1. Versova Beach Clean-Up Drive Resumes: CM Devendra Fadnavis, Aaditya Thackeray Join Afroz Shah
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Yuva Sena chief Aaditya Thackeray on Sunday muddied their pants picking trash as the Versova beach cleanup campaign resumed after a brief gap.
Fadnavis and Aaditya joined the beach cleaning drive with activist Afroz Shah, who has won praise from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, for the initiative. Fadnavis congratulated Shah and the 'entire team' for relentlessly contributing towards the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan.
The Chief Minister also interacted with school children who participated in the drive at Versova on Sunday afternoon.
(Source: Mumbai Mirror)
2. IIT-B Campus Recruitment: 150 Students Placed On Day 1
At the end of day one of IIT-Bombay's campus placement drive, more than 150 students, pursuing undergraduate and postgraduate courses at the institute, were picked up by recruiters offering international and domestic postings.
"IIT Bombay's placement season has started off well. Day one witnessed the participation of 34 companies. For the domestic roles, highest number of offers were made by Goldman Sachs, Qualcomm, IBM, Microsoft, BCG, Cairn, McKinsey Knowledge Centre & Tata Steel while the maximum International offers were made by NEC Japan, Microsoft, Optiver, Rubrik and Uber," a press release from the placement cell said. Public sector undertakings ISRO and BPCL selected 13 students, taking the total figure at the end of day one to more than 150.
At Rs 1.39 crore per annum, Microsoft topped the highest salary package offered this year for posting overseas. For posting within India, American financial firm Blackstone offered the highest salary at Rs 45 lakh per annum. Microsoft is offering Rs 39.02 lakh per annum for posting within the country. Among other international offers, NEC Japan was among the biggest recruiters with an offer of Rs 26.29 lakh per annum (Rs 45.70 lakh Japanese Yen per annum) in terms of compensation offered for overseas posting.
(Source: Mumbai Mirror)
3. Vidya Balan's Tumhari Sulu Lands In Trouble For Using Cough Syrup, FDA To Issue Notice
T-series, the production house that produced the movie Tumhari Sulu, has come under the scanner of the Food and Drug Association (FDA) for collaborating with an over-the-counter (OTC) cough syrup that contains ingredients, which can cause adverse health effects if taken without proper guidance from doctors.
During film promotions, Tumhari Sulu lead Vidya Balan was seen promoting the cough syrup Torex in an advertisement where she is seen coughing while anchoring a show on air at a radio station. The actress says in the advertisement, "Sulu ke har safar mein uska saathi, Torex cough syrup ho, toh alvida khashi."
Following this, Dr Tushar Jagtap, a medical activist filed a complaint with FDA stating that, "As you are aware that, whenever a drug is prescribed by a qualified doctor he/she takes into account many factors regarding the safety, efficacy and need of that particular molecule. The doctor also takes into account the age of the patient, dosage schedule, drug interactions, history of allergies, its tolerability, efficacy, cost effectiveness, its form and many other aspects which are of vital importance."
(Source: Mid-Day)
4. Youth From Powai Slums Becomes First Ever Mumbaikar To Qualify As ISRO Scientist
Pratamesh Hirve, 25, is boldly going where no Mumbaikar has gone before. After years of burning the midnight oil in his humble 10X10 ft home at the Filterpada slums in Powai, the youth has become the first ever from the city to qualify for the elite Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). Now, he has the entire universe ahead of him.
Pratamesh's journey to the dizzying heights of space research is all the more amazing because of his humble beginnings. Living in a 10x10 house in the heavily populated Filterpada slums, it took every ounce of Pratamesh's willpower to focus on his studies and never lose sight of his goal.
His friends and neighbours would see him study day and night, and often asked him what he hoped to achieve, but Pratamesh's belief in himself was never shaken - not even when a career counsellor told him he'd be better off studying Arts. "My aunt and parents had taken me for an aptitude test in south Mumbai. The specialist told my parents that my cousin brother had the aptitude for engineering, but that I should choose a career in Arts instead. I was upset, but refused to give up. I told my parents that no matter what, I would become an engineer, and they believed in me," he recalled. In 2007, he was granted admission in Bhagubhai Mafatlal Polytechnic College for a diploma course in electrical engineering. But this was just the beginning of his struggle, and Pratamesh had yet to overcome one of his biggest challenges – the language barrier.
(Source: Mid-Day)
5. BMC Orders To Drive Out Hotelier From Market
Cracking the whip, the BMC has issued an order cancelling the lease of a hotelier, who was supposed to develop a vegetable market at a building in Sakinaka, but ended up converting it into a private hall for hosting events and restaurant in blatant disregard of the original agreement.
Ms Peninsula Next, which is owned by Karunakar Shetty of Peninsula Grand hotel, has been asked to hand over the premises located on Andheri-Ghatkopar Link Road back to the BMC. The civic body took this step after its several notices to the hotel owner to stop using the building as a venue for weddings, parties and other events fell on deaf ears. However, local activists have alleged that the civic body is dragging its feet on the takeover.
Mumbai Mirror had reported about the irregularities committed by Ms Peninsula Next. According to the original agreement, the single-storey structure was earmarked for a neighbourhood market. But Shetty, whose Peninsula Grand hotel is located adjacent to the structure, started using it for his own business activities, local residents and activists alleged. Shetty is said to have even renamed the structure as Grand Pavilion to make it identifiable as an annex of his hotel.
(Source: Mumbai Mirror)
6. IIT Bombay Project To Clean Up Powai Lake Gets Government Nod
The Powai lake clean-up mission undertaken by the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, might finally see the light of day. The Minister of State for Water Resources Satyapal Singh expressed his desire to extend support to the project when he visited the institute on Saturday.
IIT-B's plan to rejuvenate and clean the lake was stuck in limbo as it was waiting for a nod from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). While they organised a few clean-up sessions, the sheer size of the lake -- spread over an area of 550 acres (2.2 km) -- made it a difficult task to achieve. The project has been pending for over two years now.
"IIT-B should send an application to our department so that we can look into what can be done. We will verify how the Water Resources Department can be of help in the cleaning and beautification project of the lake," said Singh at the press conference held on campus.
(Source: Mid-Day)
7. Maharashtra Government’s Plan To Cut Jobs By 30% Faces Unions’ Resistance
The debt-ridden state government has planned to reduce it workforce by 30% to save its wage bill. Employee unions have opposed the plan, saying it will be detrimental to the growth of the state.
According to a government resolution issued in May, the state government asked its departments to reduce demand of human resource by 30% and revise their employee master plan by the end of the year. The government feels that the number of employees is more than its ideal proportion to the population. It is likely to go ahead with the plan before implementing the Seventh Pay Commission recommendations.
The Maharashtra government currently has 17 lakh employees and spends Rs1.08 lakh crore on their salaries. According to sources, more than 2 lakh sanctioned posts are vacant in the state.
Deepak Kesarkar, minister of state for finance, however, differed. “In fact, the revised employee master plan should be viewed positively. The 35% of the sanctioned posts are currently vacant. This means even if we fill up 70% of the total posts, we will have 5% more employees than what we currently have,” Kesarkar told HT.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
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