Bike Ambulances That Can Reach The Patient In Just 10 Minutes

Karnataka, 16 April, 2015 - Karnataka launched the much-awaited two-wheeler ambulance service on 15th April 2015 and became the first state to do so. Karnataka has just launched bike ambulances which will provide crucial medical support to the patient in need till the four wheeler ambulance arrives. The service will be very useful in congested areas with heavy traffic, where a four-wheeler is unable to reach on time.

We often see an ambulance stuck in traffic, trying to move past the huge trail of vehicles in front of it and reach the hospital on time. During that golden hour, when every single second counts, traffic wastes a lot of time, sometimes even leading to loss of life.

Now, if you happen to be in Bengaluru, you  might witness two-wheelers zipping through the traffic carrying medical supplies to reach the needy patients and administer crucial emergency care until the four wheeler ambulance arrives.

The much-awaited two-wheeler ambulances will hit the streets in the State from Wednesday. Health Minister U.T. Khader, who launched 30 first responder bike ambulances in the city on Tuesday, said his department was working at introducing air ambulances in the State by this year end.

Two companies had evinced interest in taking up the air ambulance project in the State, the Minister said.

Terming the bike ambulance project as a “platinum ten minutes” trauma care initiative, Mr Khader said the bikes will be flagged off by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on 15^th April.

Aimed at reducing deaths due to road accidents, the platinum trauma care initiative is useful for negotiating heavy traffic in urban areas where it will be difficult for four-wheeler ambulances to reach the accident spot at the earliest.

The initiative will be implemented through GVK-EMRI the organisation that is running the 108 Arogya Kavacha ambulance service. The bike ambulance rider will be a trained paramedic who has a driving licence. “The paramedic will reach the spot in ten minutes and give first aid and start resuscitation measures to save the victim till the four-wheeler ambulance arrives,” he said.

Each bike ambulance will carry 40 medical items including stethoscope, pulse oxymeter, bandages and IV normal saline apart from 53 basic drugs. The government has spent nearly Rs 2 lakh on each of the bike ambulances.

VOLGA-DNEPR BEGINS VALIDATING ACC3 STATUS OF GLOBAL AIRPORTS IN COMPLIANCE WITH EU AVIATION SECURITY REGULATIONS

London,UK 22^ndApril,2015- Volga-Dnepr Airlines has validated the first seven airports in compliance with European Commission aviation security regulations for cargo operating into the EU from non-EU countries.

The airline organised for an independent auditor trained by IATA and accredited by the EU to confirm the ACC3 validation status for airports in New Delhi, India, Al Maktoum and Fujairah in the UAE, Islamabad, Karachi and Lahore in Pakistan, and Ankara in Turkey. It is also in the process of confirming the ACC3 status of Sharjah Airport in the UAE, which will be followed by Cairo, Egypt, and Astana in Kazakhstan.

In 2012, the EU aviation authorities unilaterally tightened aviation security regulations forcing airlines in a number of countries flying cargo and mail into the EU from so-called “third country airports” to assume a number of special responsibilities. These included strict implementation of the regulations as well as the accomplishment of certain measures. These measures involve the development and further approval by the supervising service in the EU of the Aviation Security Programme, which must contain data for the airports from which flights to the EU are operated, and the detailed description of the airport infrastructure in respect of cargo and mail operations. The responsibilities also cover the signing of a “Declaration of Commitments” concerning the Programme and the arrangement of audits conducted by independent EU validators. Air carriers can only obtain ACC3 status by meeting all of the set requirements.

“Much work has been done by Volga-Dnepr Airlines since 2012. We arranged a series of meetings with the German Federal Aviation Office (LBA), one of the EU organisations supervising Volga-Dnepr, and have developed the required Security Programme with the creation of a roadmap of the airports from which the company carries cargo into Europe” said Ekaterina Lukyanova, Lead Expert, Relations with International Aviation Security Organizations, Volga-Dnepr Airlines.

“There is no doubt that for the charter operations of Volga-Dnepr Airlines the implementation of the EU regulations and the validation process in particular is a little different to when the same process is carried out by scheduled airlines,” added Andrey Kocherga, Deputy Director, Aviation Security Department. “First of all, Volga-Dnepr aircraft operate flights to almost all airports in the world and we can fly cargo into Europe from any of these. That means the number of airports Volga-Dnepr is required to validate is much larger than for most scheduled carriers. Also, of course, our roadmap is dynamic and changes according to the requirements of our customers so the number of airports can increase or decrease. Our progress as a leading Russian company carrying out these validations has also encouraged some other major air carriers to ask for our professional advice.”

By 2018, Volga-Dnepr Airlines aims to have carried out the validation of 19 airports – three airports a year since 2015. The ACC3 status of each airport is valid for five years. When operating a flight from a non-validated airport, the airline needs to obtain a flight permission according to normal procedures.

Rajya Sabha Passes Private Bill On Transgenders

 

NEW DELHI, India, 24 April, 2015 - In a rare legislative action, a private member's Bill seeking to protect the rights of transgenders was passed unanimously by voice vote in Rajya Sabha on 24 April (Friday).

 The Bill was passed with the full strength of the treasury benches though several opposition members were not present at the time. The Bill was passed by voice vote in the presence of 19 Union Ministers including eight Cabinet Ministers. Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was also present.

Tiruchi Siva of DMK was passed after discussion in which the House expressed support to the cause. The Bill is aimed at providing for the "formulation and implementation of a comprehensive national policy for ensuring overall development of the transgender persons". "It is after 45 years that a Private Members' Bill has been passed. It envisages that a national commission with statutory powers on the lines of the National Commission for SCs, STs and women should be established for transgenders. 

Siva later shook hands with the senior members in the House thanking them for supporting him in the bill's passage.

 The last time a Private Members' Bill was passed in Rajya Sabha was in 1970. The Bill also states that there should be reservations for transgenders in educational institutions from primary level up. However, this Bill would not become a law as — unlike a government Bill — a Private Members' Bill does not go to the other House after passage. It will become law only if the government moves a Bill on the issue. Minister of State for Corporate Affairs Nirmala Sitharaman lamented that there are certain impractical aspects due to which it cannot be moved as a government Bill.

"Government is sensitive to the rights of transgenders and what was seen in the Rajya Sabha was a sense of the House that it supports the cause. But there are some impractical aspects in the Bill due to which it cannot be implemented in letter and spirit," she said.

While Congress members, despite their poor attendance prompted Siva to go ahead for seeking passage of the bill, at least three Ministers and the Chair requested Siva to take the government's assurance and not insist for voting, going against the tradition of the House.

Moving the bill for passage, Siva said 29 nations and leading democracies in the world including US, UK, Canada, France, Australia, Italy and Singapore had legislations protecting rights of transgenders.

India’s Supreme Court recognised transgender people as a third gender in April 2014.

Gurpreet Singh Sandhu is first Indian to play for top division European club

JAIPUR, India, 23 April,2015 - Gurpreet Singh Sandhu already stands tall at 6'6. But on Thursday, his stature rose dramatically after he became the first Indian ever to play a competitive match for the senior side of a first division European side. The 23-year-old goalkeeper turned out for Stabaek FC in a Norwegian Cup game in Sandefjord against Runar on Wednesday. To his credit, the Mohali lad kept a clean sheet in his side's 6-0 romp. 

"It feels great, and I feel very lucky to be at this point, doing this," an elated Gurpreet told TOI over phone from Norway on Thursday afternoon. "I couldn't ask for more. I am happy that my coach (Bob Bradley) and goalkeeping coach (Espen Granli) trusted me. The fact I kept a clean sheet adds to the joy," he added. 

Gurpreet moved to Stabaek from East Bengal in August last year. By starting for the first team, he surpassed big names like Mohammad Salim, Baichung Bhutia, Sunil Chhetri and Subrata Pal who plied their trade in Europe but never managed an appearance in the top tier. While Bhutia played competitive matches for Bury FC in the third division, Salim featured in friendlies for Celtic. Chhetri and Paul could never make the cut for Sporting Lisbon 'B' and FC Vestsjaelland during their brief stays in Portugal and Denmark respectively. 

By his own admission Sandhu was largely untested with his side taking the game by the scruff of the neck from the first whistle. Still, his feat "was not an easy task," as former India captain Sunil Chhetri pointed out. 

"I didn't have much to do to be honest. But the sheer fact that I was between the team winning or getting knocked out from the Cup was a great feeling. I was talking to the defenders all the time and staying focused. It's not easy to be in the game when the team is attacking," said Gurpreet. 

Since joining the former Norwegian champions on a three-year contract last year Gurpreet has been playing second fiddle to Ivory Coast international Sayouba Mande. Currently, Stabaek are ninth in the 16-team table after three matches, and Gurpreet wants to feature regularly for the first team now. "I miss India and the fans there. Here, there is not much frenzy but the standard of football is very high. I have to work so much harder to keep my spot and I know it won't be easy." 

Gurpreet who has represented India once drew a lot of praise from his senior national team colleagues including idol Subrata Pal. While Baichung felt that the start would do his confidence a world of good, Chhetri added that "the first time I saw him, during Bob's (Houghton) tenure, I knew this lad had potential. We met for the Nepal game last time and he said how he was relishing his time in Norway."

Indian railways Launches Mobile App for Paperless Unreserved Ticketing

New Delhi, India, 23 April, 2015 - Fulfilling yet another commitment of the Railway Budget 2015-16 the Minister of Railways Shri Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu launched Mobile Application for Paperless Unreserved Ticketing through video conferencing on Egmore–Tambaram Suburban Section of Chennai at a function on 23 April,2015. 

This is a pilot project covering 15 stations in Southern Railway and will be extended to entire country in phases. 

Referring his Railway Budget announcement the Railway Minister said that for the passenger, the Indian Railways is committed to ‘Operation Five Minutes’ – that is, purchase of an unreserved ticket within five minutes and today’s launching of Paperless Unreserved Mobile Ticket is the first step in this area. He said that it will allow the passenger to buy a ticket on the move and allow him or her to board the train with the ticket secured on his or her mobile phone, without any need for printing the ticket. 

Developed by Centre for Railway Information Systems (CRIS) "utsonmobile" – the paperless unreserved ticketing feature in mobile application aims to eliminate the need for printing of unreserved tickets. Payment for the ticket is done through a feature in the app called 'railway wallet'.

Member Traffic Railway Board Shri Ajay Shukla said that the Unreserved Ticketing System is an important revenue generating system developed by CRIS. He said that nearly two crore passengers obtain unreserved tickets daily through nearly 11470 counters and 5836 locations generating about Rs. 52 crore of revenue per day. He congratulated CRIS for successfully developing Application App for paperless unreserved ticketing system on Indian Railways.

For the purpose of ticket checking the application has various features such as colour scheme, show ticket features, secret code of the day, booking time of the ticket and scrolling of legend “IR UNRESERVED TICKETING’. In case of mobile in disconnected mode, it will be checked through QR Code.- he added

"It is a big opportunity for Southern Railway. The railway board has inaugurated mobile ticketing. For those who do not get confirmed tickets, they can book their tickets through their mobile phones. At the moment they can travel from Egmore to Tambram," said CPI (M) member TK Rengarajan.

"It will be extended further. This is a great help to the ordinary passenger and office goers. We must congratulate the railway", he added.

The Indian Railways Data centre will be a new building in the premises of existing CRIS office. Indian Railways depends heavily on Information Technology for its customer facing commercial activities, train operations, and internal management. Critical IT applications run 24 hours a day, seven days a week, throughout the year, to support Railway operations. These applications cannot be shut down for even a minute on account of any outage of power or cooling.