Monthly Archives: January 2014

Hyderabad institute launches social entrepreneurship program with Columbia University

Education, World Opinion

Mumbai :

The Institute of Management Technology, Hyderabad, announced the one-of-a-kind joint ‘Social Entrepreneurship’ program with Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA). The Social Entrepreneurship Program was inaugurated on January 1 and will commence from January 2 and go on until January 18, 2014.

The Programme was inaugurated at IMT Hyderabad by welcoming the students and faculty of SIPA for a Social Enterprise Practicum in India 2014. IMT Hyderabad is hosting this illustrious venture for the second consecutive year. The inaugural ceremony started with a session by G Vani Mohan, Commissioner & Director of School Education, Government of India. With insights on women empowerment, gender equality, social issues she struck a chord with students who were passionate about social issues.

She mentioned about her powerful Social Action Committees which promoted the growth of gender equality thus forming woman warriors. A short film on the developmental activities like Indira KranthiPatham by the Government of India made the students curious about such causes.

Post the inauguration the students left the Campus to go to Bhimavaram and will stay there till January 8, 2014 evening.

On their return, the students will engage in a Social Media Marketing exercise in the neighboring villages, Urban Consulting projects, a lunch and roundtable with Professors from Cardinal Stritch University on Gandhian Philosophy and Bhoodan movement and a Mac Von Debate between Columbia University and IMT Hyderabad students. The joint program will also comprise of shopping and cultural trips to Shilparamam, Golconda and Charminar, an evening with the institute’s cultural club Antragna, pongal, sankranti and lohri celebrations, and client presentations.

Students participating in the program are all Master in International Affairs or Master in Public Policy students at Columbia University in New York.
The course is a design-thinking experiential education curriculum developed to meet graduate student needs and interests in social entrepreneurship and sustainable development in the 21st Century. In addition to multi-media lectures, labs, field work, and site visits, the course curriculum includes a series of applied consulting projects, in which students will conduct short management consulting projects for an Indian social enterprise or organization focused on social entrepreneurship and innovation in social service delivery in a range of sectors.

source: http://www.articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Hyderabad> Gender Equality / by Yogita Rao, TNN / January 03rd, 2014

DP World and JM Baxi Group to build new Visakhapatnam box facility

Business & Economy, Science & Technology, World Opinion

  • Joint venture granted approval after hiking revenue share offer

  • Visakhapatnam Port, India. Image: The Hindu
    Visakhapatnam Port, India. Image: The Hindu

DP World  and JM Baxi Group have been selected to build and operate a new 500,000 TEU container terminal  in the Indian Port of Visakhapatnam.

The joint venture received approval from the Visakhapatnam Port Trust after the consortium agreed to increase its revenue share offer from 10 percent to 11.04 percent, a port official told Logistics News.

The consortium, already responsible for the day-to-day running of Visakhapatnam Container Terminal (VCT), the port’s first box facility, was the lone bidder for the project, which was offered on a build-operate-transfer basis for a period of 30 years. The new terminal will be built at the site of the existing terminal, which will be see extended to around 850 metres.

“With a total continuous berth length of about 850 metres and water depth of approximately 17 metres, Visakha Container Terminal (VCT) will be able to accommodate bigger ships,” the official added.

Last month, Essar Vizag Terminals, a subsidiary of Indian terminal operator Essar Ports , also entered into a 30-year concessionary agreement with the Visakhapatnam Port Trust for three new iron ore berths at the Indian port.

During the first eight months of fiscal year 2013-14, VCT handled approximately 175,000 TEU compared to the 166,000 TEU handled in the corresponding period a year earlier.

source: http://www.porttechnology.org / Port Technology International / Home> News> Port Planning  / Tenders & Bids / January 06th, 2014

Spanish brand Vinegar opens store in Hyderabad

Business & Economy

Hyderabad :

Vinegar, the Spanish apparel and accessories brand known for its quirky take on fashion and style, has opened its first store in Hyderabad, a city that has potential to be one of the greatest retail destinations.

The 2000 sq ft Vinegar store offers a wide range of uber-chic western clothes and accessories and offers both the prêt and couture line.

What do you think? 

The collection mainly comprises of dresses, jumpsuits, shorts, maxi dresses and office wear like trousers and skirts for women.

“Hyderabad has emerged as the most promising city in recent times – from luxury brands to high street, all major brands have opened gates in the city to establish the fact that the city has potential for being one of the greatest retail destinations,” Varsha Bhawnani, owner and managing director of the brand, said in a statement.

“People here are fashion conscious and have a flare for all things nice. We offer the best in hi street fashion,” she added.

Vinegar currently has flagship stores in Mumbai. It will soon open stores in Delhi, Chandigarh and later in the tier two cities.

The brand has already opened stores in Europe and is now retailed in countries like Israel, Spain, Portugal, Finland and Russia.

By 2014 it aims to have a presence in countries like US and Australia also.

source: http://www.vancouverdesi.com / Vancouver Desi / Home> Bollywood> style /  by IANS / Hyderabad – January 07th, 2014

L.V. Prasad Eye Institute’s 100th centre at Araku

Records, All, Science & Technology

Hyderabad :

L V Prasad Eye Institute as opened its (LVPEI) 100th vision centre for primary care at Araku village in Visakhapatnam district.

“With this, about 2000 villages in Andhra Pradesh will be provided high quality primary eye care,’’ the Hyderabad-based institute said in a release issued here on Saturday.

To serve the under-privileged communities and reach the unreached segment in the eye health, the Gullapalli Pratibha Rao International Centre for Advancement of Rural Eye Care (GPR ICARE), the public health component of LVPEI, has established a network of vision centres (primary centres) linked to Secondary Centres across rural and remote rural locations in the State.

With the Araku centre, LVPEI’s network of community eye care services now comprises 100 primary care vision centres and 11 secondary care service centres that have served nearly 2.5 million people thus far. These centres had screened close to 1.30 lakh people last year, about 70,000 of them school children.

The institute’s latest secondary centre was launched in Bellary, in the neighbouring state of Karnataka, and there were projects under way to expand the network into Odisha as well.

Commenting on the occasion, Gullapalli N Rao, Founder and Chair – LVPEI said: “ICARE aspires to evolve into a highly efficient eye health care service delivery component for LVPEI as we step into another year.”

source: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com / Business Line / Home> News> National / by The Hindu Bureau / Hyderabad – January 05th, 2014

The Oscar hopeful

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, World Opinion

OscarHF17jan2014

Ajita Suchitra Veera’s short film, Notes on Her, was first nominated for the Oscars in the Honorary Foreign Film Category. This time, the student of St. Ann’s College in Mehdipatnam has her full-length feature, Ballad of Rustom, featuring in the Reminder’s List at the Oscars. With 288 other films from across the world in the best film category, the city girl is likely to be up against Gravity and other noted movies from last year.

It’s an interesting achievement as this is a shortlist of last year’s best films, and it’s not the honorary foreign films category where Indian films normally get nominated,” remarks Ajita, who grew up on World Cinema classics and always wanted to make the kind of films she loved watching.

Her film, she says, focuses on imagination, dreams and a passion for life. “Rustom is a young man from a small town, with very vivid imagination. He does not have a college education but has a great scientific disposition. He is like a village inventor. In the film, he travels, meets people and falls in love with a painter.”

It’s a film about the Indian countryside. And about people like Rustom, who seem ordinary but are so extraordinary,” Ajita explains.

The film has kept her pre-occupied for the past four years.

“It was shot over four months in a remote countryside location in Coorg. I wanted to shoot amid the mist and fog and was very clear on how I wanted the film to look. So the negative underwent a special process known as bleach bypass, wherein the colours are de-saturated and you get high contrast images,” she shares.

In the age of digital filming, she decided to stick to good old 35mm cinemascope.

“So, it’s a ‘big film’ in that sense. I love 35mm because of the certain kind of aesthetics, colours, saturation and light and dark shades, which are important for a film. Digital doesn’t give you that kind of richness. The film has vast landscape shots, mountains, hills and valleys, for which we needed the cinemascope format,” she says.

While Ballad of Rustom has been touring film festivals and winning accolades since 2012, Ajita is still waiting for it to release in India. “At first, I was not in a hurry to release the film because it had already received international acclaim. I wanted the international audience to know that there are Indian directors who are also focused on their craft. Now, I want the film to release here because it’s where I come from,” she says.

source: http://www.deccanchronicle.com / Deccan Chronicle / Home> Lifestyle> Offbeat / DC / by Amrita Paul / January 05th, 2014

RTC Bags Awards

Business & Economy, Records, All, Science & Technology

The APSRTC has bagged the All State Road Transport Undertakings (ASRTU) awards under three categories for 2011-12 and 2012-13.

The corporation has achieved the highest fuel efficiency (5.23 km/litre of diesel)in mofussil services in 2011-12. It also achieved the best road safety record (0.1066 per lakh km). It has got the Union transport minister’s trophy for safety for the fourth time.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Hyderabad / by Express News Service – Hyderabad / January 08th, 2014

Hyderabad Institute of Excellence Opening Tomorrow

Education, Leaders
Ghiasuddin Babu Khan Charitable Trust chairman Ghiasuddin Babu Khan (left) and trustee M Ziauddin Nayyar after a press meet in Hyderabad on Friday. | NEERAJ MURALI
Ghiasuddin Babu Khan Charitable Trust chairman Ghiasuddin Babu Khan (left) and trustee M Ziauddin Nayyar after a press meet in Hyderabad on Friday. | NEERAJ MURALI

The Ghiasuddin Babu Khan Charitable Trust and the Foundation for Economic and Educational Development will inaugurate Hyderabad Institute of Excellence that aims to provide holistic education to under-privileged students on Sunday.

Osmania University vice-chancellor Prof S Satyanarayana will be the chief guest for the inauguration.

The institute built in a sprawling 100 acres at Vikarabad will offer integrated coaching from Class VII to XII in CBSE curriculum and will commence from academic year 2014-15, chairman Ghiasuddin Babu Khan said on Friday. ‘’About 50 per cent of students belonging to financially backward sections will receive full scholarship. All the students will be inducted after a careful selection process assessed by an entrance test and interview,” he added.

The students enrolled in the school will be trained holistically with equal focus on imbibing academic excellence, moral education and leadership qualities,  Khaleel Ahmed, trustee of Foundation for Economic and Educational Development, said. ‘’Our focus is to bring in social justice through our initiative as this is purely a non-profit organisation. The quality of education will be on par with international standards. With these six years of grooming at the institute they will become better citizens of the country,” he pointed out.

The institute with residential facility is already operating with 115 students in Intermediate first year in the current academic year, said Babu Khan. “I want to emphasise that the institute is open to everyone, it is not just restricted to Muslim community.

Every student can avail the scholarships offered by the institute depending upon his/her performance in entrance test and interview,” he added.

Further, the school has ample scope for recreational activities and will practice high standards in terms of its curriculum, added Babu Khan. “As of now we have two cricket, football grounds and a basketball court. Air Commodore Naseem Akhtar, retired Indian Air Force officer, will serve as its director who will instil confidence and provide good values to the students,” he pointed out.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Hyderabad /by Express News Service – Hyderabad / January 04th, 2014

GHMC to Train 500 Poor Women Cab Drivers

Amazing Feats, Business & Economy, Inspiration /Positive News and Features

To empower and generate employment for poor and marginalised women, the GHMC has decided to provide training to  500 women as cab drivers soon.

GHMC commissioner Somesh Kumar will convene a meeting on December 26 with a motor driving school, Raksha Motor Driving School, which provides training for women in driving taxis.

GHMC officials of Urban Community Development (UCD) wing told Express that a good number of applications have been  received by the GHMC in the last few days.

The proposed training would be provided to the candidates till they become proficient in driving.

Women who applied for cab training will be handpicked from poor and marginalised sections of the society to enable them to earn their livelihood. Most number of applications have been received from the Central Zone followed by East Zone and South Zone. About a dozen women also hold driving licenses. Besides technical training, the module also focuses on personal grooming, honing language skills and developing a feeling of empowerment among the women of marginalised sections.

Even in technical training the women would be acquainted with the mechanism of a car and taught to change flat tyres and fix minor problems, officials said.

GHMC will make efforts for their placements in companies, call centres, other government departments that require women cab drivers. .

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Hyderabad / by S. Bachan Jeet Singh – Hyderabad / December 25th, 2013

Gitam Prof’s Chip for Longer Battery Life

Education, Green Initiatives / Environment, Science & Technology

A cell phone battery that enables a mobile phone to work for about 13 hours might sound impossible in near future. But an assistant professor I Sreenivasa Rao from electronic and communication engineering department of GITAM University has achieved this amazing feat and won several awards for the same.

As part of the applied research activity, Sreenivasa Rao developed a low power VLSI Chip which helps the mobile phone users for extended battery life at a lower cost. This is based on his research project ‘Ultra Low Power Memory Design Methodologies in Nanoscale Technologies.’

His research findings have been published in various international journals and he received the best research paper award in IEEE International Conference held in Chennai recently.

Currently, the cell phone users  demand more features and a long battery life at a lower cost. About 90 per cent users demand longer talk period and stand-by time as primary features in their cell phones, while top 3G requirement for operators is power efficiency.

In a release, Rao claimed that his design increases the battery’s life in cell phones. The power consumption in the VLSI circuits can be reduced to a large extent and the charging capacity  of the cell phone battery can stand up to 13 hours in the smartphones.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Andhra Pradesh /  by Express News Service – Visakhapatnam / January 02nd, 2014

New Dept for Development of Telugu Language Set Up

About Seemandhra / Andhra Pradesh, Arts, Culture & Entertainment

A separate department for development of Telugu language was constituted. Chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy cleared the related file on Tuesday and orders were issued immediately to that affect.

It may be recalled that in the fourth World Telugu Conference held at Tirupati in last December, the chief minister announced that a separate department for development of Telugu language would be created.

Accordingly, the government created a new department called ‘Department of Language and Culture’ duly redeploying the posts.

Posts redeployed to the new department of Language and Culture are: One deputy secretary to government from general administration department, one assistant secretary to government from general administration department, three section officers from general administration department, five assistant

section officers from general administration department, three inspecting officers from general administration department, one deputy secretary to government (Culture) from YAT & C  department, one assistant secretary to government (Culture) from YAT&C department, one section officer (Culture) from YAT&C department and one assistant section officer (Culture) from  YAT&C department will be posted in the new department.

The new department will be headed by secretary to government (Culture) as secretary (Language and Culture) under overall supervision of special chief secretary, youth advancement, tourism and culture department, the orders said.

Department of Language and Culture will deal with subjects in addition to the subjects – Official Language – now being dealt by general administration department and the subject of culture now being dealt by youth advancement, tourism and culture department.

The other wings – Official Language Commission now under general administration  department, three Akademies – Sahithya Akademi, Lalitha Kala Akademi and Sangeetha Nataka Janapada Akademi under Youth Advancement, Tourism and Culture Department, and theatres under general administration department.

Centre of Excellence Studies in Indian Languages from Higher Education Department and Telugu Akademi from Higher Education Department will also come under the newly created department.

CM Greets Telugus on New Year

Chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy on Tuesday greeted the people of the state and Telugus all over the world a happy, peaceful and a prosperous New Year. The chief minister, in a special message, hoped that 2014 will bring peace, joy and cheer to the people. He hoped that state will progress in all sectors. The chief minister said that even in  difficult situations, the  state made rapid strides in all sectors in the last three years.

He said it was a matter of pride and satisfaction that Andhra Pradesh bagged the ‘Best Performing State in Governance”. He said that the state stood first in citizen services and people’s welfare schemes in the country.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Andhra Pradesh / by Express News Service – Hyderabad / January 01st, 2014