Samskruthi-Women Sphere formed in city

Business & Economy
A group photo of Samskruthi-Women Sphere members with the guests during the inaugural function.
A group photo of Samskruthi-Women Sphere members with the guests during the inaugural function.

Mysore :

Indian women are thought to be home-makers, care-takers, responsible for the family and children, but they are never seen as leaders, change-makers, or the drivers of economic engine. It is time for the Indian women to emerge from the shadow and make a mark for themselves.

Samskruthi-Women Sphere, an organisation formed by 20 like-minded women to bring a change in society, was inaugurated at a function held at The Quorum Hotel in city on Feb.12. Their motto is to do service, women empowerment, motivate women in business and self employment. After the inauguration, the organisation enrolled 217 members. The organisation helps women entrepreneurs by conducting exhibitions and displaying their products in public; contact rural women who manufacture in small groups and help them by giving place in the exhibitions; conduct programmes for the professional up-gradation of women. It also intends to serve mentally challenged children and promote education for girl child in rural areas.

On the eve of the inauguration, Samskruthi-Women Sphere adopted a specially abled child ‘Aishwarya,’ from ‘Swasahaya Samuchaya,’ who lost her father and whose mother is unemployed.

Samskruthi-Women Sphere is a non-aided organisation. Women who are interested to join hands with this organisation may contact President Sridevi S. Bhoopalam on Mob: 98452-32269; Secretary Nanda Lokesh on Mob: 98448-45028 or Treasurer Archana Basavaraj on Mob: 94801-90666.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> General News / February 18th, 2014

Legendary vocalist R. K. Srikantan no more

Arts, Culture & Entertainment

SrikantanBF24feb2014

Bangalore :

Legendary Karnatak vocalist R.K. Srikantan passed away at a private hospital in Seshadripuram yesterday night. He was 94.

His son R.K. Kumar said that Srikantan was admitted to the hospital on Friday due to congestion in the lungs and low blood pressure which further deteriorated his condition. He passed away yesterday night at 9 pm, he added.

He leaves behind his wife, two sons and five daughters. The singer had gone to Hyderabad to give a performance about 15 days ago and had developed complications, including lung infection soon after his return.

On Jan. 14, the doyen turned 94 and his birthday celebrations had seen the release of a biography, “Voice of a Generation.”

Born to Rudrapatna Krishna Shastry and Sannakka on Jan.14, 1920, at Rudrapatna in Hassan, Srikantan lost his mother when he was two-years-old. His father brought him up and trained him in Karnatak music and most of his early training happened on the banks of River Cauvery. His performance was a must at all functions of the Wadiyar Kings. Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar was his fan. He was decorated with over 50 National and State awards, including the Padma Bhushan (1995) and Karnataka Sangeetha Nritya Akademy award (1981). Srikantan, on Sept. 3, 2013 was presented with Chembai Swamy Puraskaram by legendary singer K. J. Yesudas.

His daughter Ratnamala Prakash is an accomplished Sugama Sangeetha singer. He has set to tune poems of litterateurs Masti Venkatesha Iyengar, Kuvempu, Adiga, P.T. Narasimhachar, Kuvempu, Da. Ra. Bendre and DVG; and several vachanas.

Describing Srikantan as a legend, vocalist R.K. Padmanabha said: “Even at the ripe age of 94, he was able to give concerts. He was a perfect vocalist and a great sadhaka.”

The funeral will be held today.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> General News / February 18th, 2014

Satya Nadella, Manipal University alumni named 3rd Microsoft CEO

Amazing Feats, Education, Inspiration/ Positive News and Features, Leaders, Nri's / Pio's, Records, All, Science & Technology, World Opinion
Satya Nadella
Satya Nadella

Bringing great pride to India, Hyderabad born Satya Nadella has been selected as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at Microsoft Corporation. Having worked at Microsoft for 22 years, the 46-year old Nadella is the third leader of the software magnet, after Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer. Although without the clichéd pedigree of IIT/IIM, Nadella has risen to great heights following his graduation in Engineering from Manipal University.

‘Satya is a proven leader with hard-core engineering skills, business vision and the ability to bring people together,’ Gates said in a statement.

Professors at Manipal University Tuesday voiced happiness at alumnus Satya Nadella being named the new Microsoft chief and remembered him as a quiet student with a keen eye for detail.

Vinod V. Thomas, his teacher at Manipal Institute of Technology (MIT), remembered Nadella as a “sincere, quiet student in his college days who earned his degree in first class with distinction”.

“It is a great moment which makes every MITians proud..” said Thomas, now the MIT director.

The university rejoiced at the new responsibility for Nadella, who was part of the 1988 batch in Bachelor of Engineering in Electronics & Communication, terming it a great day for the university.

“Yes, it is a great day for Manipal University. Every single student, past and present will cherish this glorious moment. Satya’s great achievement has done Manipal Institute of Technology and Manipal University proud,” said Chancellor Ramdas M. Pai.

“This is the biggest event for Manipal University. Over the last three months, when his name was shortlisted for the job, we have been hoping and praying that Satya would get the job. Today is a red letter day in the history of Manipal University,” Pai said, according to a varsity statement.

School of Information Sciences director Harishchandra Hebbar, who taught digital electronics to Nadella, said: “As a student he had a keen eye for details. He would always want to know the how and why of everything that was being taught in the class. He never would take the next step without fully knowing the step he has already taken.”

After completing his BE here at MIT, Nadella went to the US and completed his master’s degree in computer science from the University of Wisconsin and a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Chicago. He has been with Microsoft for 22 years.

source: http://www.indiatoday.intoday.in / IndiaToday.inEducation / Home> New>Story / India Today Online / New Delhi / February 05th, 2014

Biocon and US-based Baxter open research centre in Bangalore

Business & Economy, Science & Technology, World Opinion

The centre will engage in a wide range of R&D activities centred on product and analytical development and preclinical evaluation in parenteral nutrition and renal therapy.

Syngene , a wholly-owned subsidiary of Biocon Ltd and a contract research organisation, and Baxter International Inc, a leading global pharmaceutical company, have established the Baxter Global Research Center (BGRC) at Syngene, in Bangalore.

BGRC at Syngene is a part of Baxter’s global strategy of building R&D collaborations with strategic partners. This collaboration will support Baxter in the R&D of medical products and devices to serve patients both in India and around the world.

A team of over 100 multidisciplinary Syngene scientists will be based at this dedicated centre in Biocon Park, Bangalore. The Syngene team, working closely with Baxter scientists, will engage in a wide range of R&D activities centred on product and analytical development and preclinical evaluation in parenteral nutrition and renal therapy.

Jean-Luc Butel, Corporate Vice President & President – International, Baxter, said, “Baxter is pleased to be part of the opening of this Syngene facility dedicated to providing Baxter with technical and scientific capabilities that will augment our own internal resources. Baxter is committed to helping save and sustain patients’ lives worldwide, and innovation is the driver of success in this area.”

Kiran Mazumdar Shaw , Chairperson, Biocon, stated, “Biocon is pleased to partner with Baxter through its research services arm, Syngene. We share a common vision with Baxter, focused on developing pharmaceutical products that advance patient care worldwide and this new research centre will be a significant step towards enabling that objective.”

Commenting on the collaboration, Peter Bains, Director, Syngene International Limited, said, “The scale and scope of activities signal the strategic nature of the collaboration and also reflect Syngene’s capabilities to offer broad based complimentary integrated development services. We look forward to working closely with Baxter’s scientists to support advancing their R&D goals.”

source: http://www.business-standard.com / Business Standard / Home> B2B Connect> B2B Chemicals> News on Chemical Industry / A Commercial Feature – Special on Chemicals / B2B Bureau – Bangalore, February 05th, 2014

Now, work out at Ulsoor lake

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Green Initiatives / Environment, Nature, Sports, Travel
Ulsoor residents and police personnel using the open air gym at Ulsoor Lake in Bangalore on Wednesday. — Photo: Sampath Kumar G.P./ The Hindu
Ulsoor residents and police personnel using the open air gym at Ulsoor Lake in Bangalore on Wednesday. — Photo: Sampath Kumar G.P./ The Hindu

Inauguration of gym marked by controversy over poster

The park adjoining Ulsoor Lake, popular among walkers and laughter clubs, is now an open air gymnasium. On Wednesday, the gymnasium, which sports the latest equipment, was inaugurated.

The project was jointly undertaken by the Bruhath Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), the Halasuru Lake Residents Welfare Association and realty group RMZ Corp. This is the fifth such outdoor gym in the city.

Imported from Turkey, the equipment in the gym cost over Rs. 20 lakh. It was inaugurated by Rajeev Gowda, Professor of Economics and Social Sciences, Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore.

Mr. Gowda said, “These projects show contribution and commitment to fitness and exercise which is much needed in today’s society.”

Enthused Ulsoor residents feel the project would bring people together and would be of help to senior citizens. “Senior citizens would prefer to exercise out in the open rather than in a gym. Also, we want people from all walks of life to come together and utilise this facility,” said Deepak Khatri, a resident of Ulsoor.

Meanwhile, the inauguration saw some tense moments when some political activists, who identified themselves as supporters of area MLA R. Roshan Baig tore down some posters put up by organisers. They claimed that the fact that Mr. Baig’s picture was not on the poster, which featured Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy, had angered him and his supporters. Another allegation was that the posters featured the logo of RMZ prominently, while the BBMP logo was either too small or absent.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities / by Staff Reporter / Bangalore – February 06th, 2014

Bangalore’s rose exports bloom ahead of Valentine’s Day

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, Green Initiatives / Environment, Nature, World Opinion
Roses are grown on nearly 250 hectares in and around Bangalore, while the daily production is around 15 lakh stems./ Photo: Bhagya Prakash K. / The Hindu
Roses are grown on nearly 250 hectares in and around Bangalore, while the daily production is around 15 lakh stems./ Photo: Bhagya Prakash K. / The Hindu

Around five million roses are expected to be exported from Bangalore

With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, nearly five million roses are expected to be exported from Bangalore, which produces the best varieties in India.

C.G. Nagaraju, managing director, International Flower Auction Bangalore (IFAB) Ltd., told reporters here on Wednesday that roses were grown on nearly 250 hectares in and around Bangalore, while the daily production was around 15 lakh stems. The varieties that are in demand are ‘Taj Mahal’, ‘Grand Gala’ and ‘First Red’.

He said while roses did not have a market all round the year, they were in demand on certain days, such as Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day. “This year, due to harsh weather in Europe, we expect increased exports of long-stemmed roses. The increase is likely to be between 20 to 25 per cent from last year when four million stems were exported,” he said.

Major exports are made to European countries, Gulf countries, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and Malaysia. Increased exports are also being attributed to the Valentine’s Day weekend.

Mr. Nagaraju said that even locally, the sale of roses had picked up. With the wedding season a month away, the sale of roses was likely to see an increase. During Valentine’s Day, 25 lakh long-stemmed roses are expected to be sold locally.

V. Jhansi Lakshmi, vice-president of the South India Floriculture Association, said the floriculture industry would grow with good support from both the Union and State governments by having a single window system for the export of flowers. Customs and phytosanitation should be under a single window, and airfreight rates must be subsidises and import duties exempted, she said.

IFAB’s executive member M. Sridhar Chowdary said that in India, varieties that were developed nearly 10 years ago were cultivated. Indian growers face stiff competition from growers in Kenya, Ethiopia and China, where newer varieties were cultivated. “The biggest challenge is the royalty that growers will have to pay to cultivate the new varieties. It has to be resolved,” he added.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> National> Karnataka / by Staff Reporter / Bangalore – February 06th, 2014

UL DQS India releases the first AS 9120 certification for Noble Aerospace in India

Records, All, Science & Technology, World Opinion

UL DQS India releases the first AS 9120 certification for Noble Aerospace in India
• First of its kind certification released by UL DQS India
• Noble Aerospace is only the second company to receive this certification in the country
Bangalore :

UL DQS India, the Indian subsidiary of DQS Holdings GmBH has awarded AS 9120 certification to Noble Aerospace today. This is the first time UL DQS India is releasing this certificate and Noble Aerospace is only the second company to receive this certification in India. This standard is for use by organizations that procure parts, materials and assemblies and sells these products to a customer in the Aerospace industry. This includes organizations that procure products and split them into smaller quantities.

This certification includes ISO 9001quality management system requirements and specifies additional requirements for a quality management system for the aerospace industry applicable to stockists and distributors.

“UL DQS India has taken a step forward by releasing AS 9120 certification in India. The auditing was lead by Krishna Kamath, who is the only Indian and is among the 37 auditors in Aerospace Practice across the world to have been qualified for all the three Aerospace standards (AS9110, AS9120 and AS9100).” said Dr K Murugan, CEO & MD, UL DQS India.

“It was a unique experience to audit Nobel Aerospace. The process to determine counterfeit, suspect and unapproved parts including the requirements of reporting such detection was very exhaustive and effective. All the applicable clauses were audited for compliance and effectiveness and was found to be as per the requirements.” said Mr Krishna Kamath – Head Aerospace Practice, UL DQS India.

source: http://www.openpr.com / OpenPR / Home> CET-Logistics & Transport / from K2 Communications / Bangalore – February 03rd, 2014 

Karnataka captain Vinay joins greats Kumble, Dravid, Prasanna

Records, All, Sports

Hyderabad :

R Vinay Kumar on Sunday became the sixth Karnataka captain to win the Ranji Trophy. On the fifth and final day of the Ranji Trophy final today at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Karnataka defeated Maharashtra by seven wickets to clinch the India’s premier domestic title.

Final report

This was Karnataka’s seventh Ranji Trophy honour. Vinay joined an elite club of Karnataka skippers with Ranji Trophy titles. EAS Prasanna was the first captain to lead the team to the trophy in 1973-74.

Vinay Kumar with Ranji Trophy
Vinay Kumar with Ranji Trophy

Prasanna again was the leader of the side when they claimed the trophy in 1977-78 season. The other winning Karnataka captains are Brijesh Patel, Anil Kumble, Rahul Dravid and Sunil Joshi.

This was Karnataka’s first title since 1998-99. Back then, current coaches J Arun Kumar and Mansur Ali Khan were part of the team.

Karnataka Ranji Trophy Titles

(Read as season, opponent in final, captain, result)

1973-74 – Vs Rajasthan, EAS Prasanna (Won by 185 runs)

1977-78 – Vs Uttar Pradesh, Prasanna (Won by innings and 193 runs)

1982-83 – Vs Bombay, Brijesh Patel (Drawn, won on first innings lead)

1995-96 – Vs Tamil Nadu, Anil Kumble (Drawn, won on first innings lead)

1997-98 – Vs Uttar Pradesh, Rahul Dravid (Drawn, won on first innings lead)

1998-99 – Vs Madhya Pradesh, Sunil Joshi (Won by 96 runs)

2013-14 – Vs Maharashtra, R Vinay Kumar (Won by 7 wickets)

ThatsCricket

source: http://www.thatscricket.com / ThatsCricket.com / Home> News / by Aprameya / Tuesday – February 04th, 2014

Conference on management of modern libraries at Manipal from Feb 21

Education, Science & Technology

Mangalore :

The National Conference on Management of Modern Libraries (NACML) will be jointly organized by the Health Sciences Library and the Department of Library and Information Science, Manipal University , at the Health Sciences Library, Manipal on February 21 and 22.

Prof IK Ravichandra Rao, former head of Indian Statistical Institute, Bangalore and Former Head of Documentation and Research Training Centre, Bangalore will inaugurate the two-day conference at 9.30 am and deliver keynote address. Pro vice-chancellor of Manipal University, Manipal Dr H Vinod Bhat will preside.

About 150-200 library science professionals from various libraries, teachers and research scholars from universities across the country are expected to participate in this national-level conference which will bring together library and information science professionals, academicians and educationalists in the field of library and information science. The conference is being organized as a part of Diamond Jubilee Year Celebrations of Kasturba Medical College, Manipal

As many as 85 papers will be presented in the conference. There will be five invited talks on the topics – information literacy, soft skills for library professionals, Institutional Repositories, Federated search and literature search. Product demonstrations and exhibition from about 15 publishers have been arranged in the two days event. A commemorative Souvenir carrying abstracts of valuable articles which will serve as excellent reference material for all the library professionals will be released on the occasion

Former Dean, Kasturba Medical College, Manipal Dr A Krishna Rao will deliver the valedictory address on February 22 at 4.15 pm. Dr K Ramnarayan, vice-chancellor, Manipal University, Manipal will preside.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Mangalore / by Stanley Pinto, TNN / February 18th, 2014

Assisted reproduction centre – Manipal’s MARC celebrates 23 years of services

Science & Technology

Mangalore :

Kasturba hospital celebrated 23 years of Manipal Assisted Reproduction Centre (MARC) and the birth of 4,200 babies, a land mark milestone at a function at The TMA Pai Hall on Sunday.

Among the audience were children born through MARC and their parents. Dr G.K. Prabhu, Registrar, Manipal University, Manipal, the chief guest expressed happiness at the work being done by MARC over many years for the benefit of the society and mankind. There was a cake cutting to commemorate the long years of service by Master Naman, the first test tube baby born here in 1999.

Dr Pratap Kumar, Professor and Head of MARC gave on overview of how MARC which started in the year 1990 and has reached to this level of high success in the field of Infertility. He said that MARC began with simple procedures and later started the test tube baby procedure in 1998. The IVF procedure involves fertilization of the egg from the wife and the sperm of the husband outside the body and then putting the embryo in the womb of the woman to grow. About 3000 babies are born through IVF procedures he said.

MARC offers a wide range of treatment programmes for sub-fertile couples seeking assisted conception. It is backed by the experience of expert doctors and scientists who have taken specialized training abroad and have been working with sub fertility problems. The pioneering technological improvements make MARC one of the most advanced centers for the treatment of infertility in India.

MARC focusses on research programmes for improving the quality of management of sub fertile couples. Research works on animal models are being carried out and this is one of the IVF centres in the country associated with University hospital. In 1998 IVF was started and February 18, 1999, was a very special day for MARC as the first test tube baby was born on that day. A magic show by Jr. Shankar was held mainly for the children who had come, was done with great skills which was appreciated by all. Dr Satish Kumar Adiga, Chief Embryologist and Professor of Clinical embryology and Dr (Col) M Dayananda, Medical Superintendent, Kasturba Hospital, Manipal were also present.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Mangalore / by Stanley Pinto, TNN / February 02nd, 2014