Mumbai’s famous army of lunchbox delivery men, whose fans include business leaders and royalty, are being given the chance to upgrade their skills for the first time in their 120-year history. Courses in English and computer skills are to be offered to the 5,000 or so dabbawallahs who criss-cross the city every day delivering home-cooked meals to hungry office workers, the Press Trust of India news agency reported. 

The vice-chancellor of Yashwantrao Chavan Open University, R Krishnakumar, was quoted as saying on Tuesday that the courses,which will run near the dabbawallahs‘ central Mumbai base, will allow them to “improve their lot”.

Most of the delivery men, who are often barefoot and cut distinctive figures on Mumbai’s streets in their white cotton uniforms and Nehru caps, are school dropouts who speak only the local language Marathi or Hindi.

A lack of formal education, English or computer skills has not hindered their ability to deliver a near flawless service to at least 200,000 people every day, winning them plaudits around the world.

Forbes magazine once awarded them a “six sigma” rating, meaning that they have an error rate as low as one per one million deliveries, putting them alongside some of the top businesses in the world.

The tiffin (lunch) deliverers have attributed their success to effective time management and responding to customer feedback.

Fans of the dabbawallahs, who use trains, handcarts and bicycles to deliver the steel tiffin boxes using a complex colour-coded system and 10-digit alpha-numeric code, include the Virgin Group tycoon Richard Branson.

Britain’s Prince Charles, who met the delivery men on a visit to India, also invited two dabbawallahs to his wedding to his second wife, Camilla Parker Bowles in 2005 after they sent the couple a wedding present.

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Scientists have cracked the genetic code for Golden Delicious, a variety of apple, that paves the way to crunchier, juicier, healthier fruits. The breakthrough is already being used to breed red-hued apples with more anti-oxidants, known for a host of health benefits. Researcher Roger Hellens of New Zealand firm Plant & Food Research said: “We will be able to identify the genes which control the characteristics that our sensory scientists have identified as most desired by consumers – crispiness, juiciness and flavour.”

More than 60 million tonnes of apples are grown worldwide each year, the equivalent of nine kilos per person, reports the Daily Mail.

Although apple farmers try to breed only the best plants, they are able to know the outcome only eight years later, thanks to the slow growth of apple tree.

Now breeders will be able to screen seedlings for key genes, vastly speeding up

the process. Traits that hamper production can also be more easily bred out, reports the journal Nature Genetics.

A sweeter version is under development and could be on sale by 2015. Other plans include boosting the amounts of an appetite-suppressing compound already present in apples.

The decoding of the apple’s DNA by a team of almost 100 scientists from five different countries has also shed new light on its roots.

The finding indicates a plant that evolved into the apple tree was born around 65 million years ago, when a comet is believed to have exterminated the dinosaurs.

The extra genes sent the apple along a different evolutionary path from peaches, raspberries, strawberries and other related fruits.

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Suffering from hypertension? Try out garlic as an adjunct to conventional drugs, for a new study claims that it controls blood pressure levels.

An international team, led by Dr Karin Ried at the University of Adelaide, has found garlic extract can help treat high blood pressure, the ‘Maturitas’ scientific journal reported in its latest edition.

However, raw or cooked garlic, and garlic powder are not as effective in treating high blood pressure as aged garlic extract, says the study.

In a 12-week trial, involving 50 people, the team found that those with systolic blood pressure above 140 who took aged garlic extract capsules experienced an average systolic blood pressure 10.2 mm Hg lower than the control group, who took a placebo.

“This reduction is clinically significant, as a drop in systolic blood pressure by 5 mm Hg reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease by 8 to 20 per cent.

“Garlic is thought to have an antihypertensive effect because it stimulates production of certain chemical substances called nitric oxide (NO) and hydrogen sulphide (H2S), which helps relax blood vessels,” Dr Ried said.

He added: “High blood pressure is an important risk factor for cardiovascular disease. About 30 per cent of adults in Australia are hypertensive, yet only half that number are on BP medication and 60 per cent of those who are receiving treatment are inadequately controlled.

“This shows there is plenty of scope to explore the use of garlic as an effective treatment option for people suffering hypertension.”

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Samina Pure Makeup includes items like foundation, blush, eyeshadows and lipsticks, and is initially targeted at the almost 1 million Muslim woman living in Britain. (Photo: jupiterimages)

BIRMINGHAM, England – As a Muslim, Samina Akhter was disturbed to find some of her make-up contained pig by-products so she came up with a solution — a range of halal makeup, free from alcohol and animal products.

Under Islamic law, alcohol and certain meats are forbidden with pork especially taboo so Akhter was shocked to learn some of the products she used contained alcohol and even pig placenta.

So she devised her own make-up line, Samina Pure Makeup, launched from her home in Birmingham in June this year after two years of testing which now boasts to be Britain’s first company to sell halal-certified cosmetics.

“This has been on my conscience,” Akhter, 41, a mother of five, told Reuters Television.

“I realized many (make-up product) do contain ingredients that are not permissible to Muslims to eat and I just started thinking, well if it’s not permissible to eat, then why should I put it on my face?”

The range, which is mainly sold online, includes items like foundation, blush, eyeshadows and lipsticks, priced from about 8 pounds ($12.50) and is initially targeted at the almost 1 million Muslim woman living in Britain.

Mascara is still unavailable as the process of making a halal version is still being studied.

Akhter said in keeping with Islamic law, her makeup is made by manufacturers in Australia and Europe from plant extracts, minerals, essential oils and vitamins.

The cosmetics are certified by the independent Halal Certification Authority Australia.

Akhter said she now has more than 500 customers and interest in the cosmetics has come from Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore and the Middle East.

She said the halal range, free of chemicals and animal products, had also proved popular with vegans and vegetarians.

Some Muslim leaders have criticized Akhter for exploiting a religious concept.

But she argues there is demand for halal make-up with about 1.6 billion Muslim worldwide but only a small number of companies offering cosmetics or other bath products that conform to halal standards.

“The reaction I’ve had from women so far has been so positive and encouraging,” said Akhter who is looking to expand beyond Britain and to get her products into pharmacies and stores.

“I really feel that this product has … actually filled a gap in the market. So it’s not a case of trying to cash in. It’s a case of providing people with something they’re looking for.”

(Reporting by Reuters Television, Editing by Belinda Goldsmith)

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