Category Archives: Science & Technology

Dubai firm acquires Hyderabad-based bus-shuttle app Commut

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

Commut was the brainchild of six IIIT-H alumni

Hyderabad-based bus-shuttle app Commut has been acquired by Dubai-based ride-hailing app Careem Networks FZ. The value of the deal has not been disclosed. Commut was started by six alumni of IIIT-Hyderabad about three years ago.

“As per our deal with Careem, we are supposed to shut down the local operations and launch Careem Bus in MENAP (Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan, and Pakistan) region,” said a spokesperson of Commut. “The Indian operations have been handed over to Shuttl in a separate deal,” said the spokesperson, when asked about continuing operations of the service in Hyderabad. Cummut currently services 50 routes using 70 buses.

Started in November 2015 by IIIT-H students Hemanth Jonnalagadda, Prashanth Garapati, Charan Thota, Sandeep Kachavarapu, Akshay Chennupati and Srujai Varikuti, Commut has been a successful startup, which transitioned from idea to reality. Last year, Commut was selected for MAN Accelerator Programme. “Joining Careem and building the mass transportation vertical will help us fulfil our mission at a much larger scale,” said Prashanth Garapati, one of the founding members of the startup.

“Mass transportation is one of the biggest issues facing many fast-growing cities in our region. Commut has a successful track record in mass transportation, and we are excited to bring their expertise into the Careem family,” said Magnus Olsson of Careem.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Telangana / by Special Correspondent / Hyderabad – September 25th, 2018

China firm opens software development centre in city

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

Thundersoft Global CEO Larry Geng with IT Secretary Jayesh Ranjan at the centre’s opening in the city on Monday.By arrangement

Keen on acquisitions, having own campus and hiring 1,000 engineers

Smart device operating system and platform technology provider Thunder Software Technology Co. Ltd. of China has made a foray into India by establishing an IT development centre in Hyderabad.

A company that counts US chipmaker Qualcomm as an investor and key customer, Thundersoft has hired 25 engineers for the facility. Their numbers are expected to go up to 80-100 by December, Global CEO Larry Geng and Thundersoft India vice-president Sudharani Pillai said on Monday.

In an interaction, after the centre was formally opened by IT Secretary Jayesh Ranjan, they said the company planned to have on board 1,000 engineers in India in the next 3-5 years. While Hyderabad would remain the India headquarters, it was considering setting up software development facilities in Bengaluru and Pune as well. In about two years, the company would also take a decision on having a campus of its own.

Thundersoft was set up 10 years ago and has 20 research and development centres globally, including the Hyderabad facility. The company’s global headcount is 3,400 and in 2017, it had revenues of $200 million.

Seeking to highlight the role India could play in as the company looks to grow its global presence, Mr. Geng estimated Thundersoft to invest $10 million in the country over the next two years. It could be higher if the Beijing-headquartered firm is able to give shape to plans of acquiring firms in India.

In India, the company would be looking at firms developing technologies in its focus areas of smart phones, IoTs and automotive solutions.

The Hyderabad centre, he replied to query, would be an Intelligent software technology development facility and would work closely with Qualcomm.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Hyderabad / by Special Correspondent / Hyderabad – September 25th, 2018

Startup India Yatra reaches SR Engineering College

Business & Economy, Education, Science & Technology

Startup India Yatra van at SR Engineering College in Warangal on Thursday. | Photo Credit: M_Murali

Students to share their ideas with Startup India representative Karandeep Singh

The Startup India Yatra, a government initiative to promote startups, reached SR Engineering College here on Thursday where students would share their ideas with Startup India representative Karandeep Singh. Some of the potential ideas would be taken to the boot camp on September 22.

College principal V. Satish said the initiative, taken up by the Government of India and Telangana State Innovation Cell (TSIC) in 12 districts, would help in creating awareness on startups. “Entrepreneurship has always been a buzzword in metropolitan cities, but after the launch of Startup India programme, many from Tier-II and Tier-III cities are into entrepreneurship,” he said.

The selected ideas from the boot camps would be connected to seven incubators of Telangana, including SRIX incubator in Warangal. CEO of SRIX Sridevi Reddy, and Startup India college coordinator G. Satish Raj urged the students to make use of the opportunity.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Telangana / by Special Correspondent / Warangal Urban Dt, – September 20th, 2018

Hyderabad gets device to preserve liver

Records, All, Science & Technology, World Opinion

Dr. G. S. Rao, MD of Yashoda Group of Hospitals, and Craig Andrew Marshall, CEO of OrganOx Ltd. Oxford-UK, showcasing the normo-thermic liver perfusion machine . | Photo Credit: K.V.S. GIRI

It can tell doctors if a marginally sick liver can be considered for transplant

The wait for individuals vying for a liver just got shorter. The city is in receipt of a machine which helps put to use cadaver livers that were earlier deemed unfit for transplant.

Through a process called ‘normo-thermic perfusion’ technology, the Metra device, not just preserves but can also tell doctors if a marginally sick liver can be considered for transplant. A UK-based organisation OrganOx produces the machine.

“Presently, cadaveric liver is accepted based on liver function tests, ultrasound and its pre-operative appearance. Hence a lot of livers get rejected or retrieval is not attempted. With this machine, we can get a real-time picture of quality and functioning of a liver,” said Balachandran Menon, who headed three surgeries involving the machine at Yashoda Hospitals.

The Metra device will be available for use by all hospitals where transplants are performed in the city. The device simulates a human body’s functioning to keep the liver in a condition that would render it fit for use up to 24 hours after harvesting. Patients will have to pay around ₹ 5 lakh if they want a marginally sick liver assessed for transplant.

In Telangana, 1,968 people registered with the State’s Jeevandan cadaver donation programme are waiting for a liver. The rise in demand for an organ is significantly higher than the rate of rise in donations, said G. Swarnalatha, in-charge for Jeevandan.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Hyderabad / by Staff Reporter / Hyderabad – September 11th, 2018

Award for HMR

Business & Economy, Records, All, Science & Technology, Travel

Indian Concrete Institute- UltraTech awards ceremony in the city.

Metro rail MD receives award from former T.N. Governor K. Rosaiah

The Hyderabad Metro Rail Project was awarded the ‘Outstanding Concrete Structure for Infrastructure’ from Indian Concrete Institute- UltraTech Awards-2018, at a ceremony held here on Saturday. HMR MD N.V.S. Reddy received the award from former A.P. Chief Minister and ex-Tamil Nadu Governor K. Rosaiah.

L&T Metro Rail-Hyderabad Project Director M.P. Naidu also received the Outstanding Concrete Structure-Infrastructure (Project Concessionaires & Designers) and (Architects Award) on behalf of the company.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Chennai / by Special Correspondent / Hyderabad – September 10th, 2018

T-Hub to mentor Canadian tech firm

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

Invites entries for Communitech’s programme for companies to access Indian market
The T-Hub has called for applications from Canadian start-ups and scale-ups for a Global Bridge programme of Communitech, a Canada-based public-private innovation hub, to help them build expertise in scaling their operations in India.

Through mentorship, T-Hub would enable Canadian entrepreneurs to offer high-quality solutions to Indian consumers and supercharge innovation, while bolstering trade relations and knowledge-transfer between the two countries. The T-Hub and Communitech had signed an MoU during Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s visit to India earlier this year. “India unlocks huge opportunities for global entrepreneurs to scale their businesses,” T-Hub CEO Jay Krishnan said in a release on the programme. Canadian start-ups stood to benefit from the vast market, while India would receive technology solutions in critical areas such as sustainability and healthcare, he added. Being accepted into this programme offered by Communitech, the Canadian Digital Media Network and T-Hub would result in a much more successful entry into India for Canadian tech companies, said Lisa Cashmore, Communitech’s director of international strategy.

Selected companies – in the areas of clean technologies and sustainable infrastructure; health and biotechnology; and B2B enterprise solutions – would receive two-and-a-half months of virtual coaching and access to resources, followed by three weeks in market.

While in India, the company representatives get to participate in formal programming in Hyderabad and network and travel for sales meetings around the country. Companies would receive up to $4,000 CAD to help offset travel and accommodation costs to be reimbursed by the CDMN, the release said. Last date for application is August 15. Visit https://t-hub.co/globalbridge_ca_in for more details.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Hyderabad / by Special Correspondent / Hyderabad – July 17th, 2018

Master class on mitigating severe asthma

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

A Master class on Bronchial Thermoplasty, the ultra advanced procedure to treat severe asthma was organised by the Department of Interventional Pulmonology of Yashoda Hospitals here on Tuesday.

Said to be the first-ever such Master class in the country, the innovative and state-of-the-art procedure gaining rapid acceptance world over is available in few major modern medical centres. The Yahsoda had taken the initiative to organise the Master class for the benefit of practising pulmonologists, according to a release.

The two-day training programme included hands-on workshop and was inaugurated by Pavan Gorukanti, Director, Yashoda Hospitals Group, Hyderabad here on Monday. The Master class provided a comprehensive overview of advanced therapeutic bronchoscopic procedure- Bronchial Thermoplasty, he said.

About 200 leading pulmonologists from India and from overseas attended the programme. The Master class had both foreign and Indian faculties and few guest invitees including Adrian Chan from Singapore General Hospital, Singapore, Jamalul Azizi Abdul Rahman from Serdang Hospital, Malaysia and Elena from Romania and Deepak Talwar (Metro Hospitals) and Karan Madan (AIIMS) from India.

The programme also included live case demonstrations organised by the Yashoda Hospitals team of Interventional Pulmonologists led by Hari Kishan, V.G. Nagarjuna Maturu , M. Gangadhar Reddy and Y.Gopi Krishna. the release added.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Hyderabad / by Special Correspondent / Hyderabad – July 11th, 2018

NTPC bags Golden Peacock award

Green Initiatives / Environment, Records, All, Science & Technology

NTPC Ramagundam received the Golden Peacock award on energy efficiency at the 20th World Congress on Environment Management and Climate Change organised by the Institute of Directors, New Delhi, on Friday.

Ramagundam Group general manager Ravindra and DGM (EEMG) Manoj Kumar Jha received the award.

Recognition of efforts

This award recognises NTPC-Ramagundam’s contribution towards reducing the greenhouse gas emission into environment through well-developed energy efficiency management system at the power station as well as actions taken for system performance improvements by system modifications, augmentations and promotion of new technologies towards climate change.

NTPC-Ramagundam in last 20 years has avoided almost 15 millions tonnes of carbon-dioxide from emission into environment due to its performance/efficiency improvement initiatives.

Upon receiving the award, GGM Ravindra expressed his happiness and said this award will not only bolster NTPC-Ramagundam’s image but also motivate them to give their best.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Hyderabad / by Special Correspondent / Peddapalli – July 08th, 2018

Tiny Zebra Fish come as a big boon to scientists

Agriculture, Nature, Records, All, Science & Technology

CCMB Director Rakesh Mishra addressing a press conference in the city on Thursday.

Experiments being carried out on them as they have organs like humans

It’s a tiny fish found in abundance in India that has come as a boon to scientists and researchers here. They no longer need to be dependent on primates or mice for conducting tests that go through strict regulatory controls. To top it all, the Zebra Fish have organs just like humans which they can also regenerate that makes them ideal for carrying out experiments.

Scientists have been carrying out tests such as putting cancer tumours in fish and using a whole lot of medicines that are available to check for their potency and efficacy. “This could help us in getting closer to providing personalised medicine,” said Rakesh Mishra, Director of Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR)’s Centre for Cellular & Molecular Biology (CCMB).

Research facility

The CCMB that opened an exclusive state-of-the-art Zebra Fish research facility within its campus here a few months ago, organised a two-day nationwide meet recently. It brought together scientists from top institutes like TIFR, IIT-H, IGIB, IISER, etc., dealing with Zebra Fish as a model system for research to collaborate and discuss the ongoing work in areas of developmental biology, neurobiology, disease biology, behavioural studies and so on.

Dr. Mishra and Megha Kumar, in-charge of the facility here, told the presspersons on Thursday that about 40 labs in the country were currently working with Zebra Fish for it can mimic the human body.

“It has a limited life span and due to its transparent outer layer, you can see the embryo growing and the functioning of its body parts. And, it is 500 times cheaper when compared to working with mice or others which require a lot of facilities,” they said.

As its body parts can regenerate, it opens up “exciting possibilities” and is very efficient for genome editing, explained Dr. Mishra.

At present, the CCMB unit is concentrating on breast cancer research where the tumour is introduced into the Zebra Fish to check for cells’ behaviour and their expansion and controlling it by using the available medicines.

Behavioural studies

Other studies on Zebra Fish include behavioural ones like how the female fish does not produce eggs to fertilise when few drops of alcohol are introduced into a male!

Mr. Mishra said another exclusive research facility for gene sequencing would be operational soon, while a proposal to have a high-end imaging facility was awaiting government approvals.

Discussions were on with the State government for taking possession of land for its new field lab to test for rice varieties, on mosquitoes and others, near Bhongir, he said.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Hyderabad / by Special Correspondent / Hyderabad – July 05th, 2018

Kaleshwaram engineers prove their mettle

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

Irrigation Minister T. Harish Rao (not in picture) is of the opinion that the extra-mile efforts of the work agencies and engineers made the project’s progress possible.

They find new ideas to overcome challenges faced by them

The execution of Kaleshwaram irrigation project has become a platform to showcase out of the box management skills for work agencies, department engineers and even the Minister concerned to keep the momentum of work and meet deadlines.

Those involved in the execution of the project have been finding new ideas to overcome the challenges faced from time to time in acquisition of land, ensuring availability of required workforce and getting the material moved to work sites.

“Unlike in other projects the engineers working for Kaleshwaram project have gone beyond their mandate and convinced people to give up their lands identified for the project needs, after the revenue department failed to make headway. We visited villages, met elders and convinced them about the larger benefits the project is going to derive,” a senior engineer supervising the project work said seeking anonymity.

As all the work agencies engaged in the project have mobilised 90% of the workforce from other States such as Odisha, Jharkhand, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal for “strategic” reasons, holding them back from returning to their native places during major festivals has been a major headache. Holi festival and local bodies’ elections in West Bengal during the recent summer season were testing times, the engineer said.

“We offered double wages to stop the workers going home for Holi and succeeded in holding back at least half of them to keep the momentum of work for meeting June-July deadlines,” explained Director of Megha Engineering & Infrastructures Ltd B. Srinivas Reddy during a visit to the project works recently. Adding to Mr. Srinivas Reddy’s views, Irrigation Minister T. Harish Rao said some engineers were deputed to West Bengal to bring back workers from areas where the local polls held in phases were either over or postponed.

Airlifted

Stating that some parts of pumps for Package 6 and 8 were airlifted from Austria to meet the deadlines, Mr. Harish Rao narrated how they faced difficulties in moving some other equipment brought to Mumbai port from Finland. “It reached Mumbai in 20 days but it took 30 days to bring it to the work site (Medigadda) as construction of a flyover in Mumbai obstructed its movement. Its journey through an alternative route took a week’s extra time even with the cooperation of Maharashtra government,” he explained.

Dealing with five countries, a few neighbouring States and several departments at the Centre for getting clearances has been no mean task, he said and it was the extra mile efforts of both work agencies and engineers that have made project’s progress, as it stands now, possible.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Hyderabad / by B. Chandrashekhar / Hyderabad – July 03rd, 2018