Ravi Shankar strives to bring about disruptive innovations in education through BrainSTARS

BrainSTARS is a Bangalore-based entity, dedicated to fostering and nurturing the movement of science, math and skills education in India. It bridges the gap between formal education sector and innovative educational research by continuously exploring the requirements of contemporary science, math and skills education in five environments – school, college, professional science/math education, community science/math literacy and government policies. Highly qualified, trained and sensitive facilitators are the backbone of the organisation. BrainSTARS solutions provide high quality learning experience for children between four and 18 years in well integrated, interdisciplinary, activity-based science/math/skills ecology. They are adaptable to the needs of children, wherever they live. BrainSTARS approach is guided by 5Cs (Curiosity, Clarity, Competence, Connectivity and Communication) through which it encourages children to create their own knowledge with information provided at home, school and the larger environment.

The vision, under the leadership of Ravi Shankar, the CEO of BrainSTARS is to bring about disruptive innovations in education, both nationally and globally, and create for the next generation of children and teachers, solutions that enable them to enjoy learning and facilitate teaching in a seamless, interdisciplinary manner.  To this end, his focus is in the areas of research and development, design and execution of products and programs that will aid children, parents and teachers; align with national policies on education, and be ahead of the current education landscape in scope and expanse.

Ravi’s personal philosophy – looking forward, learning from history and being in the present – reflects well in the workplace as he goes about quietly achieving his goals/milestones – leading the company with a strong vision and building the capability to execute flawlessly.  His core belief and emphasis lies in the power of ideas: ideas, when executed meticulously and with passion that will transform the education movement in India.

Ravi comes with valuable industry experience of building and leading large organisations. Over the last couple of years, he has been spear-heading research-based disruptive innovations to improve science and maths education in schools. In this regard, he has conceptualised experiential learning and the 5C methodology-based approach towards creating a unique interdisciplinary math Activity Centre – NumberNagar. Being a passionate learner of math himself, Ravi has singularly mapped vast school curricula frameworks of the various School Boards to NumberNagar, making it fully compliant with the prescribed math syllabi from standards 3-8.Prior to his stint as CEO BrainSTARS, Ravi has 13 years of management experience at IT giant Wipro, heading the IT Transformation Program (over $ 500 million in revenues) leading a culturally diverse team of 400+ professionals across various geographic locations.  While the very successful stint at Wipro allowed him to bring about deep transformations that made a mark on Wipro’s employees, partners and customers – and allowed him the opportunity to scale new heights in personal achievements – Ravi’s thirst to have a larger canvas on which to impact societal transformation at large – was still seeking a platform to manifest.

Of the three areas of choice – wherein Ravi felt he could make an impact i.e., Education, Infrastructure and IT, he picked Education as the domain where his mission could be fulfilled – of creating a strong and financially viable organization that had an expansive and deep social relevance.

In a free-wheeling chat, Ravi Shankar speaks about the various concepts and innovations of BrainSTARS and how they would eventually help the student community to Jayashankar Menon.

JM:  Can our children’s math educational experience be directly related to the city they live in?

RS: This question is fundamentally and intrinsically woven into the essence of the space plug-in created by BrainSTARS called NumberNagar. The entrenched math phobia in many of us makes us look for stop-gap solutions. For instance, we enroll our children for tuitions or short courses where they will be taught how to tackle math – fast counting, quick problem solving, multiple tests and more. We have never allowed ourselves to imagine that our children deserve to enjoy the beauty and ideas of math by letting them discover that math animates the world around us in a playful, stimulating way. The creators of NumberNagar asked these very same questions and a multi-disciplinary think-tank comprising of artists, pedagogues, scientists, academicians, math experts, architects etc put their heads together and worked together over 10 months – to birth the space solution called NumberNagar – A Maths Activity Centre.

How does a fruit vendor arrange all his fruits in different layers that never seem to fall off his cart? When we keep telling our children to have a balanced diet, what learning in proportions and percentage are we giving them?  Does the traffic signage have something to do with geometry? Can license plate numbers of buses, cars, motorcycles, auto-rickshaws tell something about squares, cubes, or the wonderful irrational number pi? Is festival shopping, when shops outdo each other with their discount sales, a time for our children to learn something captivating about the infinite range of decimal numbers?

The NumberNagar space plug-in addresses these same questions through the prism of BrainSTARS’ 5C approach – Curiosity, Clarity, Competence, Connectivity and Communication – to make maths learning a rich, immersive experience for our children and connects it to our cultural and social life.

JM: Can you elaborate on NumberNagar?

RS: At NumberNagar, to impart this unusual math learning experience, the activities are hands-on wherein the learner’s real life experiences play a big role in understanding math concepts, the manipulative designed is learner-friendly, creative and safe and allows them to explore mat without any fear, and the space itself in which they learn math embodies the city they live in and triggers interesting ways of learning, encouraging the learner to share/collaborate in groups and listen to each other for feedback and insights on the mathematical concepts they are learning.

Besides aiding and empowering the learner in the arena of math learning, NumberNagar enables the teacher to be highly imaginative with the activity space, empowering the initiation of creative activities (outside of the workbook), and allows the teacher to come up with take-home activities that reinforces new learning and connects to the child’s environment.

NumberNagar is indeed an unprecedented practice in math learning where the experience of the learner is at the centre of the practice. It is a practice that enables teachers to have the time, empathy, creativity, imagination, skills and tools to engage with the child in a unique exploration of math. It is a practice that enriches what a child is learning in the classroom in order to understand math as an interdisciplinary science.

JM: Can you talk about the achievements?

RS: NumberNagar math lab was launched on December 22, 2012. The launch date coincided with the celebration of 2012 being declared as the ‘Mathematical Year’ by the Prime Minister,  Manmohan Singh and  also 125th birth anniversary of the mathematical genius, Srinivasa Ramanujan. NumberNagar solution presented to 50+ schools across India and was acknowledged as the only innovative experiential solution in math Learning. NumberNagar solution presented to the various school boards CBSE/NCERT/NUEPA. NumberNagar solution was recognised by Army Public School, Shillong.  NumberNagar solution was also implemented two key school chains across the country:  Sree Vani International School and GD Goenka School. NumberNagar solution is under discussion for implementation in two large group schools across India. School Satisfaction rating of 4.5 out of 5 received from one of the first implementations of NumberNagar. Education World, India’s leading magazine in Education field, covered NumberNagar in July 2013, while Franchise India – India’s No.1 Brands Management Organisation awarded NumberNagar for the ‘Business Idea of the Year’. NumberNagar is being actively pursued by schools in UAE and Africa.

JM: Also talk about the current transformation and new innovations seen in the Education sector…

RS: Current innovation in Education sector has larger affinity to technology based innovations. Majority of the innovations are expected to be in the similar lines.

JM: In the interim budget 2014 higher fund allocation was made for the social sector, with focus on rural education, food, women and rural masses.  What is your take on the same?

RS: Rural education is where our future lies. Funds in this sector should enable partnerships with organisations like ours to develop and sustain model schools.

JM: Birth of ‘edupreneurs’ – a franchise opportunity for those who want to bring value add into the education sphere, what is your comment?

RS: Alternate career is the talk of the town. Sections of mature sectors like IT, FMCG have taken a liking to contribute to Education. Instead of each such leaders trying to build their educational solutions, ‘edupreneurs’ should associate with proven education solutions and help reach of such solutions across our country.

 JM: How does the Number Nagar innovative concept make math fun and interesting?

RS: NumberNagar is a hands-on, unique math activity centre developed by BrainSTARS with inputs from researchers, educationists, pedagogues, artists and space designers. It takes math off the school chapters and connects it to the city our children live in so that mathematical concepts are no longer alien entities but an exciting daily experience. NumberNagar is being adopted by schools and edupreneurs across India.

 

Dr Manoj Chellani: Aayush IVF success rate better than any centres of UK, US and Australia

One of the leading infertility solution provider in the country, Aayush Test Tube Baby Centre, sets benchmark with whopping 54 percent of IVF success rate for other infertility treatment providers. According to a statement issued by the Centre, this phenomenal success rate has left all the well known fertility centres of the UK, the US and Australia far behind.  With this, Aayush Test Tube Baby Centre becomes the quality and result oriented destination having best state-of art infrastructure and latest technology.

Overview of success rate of UK, US and Australia along with Aayush Test Tube Baby Centre, Raipur
IVF success rate for people under 35 – The Bournhall Clinic UK have 48.20 percent, the clinics at Boston, US have 38.54 percent and Australia claims 39 percent, while Aayush stands unmatched with 54 percent success rate. For people who are between 35-40 years the IVF success for Bournhall clinic UK is 40.80 percent, clinic at Boston is 23.51 percent, Australia have 28 percent, while Aayush once again maintains its leadership with 42.3 percent. The childless couples who are planning to visit these overseas centres for turning their dreams of having their own child in reality, should think once again about the success rate they provide.

Dr Manoj Chellani, Director, Gynecologist and IVF Expert, Aayush Test Tube Baby Centre says: “At affordable cost all the quality infertility treatments are available at Aayush and we have achieved the success rate better than other infertility centres abroad. We want people to know and understand that Aayush even being from small city of Raipur have excelled in the infertility field and have established new benchmark for other infertility treatment providers. Aayush is living up to the expectations of the patients and had left no stone unturned to provide international standard fertility treatment with personalised care. The good news is for those infertile couple who wish to get best fertility treatment at affordable cost and best results. In last few months, we have many childless couples from abroad and metros that have undertaken infertility treatment at renowned centres but have experienced 4-5 failed IVF cycles. By God’s grace we at Aayush, were able to help them in the first successful IVF cycle itself. What we strongly feel that hope is the only thing that keeps us going. It is the only thing, to which we lean on, in the darkest of hours and gloomiest of moments. It is the light that beckons us to keep on walking and then greets us at the end of every tunnel. We take pride in making a childless woman conceive and have her own bundle of joy. This success rate have motivated us to even work more harder to maintain it and to take it to next level”.
Aayush ICSI Test Tube Baby Centre is situated at Shankarnagar, Raipur in Chhattisgarh and is focused on providing moral, emotional, ethical and most advanced technical support to couples trying out to find a solution to the images of infertility. The Centre specialises in each and every aspect of infertility and provide comprehensive services in IUI, IVF, IVF-ICSI, Assisted Hatching, egg donation, embryo donation, surrogate motherhood, male infertility, natural infertility treatment, semen banking, embryo freezing, sexual and psychological problem and try to give moral and emotional support to the infertility patients. The Centre is equipped with the state-of-the-art infrastructure and adequately staffed with the team of highly trained professional with only one aim and that is to deliver the joy of parenthood to make sure that we leave no stone unturned to achieve the same.

HMSI, Reliance General Insurance kick-start National Safety Week with a special initiative for school children

As a leading two-wheeler manufacturer, Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India Pvt Ltd (HMSI) – the Only Honda in Indian two-wheeler industry today announced the commencement of a special road safety initiative for kids during the National safety week, March 4-10, 2014.

According to a company statement, the inaugural activity was held at Ramjas International School, Pusa Road, New Delhi where students in the age group of 9-12 years were provided road safety education through innovative activities and practical training on specially imported Honda CRF 50-kids training bike making them learn the ‘fun way’. Uniquely designed kids helmets were also provided to kids which will help spread the awareness with greater impact and inspire parents and society at large to follow ethical road safety practices.
The event took place in the august presence of Prabhu Nagaraj – General Manager- Customer Service-HMSI, Rakesh Jain, CEO- Reliance General Insurance, Mr JC Pahuja, Education Coordinator- Ramjas Foundation and Ms Mohini Bindra- Principal- Ramjas International School, Pusa Road, New Delhi.
Honda believes that educating Young Minds on road safety is an effective way of spreading the message to the entire family. Their sincerity and willingness to learn and explore is unquestionable. Moreover, as the road users and 2wheeler riders of tomorrow, the objective is to educate them on how the Freedom of using roads comes with Responsibility – not just of self but also for other road users. This joint Road Safety Education Campaign in association with Reliance General Insurance will cover schools across North, West and Central regions of India.

Commenting on this unique initiative, Yadvinder S Guleria, Vice President- Sales and Marketing, HMSI said: “Road Safety is an important concern for Honda and we have been actively creating awareness and educating people since the inception of our operations in India. Recently we partnered with most famous kids character Chhota Bheem to reach out to families and society at large. We are happy to partner with Reliance General Insurance for the special initiative and wish for the success of this campaign”.
Rakesh Jain, CEO- Reliance General Insurance said: “As an insurance company we are into the business of managing risk. We want people to be safe while on the road by influencing their behavior towards road safety. Kids in particular do not wear helmet when they ride pillion on two wheelers. Therefore, our effort is towards making children aware on road safety. We are really happy to associate with Honda in this initiative as it would inculcate road safety awareness in kids and convert them into messengers of road safety”.
Globally, road safety promotion has been Honda’s top priorities worldwide since 1970. Under the “People Come First” philosophy, Honda follows Safety as an integral part of all its business activities. Honda is committed to make Safe Riding an everyday habit of two-wheeler riders and promotes Road Safety through ‘Lifetime Safety Education’ starting from five years young children to females, new riders and even big bike customers. Honda has already trained more than 40,000 people at its two traffic training parks in Jaipur and Delhi.
Reliance General Insurance Company Limited, subsidiary of Reliance Capital Limited, is one of India’s top private sector general insurance companies with a private sector market share of eight percent, in terms of gross written premium, of the private sector general insurance industry. The company has an asset under management of more than Rs 3,732 crore and an extensive distribution network of 127 offices and over 14,500 intermediaries (as on December 31, 2013). Reliance General Insurance offers an exhaustive and customized basket of insurance products that include motor, health, travel, student travel insurance etc. Reliance General is ranked amongst top 10 best BFSI brands in India as per prestigious BAV Insights 2013 survey by Rediffusion Y&R.

Rotaract Club Women’s Christian College, Green Trends Salon organises hair donation drive ‘Tangled’ for cancer patients

The Rotaract Club of Women’s Christian College (RC-WCC), has initiated ‘Tangled’, an awareness campaign and hair donation drive to make wigs for cancer patients who lose hair due to chemotherapy. Green Trends unisex Hair & Style Salon has extended support to help in the collection of hair locks from donors, according to a statement issued by Green Trends.

A team of rotractors from RC-WCC have been specially trained by the Psycho oncologists of Adyar Cancer Institute to spread the awareness on the issue to various schools, colleges and rotaract clubs. The hair donation drive will be inaugurated on World Cancer Day, February 4 2014, at Women’s Christian College, Chennai, by Dr. Ridling Margaret Waller, Principal, Women’s Christian College, Chennai in the presence of the Business Head of Green Trends Salon, experts from Cancer Institute and philanthropists. The hair donation drive will span for ten days across all Green Trends salon, drawing to a close on February 14th.  During this period, willing donors can visit any Green Trends salon and donate hair. The collected hair locks across salons will be safely handed over to representatives of Rotaract Club of WCC, as per hygiene standards.
Gopalakrishnan, Business Head, Trends In Vogue Pvt Ltd said: “We are extremely delighted to be associated with this noble cause. This gives us a good platform to lend our help to those in need. In this regard, we have trained our stylists to cut eight to ten inch locks which is the minimum length required to make a wig. Special training has been initiated to ensure hair is cut from areas which will not affect the existing hair style of the donor thereby ensuring that their hairstyle is not altered. Our motive is to bridge the gap between compassionate donors and people in need. We would be more than glad to see our efforts go into bringing smiles to thousands”.
Rennee Saradha, a final year student and Club president said: “We were looking up for initiatives that will directly reach cancer affected patients especially children and women. We firmed up our idea after visiting the Adyar Cancer Institute in Chennai.  In our interactions with the doctors at the Cancer Institute we realised that there are requirements for at least 100 wigs per months. . “We have tied up Green Trends Salon, one of the leading salons in the city for collecting hair locks from donors. We aim to make about 200 wigs from the hair locks and donate them to patients at Adyar Cancer Institute”. For queries and more information about the campaign, donors can contact 18004202020.

Sheena Chohan vowed the audience with her presence at India Kids Fashion Week 2014 for Fashion Stylist Mansi Kapadia’s show

One of the very renowned actor and model, Sheena Chohan attended India Kids Fashion week yesterday at Hotel Lalit for stylist Mansi Kapadi’a show. She for pure love for kids came in as a guest and charmed the audience around her. She was seen wearing a gorgeous black peplum style top paired with black skirt and black heels, according to a media statement.

Image consultant Mansi Kapadia had been a consultant to Sheetal Design studio. She in co-ordination with this 25year old Sheetal Design studio showcased traditional and ethnic kids wear collection at the fashion week.

Joining with them on ramp were very talented Indian Idol Junior Sughandha who sung some classic songs like Lag Ja gale’and Poorvi koutish who sung peppy songs like Sajna di vari vari’, Kaisi paheli , vowed the audience. To add more glamour to the show Super Model, Kabir Singh graced the ramp in traditional avatar. The collections will be worn between 4 – 14 years who, through their warm smiles and charismatic prance, created an aura of adoration and innocence.

Sheena Chohan is an Artiste with a flair for being natural in front of the camera. Her stylish persona with a dash of oomph makes her a versatile performer, be it playing roles with ease, anchoring for shows and Events and carving her own distinct niche when it comes to modelling and advertising commercials/brand campaigns.

Ever since she won a title (For best connectivity) under the Miss Universe India title 2010, Sheena has constantly evolved as a professional who is a delight to work with. Having been recently acknowledged as one of the top finalists for The Live Quotient Awards 2013, Sheena is all set to step it up!. She has done Tvcs for brands like Sony bravia, Wella, Videocon, green rich tea. She started her film career with Malayalam block buster ‘ The train’ . The Bengali siren has recently done two films with Buddhadeb Dasgupta,  Mukti and Patralekha’ based on Rabindranath Tagore’s poems.  She was also chosen as the host for Bangladesh Premiere league.   (sheenachohan.net)

Musical celebration of Indian and Japanese culture at Kingdom of Dreams, Gurgaon

Kingdom of Dreams, the ultimate leisure and entertainment destination, played host to an innovative Bollywood dance group ‘Foxy Steppers JOSH. The group visited Kingdom of Dreams for a special shoot and performed to a unique dance form that presented a fusion of two cultures – Indian and Japanese, according to a media statement.

Foxy Steppers Josh danced to ‘Koi Suru Fortune Cookie’ by AKB48, Japanese pop lady idol group. The dance group is currently shooting the video in Delhi organized by volunteers who are interested in cultural exchange between India and Japan. Over 40 dancer groups are a part of this initiative.

The aim is to spread cultural awareness and smile across nations by uploading these fascinating videos online and enthralling the viewers. The earlier videos have received more than 600,000 hits on Youtube that indicates the growing popularity of cultural fusion of art and dance.

Kingdom of Dreams has always given platform to artists who promote various forms of art and culture. This is yet another step by India’s biggest entertainment destination to promote different cultures.

Kingdom of Dreams is a unique initiative by Great India Nautanki Company, a joint venture between Wizcraft International Entertainment, India’s foremost Entertainment and Communication Company and Apra Group of Companies. This ambitious concept offers theme-based entertainment experiences of exceptional standards and promotes Indian culture to Indians and visitors from across the globe.

Spread across acres of land, Kingdom of Dreams has three distinct entertainment zones – Culture Gully, Nautanki Mahal, and Showshaa Theatre- each offering a unique proposition.

·         Culture Gully, a unique Indian boulevard of exotic food, art and culture

·         Nautanki Mahal, India’s first dynamic state of the art 4D theatre designed and conceptualized to offer breath-taking and magical experiences.

·         Showshaa Theatre will present a kaleidoscope of fabulous colorful drama marquee spotlighting ancient Indian Epics and Mythology, mock wedding shows and the great Indian talent circus.

Entertainment has never been quite the same since Kingdom of Dreams has thrown open its gates to a magical and mystical arena.

India Kids Fashion week 2014: Mansi Kapadia walks the ramp for Sheetal Design studio

Promoter of ‘Ra, The Styling Studio’ and Style partner at India Kids Fashion week, 2014 Image consultant Mansi Kapadia had been a consultant to Sheetal Design studio. Kapadia, in co-ordination with this 25 year old Sheetal Design studio showcased traditional and ethnic kids wear collection at the fashion week, according to a media statement.

Joining with them on ramp were very talented Indian Idol Junior Sughandha who sung some classic songs like Lag Ja gale’and Poorvi koutish who sung peppy songs like Sajna di vari vari’, Kaisi paheli, vowed the audience.

To add more glamour to the show Super Model, Kabir Singh graced the ramp in traditional avatar. The collections will be worn between 4–14 years who, through their warm smiles and charismatic prance, created an aura of adoration and innocence.

Also present at the show was very beautiful and gorgeous Sheena Chohan, who has won a title under Miss India Universe ‘contest. Also she has been a part of South films and featured in lot of TVCs

Unblemished and effervescent silhouettes and style are synonymous to Fashion stylist and Designer, Mansi Kapadia. Trained with Colour Me Beautiful, UK the world’s leading image consultants, her belief in perfection and success has led her to have her own fashion image consultantancy studio ‘Ra – The Styling Studio’.

With 7+ years of experience in fashion and styling, Mansi has well established herself in the television and movie industry as a stylist. She has a list of celebrities to her credit, for which she has designed costumes and suggested styling. The celebrity list includes, but is not restricted to the well-known Asha Bhosle, Sameera Reddy, Neil Nitin Mukesh,  Ustad Amjad Ali and Sons, Ali, Roshni Chopra, Mona singh, Rashmi Desai, Nigar Khan, Ajay Jadeja, Shekhar Suman, Sachin Pelgoankar, and Priyanka Pelgoankar Kunal Kapoor, Zeenat Aman, Vidyut Jamval and many more. Some of the successful shows she has worked with are Nachle Ve, Nach Baliye 4, Comedy Circus 20-20, Indian Idol, Boogie Woogie, Master Chef Kitchen India, and Dance India Dance.

Ra The Styling studio offers a bespoke Personal Styling and Image Consulting service, as well as in-studio shopping by appointment with stylist and studio founder Mansi Kapadia, (7+ year experience in designing and styling)- we spend time with our clients, helping them discover their personal style, teaching them to shop like professionals and create wardrobes to compliment their body shapes, personalities, lifestyles and budgets. We work with individuals to read their personal style and work with their current lifestyle, to make them a more fashionable version of themselves.

Founded in 1979 by B Shah, Sheetal design Studio is a household name of every Indian Family. It meets all the fashion needs of the Indian Family. It was the first branded ready-to-wear store in India ever. It is the label that made the concept of ready-made bridal wear a household reality. Using traditional Indian craftsmanship, intricate embroidery and rich textures to meet the evolving needs of the Indian consumer.
It is not only present in India but also globally across many countries like Dubai, Singapore, US etc. It has expanded and have come a long way from 1979 to 2013. Today, Sheetal wedding wear ensembles are worn by Bollywood stars, celebrities, reigning Miss Worlds and Miss Universes, and over a million fashion-aware Indians in India and abroad. Sheena Chohan was handpicked by Sushmita Sen to participate in Miss India Universe – I am She where she won I am Voice title for her effortless and expressive connect with the audience. She is an Indian Actor and a very renowned model. She has done Tvcs for brands like sony braveia, wella, Videocon, green rich tea. She started her film career with Malyalam block buster ‘ The train’ . She was also chosen ad the host for Bangladesh Premiere league. sheenachohan.net/biography.html.
Kabir Singh has worked for international runways walk for dior, crocs, viskonne, Johansburg Fashion Week, Lakme from last five years, all big designers – some 500 shows , walked for every designers in india. Kabir signed Bollywood movie with kallol sen (Atistkinky Motion Pictures).

LimeRoad.com offers range of products this Republic Day

Indulge in high spirits of patriotism and bring home the essence of nationalism this Republic Day by lending a funky and contemporary look to your home and lives with the wonderful products from LimeRoad.comRedecorate your kitchen with the innovative Desi kitchenware by The Elephant Company. The attractive designs and never seen before shapes make these Indian Family shot glasses a must addition to your kitchen.

Chaar Minar laptop sleeve Rs 450

Add zing and edge to your work every day by carrying the digital print laptop sleeve from The House of Tara shot glasses featuring a photograph of the famous Chaar Minar, inspired by the city of Nawabs, Hyderabad.
Redecorate your humble abode with the Indian journey square clock with witty prints and interesting designs that takes you to the beautiful cities across the country from The Elephant Company.
Indian family shot glasses Rs300

Gift the child in you a great utility product that will help you keep your memories intact. The vibrant Indian transport theme imprinted folder by Vividha is a hot pick this Republic Day taking you to your childhood memory lane and being Desi at the same time.

What’s more, all of these lovely products are available at upto 50 percent off as the New Year Sale is on at LimeRoad.com and copy Prices starting at: Rs 300 only, Visit-limeroad.com/search/indian.
Brands Available – The Elephant Company, Mad(E) in India, Vividha and many more.
Red Indian transport folder Rs 474
Available through – Cash on Delivery and all major cards accepted

Inter Campus GIIS Chess Championship 2013-14 held in Bangalore

The Inter Campus GIIS Chess Championship 2013-2014 was held on January 11, 2014. It was a priceless opportunity for students from GIIS campuses Bangalore, Surat, Noida, Indore and Chinchwad to participate in this exigent championship, according to a media statement.

The students from all GIIS campuses met on January 10, 2014. They were enthusiastically welcomed. Various activities like the ice breaker games, music, a talent show and lots of fun around the brightly lit bonfire helped the students and teachers to get familiarised. A scrumptious dinner indeed made the evening a memorable one and charged them up for the championship.
During the main frame Chess tournament, it was commendable to see the enthusiasm of the ingenious students. Students were deeply engrossed in recalling the moves that helped them to win before. Looking away, thinking about something else or even a momentary loss of concentration could have had resulted in the loss of a match. Hence, it was an exciting sight to see the intelligences working against each other with their own strategy.
The felicitation commenced by garlanding the bust of Mahatma Gandhi by the Chief Guest. Abhijeet Kunte, India’s 4th Chess Grandmaster, was invited to preside over the Event. The Championship was beautifully woven together with the thread of accomplishments and achievements. The prize distribution ceremony was the most awaited segment of the day. The participants and the winners were felicitated by Kunte. It was indeed a proud moment for all the young, dynamic, and smart achievers. GIIS Noida walked away with the second Runners-Up Trophy.
The Inter-GIIS Chess Tournament, aimed at building life skills, communication and collaborative learning in students along with the spirit of sportsmanship. “I am glad that our young students of class 4 had participated in the inter-campus championship and camped with their friends from other campuses and independently managed the championship. A game is about winning and losing but at end of it, it is the strategy and the attempt that counts. I am positive that they will go a long way in carving their names in the game of chess in the future.” an optimistic  chess coach, Nikhil Joshi stated.
Global Indian International School (GIIS) – established under the guiding principles of Global Schools Foundation – is an international network of award-winning institutions, with 21 campuses in 7 countries. Known for their skill-based and learner-centric curricula, GIIS schools offer holistic learning and personality development opportunities for students.
GIIS schools have been honoured with 27 international and national awards over a span of five years for achieving Excellence in School Education. Today, GIIS boasts a strong multicultural student body, as children from diverse nationalities have enrolled across its campuses. Adopting a holistic approach to learning and character development, Global School Nine Gems model is a proprietary tool to achieve a balance between academics and experience, mental and physical development, fine arts and performing arts, language skills and creativity, personality development, ethics and entrepreneurship.
For further details visit globalindianschool.org.

Dr Manoj Chellani vouches for stronger ART Bill

When a baby boy was born to Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan and his wife Gauri, the miracle of science had enough bouquets as well as brickbats. Now that the euphoria has vapourised, it is high time, we looked into the commercialised angle involved around the surrogacy, says a press statement.

Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ARTs) through which surrogacies are conducted is estimated to be fastest growing million dollar industry in Indian market and is helping medical tourism sector to show humungous growth. Dr Manoj Chellani, IVF Expert, Aayush ICSI test Tube Baby Centre is vouching for a stronger ART Bill.

In a free wheeling conversation with Jayashankar Menon, the IVF Expert shares his thought about surrogacy and the relevance for an ART Bill with more teeth. Excerpts
JM: What is your take on the proposed ART Bill?
MC: While the proposed ART Bill is much awaited step towards regulation, there is much to be desired from several clauses especially concerning commercial surrogacy. Over the last few years the severe issues of safety, rights, costs and ethical practice has been raised due to this unregulated proliferation.
JM: Can you elaborate on the ART Bill?
MC: The 2010 Bill is drafted taking extra precautions so that no surrogate can extend claim over the baby. The Bill only permits the gestational surrogacy i.e through In-Vitro Fertilization (IVF) and Embryo Transfer (ET), while the genetic surrogacy i.e through Intra Uterine Insemination (IUI) is prohibited. By outlawing genetic surrogacy though the contract can be preserved, but the chances of a less commercial surrogacy dies out.
JM: What is the percentage of increase of the number of permitted successful live birth for a surrogate?
MC: The number of permitted successful live birth for a surrogate has been increased from three to five (inclusive of her own children) in the present draft. Since the live birth is not always equivalent to the number of ART cycles, this may be critical for the surrogate’s health as the success rate of procedure is low. Therefore considering the surrogate’s health, it’s essential to specify the number of permitted cycles she can undergo.
JM: Are the provisions of ART Bill strong enough having enough space for misuse and exploitation?
MC: It has been clearly mentioned in the draft that a surrogate can undergo only three embryo transfer per couple. But the draft has no mention as for how many couples she can do the same. Once again considering that the procedure has low success rate, all embryo transfer or ART cycles may not result in successful births. Thus, a surrogate may go through n number of cycles and embryo transfers before achieving the set limit of five in result adversely impacting her health. Hence the provisions are not so strong and have enough space for misuse and exploitation.
JM: Can you throw some light on the payment aspect to the surrogate mother?
MC: The 2008 draft says that the payment to the surrogate can be done in three installments while paying 75 percent in the first go. The revision which was made in 2010 draft stipulates that the payment will be in five installments and 75 percent will be paid in fifth and final part followed after the delivery of child. This clearly shows that priority is for the intended parents. Without any reproductive output ‘the baby’, the surrogate’s labour, pregnancy, health problems, physical risk and related emotional are considered meaningless. The revision therefore is not balanced and is unfavourable for surrogate.
JM: Accord to the current Bill, the would parents should be ‘appropriately’ insured the surrogate mother and the child she selivers. Is there any ambiguity in the draft of the Bill?
MC: The Bill ensures that would be parents should ‘appropriately’ insured the surrogate mother and the child she delivers. It would have been much better if Bill had elaborated more on the nature and extent of insurance that would be provided to the surrogate mother, with regard to post-delivery follow-up and care . Furthermore, it should also highlight that breaching this, the commissioning parents and the overseeing clinic would be held legally responsible.
JM: What about the surrogacy arrangements for the couple staying out of India?
MC: In case of surrogacy arrangements if the intended couple is staying out of India then according to the Bill it is mandatory to appoint a local guardian who will be legally responsible to take delivery of the surrogate’s child born if the commissioning parent does not do so. What is more, the drafted Bill should also specifically demarcate the role of ‘local guardian’ so that the child may not be handed over to the adoption agency or is not abused in any way. Further provision to this would help growth of the child in fair manner if the intended parents betray the contract.
JM: Also with reference to the recent controversial cases including Dan Goldberg and Baby Manji, do you think the Bill should have more muscle?
MC: With regard to the recent controversial cases (Dan Goldberg, Baby Manji etc) of international surrogacy that have ended in fights for legal citizenship status for the child, the 2010 bill has provisions to settle that. The 2010 draft Bill orders that any foreign couple interested in having surrogacy in India should present a certificate from their country declaring that they are permitting surrogacy and will recognise the child born out of surrogacy as their legal citizen. Nevertheless, this is a welcome move.
JM: Can you talk about Aayush ICSI Test Tube Baby Centre and its activities?
MC: Aayush ICSI Test Tube Baby Centre is situated at Shankarnagar, Raipur in Chhattisgarh. The Centre is focused on providing moral, emotional, ethical and most advanced technical support to couples trying out to find a solution to the images of infertility. We specialise in each and every aspect of infertility and provide comprehensive services in IUI, IVF, IVF-ICSI, Assisted Hatching, egg donation, embryo donation, surrogate motherhood, male infertility, natural infertility treatment, semen banking, embryo freezing, sexual and psychological problem and try to give moral and emotional support to our infertility patients. The Centre is equipped with the state-of-the-art infrastructure and staffed with the team of highly trained professional with only one aim and that is to deliver the joy of parenthood to make sure that we leave no stone unturned to achieve the same.