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‘Kalaburagi is fast developing into a healthcare hub’

Records, All, Science & Technology
Vikram Siddareddy, general surgeon and director of United Hospital, counselling a patient during a free health check-up camp at United Hospital in Kalaburagi on Tuesday. | Photo Credit: ARUN KULKARNI
Vikram Siddareddy, general surgeon and director of United Hospital, counselling a patient during a free health check-up camp at United Hospital in Kalaburagi on Tuesday. | Photo Credit: ARUN KULKARNI

Referring to expanding healthcare facilities in Kalaburagi, Superintendent of Police N. Shashikumar on Tuesday said the city will become a healthcare hub in the Hyderabad Karnataka region. He was speaking on United Hospital premises after inaugurating a free health check-up camp organised to mark the seventh anniversary of the hospital here on Tuesday.

“With five medical colleges and a dozen private facilities, Kalaburagi is fast developing as a healthcare hub of Hyderabad Karnataka region, just as Manipal in coastal Karnataka and Davangere in central Karnataka regions. Several private players, such as United Hospital, are augmenting healthcare facilities in the region by offering quality services,” he said.

Commending the hospital for maintaining high standards of service and hospitality, the officer said he had not come across any instance of medical malpractice and resultant mass outburst against the hospital and its doctors. He called upon people to adopt a stress-free and healthy lifestyle to avoid visiting hospitals.

Managing director of the hospital Vikram Siddareddy spoke about how he started the venture from scratch seven years ago and developed it as one of the most sought after super-speciality centres for accident trauma and critical care in the region. “We have successfully performed 9,000 surgeries in the last seven years. The commitment and expertise of our team of doctors have earned us a special place in the field of accident trauma and emergency care,”he said.

Around a thousand people were screened and medicines were distributed to the needy for free during the camp.

State Bank of India’s divisional general manager A. Hussein, regional manager Prakash, United Hospital director Veena V. Siddareddy, doctors Mohammed Abdul Baseer, Raju Kulkarni, and Prashant R. Kulkarni, and manager Dawood Ali were among those present.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> State> Karnataka / by Staff Reporter / Kalaburagi – February 20th, 2019

Folk art forms come alive at women’s college in Mandya

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Education
Students of the Government College for Women participating in ‘Janapada Jatre’ in Mandya on Tuesday.
Students of the Government College for Women participating in ‘Janapada Jatre’ in Mandya on Tuesday.

‘Janapada Jatre’ held to create awareness among students

The rich culture, heritage and values of Karnataka’s folklore came alive during Janapada Jatre, a folk festival organised on the premises of the Government College for Women here on Tuesday.

The day-long event was organised to create awareness among students about fading or disappearing folk art forms. Folk expert Kyathanahalli Ramanna inaugurated the programme and addressed the students, colourfully dressed in saris and other traditional attires. The teaching and non-teaching staff also wore traditional clothes on the occasion.

Mr. Ramanna urged students to strive hard to protect folk art forms and cultures in the State.

A colourful procession, including a bullock cart and various folk troupes, was taken out on the Bengaluru-Mysuru highway.

Veeragarse Kunitha, Dollu Kunitha, Pata Kunitha, Puja Kunitha, Huli Kunitha (traditional tiger dance), Sobane Pada, Garatiya Hadugalu, Kanaja Puja, Dhanya Puja, and Hasemane Padya were performed during the event to enthusiastic applause from the audience that included students, lecturers and parents. There was also a rangoli drawing programme.

A “desi-style” mock wedding of two girls was also organised as part of the programme. Many girls opened stalls and sold home-made delicacies at the college.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Karnataka / by Special Correspondent / Mandya – February 20th, 2019

HAL-L&T consortium to start making PSLVs for ISRO soon

Business & Economy, Records, All, Science & Technology, World Opinion

Shekhar Srivastava said discussions were under way to assess the exact cost of each PSLV.

Army chief Gen Bipin Rawat gets into the cockpit of the Light Combat Aircraft Tejas during the Aero India show on Thursday | Nagaraja Gadekal
Army chief Gen Bipin Rawat gets into the cockpit of the Light Combat Aircraft Tejas during the Aero India show on Thursday | Nagaraja Gadekal

Bengaluru :

Soon, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) will start manufacturing the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle for the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). Recently, the public sector unit formed a consortium with Larsen and Tourbo for this purpose.

Speaking to Express, Shekhar Srivatsava, Chief Executive Officer of HAL’s Bengaluru Complex, said they were in the process of finalising an agreement with ISRO to start manufacturing the launch vehicles. “It is one of the prestigious projects we are associated with,” he said. To a question, he said that they were expecting to start production of the launch vehicles soon.

One of the primary objectives of outsourcing the manufacture of PSLVs to companies like HAL was to decrease their manufacturing costs. “ISRO still has to give us requirements on the number of launch vehicles they might require,” he said.

Considering the number of launches ISRO has every year, HAL is expecting an order of 12 PSLVs every year,he said.

Shekhar Srivastava said discussions were under way to assess the exact cost of each PSLV. HAL sources added that discussions were on and was expected to be finalised soon.

Earlier this year, ISRO chairman K Sivan had revealed that a consortium of HAL and L&T had approached ISRO after the space agency sought assistance from the public sector to manufacture PSLVs, in a bid to concentrate ISRO’s efforts towards research.

While Sivan had said that consortiums consisting of other companies too had approached the agency, HAL sources said they had all the required equipment and partners to produce the launch vehicles as per ISRO’s schedule and requirements.

The history of PSLV launchers in the country has been ISRO’s success story with the rocket emerging as the workhorse of India’s space programme. Chandrayaan-1 too was launched on a modified PSLV launcher in October 2008. Many low-earth orbit remote sensing and earth observing satellites have been launched on board the PSLV, which made its maiden launch in 1993.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Karnataka / by Akram Mohammed / Express News Service / February 22nd, 2019

IIM-B students’ bio-degradable innovation wins them national contest

Education, Records, All, Science & Technology

The team won a cash prize of `4.5 lakh and have reached out to various scientists to develop it further.

Jinit Dharia, Mit Parekh and Yash Parekh also won a cash prize of `4.5L
Jinit Dharia, Mit Parekh and Yash Parekh also won a cash prize of `4.5L

Bengaluru  :

In a mission to combat the issue of waste disposal faced by India, three Master of Business Administration (MBA) students from Indian Institute of Management – Bangalore (IIM-B) have developed a bio-degradable packaging material. This is to substitute single-use plastic.Jinit Dharia, Mit Parekh and Yash Parekh won the national finals of ‘The Ultimate Pitch 4.0’, a competition organised by Reliance Industries Limited.

“Our product is a packaging material made from agricultural waste and Mycelium, which is the vegetative part of mushroom. It will act as a glue and bind the substrate together. It is fully bio-degradable as compared to thermocol packaging, which take years to decompose,” said Yash.

The team won a cash prize of `4.5 lakh and have reached out to various scientists to develop it further. “We will take the help of two national incubation centres and scientists to create a commercially viable product. The incubators will help us source raw material to create it. Developing a product prototype will take another three months,” he said.  Once they scale it up, the students plan to promote the product among microentrepreneurs in rural areas surrounding industrial belts in the country.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Bengaluru / by Express News Service / February 19th, 2019

City-based service bridges gap between paediatric oncologists and patients

Records, All, Science & Technology

The current situation in the field of paediatric cancer care looks quite grim.

Bengaluru  :

The current situation in the field of paediatric cancer care looks quite grim. The number of cancer experts who specialise in paediatric cancer is limited. Furthermore, paediatric cancer experts are located only in tertiary referral centres in metropolitan cities and thus, have limited time and availability to treat children with cancer. All hope, however, is not lost. Paediatric cancer specialists anywhere in the world can now share their experience in guiding the treatment plan of children with cancer through Navya Care, a Bengaluru-based clinical informatics system and online expert opinion service.

GitikaBF26feb2019

“Most childhood cancers are curable and enabling infrastructure to deliver care to the children of our country, is of prime importance. Therefore, parents and social support systems should expedite to receive expert treatment plans and evidence-based care at the earliest instead of introducing any procedural delays,” said Gitika Srivastava, founder, Navya. She added that since time is essential, the service enables online reviews by cancer experts in 24 hours.

There are three million cancer patients in India and only 1,500 oncologists, and the number of experts specialising in a specific type of cancer is likely few tens or hundreds, she said. Over 28,000 patients have reached out to Navya, and 75 per cent of these patients are from India.

“There are 300 oncologists on board. Faculty oncologists at Tata Memorial Centre routinely use the Navya system for patients worldwide. Additionally, they are one of the flagship programmes of the National Cancer Grid, which comprise all of the leading tertiary care cancer expert centers from AIIMS in North India to Adyar Cancer Institute in South India,” stated Srivastava.

At their recent presentation at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium and the National Comprehensive Cancer Network Conference, Srivastava spoke about how 97 per cent patients in an international sample confirmed that even a day’s delay in knowing the treatment plan mattered to them. “They experienced significant anxiety relief because of the 24-hour turnaround of Navya.”

Challenges in paediatric cancer
Access to care:
Out of 100 oncologists, probably less than 10 treat paediatric cancers
Access to informed evidence-based expertise:
Treating paediatric cancer patients based on published medical evidence that pertains specifically to pediatric patients, is complex
Access to centres that can provide such care:
There are only a few tertiary care centres with dedicated paediatric disease management groups
Resource constraints:
In India, lack of resources prevents exploration of treatments available to cure children.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Bengaluru / by Akhila Damodaran / Express News Service / February 21st, 2019

An UAV that not only flies, but also remains under water

Education, Records, All, Science & Technology

UAVbf26feb2019

It has been developed by students of Bengaluru’s Sir M. Visvesvaraya Institute of Technology

Gannet, a sea bird, is known to pursue its prey under water and is capable of hunting fish by diving into the sea. This Gannet, however, is an unmanned aerial vehicle that is capable of remaining under water like a submarine.

Developed by students of Bengaluru’s Sir M. Visvesvaraya Institute of Technology, the UAV called Gannet on Sunday won the best college project award at Aero India 2019 and students walked away with a cash prize of ₹2 lakh. The UAV can not just fly, but also remains under water and does not require much power.

“It has a separate propeller to move under water and also has navigational wings for the autonomous mode,” said Shiv Varun Singh Rajput, a third year mechanical engineering student of MVIT. He along with D. Revanth, an electronics and communication student, and Aman Singh, student of electrical and electronics, have jointly developed Gannet. The vehicle, which weighs 2.6 kg, can go to a depth of up to 20 metres and can remain under water for months. When required, it can be triggered to move. It can fly for 14 to 20 minutes while can be operated under water for four to five hours.

Currently, Gannet is being incubated at the Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay to scale it up for commercialisation. “We are the first in the country to do an underwater vehicle. We do not want to keep this as a project but want to commercialise the product. It may take about four months to make it market ready,” he added.

Among others, the camera equipped Gannet has civilian application in fisheries industries and pollution monitoring of rivers. “You don’t require divers in many aspects. Instead, the UAV can be operated.”

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Karnataka / by Special Correspondent / Bengaluru – February 24th, 2019

Bengaluru mixologist in high spirits after big win

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Records, All

A 25-year-old bartender from Bengaluru, Rohan Matmary won the Brown-Forman American Whiskey Legacy Cocktail Challenge 2019 held in New Delhi on February 6.

Rohan Matmary
Rohan Matmary

Bengaluru :

A 25-year-old bartender from Bengaluru, Rohan Matmary won the Brown-Forman American Whiskey Legacy Cocktail Challenge 2019 held in New Delhi on February 6. The third edition of the challenge saw participation of 300 mixologists from Delhi, Chandigarh, Gurgaon, Pune, Mumbai, Goa, Chennai and Bengaluru and 17 of them were shortlisted for the finale.

The competition was judged by industry experts, including Yangdup Lama, one of India’s finest and well-known mixologist; Vikram Achanta, CEO and co-founder of the popular portal Tulleeho and Vinay Joshi, Brand Manager, Jack Daniel’s for Indian subcontinent and Maldives, Brown-Forman Worldwide LLC. The annual championship expects mixologists to create some signature cocktail recipes with some of the most well-known American whiskies. Matmary, a mixologist at the Byg Brewsky, Sarjapur Road, prepared Lillianaire and Aztec Mule at the finale. Lillianaire is a combination of whiskey, hibiscus plant and egg white and Aztec Mule is a mix of whiskey, pineapple, jaggery and jalapeño.

He says, “I created these cocktails over three months with several trials and errors and received feedback from my customers. Some said it’s spicy and others found them too sweet. So I worked on creating a balance between sweet and sour so that it suits the Indian palate. Indians prefer their drinks slightly sweeter, while Americans prefer it sour.” He adds that as these combinations for cocktails are rare, people were initially hesitant to try. Coming up with these recipes weren’t easy for Matmary. “These ingredients are a rare combination. Some, for example, would associate hibiscus with whiskey. So, I did a lot of trials before making these creations,” he says, adding that these cocktails will be included in the menu and patrons can try them with some meat options. “Lillianaire is quite velvety while Aztec Mule is very tiki-like, fun-loving and a good drink during a brunch,” he says. But, his personal favourite is
Aztec Mule.

This was the second time Matmary participated in this challenge. Last time, he secured the second position. “This time, luckily, I came first,” says Matmary, who has always been interested in bartending and loves trying out different combinations with whiskey and gin.

Now, the 25-year-old bar chef will go on a guided tour to the Jack Daniel Distillery in Lynchburg, Tennessee, and the Woodford Reserve Distillery in Versailles, Kentucky, USA. Besides the distilleries, he will also attend the Bar Convent Brooklyn, a leading international bar and beverage trade show, as part of a global bartending contingent and rub shoulders with some of the best bartenders globally.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Bengaluru / by Akhila Damodaran / Express News Service / February 18th, 2019

New haven for art

Arts, Culture & Entertainment
Art meets heritageAt Kadri Rocks / Special Arrangement
Art meets heritageAt Kadri Rocks / Special Arrangement

An old house is converted into an art gallery called Kadri Rocks

Whenever we think of an art gallery, our minds is flooded with the images of Venkatappa Art Gallery (Bengaluru) or Prince of Wales Art Gallery (Colaba, Mumbai). These galleries are housed in heritage buildings that have their own aura. Now even Mangaluru boasts of one such gallery, Kadri Rocks, which has an old world charm and also offers a glorious artistic space.

The D’Souza family has lived here for nearly a century. “The space has many memories associated with it, which is why I wanted to convert this house into something that everybody, art lover or otherwise, could enjoy, says Harsha D’Souza, proprietor of Kadri Rocks. “Hence, it was turned into an art gallery.”

At a time, when many have sold off their homes to make way for multi-storey buildings, Harsha wanted to use his home to promote art as he once dreamt of being an artist himself. “But life had different things in store for me.” Harsha chose to dedicate a large chunk of his land and the family home, in the uptown Mangaluru to art.

The brick red walls, red oxide floors, tiled roof, long corridors, spacious halls and verandas and wooden grilled windows give a perfect setting for an art gallery. But it is not the art on canvas alone that Kadri Rocks is looking at, Harsha is even open to letting out the space to basket weavers, potters, mural makers and so on.

“I learnt that basket weavers in coastal districts are a dying tribe. During a visit to Naravi, Hebri and Moodbidri, I discovered that basket weavers were disappearing by the day. Their children had gone to the city in search of jobs. We have a treasure trove of art, which is handed down for generations and it can be turned into an entrepreneurial venture.”

In another of his expeditions, Harsha came across a community of potters in Nilambur in Tamil Nadu who specialised in making clay murals. “Kadri Rocks will showcase their work,” Harsha says.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> MetroPlus / by M. Raghuram / February 25th, 2019

Lambani art soon in fashion spotlight

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy

The distinctive fabrics created by members of the Lambani community may soon get a global push, with the state government providing them assistance to work with the latest trends.

LambaniBF25feb2019

Bengaluru :

The distinctive fabrics created by members of the Lambani community may soon get a global push, with the state government providing them assistance to work with the latest trends. The Lambani women make colourful pieces of cloth, embellished with mirrors and embroidery.

The Department of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship and Livelihood has identified several traditional art forms, including Lambani embroidery, Bidri arts from Bidar, and wooden toys of Channapattana, which would receive encouragement from the state government.

It has decided to open ‘Traditional Art Skill Schools’ to revive these arts forms and promote artisans at Gadag, Hoovinahadagali in Harapanahalli taluk, Suryagondanahalli in Nymathi taluk and Kanakapura taluk. A government order to set up these training schools was issued recently.

Skill Development Minister Parameshwar Naik said many traditional art forms, which are part of our rich heritage, are vanishing. Artisans with no market for their products are moving to cities for work. “In a bid to stop them from migrating to the city, and renew the age-old crafts, we have started the training school where the government will upgrade their skills to cater to the present market,” he said.

Karnataka has the second largest population of Lambanis in India. Naik said they possess skills that are passed through generations. “To give their creations a modern look, we will sign up fashion designers who will train the Lambani women, giving them ideas about the colours and designs that are in trend now. A three-month residential programme will be conducted at our skill training schools,’’ he said.

 
After their training, the women will head back to their villages armed with raw material and financial assistance in form of loans. “These women can then make the cloth, which we will buy. These products will also be sent outside Karnataka and even the country, giving them a brand identity,’’ Naik said. The government will also provide them space at various art exhibitions to give them a market platform.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Bengaluru / by Ashwini M Sripad / Express News Service / February 25th, 2019

Bengaluru firm develops fire-fighting drone

Business & Economy, Records, All, Science & Technology

Drones delivering goods ordered online and being used to photograph exotic locations which are inaccessible to humans are already well known.

A heavy-lift hybrid drone developed by Poeir Jets
A heavy-lift hybrid drone developed by Poeir Jets

Bengaluru :

Drones delivering goods ordered online and being used to photograph exotic locations which are inaccessible to humans are already well known. How about a drone-based fire extinguisher that can reach any spot without the hassles faced by fire tenders or firemen?A Bengaluru-based aerospace firm — Poeir Jets — is developing heavy-lift hybrid drones for the purpose, which has already attracted the attention of a Spanish firm, Drone Hopper, for mass production.

Speaking to TNIE, Devathathan Mookiaha, director of Poeir Jets, said that the ‘Urban Firefighting Hopper’ is designed to restrain fires, especially in high-rise buildings. “The drone uses six micro-jet engines — developed by Poeir — to carry either extinguishing foam or water to douse flames,” he said.
The hopper is among the four heavy-lift drones being developed by the firm. “For the ‘Firefighting Hopper’, one-third of the research grant is being provided by the Department of Science and Technology,” he said.

Mookiaha and the firm’s co-founder Sridhar Balaram have been developing heavy-lift drones for the past three years and were the first company in the country to develop micro-jets. These micro-jets are being used for drones developed by the company.

Poeir Jets has also launched three heavy-lift drones during the ongoing 12th Aero India. While its Turbo Shaft MTS 30 will be able to carry weights of up to 200 kg when fully developed, Hybrid Drone DJE 30 has a capacity to carry weights of up to 75 kg for more than two hours.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Bengaluru / by Akram Mohammed / Express News Service / February 23rd, 2019