Latest news with #IIPS
India Gazette
27-05-2025
- Politics
- India Gazette
Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar set to visit Mumbai on May 28
New Delhi [India], May 28 (ANI): Vice-President of India Jagdeep Dhankhar will be on a one-day tour of Mumbai, Maharashtra, on Wednesday. During his visit, the Vice-President will preside as Chief Guest at the 65th and 66th Convocation Ceremony of International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS) in Mumbai. Earlier, emphasising that India needs indigenous strength for national security, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar said on Tuesday that war is best avoided from a position of strength. Speaking at the inaugural session of Rajya Sabha Internship Program-phase 7, the Vice President said that Operation Sindoor has changed the mindset of people massively with regard to national security, national economy and national welfare. 'We are now nationalistic as never before,' he said. 'The recent episode, Operation Sindoor, has changed our mindset massively. We are now nationalistic as never before. And this is reflected in participation of all political landscape in delegations that have gone abroad to project our message of peace and our complete intolerance to terrorism. And therefore, having seen recent events, well, we have no choice. We have no other option but to remain united and grow stronger,' he said. 'Like institutions, even political tribes have a moral duty to the national cause, because ultimately all Institutions, the Legislature, the Judiciary, the Executive, the focal point is national growth, national welfare, public welfare, to generate transparency, accountability, honesty. On issues of national security, economic progress, all factions need to put national interest over partisan priorities. I will appeal to everyone in the political spectrum to seriously reflect, come to a conclusion that on issues of national security, on issues of growth, on issues of our internal security, there must be consensus. Sometimes politics get too hot for nationalism and security, something we need to overcome,' he added. The Vice President said that technological progress and arms strength also contribute to national strength. 'For national security, we need indigenous strength. War is best avoided from position of strength. Peace is secured when you are ever ready for comes apart from technological prowess, conventional arms strength, from people also.' (ANI)
Time of India
18-05-2025
- Health
- Time of India
Covid-19 cut life expectancy by 1.6yrs: IIPS study
Mumbai: India experienced a sharp decline in life expectancy in 2021, losing 1.6 years amid the Covid-19 pandemic. This setback erased nearly a decade of health gains, according to analysis by researchers from the International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS), Deonar. The findings come days after the Union govt released data from the civil registration system showing that India recorded 2.2 million excess deaths in 2021 compared to 2019, the last pre-pandemic year. The study, led by IIPS doctoral students Chandan Kumar, Pravat Bhandari, Himanshu Jaiswal, and Professor Suryakant Yadav from the department of biostatistics and epidemiology, found that the country's overall life expectancy at birth fell from 70.4 years in 2019 to 68.8 years in 2021. Among the 22 states analysed, 19 experienced declines in life expectancy. The most severe drops were seen in Gujarat, Punjab, and Haryana, where life expectancy fell by more than three years. "Men in India saw a 2.2-year drop in life expectancy, from 68.9 to 66.7 years, while women's life expectancy declined by only 0.5 years, from 72.1 to 71.5 years," said Dr Yadav. "This shows that men died at much higher rates during the pandemic, resulting in a further widening of the gender gap," he added. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Giao dịch Bitcoin và Ethereum - Không cần ví! IC Markets BẮT ĐẦU NGAY Undo The gender gap in life expectancy grew to 3.2 years in 2021, up from 2.8 years before the pandemic. In states like Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, and Uttarakhand, the decline in male life expectancy was more than five times greater than that of females. Dr Yadav emphasised that these results are very preliminary and that the final comprehensive report will soon be sent for publication. Life expectancy at birth —an estimate of the average years a newborn can expect to live based on current mortality rates — is a key component of the Human Development Index (HDI), which measures a country's health, education, and standard of living. "Losses in life expectancy due to Covid-19 could cause India to slip in the HDI rankings," the researchers warned. Noting the global context, Dr Yadav added, "Such dramatic drops are expected following a major disaster or pandemic. Many high-income countries that experienced decl-ines in life expectancy during Covid-19 have since managed to recover these losses."
Hindustan Times
17-05-2025
- Health
- Hindustan Times
Life expectancy in Maha went down 2.36 years during Covid-19
MUMBAI: With two million excess deaths during the Covid-19 years, the average life span in India took a hit, reversing the gradual upwards trend for the first time in five decades. In Maharashtra, life expectancy went down by 2.36 years, with men bearing over six times the burden than women, an analysis of 2021 mortality data released by the government on May 7 by research scholars and a professor at the Indian Institute of Population Studies (IIPS) has revealed. The analysis was conducted by PhD research scholars Chandan Kumar, Pravat Bhandari and Himanshu Jaiswal under the supervision of Suryakant Yadav, an assistant professor at IIPS. 'Men are more vulnerable to death from external factors,' said one of the people behind the analysis, which they plan to submit to journals. 'Men tend to work outside the home, and this increased their proximity with high-risk zones during the Covid years. They tended to go out to earn and get supplies more, increasing their risk of contracting Covid.' Overall, the country saw a 1.6-year decline in life expectancy, falling from 70.4 years in 2019 to 68.8 years in 2021. Only three states, Rajasthan, Telangana, and Uttar Pradesh, escaped this with modest gains in life expectancy by 2021. In this statistic too, men took the larger share—2.7 times that of women—of the dip. Their life span dropped 2.2 years, from 68.9 years to 66.7 years. Women, on the other hand, lived five months less on an average, from 72.1 years in 2019 to 71.5 years in 2021. Other states too saw this trend. 'This pattern of greater life expectancy loss among males compared to females was evident across all the 22 states analysed, though its magnitude varied significantly across states,' says the report. 'In Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Uttarakhand, the decline in life expectancy in males was greater than five times that of females. Conversely, Assam, Jammu and Kashmir, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh exhibited the smallest gender differences, with losses in male life expectancy being less than 1.5 times than that of females.' The report says that the decline in male life expectancy further widened India's gender gap in life expectancy in 2021—it increased by 3.2 years in 2021 from 2.8 years in the pre-pandemic period. This effectively erased the slow progress India had been making in life expectancy over the years, taking it back by eight years to the 2013 level when average life expectancy was 68.8 years. 'India took an average of five years to add a one-year increase in life expectancy,' says the analysis. 'Hence, a loss of 1.6 years in life expectancy at birth reveals that the gains made over the past decade during normal or pre-pandemic years were effectively erased during the Covid pandemic. In other words, the Covid pandemic has rolled India's progress in life expectancy back to that of almost a decade earlier.' With the absence of death data of the years after 2021, it is yet to be seen at what pace life expectancy recovers. 'Several high-income countries have seen a quick rebound in the losses in life expectancy, successfully reversing the losses in the post-pandemic years,' said one of the study participants. 'They are advantaged, with better infrastructure and better regulation, and with work-from-home decreasing risk. But we too should be optimistic about the rate India will bounce back from the setback caused by Covid.'
Time of India
14-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Delay in data from NTA to hit PG admissions & academic session at DAVV
Indore: Despite the National Testing Agency (NTA) declaring the results of CUET PG last week, the counselling process for admission to postgraduate programmes at Devi Ahilya Vishwavidyalaya (DAVV) is expected to begin only in the third week of delay is attributed to the time required—approximately 15 to 21 days—for the university to receive detailed candidate data from the NTA, which is essential for preparing the merit list. Officials at DAVV said the registration process for counselling is likely to commence by June-end. As a result, the new academic session for its teaching departments and institutes will not begin on scheduled date of July 1. Instead, it may start around July 20, slightly delaying the entire academic than 1460 seats across 24 postgraduate programmes offered by over ten university teaching departments, including IIPS and IMS, will be filled through the CUET PG score. These include popular courses such as MA in clinical psychology, sociology, political science, geography, and history, along with professional programmes like MBA in hospital administration, public health, marketing management, financial administration and Master of Social to experts, the delay in counselling will limit students' options and pose challenges for those seeking timely admission. DAVV officials, however, hope to expedite the process once the data is received from CUET UG commenced on Tuesday. Undergraduate and integrated programmes at DAVV's IIPS, IMS, School of Law, School of Commerce, IET, and others will give admission to students through CUET UG. Over 25 UG and integrated courses are on offer, including BCom (Hons), BA LLB, BBA Aviation, BPharma, BCA, and several integrated MBA and MCA PG data for admissions to be conducted in August-Sept cycles will further delay subsequent rounds of counselling, making timely admissions more challenging. DAVV officials are in constant touch with NTA to ensure smoother coordination and faster data transfer for the benefit of aspirants.
Finextra
05-05-2025
- Business
- Finextra
Open Source Powers Payments Across COMESA to Drive Financial Inclusion: By Paula Hunter
The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) is taking a significant step toward regional financial integration and economic empowerment by deploying an open source, inclusive instant payment system (IIPS) as the backbone of its new regional payments system. Led by the COMESA Clearing House (CCH), this initiative marks a bold move to foster financial inclusion and unlock growth for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) across the 21-member trading block. Addressing the MSME Payment Gap MSMEs are the economic lifeblood of the COMESA region. Yet, many face a critical barrier to growth: a lack of access to efficient, affordable cross-border payment systems. This new open source IIPS-powered system is designed specifically to close that gap — enabling digital financial service providers (DFSPs) to connect seamlessly across borders and opening up new opportunities for trade and innovation. By offering DFSPs a gateway to connect where no domestic instant payment system exists — or integrating through inclusive domestic systems — COMESA is building a network that meets participants where they are. This flexible approach ensures that even countries with limited digital financial infrastructure can participate and benefit from the regional ecosystem. Laying the Groundwork for Regional Interoperability Several COMESA member states are already exploring an open source IIPS as a way to modernize their payment infrastructure and migrate key use cases from legacy systems. The IIPS' open-source foundation provides the transparency, flexibility, and scalability needed to support a wide range of use cases — from peer-to-peer transfers to merchant payments and beyond. Importantly, the architecture allows for domestic schemes to connect to regional and even global networks. For example, countries like Rwanda plan to leverage the open source foundation of RSwitch's IIPS (eKash) interoperability capabilities to connect domestic systems to global schemes —broadening access and creating a more inclusive digital economy. A Model for Regional Integration The COMESA initiative offers a powerful model for other regions seeking to deepen economic integration while advancing financial inclusion. By enabling real-time, cross-border payments tailored to the needs of MSMEs, COMESA is not just building financial infrastructure — it's laying the foundation for inclusive growth across Africa.
