

    Monday, September 20, 2010

    57th National Film Awards 2010

    Bollywood marked its stamp on the 57th National Film Awards as Amitabh Bachchan won the best actor award for his performance in "Paa" and Aamir Khan- starrer "3 Idiots" was adjudged the best popular movie.

    However, it was Malayalam drama "Kutty Srank" which walked away with five awards, including the best feature film.

    "Kutty Srank", with Mammoothy in the lead, also won awards for best cinematography, best screenplay, best costume and a special jury recognition, which it shared with Bollywood hit "Kaminey" and Malayalam film "Kerala Varma Pazhassi Raja".

    Raykesh Omprakash Mehra's "Delhi 6", shot in the bylanes of Old Delhi, bagged the Nargis Dutt award for best feature film on national integration while Shyam Benegal's "Well Done Abba" was chosen as the best film on social issues.

    R Balki's "Paa", was also named the best Hindi film, besides winning recognitions in the best supporting actress category (Arundhuti Nag) and best make-up (Christein Tinsley and Dominie Till).

    Amit Trivedi got the best music director award for Anurag Kashyap's "Dev-D", a modern take on Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay's classic "Devdas".

    The emotional number 'Behti hawa sa tha woh' from "3 Idiots" bagged the best lyrics award for Swanand Kirkere.

    Ananya Chatterjee was named the best actress for her role in the Bengali film "Abohoman", which also fetched the best direction award for Rituparno Ghosh and best editing for Arghyakamal Mitra, besides being adjudged the best Bengali movie.

    For more detail visit : History of Indian Cinema