Chandigarh, April 4
Pay scales of faculty of Dr HS Judge Institute of Dental Sciences and Hospital, Sector 25, Panjab University, have been revised. The enhanced pay scales were approved during the last meeting of the by the Board of Finance and ratified by the PU syndicate 
and senate.

According to new pay scales, lecturers with MDS/MD/MS qualification will be getting basic pay of Rs 10000 plus non-practicing allowance (NPA) while the readers will get Rs 14300 
plus the NPA.

Professors working in the institute have been placed in the pay scale of Rs 18600 + NPA. All other usual allowances will also be at par with the teachers of Government Dental/Medical Colleges of Punjab and Chandigarh.

According to Krishan Gauba, Director-Principal, Dr H.S. Judge Institute of Dental Sciences and Hospital, said the pay scales had been increased to bring them at par with the ones being offered in other dental colleges.

He added since the college was a part of the PU campus the faculty in the college were earlier being paid the same scales as was paid to the other faculty members of the university. This had created an anomalous situation as a lecturer in PU’s dental college was being paid less than his counterpart in any other government dental college in Punjab and Chandigarh.

The matter was brought to the notice of the university authorities and following a nod from the members of the Board of Finance the scales were revised.

These will be applicable to the over 30 faculty members already working in the college.

Dr Gauba added that another 45 faculty posts had been recently advertised for the college and the new pay scales would be applicable to these new posts as well. “Our aim is to get the best talent available for the college for which we are now paying comparative pay scales,” he said.

Chandigarh, April 4
Ish Dhand, a student of Class XII of Ajit Karam Singh International School (AKSIPS), Chandigarh, has been selected to represent India at the eighth Asian Physics Olympiad (APhO), to be held in Shanghai, China, from April 22 to 28.

This selection has been ratified by the Indian Association of Physics Teachers (IAPT) and the National Steering Committee, the nodal centre for olympiads.

The two-member team, accompanied by their coordinator and team leader Dr Ravi Bhattacharjee, will leave for China on April 2.

Before leaving the team will attend a training camp being organised by the Indian Association of Physics Teachers (IAPT) and Centre for Science Education and Communication (CSEC), Delhi University, from April 13 to 20.

The teams from as many as 30 countries i.e. Australia, Brunei, Darussalam, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Lao, PDR, Mongolia, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Thailand, Turkmenistan, Viet Nam, Chinese, Taipei, Hong Kong, Macau and China etc, are likely to participate in the contest.

Ish has already won many awards and scholarships in the field of science. He is the recipient of the National Bal Shree Award in Creative Scientific Innovations from the President of India and the National Child Honour for Exceptional Achievements from the Prime Minister. He has earned various scholarships and also a cash award of Rs 1.5 lakh in the FIIT-JEE talent reward examination. 

Chandigarh, April 4
The Chandigarh administration has invited applications and recommendations for the Rajiv Gandhi Manav Seva Award for service to children which is given to individuals for outstanding contribution in the field.

The award will be presented to three individuals in the fields of child development, child protection and child welfare. It carries a cash prize of Rs 1 lakh and a citation.

Duly filled applications forms must reach the office of director social welfare, Chandigarh administration, before April 30, 2007.

Chandigarh, April 4
With an appreciable audience at the ongoing festival and exhibition of Indian puppetry, Putul Yatra-2007 entered its third day at the Punjab Kal Bhavan. The event, being organised by the National Sangeet Natak Akademy, New Delhi, in collaboration with the Punjab Arts council, is the first of its kind to promote the rich cultural heritage from the region.

The proramme commenced with a new production, a contemporary “Kab Tak Rahega” on environment brought to the city by the Rahel’s Little Theatre under the direction of Rachel Macbean. The globe trotting director, Rahel is known for innovations and weaving her productions with the subtle didactic social messages.

She employed the vibrant form of Rod puppets with a match-and-mix formula, besides the masks to bring alive inherent subtle theme of “Save environment with pollution control”.

She highlighted the damages being caused to humanity and wildlife due to avoidable deforestation and pollution.

The soulful strains of music and perfect timings executed by the puppeteers augmented the level of presentation.

The Assam Puppet Theatre staged “Raja Harishchandra” in traditional style. Despite the narrations being in Assamese language, the puppet play, based on a mythological theme, was relished more by the audience. The play displayed the compassion and righteousness of the King who went to loose his kingdom, son and wife only to hold on the truth and honour of his subjects.