PACS in two districts of Andhra Pradesh to be linked with NCDEX Spot Exchange

Business & Economy

The warehouses of Primary Agriculture Cooperative Societies (PACS) in Mahabubnagar and Kurnool districts of Andhra Pradesh were linked with the National Commodities Exchange (NCDEX) spot exchange on 5 August 2013.

As a part of this initiative eight PACS had received the membership certification, which would help the farmers to sell their goods on exchange platform. This is the first of its kind initiative in the country and was initiated by the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD). 

How this Initiative help farmers?
• The initiative will help in providing seamless access of national markets to farmers, whereby they can sell their produce through a computer-linked method.
• The computer-linked trading will ensure that farmers will get the best available price at the national level. The trading will ensure that sale of the commodity at a particular price is at the discretion of farmers helping them get the best price prevailing on the particular day.
• The spot exchange will support the farmers by helping them reach the buyers or processors directly, which will result in better price realization and also help in lowering the supply chain costs in the agricultural commodities gamut.
• This initiative is expected to change dynamics of the trade and supply chain of agricultural commodities with respect to the storage, commodity financing, trade facilitation, and other value added services that could make farmers a key point in entire value chain of agricultural commodities.
• NCDEX Spot platform will also enable the PACS in creating price transparency for farmers.

The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) joined hands with the Cooperative Central Banks (CCBs) of the two districts, AP State Cooperative Bank and NCDEX to make the linking a reality.

The new facility would ensure speedy payment of money to farmers, through the CCBs with core banking solutions, once the sale was completed.

National Commodity & Derivatives Exchange Limited (NCDEX)
National Commodity & Derivatives Exchange Limited (NCDEX) is a nation-level, technology driven on-line commodity Exchange. NCDEX is a public limited company registered under The Companies Act, 1956 with the Registrar of Companies, Maharashtra in Mumbai on 23 April 2003.

source: http://www.jagranjosh.com / Jagran Josh / Home / August 07th, 2013

Safety, the solar way

Green Initiatives / Environment, Science & Technology
24 Hours Security Solar Power Fencing System
24 Hours Security Solar Power Fencing System

Gone are the days of raised compound walls embedded with glass splinters jutting over them as a means of safety from burglars. Solar fences which are the preferred choice of security for institutions and sites of historical or archaeological prominence, are of late gaining prominence among owners of individual houses and apartment complexes.

More than 700 families, including those staying in apartments at Somajiguda, Banjara Hills, Jubilee Hills, Gachibowli, Madhapur and Medchal areas in Hyderabad have installed solar fences to protect their premises from thieves. Those residing in gated communities in Medchal, Rajendranagar and Gachibowli also have gone the solar way.

“I faced a harrowing time when unknown persons entered my house by scaling the compound wall and stole pump-sets, drainage covers and water faucets. I have now overcome the problem by installing solar fencing around my house,” said Srinivas, a 40-year-old State government employee from Medchal.

Like Srinivas, many residents, who are staying on the suburbs, have begun to protect their homes with solar fencing to prevent burglars from entering their houses. With increase in thefts in cities and suburbs, most home owners are evincing interest in fortifying their compound walls with solar fencing. The management committees of several religious places are also coming forward to put up the fencing.

Companies dealing with installation of fencing say perimeter security is the present day’s need. Solar fencing is the modern day’s alternative to the conventional type of perimeter protection. These are active fences and punish the intruder the moment he touches or tries to tamper with it. Conventional fences are only passive types and cannot resist the intruder if he tries to enter forcibly.

Solar fences ward off thieves by giving a sharp, short but a safe shock and create psychological fear. The alarm incorporated in the system goes off when the fence is tampered with and alerts inmates, explains Excel Security Systems proprietor Sameer Hussain.

He says solar security fencing delays, denies and detects the entry of intruder and reduces the expenditure on security guards even while providing quantifiable enhancement in security. It would also provide 24X7 protection without delays or inconvenience to occupants in the building.

According to Hussian, the facility is scientific and works on solar energy with backup facility to run uninterruptedly during night as well as cloudy days. The whole system can be divided into two segments, namely the central control unit or solar power generating system with SMSS500 unit and the actual fence.

The solar photovoltaic module converts sunshine into electrical energy and sends them to the SMSS500 unit through a backup battery. The SMSS500 unit takes 12V supply as input and energizes it into high volt pulses in the range of about 7,000 Volts.

These pulses will travel through fencing wires at regular intervals of 1.2 seconds and the duration of each pulse will be 3 million seconds.

The fence part is a scientific layout in which multi-strands at four inches gap will run through the insulators, which are pre-welded and pre-fabricated to MS posts. The height of the fence above the ground/compound wall will be as per the requirement of site conditions. The posts are arranged at 10 feet gap with perfect support to the corner poles. Super earth kits, a composite mixture of different minerals, helps the fence to have a perfect earthing system as solar fencing requires good earthing for effective working.

There is a provision for restricting the intrusion through the gate as well as over the gate. The spring loaded barricades arranged to the gate will electrify the gate and activates the alarm when somebody tries to open the gate forcibly. Pulses travel through the springs arranged on the gate and give out shock to trespassers.

According to Hussain, the burglar alarm in the server room gets activated automatically when someone tries to intrude, even while serving the intruder a sharp, short and painful shock.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> Habitat> Design / by  M. Srinivas / Hyderabad – August 09th, 2013

I make sure to cook for the entire family on Eid: Aditi Rao Hydari

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

It is that time of the year when the smell of biryani, korma and seviyan fills the air.

“If I am in Hyderabad during Eid, I make sure to cook for the entire family living in the city,” says Aditi Rao Hydari, who traces her ancestry to two royal families of Hyderabad–namely Muhammed Saleh Akbar Hydari and J Rameshwar Rao of erstwhile Raja of Wanaparthy family.

Who: Aditi Rao Hydari
What: On Eid, Acting, Fitness

Aditi-Rao-HydariHF19aug2013

The actress who grew up in a multi-cultural environment talks about Eid in Hyderabad, acting and why dancing is a passion.

Hyderabad Hues
Be it any festival, we as a family celebrate it. We all meet and join in the revelry. As for Eid, there is a stream of guests and relatives at our home. As kids, we would receive money and gifts as ‘eidi’. Now, I give eidi to the young ones in the family. At home, we cook delicacies like sheer kurma, biryani, haleem, salli boti and the special Hyderabadi biryani. Recently I visited the the streets of Mumbai during Ramzan. I enjoyed the nalli nihari (mutton dish), chicken and mutton kebabs and firni. Thankfully, I have an appetite of a sparrow. So it doesn’t show on my figure.

In the orbit of fame
Since childhood, I was told that I would be an actress because of my good looks. Though I would pretend not to understand, it was a secret desire that i would grow up to be one. The fact that I was a good singer and dancer helped fuel my ambition. I had started learning Bharatanatyam since I was six and became a disciple of Leela Samson. My dream came true when I made a debut in a Malayalam film opposite the legendary Mammootty. In 2007, I played the role of devadasi in a Tamil film. I got that film when the director of the film Sharada Ramanathan saw me perform at a conference. After that things started falling in place. Movies like Delhi 6, Yeh Saali Zindagi, London Paris New York and Murder 3 came my way.

Dancing and friends
I keep myself fit by dancing and practising yoga. By God’s grace, I have a high metabolism level which keeps my weight in check. When I am not shooting, I spend time with my family and friends. I don’t have many friends in the industry, my friends are from my childhood days.

Bollywood’s warm welcome
I am an outsider in Bollywood with no connections whatsoever. But the industry accepted me with open arms. It is one’s talent that is recognised here. I feeI truly blessed to be the part of the industry. An actor’s most valuable asset are his/her fans. I believe in satisfying them with my performances. It’s their love and appreciation that I yearn for as an actor.

source: http://www.mid-day.com / Mid-Day / Home> Entertainment / by Nilesh Rao /Mumbai – August 09th, 2013

Kursura submarine museum turns 11

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Historical Links, Pre-Independence
Picture for representational purposes only.
Picture for representational purposes only.
Visakhapatnam: 
Kursura Submarine Museum, one of the significant landmarks in the tourism circuit in Visakhapatnam and located on the Beach Road, will be celebrating its 11th anniversary on Friday.
The first of its kind in the whole south Asia, the INS Kursura Submarine is a Soviet built-I-641 class submarine and was inducted into the Indian Navy on Dec 18, 1969, and the same was decommissioned on Feb 27, 2001 after 31 years of glorious service to the nation.
During her ferocious and victorious service, the submarine traversed 73,500 nautical miles participating in almost all types of naval operations.
She played a vital role in the 1971 Indo-Pak war. She was the pioneer submarine extending goodwill and harmony through her visits and flag-showing missions to other nations.
The submarine is the fourth among the first generation submarines inducted in to the Indian Navy.
After decommissioning from services, the complete submarine, including the weapon package was hauled-up from sea to land and positioned on a concrete foundation at Ramakrishna Beach Road.
For setting-up the Submarine Museum, Rs 6 crore was spent in technical association with Naval-ship Design and Research Center.
The length of submarine is 91.3 meters, while the breadth is 8 mts. Kursura submarine Museum is the only Submarine Museum in India.
The Indian Navy is proposing to add another submarine museum by setting up the INS Vela, the first among the second generation submarine decommissioned on Jan. 25, 2010, between Chennai and Mamallapuram in Tamilnadu.
The state government issued GO Ms. No. 88 in 2002 ordering transfer of the entire submarine museum with the surrounding areas developed for the museum, including the food courts and open areas to Vuda for the up-keep and maintenance and throw it open to the public for display and entertainment.
The Kursura Submarine Museum was dedicated to the nation on Aug. 9, 2002 by the then chief minister N. Chandrababu Naidu.
source: http://www.deccanchronicle.com / Deccan Chronicle / Home> News> Current Affairs / DC / Visakhapatnam – August 09th, 2013

Hyderabad to host global heart event today

Science & Technology

In addition, this year there will be small group sessions to allow more direct interaction with internationally renowned faculty from both India as well as abroad.

Hyderabad :

A major three-day global event in heart diseases will be held at the HICC beginning on Friday. The Facts Foundation, India in partnership with the Cardiovascular Research Foundation, US is hosting the premier Interventional experience – ACVS (Advanced Cardiovascular Solutions) India 2013.

Over 1,700 delegates from India and abroad will be taking part said Guru N. Reddy, Founder and Chairman, Continental Hospitals and A. Sreenivas Kumar & Susheel Kumar Kodali, programme directors of the event. More than 200 faculty members will also participate. The conference will have live demo of complex, new procedures and technologies, transmitted from local, national and international sites with all academic institutes of excellence within India being represented.

Martin B. Leon along with other CRF & Columbia colleagues, will participate in the meeting. In addition, this year there will be small group sessions to allow more direct interaction with internationally renowned faculty from both India as well as abroad.

The workshops will also be coordinated by Horst Sievert from Germany, considered to be one of the pioneers in the field of cardiovascular sciences, a press release said.

source: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com / Business Line / Home> News> National / by The Hindu Bureau / Hyderabad – August 08th, 2013

UoH Professor elevated as senior eember of IEEE

Education, Leaders, Records, All, Science & Technology, World Opinion

Dr S Venugopal Rao, associate professor, Advanced Centre for Research in High Energy Materials (ACRHEM), University of Hyderabad (UoH) has been elevated as a senior grade member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). IEEE is a professional association headquartered in New York city that is dedicated to advancing technological innovation and excellence.

Speaking about his achievement, Venugopal Rao said, “Becoming a senior grade member gives me an opportunity to interact with IEEE fellows and co-senior grade members”. He added, “Now I feel more responsible towards my research and teaching”. Venugopal Rao is part of ACRHEM’s defence funded project where laser is used to study certain particles.

Explaining the selection process as a senior grade member of IEEE, Venugopal said, “A person has to be a member of IEEE for 5 years, prove their research work and three senior members of IEEE need to nominate him as a senior grade member after which a panel comprising of senior professors go through the nominated person’s achievements and work and take a decision”. Venugopal Rao has also won the Nasi-Scopus young scientist award for the year of 2012 in Physics category.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Hyderabad / by Express News Service – Hyderabad / August 03rd, 2013

Literary news

Arts, Culture & Entertainment

Calling for entries for the Srinivas Rayaprol Poetry Prize

Instituted by the Srinivas Rayaprol Literary Trust to recognise excellence in poetry written in English, the prize is administered jointly by the Department of English, University of Hyderabad.

The prize, consisting of a cash award of Rs.10,000 and a citation will be presented at a literary event in Hyderabad in October 2013.

The entries will be judged by a distinguished jury of poets and literary personalities. Entries are invited from Indian citizens between 20-40 years. Deadline: August 31, 2013

The entries must include: Three different, unpublished poems written by the applicant;

Evidence of age and complete contact information.

Poems submitted must not have names of the poet on them.

Send entries to:

Dr. Aparna Rayaprol, Convener, Srinivas Rayaprol Poetry Prize, Director, Study in India Programme, University of Hyderabad, Hyderabad AP 500046 or e-mail: rayaproltrust@gmail.com

 

Shortlist for 2014 Neustadt International Prize for Literature

The shortlist of nominees for the 2014 Neustadt International Prize for Literature is out. The list includes César Aira, Mia Couto, Duong Thu Huong, Edward P. Jones, Ilya Kaminsky, Chang-rae Lee, Edouard Maunick, Haruki Murakami, and Ghassan Zaqtan.

For the first time ever, authors have been nominated from Mauritius, Mozambique, Palestine and Ukraine. Additionally, Jones is the first male African American writer to be nominated in the 44-year history of the prize.

The winner will be announced on November 1 and will receive $50,000, a replica of an eagle feather cast in silver, and a certificate of recognition.

For more information on the Neustadt Prize and the fall 2013 festival, visit www.neustadtprize.org

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Books / Hyderabad, August 03rd, 2013

A Hyderabadi chief for Indian Consulate

Leaders, World Opinion
Ausaf Sayeed I.F.S in Hyderabad. / Photo: G. Ramakrishna / The Hindu
Ausaf Sayeed I.F.S in Hyderabad. / Photo: G. Ramakrishna / The Hindu

Dr. Ausaf Sayeed, who will take charge as Indian Consul-General in Chicago on August 6, will have his jurisdiction in the Midwest region, which happens to be President Obama’s constituency

Good news for the Hyderabadi diaspora in Chicago. A civil servant hailing from their city is set to become their Consul-General soon. Incidentally, he is the first Muslim officer ever to assume this important position. Dr. Ausaf Sayeed, who just completed a three-year stint as Indian Ambassador in Yemen, will take charge on August 6 as Indian Consul-General in Chicago. He succeeds Mukta Tomer.

A career diplomat of the 1989 batch, Dr. Sayeed has his priorities cut out. He wants to first streamline consular and visa services for Indian Americans. “I want to make use of the social media to improve communication,” says Dr. Sayeed.

Chicago has a large Indian population of 3.50 lakh, including 40,000 Hyderabadis. Dr. Sayeed plans to have direct access to Indians through a website. The idea is to let people communicate their grievances and suggestions and get quick replies. His consular jurisdiction spreads across the Midwest region comprising the nine States of Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota, South Dakota, Indiana and Wisconsin.

The Midwest region is important in that it happens to be the constituency of President Barrack Obama. Besides, as many as 150 of the Fortune 500 companies are located there. Dr. Sayeed sees greater scope for boosting Indian trade and business there. Another priority for him is addressing the issue of illegal Indian immigrants in Chicago. “Right now, I don’t know the dimensions of the problem. But definitely we will guide the immigrants in the conversion of their status so that they can live legally,” he adds.

Dr. Sayeed has an emotional attachment to Chicago as his father, Awaz Sayeed, a poet, was buried there. He passed away in 1995. “I look forward to a very interactive period,” he says. How does he cope with the hectic schedule? Dr. Sayeed turns to his wife, Farha, and says: “It’s all because of her support”.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Hyderabad / by J. S.Ifthekhar / Hyderabad – August 03, 2013

GHMC goes tech savvy

Business & Economy, Science & Technology

GHMC-goes-tech-savvyHF16aug2013

The off-site real-time urban governance monitoring system uses the ubiquitous cellphone as a major component.

Hyderabad : 

The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) claims to be the first to use a real-time urban governance monitoring system at any level of government to attend to citizens’ complaints and increase the efficiency of civic services.

The off-site real-time (OSRT) monitoring system uses the ubiquitous cell phone as a major component. GPRS technology allows cellphones to capture real-time images of public servants at work or public sites under inspection, with the date, time and location of the picture. These images are instantly transmitted to a central server and are available in the public domain.

Garbage collection, for instance, which is outsourced to private contractors can be easily monitored using this system. The private contractor collects the garbage and brings it to dumper bins from where it is taken to transfer stations. The corporation takes over from here and transfers the waste to the main dump yards.

Around 4,000 bins have to be cleared; 16,000 workers are employed for this work. But there was no way of ascertaining whether the bins were cleared regularly or whether workers reported regularly for work.

With the introduction of the OSRT system, the supervisor uses his cell phone to take a picture when the workers show up for work, and uploads it on the GHMC server. The state of the bins can be similarly verified.

The GHMC estimates that dumper bin lifting for transport to transfer stations has increased from 76 per cent to 98 per cent and that worker attendance has gone up from 85 per cent to 95 per cent.

Citizens can also make complaints and get the outcome using their cell phones. The complaint is text-messaged in by the citizen. It goes to the concerned ward officer and corporator. Once the fault is rectified, the status is uploaded and the report posted online. A message is sent to the complainant and the corporator. All complaints have to be attended to within 48 hours or the concerned official is fined.

Compliance with building permissions — a hotbed of corruption — can also be better monitored. Real-time images are taken every 15 days at various stages of construction to check whether the builder is sticking to the sanctioned building plan.

Illegalities can thus be clearly detected, though commensurate punishment remains in fallible human hands.

source: http://www.postnoon.com /PostNoon / Home> City / August 01st, 2013

Iconic IT tower to come up at Duvvada

Uncategorized

It is likely to give a boost to the brand name of Vizag

An iconic IT tower with world-class infrastructure will come up at the Visakhapatnam Special Economic Zone, Duvvada. Sanctioned by the Government of India, the Ministry of Commerce will spend Rs. 40 crore on construction of the ground plus five-floor Level 4 building with a built-up area of one lakh square feet.

“It will be an imposing building having a mesmerising effect on all those entering the city by train from the Duvvada railway station. Central Public Works Department will be asked to construct the building in a time-bound manner with aesthetic landscaping and elevation,” VSEZ Development Commissioner S. Kishore told The Hindu.

The highlight of the super-structure will be seismic activity proof and guaranteed supply of power 24×7. “We want it for use as a disaster recovery point/data recovery centre for big players in the event of an exigency at their campuses located at various places in the country or anywhere in the world,” says Mr. Kishore.

Two to three floors will be exclusively available for log on and log out purpose so as to use the facility as a bank locker system. There will be an advanced security system so that hackers and others cannot gain access to the data stored in the centre. Cubicle mode office space will be available, from where five to 10 persons can work anytime. Data can be recovered online or offline.

Investment centre

The facility is expected to give a big boost to the brand name of Vizag as a destination for investment.

Visakhapatnam is presently having an annual exports turnover of Rs.1300 crore from the IT business, mostly through big players like HSBC, Tech Mahindra, IBM and Wipro. The industry hopes that with another IT tower getting ready at Rushikonda, being built by APIIC, the turnover from the city can be raised to Rs.5,000 crore in next three years or so.

The proposals to set up IT Investment Centre and Electronic Hardware Manufacturing Cluster in the city are at nascent stage. Once they become a reality, the city will witness a quantum jump in volumes of business in the field of IT and IT-enable services.

“Visakhapatnam as an ideal IT hub is under-explored. The government should give us permission to allot the unused space at our units at Rushikonda IT SEZ to software firms from other places,” says Rushikonda IT Park Association president P. Vishnu Kumar Raju.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Visakhapatnam / by Santosh Patnaik / Visakhapatnam – August 02nd, 2013