Study Over Efficacy Of Current Rabies Vaccines in India; Kerala Pravasi Association approached the Supreme Court

Study Over Efficacy Of Current Rabies Vaccines in India; Kerala Pravasi Association approached the Supreme Court

While the Animal Birth Control (Dogs) Rules, 2001 provide an efficient mechanism of sterilization/ vaccination of dogs, there is an urgent need to ensure proper quality control of anti-rabies vaccines that are being administered to both humans and dogs in India.

New Delhi: Kerala Pravasi Association, an Election Commission of India approved independent political party from India led by the “Pravasi” Community has filed a plea before the honourable Supreme Court of India seeking a direction for constituting an independent expert committee to study the efficacy of the Intra Dermal Rabies Vaccines (IDRVs) currently being administered to Humans, on account of the number of deaths that have occurred despite timely administration of the vaccines in the Country.

The plea has been filed by Dr. Rajendran Vellapalath, Chairman of Kerala Pravasi Association and Mrs. Aswani Nambarambath, President of the Party who are also leaders of the Association through Advocates Kuriakose Varghese and V. Shyamohan, KMNP Law.

The petition also seeks the constitution of an independent expert committee to study the effectiveness of the Rabies Veterinary Vaccine administered to dogs in India, given the rise in the number of rabies cases.

Furthermore, a direction has been sought to the Union of India to give wide publicity and to ensure proper and uniform implementation of the National Guidelines for Rabies Prophylaxis, 2019 with appropriate revisions from time to time as per the latest developments and scientific evidences endorsed by the World Health Organisation.

Citing recent incidents where persons bitten by dogs succumbed to rabies, despite post-exposure prophylaxis, the plea raises questions regarding the current treatment protocol.

Kerala Pravasi Association has relied on recent newspaper reports which reveal that there are instances where vaccines were being procured even before requisite approvals were obtained from the Central Drugs Laboratory as per the norms.

“As per the guidance note issued by National Centre for Disease Control, manufacturing of Rabies vaccine for humans, being a complex process, needs a minimum of three to four months for manufacturing and testing. Shockingly, there have been instances where the vaccine has reached Kerala State within 14 days of manufacture. Non-adherence to the requisite quality checks would be a direct violation of Articles 14, 19 and 21 of the Constitution of India, apart from violations of provisions under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 and Rules thereunder”, the plea reads.

It has been further submitted that the rise in the number of rabies-infected dogs is also a matter of concern; which necessitates an enquiry into the quality of anti-rabies vaccines administered to dogs.

Eliminating the risk of rabies at its source i.e., dogs, is the most effective measure to curtail the spread of rabies, the plea adds.

“The experts suggest that human rabies is a 100% vaccine-preventable disease and the vaccines are considered to be “highly effective, safe and tolerated”. Perforce, without vaccination, rabies is a fatal disease. While improper administration of IDRV is stated to be a possible reason for failure of the medicine in some cases, the recent deaths points towards the very efficacy of the vaccine”, the plea states.

The petition also seeks direction to call for the records pertaining to instances, if any, where vaccines were procured by the State Governments without statutory approvals by the Central Drugs Laboratory.

The Supreme Court Bench led by Chief Justice of India NV Ramana, last month issued notice to the Centre and the Election Commission on a PIL also filed by the Kerala Pravasi Association seeking voting rights for non-resident Indians (NRIs. Kerala Pravasi Association has sought directions to the Central Government to permit Indian citizens residing outside India to exercise their franchise under Section 20A of the Representation of the People Act (RPA), 1950 from their place of residence or employment.

Email: admin@keralapravasiassociation.com

Election Commission of India has recognized the Pravasi-led Kerala Pravasi Association (KPA) as a political party

Election Commission of India has recognized the Pravasi-led Kerala Pravasi Association (KPA) as a political party

14 May 2022 – Thiruvananthapuram – Kerala – The Kerala Pravasi Association (KPA) formed under the leadership of Pravasi was approved by the Election Commission of India. KPA formed the political party with new ideas to replace the anti-democratic and opportunistic politics of the country’s fronts.

The Election Commission of India has registered Kerala Pravasi Association as a political party under registration number 56/071/2021-2022/PPS-I.

The Kerala Pravasi Association’s entry into politics is under the slogan ‘Self Sufficient and Self Reliant Kerala” through Pravasi’s.

According to government figures for 2020, 18 million people from India live outside the country. India has the highest number of expatriates in the UAE (3.5 million), the USA (2.7 million), and Saudi Arabia (2.5 million). Australia, Canada, Kuwait, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, and the United Kingdom are among the countries hosting Indian immigrants, according to a report by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs. According to the World Bank, remittances from expatriate Indians to India in 2021 were $ 87 billion.  If we take people who are working or living in other states into consideration, the expatriate community (Pravasi’s) makes up about ten percent or more of India’s population.  Pravasi Indians whether they are living in other states or outside India are neglected by the Governments and mainstream political parties at all stages, and they are severely exploited, rights are denied, etc.

Kerala, which has no large-scale industries or large sources of financial income, has been one of the major exporters of human resources from India to other countries or other states for decades. The reality is that the economy of the state is mainly dependent on remittances and expatriate deposits.  The expat community, which covers over one-third of the population of Kerala, contributes about 37% of the GDP of Kerala. Hence, Kerala Pravasi Association has started its activities from Kerala.

Rajendran Vellapalath, Chairman of Kerala Pravasi Association (KPA) said; “KPA aims to be the common voice of for all Pravasi Indians irrespective of whether they are living outside of their state or outside of India. We also aim to build a self-sufficient corruption-free New India with the participation of the Pravasi Indians, using their International experience and exposure, work experience, expertise, strength, and enthusiasm to overcome any challenge, etc.

The initial mission of the Kerala Pravasi Association is to implement the NRIs’ vision of 36 key  areas related to the daily lives of the people of Kerala, including poverty alleviation, agriculture, dairy development, elimination of unemployment, infrastructure development (drinking water, housing, health care, etc.),  environmental protection, etc…”

Kerala Pravasi Association does not engage in any form of activities such as bandhs and hartals, destruction of public property, and stagnation of public life as being practiced by other Political Parties in India.

Kerala Pravasi Association functions by forming Panchayat, Municipal, Corporation, District, and State Committees under a 36-member National Council. The party currently has groups in all the local bodies (941 Panchayats, Municipal, Corporations, and 14 Districts) in Kerala.

Through Kerala Pravasi Association’s Website (www.keralapravasiassociation.com), the common people in India including the expatriate community of the country have the opportunity to become active members of the Association by gaining Ordinary Membership and Active Membership from June 1.

KPA is committed to leveraging the knowledge and skills gained from the diaspora, high work culture, advanced technical knowledge, advanced job training, sense of purpose, and dedication to work for the betterment of the country. KPA is committed to implementing the views of expatriates on matters related to the daily lives of the people.

As a first step, Kerala Pravasi Association (KPA) has said that expatriates are not been able to exercise their right to consent and participate in the democratic process by casting votes in their home country as they lead an expatriate life despite being Indian citizens. Kerala Pravasi Association has approached the Supreme Court with the intention of getting Pravasi’s the right to vote.

At the same time, Kerala Pravasi Association has decided to approach the High Court against the negligence of the State Government is not taking a favorable approach in this regard, despite the High Court directing in August 2020 to raise the age limit for membership in the Pravasi Welfare Fund of the State Government to 60 years.

In addition to the above, a recruiting company called pravasijobs.com has already started with the aim of eradicating unemployment of around 40 Lakhs educated youth in the State.  The Kerala Pravasi Association has also decided to organize job fests in different parts of the country as part of promoting pravasijobs.com.

New ventures like keralastartup.com will be launched to find and promote startups from the beginning. Kerala Sree project will be formulated for the empowerment of women. It will implement the necessary schemes to make women self-sufficient.

The Kerala Pravasi Association will now be active in Indian politics as a pressure force before the government on all issues related to Pravasi Indians as well as to raise the issues faced by the common man in India.

Election Commission of India has recognized the Pravasi-led Kerala Pravasi Association (KPA) as a political party

Election Commission of India has recognized the Pravasi-led Kerala Pravasi Association (KPA) as a political party

14 May 2022 – Thiruvananthapuram – Kerala – The Kerala Pravasi Association (KPA) formed under the leadership of Pravasi was approved by the Election Commission of India. KPA formed the political party with new ideas to replace the anti-democratic and opportunistic politics of the country’s fronts.

The Election Commission of India has registered Kerala Pravasi Association as a political party under registration number 56/071/2021-2022/PPS-I.

The Kerala Pravasi Association’s entry into politics is under the slogan ‘Self Sufficient and Self Reliant Kerala” through Pravasi’s.

According to government figures for 2020, 18 million people from India live outside the country. India has the highest number of expatriates in the UAE (3.5 million), the USA (2.7 million), and Saudi Arabia (2.5 million). Australia, Canada, Kuwait, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, and the United Kingdom are among the countries hosting Indian immigrants, according to a report by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs. According to the World Bank, remittances from expatriate Indians to India in 2021 were $ 87 billion.  If we take people who are working or living in other states into consideration, the expatriate community (Pravasi’s) makes up about ten percent or more of India’s population.  Pravasi Indians whether they are living in other states or outside India are neglected by the Governments and mainstream political parties at all stages, and they are severely exploited, rights are denied, etc.

Kerala, which has no large-scale industries or large sources of financial income, has been one of the major exporters of human resources from India to other countries or other states for decades. The reality is that the economy of the state is mainly dependent on remittances and expatriate deposits.  The expat community, which covers over one-third of the population of Kerala, contributes about 37% of the GDP of Kerala. Hence, Kerala Pravasi Association has started its activities from Kerala.

Rajendran Vellapalath, Chairman of Kerala Pravasi Association (KPA) said; “KPA aims to be the common voice of for all Pravasi Indians irrespective of whether they are living outside of their state or outside of India. We also aim to build a self-sufficient corruption-free New India with the participation of the Pravasi Indians, using their International experience and exposure, work experience, expertise, strength, and enthusiasm to overcome any challenge, etc.

The initial mission of the Kerala Pravasi Association is to implement the NRIs’ vision of 36 key  areas related to the daily lives of the people of Kerala, including poverty alleviation, agriculture, dairy development, elimination of unemployment, infrastructure development (drinking water, housing, health care, etc.),  environmental protection, etc…”

Kerala Pravasi Association does not engage in any form of activities such as bandhs and hartals, destruction of public property, and stagnation of public life as being practiced by other Political Parties in India.

Kerala Pravasi Association functions by forming Panchayat, Municipal, Corporation, District, and State Committees under a 36-member National Council. The party currently has groups in all the local bodies (941 Panchayats, Municipal, Corporations, and 14 Districts) in Kerala.

Through Kerala Pravasi Association’s Website (www.keralapravasiassociation.com), the common people in India including the expatriate community of the country have the opportunity to become active members of the Association by gaining Ordinary Membership and Active Membership from June 1.

KPA is committed to leveraging the knowledge and skills gained from the diaspora, high work culture, advanced technical knowledge, advanced job training, sense of purpose, and dedication to work for the betterment of the country. KPA is committed to implementing the views of expatriates on matters related to the daily lives of the people.

As a first step, Kerala Pravasi Association (KPA) has said that expatriates are not been able to exercise their right to consent and participate in the democratic process by casting votes in their home country as they lead an expatriate life despite being Indian citizens. Kerala Pravasi Association has approached the Supreme Court with the intention of getting Pravasi’s the right to vote.

At the same time, Kerala Pravasi Association has decided to approach the High Court against the negligence of the State Government is not taking a favorable approach in this regard, despite the High Court directing in August 2020 to raise the age limit for membership in the Pravasi Welfare Fund of the State Government to 60 years.

In addition to the above, a recruiting company called pravasijobs.com has already started with the aim of eradicating unemployment of around 40 Lakhs educated youth in the State.  The Kerala Pravasi Association has also decided to organize job fests in different parts of the country as part of promoting pravasijobs.com.

New ventures like keralastartup.com will be launched to find and promote startups from the beginning. Kerala Sree project will be formulated for the empowerment of women. It will implement the necessary schemes to make women self-sufficient.

The Kerala Pravasi Association will now be active in Indian politics as a pressure force before the government on all issues related to Pravasi Indians as well as to raise the issues faced by the common man in India.

Mobius Foundation Celebrated International Women’s Day with #EqualSamman

Mobius Foundation Celebrated International Women’s Day with #EqualSamman

09 March 2022: The Mobius Foundation launched a campaign and a webinar, “Equal Samman”, in line with the UN theme – ‘Gender equality today for a sustainable tomorrow’. The campaign sought to understand the motto of #BreakTheBias and its role in the workplace and daily life.

The hour-long webinar was conducted virtually on March 8th, 2022, from 3:00-4:30 PM. It featured a panel of trailblazers who overcame obstacles imposed by society to become who they are today.

Dr. Ram Boojh, CEO, Mobius Foundation, welcomed all the guests and dignitaries and paid tribute to women warriors who are on the frontline of sustainability of the plant he further said “Our world would mean nothing without women. Their courage that exists in perfect harmony with amazing tenderness saves our world every day.”

Recognising the contributions of women and girls globally, the webinar initiated an informed and engaging debate about the dynamics of women’s empowerment and its impact on our nation’s development for a sustainable tomorrow. To emphasise the importance of breaking down biases against women and girls, the foundation invited internationally acclaimed women speakers to highlight the importance of challenging societal stereotypes. Dr. Neelima Jerath, Director General, Pushpa Gujral Science City; Dr. Shweta Khare Naik, Executive Director, Jane Goodall Institute India; Dr. Uma Tuli, Founder, Amar Jyoti Charitable Trust; and Ms. Nalini and Ms. Kamalini, SNA Awardee, and Padmashree, Ms. Indira Burman, Trustee Mobius Foundation, Chairperson SUNDESH, and Ms. Poonam Minhas, Principal Gyan Anant Vidyalaya graced the occasion.

Dr. Uma Tuli stated, “Biases have been broken many times. Look at the ‘Iron Ladies’ that have made their own place in society. What we need to see is men respecting women but also recognising women with disabilities who have been an inspiration to many like Sudha Chandran, Prachi, Bhakti, Arunima Sinha, and a lot more. We have to give equal opportunity and equal participation to people with special abilities, that’s when it will be #EqualSamman.”

Dr. Shweta Khare deliberated, “We as women should not limit ourselves. We have various roles to play, we have to find our own place, our own ways to be in this society.”

Dr. Neelima Jerath expressed, ‘Look at the clear skies beyond the glass ceiling – be strong – be soft – be silent, and let success make the noise one day’

Ms Nalini and Ms Kamalini said, “मैं ईश्वर का धन्यवाद करती हूँ मुझे नारी रूप देने के लिये। बिना नारी एक ऐसा आभाव होता है जैसे जीवन में कुछ है ही नहीं। नारी रंग है , संगीत है , संसार है , प्रकृति है। नारी सर्व है सर्वत्र है।”

Ms. Indira Burman, Trustee Mobius Foundation, Chairperson SUNDESH, thanked the guests and panelists and said “The road to gender equality remains long and ever-shifting—particularly when it comes to the nuanced ways gender intersects with race, class, and sexuality. But today’s influential female voices give us hope that we’re headed in the right direction.”

The month-long digital campaign #EqualSamman – aims to address conscious and unconscious biases that prevail in society and prevent women and girls from living their lives to the fullest.

Biases have crept across different lines in women’s lives, whether in the public or private sphere. Women are expected to behave in certain ways, which means they must live up to the standards set by society. Every woman should embrace their own individuality and identity and use it to make a difference to transform the world around them and break the bias. Behaving counter-stereotypically and rebelling against these biases is viewed negatively by society, and as a result, people perceive a less likable image of women. Mobius Foundation aims to demonstrate the strength and ambition of women to elevate a climate of change in society as part of its challenge to established norms.

Individually, we’re all responsible for our thoughts and actions – all day, every day. We can break the bias in our communities. We can break the bias in our workplaces. We can break the bias in our schools, colleges, and universities.

SO, LET US ALL PLEDGE TOGETHER, WE CAN ALL BREAK THE BIAS – ON INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY (IWD) AND BEYOND.

Flight Centre secures majority stake in TPConnects Technologies, a Dubai based Travel Tech Company

Flight Centre secures majority stake in TPConnects Technologies, a Dubai based Travel Tech Company

14 March 2022, Dubai, United Arab Emirates; The Flight Centre Travel Group (FLT) has reinforced its commitment to providing customers with the widest choice of airfares by increasing its investment in travel technology business TPConnects Technologies (TPC).

The company has increased its equity interest in the Dubai-based Software as a Service (SaaS) business, which aims to shape the future of travel distribution and has been at the forefront of ongoing changes to traditional distribution models, from 22.5% to 70%.

FLT initially invested in TPC in February 2020 with a view to supercharging the development of TPC’s innovative technology platform, which aggregates content from multiple sources including:

  • Global distribution systems (GDSs), which airlines traditionally utilised to distribute air content
  • Low-cost carriers (LCCs)
  • Emerging supplier-direct channels, specifically airlines’ New Distribution Capability (NDC) offerings; and
  • Other third-party NDC aggregators

TPC has a proven track record in NDC and provides a centralised NDC Gateway which services customers in both the aviation and travel agency sectors.

The business offers travel agents a range of solutions to access aggregated air content via the TPC Universal API (application programming interface), which can be directly integrated into any user interface, or via agency business-to-business (B2B) platforms such as the NDC marketplace portal.

TPC was established in 2012 by Rajendran Vellapalath and Praveen Kumar, who both maintain an ongoing involvement in the business and will become part of the new TPC board. In addition to the TPC board, Mr Vellapalath will be involved in Kerala Pravasi Association, a non-government organisation (NGO) led by the expatriate community-based in India, and a new Social Media application.

The business has a proven track record in developing NDC solutions for airlines and aggregating these for travel sellers and has been recognised globally by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) as both an IT Provider and Aggregator. FLT’s involvement in TPC allowed the company to become the first global travel management company to receive IATA Level 4 certification, the highest level available at the time (achieved in 2020).

“FLT’s investment comes at an important time, given the rapid changes that are taking place in the distribution of air content and with the development of the Airline Retailing Maturity Index, which IATA is now pioneering,” Mr. Vellapalath said,

“This is one of the biggest industry disruptions in recent years, with NDC and IATA’s new ONE Order customer record system at its core.

“The strong relationship between TPC and FLT will ensure that both companies remain at the forefront of this ongoing change and play a lead role in the future evolution of distribution.”

For airline customers, TPC offers advanced NDC solutions via its middleware offer and order management services. TPConnects airline customers include Singapore Airlines, Oman Air, Gulf Air, Saudi Arabian Airlines, Eastern Airlines, SriLankan Airlines, Air Cairo, Egypt Air, SaudiGulf Airlines, and Air Mauritius.

“The traditional airline distribution model is being disrupted, with growth in direct connections between buyers and sellers, the proliferation of new commercial models, the rise of new entrant technology providers and continued enhancements in connectivity,” FLT’s leisure and supply chief executive officer Melanie Waters-Ryan said.

“Within this ever-changing distribution landscape, we have taken proactive steps to complement our GDS partnerships and ensure we can source and deliver the best content to our leisure and corporate customers globally by investing in TPC.

“TPC has been at the heart of the evolution in airfare distribution during the past decade, is now engrained in our business, and is integral to the new operating systems and platforms we are delivering in both the leisure and corporate sectors.

“By investing further in the business, we have greater influence over future developments and the product’s ongoing evolution, while ensuring we continue to deliver the widest choice of airfares to our customers.

“Fast-tracking future developments will also provide FLT with a better opportunity to be ahead of our competitors’ comparable solutions.”

Other potential commercial benefits to FLT include:

  • Lower costs – the ability to cost-effectively access and book a broad range of NDC content via TPC and avoid the surcharges that some airlines are now applying to bookings made via GDSs. FLT can also access TPC content at a lower rate than it pays to aggregation competitors
  • Margin improvement, through access to TPC’s margin management tools and ability to control decisions relating to where air content is sourced from
  • Access to NDC-related incentives that airlines are increasingly offering to their travel agency partners
  • Enhanced ability to offer and distribute exclusive private fares for airlines; and
  • Access to new revenue streams through TPC’s offerings to airlines and other travel agency groups