Entrepreneurships and Startup Programmes: Opportunities in Travel and Tourism

Startup India programme of Government of India and various state government initiatives to promote startup ventures have started to boost entrepreneurships. Several venture capital firms have been actively looking at Indian startup sector for investment and partnerships. Among the startups set up in the recent years, especially after the launch of startup programme of Government of India

Indigenous Sports of India: Connecting Past to the Present

Historically, sports was merely seen as a recreational or leisure activity (Mandell, 1984). However, in recent centuries sports became a global, social and an economic activity (Mylik, 2014). Since the beginning of the twentieth century, sports industry has been growing at a fast pace (Forster & Pope, 2004). Today, sports is recognised as a soft power as it’s a global medium to improve diplomatic relations and to promote peace and prosperity (Beutler, 2008). Many indigenous and traditional sports are mentioned in several historic scriptures of India. Several local games have been practiced over centuries in India (Haque & Ghosh, 2014). Traditional and indigenous sports have served the purpose of channelizing youth's energy into constructive areas. Indigenous sports create a strong sense of belonging among the youth that can improve the well-being of tribal and backward communities (Rossi, 2015). It’s in this context that this study examines the scope of indigenous sports industry in India. It’s a remarkable achievement that many of India's indigenous sports have stood the test of time and continue to attract the youth even today. The development of such sports not only benefits the youth who participate in them, but also the Indian economy. Creation and utilization of sports infrastructure, employment generation and hosting sports events have positive economic impact on the long-term development of India. Hence, this study analysis in-depth about the various indigenous sports and their spread in India. It bridges the gap of lack of literature on indigenous sports in India

Quality of life assessment in women with stress urinary incontinence following Trans Obturator Tape (TOT) insertion: a prospective study

Background: Stress urinary incontinence is a symptom or sign indicating that the woman has involuntary loss of urine associated with exertion in the absence of detrusor contraction. It has a significant impact on quality of life. TOT insertion is a popular procedure being done now. Studies related to quality of life assessment following Trans obturator tape (TOT) insertion is sparingly reported. Objectives of present study were to evaluate the quality of life following TOT insertion in patients with stress urinary incontinence and to assess the post operative complications.Methods: This is a prospective study done in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Government Medical College, Thrissur from January 2015 to December 2016. 48 women with Stress urinary incontinence who underwent TOT insertion were included in the study, out of which 30 patients were followed up. The King’s Health Questionnaire was used for assessment. Data was analyzed using Epi Info 7 and Microsoft Excel. The statistical analysis was done using student t-test.Results: At 6 months follow up 86.66% (26) of patients had significant improvement in quality of life. 2 patients (6.66%) had postoperative voiding dysfunction, required recatheterisation, discharged after relief of symptoms. 2 patients (6.66%) had urge incontinence, advised medical management and was sent home, showed no improvement even after 6 months. 2 patients (6.66%) had continuous incontinence, fistula ruled out. Now they were lost to our follow up. Most common late post operative complication was groin pain. None had mesh erosion, bladder and bowel injuries.Conclusions: TOT is a safe and effective procedure for the treatment of stress urinary incontinence (SUI) which significantly improves the quality of life

Family Planning Policies and Sex Selective Abortions in India: Does the former elevate the latter?

The implementation of the Pre-conception and Prenatal Diagnostic Techniques (Prohibition of Sex Selection) Act, 1994 in a patriarchal country like India does not necessarily eliminate sex-selective abortions. The prevalence of a higher preference  of sons in India can be identified in previous  studies. Over the years a drastic fall in Total  Fertility Rates both in urban and rural areas of India can be observed along with various     inventions of sex determination techniques.    All this has resulted in a decline in child sex  ratio across the country. China is a great example of a country with alarming gender imbalances, which emerged due to similar changes in Total Fertility Rate, level of son preference and diagnostic techniques along with the implementation of the One-Child Policy, which made the gender imbalance even worse. The population explosion in India has forced several state governments to consider the implementation of a Two Child Policy. The relationship between Sex Selective Abortions (SSA) and Family Planning Policies is not a well-established phenomenon in India as per several studies that have been conducted as of today. Our objective in this paper is to see whether the stringent implementation of nation-wide Family Planning Policies will lead to a rise in sex selective abortions in India. Further we would also like to analyse how in India by imposing a Family Planning Policy like a one or a two-child policy will the Child Sex Ratio (age 0-6) get affected? To achieve these objectives, we have used the NFHS-4 reports as our data sources

TMC (Thrissur Medical College) modified Robson criteria for caesarean sections

Background: The Robson system is the most widely accepted classification system available for analysing characteristics of delivering women worldwide. Several authors have tried modifications in the existing system. The objective of this study was to modify the existing system with relevance to caesarean section rates in various obstetric population and to identify major factors contributing to it.Methods: This study was performed in Government Medical College, Thrissur from January 2017 to June 2017. All women delivered during this period were classified according to the modified system consisting of 8 groups using their maternal characteristics and obstetric history. Each major group were sub classified into 3: women who went into spontaneous labour/ induced labour/ CS done before labour. For each group, we calculated the contribution to overall CS and Primary CS separately. Women with Previous CS were analyzed as a separate group. This classification was intended to directly estimate primary as well as repeat CS rates and indirectly the VBAC rates. Results: Out of total 1337 women delivered, 413 underwent CS (30.8%). The contribution made by previous CS group to overall CS was 61.5%, and the repeat section rate was 91.3%. The primary CS rate was 15% and the maximum contribution was made by term induced primigravida followed by Primigravida with Breech presentation. VBAC rate was 8.6%.Conclusions: Our modified Robson system can be effectively utilized in analysing delivering women and provide valuable information regarding the delivery characteristics with particular relevance to Caesarean sections

Analysing the Differential Performances of Indian States in the Tourism Sector : (1947-early 2020)

Tourism is an ever evolving and a dynamic industry which can play a crucial role in increasing income and in providing employment opportunities in an economy. India especially with its rich heritage, culture and geographical landscapes has always had immense potential to become a leading tourist destination. Presently the major types of tourism prevalent in India are Medical Tourism, Rural/ Natural Tourism, Religious Tourism and Historical& Educational Tourism. In 2018-19, the tourism sector contributed around 5% to India’s GDP. However with the health shock of Covid-19, the tourism sector has taken a major hit since early 2020, with several people losing their jobs in the tourism and hospitality sector when different states imposed lockdowns and took various measures to curb the pandemic. As restrictions in each state eased during the first wave of the pandemic, different states in India adopted various policies to revive the tourism industry. But to understand the effectiveness of these policies in each state/ UT, one needs to investigate the baseline at which the Tourism industry was before the pandemic hit the country. This paper attempts to look at the differential performances of states and UTs of India in tourism by categorizing them into various types of tourism between 1947 until March 2020.This paper aims to act as a base for further analysing the impact of this pandemic on Tourism across states in India

The decay pattern of the Pygmy Dipole Resonance of ¹⁴⁰Ce

The decay properties of the Pygmy Dipole Resonance (PDR) have been investigated in the semi-magic N=82 nucleus ¹⁴⁰Ce using a novel combination of nuclear resonance fluorescence and γ–γcoincidence techniques. Branching ratios for transitions to low-lying excited states are determined in a direct and model-independent way both for individual excited states and for excitation energy intervals. Comparison of the experimental results to microscopic calculations in the quasi-particle phonon model exhibits an excellent agreement, supporting the observation that the Pygmy Dipole Resonance couples to the ground state as well as to low-lying excited states. A 10% mixing of the PDR and the [2+1×PDR]is extracted

Measuring progress and projecting attainment on the basis of past trends of the health-related Sustainable Development Goals in 188 countries: an analysis from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2016

The UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are grounded in the global ambition of “leaving no one behind”. Understanding today’s gains and gaps for the health-related SDGs is essential for decision makers as they aim to improve the health of populations. As part of the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study 2016 (GBD 2016), we measured 37 of the 50 health-related SDG indicators over the period 1990–2016 for 188 countries, and then on the basis of these past trends, we projected indicators to 2030

Global, regional, and national disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) for 333 diseases and injuries and healthy life expectancy (HALE) for 195 countries and territories, 1990–2016: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2016

BACKGROUND: Measurement of changes in health across locations is useful to compare and contrast changing epidemiological patterns against health system performance and identify specific needs for resource allocation in research, policy development, and programme decision making. Using the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study 2016, we drew from two widely used summary measures to monitor such changes in population health: disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) and healthy life expectancy (HALE). We used these measures to track trends and benchmark progress compared with expected trends on the basis of the Socio-demographic Index (SDI). METHODS: We used results from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study 2016 for all-cause mortality, cause-specific mortality, and non-fatal disease burden to derive HALE and DALYs by sex for 195 countries and territories from 1990 to 2016. We calculated DALYs by summing years of life lost and years of life lived with disability for each location, age group, sex, and year. We estimated HALE using age-specific death rates and years of life lived with disability per capita. We explored how DALYs and HALE differed from expected trends when compared with the SDI: the geometric mean of income per person, educational attainment in the population older than age 15 years, and total fertility rate. FINDINGS: The highest globally observed HALE at birth for both women and men was in Singapore, at 75·2 years (95% uncertainty interval 71·9-78·6) for females and 72·0 years (68·8-75·1) for males. The lowest for females was in the Central African Republic (45·6 years [42·0-49·5]) and for males was in Lesotho (41·5 years [39·0-44·0]). From 1990 to 2016, global HALE increased by an average of 6·24 years (5·97-6·48) for both sexes combined. Global HALE increased by 6·04 years (5·74-6·27) for males and 6·49 years (6·08-6·77) for females, whereas HALE at age 65 years increased by 1·78 years (1·61-1·93) for males and 1·96 years (1·69-2·13) for females. Total global DALYs remained largely unchanged from 1990 to 2016 (-2·3% [-5·9 to 0·9]), with decreases in communicable, maternal, neonatal, and nutritional (CMNN) disease DALYs offset by increased DALYs due to non-communicable diseases (NCDs). The exemplars, calculated as the five lowest ratios of observed to expected age-standardised DALY rates in 2016, were Nicaragua, Costa Rica, the Maldives, Peru, and Israel. The leading three causes of DALYs globally were ischaemic heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, and lower respiratory infections, comprising 16·1% of all DALYs. Total DALYs and age-standardised DALY rates due to most CMNN causes decreased from 1990 to 2016. Conversely, the total DALY burden rose for most NCDs; however, age-standardised DALY rates due to NCDs declined globally. INTERPRETATION: At a global level, DALYs and HALE continue to show improvements. At the same time, we observe that many populations are facing growing functional health loss. Rising SDI was associated with increases in cumulative years of life lived with disability and decreases in CMNN DALYs offset by increased NCD DALYs. Relative compression of morbidity highlights the importance of continued health interventions, which has changed in most locations in pace with the gross domestic product per person, education, and family planning. The analysis of DALYs and HALE and their relationship to SDI represents a robust framework with which to benchmark location-specific health performance. Country-specific drivers of disease burden, particularly for causes with higher-than-expected DALYs, should inform health policies, health system improvement initiatives, targeted prevention efforts, and development assistance for health, including financial and research investments for all countries, regardless of their level of sociodemographic development. The presence of countries that substantially outperform others suggests the need for increased scrutiny for proven examples of best practices, which can help to extend gains, whereas the presence of underperforming countries suggests the need for devotion of extra attention to health systems that need more robust support. FUNDING: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation