Vol. V No. 4
April 2007
Information for development www.i4donline.net
Agriculture
Online monitoring of fertiliser subsidy will start soon in India An online system to monitor subsidy provided to fertiliser companies will be launched soon in India to remove distribution bottlenecks. The Minister for Chemicals and Fertilisers, Shri Ram Vilas Paswan has said that an online system will monitor from Delhi, the subsidies being given to fertiliser companies to avoid problems being faced in distribution. The Minister said that monitoring would take place even at the district level to avoid bottlenecks in the movement of fertilisers. Indian Express
Community radio
IGNOU plans to set up new radio stations in Northeast India Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) has announced plans for coming up with new radio stations in various parts of India. The plan proposes to set up new stations in North East Region at Agartala, Aizwal, Gangtok, Imphal, Itanagar and Kohima during the 11th Plan Period to facilitate rural students through community radio programmes. pib.nic.in
Radio dramas help in combating HIV/AIDS Listening to radio dramas, it is claimed, has raised the level of awareness among women folk in the region of Mekong, in warding off HIV/AIDS, and fighting trafficking and drug use etc. April 2007 | Vol. V No. 4 | www.i4donline.net
The minority women belonging to the ethnic groups of the Thai-Myanmar-LaosChina border regions are vulnerable to sexual exploitation because of their limited education, and lack of knowledge about how to protect themselves. Radio dramas are thus found to be an effective vehicle for reaching out to the young people who are vulnerable to HIV/AIDS. Native speakers write the dramas in the local languages and the dramas are based on intensive research on life stories, issues and concerns.
upgrades to schools’ IT infrastructure along with associated professional development for staff. The Learning with ICT project also involves the provision of additional computers to schools, electrical upgrades, network cable upgrades and professional development of staff. DET has already provided computers with Windows/Intel to 96 percent of government departments, while four percent have Apple computers. www.zdnet.com.au
www.adb.org
Education
Global launches cultural e-Learning portal in India Global Adjustments, a cross-cultural education and destination services company, has launched an e-Learning portal, www.globalindian.com, which is to be India’s first web-based cross-cultural educational portal. The portal is specifically designed for professionals seeking to function effectively in a global environment. Dayanidhi Maran, union minister of IT formally launched the e-Learning portal in Chennai. The e-learning portal is designed in such a way that it offers the learner an ample space and time using innovative multimedia technology. www.efytimes.com
Australia’s DET provides ICT skills to 100 schools Western Australia’s Department of Education and Training (DET) has provided a technology infrastructure upgrade at an initial total of 100 schools in Australia. DET has already completed its first phase of ‘Learning with ICT’ project, including 14 schools in the Albany area in January. ‘Learning with ICT’ project involves key
Health
Canada is going to support health research in developing countries Canada’s Government has recently announced that it will spend CA $ 20 million for doing research on health, along with developing countries. The grants will be given via the Global Health Research Initiative (GHRI), along with Canadian Institute of Health Research (CIHR), the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), Health Canada, and the International Development Research Centre (IDRC). There are 13 research teams who are going to receive more than CA $20 million in funding through the Teasdale-Corti Team Grants. The researchers, policy-makers and practitioners, will work together to find solutions to the world’s most pressing health issues. www.idrc.ca
Nutritional support to HIV positive children in India The National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) has cleared a new programme to provide nutritional supplement to children
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