Council on Northeast Fashion Unveiled

Members of the Northeast India Fashion and Design Council address the media in Guwahati on Sunday.

Guwahati, Sep 9 : Fashion-conscious Northeast now has a fashion and design council to promote the region’s traditional weaves apart from the pool of talent.

The Northeast India Fashion and Design Council, formed with a core committee of seven members, was formally unveiled here today.

“The council has been formed to guide and promote talent in the field of fashion and design. It will also address issues faced by the industry and assist the state government in policy formation with regard to textiles, handloom and handicraft promotion. We are also looking to promote the Northeast as a brand in the national and international spheres,” Medha Saikia, founder of the council told The Telegraph.

The council will also strive to conserve the traditional skills and designs by providing opportunities to weavers and handicraftsmen.

“We have a core committee of seven members who are all experienced in the field of fashion and beauty. We will also form statewide committees in the near future,” she said.

On the fashion industry in the Northeast, she said, “It’s still a small part of the Indian fashion industry.”

Why Crib Delhiites? Aizawl Registered Maximum Rise in Onion Prices!

By Pankaj Sharma

It’s not the capital of India but the capital of Mizoram, Aizawl which has registered the maximum rise in onion prices during the last one month of the current year. During the period August 3 to September 3, onion prices have registered a massive increase of 167 percent in Aizawl.

A Zee Research Group (ZRG) study of 41 cities for which the latest data is available with the ministry of consumer affairs reveals that in Aizawl, onions are being sold at a maximum rate of Rs 80 per kg, followed by Hyderabad (Rs 69 per kg).

During the period under review, in Aizawl, the retail price for one kg has zoomed from the levels of Rs 30 to Rs 80 registering a whopping increase of 167 percent. Similarly, in Hyderabad, onion prices have jumped from Rs 31 to Rs 69 (123 percent).

On the contrary, there are many cities where onion prices have not risen above Rs 45 per kg. The list includes cities like Kota, Dimapur, Ahmedabad, Gwalior, Bhubaneshwar, Kolkata, Cuttack, Sambalpur, Jaipur, Ranchi, Patna, Rajkot, Nagpur and Jabalpur.

While onions are most expensive in Aizawl, it is available at a cheap price in the retail market of Kota (Rajasthan). In Kota, onions are being sold at Rs 30 per kg. But, the irony is that in the same state onions are being sold at a higher price. For instance, in Jaipur, the capital of Rajasthan, onions are being sold at Rs 45 per kg.

Interestingly, during the period under review, Delhi has been gripped by ‘onion war’ but prices here have increased only by 45 percent. In Delhi, the price for one kg onion has jumped from Rs 38 to Rs 55. The increase registered in Delhi is below the average increase posted by the other cities of the country.

Cities like Kota (Rajasthan), Dimapur (Nagaland) and Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala), Ernakulam (Kerala) and Ahmedabad (Gujarat) have registered minimum increase in onion prices. While prices in Kota hovered around Rs 30 per kg, in Dimapur prices have increased from Rs 35 to Rs 40 registering an increase of 14.29 percent. In Thiruvanthapuram, Ernakulam and Ahmedabad prices have increased from Rs 48 to Rs 55 (14.5 percent), Rs 49 to Rs. 60 (22.45 percent) and Rs 32 to Rs 40 (25 percent) respectively.

During elections, the specter of rise in onion prices haunts political parties. People of all classes consume the vegetable in considerable quantity, and any rise in price tends to be politically sensitive. For instance, rise in onion prices has played a decisive factor in the 1998 state elections of Delhi and Rajasthan. Moreover, rising onion prices in 1980 also helped Indira Gandhi to topple the Janata government.

‘Whatever Mary Kom does, she does perfectly with Complete Concentration’

She is a woman of substance, self made, dedicated to her chosen field, and a winner of glory for her country. Daughter, wife, mother of three, Mary Kom has always yet been her own person, with a dream that grows bigger with every success.

Husband and manager, Ouler Kom talks about his celebrity wife in the new home they are now building in Imphal, Manipur.

Firstpost: How did you meet Mary Kom? Ouler Kom: It was in early 2000s. I was in Delhi, on the instructions of my father who had asked me to sit for some of the UPSC exams, so I could get a chance at a good government job in the Civil Services. I was also studying at the same time, and was the President of student’s unions…both the Manipur Student Union and the NESU. Mary came to Delhi for the National Games, and as she was from my own community, I went as a student leader, with some office bearers to ask if she needed anything and how we could help. I gave her my phone number, and she promised to call if she needed our help.

More of the interview here

Electronic Waste Poses Eco Threat To Northeast India

By Naresh Mitra

Guwahati, Sep 9 : Ritusmin Deka bought a trendy laptop recently and discarded his older one as scrap with other unused electronic gadgets lying in his residence for years. What Ritusmin did not realize that the unused gadgets he disposed of has already added up to the piling electronic waste in the state.

Experts said the increasing penetration and use of electronic gadgets has subsequently led to rising volume of electronic waste, commonly known as E-waste in the northeast. They pointed out that smuggling of sub-standard electronic items from China, Myanmar and Bangladesh is also compounding the problem.

After a long meeting with officials of pollution control boards of NE states, Toxic Link, a New Delhi-based environmental NGO, on Friday said in the absence of a proper management mechanism in place, the rising volume of e-waste is set to pose a serious environmental threat to the region.

Though the NE states are yet to assess the exact quantum of E-waste generated in the region, Toxic Link associate director Satish Sinha said at a press conference here that preliminary estimates showed that Assam generates roughly 14,000 tons of E-waste, while Shillong (Meghalaya's capital city) generates approximately 446 tons annually. Sinha said Mizoram produces approximately 18 tons of E-waste.

"These assessments are not comprehensive and only approximate figures. Yet, these figures are indicators of rising E-waste in the northeast. At the meeting with pollution control board officials, we have discussed threadbare on how to make a proper roadmap for mitigating the environmental hazards through an appropriate E-waste management mechanism," said Sinha.

He added that at the national level, 8,00,000 tons of E-waste is generated annually and the trend is rising.

Toxic Link said the presence of toxic materials like lead, mercury, brominated flame retardants poses health and environmental hazards. Pollution control boards from six out of eight NE states, including Sikkim, took part in the E-waste management meeting.

"In 2011, the Union ministry of environment and forest issued E-waste management and handling rules. Yet, awareness on E-waste hazards in the northeast is still in its nascent stage. The meeting is only a beginning. The officials who participated at the meeting has assured to initiate measures for setting up proper collection centres of e-waste and creating public awareness," said Sinha.

Appealing to brands selling electronic gadgets to set up more collection centres for discarded electronic products in the region, Sinha said the meeting also decided to conduct proper assessment by respective state pollution control boards on the generation of E-waste.

Tripura Beats Kerala in Literacy

By Sujit Chakraborty

Agartala, Sep 9 : India's northeastern state of Tripura achieved the first position in literacy with 94.65 percent, beating Kerala (93.91 percent), Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar announced here Sunday.

"Tripura jumped to first position among the states of the country in literacy from the 12th position in the 2001 census and the fourth position in the 2011 census," Sarkar said at a function on the occasion of International Literacy Day.

Sarkar said that after Tripura attained 87.75 percent literacy in the 2011 census, a government survey was conducted by the eight district magistrates in August 2012 which found that only 131,634 people of the state's 37 lakh people, including those aged 50 and above, were illiterate.

"Over 8,254 voluntary literacy workers (VLW) have worked tremendously with full dedication under 8,152 adult literacy centres to make the leftover (131,634 people) unlettered people literate," the chief minister said.

Over 85 master trainers have supervised the work of the VLWs, who have worked at the village and habitation levels. Anganwadi workers under the social welfare department have also assisted the VLWs in their endeavour.

"The final evaluation of the neo-literate people was conducted across the state August 10-25 under the supervision of the (Kolkata-based) Indian Statistical Institution (ISI)," the chief minister said, adding that the state's literacy had now risen to 94.65 percent from the 87.75 percent in the 2011 census.

The state government felt, Sarkar said, that after the final report of the ISI, the state's literacy would cross 96 percent.

According to the 2011 census, literacy level is 93.91 percent in Kerala and 91.58 percent in Mizoram, among the most literate states in the country. The national literacy rate, according to the 2011 census, is 74.04 percent.

The Tripura success story is attributed to the involvement of local government bodies, including gram panchayats, NGOs and local clubs under the close supervision of the State Literacy Mission Authority (SLMA) headed by the chief minister.

Former census director Dilip Acherjee, who has also held the post of school education department secretary in the state, told IANS: "In Tripura, increase of female literacy is better than their male counterparts."

"The literacy rate of females during the period of 2001 and 2011 census rose from 64.91 to 83.15 percent, with an increase of 18.24 percent, while in the case of men the increase was just 11.18 percent -- from 81 to 92.18 percent," Acherjee said. It was under Acherjee's supervision that the 2011 census was conducted in Tripura.

While Mizoram and Tripura are among the toppers in literacy in India, another northeastern state, Arunachal Pradesh (66.95 percent), is placed second-lowest in literacy in the country, just above Bihar, which recorded the least literacy of 63.82 percent.

Groupon India Starts Onion Sell Off

By Leo Mirani

All good ideas begin with a bulb.

Groupon’s India business, which had some lousy PR a few months ago after it accidentally published 300,000 passwords, is somewhat redeeming itself in the eyes of Indians right now with a special deal: 1 kg (2.2 lb) of onions for Rs 9 (14 US cents). That is a fraction of the market rate, which is hovering between Rs 60 and Rs 70 a kilo. More than 5,000 people signed up for the first day’s deal—which comes with free delivery across 78 cities—before it expired.

Not all 5,000 will get the deal. Groupon has promised to put onions up for sale at Rs 9/kg every day for seven days, but with a daily limit of  3,000 kg. If it’s buying them at a market rate of Rs 65, that works out to a loss of Rs 1.18 million or a little under $18,000 not including shipping costs. Even at average wholesale rates of Rs 30, that’s still a $6,700 outlay. But that is a small price to pay for what will certainly give thousands of Indian families a reason to keep returning to Groupon.

The onion is perhaps the most telling indicator of economic problems in India. A staple that forms the basis of most Indian food, it makes headlines every time prices shoot up, which they have done throughout August (see chart below). The price of a kilo of onions in India’s cities has more than doubled since the beginning of August, from less than Rs 30 (45 cents), adding to Indians’ woes about the crashing rupee and rising inflation.

Mother Arrested in China For Breastfeeding Baby While Driving A Moped

- Officers said she was weaving through traffic while holding son - Driving through the streets of Yuzhou, Chin, when pulled over
- She allegedly held on to son with one hand, and bike with other

By Amanda Williams

A woman has been stopped by police for aparently breastfeeding her baby while riding a moped.
The young mother was allegedly driving through the streets of Yuzhou, China when she was pulled over.

Officers said she was weaving through traffic while holding her 18-month-old son on her lap as he breastfed, and they pulled her over before she had an accident.

A woman has been stopped by police for breastfeeding her baby while riding a moped

Witnesses have claimed they saw the mother begin to breastfeed the child while keeping a hand on the handlebars.

'The Huffington Post reports that police were concerned she was risking her life, her son's life and the lives of all the other road users.

They added that if she carried on they would take her bike away.

In June 2008, Catherine Donkers, 29, was accused of child endangerment for trying to breastfeed her daughter while driving from Detroit to Pittsburgh. She was also apparently driving without a licence.

The young mother was allegedly driving through the streets of Yuzhou, China, in Hunan Province (pictured) when she was pulled over

In her defence she said using a mobile phone caused far more distraction than 'nursing a child' while driving.

And in 2009 a  drunken mother was breast-feeding her five-month-old baby at the wheel when she almost crashed into a police car.

The teenager was so drunk she could not provide a roadside breath test and was arrested at the scene in the Australian town of Alice Springs.

Nagaland Imports 220-cr Worth Animal Products

Kohima, Sep 6 : Nagaland being a high consumer of animal protein faced a shortfall of 37.34 per cent of such food compelling the State to import Rs 220.12 crore worth of animal products from other States during 2012-2013.

A report of the Nagaland Animal Husbandry department said that the State produced 62.66 per cent of the total requirement of animal products leaving a shortfall of 37.34 per cent.

This report was quoted by senior technical assistant Veterinary and Animal Husbandry, Kohima, Dr Zawhel Mekro during training for capacity building of beneficiaries under Rural Piggery Production 2012-13 in Kohima yesterday.

Advising the beneficiaries to be a producer, he said the department would be providing five pigs, fabricated structure, CIG sheet, food stuff, medicine, cash, balance food and other necessary things to each beneficiary as part of the RPP 2012-13.