CSIR-IICT’s Debendra Kumar Mohapatra, Principal Scientist of Natural Products Chemistry Division, has been received the NASI-Reliance Industrial Platinum Jubilee Award 2017 for Application Oriented Innovations in the area of Physical Sciences from Maharashtra Governor C. Vidyasagar Rao at the 87th Annual Session of NASI held at Pune University, last month.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Hyderabad / by Special Correspondent Hyderabad / January 06th, 2018
Hyderabad-based Indranil Chowdhuri combines his passion for travel and sports and has visited 107 countries so far
North Korea: Check
Greenland: Check
Cuba: Check
No, this isn’t a list of all countries difficult to get a visa but a few places among the 107 nations that Indranil Chowdhuri, 56, visited in the past 26 years. While travelling was integral to his job early on, later it became an all-consuming passion.
Sharing details about his journeys, Indranil says, “My first trip abroad was when I went to Myanmar in 1992 for work. Then I travelled a lot as I was into exports. When I casually counted one day, I realised that I went to 40 countries. That was when I wanted to reach the three figure mark and stepped up on visiting newer countries. The critical mass of my visits has been in the last 12 years, and though after I hit a century, I lost the urge for numbers, I still am passionate about exploring new places.”
As an avid sports fan, Indranil combines travel with sporting events, be it Olympics, football world cups or major tennis events so that he can merge both his great loves. What research is a part of a frequent traveller’s routine? Indranil explains, “I start with Lonely Planet guides. I have a lot of them with me and then I read up extensively about the place. I make notes and do my own ticketing and reservations. I don’t engage the services of an agent or a tour company unless there is no option, as they have a pre-planned programme and I don’t like that at all. Travel should include the freedom to do my own thing my way.”
Confessing that travelling excites him as it gives him a chance to explore different countries, cultures and cuisines, Indranil says the challenge is to converse with local people in their language. He explains, “I do basic research and try to speak their language. When they see me try, they always speak English which makes it easy to blend in.
The intrepid traveller also has a thing for souvenirs and points out to rooms filled with trinkets in his apartment. Shot glasses, magnets, swords and daggers (exquisitely carved), busts of famous personalities, tees and baseball caps — there is no shortage of reminders for trips he has undertaken. Indranil says, “I never wanted a big collection, but somehow when you travel you pick up things. I have 3000 plus shot glasses of cities, celebrity houses and football games I’ve been to.”
For someone who has been to Peru and stayed with an Inca family, spent time with a nomadic tribe in a desert in Mongolia and swam in the rivers of Amazon (where he narrowly escaped an alligator), Indranil recounts his most unforgettable experience which nearly got him killed, “I ran into former President of USSR, Mikhail Gorbachev, at a cemetery in Russia and raised my hand to greet him. He was surrounded with KGB agents who pounced on me as they thought I was about to shoot. Luckily they realised I was a tourist and since this was before the concept of selfie was introduced, I took a picture of myself with Gorbachev in the background surrounded by his guards.”
On his to-do list is Bahamas which he couldn’t visit so far due to visa issues and a trip to Russia next year during FIFA World cup.
Ask him about his plans for travel in India and he signs off saying that’s a post-retirement trip.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Society / by Mallik Thattipalli / January 04th, 2018
Called RAB 12, it produces the chemical compounds RSP 01 and RSP 02
Scientists at the Indian Institute of Chemical Technology have discovered in their backyard, a novel strain of bacterium that produces compounds with antibiotic properties.
They have isolated a strain of Streptomyces species from the Institute’s soil that produces two anti-biotic compounds.Actinomycin D, a drug on the list of WHO’s ‘List of Essential Medicines’, exhibits both antibiotic and anti-tumour activity. It is among the oldest drugs used for treatment of many types of cancers.
The team of researchers, led by Prakasham Reddy Shetty, described their findings in the journal Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology. The novel strain, called RAB 12, produces the chemical compounds RSP 01 and RSP 02 that showed antimicrobial activity. Both these compounds have exhibited antibiotic activity ten times more potent than Actinomycin D.
“Antimicrobial activity profile revealed higher antimicrobial activity against bacterial strains Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Micrococcus luteus, Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella typhi, and Bacillus subtilis and Candida albicans compared to standard Actinomycin D,” the researchers wrote in their research paper.
In their study, the researchers also described the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) for one of the compounds to be ten times smaller than that of Actinomycin D. “MIC and MBC for RSP 01 were observed to be 0.0039 and 0.0078 (mug/ml) against C. albicans, while for actinomycin D, it was found to be 0.031 and 0.62 (mug/ml), respectively indicating a tenfold higher potency,” the researchers said.
The IICT has put together a large repository of bacterial isolates from soils collected from various parts of the country.
Scientists are yet to analyse the antibiotic potential of many of those isolates. In the case of RAB 12, the study authors say the two compounds, RSP 01 and 02, are promising candidates for industrial and clinical applications.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Hyderabad / by Rohti P.S. / Hyderabad – January 02nd, 2018
The ‘smart police robot’ has capabilities to identify suspects and record video clips
Hyderabad may soon get its first ‘robocop’, with the launch of a prototype in the city on Friday. Unlike its famous Hollywood counterpart, however, this five-foot-seven-inch tall ‘smart police robot’, weighing 43 kg, is not yet capable of chasing down criminals.
But according to its makers, it can take complaints, record audio and video clips, identify suspects, detect metals, and monitor temperature.
The policing robot has been made by H-BOTS, a Hyderabad-based artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning start-up. It was conceived at Makers Leeway, the start-up’s research lab, six months ago.
Multi-touch screen
The life size prototype was launched by Telangana Information Technology Secretary Jayesh Ranjan on Friday. Made of nylon plastic, said to be ten times stronger that regular plastic, the robot has a multi-touch screen. “It recognises voice and can interact in English. In the near future, it will recognise Telugu and Hindi as well,” said Kisshhan PSV, CEO of H-BOTS.
The robot is expected to be familiar with basic policing work, regulation of traffic, and details of the Indian Penal Code. “On subjects it is not familiar with, the robot will reply to queries by sourcing information from Wikipedia or Google,” Mr. Kisshhan said, adding that it has an AI unit inside.
If someone tries to tamper with it, the robot is programmed to blow a siren similar to that used by police vehicles. Though far from a complete ‘police person’, unlike a human cop, it can work round-the-clock and its AI-enhanced surveillance capabilities would be far superior.
Its makers say it can be showcased as an advance in policing technology and eventually be introduced to carry out basic police work such as registering cases. But a lot of new ground needs to be covered in the development AI, machine learning, and robotics before there is a realistic chance of robots replacing humans in policing.
In its present form, the smart police robot can assist people at malls, streets, airports and railway stations. After a few more months of fine-tuning the robot, the company plans to produce 700 units a year by 2020.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Hyderabad / by Marri Ramu / Hyderabad – December 29th, 2017
Hyderabad :
Ravana is not the villain that he is made out to be. There is his side of the story too. A city engineer has given Sri Lanka just the kind of account they would like to read about Ravana. Bala Sankuratri, who has authored the book ‘My Name is Ravana’, gets Ravana to tell his story from his perspective. Next on agenda is a translation of the entire Ramayana in a way that Ravana is understood in context.
To unveil the book, Isura Devapriya, chief minister of Western Province, Sri Lanka, flew down to Hyderabad on November 25.
It will soon be released in Sri Lanka. Telugu version is also in the pipeline.
“My name is Ravana. Yes, I am the Ravana. I was the one who abducted Sita. I was the one who set fire to Anjaneya’s tail and I was the one who fought with Rama. You may think I am mad. I don’t care. You may think, being me is bad. I still don’t care…Fact is, I am The Great and being me is next to impossible,” book begins with Ravana introducing himself.
“Every action of Ravana is justified. He has a reason for his behaviour. He allowed himself to be misunderstood and even for this there was a reason,” Sankuratri told TOI. To understand Ravana, Sankuratri read Valmiki’s Ramayana and other versions also.
He also got to understand the legends surrounding Ravana in Sri Lanka, of which he was the king. “I made three trips to Sri Lanka and found out from the people there what understanding they had of Ravana. The research took five years,” he said.
So why did Ravana detain Sita? Wasn’t that what brought him a bad name? “There cannot be any suspicion about the character of Ravana. He had no evil thoughts about Sita,” Sankuratri said.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> News> City News> Hyderabad News / by Ch. Sushil Rao / TNN / December 29th, 2017
Srikanth Rangachari uses symbols of different currencies to denote each letter.
Much before the alphabet evolved and scripts were developed for the languages spoken around the world, symbols were used to denote letters in the rudimentary scripts of the ancient times and the Egyptian Hieroglyphic writing is the best example.
Perhaps taking inspiration from the past, Srikanth Rangachari, a teacher in a private school at Tanur mandal headquarters in Nirmal district, has devised a new script using the symbols of different currencies, which, he claims can be utilised for the tribal languages that have no scripts.
Interestingly, Mr. Rangachari has transliterated all the 702 stanzas in 18 chapters of the Bhagavad Gita and the national anthem into his new script, that has 51 letters. Working day and night for three months, he improvised the script which he has named the ‘Currency Script’.
Hailing from Sunket village of Morthad mandal in the district, the 24-year-old always wanted to be different since childhood and try new things. He had already etched his name in the Telugu Book of Records and Limca Book of Records — breaking the world record of Geetha Smith and Mathew Jackson — by reciting the English alphabet 37 times in a record low time of 1.420 seconds.
Mr. Rangachari used the symbol of US dollar for ‘Da’ in Telugu; the UK pound for ‘A’ and Nigerian nirasigin for ‘Na’ and so on. Slash [/], @ and * denoted ‘Aa’, ‘E’ and ‘Ee’ in Telugu respectively. “ People who do not have a script for their mother tongue can use it for writing their language,” he says.
The young teacher has also incorporated zero, diamond, laokip and symbols of Indian rupee, Japanese Yen and Korean wonsign and Judaism and Swastik of Hindusim. For his endeavour, he secured the recognition of Amazing Book of Indian World Records last month, winning the admiration of his colleagues and friends.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Telangana / by P. Ram Mohan / Nizamabad – December 25th, 2017
Seven photo galleries inaugurated at Chitramayee State Fine Art Gallery
Delegates at the World Telugu Conference would be in for a visual treat what with seven photo galleries being inaugurated as part of the prestigious event at Chitramayee Telangana State Fine Art Gallery, Madhapur, depicting Telangana heritage, art, culture and landscape.
Among the three galleries on Telangana festivals is the collection of photos by The Hindu’s Senior Assistant Editor S. Harpal Singh on Keslapur Nagoba Jatara, an important religious and cultural event of the Mesram clan of Raj Gond Adivasis in Adilabad.
The photos of several rituals followed during the festival were shot by the The Hindu’s representative in Adilabad district over a period of four years.
The jatara is a month-long affair that starts at the beginning of Poos month of Pushya Masam and witnesses the Mesram clan families indulging in preparations for the actual event that takes place on the last three days of the month. The most important ceremonies and rituals take place during these three days. The other galleries are Telangana Gramaseema by award winning filmmaker B. Narsing Rao. The collection relates to visuals of life in Telangana villages shot by Mr. Rao over a period of time.
The two other festivals being featured at the exhibition are Bonalu and Samakka Saralamma Jatara and the artists are Satyanarayana Gola and Rama Veeresh Babu respectively.
Acknowledged photographers Madhu Gopal Rao and Vishwendar Reddy are exhibiting photographs on Kakatiya Shilpakala or Warangal sculpture and landscape respectively, the latter underscoring the beauty of rock formations in the region. The famous photographer from Hyderabad, late Raja Deendayal’s works under the title Hyderabad Varasatwam are also being exhibited.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Cities> Hyderabad / by Special Correspondent / Hyderabad – December 15th, 2017
Naresh is a sports medicine doctor whose clients included Olympic and professional athletes
Not many might be aware of a Hyderabadi connection to the U.S. water polo women’s team winning gold medal at the Olympics. Well, Naresh C. Rao, born to Govind Rao and Jyothi Rao from the city, was the head physician of the U.S. team in the 2016 Rio edition.
For someone based in New York and having been a water polo player, Dr. Naresh qualified for the job by the virtue of being a sports medicine doctor, whose clients included Olympic and professional athletes over the years.
“It was a huge honour. I always longed to be at the Olympics as a player. But I am glad that at least I made it as a support staff member of a gold-medal winning team. It was a complete team effort which I cherish forever,” said Dr. Naresh, whose father was a renowned paediatrician in the city’s Niloufer Hospital and was also involved in many philanthropic activities, especially on the medical front here, before moving to the U.S.
“The U.S. players’ eyes turned red and there were rashes when they were training in the green water in the pool in Rio. I immediately took up the issue with the IOC and the Rio Olympics Organising Committee. And the response was amazing. They drained out the pool completely and ensured fresh and clean water. I made it clear that it was not a case affecting just the U.S. squad, but all those taking part in water polo,” he reminded.
“The biggest challenge for me in Rio was to ensure that the players did not take any medicine, even for normal cough and cold, which would have merited a ban for drug abuse under different guidelines. So my job meant a lot of lecturing and motivational classes too,” said the sports science expert willing to give back to his home State – Telangana.
Dr. Naresh interacted with the students of Telangana State Sports School at Hakimpet on Sunday morning and stressed on how one could be a champion through natural performance-enhancing techniques without resorting to drug abuse.
“My book Step Up Your Game deals with this subject in detail and it has been acknowledged by many for emphasising the ‘entourage’ approach to training. It helps athletes get ready for the starting line,” he said. “The book has all the practical tools for all levels, from a beginner to the Olympian,” he added.
What next? Dr. Naresh has been asked to be with the U.S. teams for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics as well. “I am honoured with the offer, but will take a call soon in this regard,” he signed off.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Telangana / by V.V. Subrahmanyam / Hyderabad – December 25th, 2017
The Central Plantation Crops Research Institute (CPCRI), a premier research institute established by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) for coconut, arecanut and cocoa crops, has sanctioned a “voluntary centre for palmyrah in Telangana”.
The voluntary centre is a research centre to which only funding is given by ICAR initially.
The centre will start functioning at the Horticultural Research Station of Sri Konda Laxman Telangana State Horticultural University at Konda Mallepalli in Nalgonda district.
In a communication sent to Vice Chancellor of the horticultural university earlier this week, Project Coordinator (Palms) H.R. Maheshwarappa of the Kasaragod-based research institute stated that the voluntary centre has been sanctioned for carrying out location specific research on palmyrah palm in Telangana State. The centre would get 75% funding as grant from the ICAR.
The CPCRI has also asked the Vice Chancellor to identify a scientist for taking up research on palmyrah and that the plan of work would be intimated in due course of time after completion of formalities.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Hyderabad / by Special Correspondent / Hyderabad – December 22nd, 2017
The IAF has ordered for 83 Tejas fighter jets, taking the total order of indigenous fighters to 123.
Hyderabad:
Indian Air Force has finally moved to purchase its second batch of Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas, a fighter jet for attack and other operations.
And Hyderabad has a decent contribution in the designing and making of the biggest IAF indigenous fighter aircraft.
Some electronic components of the Made-in-India jet were manufactured in Hyderabad and assembled in Bengaluru’s Hindustan Aeronautical Limited.
The chief designer of the LCA project is former Hyderabad University vice-chancellor Dr Kota Hari Narayana, who spent 10 years on designing the Tejas.
A senior IAF officer, who didn’t want to be identified, said, “Each LCA costs about Rs 400 crore as its electronic components are very expensive, more than even its body. The LCA is equipped with radar, data link, navigation system, weapon aiming sensors and interface and specific radar detector. Components of these electronic parts were manufactured by Defence Electronic Research Laboratories in Hyderabad.
Another city private vendor, VEN Technologies, also chipped in by making some of the aircraft’s body parts.
Talking about the aircraft, defence historian K.S. Nair said, “Earlier, fighter aircraft used to target the enemy with the help of human eye, but the latest ones are equipped with target lock, infrared radars and other wide range of sensors to spot the enemy. However this comes at a cost — most of the electronic components that are manufactured in Hyderabad are extremely precision-oriented and cost more than the aircraft body itself. For example, an airborne early warning and control aircraft with antenna has components costing more than the aircraft body.
The Tejas LCA which is finally tested and assembled at HAL in Bengaluru is designed to have air-to-air and air-to-ground capabilities. This means it can attack an enemy aircraft in flight as well target a site on ground.
source: http://www.deccanchronicle.com / Deccan Chronicle / Home> Nation> Current Affairs / by Coreena Suares, Deccan Chronicle / December 23rd, 2017