Dr Malhi invited to World Rice Research Conference
Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, July 24
The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Japan, and the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), Manila, have invited Dr Malwinder Singh Malhi of Syngenta India Ltd for the World Rice Research Conference to be held in Tokyo and Tsukuba, from November 4-7.

The conference will be held to celebrate the International Year of Rice. The event will bring together the world’s leading rice scientists to exchange information on the latest research of potential benefit to the world’s 200 million rice farmers and the billions of consumers who depend on them for their daily diet. The main themes of the conference are innovative technologies for boosting rice production, perspectives on the place of rice in healthy lifestyles, adaptable rice-based systems that improve farmers’ livelihood and the role of rice in environmentally sustainable food security.

According to Dr Akinori Noguchi, Chairman of the organising committee, Dr Malhi has been invited after a careful study of his abstract of on green manuring, right time use of leaf colour chart, proper fertilisation and insect-disease management experiments which yield good results on the paddy crop. On the basis of his paper, he has been invited to participate in the poster sessions to share ideas with the invitees.

Dr Malhi, project coordinator of Sahyog Farming, has proved that green manuring and other experiments yield good results. Sahyog Farming was started to provide answers to the perplexing problems of glut, underwater table depletion, environmental degradation, increase in per unit of profit margin of Punjab farmers but above all to improve the quality of the produce to compete strongly in the international market. 

Course on bioinformatics concludes
Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, July 24
A week-long course on “bioinformatics: principles, methods and applications for heath care” concluded at Guru Nanak Engineering College here yesterday. The course was organised by the Department of Computer Science and Engineering and Information Technology and sponsored by the AICTE-ISTE.

During the course, Dr R.S. Khandpur, Director-General, Pushpa Gujral Science City, Kapurthala, highlighted the importance of the application of bioinformatics. Mr J.S. Bhatia, Additional Director, Centre for Development of Advanced Computing, S.A.S. Nagar, spoke on the significance of supercomputing for bioinformatics and Dr L.M. Bhardwaj, Head of the Department of Bio-molecular Electronics and Nanotechnology, CSIO, Chandigarh, gave an elaborate talk on biomolecules for electronics and computer application.

Dr S.C. Sharma, Coordinator, Bioinformatics Centre, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, provided a detailed review of various gene structures and conducted lab sessions on latest software in the field. Dr Vivekanand Jha, Additional Professor, Department of Nephrology, PGI, Chandigarh, dwelled on the importance of gene structure analysis in tailoring specific drugs for specific patients that are more effective and have no side-effects.

Dr N. Tejprakash from the Department of Biotechnology, Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology, Patiala, talked of research in the field of metabolic pathways and regulatory networks.

According to Dr R.P. Singh Sukar Chakia, Principal and course coordinator of the course, bioinformatics is a fusion of biology, computers and information technology, which is going to help in healthcare. Dr H.K. Grewal, Head of the Department of Computer Science and Engineering and Technology and Information Technology, stressed on the importance of computer-aided diagnosis of heart malfunctioning.

NIFD organises fashion show
Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, July 24
The National Institute of Fashion Design, Ludhiana, organised a fashion show here last night. Top models from across the country displayed various creations of the students of the institute. The students had prepared designer dresses which were appreciated by the audience.

Mr Arvind Gupta, director of the institute, said the annual designer contest was held by the institute every year, where the national and international models display garments created by the budding designers.

Some top models who participated in the show included Divya Jaitly, Krishna Somani, Jaishree, Apoorva Jha, Akanksha Yadav, Parul Chowdhary, Barkaha Kaul, Meenakshi, Jyoti and Angela Sharma. The dance was performed by ‘Dazzle’ a leading dance troupe of the country. The show was choreographed by Jeet Brar and Vijay Roy.

School celebrates ‘Summer Week’
Our Correspondent

Ludhiana, July 24
The montessori section at Ryan International School observed ‘Summer Week’ here last week. The celebrations began with a rain dance. ‘Ice-Cream Day’ and ‘Yellow Day’ celebrations were also organised. Crowning of ‘Summer Prince’ and ‘Summer Princess’ marked the conclusion of the celebrations.

New session: The bhog ceremony of Sri Sehaj Path was performed at Ramgarhia Girls College here on Saturday to mark the beginning of the new academic session. ‘Shabad kirtan’ was organised on the occasion.

Talent hunt: A talent hunt contest was organised at BCM Arya Model Senior Secondary School here on Saturday. The students presented dances, songs and skits.

Results: dance: Jaikaran 1, Neha 2 and Jaskeerat 3; solo dance: Anureet 1, Jasmeet 2 and Jaskeerat and Neha 3; skit: Raghav and Abhishek 1, Dilpreet, Rishi and Vikram 2; best dancer: Misha Shukla; best anchor: Kuhu; best group dance: Class XI (commerce).

Check-up camp: Doctors from Civil Hospital visited St Bawra Public High School, New Lajpat Nagar, here and examined all students. The students were also made aware of eye, tooth, nose and throat ailments.

‘Parents Day’: ‘Parents Day’ was observed at the Everest Playway and Nursery School, Maharaja Ranjit Singh Park. Parents and their wards participated in the function. Tiny tots presented dances, songs and skits.

FJEI seminar on education
Tribune News Service

Ludhiana July 24
The Federation of Jain Education Institutes (FJEI) organised a seminar in USPC Jain Public School. Mr Kapil and Mr Anand, representatives of the federation, addressed the school management and staff and introduced their objectives such as teacher training programmes, need of moral and computer education in schools.

FJEI was founded by Mr Shanti Lal Muttha in 2002 with the ambition of bringing all Jain Educational Institutes of India together. Within a year 1617 institutes joined FJEI including 62 in Punjab. He is the same person who founded the BJS (Bhartiya Jain Sangathan) in 1985.

Vanamahotsava celebrated
Our Correspondent

Doraha, July 24
Vanamahotsava was celebrated at Guru Nanak Model Senior Secondary School here yesterday. A total of 150 saplings were planted on the school campus. The students and teachers participated in the drive with enthusiasm. The need to plant saplings and saving the environment was stressed upon.

According to Ms Urmil Sood, Principal of the school, “We are celebrating vanamahotsava this week. The aim is to educate children about advantages of tree plantation and ways to avoid environmental degradation. They have been asked to plant saplings in and around their houses.”