Category Archives: Science & Technology

Dr. Reddy’s Announces the Launch of Eszopiclone Tablets C-IV

Business & Economy, Science & Technology, World Opinion

Hyderabad , India (BUSINESS WIRE)

Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories (NYSE: RDY) announced today that it has launched Eszopiclone Tablets (C-IV) 1 mg, 2 mg and 3 mg, a therapeutic equivalent generic version of LUNESTA® (eszopiclone) tablets C-IV in the US market on April 15, 2014, following the approval by the United States Food & Drug Administration (USFDA).

The LUNESTA® (eszopiclone) tablets C-IV brand and generic combined had U.S. sales of approximately $887 Million MAT for the most recent twelve months ending in January 2014 according to IMS Health*.

Dr. Reddy’s Eszopiclone Tablets (C-IV) 1 mg is available in bottle counts of 30. Eszopiclone Tablets (C-IV) 2 mg and 3 mg are available in bottle counts of 100.

source: http://www.news.investors.com / Investors.com / Home> News> by Business Wire / April 16th, 2014

Global honour for Vizag Steel Plant IT wing

Records, All, Science & Technology, World Opinion

The IT Department of Visakhapatnam Steel Plant has been conferred with Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI-Level 3) accreditation for its systematic and quality approach for development and maintenance of software applications.

Executive Director (Automation & IT) P. Ramudu received the certificate from lead assessor of Quality Assurance International (QAI India) V. Seshadri at a function held in the plant on Wednesday.

VSP IT Department has been assessed for CMMI Level-3 certification, Version 1.3 of Software Engineering Institute, Carnegie Mellon University, USA, by QAI India in the areas of its capabilities of project management, process management, organisational process focus and its software quality assurance processes, methods and practices.

General Manager and Head of IT Department K.V.S.S. Rajeswara Rao was present. DGM (IT) B Govardhana Reddy earlier made a presentation on the journey made by the department towards the achievement.

Meanwhile, RINL Chairman-cum-Managing Director P. Madhusudan congratulated the IT Department Collective on achieving the coveted accreditation and observed that RINL was always in the forefront in adopting innovative IT solutions to achieve excellence in IT, the lifeline of today’s business.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Visakhapatnam / by Special Correspondent / Visakhapatnam – March 26th, 2014

Petite, an ambient game on a woman’s birth-to-death journey

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

The game, developed by Hyderabad’s Seven Summit, has been selected for Microsoft Imagine Cup’s national finals

Imagine a game that’s ambient and speaks to the player’s heart and soul rather than just their thumbs?  Asar Dhandala , a second-year student from Backstage Pass Schooling in Hyderabad, along with his team, has developed Petite , an abstract, philosophical game that revolves around the life of a woman starting from her birth till she departs this life, while focusing on several key incidents that happen along the way.

“Depending on the situation she is in, the player can let out her emotions and control them to stop the spherules which revolve around her. After every level, the story unfolds and gets the player emotionally attached to the game,” says Asar.

Developed by Hyderabad-based gaming studio  Seven Summits , for which Asar is the co-founder, Petite has won a games honourable mention under User Experience Challenge, a non-technology challenge category in Microsoft’s Imagine Cup  2014.

Besides, the game has made it to the national finals of the cup, which is scheduled to be held in New Delhi on April 28-29. If Seven Summits manages to win the event, it would represent India at the international level of the competition to be held in Seattle this June.

“When we did our research, we came to know that 86 per cent of people who watch movies play video games, but only 23 per cent of people who are avid readers play games. So, we thought why not make a game which is patterned after books, thereby unlocking a totally new target audience. Thus, we came up with Petite. And, we have chosen the art style abstract for Petite to serve the purpose,” he adds.

The Seven Summits team has also developed Just Born, a game that seeks to address the issue of female infanticide in India, which received an honourable mention under Project Blueprint Challenge, also a non-technology challenge category in the Imagine Cup.

“We have designed Just Born as an obstacle course through the various organs of an infant girl. It engages users through interactive mini-games in each organ, highlighting the plight and suffering of the girl child in rural India. As the game progresses, the user must win the challenges in very organ (level) only to find that the girl child is eventually drowned by her parents,” says 20-year-old Asar.

Considered as the ‘Oscars of Technology’, the Microsoft Imagine Cup has an outreach of over 60,000 students from across India this year. Around 24 teams were selected for participation at the India national finals, says a Microsoft India spokesperson.

“India has traditionally been a frontrunner at the competition. It has created opportunities for students to learn how to launch their business and bring their ideas to the market.”

source: http://www.business-standard.com / Business Standard / Home> Technology> News> Others / by K Rajani Kanth / Hyderabad – April 14th, 2014

10-year-old receives kidney from mother

Records, All, Science & Technology
P. Jayanth, who underwent a kidney transplantation surgery, with the head of Nephrology at Gandhi Hospital, Dr. Rajendra Prasad, at the hospital on Friday. / - Photo: M. Sai Gopal / The Hindu
P. Jayanth, who underwent a kidney transplantation surgery, with the head of Nephrology at Gandhi Hospital, Dr. Rajendra Prasad, at the hospital on Friday. / – Photo: M. Sai Gopal / The Hindu

Surgeons at Gandhi Hospital have successfully transplanted a kidney to 10-year-old P. Jayanth from the boy’s 28-year-old mother P. Usha. The boy had been suffering from an end-state kidney ailment.

While kidney transplant procedures among children were well-developed at Osmania General Hospital (OGH), this is the first time that surgeons of Gandhi Hospital surgeons have pulled-off a paediatric kidney transplant.

“The transplantation was done on Monday, April 7. So far, both mother and son have done remarkably well. We are hoping to discharge Jayanth in few days from now,” said Rajendra Prasad, Head of Nephrology at Gandhi Hospital.

While this is the first paediatric kidney transplant at Gandhi Hospital, the surgical team at OGH so far have conducted nearly 11 paediatric surgeries. Gandhi Hospital doctors said the necessary infrastructure and medical protocols are now in place to conduct similar surgeries in the future.

“The public should realise that free paediatric kidney transplants are now a possibility at Gandhi Hospital,” said hospital Superintendent M. Chandrashekar. The doctors said special care is needed to be given for children who are undergoing transplantation. As he suffered from an end-stage kidney ailment, Jayanth was on dialysis for the past four months at Gandhi Hospital.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Hyderabad / by M. Sai Gopal / Hyderabad – April 12th, 2014

RCOG World Congress Attracts 3,500 Doctors

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

“Reducing maternal mortality is not only the duty of doctors but is also a social responsibility. Education of women will reduce the mortality rate as we have seen in Kerala and Punjab,” former president and eminent scientist APJ Abdul Kalam has said.

Speaking at the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) World Congress-2014 held at the Hyderabad International Convention Centre (HICC) at Madhapur here on Friday,  he said, “Today, 4.5 million children in the world are lacking nutritious food. We need to provide the newborn with vitamins to make  our future generations healthy and strong.”

Over 3,500 doctors from 62 countries attended.

Paul Fogerty, senior vice-president and chair of RCOG, released online International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology (BJOG) and people can have their doubts clarified by by sending their queries to RCOG2014.com.

David Richmond, president,  in his inaugural address described Hyderabad as a beautiful city. The event will be held once in three years.  Suchitra Pandit, president of the Federation of Obstetrician and Gynaecologist Societies of India, also spoke.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Hyderabad / by Express News Service – Hyderabad / March 29th, 2014

GM’s shield for Vijayawada Railway Division

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

Vijayawada Division of South Central Railway (SCR) won 19 out of the 58 shields which will be presented by SCR General Manager P.K. Srivastava to officers and staff of various departments for their performance in the year 2013, during the Railway Week celebrations on April 15 at Secunderabad.

The shields won by Vijayawada Division include the General Manager’s Efficiency shield for overall performance. It will be received by Divisional Railway Manager Pradeep Kumar.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Vijayawada / by Staff Reporter / Vijayawada – April 11th, 2014

VSP employee for All-England tourney

Science & Technology, Sports, World Opinion
B.V.S.K. Lingeswara Rao / The Hindu
B.V.S.K. Lingeswara Rao / The Hindu

An employee of Visakhapatnam Steel Plant B.V.S.K. Lingeswara Rao is participating in another international badminton tournament.

He will be representing India in the 98 All-England Seniors Badminton Championship to be held at Hatfield from April 11 to 13.

Commissioner of GVMC and president of the Visakhapatnam District Badminton Association M.V. Satyanarayana, secretary of the district association and vice-president of the AP Badminton Association R. Srinivas, and other office-bearers congratulated Lingeswara Rao on his selection and wished him success in the tournament.

Lingeswara Rao will play the plus-45 years men’s singles and doubles events. He will partner with A.V. Raju of Hyderabad in the doubles event. Players from nearly 25 countries are participating in different age groups, plus-35 years to 70 years.

Foreman in VSP, Lingeswara Rao secured a bronze medal in the men’s singles and doubles category in the sixth BWF senior World championship-2013 held in Ankara (Turkey) recently.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Visakhapatnam / by Special Correspondent / Visakhapatnam – April 03rd, 2014

Accendo Tech lines up 8 enterprise apps for launch

Business & Economy, Science & Technology

Company has so far developed 15 mobile apps for sectors including healthcare, education, retail, and media and entertainment

AscendoHF16apr2014

Accendo Technologies Private Limited, a Hyderabad-based startup predominantly focused on building mobile applications for enterprises, is lining up eight apps for various clients across the globe, said Diwakar Singh, vice-president (sales).

The company, floated in early 2012, has so far developed 15 mobile applications for sectors including healthcare , education, retail, and media  and entertainment .

“We are currently working on apps for events industry (registration management), one for the logistics industry, and one gym app for a Singapore client, which will provide virtual physical training sessions, tips after keying in weight and body mass index, and eventually creates curiosity to actually go and join a gym. We expect to deliver these apps to our clients within six months from now,” Singh told Business Standard on the sidelines of Nasscom Product Conclave 2014 in Hyderabad on Thursday.

The self-funded company currently employs 46 professional across its Hyderabad and Sydney offices.

source: http://www.business-standard.com / Business Standard / Home> Technology> Personal Technology> Mobile / by K Rajani Kanth / Hyderabad – April 03rd, 2014

Utthishta Yekum Fund to invest in 20 tech startups

Business & Economy, Science & Technology

The fund, which is a partner to Nasscom’s ’10, 000 Startups’ initiative, has so far received 1, 470 applications from various technology startups

Uttishta Yekum Fund , the debut seed fund from Hyderabad-based Utthishta Management Advisors LLP, is targeting to invest in at least 20 Indian technology startup companies every year, according to Mohsin Khan, general partner of the fund.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi)-registered alternative investment fund, with a fund size of Rs 70 crore, has so far invested in seven companies. These include New Delhi-based GreatWideOpen, an adventure travel company, and Claimback, which takes care of customer grievances against brands,  and Hyderabad-based happyweddings.com.

Utthishta Yekum, which writes the ‘first cheque’ of between Rs 10 lakh and Rs 20 lakh for very very early-stage startups, has M Prabhakara Rao as its anchor investor with an already committed Rs 31-crore infusion into the fund. Rao is the chairman of Hyderabad-based Rs 5, 600-crore Nuziveedu Seeds Limited (NSL group), which has interests in agriculture, textiles, sugar and renewable energy.

“Our focus going forward will be on startups that are into mobility, software, analytics and cloud computing. And, we intend to invest in at least 20 such companies each year,” Khan told Business Standard on the sidelines of Nasscom Product Conclave 2014 here recently.

The fund, which is a partner to Nasscom’s ‘10, 000 Startups’ initiative, has so far received 1, 470 applications from various technology startups on its website.

According to P Rama Krishna, another general partner at Utthishta Yekum Fund, they typically pick up 10-15 per cent stake in very very early-stage startups in exchange of their investments.

“Since we invest at a very very early-stage, we hold on to them for at least five years for an exit. Of course, we do expect 18-19 per cent return on investment from them,” Krishna said, agreeing that purely product-focused companies in India where very less now.

source: http://www.business-standard.com / Business Standard / Home> Companies> News / by K Rajani Kanth / Hyderabad – April 07th, 2014

IPGI crop geneticists sequence peanut’s genome: ICRISAT

Green Initiatives / Environment, Nature, Science & Technology

ICRISAT, a member of the Peanut Genome Consortium, today claimed that the International Peanut Genome Initiative (IPGI) has successfully sequenced the genome of the humble peanut.

City-headquartered ICRISAT is a member of the Peanut Genome Consortium, a multi-national group of crop geneticists working in co-operation for several years in the peanut genome sequencing project.

The new peanut genome sequence will be available to researchers and plant breeders across the globe to aid in the breeding of more productive, more resilient peanut varieties, an ICRISAT statement said.

Peanut (Arachis hypogaea), also called groundnut, is an important crop both commercially and nutritionally.

Globally, farmers tend about 24 million hectares of peanut each year, producing about 40 million tonnes. While the oil and protein rich legume is seen as a cash crop in the developed world, it remains an important sustenance crop in developing nations.

“Rich in protein and edible oil, peanut is central to the financial and nutritional well-being of hundreds of millions of farmers and consumers across the semi-arid tropics of Asia and sub-Saharan Africa,” Director General of the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) William Dar said.

“Improving peanut varieties to be more drought, insect and disease resistant, using the genome sequence, can help farmers in developed nations produce more peanuts with fewer pesticides and other chemicals and help farmers in developing nations feed their families and build more-secure livelihoods,” Rajeev Varshney, Research Programme Director – Grain Legumes and Director, Center of Excellence in Genomics, ICRISAT.

source: http://www.business-standard.com / Business Standard / Home> PTI Stories> National> News / Press Trust of India / Hyderabad – April 02nd, 2014