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
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
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
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
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
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
Vice-Chancellor of Acharya N.G. Ranga Agriculture University A. Padma Raju addressing farmers and rice millers in Tadepalligudem in West Godavari district on Saturday. / Photo A.V.G .Prasad / The Hindu
Acharya N.G. Ranga Agriculture University takes up research on developing the new varieties
Acharya N.G. Ranga Agriculture University has taken up research on development of diabetic-friendly rice varieties in collaboration with private industries, University Vice-Chancellor Alluri Padma Raju disclosed here on Saturday.
Mr. Raju was speaking to The Hindu on the sidelines of a meeting of rice millers, peasant representatives and agricultural scientists conducted by the Agricultural Research Station (ARS) at Maruteru for popularising new paddy varieties.
“Scientists are on the job of building glycemic indices (GIs) with the data on how much carbohydrates in each existing rice variety raises a person’s blood glucose levels after consuming the particular variety,” he said. As of now, 40 rice varieties were available with the researchers and 14 of them were found to be having anti-diabetic properties. Of them, BPT-5204, popularly known as Samba Masuri, was found to be more friendlier to diabetics, Mr. Raju explained.
The research strategies involved collection of anti-diabetic genes from different varieties and introduced them in the select varieties by way of selective breeding through the marker identification method.
Diabetes was fast spreading and people even below 30 years were falling prey to the disease, of late. The breakthrough, if achieved in the on-going research, would be a boon for the people prone to diabetics caused by food habits, among others, in a country where rice consumption accounted for more than 80 per cent, he hoped.
The Samba Masuri was identified as an ideal variety for projection as more diabetic friendly given its ‘admirable’ strains such as easy to cook and preservation without becoming stale for a long time after cooking and non-sticky in nature, Mr. Raju said.
The V-C informed that the gale-resistant paddy varieties, need of the hour in the cyclone-prone Godavari delta region, were likely to be released in April next, facilitating sowing for the next kharif. The research had been in progress for the last 4-5 years and it was currently under trial in different stages, he added. If these new breeds hit the markets, the paddy growers would be relieved of the miseries caused by the predominant variety of Swarna in view of its susceptibility to lodging at times of cyclones, he said.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> National> Andhra Pradesh / by G Nagarajan / Tadepalligudem (West Godavari Dist.), December 22nd, 2013
Considering the genuine demand and differential market dynamics, Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL) is focusing its marketing activities in western region of the country, said RINL chairman-cum-managing director A P Choudhary.
Addressing the customers of the region in Mumbai, Choudhary said that the twin factors of discipline and commitment on part of the customers of the region had compelled RINL to look westward and enhance its marketing activities in that part of the country.
The customers of western region are exceptionally loyal and aggressively confident in their business with RINL, which is why RINL sees better growth prospects in the future here, Choudhury said in a press release issued by RINL.
According to the RINL CMD, considering the possibility of growth in infrastructure, real estate and manufacturing sectors, steel demand is estimated to rise to 300 million tons in the country by 2025. RINL’s strength will be the volume of steel it produces, which will go up to 7 million tonnes when production from its expansion units stabilizes. By 2020, RINL has an ambitious plan of producing 20 million tonnes per annum and playing a key role in the infrastructural development of the country.
Addressing the western region customers, RINL’s director (commercial) T K Chand said that steel demand is picking up internationally, with the demand firming up in USA and Europe. Pointing out that India sees a better role for itself in the international markets once the steel demand grows globally, he said in India steel demand is showing signs of improvement and will improve further in the last quarter of this year, resulting in a spurt in steel demand soon.
Assuring the best services from RINL through adoption of modern innovative technologies and customer centric attitudes, he said importance is being given to branding the products and opening new outlets in various cities.
Earlier customers from different locations of western India, while interacting with the RINL CMD, stressed on availability of more volume of products and requirements of various new grades of steel items. Choudhary assured them that RINL would soon meet their demand once materials from their expanded units start rolling out.
source: http://www.articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Visakhapatnam> Western Region / TNN / December 08th, 2013
Visakhapatnam Port has established an all-time record in loading iron ore pellets in a day.
According to a press release, a quantity of 27,199 tonnes, with a hook output of 2,267 tonnes, of iron ore pellets, on account of Brahmani River Pellets Ltd, was loaded onto the vessel m.v. MANDARIN CROWN on November 20 at West Quay-4 berth, surpassing the previous best loading of 26,001 tonnes on August 24.
Steel City Shipping Services was the stevedore and Chowgule Brothers Pvt. Ltd the steamer agent of the vessel.
source: http://www.steelguru.com / Steel Guru / Home> News / source – Exim News Service (www.logisticguru.in) / Saturday – December 07th, 2013
Popular Telugu film actor, comedian and television personality Dharmavarapu Subramanyam passed away here on Saturday. He was 53. The actor died at his residence at P&T colony at Dilsukhnagar. The actor hailed from Komminenivari Palem, Ballikuruva mandal in Prakasam district. The last rites of the actor are expected to be performed at his native place in Prakasam district.
It is learnt that Dharmavarapu Subramanyam was suffering from a liver disorder and had been hospitalized for some time. He died at his residence after having been discharged from the hospital some days ago. As he was not keeping well, he kept to his house in recent times.
Subramanyam had made his mark on television with the programme ‘Adando brahma’ which was a huge hit on Doordarshan. He subsequently made his entry into tinsel town with the film ‘Jayambu Nischayambu Ra’. He even directed a film titled ‘Thokaleni Pitta’.
In recent times, Dharmavarapu Subramanyam kept television audience engaged with his satirical programme on a Telugu channel. He acted in more than 80 films till date. His films include ‘Shadow’. ‘Bodyguard’, ‘Businessman’, ‘Dookudu’, ‘Kathi Kantha Rao’, ‘Mahesh Kaleja’, ‘Darling’, ‘Chirutha’, ‘Varsham’ and ‘Simhadri’.
With the death of Dharmavarapu Subramanyam, the Telugu film industry has lost a comedian whose satirical dialogues regaled audience. Film industry personalities have expressed shock at the passing away of a talent artiste.
It was only recently that another comedy actor AVS and Srihari died leaving the industry in a state of shock. And now the death of Dharmavarapu Subramanyam has come as another shock. On coming to know about his death, film personalities started coming to the residence of the actor.
Though Dharmavarapu Subramanyam had made it big in the film industry, he chose not to move to Filmnagar or Jubilee Hills area and continued to live in his Dilsukhnagar house.
source: http://www.articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Hyderabad> Film Industry / by Ch. Sushil Rao, TNN / December 08th, 2013
