Latest news with #Pavitra
Hindustan Times
5 days ago
- Health
- Hindustan Times
World No Tobacco Day: Expert shares 5 ways smoking actively damages your mental health
World No Tobacco Day 2025: Every year on May 31, World No Tobacco Day is observed to raise awareness about the ill effects of tobacco on health. WHO has announced the theme for this year - 'Unmasking the Appeal: Exposing Industry Tactics on Tobacco and Nicotine Products.' This campaign intends to shed light on the manipulative tactics the tobacco industry uses to make smoking appear attractive. While it is already well-known how smoking harms physical health, the toxic content of cigarettes doesn't spare mental health either. In the culture of 'chai sutta breaks', smoking is commonly thought to remove mental roadblocks, beckoning those lightbulb moments of creativity. Even beyond that, it's generally considered a stress buster. But in reality, smoking worsens your mental health in more ways than one. Dr Pavitra Shankar, psychiatrist at Aakash Healthcare, shared with HT Lifestyle how mental health takes a serious hit because of smoking. She said, 'Mental health starts to improve within weeks of quitting. People feel calmer, sleep better, and feel more in control. Mood improves, and confidence returns.' Dr Pavitra shared a guide with us, listing out some of the ways you may be damaging your mental health if you are a smoker: ALSO READ: 'Sitting is the new smoking': Fitness expert suggests 4 exercises you can do if you sit for too long Note to readers: This article is for informational purposes only and not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always seek the advice of your doctor with any questions about a medical condition.
Hindustan Times
28-05-2025
- Hindustan Times
Man rapes 5-year-old in Agra temple, arrested; probe underway
A five-year-old girl was allegedly raped by a man inside a temple in Jagdishpura area of Agra, police said on Wednesday, adding that the accused has been arrested. Also Read: Police have arrested the man and a further investigation is underway. The incident took place on May 18 when the girl was playing near the temple. The accused, Pavitra, is alleged to have taken her inside the temple and raped her. Also Read: Kevin Costner sued by stuntwoman over filming 'violent' rape scene in Horizon: An American Saga—Chapter 2 Agra police commissionerate said in a post on X that the incident took in the Jagdishpura area and the accused has been arrested. Also Read: Head of Math in Karnataka's Belagavi arrested for allegedly raping a minor girl "We have zero tolerance in cases of crime against women especially children. A detailed probe is on in the matter," it said. UP state women commission chief Babita Chauhan on Wednesday met the girl and also visited the temple. She also took information about the case from the police and said that the case will be tried in the fast track court.
Hans India
21-05-2025
- Hans India
Six Killed in Pile-Up on National Highway in Karnataka, Including Four from One Family
Vijayapura: Six people — including four members of a single family — were killed on the spot in a three-vehicle collision on National Highway 50 near Mangalagi town in Basavanabagewadi taluk of Vijayapura district on Wednesday in wee hours. According to police, the accident involved a Maharashtra-registered Mahindra Scorpio (MH 13 BN 8364), a private bus (MH 12 VT 7982), and a lorry (KA 22 AA 3117). The victims travelling in the SUV have been identified as T. Bhaskaran, a Canara Bank manager from Gadwal in Telangana; his wife Pavitra; their children Abhiram and Josna; and the vehicle's driver Vikas Shivappa Makani from Horti in Vijayapura district. The sixth deceased was the private bus driver, Basavaraj Rathod, a resident of Kalaghatagi Tanda. All six were declared dead at the scene, police said. Bhaskaran's second son, Praveen Teja, was among several others who sustained injuries and has been admitted to a nearby hospital for treatment. Preliminary investigations suggest the Mahindra Scorpio was headed towards Solapur when it collided with the private bus en route from Mumbai to Ballari near Mangalagi. The sequence of events that led to the pile-up is still under investigation. Local police from Mangalagi rushed to the spot and conducted preliminary assessments. Vijayapura District Superintendent of Police also confirmed the incident and said a detailed probe is underway.
Hindustan Times
18-05-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Redraw the line for hiring art teachers: Teachers' federation
MUMBAI: Art teachers in schools across the state are being erased from the recruitment landscape, thanks to a government rule that limits their hiring to one drawing teacher for every 500 students. The new rule, announced in March 2024 but to be implemented from the upcoming academic year, covers government and government-aided private schools – more than 260 aided private schools in Mumbai alone stand to be impacted. Principals of these schools said the government has not approved a single new appointment for art teachers since 2012, citing various administrative hurdles. One Mumbai principal said art classes for students in their school, from Classes 5 to 10, are in jeopardy. 'We currently have 461 students from Classes 5 to 10, and our drawing teacher is set to retire on June 30. Under the new rule, we can't appoint a replacement. Drawing requires a specific skill set. It's not something we can assign to another subject teacher,' he said. Sunil Shikhare, chairperson of the Chhatrapati Rajarshi Shahu Maharaj Arts and Sports Teachers Federation, said, earlier, schools with classes that ran from five to ten were allowed to recruit art teachers without any student-count requirement. 'But, since 2012, not a single post has been approved for art teachers,' Shikhare said. A school principal said art teachers play a unique role in school life. 'They are the soul of the school. They bring joy and help students express their creativity. They also contribute beyond the classroom by preparing educational charts, writing boards for school events, and assisting with teaching aids for other subjects. Now, all this will be affected,' she said, adding that art teachers also prepare students for elementary and intermediate drawing exams. Kiran Sarode, vice-chairperson of the federation, added that the new rule will hit rural schools hardest, due to the student-count requirement. 'We are demanding changes to the government resolution issued on March 15, 2024. The rule should be amended to allow schools to appoint a drawing teacher for every 250 students instead of 501. Most rural schools with Classes 1 to 10 have fewer than 500 students, and this decision deprives them of a basic art education,' he said. The federation wrote to the school education commissioner on May 11, urging immediate action. They also stressed the need to appoint art teachers in schools where staff have retired, and to reopen recruitment through the Pavitra portal. An official from the education directorate said, 'We have received a letter from the association, and will discuss this issue in departmental meetings.'
The Hindu
07-05-2025
- Business
- The Hindu
Sarvam AI launches AI text-to-speech model with support for 11 Indian languages
Sarvam AI has launched a new text-to-speech AI model called Bulbul v1, available in 11 Indian languages including Hindi, Marathi, Punjabi, Oriya, Tamil, Bengali, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and Gujarati. The Bengaluru-based AI startup has said that the voices are in 'authentic accents' that don't sound robotic or rehearsed. The model can also be trained in the user's voice while promising lower latency and cost as compared to rivals like Eleven Labs. Users can also choose between six distinct personalities where each caters to a different communication need for a different industry. For example, Amartya is expressive and distinct, Pavitra is dramatic and engaging, Amol is narrational and mature, Maitreyee is engaging and informative while Arvind is conversational and articulate and Meera is professional and articulate. A blog posted by Sarvam shared that their training data for the AI model combined high-quality, diverse audio from multiple speakers and languages. There were code-mixed inputs, proper nouns and abbreviations included as well as voices that had both professional and conversational tones for different use cases. Last week, the government selected Sarvam as the first startup to build India's first indigenous AI large language model from among 67 applications. The startup will receive support from the government with regards to compute to build a foundational AI model from scratch.
