Category Archives: Science & Technology

IIIT-Hyderabad to fund three innovative startups

Business & Economy, Education, Science & Technology

Hyderabad :

At a time when most of the startups are focusing on solving fairly shallow problems, Avishkar, the start-up accelerator programme of International Institute of Information Technology, Hyderabad (IIIT-H) on Friday took three companies under its wings to encourage entrepreneurs who are into solving deep-tech problems.

Screened from about 140 applications across the world, the top three companies are all set to form the first batch of the six-month long programme. The selected startups will now work closely with the Avishkar team and the faculty members of IIIT-H labs and other partners over the next six months to get to a level of investment-readiness that will launch them to the next stage of their journey.

“We are a four-month-old company trying to build a virtual personal stylist for women. Through our app, we want to offer all the services that a stylist offers to women. In other words, we want to create artificial intelligence (AI) of a personal stylist. The best part about Avishkar is that unlike many accelerators, the programmes here are personalised for each and every startup and would be helpful for us to grow faster,” Komal Prajapati, founder, Fabulyst, said.

IIITtelangana31may2016

Aronin P, founder of Sastra Robotics, which made it to the first batch of Avishkar programme, said,“Our aim is to build next generation robotics arm that has special abilities and for that we need a fully equipped R&D lab and experienced people to guide us. Also, as this is an ambitious project, we need financial help at some point or the other. Through this programme, both these concerns are addressed.”

The programme facilitated by IIIT-Hyderabad Foundation, Co-Creation Consulting and 50K Ventures, aims to select 10 startups during the first year and each of the selected startups will receive `10 lakh seed funding.

Prof. Vasudeva Varma, Dean (R&D) said, “The Start-up ecosystem in India is currently very vibrant. However, most of these ventures cannot survive and be successful unless they have huge differentiation in terms of technology. With Avishkar, we will give these companies a massive edge by providing the required base of technology, mentorship, and talent on a need basis in addition to initial funding.”

Startups selected in 1st batch Fabulyst:

A start-up with a core team of data scientists, working on providing a superior and personalised search experience to women using advanced machine learning and AI technologies, thus creating a unique advantage in the online fashion market.

Sastra Robotics: Initially incubated at Startup Village, Kochi, the startup develops high-precision robots to automate and redefine hardware testing practices and has been successful in mimicking the human hand capabilities.

Endless Robotics: Founded by a team of students from BITS Pilani, this startup has already built intelligent wall painting robots to provide cheaper, faster and high-precision solutions to real estate owners. They are now working towards providing deeper image processing capabilities to their robots.

Deep Tech Accelerator

The programme focuses in the areas of Artificial Intelligence (AI), Augmented Intelligence (IA), and Augmented and Virtual Reality (AR/VR). The onus is on improving human comfort using cutting-edge technology.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Hyderabad / by V. Nirupa Sathya Sree / by Express News Service / May 28th, 2016

UK-based journal ranks UoH 7th in artificial intelligence research

Education, Records, All, Science & Technology, World Opinion

UnivHydTELAN26may2016

Hyderabad :

After being ranked among the best universities in the country, the University of Hyderabad (UoH) here on Wednesday was placed among the most productive organisations involved in artificial intelligence research in India by a UK-based journal.

According to the study published in Science & Technology Libraries Journal, United Kingdom, UoH has been ranked 7th among 160 organisations, as most-productive organisation involved in artificial intelligence research in India.

The top 20 most productive organisations involved in artificial intelligence research in India published 53 or more papers each and contributed 2,219 papers. The average citation per paper achieved by the total papers of these 20 organisations was 4.68, and eight organisations achieved a higher average citation per paper ratio than the group average.

The institutions listed include Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Madras (10.21); Indian Statistical Institute, Kolkata (9.97); IIT, Mumbai (8.44); IIT, Roorkee (7.36); IIT Delhi (6.38); International Business Machines (5.84); UoH (5.36); and PSG College of Technology (4.84).

Also, Dr Alok Singh, Associate Professor in the School of Computer and Information Sciences at UoH, has been ranked 12th among top 15 most productive researchers in artificial intelligence research in India.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Hyderabad / by Express News Service / May 26th, 2016

Cook inaugurates Apple Maps development office in Hyderabad

Business & Economy, Leaders, Science & Technology, World Opinion

Apple’s CEO Tim Cook (L) with Telangana CM K Chandra Sekhar Rao after inauguration of Apple's development office in Hyderabad on Thursday. / PTI
Apple’s CEO Tim Cook (L) with Telangana CM K Chandra Sekhar Rao after inauguration of Apple’s development office in Hyderabad on Thursday. / PTI

Says this investment will accelerate Maps development and create up to 4,000 jobs.

Apple Inc on Thursday announced the opening of a new office here that will focus on development of Maps for its products including iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple Watch.

The Californian tech giant said in a statement that this investment will accelerate Maps development and create up to 4,000 jobs.

Mum on quantum of investment

The company, however, did not disclose the quantum of investment that it intends to invest on the facility.

“We are thrilled to open this new office in Hyderabad which will focus on Maps development,” Apple CEO Tim Cook said.

“The talent here in the local area is incredible and we are looking forward to expanding our relationships and introducing more universities and partners to our platforms as we scale our operations,” he said.

Updating, adding new features

Apple has been continually updating and adding new features to Maps including 3D views, the Flyover feature and tools to help customers find convenient places to shop, eat and explore nearby areas, the statement said.

With iOS 9 Apple added Transit, offering a combination of trains, subways, buses and walking, which is already available for more than 300 cities around the world.

The new facility, located on the Waverock campus, will provide a world-class, LEED-certified home for the expanding Maps team, it added.

Honoured, says KCR

Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao has said the State is honoured that Apple chose Hyderabad as a home for its Maps development office.

“This will create thousands of jobs here and is a testament to our proactive approach, quality infrastructure and the excellent talent base we have in the region,” he said.

RMSI is a global IT services company providing GIS, modelling and analytics and software services.

‘One of the most innovative firms’

CEO of RMSI Anup Jindal said, “Apple is one of the most innovative companies in the world. We are very proud they chose us to partner with for this important project.”

“We are experts in geospatial data and we will be hiring thousands of people from the local area to support this effort,” Mr. Jindal said.

Apple supports over 6,40,000 iOS app developer jobs and other positions related to the iOS ecosystem across India, the statement said.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National / PTI / Hyderabad – May 19th, 2016

Healthcare startup raises $150,000

Business & Economy, Science & Technology, World Opinion

Hyderabad :

Life Circle Health Services, a T-Hub incubatee, announced here on Wednesday that it had raised an investment of USD 150,000 from a European company.

The funds will help Life Circle to deepen its services in the state capital as well as expand to the national capital region.

The startup will soon launch its services in New Delhi and aims to reach 20 cities in India by 2020. Apart from investment, GROUPE SOS, Europe’s leading healthcare service provider, will also be sharing technical knowledge and international best practices with Life Circle.

Jean-Marc Borello, founder-president of GROUPE SOS, said, “We are very excited to join hands with an Indian enterprise to develop home nursing services in India. GROUPE SOS has more than 30 years of experience in France where health services are among the best.”

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Telangana / by Express News Service / May 12th, 2016

Hyderabad to host conference on India’s COP21 commitments

Business & Economy, Green Initiatives / Environment, Nature, Science & Technology, World Opinion

Hyderabad :

The Institute for Sustainable Communities (ISC) has been selected by the United States Department of State to organise a conference focused on implementing India’s COP21 commitments to be held here on June 24-25.

The conference, ‘Future Is Now: India from COP21 to Reality’, would include international experts and practitioners, environmental NGOs, in-country development organisations, finance experts, Indian companies and philanthropic organisations as well as India’s top national and state decision-makers, a media statement from the U S Consulate General Hyderabad said.

“The participants will explore India’s key climate change issues and opportunities in light of India’s Paris commitments,” it said.

ISC is partnering with the Center for Environment and Development to present the conference, which will feature Indian and US experts on topics such as clean energy, energy efficiency, climate finance, resilience, climate mitigation, air pollution and waste reduction, the statement said.

The Department of State’s Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asian Affairs, Nisha Desai Biswal, was quoted as saying, “India is a vital player in addressing climate change and we look forward to increasing our partnership to expand clean energy deployment and access.”

Steve Nicholas, Vice President of Urban Programs at ISC, said, “The Paris Agreement is an incredibly important opportunity to reduce emissions and implement green development projects in India. Connecting US and Indian leaders to each other is critical because those professional relationships will continue to pay dividends.”

“We’re honoured to be working with our colleagues in India to understand their challenges, share what we’ve learned, and talk about what’s possible,” he said.

Conference participants, who may include leaders from local government, industry, NGOs, academics, and national government officials, would have the opportunity to connect with their peers and share challenges, solutions and resources, the statement added.

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source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Hyderabad / PTI / May 09th, 2016

Telangana students in Indian contingent at ISEF

Education, Science & Technology, World Opinion

Three school scientists from Telangana will be part of Team India at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) where more than 1,700 school students from over 75 countries will showcase their selected projects. The fair will be held at Phoenix, Arizona, U.S.A. from May 8 to 14.

The children – P. Meghana, D. Nikitha and D. Vamshi from Paramita School in Karimnagar – representing the Indian team met Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao, who asked them to meet him again and share their experiences once they come back from U.S.

The two students developed the project ‘Reflected Altitude Triangle’ under the guidance of Lalit Mohan Sahu.

The project went through various science fairs, starting from district level to national level. It also made a mark entering into the 102nd India Science Congress 2015 held at University of Mumbai last January.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> News> Cities> Hyderabad / by Special Correspondent / Hyderabad – May 05th, 2016

Maths model selected for world’s biggest science fair

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Education, Science & Technology, World Opinion

A mathematics model called ‘reflected altitude triangle’ designed by P. Meghana, D. Nikhitha and D. Vamshi, class 10 students of Paramita High School in Karimnagar town, has been selected for the International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) which would be held in Phoenix, Arizona, U.S.A., from May 8 to 14.

The science project designed by the students under the guidance of teacher Lalith Mohan Sabhu had been on a winning spree at all science fairs – from district-level to national-level.

Recently, it was selected at the Initiative for Research and Innovation in Science (IRIS) at IIT-Delhi.

Only students from State

These students are the only ones from Telangana to showcase their model at the world’s biggest science fair in U.S.A. Paramita Educational Institutes’ chairman E. Prasada Rao congratulated the students for bringing repute to the school as well as the entire State.

The Telangana students’ model has been selected for the ISEF in U.S.A

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Telangana / by Special Correspondent / Karimnagar – May 02nd, 2016

Jeb app bags NPCI award

Business & Economy, Records, All, Science & Technology, World Opinion

Jeb, a mobile app developed by Hyderabad’s VSoft Technologies to facilitate easy, instant transfer of money as an alternative to cash payment, emerged the winner at a hackathon organised by National Payments Corporation of India (MPCI).

The programme, in which 3,819 teams participated, was held to commemorate the launch of NPCI’s payments infrastructure platform – Unified Payments Interface (UPI).

For a host of daily as well as regular payments, be it to purchase groceries, vegetables, paying auto-rickshaw fare, school fees and utility bills or depositing money in another account, the app can perform multiple tasks for which cash is used, says VSoft Technologies COO Dronamraju Srinivas.

Jeb, he says, is not a mobile wallet but a payment channel. It enables users to send and receive money as well as banks to compete with the wallets. The money remains in the customers’ account, earning daily interest until used, unlike the wallets where it is transferred to a third party. Users can add any bank account while interactions can be driven by voice or in their preferred regional language.

VSoft is in talks with a few banks – public, private and in the cooperative fold. The NPCI is yet to finalise the user charges. They are expected to be less than that for NEFT and RTGS, he adds.

City’s VSoft Technologies, the app developer, in talks with a few banks

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Cities> Hyderabad / by N. Ravi Kumar / Hyderabad – April 29th, 2016

The Agrihub, Online Agri Marketing Platform Launched

Agriculture, Business & Economy, Green Initiatives / Environment, Science & Technology

Hyderabad :

The Agrihub, the first agriculture-specific online discovery platform, was launched here on Monday. The platform, launched at the Agri Horti Tech International Exhibition, provides authentic product information on the best brands in conventional and hi-tech agriculture and connects companies or brands, distributors and retailers to cater to the needs of farmers in India.

Sidharth Kumar, co-founder of TheAgrihub, said: “One of the leading causes of inefficiency in farming is the lack of proper knowledge and access to correct resources. We, as urban customer, have option to select things we need from five various platforms but farmers, who feed the world, do not have a single website from where they can get authentic information. With this platform, TheAgrihub has a vision to expose its users to the best of global technologies enabling the growth of farmer as well as agriculture as a whole.”

“The objective of TheAgrihub is to bring agricultural products sourcing for B2B and B2C on fingertips, help them track innovations or products and also find suppliers next door to facilitate educated decisions on purchase. ‘If you are in the field of agriculture, you have to be on TheAgrihub platform’ is what our team wishes to promote.”

The platform has already signed up with over 3,600 hi-tech agricultural farmers and many prominent brands. Seeds and plants of fruits, flowers and vegetables, irrigation products, fertilisers and plant protection products, farm tools and equipment, polyhouse are some of the products listed on the platform.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Telangana / by Express News Service / April 26th, 2016

Pioneering Cardiac Surgery Saves 80-year-old Man

Records, All, Science & Technology

Dr PC Rath of Apollo Hospitals with Yerra Veeraiah, who underwent a pioneering cardiac procedure, in Hyderabad on Thursday. | EXPRESS PhOTO
Dr PC Rath of Apollo Hospitals with Yerra Veeraiah, who underwent a pioneering cardiac procedure, in Hyderabad on Thursday. | EXPRESS PhOTO

Hyderabad :

A pioneering cardiac procedure, percutaneous transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI), has been performed on an 80-year-old man with critical calcific aortic stenosis by a team of doctors led by Dr PC Rath at Apollo Hospitals in Jubilee Hills here.

The procedure was performed for the first time in this part of the country including Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.

“TAVI was performed on the elderly patient in the cath lab from the groin region as in angioplasty. After the patient was administered short general anaesthesia, the valve was put to the heart through the femoral artery and was implanted accurately under the guidance of fluoroscopy and trans-esophageal echo. The valve implanted was the latest second-generation valve from Medtronic USA called Evolute-R. The procedure lasted about one and a half hours.

Immediately after the procedure, the patient was extubated, he became conscious and was shifted to ICU. He was monitored in the ICU for two days, for three more days in the ward and was then discharged,” Dr PC Rath explained.

Dr Rath was assisted by Dr Manoj Agarwal, Dr B.Dikshit and Dr Sundar.

Dr Rath said TAVI is being routinely performed in Europe and of late in the USA for patients who are at high risk for an open heart surgery.

“The procedure got FDA approval in 2015 and since then has been being routinely performed in the USA.

In India the procedure is not yet approved by DCGI and needs permission on case-to-case basis and then the device is imported. Very few cases have been performed in India and the ones performed were mostly in Delhi and Bangalore,” he said.

Though the device is expensive, the procedure is a boon for such patients to be able to save their lives and continue to live through a relatively safe non-surgical procedure. “Now we can offer this life-saving procedure to many of our sick patients with calcified aortic stenosis,” Dr Rath added.

Aortic Stenosis

Narrowing of the aortic valve of the heart is called aortic stenosis. Such blockage in the valve leads to gradual petering of blood flow and consequently an increased effort from the heart is required to pump blood. This condition can lead to heart failure. In normal circumstances, an open heart surgery is performed on such patients to replace the valve. However, in the case of this patient, due to his advanced age and renal failure, an open heart surgery was considered to be a high risk and, therefore, the minimally-invasive TAVI was preferred.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Hyderabad / by Express News Service / April 22nd, 2016