Monthly Archives: November 2015

A cab service for the disabled

Inspiration/ Positive News and Features, Travel

But funds crunch stalls an entrepreneur’s dream

DisabledBF25nov2015

Millions of differently-abled Indians are technically qualified with the necessary skills to be employable.

But most remain jobless since there are no vehicles to take them. A Bengalurean’s effort to bridge this glaring gap with a fleet of vans modified to accommodate wheelchairs has been grounded for long. Reason: No one wants to fund this initiative, even if the brains behind it is a startup activator himself.

The irony can’t be starker: Wheelchair-bound V Shakthi has been an inspiration for dozens of startups, linking them up with venture capitalists and startup activators. But he has been struggling to realise his vision for five years. Shakthi commutes in a modified cab, a prototype of sorts that could be replicated.

Shakthi explained the rationale behind a modified cab service: “Forty-eight per cent of the estimated 20 million differently- abled people in the country have the necessary skill sets needed to land a job. There are not even 100 of them employed across Bengaluru. Even the employed are stuck at one level, they never go up. Potential employers are ready if this commute issue is addressed.”

But modification is a costly affair. “If the vehicle cost is Rs 7 lakh, you ought to spend another Rs 6 lakh configuring it to accommodate three to four wheelchairs. Add the cost of engaging a driver who is sensitive to the needs of the disabled, maintenance and fuel, and it gets heftier,” said Shakthi. The total cost per vehicle could exceed Rs 12 lakh.

The project plan is modest: A fleet of two to three vehicles, which could be scaled up later. But no one wants to invest the Rs 25 lakh required to get it going. Investors, said Shakthi, insist on a mobile-first, app-based version. Some have even declared it impractical without giving it a thought. Others say it is a service line and not worth an investment.

Undaunted, Shakthi wants to go ahead even if it means hard self-financing. “Even if it takes five to six years, I want to do it for the differently-abled but skilled people,” said the man, who is also the most followed differently-abled Indian on the Internet. He has 1.65 lakh Twitter followers.

Buildings and public infrastructure in Bengaluru are notoriously inaccessible to the disabled. Footpaths, bus stops and other public spaces pose mounting challenges to the visually challenged and the physically disabled. Access audits have repeatedly drawn attention to these glaring lacunae with little effect.

source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> States / by Rasheed Kappan, Bengaluru / DHNS – November 19th, 2015

‘Black Velvet’ all set to ‘Make A Difference’ with their charity gig on Saturday

Arts, Culture & Entertainment

Mangaluru :

This weekend, Namma Kudla’s own rock band Black Velvet will give Gen Next a chance to literally ‘Make A Difference’ (MAD) at Benefica, a fund raiser at Alvares Farmhouse at Vamanjoor. Courtesy MAD, a youth-driven, non-profit organization, music loving youths attending the charity gig will not only ensure that they get full paisa vasool grooving to some chill-worthy sound tracks, but also ensure their contribution helps MAD financially.

Together with MAD, Mangaluru, Black Velvet aims to make Benefica an event like no other. Benefica is a huge departure from humble fundraisers that MAD, Mangaluru has organized before. “Benefica is bigger, bolder and better than anything before,” noted Anna Crasta, city team lead for MAD, Mangaluru. Adding to highlight is a special performance by the dance crew Friction. There will also be food stalls to satisfy one’s gastronomic cravings, she assures.

Benefica is essentially an event dedicated to the community – an event to celebrate Mangaloreans as folks who are truly capable of giving back to the society. Gains of the charity will go to the children at risk in shelter homes across Mangaluru, Anna Crasta said. To gain entry to the fun-filled event, one may call 9886691940 to obtain advance passes. Early-bird tickets are priced at Rs.300. Tickets will also be available at the venue for Rs 500, she noted.

Rayan D’Souza of Black Velvet said band members consist of fresh-faced youths – Ria D’Souza and Danny J on vocals. Rayan himself plays the keyboard with Jill D’Souza on drums Joswin D’Cunha on lead-guitar and Floyd Pereira on bass. The band revives tracks ranging from pop, rock and funk to EDM. The proceeds will go to MAD, Mangaluru who are currently working with three shelter homes across the city, he said, adding the band is happy to do its bit.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Mangaluru / Jaideep Shenoy, TNN / November 19th, 2015

Compassion for a cause

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Inspiration/ Positive News and Features, World Opinion

Udaan, a skit to create awareness on special children will be staged this Saturday at Orion Mall

Child empowerment is the underlying message of Udaan says Sujatha
Child empowerment is the underlying message of Udaan says Sujatha

Udaan, directed by Sujatha Balakrishnan and written by Rebecca Ananya Mathias, an engineering student from MSRIT, is an awareness skit on special children. Udaan, in Hindi, means to fly, but also stands for undoubtedly differently-abled amazing nebulae.

The skit is an awareness initiative by Soroptimist International of Bangalore, a global organisation of women in diverse walks of life working on the upliftment of women and children from less privileged backgrounds.

Sujatha, a former teacher and counsellor for children with learning disabilities, joined SI, Bangalore in 2004 and is their Immediate Past President. “We focus on the three Es: educate, empower and enable. Women’s empowerment is the core vision.” She speaks with passion about the skit and the cause for special children. “I am an advocate of inclusive education. I go every year to the U.S., where my daughter lives, and volunteer in public schools there. There children are accepted as they are. You don’t label them.”

The multi-faceted Sujatha, who has done a lot of theatre, says the art form is a powerful medium of expression. “Theatre done for a social cause is not just for entertainment, but goes beyond that. Working on this play has been a dream of mine. The children and parents were so enthusiastic. I got an overwhelming response from them.”

Sujatha says the script is very powerful. “The protagonist is Tara, she’s autistic. Eighty per cent of the characters are real. The teacher in the play has a theatre connection too. She is the primary caregiver for her sister who has Down’s syndrome sister. A teenage boy plays Tara in scenes three and four. His brother goes to Spastics Society.” Another highlight of the play is a rap song written by Sujatha. “Special children are a delight, in their own right. Show them that you are there, whenever they need your care”….goes the first line, followed by rhyming gems of compassion. “I just sat down one day to write and the song just flowed. We plan to showcase this with the children coming with placards with each line written on them.” Sujatha concludes with a quote by anonymous: “Children with special needs aren’t sent to special parents. They make parents special”.

Udaan will be staged at Orion mall amphitheatre on November 21 at 6 p.m. Entry is free.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindi / Home> Features> MetroPlus / by Sravasti Datta / Bangalore – November 18th, 2015

MLA inaugrates Art Gallery at Dasara Expo

Arts, Culture & Entertainment
Picture shows the miniature portraits of dignitaries painted ‘inside’ the bottles
Picture shows the miniature portraits of dignitaries painted ‘inside’ the bottles

Mysuru :

Miniature portraits of dignitaries like Mahatma Gandhi, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, Dr. A.P.J. Adbul Kalam and Srikanta Datta Narasimharaja Wadiyar, painted inside bottles by a Hassan-based artist Anand are among hundreds of paintings on display at the Art Gallery set up by the Dasara Exhibition Fine Arts and Handicrafts Sub-Committee at Kannada Karanji Bhavan at the Exhibition Grounds in city.

Inaugurating the gallery by lighting the traditional lamp at the premises yesterday evening, Chamaraja MLA Vasu said that Mysuru, right from the days of the Maharajas, is known for patronising Fine Arts and Handicrafts and added that Handicraft Industry in the State in general and Mysuru in particular, had great scope for improvement as art pieces are much sought after by tourists who visit the city.

Citing the phenomenal growth of Ramsons Kala Pratishtana in city, Vasu said that artefacts of Mysuru had acquired fame at international levels and urged artists to realise the same and make efforts to emulate the Pratishtana.

Works of artisans from many parts of the State are on show at the Gallery where pieces of Fine Arts, Photographs, Computer Graphic and other forms of Arts are on display.

KEA Chairman R. Murthy, CEO Shashikumar, MDJA President K.Deepak, Artist Badal Nanjundaswamy, Sub-Committee President C.S. Raghu, Working President Srinivas, Member-Secretary Shivakumar and others were present.

Chitra Santhe and Handicrafts Mela: Briefing SOM after the inaugural ceremony, Committee President Raghu said that the Committee plans to organise a State-level Chitra Santhe in December before organising a State-level Handicrafts Mela later.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> General News / Wednesday – November 18th, 2015

Agri Scientist Laxmipathi Gowda awarded two Fellowships

Green Initiatives / Environment, Inspiration/ Positive News and Features, Leaders, Nature, Science & Technology

Mysuru :

Mysuru-based renowned agriculture scientist Dr. C. L. Laxmipathi Gowda has been conferred Fellowships of two prestigious agriculture research professional bodies in 2015.

In January this year, Dr. Laxmipathi Gowda was elected as a Fellow of the National Academy of Agricultural Sciences (NAAS) based in New Delhi. The Academy is a national level body in India devoted to agricultural sciences. The Fellows of the Academy are recognised for their contributions to science, and includes distinguished personalities in the field of Agriculture and Allied Sciences, both from India and abroad.

Early this week, the American Society of Agronomy (ASA) awarded him the Fellowship of American Society of Agronomy during the Annual Meeting held at the Hilton Minneapolis, Minneapolis, USA. The ASA is a progressive international scientific society that fosters the transfer of knowledge and practices to sustain global agriculture dedicated to advancing the field of agronomy in relation to soils, crop production, environmental quality, ecosystem sustainability, bioremediation, waste management, recycling, and wise land use.

Dr. Laxmipathi Gowda was formerly Deputy Director General-Research, ICRISAT, Hyderabad. As Coordinator of the Cereals and Legumes Asia Network (CLAN) he helped strengthen the national research-for-development (R4D) capacity of national agriculture research systems (NARS) in 12 countries in Asia.

As chickpea breeder he also helped 30 national programmes in Asia and Africa to select and release 70 improved, high-yielding and disease resistant chickpea (Bengal gram or Chana) varieties (both Desi and Kabuli types) that were adopted by smallholder farmers extensively leading to increased food production.

He has received more than 30 awards and recognitions from many countries and professional bodies. Recently, the Government of Karnataka nominated him as a Member of the Vision Group on Agriculture chaired by Prof. M. S. Swaminathan.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> General News / Wednesday – November 18th, 2015

City scientist among Infy Prize winners

Records, All, Science & Technology, World Opinion

Bengaluru :

The Infosys Science Foundation, on Monday, announced the winners of the 2015 Infosys Prize. Each prize carries a cash award of Rs 65 lakh and a gold medallion.

Bengaluru-based scientist Umesh Waghmare of the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR) has won the prize in engineering and computer science, while five others won in categories like humanities, life sciences, mathematical sciences, physical sciences and social sciences (see list).

From a monk to an ex-army officer, the award winners are a mix of people. Even their works cover a good range from analytical Indian philosophy to the atomic structure of the killer malaria parasite and India’s foreign and security policies to geometric group theory. But no woman has made the cut this time.

The winners were selected by six jury committees headed by experts in their fields. The jury chairs are Prof Pradeep K. Khosla (University of California, San Diego) for Engineering and Computer Science; Prof Amartya Sen (Harvard University) for Humanities; Inder Verma (Salk Institute of Biological Sciences) for Life Sciences; Prof Srinivasa S R Varadhan (New York University) for Mathematical Sciences; Prof Shrinivas Kulkarni (California Institute of Technology) for Physical Sciences; and Prof Kaushik Basu (The World Bank) for Social Sciences.

The six winners were selected from 206 nominations -44 in engineering; 32 in humanities; 42 in life sciences; 27 in mathematical sciences; 40 in physical sciences and 20 in social sciences.

S D Shibulal, president, Board of Trustees, Infosys Science Foundation, said, “We set up the Infosys Science Foundation and instituted the Infosys Prize to restore the romance of research. As we move into our seventh year, the Infosys Science Foundation continues to foster a culture of scientific thinking through various initiatives.”

Infosys founder NR Narayana Murthy said: “Today, Infosys Prize is the prize for science and research. There is a lot of influence that this lends and we are happy to be encouraging people to do better. Some of the people who were recognised first by us have gone on to win international awards.Manjul Bhargava, for example, went on to win the Fields Medal.”

The awards will be handed over on February 13, 2016, at a function in New Delhi.

THE IGNITED MINDS

PROF UMESH WAGHMARE | Engineering

and Computer Science A professor at the Theoretical Sciences unit of JNCASR, Umesh Waghmare has been researching on designing new materials, among other things. He has been awarded for his innovative use of theories and models in probing microscopic mechanisms responsible for the way materials like topological insulators ferroelectrics, multiferroics and graphene behave. The materials are then suitably designed for better use.

AMIT SHARMA | Life Sciences

He is a Group Leader, Structural and Computational Biology Group, International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB), New Delhi. Amit Sharma has been awarded for his pioneering contributions towards deciphering the molecular structure, at the atomic level, of key proteins involved in the biology of pathogenesis of the deadly malarial parasite.

PROF MAHAN MAHARAJ | Mathematical Sciences

Mahan Maharaj, monk and Associate Professor of Mathematics at the Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda University, Belur Math, Howrah, has been honoured for his contributions to geometric group theory, low dimensional topology and complex geometry. He established a central conjecture in the Thurston programme to study hyperbolic 3-manifolds and introduced important new tools to study fundamental groups of complex manifolds.

PROF JONARDON GANERI | Humanities

A Global Network Visiting Professor of Philosophy, New York University, and Recurrent Visiting Professor at the Department of Philosophy, King’s College London, Jonardon Ganeri has been honoured for his outstanding scholarship and originality in interpreting and scrutinizing analytical Indian Philosophy. His efforts in shedding light on shared ground as well as the dichotomy between Indian and Greek traditions of philosophical reasoning have been acknowledged as well.

PROF G RAVINDRA KUMAR | Physical Sciences

Ravindra Kumar, professor in the Department of Nuclear and Atomic Physics (DNAP), Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Mumbai, has been awarded for his pioneering experimental contributions to the physics of high intensity laser matter interactions.

SRINATH RAGHAVAN | Social Sciences

Srinath Raghavan is an ex-army officer and Senior Fellow, Centre for Policy Research, New Delhi.

He has bagged the award for outstanding research that synthesizes military history, international politics and strategic analysis into powerful and imaginative perspectives on India in global context. He has written three books focusing on foreign policy and military history in South Asia.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Bengaluru / TNN / November 17th, 2015

Children’s Day : 4 from City receive State Honour

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, Inspiration/ Positive News and Features, Records, All
Aprameya Karthik, Abhigya Anand, Rea Elizabeth & Dhanush
Aprameya Karthik, Abhigya Anand, Rea Elizabeth & Dhanush

Mysuru :

Four children from city were among 25 children from across the State, who were felicitated for their achievements in the respective fields on the occasion of Children’s Day celebrations at Jawahar Bal Bhavan in Bengaluru on Saturday. City’s young artists Aprameya Karthik, N. Danush, Abhigya Anand and Rea Elizabeth Acchaiah were felicitated by Women and Child Welfare Minister Umashree during the event.

S.R. Aprameya Karthik, a student of Maharshi Public School in city, has drawn more than 3,000 different sketches of Lord Ganesha and also holds a national record for the same. He is the son of S. Ramanathan and M.V. Anitha, residents of J.P. Nagar here.

N. Dhanush, an 8th student of Manasarowar Pushkarini Vidyashrama, is an upcoming singer. Danush has participated in many competitions and won prizes. He is the son of A.N. Nanje Gowda and T.S. Sudha, both teachers as Shiskarni Central School in Hebbal and Government Higher Primary School, Manchegowdana Koppal, respectively.

Abhigya Anand, a 6th std. student at the Government Higher Primary School in Bastipura in Srirangapatna Taluk, developed interest in Bhagavad Gita and has learnt all the chapters of the Holy Book.

He also conducts free Bhagavad Gita classes at Sri Krishna Temple in Gokulam everyday during which he teaches the chanting of slokas and also gives lectures on ill-effects of consuming junk food. Abhigya is also pursuing PG Diploma in Aryuvedic Microbiology. He is the son of Anand Ramasubramanian and Annu Anand, residents of Hebbal.

The other child prodigy from Mysuru to receive the award was Rea Elizabeth Acchaiah, a 9th std. student of St. Joseph Central School in Vijayanagar. She was awarded for her achievements in Roller-Skating. Rea is the daughter of Acchaiah and Priya, residents of Vijayanagar.

Among the awardees were 10-year-old M. Siddesh and 11-year-old Siya Vamanasa Khoday, who risked their lives to save people. They were felicitated with the ‘State Bravery Award’ on the occasion.

Governor Vajubhai R. Vala honoured M. Siddesh, a resident of Avaragere in Davanagere with the prestigious award for risking his life to save passengers traveling in the Harihara-Chitradurga Passenger Train on Mar. 15, 2015. Siddesh, who noticed craks on the railway track near Avaragere, quickly removed his red shirt and started waving at the train, thus averting a major mishap.

Siya Vamanasa Khoday from Dharwad, who also received the Bravery Award, had saved her younger brother Kumara Yallappa when he had come in contact with the live-wire while playing at the terrace of his house in Dharwad.

The State Government also honoured four organisations and four individuals working for the welfare of children namely Ranga Kahale (Bengaluru), Belagavi Roller Skating Akademi (Belagavi), Samruddhi Charitable Trust (Bidar) and Sneha Sadana (Mangaluru), K. Prabha Narayanagowda (Chikkaballapur), Parampalli Narasimha Aital (Udupi), Ismail Moulasab Ukkali (Vijayapura) and Mehaboob Killedar (Koppal).

While the organisations received a cash prize of Rs. One lakh each, individuals were given Rs. 25,000 each.

The other children who received award are: Pranil Satare (Shivamogga), Deeksha Moolya (Udupi), N.B. Pragathi (Bengaluru), B. Likhith (Bengaluru), M. Panchami (Moodabidri), D.S. Bhoomika (Ballari), Sahana (Ballari), M.V. Alok Parla (Davanagere), Surakshit Gowda (Kolar), G. Gagana (Udupi), S.S. Gautham (Madikeri), Mohammed Suhail (Mandya), R.P. Rahul (Bagalkot), M. Mohammed (Raichur), Ganashri (Doddaballapur), J. Nihal (Tumakuru), Meghana (Chitradurga), Amruth Nagesh (Dharwad), K.G. Ananya (Hassan), M. Dhruthi (Dakshina Kannada), Yashaswi Ajit Kumar (Gadag) and Anthakarna (Shivamogga).

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> General News / Monday – November 16th, 2015

2-Day National Workshop on Sericulture from tomorrow

Business & Economy

Union Textile Minister Santosh Kumar Gangwar to inaugurate

Central Silk Board Member Secretary Dr. H. Nagesh Prabhu is seen addressing the press meet in city this morning
Central Silk Board Member Secretary Dr. H. Nagesh Prabhu is seen addressing the press meet in city this morning

Mysuru :

The two-day National Workshop on ‘Innovative Technologies and Best Practices in Sericulture,’ organised by Central Silk Board, Ministry of Textiles, Govt. of India, will be inaugurated by Union Minister of State for Textiles Santosh Kumar Gangwar at Central Silk Board premises on Manandawadi Road, said Central Silk Board Member Secretary Dr. H. Nagesh Prabhu. Addressing presspersons at Pathrakartara Bhavan here this morning, he said that the Minister would also lay foundation stone for Silk Mega Cluster in Mysuru.

Dr. Nagesh added that Dr. Sanjay Kumar Panda would deliver a keynote address on ‘Emerging Challenges of Sericulture in India’ and a booklet ‘Awardees of Excellence in Sericulture-2015,’ New Mulberrry Varieties and Silkworm Breeds will be released by the Union Minister on the occasion.

The Central Silk Board will also present awards for Excellence in Sericulture to the selected silkworm farmers. Baburao Chinchansur, Minister for Textiles, Ports and Inland Transport, Government of Karnataka, Animal Husbandry and Sericulture Minister A. Manju and MP Pratap Simha will be the guests of honour.

Organisers have also invited experts from across the country to deliberate on various topics related to sericulture.

Central Silk Board Joint Secretary K.K. Shetty, Director Shivaprasad were present during the press meet.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> General News / Monday – November 16th, 2015

Prof. Usha Rani to United Nations

Education, World Opinion

Mysuru :

Dr. N. Usha Rani, Professor, Department of Communication and Journalism, University of Mysore, has been awarded with ICSSR fellowship to do research work in United Nations, Geneva, Switzerland.

She will leave for Geneva today, for four weeks to study international perspective on Media and Social Development.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> In Brief / November 16th, 2015

Cash from scrap: three IIT graduates show the way

Business & Economy, Green Initiatives / Environment, Inspiration/ Positive News and Features

EncasheaBF16nov2015

You can now book an appointment with a raddiwala on an Android app, after which professionals turn up at your apartment and collect scrap and pay you a handsome amount too. Three Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) graduates, who quit their cushy corporate jobs and turned raddiwalas, have made this possible. The three – Priyank Jain (IIT Kharagpur), Harshal Chowdary (IIT Madras), and Rahul Jaiswal (IIT Kanpur), who worked in various technology firms, are now excited at the good response to their startup, encashea.com.

They started it in August by collecting scrap from residents of apartment complexes.

Presently, the firm is providing service to only apartment complexes in the south-eastern part of the city.

Mr. Jain said that it all started with the residents of high-rise apartment complexes finding it difficult to dispose off scrap. “We identified that residents of apartments had very restricted access to raddiwalas due to their secluded nature. It was a gap in the market which we decided to fill,” he said.

The firm has trained around 10 pick-up boys to professionally collect scrap from households. They operate the app, evaluate the worth of scrap and generate a digital invoice. The firm segregates and sells the waste to secondary recyclers.

Mr. Jain said that unlike most of the disruptive technology aggregators coming up, they were a logistics firm with operations on the ground.

He said a resident sold them over 100 kg of newspaper he had stacked up in his house for want of better avenues to dispose it. “Such avenues will encourage segregation of dry waste and wet waste in the house every day. Moreover, there is no guarantee that the e-waste that you sell a raddiwalah will be disposed off responsibly. We ensure that,” he said.

Ragpickers were the pioneers

The first to start such doorstep waste management in the city were ragpickers themselves, trained by Hasiru Dala.

Total Waste Management started a year-and-a-half ago. Today, it services 77 apartments in J.P. Nagar and Whitefield areas. You can book an appointment on the Total Waste Management app, and ragpickers arrive to educate and manage your waste — a 360 degree service, including wet waste.

The ragpickers visit these apartments twice a week and help the residents in composting as well, apart from collecting all dry waste and scrap.

Nalini Sekhar of Hasiru Dala, said that the very fact that ragpickers go to these apartments with uniforms and use an app to calculate the value of the waste has given them immense confidence. She also said that only Total Waste Management collects all waste from the residents and not cherry pick. “Regular raddiwalas also take only high-value waste like metal and paper, leaving behind low-value waste which attains a critical mass. In our model, high-value waste subsidises low-value waste,” she said.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Bengaluru / by K.V. Aditya Bharadwaj / Bengaluru – November 16th, 2015