Category Archives: World Opinion

City of Nizams to feature in UNESCO’s Creative Cities Network?

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Historical Links / Pre-Independence, Records, All, Travel, World Opinion

The UCCN, created in 2004, was aimed at placing creativity and cultural industries at the heart of developmental and cooperation plans at local and international levels respectively.


UNESCO official Junhi Han with Prinicipal Secretary Arvind Kumar in Hyderabad on Saturday | Express

Hyderabad :

Apart from the World Heritage Site tag for Golconda Fort and Qutub Shahi Tombs, the State government officials are now trying to get Hyderabad into UNESCO’s Creative Cities Network (UCCN). Express learnt that the same was discussed when Junhi Han, the Chief of Culture Department and Programme Specialist at the UNESCO visited the State and met the MAUD Principal Secretary Arvind Kumar, Director of Heritage Telangana NR Visalatchy and others Friday. 

An official present in the meeting said, “We felt that the outcome of the meeting was very positive. As of now Chennai is in the Network for its music, Jaipur for literature. We want Hyderabad to be in it on the basis of its heritage and other corresponding features.” 

The UCCN, created in 2004, was aimed at placing creativity and cultural industries at the heart of developmental and cooperation plans at local and international levels respectively. Needless to say, if Hyderabad figures in the list, which already comprises Chennai and Jaipur from India, it would bolster its creative industry. The Network covers seven creative fields — crafts and folk arts, media arts, film, design, gastronomy, literature and music.

Experts opined if Hyderabad were to be in the Network it could be on the filed of crafts and folk arts, which would include its age-old bidriware craftworks or kalamkari, which is a type of hand-painted or block-printed cotton textile. Apart from that discussions were also held on World Heritage Site tag, which figured in Principal Secretary Arvind Kumar’s tweet.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Hyderabad / by Aihik Sur / Express News Service / March 10th, 2019

Hyderabad firm gets big boost

Business & Economy, Inspiration / Positive News and Features, Records, All, World Opinion

The startup is currently incubated at Hyderabad-based incubator T-Hub and it was previously part of the Zone Startups India accelerator.

Hyderabad :

Donatekart, the Hyderabad-based online charity platform, has raised Rs 2.55 crore in seed funding from a bunch of investors led by early-stage investment firm LetsVenture. The company, which moved from Mumbai to the city a few months ago and has set up shot at T-Hub said in a statement that it plans to use the proceeds to strengthen its technology functions, scale its team and launch new products. It also plans to expand to other geographies such as the US and UK and raise at least `100 crore in donations in the next three years, the statement added.

Incidentally, the firm was featured in EdEx 40 under 40 list last year at an event held in Hyderabad. Donatekart was founded in 2016 by National Institute of Technology-Nagpur graduates Anil Kumar Reddy and Sandeep Sharma. Donors can ‘buy’ products such as flood relief material on the platform which are then sent to social organisations for distribution. The platform gives donors updates about how the products they have purchased are being used.

“Most Indians are keen to do charity, but they are comfortable if they can do it in  a hassle-free manner and can keep track of their donation,” said Anil Kumar Reddy, co-founder and chief executive officer of Donatekart. Since the platform was launched, Donatekart claims to have assisted more than 450 non-governmental organisations all over India in procuring products worth `5 crore from more than 35,000 donors.

The startup is currently incubated at Hyderabad-based incubator T-Hub and it was previously part of the Zone Startups India accelerator.

LetsVenture founder Shanti Mohan has now joined the board of Donatekart. Established in 2013, LetsVenture is an online platform that connects Indian startups with seed and angel investors.Owned and operated by Bengaluru-based IndiePitch Solutions, LetsVenture claims to have enabled more than 180 funding rounds with a total of about $70 million being raised so far.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Hyderabad / by Express News Service / March 07th, 2019

5 start-ups clinch top honours

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

Social Innovation Award being presented to Adero Labs as part of Start-Up Stage event at BioAsia.

Five start-ups with innovative offerings for the healthcare sector, including a device that reminds patients to take a correct dose of medicine at the right time and another that monitors a patient’s health while he/she is asleep, walked away with top honours at the BioAsia-2019.

They made it to the top five, and received a cash prize of ₹25,000 each at the Start-Up Stage event, one the highlight segments of this year’s BioAsia. A total of 76 start-ups had showcased their wares at the three-day event, the curtain on which came down on Wednesday.

Making a brief pitch at the valedictory, Caredose co-founder and CEO Kinshuk Kocher said the start-up has devised a solution – a dispenser in which medicines are filled using a robot – for patients, especially senior citizens, to ensure that they are taken on time and in the correct dose. The entire process is completely automated, he said.

Interestingly, Governor E.S.L. Narasimhan, during the inauguration of BioAsia on Monday evening, had highlighted the need to address the issues that senior citizens faceamong other aspects.

Another solution that caught the eye of the jury was the contactless health monitor developed by Dozee. COO of the start-up Pritish Gupta said the monitor, placed below the mattress, tracks the sleep patterns, heart, respiration and stress levels helping the user address the conditions.

Spectral Insights for its compact scanner; Ekistics Solutions that offers replacement and reconstruction of damaged and diseased valves avoiding artificial prostheses; and fluorescent dye company Azooka Life Sciences for its nucleic acid stains that facilitates DNA-based diagnostics were the other three prize winning start-ups.

A special Social Innovation Award was presented to Adero Labs that works in the field of citizen safety and women empowerment.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Telangana / by Special Correspondent / Hyderabad – February 27th, 2019

FICCI’s global R&D summit commences in Hyderabad

Business & Economy, Science & Technology, World Opinion

Following the success of the India Rwanda Innovation Growth program started in 2017, the FICCI Association launched a similar programme with the Ethiopian Government this summit.

Hyderabad :

Launching the  India-Ethiopia Innovation, Technology Transfer & Commercialization Programme along with the Ethiopian government, the Global Research and Development Summit 2019 commenced in Hyderabad on Thursday.

The two-day conclave inaugurated by Professor Ashutosh Sharma, Secretary, DS & T, Government of India, focussed upon strengthening technology and development ties between India and Africa. 

Following the success of the India Rwanda Innovation Growth program started in 2017, the FICCI Association launched a similar programme with the Ethiopian Government this summit. Dr.-Ing. Getahun Mekuria, Minister of Science & Technology, Govt. of the Republic of Ethiopia talked about the several benefits of the scheme including more job opportunities for the people and help Ethiopia move from an agriculture-based to a knowledge-based ecosystem.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Hyderabad / by Express News Service / February 22nd, 2019

A ray of hope for kids with cancer

Nature, Records, All, Science & Technology, World Opinion

(Left) Research scholars Kruthi Doriya and Anup Ashok with chemical engineering associate professor Devarai Santhosh Kumar (centre) at Industrial Bioprocess and Bio-Prospecting lab at IIT-H; (above) civil engineering associate professor Asif Qureshi.  

IIT-H team finds Antarctic fungi that may help treat Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia

Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology-Hyderabad (IIT-H) working with scientists from National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR), Goa, have isolated Antarctic fungi that contain ‘L-Asparaginase’, an enzyme-based chemotherapeutic agent used to treat Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL).

Fewer side-effects

ALL is the most common type of childhood cancer and isolation of L-Asparaginase’ containing fungi from extreme environments could lead to development of new chemotherapeutic treatment methods that have fewer side-effects than the existing methods.

In ALL, the bone marrow produces an excess of immature lymphocytes, a form of white blood cells.

One of the most frequently used chemotherapy drugs to treat ALL is the enzyme ‘L- Asparaginase’ which reduces the supply of asparagine, an amino acid that is essential for the synthesis of protein, to cancer cells. This prevents the growth and proliferation of the malignant cells.

The path-breaking work has recently been published in Nature’s Open Source Journal, Scientific Reports (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-018-38094-1). IIT-H team consisted of Devarai Santhosh Kumar, associate professor, department of chemical engineering, and Asif Qureshi, associate professor, department of civil engineering, along with their research students Anup Ashok, Kruthi Doriya and Jyothi Vithal Rao while NCPOR team included Dr. Anoop Kumar Tiwari.

Drug costs

Principal investigator Dr. Santhosh Kumar said, “Extensive purification steps are necessary before L-Asparaginase derived from E. Coli and E. Chrysanthemi is used as a drug to treat ALL. This increases cost of the drug.”

‘L-Asparaginase’ enzyme used for chemotherapy is currently derived from commonly found bacteria such as Escherichia coli and Erwinia chrysanthemi. These enzymes are always associated with two other enzymes, glutaminase and urease, both of which cause adverse side effects in patients such as pancreatitis, hemostasis abnormalities, central nervous system dysfunction and immunological reactions.

The research team looked at psychrophiles as alternate sources of the enzyme. Psychrophiles are organisms capable of growth and reproduction in low temperatures in the range of −20 °C to +10 °C, such as those found in Antarctic regions.

These organisms have modified life processes that help them adapt to the extreme conditions of living. For example, psychrophiles have ‘anti-freeze’ enzymes that are powerful enough to be able to work at the freezing temperatures of the poles, unlike mesophiles that live in more habitable zones of the earth. The potency of the enzymes makes them promising as powerful drugs for diseases such as cancer, he said.

55 samples collected

Industrial bioprocess and bioprospecting laboratory research team, seeking alternate sources of L-Asparaginase, screened and isolated fungi collected from the soil and mosses in Schirmacher Hills, Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica. These fungi were found to have L-Asparaginase free of glutaminase and urease. The team isolated 55 samples of fungi, of which 30 isolates had pure L-Asparaginase.

Absence of glutaminase and urease would prevent the serious side-effects currently seen with the use of bacteria-derived L-Asparaginase. “Fungal species have the ability to mimic the properties of human cells, as both are eukaryotic in nature, which makes it easier for their usage in treatment of ALL,” the researchers wrote in their Nature Scientific Reports paper.

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

It’s destination NASA for 25 Paramita students

Education, Records, All, World Opinion

Selected for week-long tour after essay writing competition

Twenty-five students from the Paramita Heritage School have been selected for the international conference at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), USA, for seven days ithis May.

Go for Guru, NASA, Florida Institute of Technology and Astronaut Memorial Foundation had recently conducted essay writing competitions at the school after which 25 students were selected for an educational tour to NASA.

Of a total 5,000 students from across the country who took part in the competition, 470 were selected. Among them, 124 belong to Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, including 25 from just one school, informed Paramita Educational Institutions chairman E. Prasada Rao here today.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Hyderabad / by Special Correspondent / Karimnagar – February 19th, 2019

French aerospace major to set up plant in city

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

Safran to make parts for LEAP turbofan engine with €36 million investment

French aerospace major Safran on Tuesday said it will set up a plant in Hyderabad to make parts for CFM International’s LEAP turbofan engine with an investment of €36 million.

Construction on the facility will begin in June. The target is to produce the first batch of parts by early 2020. By end of this year, operations at the plant will be launched with about 50 employees while over time, the headcount will be 300.

Near airport

The 13,000-square metre plant, to be built at the Special Economic Zone of GMR near the airport, will include 8,000 square metres of workshops. When the plant hits cruise speed in 2023, it will be able to deliver 15,000 parts per year. CFM International is set to deliver 1,800 engines this year, a number expected to increase to 2,000 next year.

With more than 17,000 orders and commitments till date, LEAP is the fastest selling engine. The new-generation LEAP entered service in 2016 and has passed the mark of three million flight-hours. It powers over 700 Airbus A320neo and Boeing 737 MAX commercial airliners, including 54 operated by Indian airlines, said an official release.

Expressing happiness at Safran selecting Hyderabad to establish the plant, Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao said the company joins the league of other global original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) which are already manufacturing and exporting from Telangana.

Aerospace, he added, is a focus industrial sector for Telangana and the State government is providing maximum support to encourage the industry.

In the release, Safran CEO Philippe Petitcolin, who is on a visit to India for the Aero India Show, said, “Aerospace continues to be a significant driver of India’s growth and we want to fully support this dynamic by bolstering our investments and training programmes in the country.”

Safran, which has been in India for around 65 years, has, at present, over 600 employees at seven companies that provide design, production and support services for aerospace and defense, plus a maintenance training centre in Hyderabad for CFM engines. The centre, which was established in 2010, can train more than 500 technicians a year.

‘Very excited’

Former Industries Minister K.T. Rama Rao tweeted: “Very excited to welcome Safran’s new investment in Telangana.”

The French multinational had, in 2018, announced the setting up of a Safran Electrical and Power factory to produce LEAP engines harnesses and Rafale fighter electrical wiring interconnections systems in Hyderabad. The 4,000-square metre facility, also at the SEZ, will be ready by mid-2019 and employ 250 people. The operations have begun in a temporary building with 33 employees.

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

Teen mountaineer on a new high

Amazing Feats, Inspiration / Positive News and Features, Records, All, Sports, World Opinion

Malavath Poorna after conquering the 6,962-metre Mt. Aconcagua, the highest peak of South America, on Friday

Poorna becomes youngest tribal girl to scale world’s four highest peaks

Malavath Poorna has added another feather to her snow-capped hat. She has become the world’s youngest tribal woman to scale four highest mountain peaks across four continents.

The 18-year-old successfully climbed Mt. Aconcagua, the highest peak in Southern and Western Hemisphere on February 15. “I cannot even describe how difficult the climb was; it was much tougher than Mount Everest but I was determined to go ahead with the mission,” Poorna said, speaking from Mt. Aconcagua.

Before this, she had scaled Mt. Everest (Asia), Mt. Kilimanjaro (Africa) and Mt. Elbrus (Europe).

‘Sky’s the limit’

The sky should be the limit for girls hailing from marginalised communities, she asserted. “We can achieve great goals in life,” she said. Poorna was a student of Telangana’s Social Welfare Residential Educational Institutions. She is currently pursuing her undergraduate studies at Telangana Social Welfare Residential Degree College for Women in Kamareddy.

“My goal is to make Telangana and India proud by becoming the youngest tribal woman in the world to scale the seven highest peaks across all seven continents. Now, I have set my sights on scaling Mt. Denali in North America, Vinson Massif in Antarctica) and Mt. Kosciuszko in Australia,” she declared.

Sekhar Babu, director of Transcend Adventures, had sponsored Poorna’s Aconcagua expedition.

Reacting to Poorna’s latest achievement, TSWREIS secretary R.S. Praveen Kumar said, “What makes her feat unique is that she hails from a poor tribal community and her parents, Laxmi and Devidas, work as agricultural labourers in Pakala village of Nizamabad district. Poorna has become a role model and source of inspiration for millions of girls from marginalised communities throughout the world.”

Poorna also participated in the 70th United Nations General Assembly in New York in September, 2015, to speak on equal rights for girls. In 2017, Bollywood actor-filmmaker Rahul Bose released a film on the young mountaineer that he titled ‘Poorna: Courage Has No Limit’.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Hyderabad / by Special Correspondent / Hyderabad – February 16th, 2019

Kavitha to address UN body’s summit on gender equality

Leaders, Records, All, Uncategorized, World Opinion

TRS MP K. Kavitha will be the main speaker at Global Compact Network India (GCNI)’s ‘Gender Equality Summit 2019’ in New Delhi on March 1. The GCNI is the local arm of United Nation’s Global Compact.

Ms. Kavitha will speak on ‘Preparing women for the future of work’. She was chosen for her passion to accelerate efforts to achieve sustainable development goals, especially gender equality in India, a press release informed.

The highlights of the summit include a thought leadership piece that will be brought out in collaboration with GCNI’s knowledge partner, Deloitte, on preparing women for the fourth industrial revolution and presenting the second best practices awards on gender equality in India.

Preparing blueprint

Chief executive officers, chief human resource officers, chief sustainability officers, policy makers, CSR practitioners, and members of civil society organisations and NGOs will attend the event to prepare a blueprint for the road ahead.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Hyderabad / by Special Correspondent / Hyderabad – February 16th, 2019

Robots welcome guests at this new eatery in Hyderabad

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, Records, All, Science & Technology, Travel, World Opinion

This is not the first such restaurant in the country to have a robot on its staff. The first eatery namely ‘Robot’ was opened in Chennai during November 2017 and started with a team of four ‘AI waiter


‘ROBO KITCHEN’ – The Robot Themed Restaurant first time in Hyderabad, Which Robots serves food to the costumers table from Kitchen what they ordered has been opened at jubliee hills in Hyderabad. (Express|S Senbagapandiyan)

Hyderabad :

The newly-launched Robo Kitchen in Hyderabad is the first-of-its-kind restaurant where customers are greeted by robots. 

“The main attraction of our newly-opened restaurant is that robots will serve food to customers,” Robo Kitchen’s owner Manikanth told ANI.

“We have named the robots as Beauty Serving Robots. So far, we have been receiving great response from the customers, especially from old aged people as they are enjoying a whole new experience as robots are serving food to them.”Robo Kitchen provides a tab on every table for the customer’s comfort. “Guests can easily place an order from their table, which will be received by the chefs working in the kitchen. The food ordering process will complete in the span of two to five minutes,” said Manikanth. The aim is to provide a holistic and pleasing experience to the customers, especially families. The robots need three hours charging to work throughout the day.

“At present, we have four robots. We are in the process of updating their programming so that they can interact with the customers,” stated Manikanth.

This is not the first such restaurant in the country to have a robot on its staff. The first eatery namely ‘Robot’ was opened in Chennai during November 2017 and started with a team of four ‘AI waiters.’ 

A few days ago, Chennai’s Porur also got a smart restaurant where robots not only serve as waiters but also interact with customers in English and Tamil.The eatery located at Mugilivakkam Porur has a team of seven robots designed in blue and white. They welcome customers and serve meals with exotic drinks on tables.A female robot at the reception gives a response to customers’ queries and guides them about their table numbers. The restaurant serves Indo-Asian cuisines. Each robot in the eatery costs about Rs 5 lakh. The hotel staff has been trained and is in touch with manufacturers to tackle any emergency.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Hyderabad / by ANI / February 09th, 2019