The Association for India's Development is holding its end-of-year fund-raising campaign "One for India" to continue supporting and initiation projects for the just, sustainable and equitable development in India.

Through the "One for India" campaign, AID will highlight how contributions from the Indian diaspora have been used effectively towards projects in interconnected spheres of development, such as anti-corruption, agriculture, education, health, environment, livelihood, woman's empowerment, disaster relief and rehabilitation, and social justice, according to the association.

EMC Corp., which is headquartered in Hopkinton, Mass., has signed a deal with the Indian Institute of Science for research on data analytics and intelligence. According to the company, the partnership will help the company in increasing its intellectual property rights portfolio and contribute to the development of future products. All of the research and results that come as a result of the partnership will belong to EMC and the company plans to publish papers on the work.

 

An Indian man from Illinois received 10 years in state prison on Dec. 19 for raping a 15-year-old Massachusetts girl.

The 32-year-old Mani Batchu, a former psychiatry resident at the University of Illinois Medical Center, received his sentence in Hampshire Superior Court. He pleaded guilty to charges including child rape.

Sixteen students from India were acknowledged for completing their first semester of study at the MGH Institute of Health Professions, a graduate school founded by Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. The students are earning a master's degree in the physical therapy program.

The students were awarded an official school pin at an event at the MGH Institute on Dec. 6. 

Priyadarshini Trikha, a general dentist in Revere and a member of the Massachusetts Dental Society, has been accepted into the society’s Leadership Institute.

The Leadership Institute is designed to provide dentists with tools and training to become effective civic leaders in their communities, nonprofit organizations, or professional associations on a local, state, or national level. Selected participants are required to attend four participatory sessions with well-known facilitators and speakers, and a team building event. Following completion of the training sessions, participants are required to take part in a year-long ad hoc committee that is focused on an issue affecting dentistry.

The shocking murder of an Indian graduate student in Connecticut last year is getting some closure as the woman who admitted to the shooting death was sentenced to 38 years in jail.

Vanessa Ortiz, 21, was sentenced on Dec. 16 for the death of Arun Narote, a graduate student from India, who was working at Norman's Grocery and Deli in Bridgeport, Conn., on July 12, 2010 when he was shot and killed during an attempted robbery at the store.

 

Two new galleries opened at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, in December that reflect culture from South Asia. One celebrates rare sculptural works from India and neighboring countries and Southeast Asia. The other showcases the rich painting traditions of India, Korea, the Himalayas, and Persia beginning with an important collection of Indian works in the exhibition "Gems of Rajput Painting."

With her highly anticipated international action thriller "Don 2" reuniting her with Shahrukh Khan and releasing on Friday, Dec. 23, winning superstar Priyanka Chopra offers a one-on-one interview to discuss her latest film, hoping it will heat up the holiday season and end 2011 with a bang.

 

On the heels of his company's push into India, Edible Arrangements founder and chief executive officer Tariq Farid has high expectations for the subcontinent and is encouraged by the global initiative that has seen his Wallingford, Conn.-based, fresh-fruit arrangements chain expand to 15 countries and over 1,000 locations.

 

At an India Association of Greater Boston executive committee meeting, held earlier this month, the group dissolved its Golden Jubilee Committee, according to several sources. The committee had reportedly been working for approximately seven months on plans for a year-long celebration of the group's 50th anniversary, which was to include periodic events -- though none have occurred as of yet.

 

Do you have trouble falling asleep at night, or staying asleep once you do fall asleep? If so, you are not alone. Millions of Americans suffer from some form of sleep disorder.

 

According to the USA Today, about 40 million Americans suffer from insomnia and an additional 30 million have intermittent sleep disorder. One in three individuals has periods of insomnia and one in 20 has persistent insomnia. This costs our economy more than $20 billion each year.

When a person experiences a new event, the brain encodes a memory of it by altering the connections between neurons, which requires turning on many genes in those neurons. Now, MIT neuroscientists have identified what may be a master gene that controls this complex process.

 

According to recent studies, on average, college is the single most expensive four- to six-year span of a person's life. For the 2011-2012 school year at Harvard University, tuition, room and board costs a princely sum of $52,652 a year. Add books, clothes, travel, school supplies, food and the average price of education tops $250,000.