Sweet news for pre-diabetics

A healthy life is a universal goal. Disease is inconvenient; it affects the quality of life and shortens your life span. Illness does not mean just infections or accidents.

It includes chronic lifestyle diseases such as obesity, diabetes and hypertension. These diseases form a group, with one (usually obesity) appearing first and then rapidly progressing to the other two. Combined, they are responsible for more morbidity and mortality than infections.

Twenty per cent of our children and 15-40 per cent of adults are obese. They have a body mass index (BMI) of over 30. The highest levels are in the urban areas. 


In addition, 10-15 per cent of the population over the age of 30 is either frankly diabetic or in the pre-diabetic stage.

There are no obvious signs of pre-diabetes. It is suspected in:

 A person with a family history of diabetes

 Women who developed diabetes during pregnancy or delivered a big baby (more than 4kg) or who have been diagnosed with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), which is manifested by an obesity, acne, hirsuitism and irregular periods

 A person who is relatively inactive. This means less than one and a half to two hours a week of leisure time (not work) activity such as walking, jogging, running, swimming or cycling

 A person whose sleep rhythm is disturbed. It is either excessive (more than nine hours a night) or insufficient (less than six hours). These are only average values as healthy sleep habits vary widely

 A person whose skin at the neck, elbows, knees, armpits and knuckles become dark and velvety, a condition called acanthosis nigricans. 


It looks like dirt but it is a change in the skin itself. No amount of scrubbing removes the colour, nor does talcum powder mask it

 A person with a BMI of more than 30

 A person whose blood pressure has been found to be high (more than 135/90) on three occasions

 A person with abdominal obesity who has a waist-hip ratio above 0.90 if male and above 0.85 if female. The waist can be measured at its narrowest point, and the hip at its widest

Pre-diabetes is confirmed when the glycated haemoglobin test (A1C) in the blood shows a value between 6-6.5 per cent, fasting blood sugar is between 100-120mg, the two-hour post prandial value is between 140-190mg. 


Additional abnormalities are high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol below 35 milligrams per decilitre (mg/dL) and triglyceride level above 250 mg/dL.

As soon as the biochemical abnormalities occur, damage to the blood vessels and internal organs like the eyes, heart and the kidney are set in motion. 


The early diagnosis is a warning, a wakeup call. There is a 10-year window period to reverse the trend.

The good news — a “pre-diabetic” has a good chance of turning back the clock, reversing the metabolic changes that have occurred and becoming biochemically normal.

The first step is to control the weight, by eating a sensible 1,500-2,000 calorie diet with less refined carbohydrates and at least 4-6 helpings of fruits and vegetables. Reduce the salt intake to 5gm (1 level teaspoon) a day. 


Avoid salted snacks and deep-fried items. Oil consumption should be reduced to 500ml per person a month.

If the lipid profile does not return to normal ask your physician about low dose medication (usually the statin group) to control it.

Physical activity plays a very important role. The minimum requirement is one and a half hours a week. This will not give you a six pack or help you run a marathon, but it will slow your progression to diabetes.

The ideal amount of exercise is an hour a day, seven days a week. If you can only spare the minimum amount of time, the intensity of the exercise (pace) needs to be increased.

Aim to reach your target heart rate, which is 80 per cent of 220-age. There are various schedules for this high intensity interval training (HIIT).

The simplest (requiring no equipment at all) is continuous stair climbing for 10 minutes at a time.

Exercise can also be split into 10-15 minute segments spread out during the day.

There will be days when the weather is not conducive to going out doors, you just don’t feel up to it, or social commitments preclude activity. Exercise is more likely to be adequate and consistent if “rest days” are unplanned inevitable events.

These simple lifestyle changes can drastically bring down the risk of progression to diabetes and the risk of strokes, heart attacks and other complications by more than 50 per cent.

Courtesy: http://www.telegraphindia.com/1120723/jsp/knowhow/story_15760665.jsp#.UA0jC7Ue6ac

US approves drug ‘slashes’ virus transmission by 75%

The Food and Drug Administration approved a drug yesterday that could dramatically reduce the risk of contracting HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, among high-risk groups.

Truvada, a little blue pill taken once a day, was shown in clinical studies to slash transmission of the virus by up to 75 per cent. “This is a big step,” said Marjorie Hill, chief executive of the AIDS group GayMen’s HealthCrisis. “If people are looking for the magic bullet, the cure-all, we don’t have it yet. What we do have is an increasingly growing tool kit.”

Many HIV and AIDS researchers and activists say the pill is a promising way to reduce new infections, which have remained stubbornly high for years.

“It’s going to save lives,” Hill said.

But others worry it will have the opposite effect by encouraging unprotected sex. “Today marks a catastrophe in the fight against HIV in America,” Michael Weinstein, president of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation in Los Angeles, told reporters in a conference call. “If you look back five years from today, you will see this decision by the FDA will cause there to be more infections, not less.”

Truvada, made by the Foster City, California, pharmaceutical firm Gilead Sciences, was first approved in 2004 to help treat people infected with HIV. In those who are not infected, it can prevent the virus from getting a foothold in the body.

In a clinical study of heterosexual couples in Africa in which one partner was infected with HIV, taking the pill reduced transmission rates by 75 per cent. In a separate study of gay men, the drug reduced transmission by 42 per cent. The pill is most effective when taken every day — something even study participants struggled with — and when combined with condom use.

The FDA will require that patients have an HIV test before getting a prescription to ensure they are not already infected. If they are, the virus could develop resistance to Truvada, which is combined with another drug to treat those already infected.

The annual rate of new HIV infections in the US has remained about 50,000 since at least 2004, and rates have risen among young, gay black men. The Obama administration pledged to cut the number of new infections 25 per cent by 2015, but existing methods of prevention — essentially condoms and abstinence — have not budged the number.

The FDA has been searching for alternatives. Debra Birnkrant, director of the agency’s Division of Anti-viral Products, said yesterday’s approval would spur progress toward the administration’s goal. “The hope is over time it will reduce the rate of new infections or incidence in the US,” she said.

Treating HIV has been shown to reduce a patient’s likelihood of transmitting the disease. But offering new ways for HIV-negative people to protect themselves is important because a disproportionate number of infections are caused by people who have not been tested and are unaware they are infected.

“If you’re an HIV-negative person, you sure can’t rely on the fact that your partner is being treated,” said Dr Joel Gallant, vice-chairman of the HIV Medicine Association and an HIV/AIDS doctor in Baltimore. The pill’s cost could be a problem: A year’s supply costs $13,900, according to the manufacturer.

Courtesy- IAN DUNCAN, Los Angeles Times.

LPG sop cut plan gains pace

The government plans to quickly put in place a mechanism to cap the number of subsidized LPG cylinders for a household to 6-8 per year.

R.P. Singh, minister of state for petroleum and natural gas, today said in Bangalore that the government was close to taking a decision on limiting the availability to the “economically not weaker” sections to bring down the subsidies by up to Rs 10,000 crore annually.

The oil ministry had sent the proposal to the empowered group of ministers, and then headed by Pranab Mukherjee. After Mukherjee’s resignation as the finance minister, the government has not set up any panel to review fuel subsidies.

Oil ministry officials said, “One would have to wait to see whether another panel or a committee is set up on the issue.”

Singh said a lot of people who were “not economically weaker” get the benefit of the subsidy on cooking gas that costs the exchequer a sum of more than Rs 30,000 crore.

The subsidy per cylinder is around Rs 319, and the oil marketing companies supply around 32 lakh cylinders a day. The government expects to run a subsidy bill of Rs 36,000 crore this fiscal on cooking gas, up from Rs 30,000 crore in 2011-12.

A 14.2kg domestic cylinder is priced between Rs 393 and 405, while the 19.2 kg commercial cylinder costs Rs 1,300-1,500. The huge price difference often leads to the diversion of domestic cylinders for commercial purposes.

Singh also said the government was looking at a partial decontrol of diesel prices in a manner that it did not result in a cascading effect on the economy.

“If you try to raise the price of diesel, it has a cascading effect on the economy. We are trying to work out a solution where it impacts the economy in the least manner but also brings down the fiscal deficit,” he said.

HSBC Under strict vigilance

India will probe the transfer of funds by HSBC to an al Qaeda-linked bank in Saudi Arabia as well as its dealings with Bangladesh’s Islami Bank Bangladesh Ltd and Social Islami Bank Ltd, which have long been suspected of funding terrorist groups with India links.

Top officials said besides the RBI overseeing HSBC’s Indian operations, intelligence agencies would also launch investigations based on the US Senate sub-committee’s report on how the bank had become a conduit for money laundering and possible terror financiers.

The 340-page report has sections on how HSBC established links with Saudi Arabia’s Al Rajhi Bank.

 In 2009, HSBC had authorised its Hong Kong branch to buy rupee for the Saudi bank. The report pointed out that the Saudi banks handled International Islamic Relief Organisation’s “charitable contributions intended to benefit suicide bombers by directing al Igatha Journal advertisements… in Somalia, Sri Lanka, India, and the Philippines”.

Al Rajhi has a 37 per cent stake in Islami Bank. Besides this bank, HSBC transferred funds to another Bangladeshi lender with terror links —Social Islami Bank Ltd.

Bangladesh’s home ministry, which under the Awami League government has been cracking down on terror groups, had announced in March 2011 that 8 per cent of Islami Bank’s profits were diverted as zakat, or obligatory donation, to support militant jihad.

Sources said around 12 years back, Indian intelligence agencies had intercepted a letter from Jamaat leaders, which acknowledged money transfers through Jamaat-Bangladesh to the Muslim United Liberation Tigers of Assam (Multa) from Jamaat-Pakistan.

India staff role

HSBC’s staffs in India have come under the scanner for deficiencies in their role as “offshore reviewers” of the global banking giant’s compliance to safety mechanism against money laundering and terrorist financing.

A probe by the US Senate’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations found that HSBC’s Anti-Money Laundering Compliance Department, which included employees in India, was highly inadequately staffed, according to PTI.

Courtesy- http://www.telegraphindia.com/1120719/jsp/business/story_15745817.jsp#.UAeGPbUe6ac

Anand' mara nehi .....................'Anand' marte nehi!

Very much shattered hearing news of the sad demise of Kaka. Wherever you stay now on ..........................just stay in peace "Babu Moshai”. You will remain evergreen to my heart.

“Zindagi aur maut upar wale ke hath hain jahapana, jise na aap badal sakte hai na mein.”

“Hum sab to rangmanch ki katputlia hain, jiski door upar wale ke haath bandhi hain.... KAB KAUN KAISE UTHEGA YE KOI NAHI JANTA........... Ha ha ha ha”

"Zindagi badi honi chahiye, lambi nahin"

"Ek mara nahin, aur doosra marne ke liye paida ho gaya "

"Maanta hoon ki zindagi ki taakat maut se zyaada badi hai. Lekin yeh zindagi kya maut se badtar nahin?

College se degree lete hue zindagi ko bachane ki kasam khayi thi. Aur aisa lag raha hai jaise kadam-kadam par maut ko zinda rakhne ki koshish kar raha hoon"

"Aap achanak naaraaz kyo ho gaye? Oh! Samjha. Aap mujh pe nahin, apne aap pe naaraaz hain. Kyonki mera ilaaj nahin ho sakta na - isliye."

"Maut ke dar se agar zinda rahna chod diye, to maut kise kahte hain?"

"Bhagwan se tumhara sukh nahin, shanthi chaahti hoon"

"Hairaan hoon ki - wo maut pe has raha tha, ya zindagi pe?

US credit card deal

Visa Inc, MasterCard Inc and banks that issue credit cards have agreed to a $7.25-billion settlement with US retailers in a lawsuit over the fixing of credit and debit card fees in what could be the largest antitrust settlement in US history.

The settlement, if approved by a judge, will resolve dozens of lawsuits filed by retailers in 2005. The card companies and banks will also allow stores to start charging customers extra for using certain credit cards in an effort to steer them towards cheaper forms of payment.

The settlement papers were filed on Friday in Brooklyn federal court.

Swipe fees — charges to cover processing credit and debit payments — are set by the card companies and deducted from the transaction by the banks that issue the cards, essentially passing on the cost to merchants, the lawsuits said.

The proposed settlement involves a payment to a class of stores of $6 billion from Visa, MasterCard and more than a dozen of the country’s largest banks who issue the companies’ cards.

The card companies have also agreed to reduce swipe fees by the equivalent of 10 basis points for eight months for a total consideration to stores valued at about $1.2 billion, according to lawyers for the plaintiffs.

The deal calls for merchants to be allowed to negotiate collectively over the swipe fees, also known as interchange fees.

Merchants will also be required to disclose information about card fees to customers, and credit card surcharges will be subject to a cap, according to the settlement papers. Surcharge rules will not affect the 10 states that currently prohibit that practice, which include California, New York and Texas.

An additional $525 million will be paid to stores suing individually, according to the documents.

Courtesy- Reuters

Is filing the Income Tax Return compulsory?

As an Individual you are required by law to file your Income Tax Returns, if your total income without allowing deductions (such as Section 80C etc) exceeds the basic exemption limit.

For Assessment Year 2012-13, the basic exemption limits are the following:

•   For Men below the age of 60, the exemption limit is Rs. 1,80,000.

•   For Women, below the age of 60, the exemption limit is Rs. 1,90,000.

•   For Senior Citizens, whose age is between 60 years to 80 years, the exemption limit is Rs. 2,50,000. This is identical for men and women.

•   For Super Senior Citizens, of the age of 80 years or more, the exemption limit is Rs. 5,00,000.

What does Total Income without allowing deductions (such as Section 80C etc) actually mean?

Let’s say, your gross total Income is Rs. 2,00,000. You have paid Rs. 50,000 in LIC premium for claiming deduction under Section 80C. Your Taxable Income is Rs. 1,50,000 (Rs. 2,00,000 - Rs. 50,000). The tax payable on Rs. 1,50,000 is Zero.

However, even in this situation, you are required to file your Income Tax Return as your gross total Income exceeds the basic exemption limit of Rs. 1,80,000. (Assuming you are not a senior citizen).

Exemption for filing Income Tax Return for Salaried Employees

For the Assessment Year 2012-13, there is an exemption from filing the Income Tax Return for Salaried employees, subject to the following conditions.

•   Your Total Income after deductions (such as Section 80C etc.) is up to Rs.5,00,000/-.

•   Income other than Salary should be only from Saving Bank Interest, up to Rs.10,000/-. If you have any other source of Income like House Property, Capital Gain, or even interest from fixed deposits, you will have to file your Income Tax Return.

•   You must declare this Interest Income from the Saving Bank to the Employer. The employer then has to deduct the TDS taking into account your Interest Income.

•   If you have a refund due, you need to your file your Income Tax Return to claim this refund.

This exemption is difficult to get in actual practice. You will most likely have to file your Income Tax Return.

This is because; you must declare your Interest Income to your employer before 31st March of the Financial Year. But in most cases, the Bank issues the Interest statement after 31st March. So it is virtually impossible to report the Bank Interest to the employer in time.

Compulsory filing of Income Tax Returns if you have foreign assets.

For the Assessment 2012-13, it is mandatory to file your Income Tax Return if you have any foreign assets. Even though you may not have any taxable Income.

When is e-filing your Income Tax Return compulsory?

For the Assessment year 2012-13, e-filing of the Income Tax Return has become compulsory for the following cases:

•   If your Total Income exceeds Rs.10 Lakhs, then you must e-file your Income Tax Return.

•   If you own foreign assets, you must e-file.

I have paid all my taxes; do I still need to file my Income Tax Return?

As explained above, the law has placed an obligation on you to file the Income Tax Return even if you have no tax due.

Courtesy- http://in.finance.yahoo.com/news/is-filing-the-income-tax-return-compulsory-.html

Pension push

The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) today lifted the cap on the number of fund managers and said they could charge any fee subject to a limit.

Earlier, pension fund managers had to bid for a predetermined number of slots in the New Pension Scheme (NPS) and charge a uniform fee. The new system lays down the eligibility criteria for registration as fund managers.

“There is no limitation on the number of fund managers,” a government release said.

“The managers are now allowed to prescribe their own fee charges, subject to an overall ceiling to be laid down by the PFRDA.”

Finance ministry officials said it was expected to “provide for an economically viable business model” attracting a fresh set of entrants and resulting in price competition and lower fees.

Fund managers will be expected to market NPS to buyers through their own marketing and distribution channels.

NPS has still not achieved any significant progress in the private sector, and the industry was waiting for these guidelines.

The changes follow the recommendations of the Bajpai Committee, set up by the PFRDA, to identify the reasons behind the slow progress of NPS.

Courtesy: - http://www.telegraphindia.com/1120713/jsp/business/story_15722819.jsp#.UABJ-LUe6ac

ICICI sells Kingfisher debt to Srei

A global debt fund managed by Srei Infrastructure has bought ICICI Bank’s Rs 430-crore loan to ailing Kingfisher Airlines.

India Global Competitive Fund (IGCF), which bought ICICI Bank’s entire outstanding debt exposure, is managed by Srei subsidiary Srei Venture Capital.

The arrangement works like this: suppose, ICICI Bank had given Kingfisher a loan of Rs 100 at an annual interest rate of 8 per cent or Rs 8 per annum. 

If India Global buys the loan for, say, Rs 80, the fund will continue to earn an interest of Rs 8 from Kingfisher. So, the yield on the investment by India Global increases to 10 per cent compared with 8 per cent enjoyed by ICICI Bank.

In case Kingfisher fails to repay the loan, India Global can sell the collateral kept by Kingfisher to secure the loan from ICICI Bank. If the value of the underlying collateral is worth Rs 100, India Global stands to make a gain of 25 per cent on its investment of Rs 80 by selling the securities for Rs 100.