Monthly Archives: January 2016

12 Organisations Helping Indian Students Around The Globe

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Studying abroad is an exciting prospect for many Indian students. Better educational quality, travel opportunity and other factors may compel them to leave the country and gain qualification in overseas schools. Venturing to a new country with different culture is not easy; students will surely face problems and obstacles. But there are organisations, government, cultural and even private companies, who can provide a listening ear to Indian students who get into difficulty and help make their student experience easier. Here’s a list of 12 organisations helping Indian students around the globe.

1. Indian Students Association
ISA is a non-profit student organisation in different colleges and universities abroad that strives to unify all Indian students. It was formed to create cultural awareness, promote Indian tradition and unite Indian students with different ethnic backgrounds. It aims to spread Indian culture and provide students with a community. It’s like a family away from home.

2. AIESEC
AIESEC is an international non-governmental not-for-profit organisation run by students and recent graduates of institutions of higher education that develops leadership to young people through experiential learning, volunteer experiences and professional internships. It enables employers and students across India to connect with global network of talent.

3. Indian Graduate Students Organisation (IGSO)
IGSO is a non-profit organisation which supports every cause of the Indian student community in the triple cities area. They have programs to help Indians who want to pursue their educational aspirations. They organise different cultural activities and regular events including sport tournaments, movie shows, spiritual lectures and coffee hours to give students a break from strenuous academics at Binghamton University. They ensure that each student is nestled in a family like environment.

4. International Cultural Youth Exchange (ICYE)
ICYE is an international non-profit youth exchange organisation that started in India in 1983 promoting youth mobility, intercultural learning and international voluntary service, in more than 40 countries around the world. ICYE is a leader in international youth exchange programmes that enhances student’s intercultural understanding and commitment to peace and justice.

5. ACM Group
ACM Group is a community of Asian people in Sydney which provide moral support to Indian students and new arrivals to Australia in the form of advice and communications. ACM Group help foster positive interaction between Australians, Asians and Asian Australians through art, music, culture, social events and other interactive cultural activities.

6. ASHANET
Asha for Education is an organisation dedicated to change in India by focusing on basic education because they believe education is a critical requisite for socio-economic change. They are involved with support projects that are education related. Asha helps students get better access to education, nutrition and health care.

7. Foundation for Excellence (FFE)
FFE is a non-profit organisation based in California which provides the largest scholarship programs in India. They help exceptionally talented but poor students in India become doctors, engineers, and computer scientists. They award scholarships to high school students and help them secure admissions to quality engineering and medical colleges.

8. Federation of Indian Student Associations in Australia (FISA)
FISA aims to unify Indian students in Australia and integrate them with the Australian community. It provides a long lasting communication network from university unions and organisations and other associations. FISA helps increase the spiritual, political, social and economic strength of Indian students in Australia.

9. Bradman Foundation
The Bradman Foundation with partnership from University of Wollongong offers undergraduate scholarship to Indian students. The scholarship grant has been established with the blessing of Sir Donald Bradman to provide Indian students with opportunity for educational advancement and to promote cricket as a cultural and sporting force.

10. The United States – India Educational Foundation (USIEF)
USIEF enable the most outstanding students, academics and professionals in India to study, research and engage in work experiences in the US. Selected scholars receive a high level of support ranging from visa processing and health insurance to a comprehensive pre-departure orientation.

11. UPAKAR – Indian-American Scholarship Foundation
UPAKAR’s goal is to address the needs of Indian American community by supporting students in their academic pursuits. They help educate high school counsellors who are middle and low income to realize their educational goals by providing annual scholarship and financial aid. They host benefit concerts and art shows that feature local south Asian artist to help raise awareness for their cause.

12. National Indian Students Union – UK
NISU is an organisation that represent Indian and Asian students in the UK from India and home-grown. NISU is not just an organisation but a movement. This youth led movement unifies the voice of Indians in the UK, through their students and alumni to bring about change in society. It aims to make Indian students life comfortable and enriching.

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Women’s Health in India: A Business Opportunity Also?

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India is the second most populous country in the world, with over 1.29 billion people. 48.4% of the total population is female. Despite the two decades of rapid economic growth in India, women’s health is generally worse than other countries. Indian women usually suffer from different health concerns due to poor nutrition, reproductive issues, medical problems, mental problems, low social status, poverty and violence. The health of Indian women has a direct link to their status in the society. Because of discrimination, women’s health lags behind those of males.

Women in India face issues like lack of maternal health, malnutrition, suicide, domestic violence, breast cancer and diseases like AIDS. More than 70% of women in India have some kind of health problem due to inadequate knowledge. Lack of maternal health decreases women’s ability to work and participate in economic activities and it adversely affect their child’s health. Maternal mortality in India contributes to nearly 20% of maternal deaths worldwide. High levels of maternal mortality can be attributed to limited access to care and disparities of economic conditions. Urban areas with adequate medical resources have lower maternal mortality compared to rural areas. States with higher literacy rates tend to have greater maternal health and lower infant mortality.

India has one of the highest rates of malnutrition in women among developing countries. Maternal malnutrition is associated with child birth defects and increased risk of maternal mortality. The government needs to address the issues on malnutrition to have a beneficial outcome to women and children. Suicide is a major problem in India, suicide rate was found higher in women compared to men in India. The most common reasons for women’s suicide are depression, gender discrimination, domestic violence and anxiety. Female sex workers who face different forms of discrimination has higher suicide rate.

Domestic violence in physical, psychological and sexual form is a major issue in India. Domestic violence is currently viewed as a hidden epidemic by the World Health Organisation. 31% of women in India reported to having been the victim of domestic violence but the actual number could be much higher. A study found that more poor women fall victim to domestic violence compared to middle and high-income women. One of the biggest factors associated with domestic violence against women in India was the prevalence of alcohol use by men within the households. Physiotherapy and Psychotherapy plays a major role in rehabilitating victims of domestic violence.

There is a growing cancer epidemic in India, with a large increase in the number of Indian women with cancer particularly breast and cervical cancer. Middle aged women between 40 and 55 years especially those from the lower economic status who fail to carry out regular health check-ups due to financial constraints are mostly affected by cancer. Early detection through regular screening such as mammography and colposcopy can aid in significantly controlling the prevalence of cancer in the country.

HIV and AIDS epidemic in India is spreading rapidly affecting women’s health. Women represent approximately 40% of HIV cases in India. Despite the alarming growth of the disease, most women in India have little knowledge of AIDS. A study found that a large majority of Indian women had never heard of it. The rise in infections can primarily be attributed to lack of education and lack of access to contraceptives like condoms. The government public health system should provide education and adequate measures such as free HIV testing to combat the growing epidemic.

More than forty-eight per cent of Indian population are female. Women’s health in India presents a big business opportunity for enterprising companies. The opportunities for companies to cater to women are enormous. They could find a whole new range of commercial opportunities in women’s health concerns. The growing population and rising health needs of women may create new opportunities for companies to meet these challenges. Healthcare is one of India’s largest sectors in terms of revenue and employment. The healthcare is comprised of hospitals, medical tourism, clinical trials, health insurance, medical equipment, telemedicine and outsourcing. The healthcare sector in India is growing at a rapid pace and any company will be wise to target this growing sector.

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Pests Threatening Indian Agriculture Require Vigilance

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Agriculture is the keystone of the Indian economy and the largest contributor to the country’s GDP. Over 58% of the rural households rely on agriculture as their primary means of livelihood. Ensuring food security for more than 1.3 billion population is an arduous task considering the diminishing cultivable land resource because of urbanization. Agricultural pest contribute to a great degree in agricultural loss. It has caused losses virtually on enumerable number of crops.

India may face an increase crop losses and growing insecurity as agricultural pests, such as viruses, bacteria, fungi, insects and weeds are spreading. Pests belong to a broad spectrum of organism which causes annoyance, harm or damage to people, animals, crops or possessions. They harm the ecology by preying directly on native fauna, decreasing their number and the balance on ecology. Pests harm agriculture by feeding on crops or parasitizing livestock. Plants need to be protected from variety of different pests that presents threat to the crops.

Farm pest in India destroy about 15 – 25% of potential food production each year amounting to Rs 0.9-1.4 lakh crore. The threat posed to crop production by agricultural pest can threaten food security in India in the coming years. This loss happens despite the application of pest control. The causes of pest outbreaks and crop losses are due to different factors creating changes in the agricultural ecosystem. Outbreaks can impair fertilization rates or seed recovery. The use of pesticide destroys beneficial natural enemies, damage crops and alters physiology of crops making them susceptible to pest attack.

Pests attack a crop, that’s why farmers must be diligent in looking for solution. Some pests appear due to certain weather patterns, too much or too little rain can trigger pest outbreak. Sudden pest outbreak could ruin a whole season’s worth of planting and cultivation, leading to financial loss. The most direct economic impact of agricultural pest is the reduced efficiency of agricultural production may it be crops or animals, which reduces farmers’ income.

Pest threatening Indian agriculture requires vigilance. There are plenty of issues for farmers need to watch for in their fields because it will significantly affect the yield of their crop. The threat post by agricultural pest is not only ecological but social as well because Indian farmers are tied to traders by debt and dependent on traders for technical advice. Some farmers resorted to illegal activities like teak smuggling to pay their debts. Suicide through ingestion of insecticide becomes prevalent due to insecticide-induced depression over debts.

Many of the known pest control methods and technologies provide economic benefits when used in a satisfactory manner. Crop protection products such as insecticides, fungicides and herbicides are chemical method of pest control management. By their nature, crop protection can be toxic against the targets they are aimed at but sometimes have a negative impact on agriculture. Some people and ecological institutions are calling for the non-use of chemical pesticides because they present serious effect on public health.

Part of the vigilance in pest management in India is raising awareness of the vast range of pest that threaten agricultural crops. The use of low external inputs and traditional techniques by using non-chemical alternatives is widely advocated. The efforts are broadly classified as integrated pest management, low external input sustainable agriculture and organic agriculture. Other sustainable agricultural initiatives based on these principles proved to be successful. Among the three IPM is the most commonly recommended and widely adopted. These technology options could help create sustainable ways and decrease the needs for expensive and undesirable effects of chemical pesticides and promote greater production.

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