Monthly Archives: December 2013

Two ambitious projects to give boost to medium, small units

Business & Economy
Vijayawada Auto Cluster Development Company Managing Director V. Rajendra Prasad explaining the use of the machine that will be part of lineup at the CCMC. / Photo: Ch.Vijaya Bhaskar / The Hindu
Vijayawada Auto Cluster Development Company Managing Director V. Rajendra Prasad explaining the use of the machine that will be part of lineup at the CCMC. / Photo: Ch.Vijaya Bhaskar / The Hindu

‘CCMC and CCTC will give MSMEs cutting edge advantage’

By next March, the 1,000-odd Micro, Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (MSMEs) located in Jawahar Autonagar and IALA (Industrial Area and Local Authorities) will get a fresh lease of life, as the special purpose vehicle Vijayawada Auto Cluster Development Company (VACDC), promoted to upgrade the industrial cluster, will launch its two ambitious projects – Common Critical Machining Centre (CCMC) and Common Critical Testing Centre (CCTC).

The centres are futuristic in design and will be a boon to all the MSMEs in this region, said the Managing Director of VACDC V. Rajendra Prasad. He added that the MSMEs in the Industrial area and Autonager were once reputed for their products across the nation but they did not stay tuned to the technological advancements and today they were at least two decades behind technology.

“These centres will now give them the cutting edge advantage. The centres should have come up at least a decade ago,” he pointed out.

The CCMC is coming up on a built-up area of 14,000 sq ft with two overhead electrically operated gantry cranes to handle heavy machinery, at a cost of about Rs. 7 crore.

“All the machines in this centre are run by computer programmes and are high-efficiency machines. Many of them such as the rapid prototype machine and the Turret punch machine have been imported,” said VACDC MD.

The CCMC is being set up to assist local entrepreneurs in producing high precision parts and components. This will not only give them a big boost in the highly competitive and quality driven market but would also better their economics, said Mr. Rajendra Prasad.

The CCMC was designed by Central Manufacturing Technology Institute- Bangalore and the running has been outsourced to Central Institute of Tool Design (CITD), Hyderabad.

CITD, which produces high precision components for PSUs such as HAL, ISRO, BHEL and BDL, will use this centre as its extended arm and as well as assist local entrepreneurs.

“One has to just come with a design and it will be produced here. Even if some one comes with a model, the prototype machine will replicate it. A fee will be charged but it will be discounted for those who have been partner to the user contribution charges,” he said.

The cost of CCMC and CCTC is being shared by the Central and the State Governments and users in the ratio of 75, 10 and 15.

The CCTC which is coming up on a built up area of 12,000 sq ft will also be run by CITD and is a state-of-the-art testing facility. “The centre will be equipped to test various parameters such as tensile strength, hardness, roundness and cracks and bubbles and we are negotiating with accreditation agencies for quality certifications,” said Mr. Rajendra Prasad.

He said that both the centres would be open to technology colleges for live interface and training. “We will have two fully-equipped classrooms with faculty. But the colleges have to book the time slot in advance for a nominal fee.It will be an excellent first-hand experience for the students, especially from the mechanical, automobile and aeronautical engineering streams,” said Mr. Rajendra Prasad.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Vijayawada / by Sumit Bhattacharjee / Vijayawada – December 13th, 2013

President for Neelam fete

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Pranab MukherjeeHF25dec2013

Anantapur:

President Pranab Mukherjee will be the chief guest at the concluding session of the birth centenary celebrations of former President Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy at Anantapur on December 23.

Karnataka Chief Minister K. Siddaramaiah, AP Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy and Governor E.L. Narasimhan are also scheduled to take part in the concluding session at the Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy stadium.

Former President Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy who was born at the Illur village of Pamidi mandal in Anantapur district spent most of his life in Anantapur. The government had initiated centenary celebrations at Hyderabad and the concluding session is scheduled to be held in Anantapur to recall the services of the former president to the state.

Revenue minister N. Raghuveera Reddy took the initiative to celebrate the birth anniversary of former President Sanjeeva Reddy. The district authorities were directed to conduct an essay writing and elocution competition at all schools and colleges.

President Pranab Mukherjee would give away prizes to three students at the public meeting on December 23. Education institutions were asked to complete the process by December 17 in all parts of the district.

Besides this, seminars would be conducted at the Sri Krishnadevaraya University, JNTUA University and Satyasai deemed universities on December 14 and 15 about the contributions of Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy.

Revenue Minister N. Raghuveera Reddy said that a bike rally would be organised from the Tungabhadra Reservoir in Hospet in Karnataka to Anantapur on December 18 to recall Sanjiva Reddy’s services to the region.

Collector D.S. Lokesh Kumar said a rural sports meet would be held on December 21 at the district headquarters. He said elaborate arrangements were being made for the occasion at the Sanjeeva Reddy stadium. President Pranab Mukherjee is scheduled to arrive at Anantapur at around 11 am on December 23 accompanied by the Governor, and the Chief Ministers of AP and Karnataka.

source: http://www.deccanchronicle.com / Deccan Chronicle / Home> News> Politics / DC / December 14th, 2013

Nursery for Plant Scions in Hyderabad

Green Initiatives / Environment, Nature, Science & Technology

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As many as two new Scion Bank Nurseries producing high yielding grafts of different varieties of fruit plants and others are being planned at Moinabad on the city outskirts by the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) shortly.

The two new scion bank nurseries have been proposed at Peddmangalaram village in about 50 acres land and Kanakamaidi village in Moinabad mandal of Rangareddy in about 100 acres of land at a cost of `20 crore each.

These two villages fall under the GOMs 111. For the developing the nurseries, HMDA has requested the State Government to transfer the above said lands to them from the Revenue Department so that they can take up the works. The HMDA which already established a scion bank nursery at Tellapur is developing high yielding grafts of different varieties of mango, amla, pomegranate, sapota, seethaphal, jamun, acid lime and tamarind, according to HMDA officials.

The grafts are established through approach, bud and veneer grafting techniques. The scientific management of scion bank yields from 50,000 to 75,000 grafted seedlings per annum.

Presently, the HMDA is making attempts for environment upgradation of Hyderabad metropolitan area by developing and supplying various types of nursery seedlings for multiple urban uses like ornamental plants, shade bearing plants, fruit bearing plants, fodder and fuel needs of the urban and peri urban population.   As many as 10 central nurseries are maintained by the Urban Forestry Wing all around HMA area at Mental Hospital Campus in Erragadda, Airforce Station Land at Hakeempet, Pedda Cheruvu in Nacharam, Bomrukdowla at Rajendranagar, Vanasthalipuram, Yapral, Cherlapalli, Shamshabad, Tellapur and Kapra etc.

In the scion nursery, just a stump, which already has an established healthy root system, is grafted with a cutting or a bud from another plant. In some cases, such as grapes and other fruit-bearing plants, cuttings are used for rootstocks, the roots being established in nursery conditions before planting them out.

The plant part grafted onto the rootstock is usually called the scion. The rootstock is selected for its interaction with the soil, providing the roots and the stem to support the new plant, obtaining the necessary soil water and minerals. After a few weeks, tissues of two parts will have grown together, eventually forming a single plant.

The use of rootstocks is commonly associated with fruit-bearing plants and trees, but is the only way to mass propagate many other types of plants that do not breed true from seed.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Hyderabad / by S. Bachan Jeet Singh – Hyderabad / December 13th, 2013

Maths prodigy aims to develop own technique

Amazing Feats, Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Education, Inspiration /Positive News and Features, Records, All, Science & Technology, World Opinion

HaristhaHF24dec2013

Karimnagar: 

She is just 11 years old and studying in Class VII, but she can easily solve maths problems from Intermediate textbooks.

Meet S. Harshita Reddy, who has been excelling in maths since the last six years and winning many awards.

Harshita added another feather to her cap by bagging a silver medal in the National Child Awards for Exceptional Achievements-2013 from the ministry of women and child development in New Delhi on November 14. She was also given a certificate and a cash award of Rs 10,000.

The daughter of an English teacher at a government school, Harshita developed her passion for maths when she was studying in Class I.

“I was surprised after she could remember tables from 1-20 within three days at the age of five. I started teaching her a few topics from algebra, trigonometry and some other tough concepts when I saw that she was blessed with extraordinary skills,” recalls Govardhan Reddy, science teacher at a government school.

When Harshita was nine, she was asked to solve Class X problems and it was a cakewalk for her. “I organised over 50 sessions to demonstrate easy methods to solve maths for students in the school. I would like to develop a method or technique on my own,” said Harshita, adding, “I want to be a maths scientist.”

Harshita claimed she was termed a legend in maths and maro Shakuntala Devi (another Shakuntala Devi) by her critiques and teachers.

Karimnagar MP Ponnam Prabhakar and former MLC, Chukka Ramaiah had complimented her for her talent and achievements.

She has also won awards from the World Amazing Records and India Book of Record and was given the Andhra Bala Ratna Award by a voluntary organisation based on Vizag.

source: http://www.deccanchronicle.com / Deccan Chronicle / Home> News> Current Affairs / by Santosh Padala / DC / December 13th, 2013

INS Circars celebrates 74 anniversary

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Historical Links, Pre-Independence, Records, All, Science & Technology

 

Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Eastern Naval Command Vice Admiral Anil Chopra along with Commanding Officer INS Circars Commodore Saleem M. Anwer cutting a cake to celebrate the 74th anniversary of ENC Depot Ship INS Circars in Visakhapatnam on Thursday. / by Special Arrangement / The Hindu
Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Eastern Naval Command Vice Admiral Anil Chopra along with Commanding Officer INS Circars Commodore Saleem M. Anwer cutting a cake to celebrate the 74th anniversary of ENC Depot Ship INS Circars in Visakhapatnam on Thursday. / by Special Arrangement / The Hindu

The premier depot ship of the Eastern Naval Command, Indian Naval Ship Circars, celebrated its 74th Anniversary here on Thursday.

Initially established as a small base by the Royal Indian Navy in December 1939 shortly after the outbreak of World War II, the role of Circars changed over the years from coordinating naval operations, functioning as a repair organisation and being an establishment for Boys training, to its present status of being the premier depot ship of the ENC.

Festive look

The establishment currently provides administrative and logistics support to as many as 44 naval units in and around Visakhapatnam, catering to an approximate strength of over 3,500 personnel. Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Vice Admiral Anil Chopra was the chief guest for the celebrations marked to commemorate the occasion. The naval base wore a festive look, and saw active participation by personnel and families of INS Circars and allied units. A large number of serving and retired officers participated in the celebrations. The traditional cake cutting ceremony was followed by release of in-house Hindi magazine Circars Vaani. Speaking on the occasion, Commanding Officer, INS Circars Commodore Saleem M Anwer said that the depot ship was fully prepared to meet all challenges in its assigned role of supporting the ENC.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Visakhapatnam / by Special Correspondent / Visakhapatnam – December 13th, 2013

City to host ICAI regional meet

Business & Economy, Records, All
D. Prasanna Kumar / The Hindu
D. Prasanna Kumar / The Hindu

The city has got the opportunity to host for the first time the annual regional conference of Southern India Regional Council of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India.

‘Udyati’ – the 45th Annual Conference of SIRC – is being held on the beach front at VUDA Park in the city on December 13 and 14 in a temporary facility that is being readied for the occasion there, chairman SIRC D. Prasanna Kumar told the media here on Wednesday.

Traditionally the conference is conducted at the home town of the chairman of the SIRC and it is being hosted by the city as the present chair is from here, he said. At least 2,000 chartered accountants from South Indian states – Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala and Union Territory of Puducherry – are expected to attend as delegates and the Visakhapatnam branch is geared up to cope with the demand, he said. Chairman Indian Overseas Bank M Narendra would inaugurate the conference and be the chief guest and president ICAI Subodh Kumar Agarwal would be delivering the presidential address. The two-day conference would have eight technical sessions apart from sessions by health and nutrition experts, there would also be a session on spirituality, he said. Experts would discuss different aspects of Companies Act 2013, FEMA, Income Tax and auditing.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Visakhapatnam / by Special Correspondent / Visakhapatnam – December 12th, 2013

Hyderabad-based tech incubator-cum-seed fund BitChemy Ventures invests $6M in 3 startups

Business & Economy, Science & Technology, Uncategorized
Sunil Motaparti
Sunil Motaparti

BitChemy Ventures Pvt Ltd , a Hyderabad-based tech incubator-cum-seed fund, has invested a total of $6 million in three incubatee companies so far, according to its founder Sunil Motaparti. The firm, which is looking to incubate three-four ideas from across the globe every year, is close to investing in another company.

Incorporated in 2012, BitChemy’s current batch of incubatees includes 3LOQ Labs, Cafyne Inc and Altiux Innovations.

A B2B venture based out of Hyderabad, 3LOQ enables brands and retailers to understand individual customer’s behaviour, based on past action and context, using its advanced machine-learning algorithms. Cafyne is a US-based startup which helps enterprises protect their brand by ensuring compliance to regulatory and company policies. Based out of Bangalore, Altiux helps large MNCs as well as startups in joint IP development, prototyping, new product introduction, concept development, product re-engineering and emerging market-focused solutions.

“At BitChemy, we combine entrepreneurship, incubation and seed capital with operational management and strategic oversight,” said Motaparti, who holds an MS degree in Computer Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University in the US.

An entrepreneur himself, Motaparti had led product & business development efforts at his previous venture KeyPoint Technologies. Before KeyPoint, he held various roles in product research and development within the semiconductor design software industry. He is also the co-founder of all the three companies BitChemy is incubating currently.

BitChemy identifies opportunities internally by analysing the technology landscape and externally by partnering with motivated entrepreneurs. “We invite ideas from entrepreneurs, and are operationally involved in building the ventures and cover all critical functions with our teams. We invest up to $2 million in each company we incubate and we also join them as a co-founder,” said Motaparti. The firm has eight staff on board.

Motaparti claims that the firm is also getting applications from across the world for incubation as well as investment. BitChemy also invites early-stage companies (which have some validation) for investment of up to $100,000 each in return for a minority stake.

“We are similar to Rocket Internet in a way that we take innovative ideas in technology and combine them with disruptive business models to build unique companies. However, our market is wide and we focus both on B2B and B2C sectors. Also, we believe in investing in unique business model than just creating a replica of a successful business model like Rocket Internet,” Motaparti said.

India is already home to over a dozen startup incubators. Some of the leading names are Microsoft Ventures (erstwhile Microsoft Accelerator), Times Internet’s TLabs, Kyron Accelerator, IIM Ahmedabad’s Centre for Innovation Incubation & Entrepreneurship (CIIE), and Startup Village. Recently, Target Corp and PayPal announced that they would launch startup accelerators in India too. Beverages major Coca Cola is also planning to launch an incubator in India soon. Early this month, Samurai Incubate, a Tokyo-based startup incubator-cum-seed fund, mentioned that it is also looking to foray into India soon.

(Edited by Joby Puthuparampil Johnson)

source: http://www.techcircle.in / TechCircle.in / Home> Money / by Sainul K. Abudheen / December 12th, 2013

Hyderabad Global Hospital Performs Rare Liver Transplant

Records, All, Science & Technology
Mother and donor, Lavanya Jangam, kissing her kid, Sai Jangam, a 10-year-old boy who underwent a rare pediatric liver transplant at Global Hospitals in Hyderabad recently | Neeraj Murali
Mother and donor, Lavanya Jangam, kissing her kid, Sai Jangam, a 10-year-old boy who underwent a rare pediatric liver transplant at Global Hospitals in Hyderabad recently | Neeraj Murali

An unique and innovative pediatric liver transplant procedure performed by liver transplant surgeons at Global Hospitals here helped a mother save her ten-year-old son.

Speaking to reporters here on Wednesday, Global Hospitals Group chairman and managing director Dr K Ravindranath and liver transplant surgeon Dr Thomas Cherian said that it was a very difficult and different kind of liver transplant.

“Such surgeries are not common in the world. It was challenging but things went off smoothly and the patient was saved,’’  Ravindranath said. “When 10-year-old Shiva Sai, who was suffering from liver failure, came to us he was suffering from jaundice. He was even found to be Hepatitis A positive and his condition was rapidly deteriorating. We had only 36 to 48 hours to save the boy and in such a short time getting a perfect donor was very difficult. His mother agreed to donate a part of her liver to save her child.

However, during the scan it was found that she had an unusual liver anatomy where a normal right hepatic vein was absent and out flow of blood in the hepatic veins of her liver was unusual. A standard donor operation would have put her life at risk,’’ Cherian said. As there was very little time the surgeons came up with an innovative idea of extracting the liver from the donor and also implanting into the recipient with minimum risk.

The surgeons used the right sided liver vein in the boy to reconstruct the lower portion of the middle liver vein in the mother’s liver graft. ‘’Our idea worked and both the mother and the child are doing well,’’ Cherian said.

Both the donor and the recipient, who were present at the press conference said they were feeling normal and were recovering fast.

Ravindranath said the cases of liver failures in the country are on the rise. He said if an acute liver failure patient gets a matching donor for transplant there is 90 percent chances of his survival.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Hyderabad / by Express News Service – Hyderabad / December 12th, 2013

Hyderabad to host 3-day global meet on millets

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

Mumbai :

A global meet on millets for expert consultations on their promotion for health and nutrition security will be held in Hyderabad during December 18-20.

Organised jointly by the Indian Council of Agriculture Research, Directorate of Sorghum Research and Society for Millet Research, the three-day global meet will bring together experts from India and abroad (Africa, Australia, China, and the US).

Topics

They will discuss a range of topics including global millet scenario, genetic improvement, role of private sector in millet consumption, innovations in processing, supply chain management, nutrition and health implications as also government policies and programmes.

Scientists, nutritionists, industry professionals, entrepreneurs, policymakers and other stakeholders are participating.

Following the success of Green Revolution and emphasis on fine cereals rice and wheat, in recent decades, there has been a gradual reduction in consumption of millets such as sorghum, pearl millet, finger millet, foxtail millet, kodo millet, proso millet and barnyard millet, as staple food in the semi-arid regions.

Given the current health and nutritional challenge facing a large number of people, especially the poor, the global meet will attempt to once again evolve strategies to mainstream millets in the daily food of people.

source: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com / Business Line / Home> Industry> Agri-Biz / by The Hindu Bureau / Mumbai – December 09th, 2013

Hyderabad boy wins All-India Cyber Security Hackathon

Records, All, Science & Technology
Rayaprolu Krishna Chaitanya receives Rs 5 lakh cheque at All-India Hackathon on Cyber Security held in Bangalore.
Rayaprolu Krishna Chaitanya receives Rs 5 lakh cheque at All-India Hackathon on Cyber Security held in Bangalore.

Hyderabad :

City boy Rayaprolu Krishna Chaitanya was adjudged winner at the All-India Hackathon on Cyber Security, EMC Defenders League, held in Bangalore.

Featuring 4,000 contestants from across India, ethical hacker R.K. Chaitanya walked away with a  prize money of Rs 5 lakh.  An  IT specialist, he has worked as a vulnerability research analyst and penetration tester in his previous organisations.

After three weeks of intense online challenges,  30 finalists were picked  from  a mix of experienced developers and students from the industry.

EMC Defenders League was held to reward skills and knowledge on real-world Internet security and to share expertise on cyber security and surveillance, and establish the foundation for future discourses.

source: http://www.deccanchronicle.com / Deccan Chronicle / Home> News> Currrent Affairs / DC / December 10th, 2013