Creation of a Single National ID: Challenges & Opportunities for India

A National ID for all citizens and residents of India has long being considered a critical necessity, albeit the related projects have been in pilot mode for the past several years and no distinct road ahead seems to be coming out. The government has been focusing on inclusive growth and has launched several schemes at different levels to facilitate the same. However, monitoring the execution of these schemes and understanding clearly if the targeted citizens actually have got benefited, would demand for substantial granularity of information and doing away with information bottlenecks. Interestingly, proper execution of the National ID project by the government can prove to be useful for execution of various schemes and projects as well as in accessing multiple government and private sector services. This paper focuses on the need for a single national identity system in India and its proposed execution which may actually be linked to citizen life cycle. The other aspects covered and analyzed include current Indian scenario, challenges, existing identification systems and loopholes in the existing systems. Major challenges seem to be coming from enrolments, technology platform choice and strategic design, corresponding policy and legal frameworks. The paper also discusses about international scenario of single national id projects undertaken in 27 countries across the globe to understand current status, adoption and usage. To reinforce the need for national ID, the existing IDs were analysed based on a scoring model considering various dimensions. Primary research was conducted, based on which it was found none of the existing IDs was able to satisfy as a National ID based on the scoring model. The proposed road map has been discussed in length i.e technology platform, smart card technology, legal and administrative framework, business model based on Private-Public Partnership (PPP) considering the mammoth and diverse population. A ranking matrix may be created to come up with a composite score for all districts based on various dimensions. The execution may be planned to be executed without asking Indians to stand in queue for one more ID and accelerating towards a more secured society and more importantly ensuring better delivery of Government services to citizens.

Dilepton asymmetries at BB factories in search of ΔB=−ΔQ\Delta B =- \Delta Q transitions

In order to detect the possible presence of $\Delta B = - \Delta Q$ amplitudes in neutral $B$ meson decays, we consider the measurement of decay time asymmetries involving like-sign dilepton events at the $B$ factories.Comment: 5 pages, latex, no fig

Vitamin D enzymes (CYP27A1, CYP27B1 and CYP24A1) and receptor expression in non-melanoma skin cancer

No abstract available for this paper

Conditional rifampicin sensitivity of a rif mutant of Escherichia coli: rifampicin induced changes in transcription specificity

Arif mutantof Escherichia coli that exhibits medium and temperature-dependent sensitivity to rifampicin is described. In the absence of rifampicin, this strain grows in minimal and rich media at 30° C and 42°C. In its presence it is viable in rich medium at both temperatures, but in minimal medium only at 30°C. In minimal-rifampicin medium at the higher temperature, RNA synthesis is decreased. The addition of certain divalent salts (MgSO4, CaCl2, BaCl2) in excess, or chelators (EDTA, EGTA, o-phenanthrolein) greatly increase viability in minimal-rifampicin medium at 42°C. Excess MgSO4 (10 mM) also increases the rate of RNA synthesis in the same medium. A model is proposed wherein therif mutation is suggested to cause a structural change in RNA polymerase that allows the binding of rifampicin and other ligands at 42° C. Rifampicin-binding is suggested to alter the conformation of RNA polymerase, impairing its ability to express genes required for growth in minimal medium. Implicit in this view is the assumption that these genes are structurally different from those expressed in rich medium in respect of certain template features recognized by RNA polymerase

Cell and Molecular Biology Underpinning the Effects of PEDF on Cancers in General and Osteosarcoma in Particular

Cancer is becoming an increasingly common disease in which abnormal cells aggressively grow, invade, and metastasize. In this paper, we review the biological functions of PEDF (pigmented epithelium-derived factor) against cancer, with a focus on a particular type of bone cancer called osteosarcoma. PEDF is a 50 kDa glycoprotein and is a potent inhibitor of angiogenesis, via its ability to decrease proliferation and migration of endothelial cells. This paper critically examines the anticancer activities of PEDF via its role in antiangiogenesis, apoptosis-mediated tumor suppression, and increased tumor cell differentiation. Recently, an orthotopic model of osteosarcoma was used to show that treatment with PEDF had the greatest impact on metastases, warranting an evaluation of PEDF efficacy in other types of cancers

Targeting of small molecule anticancer drugs to the tumour and its vasculature using cationic liposomes: lessons from gene therapy

Cationic (positively charged) liposomes have been tested in various gene therapy clinical trials for neoplastic and other diseases. They have demonstrated selectivity for tumour vascular endothelial cells raising hopes for both antiangiogenic and antivascular therapies. They are also capable of being selectively delivered to the lungs and liver when administered intravenously. These vesicles are being targeted to the tumour in various parts of the body by using advanced liposomal systems such as ligand-receptor and antibody-antigen combinations. At present, the transferrin receptor is commonly used for cancer-targeted drug delivery systems including cationic liposomes. This review looks at the growing utility of these vesicles for delivery of small molecule anticancer drugs

Effects of Possible ΔB=−ΔQ\Delta B =- \Delta Q Transitions in Neutral BB Meson Decays}

We explore the possibility that the existing data on like-sign dileptons at the $\Upsilon (4S)$ resonance consist of events arising from $B_{d}^0 -\bar B_{d}^0$ mixing and also from $\Delta B = - \Delta Q$ transitions. The consequences of these nonstandard transitions for certain time-asymmetries which are likely to be measured at the $B$ factories are studied.Comment: {\LARGE \bf 10 pages, no figures, process using latex, TIFR/TH/93-5

The Emerging Role of PEDF in Stem Cell Biology

Encoded by a single gene, PEDF is a 50 kDa glycoprotein that is highly conserved and is widely expressed among many tissues. Most secreted PEDF deposits within the extracellular matrix, with cell-type-specific functions. While traditionally PEDF is known as a strong antiangiogenic factor, more recently, as this paper highlights, PEDF has been linked with stem cell biology, and there is now accumulating evidence demonstrating the effects of PEDF in a variety of stem cells, mainly in supporting stem cell survival and maintaining multipotency

Parity Violating Gravitational Coupling Of Electromagnetic Fields

A manifestly gauge invariant formulation of the coupling of the Maxwell theory with an Einstein Cartan geometry is given, where the space time torsion originates from a massless Kalb-Ramond field augmented by suitable U(1) Chern Simons terms.We focus on the situation where the torsion violates parity, and relate it to earlier proposals for gravitational parity violation.Comment: 7 Pages, Latex . no figures, Replaced with Revtex version, many references added and typos correcte