Mohali, February 20
The National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER) is organising a workshop on “Drug discovery and development in the new millennium (D3NM-3)” here tomorrow.

The four-day workshop will be inaugurated by Prof S.D. Seth, Clinical Pharmacology, Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), New Delhi.

The workshop will provide drug discovery scientists, researchers, managers and students an insight into the ways of different aspects of drug discovery and development.

The workshop will have lectures by eminent speakers, interactive sessions and demonstrations in the laboratories of NIPER.

Drug targets of cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, stroke and pain; challenges in development of herbal drugs, computational methods in toxicity prediction, safety pharmacology and regulatory toxicology, will be discussed during the workshop. A one-day industry-institution interactive meet will be held on February 23 under the sponsorship of the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India. This will provide a unique opportunity to scientists engaged in the Indian pharmaceutical industry to forge alliances with premier educational institutions under various schemes.

During the workshop, 35 eminent national and international speakers from the pharma industry and academia will deliver guest lectures. Some of the prominent speakers are Dr C. Thiemermann, CEO, William Harvey Research Limited, UK, Dr Mary Dicig, Director, Technology Development, University of Illinois at Chicago, USA, Dr Anil Gulati, President, Chicago lab, Chicago USA, Dr Shaifali Bhalla, Midwestern University, USA, Dr C.L. Kaul, Director, Western International University, Dr Y.K. Gupta, AIIMS, Dr Tapas Mukhopadhyay, NCHGSR, PU, Dr Manjeet Singh, Punjabi University, Dr S.K. Kulkarni, PU, Drs D. Hota and Bikas Medhi, PGIMER, Dr Amitabha Chattopadhyay, CCMB, Hyderabad, and Dr PV Diwan, IICT, Hyderabad.

Guest speakers from the Indian pharma industry include Dr A. Sanakaranarayanan, GVK, Bioscience, Hyderabad, Dr Anita Chugh, Advinus Therapeutics, Pune, Dr Vyas M Shingatgeri, Ranbaxy, Dr K.C. Jindal, Panacea Biotec, Dr P.K. Bhatnagar, Ranbaxy, and Dr N.V.S. Kumar, Nicholas Piramal Research Centre.

In addition to these, several members of the NIPER faculty will deliver lectures.

The workshop is likely to be attended by 100 R & D scientists from the pharmaceutical industry (Ranbaxy, Reddys, Nicholas Pirmal, Torrent, Glenmark, Sun Pharmaceuticals, Wockhardt and Orchid; academic institutions (AIIMS, CDRI, PU, several medical and pharmacy colleges and regulatory agencies.

Chandigarh, February 20
Over 100 persons here today donated blood at the fifth annual blood donation camp organised by the Kamlesh Bansal Foundation (KBF).

The camp was organised in memory of Ms Kamlesh Bansal, who was one of the founding members of the voluntary blood donation drive spearheaded by the Blood Bank Society, Chandigarh. It was organised in association with the Rotary Club and Blood Bank Resource Centre, Sector 37, and was held at G.K. International Hotel.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr A.J. Philip, Senior Associate Editor, The Tribune, hailed the organisers of the blood donation camp and pointed out that donating blood, though a simple thing, can save many lives. He also interacted with the donors.

Addressing the gathering, Mr Anu K. Bansal, secretary, Kamlesh Bansal Foundation, said, “A special feature of the camp is the participation of a number of people from Ludhiana, who come every year specially to donate blood at the camp.”

Today, too, over 30 persons, led by Mr Sohal Lal Sherpuri, came from Ludhiana to donate blood. Mr Kulwinder Singh of Sunbeam Hotel and Mr P.V. Gupta, an exporter, not only donated blood but also motivated over 35 other persons to serve humanity by donating this gift of life.”

Mr Bansal disclosed that efforts were on to hold such camps more frequently.

Chandigarh, February 20
Pooja of BA II was declared “All-Round Best Player of the Year”, while Prabhjot (BA 1) was adjudged the best athlete during the 50th annual athletics meet of the Government College for Girls, Sector 11.

The “Best Marching Contingent” title was won by the B Com group. After taking the salute from the colourful marching contingents of students from various classes, the Principal, Dr Manjit Kalra, hoisted the college flag and declared the meet open.

Mr V.S. Kundu, Director, Sports and Youth Affairs, Haryana, was the chief guest.

The results are: High jump: 1 Konika, 2 Pooja, 3 Geetanjali; long jump: 1 Prabhjot, 2 Pinky, 3 Pooja; discuss throw: 1 Deepika, 2 Saaniya, 3 Manmeer; shot put: 1 Rajni, 2 Saaniya, 3 Tejinder; javelin throw: 1 Kamaljit, 2 Saaniya, 3 Tarandeep; 100m race: 1 Kirti, 2 Vijaylaxmi, 3 Lalita; 200m race: 1 Prabhjot, 2 Lalita, 3 Vijaylaxmi; 400m. race: 1 Prabhjot, 2 Vijaylaxmi, 3 Lalita; 800m race: 1 Prabhjot, 2 Vijaylaxmi, 3 Konika; 1500m race: 1 Rajni, 2 Geetanjali, 3 Kamaljit; sack race: 1 Komal, 2 Parul, 3 Savita; slow cycling: 1 Vijay Laxmi, 2 Shammi, 3 Rayna; wheel barrow: 1 Vijaylaxmi and Kirti, 2 Pinki and Pooja, 3 Vidhushi and Shallu; three-legged race: 1 Pinki and Pooja, 2 Parul and Deepti, 3 Mehar and Pashneet; obstacle race: 1 Vijaylaxmi, 2 Pinki, 3 Deepti; chhati race: 1 Lalita, 2 Kamaljeet, 3 Jasveer; class-IV staff race: 1 Prem, 2 Bhim, 3 Avtar.

The contingent of B.Com was declared the “Best Marching Contingent” and BSc (Medical) stood got the runner-up trophy.

Chandigarh, February 20
If you think that a three- year- old kid's life is just about playing with toys or learning the rhymes, well think again. Meet this three-and -a half -year- old God gifted 'karate kid', Rudraksh Gupta, whose looks are deceptive and set him apart from other kids.

This Bruce Lee admirer dreams of becoming like his icon. "I want to be strong and fast like him and would protect my friends and sisters from the enemies", quips the little hero.

Talking to The Tribune, Mr Raj Kumar, his coach from Ajit Karam Singh Karate Academy, Sector 41, said, "At his age, kids begin to cry on entering the ring, Rudraksh fearlessly gets into the ring and is always ready to take up the challenge with a motive to knock down his opponent. Undergoing three months coaching in martial art made him a fearless and a brave hearted boy."

Enrolled in nursery at Ryan International Public School, Sector 49, Rudraksh came into limelight when he bagged a gold medal in the 14 th Sub-Junior Chandigarh State Karate Championship, below 14-kg weight category, held at Ajit Karam Singh School rink in December last year. This was followed by another gold in fin category (a special category under 18 kg) in the First Keshav Memorial Tae Kwon Do Championship held recently at Skating Rink, Sector 10, here.

Praising his protégé, Mr Raj Kumar said, "It is his seriousness and devotion towards this sport that makes him a special kid and it is quite rare for a child of his age. He is very quick in grasping the fighting techniques and is equally good at both karate and tae kwon do, which is a rare combination. If he goes on with same dedication and zeal, he will be an international acclaimed name one day in this field."

"He has proved that he has enormous talent and confidence and is not at all perturbed by the crowd presence at the venue. People were amazed to see his confidence, which came naturally to him. It was his fast moves, speed, stamina and skill that prompted his father Mr Shital Gupta to take him to the Ajit Karam Singh Karate Academy, Sector 41, Chandigarh, he further added.

"Though it is quite hectic for me to come all the way from Sector 47 to Sector 41 everyday, but seeing his talent, I am ready to channelise his energy into right direction", said Shital Gupta, who also happens to be a national-level gold medallist in shooting in 90s.

Rudraksh's mother Ms Neelam Gupta, an MA Bed, is particular about his studies also. "My job is to take care of his diet. I am happy to say that he is equally proficient in his studies too", she proudly said. 

Chandigarh, February 20
The Chandigarh I.T. Reach Out Programme is being launched by the Department of Information Technology, Chandigarh Administration, in collaboration with the Department of Education.

Under this programme, the Chandigarh Administration shall provide a unified thrust to reach out to the under-privileged sections. Various programmes launched in collaboration with Intel, Infosys, Wipro, DELL and other companies will be part of the programme.

Gen S.F. Rodrigues (retd), Administrator, Union Territory, has approved the programme.

In order to consolidate the efforts towards the upgradation of Human Resources at the school level, the Administration has decided to start the programme. The Administration has already tied up with Intel Corporation for starting the Intel Learn Programme in schools that are located in rural areas and slum areas of Chandigarh.

The Premji Foundation has provided assistance to the Education Department for multi-media education in primary and secondary schools.

Infosys has also indicated interest in participating in programmes for training students at the school level. They have also shown interest in setting up a computer laboratory in which they would donate the entire set of machines for this purpose.

The programme would be aimed at further strengthening the efforts of the Administration towards reducing the digital divide and enabling the weaker sections of society to benefit from the technology revolution and the progress which Chandigarh has made in this field in the recent past.

Chandigarh, February 20
Mr M.S. Chalia has taken over as the Senior Divisional Commercial Manager, Ambala Railway Division. He replaces Mr Aneet Dulat, who has been transferred to Jabalpur Railway Division.