Shinya Ejima, Chief Representative, JICA India. / File photo: Kamal Narang / The Hindu
Japan will extend an assistance of Rs. 1,958 crore (30.7 billion yen) to India for Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Hyderabad and investment promotion programme in Tamil Nadu.
An agreement to this effect was exchanged in New Delhi on Tuesday between Rajesh Khullar, Joint Secretary in the Finance Ministry and Takeshi Yagi, Ambassador of Japan to India, according to a statement issued by Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
The statement said an amount of Rs. 1,129 crore will be provided for the second phase of campus development at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in Hyderabad. Further, JICA will provide Rs. 829 crore for the Tamil Nadu Investment Promotion Programme. The objective of the Tamil Nadu programme is to support policy implementation to improve the investment climate in Tamil Nadu, thereby easing business hurdles for foreign investors.
This would include development of infrastructure such as road, power supply, water and sewerage systems, especially those for factories and industrial zones in the Chennai metropolitan area, where international manufacturers have set up factories.
“Development of the manufacturing sector is a key for faster growth and job creation in India. India needs foreign direct investment (FDI) in manufacturing and that can happen only if quality infrastructure is developed,” chief representative of JICA in India Shinya Ejima said.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Business> Economy / by Sujay Mehdudia / New Delhi – November 12th, 2013
“Aarogyasri is God’s gift. I would not have survived but for the cashless treatment provided under it,” said 46-year-old Rupa Pujari, who has been undergoing dialysis under the scheme for the past two years.
She is one of the several thousands of beneficiaries who are getting free haemodialysis treatment under Aarogyasri across 19 dedicated centres in the State from Srikakulam to Warangal. The scheme to help poor patients with kidney failure completed four years of service on November 6.
After both her kidneys failed four years ago, Ms. Rupa had to shell out around Rs.10,000 every month for her treatment for about two years. After learning about the Aarogysri scheme, she began availing treatment and has been undergoing haemodialysis for the past two years. Echoing similar views, 71-year-old Rahmat Ali Khan said it would have been very difficult to meet the expenditure had it not been for the free treatment under Aarogyasri. “In the past, I had to sell something to pay for the treatment. But now we even get medicines, apart from haemodialysis. We are grateful to the government,” he added.
According to Prof. Pradeep Deshpande, emeritus professor of Nephrology, Gandhi Medical College, around 30,000 kidney failure patients have benefited from cashless treatment since the launch of the scheme. It was initiated after a number of poor patients began approaching the then Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy for financial assistance for dialysis treatment. He said it was started in public-private partnership mode by installing 18 dialysis machines in Gandhi Hospital, 15 in Osmania Hospital here and some in Visakhapatnam.
He said that proposals were pending with the State government to increase the number of haemodialysis centres to 25 across the State, besides starting CAPD (Continuous Ambulatory Peritoneal Dialysis) and paediatric haemodialysis. He said that the Gandhi Hospital has been designated as the nodal centre.
Officials from Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Goa, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu had visited Gandhi Hospital and evinced interest in the scheme.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> National> Andhra Pradesh / by Special Correspondent / Hyderabad – November 11th, 2013
The Andhra Pradesh State Council of Science and Technology has announced awards for scientists in seven categories on Thursday.
The categories are : Biological Sciences, Chemical Sciences, Agricultural Sciences, Engineering and Technology, Earth Sciences/ Geology, Mathematical Sciences and Veterinary Sciences.
The following are the awardees: Prof N Siva Kumar, University of Hyderabad, Dr. G. Sabitha, Indian Institute of Chemical Technology, Dr KVS Meena Kumari, Acharya NG Ranga Agricultural University, Dr G Padmanabham, International Advanace Research Centre for Poder Metallurgy and New Materials, Prof S Vijayabhaskar Rao, S. V University, Tirupati, Prof G Ganesan, Adikavi Nannaya University, Rajahmundry and Dr A Gopal Reddy, College of Veterinary Sciences, Hyderabad.
The Andhra Pradesh State Council of Science and Technology is an autonomous organisation under the aegis of Environment, Forests, Science and Technology department, government of Andhra Pradesh.
The awards will be presented to them at a special function during the Andhra Pradesh Science Congress on Friday 15 at the University of Hyderabad.
Prof. Krishna Lal, president of the Indian National Science Academy, New Delhi will present the awards.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Hyderabad / by Express News Service – Hyderabad / November 15th, 2013
At Devthon, people with ideas can interact with others who can provide feedback and tech support that can turn it into a reality.
At times when there is pressure to grab a job as soon as possible and perform well, how often do we find time and a place where ideas can be proposed without any hesitation and have a set of people give it constructive feedback without professional insecurities?
Devthon, started by three Hyderabadis in March this year, is one such initiative where people can propose their ideas, get feedback and take it till the stage of implementation. The ideas are not limited just to business ventures but may also include social issues like transportation, Right To Information and so on.
“Academics limits ideas to dialogue. We wanted to create a space where people will propose their ideas without hesitation, and to people who are interested in innovation, tinker with them and be inspired by others,” shares Venkatesh Goteti (40), co-founder of Devthon and also co-founder of Azri Solutions Pvt Ltd.
Fellow co-founder Harish Krishnan (34), a technology entrepreneur who roped in Venkatesh for the initiative, adds, “Devthon is an initiative where culture of innovation and excellence is focused upon and we welcome simple to complex ideas.”
Organisers of the initiative have conducted five editions of Devthon till date and the sixth is being scheduled for December 14.
In the earlier editions, many ideas popped up and some were implemented as well. “A man came up with the idea of an open source job portal where different communities can post updates; most of the existing job portals are broken and do not work properly. We invited him to Devthon 0.2 held in Bengaluru where a couple of people gave him feedback. Then he came back again to the next edition where designers helped him create a logo and some developers added the code to his project titled Chaakri and some of us tested the code too. So this is how ideas are worked on at Devthon,” explains Prashanth Venkatasubban (25) who was the initial brainchild behind the initiative.
Some other ideas that were bounced around included developing a more ergonomic desk-chair and mapping bus transportation in Hyderabad.
Now, giving a free space for exploring ideas is a great, but in tech-ridden city like Hyderabad, how does Devthon stand out from other start ups? Venkatesh says, “In meet ups conducted by others, usually they last for two to four hours and participants plan other things after the meet up. While each Devthon edition lasts for 36 hours, people can choose to rest at the venue where it is conducted or go back to their places and come back. The point is to work on the idea for an extended period of time.”
Devthon, which is actually short for Developers and Marathon, reflects the motto in their name as well.
Apart from the discussion sessions, the organisers call in people who are experts in the field of innovation to give talk. “For one of the editions, an innovation consultant from United Kingdom, Andrew gave a talk about how to ideate. He explained how one could articulate, critically examine and solve their problems, which really helped the participants,” adds Venkatesh. The organisers charge `500 as participation fee which is used towards refreshments for the seminar.
Currently held at Bengaluru and Hyderabad, the founders hope to make Devthon a pan-India initiative. “Some of the people who participated in our earlier editions actually live abroad and have expressed their willingness to conduct the editions in the countries they stay. But we are still waiting to give it a proper structure. Any idea needs to be nurtured to strengthen it,” shares Venkatesh.
If you have a burning idea but don’t have the required skills or manpower to execute it, maybe Devthon can help you. You can find out more at www.devthon.org.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Hyderabad / by K. Shiva Shanker – Hyderabad / November 27th, 2013
Indian farmers could benefit from information and communication technology in a big way if they get organised and become literate in computers, experts said today.
Speaking at a round-table conference on development of information technologhy for agriculture at the World Agricultural Forum Congress 2013 here, FICCI Co-Chair J A Chowdary said that application of communication technology already benefits farmers in the form of mobile phones.
He cited examples of a farmer from the backward Anantapur district who took pictures of his crop and used it to consult experts, as well of another farmer in Hyderabad who used web-based technology.
Farmers also received various other information on their mobile phones, he said, adding that there are software companies in Hyderabad which offer information like prevailing market price of their their produce, he said.
Tech Mahindra’s Senior Vice-President V Srinivas Rao said farmers could benefit further if they are organised into groups and computer literacy is spread among them so that they may access the Internet.
Providing information in local languages would be useful, he said, stressing that affordability of applications is important.
source: http://www.business-standard.com / Business Standard / Home> PTI Stories> National> News / by Press Trust of India / Hyderabad – November 07th, 2013
An engineering college has taken the clean energy route to power its sprawling campus and meet the energy demands.
Padmasri Dr B.V. Raju Institute of Technology in Narsapur, about 50 km from Hyderabad, has installed and commissioned a 100 kWp solar photovoltaic rooftop plant. The project is the first-of-its-kind among all the JNTU-affiliated colleges in Andhra Pradesh. It will harness solar power to the tune of 100 kWp from this month. The plant consists of a total 400 PV modules – each 250Wp – supplied by SIRIUS Solar Energy, Hyderabad, a press release from the Institute said. It was executed by Solaris Innovations & Systems, Hyderabad
“The Rs 1.3 crore project is installed under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM) Phase-III programme through New & Renewable Energy Development Corporation of Andhra Pradesh (NREDCAP). Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), provided a subsidy of 30 per cent,” said Jagadishwar Reddy, Chief Executive Officer of the company.
A few students of BVRIT were involved right through the installation and commissioning and gained hands-on experience in putting together the different modules of the rooftop solar power plant, the release added.
source: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com / Business Line / Home> Industry> Education / by The Hindu Bureau somasekhar.m@thehindu.co.in / Hyderabad – November 12th, 2013
First heart transplantation was successfully carried out under Jeevandaan, the state government sponsored organ donation scheme in Andhra Pradesh.
After the launch of the Jeevandaan programme in 2012, this is the first heart transplantation operation carried out under the state government’s organ donation scheme.
The heart transplant was carried out from a brain dead patient, Sai Teja Nimmagadda, who had met with an accident at Lakadikapul, on November 10.
Sai Teja was rushed to a nearby hospital, but he had lost his consciousness and the CT scan showed severe damage in the brain. He was then rushed to Yashoda Hospital, but was declared brain dead on November 11. The family agreed to donate Sao Teja’s organs to the government’s Jeevandaan scheme and his two kidneys, lungs, liver and heart were retrieved. The heart transplant surgery was carried out in Apollo Hospitals at Jubilee hills.
So far 15 different organ transplantations have been carried out under the Jeevandaan scheme and heart transplantations is done for the first time under the scheme.
In Andhra Pradesh every year at least 10,000 people require kidney transplants in the state. But only less than 500 patients are luckily getting them. When it comes to liver transplants, only 100 such surgeries happen in the city and elsewhere in the state as against 1,600 applications every year.
In view of this, the state government has come out with the Jeevandaan organ donation programme to encourage people to donate their bodies after death.
With this all the organ donations in the state are carried under Jeevandaan. Up on availability, the organs will be allotted to licensed hospitals based on the centralized waiting list maintained by the Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS).
“To further encourage the organ donation more awareness should be created among the people and the state government should bring law to announce brain-dead mandatory in government hospitals, this will enable more organ donations and help us to protect more lives,” says Dr Swarnalatha, in-charge for Jeevandaan programme at NIMS.
source: http://www.pharmabiz.com / PharmaBiz.com / Home> News> Hospitals & Clinics / by PharmaBiz.com Bureau, Hyderabad / November 13th, 2013
Appa Rao Podile, senior faculty member in the department of plant sciences at the School of Life Sciences, University of Hyderabad, has been conferred with Prof. G Rangaswami Award in agricultural microbiology by the Association of Microbiologists of India (AMI).
The award was conferred on Appa Rao in the annual meeting of the association held at Rohtak from November 17-20 for the significant contributions made in the field of agricultural microbiology.
The award consists of a citation and a cash prize of `20,000.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Hyderabad / by Express News Service – Hyderabad / November 23rd, 2013
Kick starting the Navy Day celebrations on Sunday, the Eastern naval Command organized Pratibimb ’13, a painting competition for children from various schools in the city, at the Rajiv Gandhi Indoor Stadium here.
Nearly 1,400 children from various government and private schools, including Kendriya Vidyalayas, across the city participated in the event which saw the naval community joining hands with the civilians.
The competition, which was held for children, was divided into three different categories – sub-junior, junior and senior groups. The topics for drawing were informed to the sub-junior group comprised Sail Boat at Sea, Visit to Diwali Mela while the junior and senior groups were given topics such as Vizag Port, Fishing Harbour, Coast and Life under Sea, Wildlife Protection, Indian Navy, Maritime Security, Navy Day Celebration on RK Beach among others. The winners will be announced and awarded on November 20 onboard a Naval Ship during the Day at Sea programme.
source: http://www.articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Visakhapatnam> Indian Navy / TNN / November 11th, 2013
Greenko Group has commissioned the 51.2MW first phase of the Balavenkatpuram wind farm in Anantpur District of the state of Andhra Pradesh, India.
Built with an investment of around €40m, the first phase features enhanced General Electric GE 1.6 XLE turbine, which has the potential to deliver around 30% capacity factor in an average year.
Greenko CEO Anil Chalamalasetty said the company has commissioned the phase one of the Balavenkatpuram wind farm ahead of schedule.
“Our first two wind farms refined our modular approach to wind farm construction, which is now delivering substantial and predictable growth.
“As a result, we should double our generating capacity this financial year to 600MW and remain in line to hit our 2015 target of 1,000MW,” added Chalamalasetty.
The company claims construction on the 50MW second phase is currently underway and is using Gamesa’s G97 turbine, which has a 90m hub height and 97m diameter blades.
Additionally, the company, which has commissioned the grid connection for the site’s 200MW full capacity, has signed a 25-year power purchase agreement with the state.
The project will benefit from the recently increased tariff as well as from the generation based incentive (GBI), a federal government scheme under which GBI will be provided up to INR10m (€117,942) per MW with the claim period between four years to 11 years.
Early this year, the state government has announced a new tariff regime for renewable energy at INR4.7 per unit, laying the foundations for accelerated growth, investment and job creation.
source: http://www.wind.energy-business-review.com / Energy Business Review / EBR Home> Power Generation> Wind> Wind News / by EBR Staff Writer / November 11th, 2013
