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Hyderabad, Dec 1 (IANS) Two transgender doctors made history in Telangana by landing jobs as medical officers in the government-run Osmania General Hospital.

Prachi Rathod and Ruth John Paul Koyyala became the first transgenders to get government jobs in the state. Both were appointed as medical officer in the leading hospital last week.

This is seen as a major success by the transgender community in its fight to be treated at par with others in the matter of appointments in the government sector.

Both the transgenders thanked the state government for appointing them to finally end social exclusion and discrimination they were subjected to despite their qualification.

Hailing from Khammam, Ruth John Paul is elated over securing the job in Osmania, the oldest and biggest government-run hospital in the state.

It was a huge success for the 28-year-old as she was rejected by 15 hospitals in Hyderabad ever since she completed MBBS from Malla Reddy Institute of Medical Sciences.

According to Dr. Ruth, it was because of her identity the hospitals refused to give her a job.

Meanwhile, Dr. Prachi, after doing MBBS from Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) Adilabad in 2015, had secured a job at a private hospital in Hyderabad.

However, when she started her transition, the hospital asked her to leave.

The 30-year-old was told that her identity would dissuade patients from coming to the hospital.

Despite serving at the super-speciality hospital for three years and her professional skills, she lost the job due to the social stigma.

A Non-Governmental Organisation came to their rescue. Both Prachi and Ruth were appointed in a transgender clinic in Hyderabad last year. They continued their efforts to secure government jobs and finally succeeded.

They now have their eyes set on post-graduation. They appeared in NEET PG exams as trans women but did not get any reserved seats which, they say, is a violation of the Supreme Court's NALSA judgement of 2014.

The Supreme Court had recognised transgenders as third gender and provided reservation to them in admission to education institutions and jobs.

--IANS
ms/pgh

Chennai, Nov 23 (IANS) Tamil Nadu Governor R.N. Ravi said on Wednesday that it was Lal Bahadhur Shashtri as Prime Minister of the country who had brought a paradigm shift in the policies of the government, orienting India towards self-reliance.

Ravi was addressing a gathering after unveiling a statue of India's second Prime Minister Lal Bahadhur Shastri at the Shastri Bhavan, here on Wednesday.

The Governor said that India suffered humiliation and was demoralised on defence and food security fronts in the first 17 years of Independence. This was an oblique reference to the period of Jawaharlal Nehru as the Prime Minister of the country.

He said that in the first one-and-a-half decades of the country's Independence, the nation paid scant attention to its defence forces and kept losing its territories in Jammu and Kashmir and Aksai Chin to its enemies.

Ravi said that the country was following an idealistic path and not a realistic path in those days.

The former IPS officer said that it was Shastri who coined the term 'Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan' and added that this was not just a slogan but marked a paradigm shift in the way the nation looked at its defence forces.

The Tamil Nadu Governor said that it was Lal Bahadhur Shastri who laid the foundation for the Green Revolution in the country, which led to self-reliance in food for the people of the country.

Ravi said that even as the tenure of the second Prime Minister was cut short by destiny, he had laid the foundation stone for taking the country forward for the formation of a great India.

--IANS
aal/arm

By Haresh Jhala
Gandhinagar, Nov 23 (IANS) Nineteen BJP leaders are contesting either as Independents or on the Congress symbol in the Gujarat Assembly elections, after officially an effort was made to convince them to withdraw, but there was no arm-twisting or pressure to make retire from the race.



This raises questions if is this part of the strategy of the ruling party to divide the dominant communities' vote and get benefit for the party candidate, or to take their support, if they are elected, to form the government in a case where there is a hung Assembly.

Senior journalist from Vadodara, Manu Chavda explained why these BJP leaders revolted against the party candidate. Citing the case of Dinubhai Patel, who is contesting against BJP candidate Chaitanyasinh Zala, he said Patel is a former MLA, who was first elected to the Assembly in 2007 as an Independent defeating the BJP candidate, in 2012, contested on the BJP symbol and defeated the Congress candidate, but, in 2017, lost because Zala had contested as an Independent and won by dividing votes. Now, the BJP has fielded Zala.

On Vaghodia seat, BJP's six term MLA Madhu Srivastav has revolted and is contesting as an Independent, and according to Chavda, is definitely going to divide BJP votes, damaging the party candidates' prospect, because of which independent candidate Dharmendrasinh Vaghela or Congress candidate Satyajitsinh Gaikwad are likely to get a benefit.

If Patel and Srivastav get elected, and if the BJP is short of members for majority, these two will definitely support and stand with the BJP.

It can also be a plan B of the BJP, said political analyst Jagdish Mehta. According to his assessment, at least four rebels - Patel, Srivastav, Mavji Desai (Dhanera) and Dhavalsinh Zala (Bayad) have a 50 per cent chance to win. If they get elected and if there is hung Assembly, these are the one who will rejoin BJP or extend support to it.

--IANS
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New Delhi, Nov 22 (IANS) Infections remain a leading cause of death globally and in India, five bacteria were responsible for at least 6.8 lakh deaths in 2019, a new Lancet study has revealed.

The five deadly bacteria in India are led by E.coli, along with S. pneumoniae, K. pneumoniae, S. aureus and A. baumanii.

E. Coli alone claimed at least 1.6 lakh lives in India in 2019.

Globally, there were 77 lakh deaths associated with the 33 bacterial pathogens (both resistant and susceptible to antimicrobials) across the 11 infectious syndromes.

"The 33 bacterial pathogens that we investigated in this study are a substantial source of health loss globally, with considerable variation in their distribution across infectious syndromes and locations," said the Lancet study.

"Hence, they should be considered an urgent priority for intervention within the global health community. Strategies to address the burden of bacterial infections include infection prevention, optimised use of antibiotics, improved capacity for microbiological analysis, vaccine development, and improved and more pervasive use of available vaccines," the researchers noted.

The researchers estimated deaths associated with 33 bacterial genera or species across 11 infectious syndromes in 2019 using methods from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2019, in addition to a subset of the input data described in the Global Burden of Antimicrobial Resistance 2019 study.

This study included 343 million individual records or isolates covering 11,361 study-location-years.

From an estimated 13.7 million infection-related deaths in 2019, there were 7.7 million deaths associated with the 33 bacterial pathogens (both resistant and susceptible to antimicrobials) across the 11 infectious syndromes estimated in this study.

Five leading pathogens -- Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa -- were responsible for 54.9 per cent of deaths among the investigated bacteria.

"The age-standardised mortality rate associated with these bacterial pathogens was highest in the sub-Saharan Africa super-region, with 230 deaths per 100a%000 population," said the study.

S aureus was the leading bacterial cause of death in 135 countries and was also associated with the most deaths in individuals older than 15 years, globally.

Among children younger than 5 years, S pneumoniae was the pathogen associated with the most deaths.

"In 2019, more than 6 million deaths occurred as a result of three bacterial infectious syndromes, with lower respiratory infections and bloodstream infections each causing more than 2 million deaths and peritoneal and intra-abdominal infections causing more than 1 million deaths," the study noted.

--IANS
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By M.K. Ashoka
Bengaluru, Nov 20 (IANS) A young doctor who allegedly used social media as a weapon to denigrate and humiliate his live-in partner and fiancee could not have known that his actions would cost him his life. The case triggered a debate about social media becoming a tool in the hands of individuals to commit crimes.


The law soon caught up with the live-in partner and fiancée, who allegedly attempted to exonerate herself by hiding behind her lover's act of exposing her private videos.

This is the tragic story of Dr Vikas and Pratibha, an architect, reported in the limits of Begur police station, which shocked Bengaluru. The police investigations revealed that Vikas did it as he found out that Pratibha was allegedly having an affair, even as her marriage to him was fixed.

In a fit of rage, Pratibha and five of her friends cornered Vikas and beat him up fatally. Vikas later succumbed to injuries at the hospital.

When asked about the trend of social media becoming a weapon to settle scores often leading to crimes, Belagavi Police Commissioner M.B. Boralinagaiah told IANS that the trend is picking up and it is going to be a challenge.

"I think KYC, which is there on many fronts, should be adopted in social media as well. Any Tom, Dick and Harry with some pseudo names will indulge in crimes. The case needs to be looked into in-depth, but at what cost is the question?" Boralingaiah said.

There is a need for strict punishment for this. Some data has to be there to immediately track the user such as Aadhaar authentication. People are becoming perverts. It is all about clicking a button now, he said.

Psychologist Dr A. Sridhara opined that the way relationships are defined by social media in young adults requires more attention and analysis.

It's more of a psychopathic tendency and there is more scope for the media to exaggerate such tendencies. You watch violent movies. You will watch and try to experiment with it. There is no feeling, there will be no fear, he said.

Individuals, adults are going through difficult times psychologically. They have not been able to understand what is happening. They get attached to even more violent people knowingly. It very clearly indicates there is no option available to them. They are trusting technology, he explains.

"Apart from all the present day scenarios, the nature of crime and the attention of the media that they are getting, it's hyped. When we go back to ‘Mahabharat', Draupadi, when she was being stripped in full public view, she took an oath that she will drink the blood of Dushasana who pulled her saree."

Sridhara explains that after this there are many instances of punishing people, murdering people, piercing the eyes to make someone blind, cutting of limbs. By nature violence is a part of human emotions.

Over a period of time we have managed to minimize it by peaceful co-existence, reasoning and culture and concern for other human beings. The element of destruction, giving punishment can go to any extent. In America, the nature of serial killers and what they do is unbelievable, he said.

"We all know about the tandoor case in New Delhi, where the young woman was killed, chopped and burnt in a tandoor. In Bengaluru, a professor attached to a reputed university and his son committed a similar crime 15 years ago," he says.

He explains, "if you look at all superhit Hindi movies, revenge films have the most following. In the present day, technology created social media, if aggression is demonstrated, every individual feels in his own way."

The reports the media is getting are all the police version. You don't know if that man is telling the truth and there is a chance of fictionalization by the police. There is little chance of verifying this. Social media is being utilized to sensationalize horrible human emotions.

"Social media is regulating human passion as well as extremes of human passion like violence."

Senior advocate Rajalakshmi Ankalagi said social media has a positive as well as a flip side. It gives everything uncontrolled and unedited. What you choose depends on the person. Social media also facilitates many campaigns which will get a response from one corner of the country to another corner.

This is possible with social media. But, if a person is negative from inside, this will make him stronger. Media, social media and movies showed the trend of the mindset of people. I don't agree with people learning through them, she said.

--IANS
mka/bg

By Arun Kejriwal
Markets in the week gone by were unable to make up their mind what they wanted to do. They tried to go up, but failed. Similarly, there was not much selling pressure either which could do serious damage on the downside. To add to the uncertainty, global markets did nothing either. At the end of it all they ended with small losses after four consecutive weeks of gains.


BSESENSEX lost 131.56 points or 0.21 per cent to close at 61,663.48 points while NIFTY lost 42.05 points or 0.23 per cent to close at 18,307.65 points. The broader markets saw BSE100, BSE200 and BSE500 lose 0.53 per cent, 0.68 per cent and 0.68 per cent, respectively. BSEMIDCAP lost 1.30 per cent while BSESMALLCAP was down 0.81 per cent. Markets gained on two of the five trading sessions and lost on the remaining three. There were no significant moves in either direction.

The Indian Rupee lost 88 paisa or 1.09 per cent to close at Rs 81.68 to the US dollar. Dow Jones gained on two of the five trading sessions and lost on the remaining three. There were double digit daily changes on three of the five days, indicating that markets there are pondering on their next move. The week ended virtually flat, down a mere 2.17 points or 0.01 per cent to close at 33,745.69 points.

The week saw three IPO's list during the week. The first was Fusion Microfinance Limited which had issued shares at Rs 368, listed on Tuesday the 15th of November. The share debuted at Rs 360.50 and lost ground to close at Rs 324.90, a loss of Rs 43.10 or 11.71 per cent. By the weekend, the share had regained some ground to close at Rs 336.85, a loss of 8.46 per cent.

The second share to list was Global Medicare Limited which had issued shares at Rs 336. The share listed on November 16. The share debuted at Rs 398.15 and closed at Rs 415.65, a gain of Rs 79.65 or 23.70 per cent. At the end of the week, the share closed at Rs 413.75, up 23.14 per cent over the issue price.

The third share to list was snack maker Bikaji International Foods Limited which had issued shares at Rs 300. The share listed on November 16. The debut price was Rs 321.75 and closed at Rs 317.45 at the end of the day, up Rs 17.45 or 5.81 per cent. By the end of the week, the share closed at Rs 317, up 5.67 per cent.

The issue from Inox Green Energy Services Limited had opened on November 11 and closed on November 15. The price band of the issue was Rs 61-65. The issue size is Rs 740 crore with a fresh issue component of Rs 370 crore and an offer for sale component of Rs 370 crore. The issue was subscribed 1.65 times overall with QIB portion subscribed 1.12 times, HNI portion undersubscribed at 0.50 times and retail portion subscribed 4.97 times. This is an issue where only 10 per cent can be allotted to Retail and the shortfall in HNI can be adjusted with QIB oversubscription. The issue will see the OFS portion being reduced by Rs 52-55 crore.

The issue from Keystone Realtors had tapped the capital markets with its fresh issue for Rs 560 crore and an offer for sale of 75 crore in a price band of Rs 514-541. The issue had opened on November 14 and closed on November 16. The issue was subscribed 2.11 times overall with QIB portion subscribed 4.04 times, HNI portion 3.19 times and Retail portion subscribed 0.55 times. There were 58,427 applications in all.

Results for the quarter July-September 22 have been more or less completed and the summary is that there has been a steady improvement in raw material availability. Prices have stopped showing a rising trend and have corrected partially. They are not back to pre-Covid levels. The big positive is in global shipping where one has seen severe corrections and freight rates are now more or less near pre-Covid levels. Availability of freight containers and ships are easy and more predictable. All this leads one to believe that while the outlook is better and positive, Corporate India needs to perform better to justify current valuations which are no longer cheap.

The week ahead sees November futures expire on November 24. The current value of NIFTY at 18,307.65 points is higher by 570.70 points or 3.22 per cent. The bulls have had the upper hand through the series and they would hope to push the gains further in the four trading sessions remaining for expiry. Expect markets to make up their mind which way they are headed during the week.

There would be four issues which list during the week. They are Archean Chemical Industries Limited and Five Star Business Finance Limited which would list on Monday. This would be followed by Kaynes Technology India Limited which would list on Tuesday. This would leave Inox Green Energy Services Limited and Keystone Realtors Limited which would list during the latter half of the week. Post this, there are no pending IPOs in the market as of date. A couple more are expected to happen during the latter half of the week but details are yet to be announced.

Coming to the markets in the week ahead, expect clear movement after a week of consolidation. The big move in either direction must happen in the week ahead. While indicators are that the new lifetime intraday highs are likely to be made this week after markets trading at lifetime closing highs, it's a question of now or never in the immediate short term. In case the up move doesn't begin this week, we could have missed the bus for the time being. In case the rise doesn't happen, there is every possibility that markets could go into a sideways move with a negative bias and drift or fall. There could be bouts of selling which could be sharp. With expiry during the week, this is the best setup for bulls to press the pedal.

The rally if it happens will see the market breadth increase significantly. Midcap and Smallcap stocks will see large participation and price movement. Take that as a cue for the up move in the market. Keep eyes and ears glued to the ground and movement in mid and small cap stocks. They hold the key.

(Arun Kejriwal is the founder of Kejriwal Research and Investment Services. The views expressed are personal)

--IANS
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London, Nov 18 (IANS) English Premier League club Manchester United said on Friday that they have "initiated appropriate steps" in response to Cristiano Ronaldo's explosive interview.

The statement comes after some publications have reported that Manchester United were ready to sack Ronaldo and were taking legal advice over the bombshell interview.

Manchester United, on Friday, issued a fresh statement, saying the club will consider its response after the full facts have been established and will not be making further comment on these issues.

"Manchester United has this morning initiated appropriate steps in response to Cristiano Ronaldo's recent media interview. We will not be making further comments until this process reaches its conclusion," the club said.

Earlier, star footballer, Cristiano Ronaldo gave an explosive interview, saying he feels "betrayed" by the club for trying to force him out of the team. In his interview, the Portuguese star also said that he has "no respect" for Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag because he "doesn't show respect for me".

Ronaldo, who re-joined United in August 2021 and finished as their top scorer in all competitions last season with 24 goals, said, "I don't have respect for him because he doesn't show respect for me. If you don't have respect for me, I'm never gonna have respect for you."

Ronaldo has launched an explosive attack on Manchester United and coach Erik ten Hag in an interview with Piers Morgan for the treatment meted out to him since he returned at the start of last season.

Footage from the interview first appeared on social media on Sunday night, with Morgan tweeting a clip in which Ronaldo revealed he felt "betrayed" by the club he rejoined last summer.

Numerous other details also emerged prior to the full interview being shown in two parts on Morgan's TV show on Wednesday and Thursday. Before the full interview aired, United vowed to establish the "full facts" before considering its response.

--IANS

inj/bsk

New Delhi, Nov 17 (IANS) India's TWS (True Wireless Stereo earbuds) shipments doubled year-over-year in Q3 2022, with boAt leading the quarter, a report showed on Thursday.

According to Counterpoint Research, boAt grew 128 per cent (year-over-year) to mark its nine successive quarters of lead, while Noise stood second for the fourth consecutive quarter, and OnePlus bounced back strongly in the top-five rankings with a 6 per cent share in Q3.

"The top five TWS brands in India - boAt, Noise, Mivi, OnePlus and Boult Audio -- accounted for almost 70 per cent of the total shipments. OnePlus made a comeback in the top five driven by two recent launches -- Nord Buds and Nord Buds CE -- at an affordable price point," Senior Research Analyst Anshika Jain said in a statement.

Indian brands grew 143 (year-over-year) in Q3 driven by boAt, Noise, Mivi, Boult Audio and Ptron, while Chinese brands saw an increased share of 13 per cent in Q3.

"Indian brands showed the fastest year-over-year growth of 143 per cent to reach their highest shipments ever in Q3 2022," Jain added.

Moreover, domestic manufacturing saw a record 288 per cent quarterly growth this year, contributing to 34 per cent of the total shipments, while the Online channel maintained 79 per cent of the volume with Flipkart in the lead.

"It is still challenging for brands to strengthen their presence in offline channels, as a huge share of 79 per cent still comes from the online market. In addition, the TWS online segment has a strong footprint on Flipkart, which has more than half of the total online shipment share," Associate Research Director Liz Lee said in a statement.

--IANS
shs/vd

New Delhi, Nov 17 (IANS) The World Health Organization and its member states in the South-East Asia Region and across the world marked the second Cervical Cancer Elimination Day of Action on Thursday.

The cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer among women with an estimated 604,000 new cases and 342,000 deaths in 2020, of which the South East Region accounted for 32 per cent and 34 per cent, respectively, said Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh, WHO Regional Director for South-East Asia.

"Vaccination of girls against human papillomavirus (HPV), screening and treatment of pre-cancer lesions, and improved access to diagnosis and treatment of invasive cancers are critical, cost-effective measures that policy makers should urgently apply to eliminate cervical cancer as a public health problem," WHO Regional Director for South-East Asia said on the occasion.

Dr Singh said that the countries of the region continue to make steady and sustained progress against cervical cancer, in line with the Region's Flagship Priority on preventing and controlling non-communicable diseases, as well as the 2021 Regional Implementation Framework on eliminating cervical cancer as a public health problem.

"Five Member States - Bhutan, Maldives, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Thailand - have introduced nation-wide HPV vaccination, which Bangladesh, India and Timor-Leste will soon also introduce. HPV vaccination has been introduced in several provinces of Indonesia, protecting tens of millions of girls," Dr Singh said.

The gaps and challenges nevertheless persist, which if unaddressed, will prevent the Region from achieving the global 90-70-90 targets: that is, by 2030, ensure that 90 per cent of girls are fully vaccinated with HPV vaccine; that 70 per cent of women are screened using a high-performance test by 35 years of age, and again by 45 years of age; that 90 per cent of women identified with cervical disease or pre-cancer are treated; and that 90 per cent of women with invasive cancer are effectively managed, said South East Director.

Dr Singh said that WHO has called for action in several key areas to achieve the elimination target of four or less cases per 100,000 women.

--IANS
avr/kvd

Sankalp Gurjar
New Delhi, Nov 17: Earlier this month, a Chinese survey ship Yuan Wang VI entered the Indian Ocean, apparently, to track the Indian missile test in the Bay of Bengal. It is the second Chinese spy ship in the Indian Ocean in the last three months which demonstrates the increasing boldness on the part of China. The visit of Yuan Wang V to Sri Lanka in mid-August grabs a lot of attention in India.


As India was celebrating the 75th anniversary of its independence, the Chinese move to dispatch a spy ship and visit Sri Lanka was considered as a mild provocation, not to mention the feeble attempts by politico-economic-crisis-affected Sri Lanka to balance India with China. It also underlined the gravity of security challenge emanating from China for India.

Just prior to the visit of Yuan Wang V, China conducted massive exercises in the Taiwan strait in early August in response to US House speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan. These exercises have not just been bold but provocative and threatening.

The joint military exercises were conducted dangerously close to the territorial waters of the Island state. They were designed to send a message of China's willingness and capabilities to Taiwan, its chief benefactor, the US, and to the wider world. These exercises have now set a precedent as far as China's force projection in the Taiwan strait is concerned. When the next crisis ensues between the US and China over the issue of Taiwan, the aggressive posturing employed this time will form a basis to test the Chinese reaction.

Both these incidents point towards the new reality of an aggressive China which is increasingly willing to flex its muscles abroad. The aggressive Chinese behaviour in its neighbourhood and the militarisation of the South China Sea has been part of global strategic discourse for the last decade. Regional states and the US are taking cognisance of these emerging realities and are shaping their responses to this complex challenge.

With the twentieth party congress and the renewed mandate for Xi Jinping out of the way, the ever-assertive strategic posture is likely to become a norm of China's approach to foreign policy. It carries geopolitical implications for India, along the Himalayas and in the Indian Ocean.

The Himalayan challenge that China poses to India's security has been underlined by the military standoff in Ladakh since April 2020. The Chinese challenge along the Himalayas has been intensifying over the last few years and the growing frequency of military standoffs (2013, 2014, 2017, 2020) underline this fact. For India, the real challenge lies not just in disengaging from friction points and creating buffer zones but in restoring the status quo as it existed before the standoffs.

In the Indian Ocean, the increasing frequency of naval visits, the increasingly complex nature of their missions and the growing capabilities of People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) has pointed towards the growing China challenge. Despite the moves such as launching of the indigenously built aircraft carrier INS Vikrant, India's China challenge has been becoming increasingly tougher in the Indian Ocean. The structural and geopolitical advantages that India enjoys in the region will not be sufficient.

In February 2023, China plans to conduct naval exercises in the Indian Ocean with Russia and South Africa. It will be the second such trilateral exercise between the three BRICS nations. China's close ties with Iran and Pakistan and the base at Djibouti has helped it to continue its naval presence in the northern littoral of the Indian Ocean. The possibility of military bases in countries like the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Pakistan, Myanmar and Cambodia provide further clues about the Chinese military strategy towards the Indian Ocean.

In fact, for the last decade or so, the growing Chinese naval presence in the Indian Ocean has been emerging as a serious challenge for India. China's participation in anti-piracy operations off the Horn of Africa (which began in 2008), evacuations from Libya (2011) and Yemen (2015) have helped it to expand its strategic presence steadily. However, recent developments indicate that an emboldened and assertive China is entering the Indian Ocean. It is now the largest navy in the world in terms of number of ships. It is constructing naval warships at a rate that is faster than almost all other navies.

In view of the growing China challenge, in the Himalayas as well as in the Indian Ocean, India is faced with the familiar dilemma between prioritizing the continental and maritime dimensions of security. However, given the nature of China's challenge, India has no option but to focus on both dimensions simultaneously with, without and despite the help offered by the other great powers.

( is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Geopolitics and International Relations, Manipal Academy of Higher Education. He specializes in Indo-Pacific security, South Asian geopolitics and Great Power Politics)

(The content is being carried under an arrangement with indianarrative.com)

--indianarrative