Bhopal Diary

Express News Service

IIM-I to collaborate with AstraZeneca PharmaThe Indian Institute of Management (IIM-Indore) has signed a letter of intent (LoI) with AstraZeneca Pharma India Limited to collaborate for the development and establishment of better healthcare delivery services. It will also enable focused research in new technology and management frontiers, like Big Data and Video Analytics, SMM and GIS. The collaboration also aims to review the existing identification, diagnostic and treatment regime in public health setup. The LoI was signed by IIM-I director Prof Himanshu Rai and Country Head of AstraZeneca Pharma India Limited Gagandeep Singh recently.

Castration of unproductive bulls to be stopped Political row following opposition by the ruling BJP MP Pragya Thakur and opposition Congress leaders have forced the Shivraj Singh Chouhan government to put on hold castration of 12 lakh unproductive and inferior bulls across the central Indian state. Importantly, both the parties opposed the government’s move, alleging that it would make the indigenous breeds of bovine population extinct, despite similar castration of bulls having been done in the state by both the parties’ governments since 1998-99. Since 1998-99, around 1.33 unproductive/inferior bulls have successfully been castrated in the state to ensure that only superior breed bulls are used for the reproduction of healthy and high milk yielding bovine progenies.

BJP MLA makes controversial remarkLoudmouth BJP MLA and ex-Pro Tem Speaker of Vidhan Sabha, Rameshwar Sharma, continues to make controversial statements from public platforms. “Hindus should stay away from Father and Chadar (from Christian and Muslim/Sufi priests) and Peer Babas, as they are damaging Hinduism and also an obstacle in going to temples,” Sharma said while addressing a Dussehra event in Bhopal. He had recently kicked up a row by making remarks about the marriage of Mughal ruler Akbar and Rajput princess Jodha Bai.

Ripples as ex-MP minister meets home ministerThe meeting between state Congress chief Kamal Nath’s close confidant and ex-MP minister Sajjan Verma and MP home minister Narottam Mishra has created ripples in the political circles of the BJP-ruled state. Verma, the former PWD minister, recently met the home minister in Bhopal, but made it clear that there was nothing political about the meeting. He said he had met Mishra just like any MLA meets the state’s home minister for the issues of his constituency. Earlier, some other senior Congress leaders, including former LoP Ajay Singh, ex-parliamentary affairs minister Govind Singh and ex-union minister Kantilal Bhuria too had met the home minister.

Anuraag singhOur correspondent in Madhya Pradesh [email protected]