Mizoram Announces Health Care Schemes

Aizawl, Sep 4 : The state government today announced that the revived Mizoram Health Care Schemes came into effect from September 1.

''Patients admitted to the hospital on or after September 1, 2010 can claim medical re-imbursement under the health care schemes,'' a government official statement said today.
The facility does not apply to those who have not enrolled for the scheme.

The Mizoram Health Care Scheme (MHCS) aims to provide health care cover of Rs one lakh floater for one family per year and also families who are not entitled to state medical reimbursement for government employees and their dependents.

In addition, the state government had also introduced the centrally-sponsored Rastrya Swastha Bhima Yojana that aims to provide health insurance cover to Below Poverty Line (BPL) families at Rs 30,000 floater per family per year.

Both the MHCS and RSBY will function under one third party administrator and one insurance company.

The major portion of funds required for the MHCS will be made available from Asian Development Bank.

The funds earmarked for the scheme, which is 25 million US dollars, will be converted into corpus fund by the Finance Department and the interest will be utilized for payment of MR Bills of the beneficiaries.

The medical reimbursement is available at all government hospitals and six private hospitals - Presbyterian Hospital, Aizawl; Christian Hospital, at Serkawn and Lunglei; Adventist Hospital, at Aizawl and Champhai; Lairam Christian Medical Center and Christian Hospital, Lawngtlai and Evangelical Church of Maraland, Saiha.

The other private hospitals are yet to accept the government-offered rates.

Northeast India Delicacies: Pora Haah

The cuisine from Northeast India is traditionally considered to be one of the healthiest in the world as the ingredients used are always local and very fresh.

Also, like traditional Japanese food, people here hardly use any oil while cooking, a fact that is responsible for the superb skin people from the region usually have.

Spices are minimal in the upper states of Mizoram, Nagaland, Manipur and Meghalaya and while Assam has largely been influenced by Bengali cuisine, it has picked up the subtle nuances of the region.

Pora Haah
(burnt/roasted duck)

Pora” means “burnt” and “haah” is Assamese for duck. This duck is roasted whole and the stuffing has some distinct Indian touches, like green chillies and coriander leaves.

Ingredients
1 medium sized duck — whole, with skin
1 egg, beaten
4 slices of bread
1 onion, chopped
1 potato, cubed
Juice of 1 large lime
½ tsp black pepper
1½ tsp white vinegar
3 green chillies, chopped
1 small bunch coriander leaves, chopped fine
2 stalks spring onions, chopped fine
½ tsp red chilli powder
½ cup oil; Salt to taste

Method
Remove the giblets from the duck, wash and cut them in tiny pieces. Rub salt and lime juice over the duck, inside as well as outside and refrigerate for 15 minutes to half an hour.
Mix the potatoes with the bread, crumble and add all ingredients other than the egg and giblets to it. Add half of the oil to this mixture. Add the beaten egg to the mixture along with the giblets. Mix well. Remove the duck from the fridge and stuff the mixture inside the duck and tie up the legs and wings crosswise so the stuffing doesn’t escape. Rub the rest of the oil on the duck.

Roast the duck on an open charcoal fire for at least 30 minutes turning occasionally or roast it in an oven for 40 minutes at 180°C covered with an aluminium foil. Remove the foil for the last 10 minutes. Baste the duck with oil frequently while it is being roasted. Serve with baked potatoes and bread.

Fried Tender Bamboo Shoots

Bamboo shoots are abundantly available in most hilly areas that have good rainfall and while we are used to bamboo shoots in Chinese food, its usage is more or less unknown in mainstream North or South Indian cuisine. The best bamboo shoots come in the market during monsoons but one can get the tinned variety at supermarkets.

Ingredients
1 foot-long tender bamboo shoot
2 tsp fenugreek (methi) seeds
4 dried red chillies
4 tbsp oil; 2 tsp baking soda; Salt

Method
Scrape off the outer covering of the bamboo shoot, cut into small pieces and rinse thoroughly under running water. Mix the shoots with the baking soda and keep aside. Heat the oil in a frying pan and add the methi seeds and red chillies.

Stir and fry till the chillies darken. Add the bamboo shoots and cook on a low flame till the shoots are dry. Add 3 tbsp of water and stir fry for another minute. Serve as a side dish with chapatis or rice.

Gitanjali By Tagore Translated to Mizo

Kolkata, Sep 4 : The School of Languages and Culture, Rabindrabharati University Kolkata is collaborating with the University of Mizoram to translate Gitanjali into Mizo language, said a top official on Friday.

“Initiative is on to translate world bard Rabindranath Tagore nobel-winning Gitanjali in Mizo language,” said Karunasindhu Das, Vice Chancellor, Rabindra Bharati University, here.

He was speaking at the inaugural session of a two-day workshop cum seminar at Aikatan, EZCC, Kolkata, on ‘Reception of Rabindranath Tagore in the north-eastern region of India’.

It is being organized by Rabindranath Tagore Centre for Human Development Studies, a joint initiative of University of Calcutta and Institute of Development Studies, Kolkata in collaboration with Eastern Zonal Cultural Centre, Kolkata.

In his opening remarks, noted economist Amiya Kumar Bagchi, Director, Institute of Development Studies, Kolkata, said: “Tagore was not just a Bengali but a great man whose influence on the northeast and the reciprocal influence of the region on him needs to be discussed so that we can learn about how creative work in the north-east has been influenced by Tagore.”

Indranath Chowdhury, former Secretary, Sahitya Academy, said that, among the seven sisters of the northeast, Manipur, Assam and Tripura have interacted more with Tagore.

“Hence their history of reception is more,” he said.

India to Extend Crackdown On Online Communication Companies

By Anjana Pasricha

New Delhi, Sep 4 : India says it will extend its electronic security crackdown on Blackberry cellular phones to include all online communication companies like Google and Skype. Security concerns have prompted India to demand access to encrypted data transmitted online.   

The first target of India's demand for access to encrypted data was Research in Motion, the Canadian company that makes the Blackberry cellular phone.

Although the government did not carry out a threat to block Blackberry messaging services by August 31st, it has said that its concerns must be addressed within two months.   

Customers stand at a mobile phone shop displaying Nokia advertisements in Allahabad, India, 02 Sep 2010

India Home Minister P. Chidambaram said Wednesday negotiations are continuing with Research in Motion, or RIM, for access to data transmitted by the Blackberry.  

"RIM has agreed to provide access to some of the communications that are transmitted through the RIM systems, and these have been operationalized with effect from September 1 2010. Discussions on technical solutions for further access are continuing, and the matter will be reviewed within 60 days," said Chidambaram.

Officials say it not just Blackberry's makers who will have to give the government access to their user content, but also other communication services like Google, Skype, MSN Hotmail and Nokia.    

"All people who operate communication services in India should have a server in India, as well as make available access to law enforcement agencies whatever communication passes through the telecommunication network in India and that has been made clear not only to Research and Motion or Blackberry, but also to other companies," said G.K.  Pillai, India's home secretary.  

Placing a server in India allows the government easier access to user content.

India's demands were raised following concerns that terrorist organizations use internet and mobile phone services that security agencies cannot intercept. Security analysts say the terrorists involved in the November 2008 attacks in Mumbai had used mobile and satellite phones to coordinate the raids.

India has been the victim of frequent terror attacks. It is also battling insurgent groups in Kashmir and in the northeast.

India is one of the world's fastest growing telecommunications markets. Blackberry has more than one million users in the country.

60 Lakh illegal Bangladeshis in Assam Voters List?

Nagaon, Sep 4 : While illegal Bangladeshi influx is threatening national security, over 60 lakh infiltrators have been already included in the voters list of Assam, alleged Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday.

During a press conference here, BJP’s state president Ranjit Dutta said, “Large scale illegal migration from Bangladesh over several decades has been altering the demographic complexion of this State. It poses a grave threat both to the identity of the Assamese people and to our national security. Successive Governments at the Centre and in the State have not adequately met this challenge.”

“Over 60 lakh illegal Bangladeshi people have been already included in the state voters list,” Dutta added.

The state BJP president alleged, “The recently published draft voters list for 2010 by Assam State Election Commission showed more than 84 thousand voters have declined in comparison to the previous list; but most of the declined voters are local Assamese people.”

The final voter list will be published on September 15, officials said.

According to the State Election Commission report, 1,74,68,958 people are included as legitimate voters in the state as per the 2009 voters list .

But the draft voters list showed 1,73,82,724 people as legitimate voters in the state.

BJP MP Rajen Gohain said, “Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi is a surrendered Chief Minister. He has surrendered before illegal Bangladeshis. In the last 9 years, over a lakh of illegal Bangladeshi people entered the state. But the state government did not take any action against the Bangladeshi influx. The Congress-led state government have always been standing by those people and protecting them.”

“Now most districts in the state are dominated by illegal Bangladeshis. Pakistan's ISI and several Muslim rebel groups of Bangladesh are planning to make Assam a separate Muslim country,” Gohain added.

Meanwhile, BJP is trying to strengthen its base in Assam ahead of the next State Assembly elections.

The state BJP has decided to field its candidates in 80 constituencies in the coming State Assembly elections.

The Assam BJP is also looking to play its “trump card Varun Gandhi”, besides giving importance to youth leaders in the next State Assembly polls.

BJP will hold a massive public meeting in Nagaon on September 29, where BJP’s central president Nitin Gadkari and Varun Gandhi will address the poeple.

Indian Student Enrolment in Oz Halves

Melbourne, Sep 2 : Attacks on Indian students in Australia may have hit their enrolment into varsities here, with new figures showing a slump by almost half.

Turmoil in Australia's international education sector, legislative changes and the global financial crisis are also among the factors for the sharp fall in the intake in the foreign student enrolment, according to a media report.

In 2008-09, 65,503 Indian passport holders were granted Australian student visas across all education sectors. But in 2009-10, the number fell to just 29,721. Overall, 50,540 fewer international students were granted visas to study in Australia in 2009-10 compared with 2008-09.

According to 'The Age' today, global student visa numbers dropped over 16 per cent last financial year. It was also said that the new figures were result was also due to student security issues putting pressure on student numbers.

Stephen Connelly, president of International Education Association of Australia, said the drop was not surprising but very worrying.

"There is so much goodwill we generate from having international students in our country, and we are absolutely shooting ourselves in the foot at the moment," he said, adding the government and opposition had sent negative messages to potential students during the federal election campaign and work had to begin on improving Australia's reputation.

If the problems were not tackled quickly, Connelly said, there would be a further significant drop in student numbers. "Applications being received by agents would indicate that the numbers will go down even further. There's a lot more pain in store, I would say," he added.

However, he played down the significance of student security issues, which flared up in Victoria last year following a series of allegedly racist attacks on Indian students. "[Student security] would be lower down on the list of reasons than the difficulties of getting a visa and the lack of differentiation among providers," Connelly said.

National Union of Students president Carla Drakeford said the drop in numbers was very concerning.

"International student decline is dangerous for the university sector - not only because it creates a hole in university funding, but also because of the innate value international students bring to our community and higher education sector," Drakeford said.

Source:Agencies

Mizoram Aims Green Revolution

Aizawl, Sep 2 : Mizoram Agriculture Minister H Liansailova today said the state government was aiming to achieve an agricultural revolution with the ambitious New Land Use Policy (NLUP) to boost the state's economy.

''We need to revolutionise our agriculture to boost the state's economy. We need to revive this world's oldest trade and the people must wake up to the same,'' the minister said at a two-day workshop on 'sustainable agriculture revolution in Mizoram' which concluded today.

The workshop turned out to be a grand success, thanks to the DDK, Aizawl, which live telecast the entire programme.

Thousands of farmers all over the state were glued to their television sets to listen to the lectures and power-point presentation of agriculture experts, an official statement said.
The event concluded with a live phone-in programme during which farmers from across the state sent their queries via phones.

The workshop, organized jointly by agriculture, AH and Vety, fisheries, horticulture, minor irrigation and soil and water conservation departments and All Mizoram Farmers' Union, aims to make agriculture and allied sectors the backbone of the state's economy.

The workshop doubles as an exhibition showing projects and achievements of the participating departments.

The agriculture minister hoped that the workshop would prove instrumental for the successful implementation of the flagship NLUP programme.

UN to Support Mizoram in Dealing With HIV/AIDS

Aizawl, Sep 2 : The United Nations (UN) will support Mizoram in prevention of HIV/AIDS and in management of prisons in the northeastern state, an official said here Thursday.

Cristina Albertin, representative of the New Delhi-based United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime - Regional Office for South Asia (UNODC-ROSA), made the announcement while addressing a week-long training-cum-brain storming session which began Thursday.

The session, inaugurated by Mizoram Home Minister R. Lalzirliana, is aimed at improving skills of jailors, inmates and health workers to deal with HIV/AIDS patients, fellow inmates and vulnerable citizens.

Albertin said complex issues such as anti-retroviral therapy (ART) treatment and counselling for HIV/AIDS patients should be focused upon, and the training will be beneficial to treat the inmates affected by the killer disease and be accepted in the normal society.

She also said, "Northeast has been facing problems of smuggling of drugs through the Golden Triangle and often Mizoram territory has been used as corridors."

The Golden Triangle is one of Asia's two main illicit opium-producing areas and covers an area of around 950,000 km overlapping the mountains of four countries of Southeast Asia -- Myanmar, Vietnam, Laos and Thailand.

The Mizoram home minister said that a remote state like Mizoram now faces problems of deadly diseases like HIV/AIDS and cancer, which are spreading despite efforts taken by the government.

"Prison should not be a place of punishment but of reformation. Prisons in Mizoram should be clean and comparable with prisons in developed countries," the minister said and welcomed the UNODC steps taken for prevention of HIV/AIDS in Mizoram.

With an average of 100 fresh cases of HIV detected every month, the Mizoram State AIDS Control Society (MSACS) has stated that the AIDS scenario in the state is "disturbing" after Manipur, where the situation is "very alarming".

According to the MSACS, 4,721 people have been tested HIV positive so far since the first case was detected in 1990, from 112,438 blood samples.

"Of the 462 AIDS cases in Mizoram, 171 people, including 72 women, died during the last 20 years," an official of the MSACS said.