Centennial of first ‘Andhra Conference’ opened

About Seemandhra / Andhra Pradesh, Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Historical Links, Pre-Independence, Leaders, Records, All
Union Minister of State for Petroleum & Natural Gas Panabaka Lakshmi releasing the Special Postal Cover in Bapatla on Friday /. Photo: T. Vijayakumar / The Hindu
Union Minister of State for Petroleum & Natural Gas Panabaka Lakshmi releasing the Special Postal Cover in Bapatla on Friday /. Photo: T. Vijayakumar / The Hindu

Panabaka Lakshmi releases a Special Postal Cover marking the historic event

The centenary celebrations of first Andhra Conference (`Pradhama Andhra Mahasabha’ began at the historic Town Hall here on Friday. Union Minister of State for Petroleum & Natural Gas Panabaka Lakshmi inaugurated the event by hoisting a flag and released a Special Postal Cover worth Rs 5.

Rich tributes were paid to B. Narasimheswara Sarma, a member of the Imperial Legislative Council who presided over the Conference, and stalwarts like Bhogaraju Pattabhi Seetaramaiah, Pingali Venkaiah, Ayyadevara Kaleswara Rao, Chilakamarti Lakshmi Narasimham Pantulu, Konda Venkatappaiah and Mutnuri Krishna Rao.

Addressing the gathering, Ms. Lakshmi said the town was privileged to host the first Andhra Conference on May 26, 1913.

The movement for separate State for the Telugu speaking people had its seeds sown in this conference and the dream was ultimately realized due to the sacrifices made by some great men and women.

Ms. Lakshmi said a concerted effort has to be made to protect the native culture and traditions which earned global acclaim and observed that the Conference had given impetus to the growth of Telugu into a classical language.

MLA Gade Venkata Reddy said the distinct identity that the first `Andhra Conference had earned for Telugu people and their language should be preserved by them and wanted them to stay united wherever they are.

Collector S. Suresh Kumar, Director of Postal Services (Vijayawada) M. Venkateswarulu, RDO S. Srinivasa Murthy, Centenary Celebrations Committee Convener P C Sai Babu and Co-Convener K. Venkateswara Reddy and others participated.

Tamil Nadu Governor K. Rosaiah will be participating as the chief guest in the program to be held at the Municipal High School ground on May 26.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> National> Andhra Pradesh / by Staff Reporter / Bapatla – May 25th, 2013

Hyderabad Hotshots clinch inaugural IBL crown

Records, All, Sports

Saina Nehwal -led Hyderabad Hotshots crowned themselves as the champions of the inaugural Indian Badminton League when they downed Awadhe Warriors 3-1 in the finals at the NSCI Stadium here today.

Indian shuttle queen Saina brought the Hotshots on level terms by trouncing her young challenger P V Sindhu in straight games (21-15, 21-7) in 35 minutes after K Srikanth gave the Warriors an unexpected 1-0 lead by stunning top-20 rival S Tanongsak in straight games, 21-12, 21-20.

Hotshots surged ahead again after Saina’s thumping win when their top Malaysian men’s doubles team of Goh V Shem and Wah Lim Khim got the better of the scratch Danish-Indonesian pair of Mathias Boe and Markis Kido in three games 21-14 13-21 11-4.

Later Ajay Jayaram did the star turn for the Hotshots with a wonderful turnaround when he got past R M V Gurusaidutt after dropping the first game.

Jayaram, ranked 24th in the world, beat 20th ranked Guru 10-21, 21-17, 11-7 in 52 minutes to help the Hotshots win the top prize of Rs 3.5 crore. Warriors took home Rs 1.75 crore.

Srikanth shocked his Thai rival Tanongsak, ranked 19 places above him in the world, by his aggression to chalk up an impressive 21-12, 21-20 win in 38 minutes to put the Warriors 1-0 ahead.

However, any hopes of Sindhu making it a commanding 2-0 lead for the Lucknow-based Warriors vanished into thin air when she was overpowered by her more experienced rival in the eagerly awaited battle between India’s top two woman shuttlers.

Saina, who had beaten the taller Sindhu when the two met earlier on August 15 in the league stage of the event, smashed and dropped her way with impunity to win the one-sided contest 21-15, 21-7 in only 35 minutes and helped the Hotshots square the contest 1-1.

The Warriors hen looked all set to equalize the rubber for the second time during the clash when R M V Gurusaidutt overcame an error prone Ajay Jayaram of Hotshots, in the opening game.

But Jayaram, who trailed his rival 4-7 in the second game too, made a splendid fightback from 10-14 in the second and caught up at 17 with a drop.

Jayaram then went ahead and then rattled off three more points to clinch the game with a jump smash. In the third, Jayaram surged ahead from 5-all by stepping up his game a notch to clinch the decider. He smashed well when in sight of victory and took the last point with a drop shot.

source: http://www.business-standard.com / Business Standard / Home> PTI Stories> National / by Press Trust of India  / Mumbai – September 01st, 2013

Prasad Babu, AP Cop Selected For Ashok Chakra Posthumously

Leaders, Records, All

Andhra Pradesh Greyhounds inspector KLVSSNV Prasad Babu was named for the highest peace time gallantry award, the Ashok Chakra, posthumously on 15 August 2013.

It is the first time in Andhra Pradesh police and Greyhounds history that an officer was chosen for this award. Greyhounds is an elite commando force of Andhra Pradesh created to combat left-wing extremists.

Prasad Babu, 33, who was a native of Marturu village in Visakhapatnam district, was killed by Maoists in the forests of Chhattisgarh in April, 2013. Prasad had joined the police department as a sub-inspector in 2004 and was subsequently promoted as an inspector. His father Karanam Venkataramaiah is a retired constable.

Prasad Babu had played a crucial role in gunning down 10 Maoists in the encounter in Sukma district of Chhattisgarh in April 2013.

About Ashok Chakra

The Ashok Chakra is awarded for valor, courageous action or self-sacrifice away from the battlefield. It is the peace time equivalent of the Param Vir Chakra, and is awarded for the most conspicuous bravery or some daring or pre-eminent valour or self-sacrifice other than in the face of the enemy.

Gallantary Awards

The Ashoka Chakra series of gallantry awards are amongst the highest gallantry awards of the country. These awards are given in three categories viz. Ashoka Chakra (awarded for most conspicuous bravery or some act of daring or preeminent valour of self service), Kirti Chakra (awarded for conspicuous gallantry) and Shaurya Chakra (awarded for gallantry).

The awards are announced by the Government of India on the occasion of Republic Day and Independence Day every year.

Besides the Defence personnel, civilian citizens of either sex in all walks of life, and members of Police Forces, Central Para military Forces and Railway Protection Force are also eligible for these awards.

source: http://www.jagranjosh.com / Jagran Josh / Home> English> News> Current Affiairs / August 15th, 2013

FB target: Five billion users in 5 years

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, Records, All, Science & Technology, World Opinion
Kirthiga Reddy,head,Facebook India delivering a lecture on Future of the Digital: A Vision Statement at the two day ISB Digital Summit being held at the Indian School of Business in Hyderabad on Friday | RVK Rao
Kirthiga Reddy,head,Facebook India delivering a lecture on Future of the Digital: A Vision Statement at the two day ISB Digital Summit being held at the Indian School of Business in Hyderabad on Friday | RVK Rao

No matter how low the price of mobile phones and other electronic devices are, the main issues are rising cost of data packages and lack of infrastructure, especially in rural areas, according to Kirthiga Reddy, head, Facebook India.

Kirthiga was speaking on the topic, Future of the Digital: A vision statement at the two-day ISB Digital Summit 2013 held at Indian School of Business which commenced on Friday.

In an elaborate speech on Facebook’s vision, she touched upon factors like users, targeted reach, equalisation, personalisation as the five important points leading to the future of the digital arena.

Stating that Facebook’s goal was to reach five billion users in the next five years, she added, that the goal could be achieved only by taking along all the stakeholders like governments, business establishments and telecom companies. She also explained how the devices used today would be 100 times faster in the future with the advancement in applications, networks, data access and other factors. She admitted that data transmission prices were the biggest barrier today.

According to her, local languages too are barriers in terms of compatibility of content. Responding to a query on how would social media including Facebook impact the society, Reddy said, “Every medium is a medium and it is up to us on how we use it.”

Speaking at the first panel discussion on mobile marketing and location based services(LBS), Sridhar Iyer, director, Digital Business, Citibank India pointed out that the growth in smart phones usage will lend itself to location-based services as mobile devices today are centre to all activities including social, shopping and banking among others.

Explaining factors that hinder location based services in the country, he said, geographic information system (GIS) needs to improve and termed the lack of wireless networks, bandwidth limitation, network congestion, high cost of 3G services, lack of awareness among age group above 45 and other causes as some of the major constraints. However, he was confident that LBS was bound to grow with significant amount of investment and subsequent increase in competition.

Anuj Kumar, co-founder and MD, Ripple, who spoke about mobile advertising, pointed out that battery problems in smart phones is the biggest challenge in the advancement of LBS. He hoped it would be solved in the near future.

Social media expert and CEO of Autumn Worldwide, Anusha Shetty, noted that, at a time when users relate to the virtual world more than the real one, it is the responsibility of brands to ensure that problems are addressed and solved in real-time.

Anushka further explained that 66 per cent of Facebook and 50 per cent of Twitter users in the country use mobile devices for internet access and that in the future people would look up to first-hand information on social media over newspapers and channels.

The ISB Digital summit is being organised by the Srini Raju Centre for IT and the Networked Economy at ISB in association with Jigserv Digital, a digital marketing company founded by four ISB alumni. The summit will discuss and debate on trends in the digital media, recent innovations, new business models.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Hyderabad / by Express  News Service – Hyderabad / August 31st, 2013

Delicious ‘koramenu’ becomes dearer

Business & Economy, Nature

 

A fisherman sells 'koramenu' fish at Kanuru on the outskirts of Vijayawada./ Photo: T. Appala Naidu / The Hindu
A fisherman sells ‘koramenu’ fish at Kanuru on the outskirts of Vijayawada./ Photo: T. Appala Naidu / The Hindu

Bullseye snakehead fish, locally known as Koramenu, a non-vegetarian’s delight during the summer in many parts of Andhra Pradesh, is in a great demand even during the ongoing rainy season in the city.

The fresh water fish is fetching up to Rs.400 a kg in Krishna district and even small-sized fish are being sold for a minimum of Rs.250 a kg. at Pamarru and Vuyyuru junctions. The high demand led to the price rising abnormally on Sunday and Tuesday. The price was double that of chicken and varied from one selling point to another depending on demand.

Local communities such as fishermen and Yanadi tribe catch the muddy-coloured fish when the local ponds and canals of the Krishna dry up in summer across the Krishna delta region. “Huge quantity of Koramenu fish comes from West Godavari district largely from Eluru area, where farmers grow it in their ponds. Nevertheless, the big-sized fish has become a ‘hotcake’ in Vijayawada city,” says Sala Nagaraju, who sells the fish at Kanuru junction in the city.

Offering Koramenu curry is still considered the best way to honour guests in many parts of Andhra Pradesh. Inclusion of the item in the menu of the feast is seen as a matter of prestige.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Vijayawada / by T. Appala Naidu / Vijayawada – September 07th, 2013

Khairatabad laddu to reach city on September 8

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Records, All

Hyderabad :

The nearly 4,000 kg laddu, which is to be offered to the 56-feet Khairatabad Ganesh, will reach the city on September 8. It will be the third consecutive year that an East Godavari-based sweet maker is making the offering to the tallest Ganesh idol in the city. Sixteen people, including the sweet maker PVVS Mallikarjuna Rao, would undertake a special deeksha at his shop in Tapeswaram village. As part of the ritual, a small Ganesh idol was installed there on August 31. The team will start preparing the boondi on September 4 and start the actual preparation of the laddu two days later. They would be using 1,600 kg sugar, 1,000 kg Bengal gram (Chana dal), 900 kg ghee, 200 kg cashew, 100 kg almonds , 50 kg cardamom and 10 kg green camphor to make the laddu. The final touches would be given on September 7. tnn It would be brought to the city through a special transport arrangement,.

“We have taken all measures to keep the laddu fresh till the time of immersion. In fact, the city’s weather will aid in keeping the laddu fresh,” Mallikarjuna Rao told TOI. He would also offer a 50 kg laddu to a Ganesh idol to be put up at Chappal Bazar in the city.

source: http://www.articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Hyderabad> Laddu / TNN / September 02nd, 2013

Now, a film-making workshop for engineers

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Education
Actor Nagarjuna addressing the media in Hyderabad on Tuesday.- PHOTO: NAGARA GOPAL
Actor Nagarjuna addressing the media in Hyderabad on Tuesday.- PHOTO: NAGARA GOPAL

In what possible manner could a film-making workshop be of help to an engineering student, except, of course, to guide him through the rudiments of projecting his/her message on the screen?

Actor Akkineni Nagarjuna, who is also president of Annapurna International School of Film + Media (AISFM), on Tuesday said going through the basics of film-making would help to improve confidence of engineering students who were hard-pressed for time and busy with projects. “It facilitates expression of ideas. Sheer brilliance needs to be expressed properly. Just getting a degree is not enough, and you need to sell your ideas,” he said.

“When I was told about the proposal for the workshop, I was reminded of my days as a mechanical engineering student at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA, and later as I did my Masters in Automobile Engineering at San Jose State University. There were times when I was simply unable to put my ideas across, at a presentation in a crowded seminar hall,” he recalled. Another reason for designing such a short-term course/workshop is his firm belief that everybody needs a passion that needs to be nursed, even while being busy in a profession. “Today, life has become so mechanical and stressful that people need an outlet for their creativity,” he said.

Chris Higgins, AISFM’s vice-president, said the four-week summer workshop will be held from May 27 on the Annapurna Studios campus.

According to actor Akkineni Nagarjuna, going through the basics of film-making will help engineering students to develop self-confidence.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Andhra Pradesh / by  Suresh Krishnamoorthy / Hyderabad – May 22nd, 2013

Chand is new Chairman of CSI, Vizag

Business & Economy, Science & Technology

Visakhapatnam :

T.K. Chand, Director (Commercial) of the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant, assumed charge as the Chairman of the Computer Society of India, Visakhapatnam chapter, here on Friday. He said on the occasion, “The chapter at Visakhapatnam is one of the most active and happening chapters amongst all chapters of CSI and it is the responsibility of all of us to take it forward.

Computerisation is essential for achieving transparency and efficiency in productivity.” He also announced that the annual convention of the Computer Society of India would be held here December13-15. Chand expressed concern over the continuing devaluation and weakening of the rupee. He advised the industry to consider it as a window of opportunity as the imported goods would be costlier and there would be a sudden increase in demand for domestic goods.

Further, he advised the IT professionals and IT companies to take advantage of depreciation of the rupee by exporting more IT services and software. P.C. Mahapatra, Executive Director (Projects) of RINL, was appointed the Vice-Chairman of the chapter.

source: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com / Business Line / Home> News> National / by The Hindu Bureau / Visakhapatnam – August 30th, 2013

Determination is the key

Education, Records, All
Top Rankers of ICWA, D. Guru Prasad and T. Rajani interact with The Hindu in Vijayawada. / Photo: V. Raju / The Hindu
Top Rankers of ICWA, D. Guru Prasad and T. Rajani interact with The Hindu in Vijayawada. / Photo: V. Raju / The Hindu

A dream doesn’t become a reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination and hard work- Colin Powell. This piece of advice from the veteran general of US Gulf War appears to have hit the duo from Vijayawada D. Guru Prasad and T. Rajani hard and fast. It is sole determination that has brought both of them this far in their academic pursuit.

While Guru Prasad topped the recently held ICWA (Intermediate) examination in the all-India level, Rajani secured the third rank in the ICWA (Final) examination. But what makes them stand out? It is the economic background that they come from.

While Guru Prasad is the son of an autorickshaw driver in Kadapa, Rajani is the daughter of a daily wage earner.

And it is not the first time that both of them had topped any examination. While Guru Prasad secured the all-India first rank in the CA IPCC examination and ICWA (Foundation) examination and stood fifth in the CA CPT examination; Rajani secured the all-India second rank in CA (Inter). And all through they had been coached at Superwhizz-Vijayawada.

On why CA and ICWA, Guru Prasad said, “The economic condition impelled me to take up the course. I secured 97 per cent in intermediate and Superwhizz offered me free coaching for CA CPT and promised me free tuitions for CA and ICWA if I secured ranks within top 5 in the CPT and ICWA foundation. I worked hard for 15 hours a day and secured fifth rank in both the examination. Moreover, I decided that I would take up CA and ICWA, as even an engineering degree would take four years, so why not put that effort here. I need to settle fast to take care of my family and two sisters.”

The same was the case with Rajani. “It was not possible for my family to fund my engineering education, as the reimbursement scheme was not there at that time. Moreover, CA or ICWA offers a better career and I need to settle fast. Economic situation hardened my determination.”

While Guru Prasad is getting busy to tackle the finals of both CA and ICWA, Rajani has just got to complete CA (Final), and the world would be at their feet.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hind /  Home> News> Cities> Vijayawada / by Sumit Bhattacharjee / August 30th, 2013

Techies form panel to protect Hyderabad’s IT hub identity

Business & Economy, Science & Technology

The decision taken by the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) to divide Andhra Pradesh has found an echo in the Information Technology sector. The political uncertainty over the future status of Hyderabad is causing concern to the IT sector, a major growth engine that put the city on the global IT map.

In the midst of the turmoil over the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh with Hyderabad becoming the bone of contention, software employees in the city have come together and formed a Joint Action Committee (JAC) to strive towards bringing back the glory of Hyderabad as an IT hub.

“Brand Hyderabad” has clearly lost its sheen in recent times due to political uncertainties, agitations and counter-agitations. Following the deterioration in the image of the Capital, the Hyderabad IT Employees’ JAC has adopted a slogan “Save IT, save Hyderabad” and appealed to all the political parties not to tarnish the city’s image further. “Otherwise the city will disappear from the global IT map and future generations will suffer,” cautioned JAC Chairman M Brahmaiah.

Hyderabad is home to about 750 IT and ITES companies, including global giants like Microsoft, Google, IBM, Oracle, DELL, Motorola and Deloitte, employing over 250,000 people. The city is ranked fourth in the country in terms of software exports.

However, IT professionals say that the state had to pay a heavy price since 2009 due to political agitations. “The IT exports from the state, which was over Rs310 billion, in 2008-09, dipped to Rs270.6 billion in the next financial year. There was a slight increase in the subsequent years as the industry felt confident that normalcy would be restored,” said JAC convener N Raju. The latest exports figure stood at Rs300 billion.

The neighbouring states of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra, meanwhile, have benefitted from Hyderabad’s woes. Tamil Nadu’s IT exports grew from Rs380.3 billion in 2008-09 to over Rs490 billion in 2011-12, Karnataka’s from Rs700.3 billion to Rs820.1 billion and Maharashtra’s from Rs420.3 billion to Rs460.2 billion.

The JAC has also decided to launch ITism — IT in social media – to bring awareness among IT professionals and also the common public about the need to protect the interests of the industry in the city.

The rate of new recruitment has also sunk to 10,000 a year from the earlier 30,000-40,000. The JAC will hold a round-table conference inviting top brass of the city-based IT firms and prepare a report containing their views on improving the situation. It will also meet the State Governor E S L Narasimhan, Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy, IT Minister P Lakshmaiah and Leader of the Opposition and TDP President N Chandrababu Naidu in this regard.

The JAC leaders wanted the centre to take immediate steps to remove the sense of insecurity prevailing among the IT professionals in the city.

source: http://www.khaleejtimes.com / Khaleej Times / Home> International / by P S Jayaram, news@khaleejtimes.com /  August 28th, 2013