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	Top Stories India: Union minister inaugurates the Global Cooling Prize Innovation summit 3rd Ayurveda Day observed across India India: Jaipur to observe Ayurveda Week to mark National Ayurveda Day

	Top Stories Indian Medical University invites collaboration with Maharishi University of Management India: Maharishi University of Management faculty speak to 2,000 professors at conference Maharishi Effect featured in The Times of India

	Top Stories India: As groundwater runs short, water battles grow in parched Chennai India's flood-hit Kerala faces huge clean-up, fear of disease Heavy monsoon rains kill 67 in southern India, closes airport
Positive Trends Short Summaries of Top Stories India: Union minister inaugurates the Global Cooling Prize Innovation summit 13 November 2018 - Union Environment Minister Harsh Vardhan inaugurated 'The Global Cooling Innovation Summit' on November 12, 2018, in New Delhi. The Global Cooling Prize is an international competition to encourage the development of a residential cooling technology which impacts the environment five times lesser than the standard Room Air Conditioning (RAC). (more) 3rd Ayurveda Day observed across India 5 November 2018 - The 3rd Ayurveda Day was observed across India on 5 November 2018 on the occasion of the Dhanawantari Jayanti or Dhanteras with an aim to further promote Ayurveda as the mainstream system of medicine. (more) India: Jaipur to observe Ayurveda Week to mark National Ayurveda Day 5 November 2018 - In Jaipur, India, Ayurveda Week started on 2 November. According to Aayush ministery, 'Ayurveda is perceived as one of the most ancient and well documented systems of medicine equally relevant in modern times. Its holistic approach whether for healthy individuals or for diseased ones remains unparalleled. Prevention of disease and promotion of health is the main aim of Ayurveda. Lord Dhanvantari is considered as divine propagator of Ayurveda. He is conferred with the virtues of granting health and wealth.' (more) What is Diwali, the Festival of Lights? 5 November 2018 - This time of year, one of the most important holidays of the year is celebrated in India. Diwali falls on different days each year. Depending on the location and a number of other factors. CNN reported that northern India marks the day on 7 November. Southern India starts the celebration, called Deepavali, 6 November. Here are some facts about Diwali, or the Festival of Lights. (more) India: Organic farming initiative for Idukki district 4 November 2018 - Manarcadu Social Service Society (MASS), a collective of more than 5,000 organic farmers, will launch Rebuild Kerala 2021, a sustainable development plan to help farmers in Idukki to rebuild their farms and livelihoods through organic farming. ... the launch event will be held at Idinjamala in Idukki on November 26 where more than 100 organic farmers from various parts of the country will converge. ...Initially, around 2 lakh saplings will be distributed for free for cultivation in the fertile hill tracts of Idukki. ... The types of saplings include herbs, spices, fruits, vegetables, coffee, and cocoa. (more) India's 1.5 million electric vehicles and why you've never heard of them 31 October 2018 - In Italy, there are scooters everywhere, in Amsterdam, people love their bikes, and Thailand has its tuk-tuks. Over in India, there are rickshaws by the thousands. These low cost people movers are now being converted to low cost electric vehicles by the thousands, with over 1.5 million battery-powered electric rickshaws already zipping silently around the country. This is the electric vehicle revolution you've probably never heard of. (more) India: This state proves that 100 percent organic farming is possible 22 October 2018 - The Indian state of Sikkim is the world's first 100 percent organic state and has won the UN Future Policy Gold Award 2018 for achieving that feat. Sikkim, a state in northeast India bordering Tibet, is a small and minimally-populated area of India. However, what it may lack in population size it more than makes up for in its rich biodiversity, with over a third of the nation covered by the UNNESCO-recognized Khangchendzonga National Park. The state has become a global leader in organic farming, becoming the first to transition to 100 percent sustainable organic practices. (more) India: 'Future' gold medal for Sikkim, the first 100% organic state 17 October 2018 - More than 66,000 farmers helped tourism; increased by 50% between 2016 and 2017; improved living conditions. These are the reasons why the Indian state of Sikkim, the first 100% biological state in the world, won the 2018 gold medal for 'policies that look to the future'. This is the 'Future Policy' award, given each year by the United Nations for political initiatives that 'create better conditions for present and future generations'. In 2016, the small state on the Himalayas chain was declared 'totally organic', after local governments decided to focus on organic farming by eliminating chemical fertilizers and pesticides. (more) India: Organic farming fair held at Pulwama 12 October 2018 - Department of Agriculture Pulwama [a district in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir] today organized one-day Organic farming fair at Bangund Kakapora Pulwama. Speaking on the occasion, Chief Agriculture Officer M.Y Shah called for an expansion of Organic farming across the district as part of efforts to transform the agriculture sector, entailing better remuneration for farmers. He urged upon farmers to use organic fertilizers in their fields to avail more benefits in crop production. Banagund Kakapora is the first village in the district which has gone organic. (more) Indian state wins prize for showing 100 percent organic 'no longer a pipe dream' 12 October 2018 - India's first fully organic state won top prize in a U.N.-backed award on Friday (12 October), with organizers saying its policies had helped more than 66,000 farmers, boosted tourism, and set an example to other countries. The small Himalayan state of Sikkim on India's border with Tibet was declared fully organic in 2016 after phasing out chemical fertilizers and pesticides and substituting them with sustainable alternatives. (more)
Success of Maharishi's Programmes Short Summaries of Top Stories Indian Medical University invites collaboration with Maharishi University of Management 18 August 2018 - India is increasingly showing an interest in Maharishi AyurVeda, including the country's Minister for Ayurveda and Yoga and the chancellor of a leading medical university, who is eager to collaborate with Maharishi University of Management (MUM) in the USA. Professor Robert Schneider, MD, FACC, Dean of the College of Integrative Medicine at MUM, was invited to give a keynote presentation at an international Ayurveda congress at D.Y. Patil University in Pune, India earlier this year. While there, in addition to university officials, he met with His Excellency Shripad Naik, India's Minister for traditional systems of health (AYUSH), who pledged his support for MUM's programme of Maharishi AyurVeda research and clinical practice. (more) India: Maharishi University of Management faculty speak to 2,000 professors at conference 8 April 2018 - College professors in India recently heard presentations by Maharishi University of Management (MUM) Professors Anil Maheshwari and Scott Herriott at the Second National Teachers' Congress, hosted by Maharashtra Institute of Technology-World Peace University (MIT-WPU) in Pune, India. The MUM faculty were invited to give plenary addresses, along with the Dalai Lama and about 30 other eminent educators and political leaders. Over 2,000 teachers took part in the Congress. (more) Maharishi Effect featured in The Times of India 23 February 2018 - The practice of Transcendental Meditation brings coherence and harmony to create a healing effect, writes Aditi Shrivastava in The Times of India: Research by scientists across the world has shown that when a specific number of people in an area practise Transcendental Meditation (TM) and its advanced techniques together, the influence of coherence and positivity generated is so phenomenal, that it can improve the quality of life of the area, improving the collective consciousness of the people. This leads to an invincible state for society, that is, a state of progressive growth, of stability where no negative influences will disrupt societies and they will be able to rise to true sovereignty and harmony amongst themselves. This phenomenon of increased social coherence was termed the Maharishi Effect in honour of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, Founder of the Transcendental Meditation programme, who predicted it in 1960. (more) Building a business for peace: Maharishi University of Management alumnus 6 September 2017 - Amit Hooda is the co-founder and CEO of Heavenly Organics, an Iowa, USA-based business that imports raw honey made by wild bees in the remote forests of northern and central India. This unique business model helps sustain the economic and cultural survival of indigenous people. In 2005, while Amit was earning his MS in computer science at Maharishi University of Management, he and his father, a renowned agronomist in northern India, founded Heavenly Organics. 'I wanted to create an economic model that created ethical jobs in conflict areas,' said Amit. 'That is the only way to have long-term sustainable peace.' (more) India: Widespread press coverage of Second International Ayurveda Congress in London 27 May 2017 - The recent Second International Ayurveda Congress, held last month in London, received widespread press coverage in India. Press Trust of India reported in the Financial Express: 'Researchers from across the world have vowed to work with India to promote Ayurveda globally, saying the ancient Indian system of natural and holistic medicine can help address major health problems.' The Congress was also featured in many British publications for the Asian and South Asian community. The International Maharishi AyurVeda Foundation, Netherlands, was one of the organizers of the Congress, whose theme was 'Ayurveda - the Pursuit of Health, Happiness and Long Life through Prevention-Oriented Health Care.' (more) Maharishi University of Management: Dr. Robert Schneider gives keynote at India conference 15 March 2017 - India continues to show interest in Maharishi University of Management's science-based approach to traditional systems of prevention-oriented health-care. Most recently Dr Robert Schneider, dean of Maharishi College of Perfect Health, was invited to deliver the keynote address at an international conference of the World Association of Vedic Studies. He described how Maharishi AyurVeda programmes may slow or reverse ageing in Western and Indian populations. His audience included scholars, officials, and leaders who are integrating Vedic science and technologies into modern society. (more) India: International Maharishi AyurVeda Foundation participates in 7th World Ayurveda Congress and Arogya Expo 31 January 2017 - The International Maharishi AyurVeda Foundation (IMAVF) participated with three presentations at the 7th World Ayurveda Congress, which was held last month in Kolkata, India. Over 3,500 delegates, mainly from various Asian countries, participated in the Congress. About 150,000 visitors came to the accompanying Arogya Expo, a trade show of many companies and institutions offering products and services in the field of Ayurveda. IMAVF was also present at the Arogya Expo, at the booth of Maharishi AyurVeda Products India, with an exhibition for the next International Ayurveda Congress, to be held in London, 1-2 April 2017. (more) India: Alliance of Women Scientists and Scholars holds annual conference in Rishikesh 10 December 2016 - The Alliance of Women Scientists and Scholars for a Better World is holding its annual conference this year in India. The conference began yesterday and continues through 12 December at Mahila Dhyan Vidya Peeth, Tapovan, Rishikesh. The theme of the conference is Meeting Point of all Religions: Atma, the Self, the Source, Course, and Goal of Life. Speakers include eminent leaders representing the fields of physics, medicine, physiology and health, including the perspective of Ayurveda, the traditional Vedic science of health care; education; and music. The conference programme also features senior educators and administrators of institutions offering Maharishi Mahesh Yogi's Vedic Science and Technology of Consciousness. (more) Computer scientist changing lives of young people in rural India 19 September 2016 - Promila Bahadur has trained over 2000 individuals, including children, youth, women, and the elderly, to use computers in Uttar Pradesh, where she has been honored by the government for her work. Last year she joined the computer science faculty at Maharishi University of Management, while keeping daily contact with the organization she runs in India, the Guru Institute of Information Technology. Her next plan is to establish a computer education hub among a cluster of six Indian villages. The hub would also provide other services including banking, insurance, and pharmacy. 'If one day some of our students get the chance to study at MUM, this would be, in fact, a dream come true for me,' said Promila. (more) Anushka Sharma, the Indian movie star who works hard and meditates twice a day 15 September 2015 - Anushka Sharma is living the dream of many young women in India. After a brief modeling career, she has firmly established herself as one of the top actresses in Bollywood. For an additional boost to her body and mind, Anushka also practises the Transcendental Meditation technique. 'Meditation works wonders for me when it comes to beating stress,' the actress says. 'I meditate twice a day . . . . It has a calming effect which translates into better health.' (more)
Flops Short Summaries of Top Stories India: As groundwater runs short, water battles grow in parched Chennai 8 November 2018 - India is suffering 'the worst water crisis in its history', according to a June report by government policy think tank NITI Aayog. Worsening water shortages -- for farmers, households, and industry -- threaten the lives and incomes of hundreds of millions of Indians, and the economic growth of the country, the report said. ... But what Raghavan [Shekhar Raghavan, director of the charity Rain Centre, which encourages rainwater harvesting and water conservation in urban areas] called 'indiscriminate' -- and in many cases unauthorized -- extraction of groundwater is creating growing problems as supplies run short. (more) India's flood-hit Kerala faces huge clean-up, fear of disease 20 August 2018 - Indian health authorities prepared defences against the spread of disease in flood-hit Kerala state on Monday as water receded and a huge clean-up gathered pace after the worst floods in a century killed more than 200 people. Incessant rain since August 8 in the southern state has swelled rivers and triggered landslides. Dozens of people are missing and nearly a million are sheltering in thousands of relief camps, state officials said. (more) Heavy monsoon rains kill 67 in southern India, closes airport 15 August 2018 - Torrential monsoon rains have disrupted air and train services in the southern Indian state of Kerala, where flooding, landslides, and bridge collapses have killed at least 67 people in the past week, officials said Wednesday (15 August). The international airport at Kochi, a major port city, suspended flight operations until Saturday after rains flooded the runway. Authorities asked tourists to stay away from the popular hill station of Munnar in Idukki district because of flooding. Kerala is a popular tourist destination with scenic landscapes, waterfalls, and beautiful beaches. (more) Worst flood in a century kills 43 in India's Kerala, more rain due 15 August 2018 - The death toll from the worst floods in nearly a century in the Indian tourist state of Kerala rose to 43 on Wednesday (15 August) as rising water stranded tens of thousands of people and forced the closure of one of its main airports. The five latest fatalities from the rain that began a week ago came when authorities in the southern state were forced to release water from 35 dangerously full dams, sending a surge into its main river. (more) In India's parched Bundelkhand, drought brings a tide of migration 5 July 2018 - As ever-lengthening drought becomes the new normal, Bundelkhand, a parched region split between India's Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh states, is clearing out. The central Indian region of nearly 70,000 square kilometres (27,000 square miles) once received about 800 to 900 mm (31-31 inches) of rain a year, according to India's Meteorological Department. But over the last six to seven years, in particular, that total has nearly halved, with the number of monsoon rain days falling from 52 to 24 over the June to October monsoon period, according to D.K. Dubey, a scientist with the agency. That has caused repeated and widespread crop failures -- and a growing tide of farmers abandoning their land to try to find work in nearby cities. (more) India's 'worst water crisis in history' leaves millions thirsty 5 July 2018 - From the northern Himalayas to the sandy, palm-fringed beaches in the south, 600 million people -- nearly half India's population -- face acute water shortage, with close to 200,000 dying each year from polluted water. ... Water pollution is a major challenge, the report said, with nearly 70 percent of India's water contaminated, impacting three in four Indians and contributing to 20 percent of the country's disease burden. (more) Dust storms drag New Delhi air quality back to dangerous levels 14 June 2018 - Air quality in New Delhi plummeted to a dangerous level on Wednesday (13 June), putting residents at risk, mainly due to dust storms from western India, a senior official at the pollution control board said. Air quality has worsened in New Delhi in recent years, prompting Prime Minister Narendra Modi's office to directly monitor measures to clean up the capital's air. (more) India steps up hunt for origin of mysterious brain-damaging virus 28 May 2018 - India began a fresh round of tests to trace the origin of a rare brain-damaging virus that has killed 13 people, a health official said on Monday (28 May), as initial tests on animals suspected of carrying the Nipah virus showed no sign of the disease. (more) India's farmed chickens dosed with world's strongest antibiotics, study finds 1 February 2018 - Chickens raised in India for food have been dosed with some of the strongest antibiotics known to medicine, in practices that could have repercussions throughout the world. Hundreds of tonnes of an 'antibiotic of last resort' -- only used in the most extreme cases of sickness -- are shipped to India each year to be used, without medical supervision, on animals that may not require the drugs but are being dosed with them nevertheless to promote the growth of healthy animals. (more) Smog chokes Indian capital as emergency measures fail to bring relief 13 November 2017 - A thick cloud of toxic smog 10 times the recommended limit enveloped India's capital, New Delhi, on Monday, as government officials struggled to tackle a public health crisis that is well into its second week. A U.S. embassy measure showed levels of poisonous airborne particles, known as PM 2.5, had reached 498 on Monday afternoon, compared with the upper limit of 'good' quality air at 50. (more)