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The recent data on deposits and credit of scheduled commercial banks published by the Reserve Bank of India provide valuable insights into the distribution of banking business across the country. As on March 31, 2009, the number of banked centres served by scheduled commercial banks stood at 34,636. A very large number of them – over 28, 000-were single office centres, mostly in rural and semi-urban areas. At the other extreme, there were 61 centres having 100 or more bank branches. The concentration of bank branches in a few urban and metro centres is by no means a new development. But for the unprecedented branch network expansion that followed the nationalization of large banks in 1969, the concentration would have been even more pronounced. In the reform era beginning the early 1990s, the emphasis shifted in favour of consolidation. With considerations of profitability dictating the strategic plans, branch expansion, especially to rural areas, was no longer a priority. Instead, banks tended to converge on centres that had business potential. According to the RBI, the top hundred centres, arranged according to the size of deposits, accounted for 69.2 per cent of the total deposits, while the top hundred ranked according to the size of credit accounted for 78.5 per cent of total bank credit as on March 31 this year.

The skewed pattern of distribution obviously meant heightened competition in certain centres while in a much larger number of places, including those with no banks at all, the urgent task has been to extend the range of financial services. Among the banks, non-price competition has become the norm. Technology has been harnessed in a variety of ways to take on competition and, more importantly, to reduce transaction costs. It has enabled the opening of new delivery channels such as internet banking and mobile banking. But its role in extending financial services across the country has not been fully appreciated. Quite obviously the goal of inclusive banking has to be achieved in a context where the traditional model of branch banking cannot be entirely relied upon. Technological applications are already enabling business correspondents and others to deliver many types of services now offered by a bank. However, over the medium-term it is highly unlikely that the traditional bank model will lose its relevance even in rural areas. In fact, these bank branches might be called upon to undertake newer services, including those having a development dimension such as delivery of subsidies and conditional cash transfers.

Several countries, including Pakistan, have expressed the desire to learn from Sri Lanka’s experience in successfully fighting terrorism, according to Sri Lankan Army chief Jagath Jayasuriya. Speaking at his Regimental Headquarters here on Thursday, Lieutenant-General Jayasuriya said the Army had no hesitation in sharing the knowledge with the armies of other countries. The Army chief said, in his assessment, Sri Lanka’s military strength needed to be enhanced from the present 2, 00,000 to 2, 25,000. “The actual new recruits could be around 50,000as for the last two-and-half years those eligible to retire were not permitted due to war.” Lieutenant-General Jayasuriya said his endeavour would be to transform the Army to cope with post-conflict challenges.

He said the Army would soon send more of its engineers for additional demining work. “I have already sent 400 engineering troops for de-mining and I am sending more battalions to be trained in ‘humanitarian demining,” he said and added that the military did not have a precise estimate of land mines planted by the LTTE. “An area about 3,100 square miles [8,000 sq.km.], including Mannar, Kilinochchi, Mullaithivu and parts of Jaffna districts, must be demined before it will be safe enough for the Tamils to return. Without de-mining, I don’t think we can take a chance,” said the General.

“We have four international non-governmental organizations helping us now and I want to use mechanized mine clearing to speed up the process,” he added. Nearly 2.6 lakh war-displaced persons are sheltered in temporary government transition camps and pressure is growing on the government to let them return to their original homes.

The government is committed to a 180-day programme for rehabilitation but holds that there is no way the war-displaced can return immediately as the areas, which were earlier under the control of the LTTE, are heavily mined and basic infrastructure is in rubble.

Living in the intertidal habitat among marshy thickets, having become accustomed to the saline water, and but often without the trademark element of surprise, the Royal Bengal Tiger of the Sunderbans may have evolved differently from its brethren in peninsular India, according to experts here.

Forest Department Officials are constantly discovering aberrant behaviour patterns. The July 17 finding of poisonous snake in a tiger’s stomach is one such example. “While tigers are known to eat snakes, this is perhaps the first record of a tiger eating poisonous ones,” said Richa Dwivedi, deputy field director of the Sunderbans Biosphere Reserve.

“Although it is yet to be confirmed scientifically that the tiger is genetically different from terrestrial tigers as the DNA analysis has not been done, there are certainly many physiological adaptations,” said Pradeep Vyas, the State Forest Department’s chief conservator of forests (Central).

There is strong evidence of the fact that tigers in the Sunderbans drink saline water, says N.C. Bahuguna, director, Sunderbans Biosphere Reserve.

“There are nearly 270 tigers in the Sunderbans, but the few fresh water ponds that were ponds that were created are not sufficient to support this large a population,” said Pranabesh Sanyal, former director. “In any case, there were no fresh water ponds before 1977, so what else could the tigers drink then?

These tigers have to negotiate harsh habitat conditions, apart from non-availability of fresh water. The muddy and marshy areas, dotted with pneumatophores (spiked roots of mangroves which abound in these forests), have forced them to hunt differently, says Mr. Vyas. “When they walk on the wet soil, it is often noisy and they can’t stealthily approach their prey, like tigers normally do.”

Aquatic diet:

Difficulties faced in hunting may be the cause of their alternative food habits, although experts differ on the reasons.

“Studies have shown that nearly 20 per cent of the diet of tigers in these parts is aquatic including fish, crabs and turtles,” said Mr. Sanyal, who suggested that easy availability of these substitutes might cause them to eat this food. At times, even grasshoppers have been found in the stomach contents of these tigers, according to Mr. Bahuguna.

Rice is a major source of dietary carbohydrates. But the link between diet, rice in particular, and diabetes has not been studied in great detail till now.

A paper published recently in the British Journal of Nutrition shows a clear link between the consumption of white, polished (refined) rice and the prevalence of diabetes.

Every tenth participant of the 2001-02 phase I CURES (Chennai Urban Rural Epidemiology Study) conducted by Dr.V.Mohan of the Dr.Mohan’s diabetes specialities center in Chennai was chosen for the current study to see for a link between dietary carbohydrate and diabetes. 1,843 people who did not know their diabetes status were selected for the study.

The participants: the chosen participants were then tested for diabetes and their food habits were recorded. The risk factor for diabetes such as sedentary lifestyle, age, BMI (body mass index), etc., were adjusted between the kind/ quantity of food consumed and diabetes.

When the food habits of the chosen participants were studied, it became clear that those who consumed more rice (Polished and refined) were more likely to have diabetes. For instance, the study participants were spilt into four quartiles based on the amount of various food consumed. It was found that people in the lowest quartile consumed about 320 grams per day of rice compared with 516 grams per day by those in the highest quartile.

“What we found was, as the amount of rice consumption increased, the consumption of other food items, like fruits and vegetables, legumes and diary products became less,” said Dr. Mohan. “We found a link not just between carbohydrate consumption and diabetes but the kind of carbohydrate consumed and its effect”, said Dr. Mohan.

Carbohydrate rich:

The carbohydrate derived from polished white rice is 66 per cent of the total carbo hydrate in take.

“Another interesting finding was that as the increased intake of rice was at the cost of other food items,” he said. For instance, in the lowest quartile that consumed less rice, the intake of fruits was about 300 grams per day, while fruit consumption in the highest quartile was 233 grams per day. The same trend was observed in the case of other food items.

But the biggest positive link was found in the case of dairy products. Those having the least quantity of dairy products were more likely to have diabetes; those who consumed the most had less chances of having diabetes.

Polished rice:

“It is not that our eating habits have changed in the recent past. Our fathers and grandfathers had also consumed rice. But the kind of rice they consumed and what we consume today are totally different,” he said.

The rice that we get today is the highly refined and polished variety. “The more polished the rice, the more glycaemic index (GI) it would have,” he said. The GI indicates the glucose-raising effect of a food.

Polishing removes the bran and the germ. While the bran contains fibre, protein and vitamin B-complex; polished rice has only starch, which is nothing but carbohydrate.

According to Dr. Mohan, rice used to be 2 per cent polished earlier; now it is polished to 8 per cent -10 per cent.

The only good news is that increased of the ill-effects of various food items has made many companies produce healthier food products.

Healthy food:

Rice that is relatively less polished is now available in the market. Similarly, many products made from whole wheat are available.

The Australian government is getting tougher with private education providers who recruit international students through unscrupulous agents making it mandatory for them to provide the list of agents. This was one of the key aspects included in the changes proposed to the education services for overseas students act, 2000 (ESOA). The amendment bill was introduced by minister for education Julia Gillard in Parliament on Wednesday.

The changes will require the education provides to list the names of education agents, who represent them and promote their education services, and comply with any matter prescribed in the regulations. The changes will also ensure that the principal purpose of educational institutions is to provide education, and the provider demonstrates the capacity to give education of a satisfactory standard.

The amendments call for re-registration by December 31, 2010 of all institutions now registered on the commonwealth register of institutions and courses for overseas students (CRICOS) conditions imposed on the education provides will be recognized by the commonwealth.

Under the scanner: the amendments are the first in a series of measures the government is taking to ensure that Australia continues to offer world-class, quality international education in the changing environment. These measures assume significance with the quality of education coming under the scanner after the international media, particularly the Indian media, highlighted the issue in the wake of attacks on Indian students here.

Many students and teachers from popular universities here view the courses, mostly vocational diplomas, offered by private colleges as substandard, which do not meet the quality prescribed by the Australian government and are being used as a dashboard to get into the country. Interestingly, the majority of students coming under attack are enrolled in such institutions here and mostly in Victoria.

Earlier, skills and workforce participation Minister of Victoria Jacinta Allan told a visiting Indian media delegation that Victoria initiated a repid audit of education and training providers suspected of breaching their legal obligations. “ The audit is on and expected to be completed soon,”.

A healthy diet helps prevent kidney stones, says a new study. The study, appearing in the Journal of the American Society Nephrology (JASN), claims that loading up on fruits, vegetables, nuts, low-fat dairy products, and whole grains, while limiting salt, red and processed meats, and sweetened beverages is an effective way to ward off kidney stones.

To reach the conclusion, Eric Taylor, MD (Maine Medical Center) and his colleagues at Brigham and Women’s Hospital conducted a large study. They collected information from individuals enrolled in three clinical studies. Dr. Taylor’s team assigned a score to each participant based on eight components of a DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) style diet: high intake of fruits, vegetables, nuts and legumes, low-fat dairy products, and whole grains and low intake of salt, sweetened beverages, and red and processed meats. Individuals with higher DASH scores consumed diets that were higher in calcium, potassium, magnesium, oxalate, and vitamin C and lower in sodium.

A total of 5,645 incident kidney stones developed in the participants in the three studies. In each, participants with the highest DASH scores were between 40 per cent and 45 per cent less likely to develop kidney stones than participants with the lowest DASH scores. The reductions in stone risk were independent of age, body size, fluid intake, and other factors. Because a DASH style diet may affect the development of hypertension, diabetes, and other chronic diseases associated with kidney stones, the researchers also performed an analysis limited to study participants without hypertension or diabetes. Even among those individuals the DASH diet reduced the risk of kidney stones.

Chronic paronychia is a multifactorial inflammatory reaction of the proximal nail fold to irritants and allergens which has been present for at least 6 weeks at the time of diagnosis.

What are the symptoms?

• One or several fingernails are usually affected,
• Sudden pain, redness like acute paronychia
• Pus discharge
• Retraction of the proximal nail fold and absence of the adjacent cuticle.
• The nail plate becomes thickened and discolored, with transverse ridges.
• Nail loss.

What is the cause for this infection?

The cuticle separates from the nail plate, leaving the region between the proximal nail fold and the nail plate vulnerable to infection.

Who are all prone to get this problem?

• Laundry workers,
• House and office cleaners,
• Food handlers, cooks, dishwashers, bartenders,
• Chefs,
• Fishmongers, confectioners,
• Nurses,
• Swimmers.

What is the common organism thought to cause this infection?

• Candida albicans (controversial)

How to prevent?

• Apply moisturizing lotion after hand washing.
• Avoid chronic prolonged exposure to contact irritants and moisture (including detergent and soap)
• Avoid finger sucking.
• Keep nails short.
• Use rubber gloves, preferably with inner cotton glove or cotton liners.

What is the treatment?

• Steroids and Antifungal agent (ointment) used to treat and prevent recurrence.
• In severe cases- Oral antifungal and/or Steroids.

What are the options for non responders?

• Simultaneous total or partial avulsion of the nail plate.
• En bloc excision of the proximal nail fold is effective.
• Eponychial marsupialization, with or without nail removal.

Astronomers claim to have found an amino acid on a comet. The ‘discovery’ confirms that some of life’s building blocks were delivered to the early earth from space. Amino acids form when organic, carbon-containing compounds and water are zapped with a source of energy, such as photons- a process that can take place on earth or in space.

Previously, amino acids have been found in space rocks that fell to earth as meteorites. Now, a team at NASA Goddard space flight center has analysed the samples from the agency’s stardust mission and traces the amino acid called glycine to an icy comet for the first time, the new scientist reported.

“It’s not necessarily surprising, but it’s very satisfying to find it there because it hasn’t been observed before, “lead astronomer Jamie Elsila said.

A Tunisian woman is said to be pregnant with 12 babies. The unnamed teacher and her husband are ecstatic about the pregnant that was achieved with fertility treatment after she suffered two miscarriages. The couple is expecting six boys and six girls, the media reported.

The husband, identified only as Marwan, is also a teacher of Arabic at a high school in their home town of Gafsa, southwest of the capital Tunis. The couples have said, it was an “amazing and wonderful miracle”.

“In the beginning we thought that my wife would give birth to twins, but more fetuses were discovered. Out joy increased with the growing number,” The Daily Telegraph quoted him as telling the local media.

The woman is about to eclipse the American “octomom,” Nadia Suleman Fertility experts have condemned the news, alleging the doctors who treated the couple are “irresponsible” and risking the health and lives of both, the mother and her babies

Simon Fisher, a fertility expert from the University of Oxford said the news of the duodecaplets was “horrendous” and the doctors involved were “irresponsible” to allow it.

“The chances of all of them surviving are extremely remote and the chance of some of them surviving without any problems is unlikely- they are likely to have significant problems”.

Often while discharging your duties at work you are required to provide advice based on your technical expertise to others say your boss, a client or a colleague. But to your surprise your well-intentioned advice frequently falls on deafears.

You are baffled at why your suggestions though technically sound have not been implemented. Herein lies the catch. To become a good advisor technical brilliance alone is not enough. Along with good advice you must have some good interpersonal skills too. You are wrong if you think advice giving is just a logical process.

It has an emotional undercurrent that you must take into account. Before you can influence others, you must build a good rapport with them and earn their trust. Unless you learn to recognize and respond to others’ emotions, you cannot become an effective advisor.

Your success greatly depends on your ability to understand their personalities and adjust the advice-giving process accordingly. Therefore the next time you are asked for advice, remember to do the following to improve your effectiveness:

Choose right words:

While giving advice pay careful attention to language. Suggestions for improvement may carry an implied indication that things are not being done well at the moment. This feeling switches the other person into a defensive mode.

So first you must find a way to convince him that your intention is not to criticise but to help him. Choose the right words to express your views so that it comes across with respect and any implied criticism is softened.

Understand perspectives:

If you talk directly about how to improve things, you may not find instant talkers. To be really effective as an advisor you must know how to influence the thinking of other people.

As a first step, try to gain good insights into what they think and why. When dealing with more than one person such as committees you must take extra pains to collect this data. Each person in the group brings a different perspective to the problem you have been asked to help with. So find out beforehand who is going to attend the meeting. Call each of them in advance to find out their take on the issue.

When you understand their individual views and concerns you will be better equipped to provide expert guidance and secure a buy-in for a preferred solution.

Be a guide:

The most effective way to influence a client, subordinate or a colleague is to help him find the solution himself. Instead of saying what you want him to do, develop a gradual reasoning process that helps him arrive at the logical conclusion himself.

The whole process should involve more of questioning and listening than suggesting improvements. While helping the person solve a problem you can ask questions like:

• Why do you think this problem occurred?
• How can we do things differently?
• What pros and cons do you think exist for the various options?
• What do you think is the best option under the current circumstances?

By helping him discover all the available options, their costs, benefits as well as risks involved, you can gently guide him to the preferred solution.

Emotional support:

People in general look forward to support, affirmation, approval and appreciation from others. This also applies to people whom you need to give advice be it your boss, client or a colleague.

In order to make them listen to your advice and accept it you must develop the right behavioural skills that ensure the kind of emotional support they expect along with your technical guidance.

Customise:

Tailor your advice giving approach to suit the individual who has sought your help. Depending on the situation and the other person’s preferred style of interaction, you have to make amends to your approach. The key to success is to be sufficiently flexible and discover what works best in any given situation.