Monthly Archives: February 2014

BS Southern Region corporate quiz: Hyderabad team comes first

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Education, Records, All

It was after six challenging rounds and after 35-40 questions that the Sai Mitra Constructions team from Hyderabad won the trophy as well as a gift cheque of Rs 25,000 in the Business Standard Quiz : Southern Region Finals.

The quiz was held on Saturday at Vels University in Chennai. The main sponsor was global watch brand Victorinox and Vels University was the associate sponsor with Coca-Cola being the beverage partner. Hair and beauty salon chain Naturals, silk saree manufacturer and retailer RmKV and Cookie Man were the gift sponsors.

The winning team bagged Rs 25,000 and the first and second runners-up, both from Infosys, received Rs 15,000 and Rs 10,000, respectively.

Naveen Kumar and Phani Mahesh, the duo from Sai Mitra, said they faced a tough fight from the first runner-up team, comprising Vivek Venkatesan and Senthil Kumar P K from Infosys.

In total, 82 teams from 61 colleges and 21 companies, from the four southern states have participated in the quiz. Each team had two representatives.

The participants included an interesting mix of educational institutes such as the Indian Institutes of Management -(Trichy and its Chennai campus; Kozhikode), Indian Institute of Technology (Chennai), Great Lakes, Bharathidasan Institute of Management, SRM, Veltech, and LIBA, among others, and corporates such as Infosys, TCS, Caterpillar, India Cements, HSBC, ICICI Bank and Indian Overseas Bank.

Quizmaster Gaurav Sri Krishna, who is the leader for Asia-Pacific, India and MEA (Middle East and Africa) region in TCS, was at his best as he challenged the teams with the best of his questions, said one of the participants.

One question that stumped all the finalists was: As an individual contributor, to whom can one submit a BION and what does it mean? While nobody on the stage answered it, one of the participants off-stage came up with the right answer: It is a Believe It Or Not (BION) story sent to Ripley Entertainment Inc. The staff at Ripley’s world headquarters is always searching for new stories of the odd and unusual. Every day, they receive dozens of phone calls, hundreds of posted letters and thousands of emails from people with incredible stories of outlandish feats, amazing works of art, or unexplainable phenomena. It is owned by the Jim Pattison Group, which is Canada’s largest privately-held company.

The first runners-up team from Infosys said it was a googly with a simple answer while they were suspecting it as something associated with the digital currency, bitcoin.

The winning team said that all the questions were impressive and of good quality. “We have been waiting for the Southern Quiz to happen from the time we heard about the BS Quiz which was held in Mumbai,” said Kumar of Sai Mitra.

The quizmaster said the teams were very good and experienced, which could be seen from their performance.

He added the tough question according to him was: This company in the early 1900s undertook every imaginable means of unfair competition, in all probability including physically assaulting competitors’ employees. Its field force consisted of Knockout Salesmen who fanned across the US selling machines that were copies of competitors’ machines, but did not work. Finally in 1913 its top executives were indicted for violating the Sherman Antitrust Act and were sentenced.

However, before he could finish reading the question, which appeared on the screen, the winner team came up with the answer: National Cash Register (NCR). The quizmaster explained that its founder John H Patterson and Thomas J Watson (Sr) who was the sales head were two of two-dozen executives of the company who were indicted and sentenced to a year in jail.

K Sekhar, vice-chancellor of Vels University, said the event has improved in several notches and it was evident from the performance of the teams. “Seeing the corporate participants contesting in the event would also motivate our students to come,” he said. R Mathialagan, registrar of the university, added: “This gives us a good platform to connect with the corporates.”

The second edition of Business Standard quiz is one of the largest quiz competitions held in this part of the country. The first edition was held in Chennai last year in association with Vels University.

In this year’s quiz, 82 teams representing various colleges from all disciplines and corporates from the four southern states participated. Participants travelled from various corners of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.

Around 300 students from the Vels Institute of Business Administration, Vels University and faculties from other colleges have witnessed the Quiz.

Business Standard also conducts written rounds of BS Quiz in various colleges across all disciplines.

source: http://www.business-standard.com / Business Standard / Home> Current Affairs> News> National / by BS Reporter / Chennai – February 17th, 2014

The Business of Film Making

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy

film-makingHF24feb2014

With the industry of film making in India opening up to more and more independent directors who think outside the box, film schools have become coveted of late. And with studying abroad adding a good cultural mix to one’s repertoire, foreign schools have come knocking on our doors as well.

In an effort to build on India-UK collaborations, the GREAT Britain Roadshow was conducted recently by the British Deputy High Commission, and the London Film School (LFS) was a part of the bouquet of opportunities presented. With at least a tenth of their annual film releases being Indian, the effort only seems natural.

Pointing out the importance of collaborating with other countries not just through virtual platforms, Kate Hughes, head of marketing, LFS, says, “I think the phenomena of learning from other markets is really fantastic. One can interact virtually to a certain extent but it is a smart move to bring people together for face-to-face communication.”

India and UK, as it turns out, already share a connect with quite a few Indian film makers having enrolled in their school. Writer-director and co-producer of Land Gold Women, Avantika Hari (who won the National Film Award for best feature film), writer-director of Malayalam movie Manjadikuru, Anjali Menon and Anu Menon, director of the Bollywood movie London, Paris, New York are all alumni of LFS.

“We aim to chart out plans for exploring the collaboration on the lines of co-production, sharing of technology, unexplored locations, and most importantly we are interested in the amazing story ideas from Bollywood,” further explains Kate.

So why London Film School one might ask, and Kate promptly replies that formal training is important for those looking at traversing lesser explored terrain. With over 25 years spanning corporate affairs, international sales and distribution of films, the lady speaks from experience.

Exhaustive training

The two-year filmmaking course offered by LFS, one of the oldest film schools of UK, appears promising as students are encouraged to test the waters and ‘learn from their own failures.’

Students make a minimum of six films and with each passing semester, the difficulty level is increased to make it more challenging. The graduation film can be of any budget, any length and shot anywhere in the world.

“We are not interested in teaching students to make a bunch of commercial romantic flicks; we encourage them to think outside the box and make movies about culture, societies and so on,” says Kate.

Also, while graduating, one is usually focused only on the creative part of the movie making and a student seldom thinks about the other variables of filmmaking. However, when they leave the school, they need some extra skills like pitching a project to financiers or producers.

“These too are taught at LFS in the form of various courses,” says Kate, adding that the focus at LFS is to make students industry-ready.

Behind-the-scenes

Although, about 70 per cent of the students walk in wanting to be writer-directors, they don’t just learn to write or direct, they learn all the crafts required for filmmaking. It is the multidisciplinary way of teaching that gives students at the school the extra edge.

“I love films but I know am not a maker. So, I get great satisfaction in making sure that creative work gets an audience,” she says.

However, knowing the skills and graduating from a top-notch school doesn’t set one up for success. The key for such a career which deals with a lot of post-production as well is perseverance, informs Kate, as each film differs from the other, making it tricky to identify financiers, the right crew and the market.

Filmmaking is not just about writing and directing, there are avenues which can be taken up only when one knows their calling.

“And most importantly, you need to really believe in what you are doing,” the marketing head stresses.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Hyderabad / by Ayesha Minhaz – Hyderabad / February 17th, 2014

Chemical-free anti-rat solution being developed for Rlys

Science & Technology

City-based Hyderabad Science Society has said it is in the process of developing a new chemical-free technology to deal with the problem of rats and other rodents on the trains.

It uses high pressure compressed air mixed with sand to kill rats, HSS Director Sanjar Ali Khan said today.

Media reports about the rodent problem on trains prompted the organisation to take up this project, Khan said.

“To attract rats, we have prepared a special chamber and the moment a rat enters this chamber its movement is detected by an electronic circuit and there will be a sudden blast of sand mixed with high pressure air directed into the chamber which kills the rat instantly,” he said.

The system can kill four rats every minute, he added.

source: http://www.business-standard.com / Business Standard / Home> PTI Stories> National> News / by Press Trust of India / Hyderabad – February 16th, 2014

Triple gold for star lifter Rahul

Records, All, Sports
Ragala Venkat Rahul
Ragala Venkat Rahul

Wins three medals in the 77 kg category in the Youth National Championship in Guwahati; creditable performance by AP lifters

Ragala Venkata Rahul, the 17-year-old weightlifter from Andhra Pradesh Sports School, ensured that the year 2013 ended on a high for him on the personal front, when he won three gold medals in the 77 kg category in the Youth National Championship in Guwahati.

For someone who was adjudged ‘best weightlifter’ in the recent Commonwealth Championship in Penang, it may not be a big surprise when this Andhra boy has achieved a similar feat in this National also in the youth category. Earlier, B. Vishnuvardhan settled for two silver medals and a bronze in the 94 kg category with a combined effort of 252 kg (111+141).

For the record, visually-challenged Parapati Ramesh had already stunned the critics with a silver medal in the 50-kg category to become the first-ever visually-challenged from the State to win a medal in an open national.

By all means, it has been a creditable performance by the weightlifters from Andhra Pradesh in the Youth category as the girls Deexitha won three silver (53 kg), Sindhu three bronze (58 kg) and M Ooha Sai three bronze (69 kg +). This feat also enabled the State team to finish second overall in the girls section.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Hyderabad / by Special Correspondent / Hyderabad – December 26th, 2013

Tribal girl fights her way back to school

Education, Inspiration /Positive News and Features

Nizamabad :

A tribal girl, Danawat Nirmala,12, has finally succeeded in her battle to go to school. Nirmala had threatened her parents that she would commit suicide if she was not allowed to continue her studies.

Nirmala, who hails from Pallebogada thanda under Bollaram gram panchayat limits of Nagireddypet mandal in Nizamabad district studied up to Class IV. She was not allowed by her poor parents to study further and was asked to work in agricultural fields to supplement the family’s income.

However, Nirmala is now back in school with the help of officials of the National Child Labour Project. National Child Labour Project officials who found her working in agricultural fields on Thursday was told by the girl that she was not allowed to go to school. The officials then spoke to the girl’s parents and convinced them about the need to send their child to school.

NLCP project director P Sudhakar Rao said that the girl’s father Devuja initially refused to send Nirmala to school despite being threatened with a jail term under the child rights protection act. Devuja wanted officials to ensure that his son, Mohan passed the SSC examination. Mohan had failed public examination last year.

Nirmala then threatened to commit suicide following which Devuja finally agreed to allow her to study further. Nirmala attended school on Friday for the first time since the academic year began in June last year.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> India / TNN / February 01st, 2014

Bust cancer myths and live life, say doctors

Science & Technology

Visakhapatnam :

Utter the word ‘cancer’ and it immediately conjures up images of death in the minds of people. This misconception prevails, despite doctors’ assurance that in 85-90% of cases, cancers are curable if detected at an early stage. Quite relevantly, the worldwide theme for this year’s World Cancer Day (February 4) is ‘Debunking myths and misconceptions about cancer’.

Despite medical and surgical advancement in the field of oncology, the most common myth associated with cancer is considering it synonymous with death besides other myths and misconceptions related to the availability of treatment, cancer drugs and their side effects and so on.

Dr P Ravi Mohan, associate professor at Andhra Medical College (AMC) and consultant medical oncologist averred, “Patients and their families still can’t accept cancer as any other ailment. They should understand that cancer is very much curable if diagnosed and treated at an early stage. Even in advanced stages, certain types of cancer can be cured. They also think there’s no point taking proper treatment as death is inevitable and worsen the situation by visiting quacks. Thirdly, there’s a misconception among most people that cancer affects only the old. However, age is no determinant and even an infant, youngsters or centurions can be affected by cancer.”

Myths and misconceptions surround the mode of treatment and medicines too. For instance, it’s believed that all cancer drugs are costly, toxic and have tremendous side effects. However, only around 20-25% cancer drugs have some side effects and not all drugs are expensive. “Further, the myth that cancer is contagious prevails usually among rural people with limited literacy. Genetic predilection can be a risk factor in certain types of cancer but no cancer is contagious. Most patients, especially those of breast cancer, are also traumatised at the thought that the affected organ has to be removed if cancer strikes. But nowadays, with advanced medical and surgical procedures, it’s not required and even in case of partial removal, reconstruction can be done,” added Dr Ravi Mohan.

Summing up the misconceptions related to cancer, Dr Lalit Varadapande from Queen’s NRI Hospital said, “Patients feel there’s no need to talk about cancer, cancer displays no signs and symptoms, nothing much can be done about cancer and patients don’t have right to access proper cancer care. Awareness is the most important requirement so that early screening and diagnosis can facilitate treatment at stage one or two.”

As per recent data provided by the Indian Council for Medical Research, more than 10 lakh people are affected by cancer in India annually. In 2012, more than 5.55 lakh people have died due to cancer in India.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Visakhapatnam / by Sulogna Mehta, TNN / February 04th, 2014

Book on legends, anecdotes of Hyderabad launched

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

Hyderabad :

‘Lengendotes of Hyderabad,’ authored by noted expert on history and culture of Hyderabad Narendra Luther, was launched in the in the presence of historians, academics, artists and heritage activists on Thursday. The book is a collection of legends and anecdotes which the author terms ‘Legendotes.’ The articles, based on documentary evidence, interviews and personal experiences, try to capture the 400 years of history and socio-cultural developments of the that symbolizes tolerance and love.

Historian Aloka Prasher Sen, dean, School of Social Science at UoH, who did not approve of some of the footnotes in the book since they are based on personal interviews and not hard scientific evidence, said that the bits and pieces of history that are found beyond the gamut of concrete proof too should be acknowledged as credible source. Speaking as the chief guest at the function, she said Luther’s book has been published at a time when there is serious debate over the inclusion of oral history and other sources as essential elements in history writing.

She was of the opinion that Luther’s book falls in the category of such historical narratives that provide a context and explanation to events and developments in given periods of time. Luther conceded that he is not a historian in the traditional sense of the term. “I do what I like best-to capture moments in their true spirit,” he said.

The book contains tales of about 70 legends, anecdotes and personal accounts beginning from the beautiful rocks of the Deccan plateau to Bhagamati, to the developments during the era of Nizams and beyond.

The continuation of evolution and fusion of cultures even captures the glimpses of modern times when T Anjaiah or N T Rama Rao ruled as chief ministers of Andhra Pradesh.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Hyderabad / TNN / January 31st, 2014

Hyderabad boy Satya Nadella set to become Microsoft CEO

Business & Economy, Leaders, Nri's / Pio's, Science & Technology, World Opinion

Nadella learnt technology at Microsoft, leadership at Begumpet school.

The third CEO in Microsoft’s 38-year-old history after Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer could be an India-born, two media reports said on Friday, citing sources familiar with the processes of selecting the new leader at the Redmond-based company.

If he is the chosen one, as Bloomberg was the first to report, Satya Nadella , a 22-year Microsoft veteran with leading roles in the Office and Bing search engine teams, will become the most powerful Indian-origin tech executive in the world.

Bloomberg also reported that the board was considering replacing Chairman Bill Gates with Microsoft’s lead Independent Director John Thompson.

People who know him well both professionally and personally say apart from his technological wizadry, what has struck them about Nadella is that he is a great team person. “Satya is extraordinarily humble and a great human being; so almost anybody who knows him has nice things to say about him. That is in contrast to many leaders today who have ‘sharp elbows’,” says Ravi Venkatesan, former chairman of Microsoft India.

The 46-year-old Nadella has not forgotten his roots and is connected deeply to Hyderabad where his parents (his father is a retired IAS officer) live. He and his wife did their schooling at the Hyderabad Public School in Begumpet and visit the city every year. In an earlier interview to an Indian publication, Nadella had talked about the leadership lessons he first learnt while playing for his school cricket team. Once when the team captain saw Nadella bowling quite ordinarily, he himself stepped in to give the team a much-needed breakthrough, and again threw the ball back to Nadella to bowl the next over.

“I will never forget that. What made him do that? Is this what they call leadership? These are the kind of questions I have since reflected on as I approach many of the things I do today leading teams,” Nadella had said.

Nadella, who has an engineering degree in electronics and communication from Manipal Institute of Technology, moved to the US where he earned a master of science degree in computer science from the University of Wisconsin. He is also an MBA from the University of Chicago. He worked at Sun Microsystems before joining Microsoft in 1992. During these nearly 22 years, Nadella has held several positions, including senior VP of R&D for the online services division and VP of the Microsoft business division.

“He is one of the sharpest guys you will meet; he is very technical and very empathetic. He understands an exterior opinion which works in his favour as he is ready to learn from others,” says one of Nadella’s friends, requesting anonymity.

It is probably Nadella’s performance at the company that led to him being appointed as the head of one of the most key segments of the company — cloud and enterprise. According to several sources, Nadella was responsible for bringing the company’s database, Windows server and developer tools, to its Azure cloud.

Under his leadership, Microsoft’s cloud services’ revenue rose to $20.3 billion in June 2013 from $16.6 billion when he took over in 2011.

“He is an extremely well-rounded person; he has worked in the application business; he has worked in the Bing search business, led the server and tool business, and now he is in charge of all online and cloud engineering. More importantly, he is a strong technical person which is a good thing to lead a company like Microsoft,” says Venkatesan whose first engagement with Nadella happened when the latter was heading the Microsoft business division.

“Microsoft’s offerings have touched an entire generation of Indians, and it would be a moment of great pride for us to see an Indian take over such a prestigious post,” says Ravi Gururaj, chairman of Indian IT industry body Nasscom’s product council.

“I am sure it is his performance and delivery at the company that has brought him this far, and we wish him well.”

Microsoft is currently at a crucial point, as the company is moving away from its roots as a software-focused firm and moving towards hardware and internet-based services.

Experts say Nadella would certainly represent a conservative choice for Microsoft. He is a sharp, persuasive individual and can inject fresh life into Microsoft. But others say Nadella will not be the radical agent of change or the inspirational visionary that some investors and outsiders have been hoping for.

source: http://www.business-standard.com / Business Standard / Home> Companies> News / by Itika Sharma Punit & Bibhu Ranjan Mishra / Bangalore – February 01st, 2014

Hyderabad’s Night Bazaar to get a makeover

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy

Hyderabad :

The tourism department is mulling a slew of measures to resuscitate the Night Bazaar ( Shilpa Sandhya Vedika) at Shilparamam which has failed to attract denizens even after two years of operation.

According to official sources, the department is planning to improve footfalls and occupancy of stalls by keeping the bazaar open till 1 am on weekdays and 3 am on weekends, for which Cyberabad police has given its nod. Presently, the bazaar is officially slated to operate till 12 am on all days. However, many stalls close by 10 pm due to lack of patronage.

“The bazaar was set to remain open till 3 am when it was envisaged. However, it could not remain open as we did not get police clearance. Now the Cyberabad police have given its nod to keep it open till 3 am on weekends,” an official said, adding that a proposal for a police outpost was mooted and a place has already been earmarked by the tourism department.

The department also appointed an officer on special duty (OSD) to manage daily affairs of the bazaar. An order that was released earlier this week said that the officer has been entrusted with the responsibility for transforming the bazaar into a “happening place.” “Plans are being drawn up to improve arrivals at the bazaar in a couple of months,” said V Madhusudan, who was appointed as OSD at the night bazaar.

It was also learnt that the tourism department plans to organize cultural programmes to attract crowds, largely from the IT hubs of Madhapur, Gachibowli and surrounding areas.

Officials added that tenders for several stalls will be recalled in the coming days as many bidders backed out due to lack of demand for the stalls. There are 100 stalls, organized in four theme-based categories which largely deal in apparel, handicrafts and food services. Sources said as food stalls account for the maximum number of unoccupied stalls, efforts are on to renegotiate terms with existing bidders. The bazaar was planned in 2006 with an outlay of Rs 11 crore but took nearly five years to be completed at a cost of Rs 25 crore.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Hyderabad / TNN / February 01st, 2014

Vizag zoo to get country’s first wild dog breeding centre

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Nature, Records, All

DholeHF19feb2014

Dholes are classified as an endangered species by the IUCN

In about two to three months’ time, the Indira Gandhi Zoological Park (IGZP) will be the first zoo in the country to have a conservation breeding centre for the endangered wild dog or ‘dhole.’

Selected by the Central Zoo Authority to carry out this project at a cost of Rs. 50 lakh, the zoo authorities have earmarked an area on the premises for the centre.

Rise in numbers

After a series of successful in-breeding of wild dogs in the zoo, its population witnessed a massive increase within the protected area from just two to 22, the highest number of wild dogs in captivity in the country, according to current records.

Recently, two more litter of wild dogs were spotted at the wild dog enclosure, which is now being monitored to prevent disturbances. However, the number and gender of the litter are yet to be ascertained.

Similar in-breeding of wild dogs was carried out in zoos in Chennai and Mysore without much success.

Classified as endangered by the IUCN, wild dogs or ‘dholes’ are dwindling in numbers due to habitat loss, depletion of prey base, and destruction of forest corridors leading to fights with other predators and diseases from domestic and feral dogs.

Genetic profiling

The conservation centre in IGZP is expected to help in recovering the population of the endangered animals.

“To start with, a genetic profiling of the existing animals in the zoo will be done. Once the strong genes among them are identified, the conservation breeding process will be started through a series of measured steps.

The idea is to re-introduce the species in the wild later,” IGZP curator G. Ramalingam told The Hindu.

“Tenders have been called for the project. We have also issued circulars to hire a biologist for the project, which will be finalised soon,” he added.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home > News> Cities> Visakhapatnam / by Nivedita Ganguly / Visakhapatnam – February 19th, 2014