Category Archives: Education

12-year-old boy bags data scientist position in Hyderabad software company

Siddharth Srivastav Pilli, a class 7 student of Sri Chaitanya Techno School, was offered the position by the city-based software company Montaigne Smart Business Solutions.

Siddharth Srivastav Pilli (Photo | Twitter)

Hyderabad :

A 12-year-old boy from the city has been hired by a software company as a data scientist.

Siddharth Srivastav Pilli, a class 7 student of Sri Chaitanya Techno School, was offered the position by the city-based software company Montaigne Smart Business Solutions.

His LinkedIn page has this to say about him: “I’m 12 years old and I’m very passionate about coding since I was young. I started coding with Java and currently I’m working to master data science, machine learning and artificial intelligence.”

But what led him to coding? Pilli said, “I used to play a lot of games and I was very curious to know how it works. So my father told me to research on how to develop games. That is how came upon coding.”

After learning how to code, Pilli developed a game which he broadcast on his own YouTube channel. Post that, Pilli said he took a lot of time to think about what he wanted to be, and taking inspiration from another young achiever, he decided upon working on data, AI and ML.

“My biggest inspiration for joining a software company is Tanmay Bakshi. He is helping the world understand how beautiful the Artificial Intelligence (AI) revolution is,” he said. He credits his achievements to his father, who he said helped him a lot in understanding coding and pushing him towards it.

Pilli is also an avid blogger and Vlogger. One of his blog posts is on ‘Why kids have more intelligence than adults’. In his YouTube vlogs, Pilli breaks down coding and provides tutorials for viewers.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Good News / by Express News Service / November 26th, 2019

Now, an oral drug to treat deadly kala-azar — IIT Hyderabad says it’s faster, better

Researchers at IIT Hyderabad say the pills will ensure controlled release of the drug used to treat the disease, bettering a patient’s chance of survival.

New Delhi: 

Researchers at the premier Indian Institute of Technology, Hyderabad, have formulated oral tablets that they say will ensure better and faster treatment of the deadly parasitic disease visceral leishmaniasis, commonly known as kala-azar or black fever.

Kala-azar is a fatal disease caused by the bite of a sandfly; it affects the bone marrow, spleen and liver. At present, the disease is treated through injection-based administration of the drug Amphotericin B but that leads to an uncontrolled release of the drug into a patient’s bloodstream, resulting in high toxicity.

The IIT researchers say their tablets will release Amphotericin B in a sustained and controlled manner over a period of 10 days, which is likely to increase the chances of a patient’s recovery.

The drug uses nanofibres, which are 1,00,000 times thinner than human hair, for the controlled release of drug molecules.

“In order to make controlled-release oral tablets, the drug molecules must be loaded onto a base that dissolves gradually to release the drug over a period of time,” said Dr Chandra Shekhar Sharma, associate professor, creative and advanced research based on nanomaterials (CARBON) laboratory, Department of Chemical Engineering, IIT Hyderabad. Sharma led the research along with professor Saptarshi Majumdar.

“The development of oral, controlled-release tablets for fatal fungal infections and leishmaniasis, will help in better management of the disease burden in the country,” IIT Hyderabad said in a statement Thursday, adding that “the team’s work has been published in the July 2019 issue of the reputed peer-reviewed journal Nano-Structures and Nano-Objects”.

“Many attempts have been made earlier to make oral medication to control the delivery of the drug and bring down costs,” the statement added.

Status of kala-azar in India

In India, malaria, dengue and kala-azar are the top three vector-borne diseases.

According to the latest data by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, India registered over 5,700 cases of kala-azar in 2017.

Often referred to as a ‘disease of poverty’, the maximum number of cases were found in the economically underprivileged sections of Jharkhand, Bihar, West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh.

India had missed the 2017 deadline set to eliminate the disease. This was blamed on the absence of concrete or pucca houses in most infected areas and the issue was raised with the rural development ministry.

“As the endemic blocks (states) have a majority of houses made of wood, it is very difficult to eliminate the vector as it (the parasite) dwells in the wooden structure and escapes various measures to kill it,” reported  The Financial Express last year. “Hence, to stop the transmission of infection, pucca houses need to be built.”

source: http://www.theprint.in / The Print / Home> Health / by Himani Chandna / August 22nd, 2019

IIT-Hyderabad researchers develop method to make biofuel with sugar and salt

The researchers described the novel process that can produce carbon catalysts at room temperatures using sugar, sulphuric acid and salt in the journal ‘ACS Sustainable Chemistry and Engineering’.

Hyderabad : 

Researchers  at IIT Hyderabad have developed a simple and innovative method to synthesise a catalyst that can convert chemicals derived from biomass into a precursor to diesel and jet fuel, the institute said on Tuesday. This catalyst showed better efficiency and selectivity than commercial catalysts to produce C15 oxygenated hydrocarbon, a biofuel precursor.

The researchers described the novel process that can produce carbon catalysts at room temperatures using sugar, sulphuric acid and salt in the journal ‘ACS Sustainable Chemistry and Engineering’. “The dehydration of sugar by concentrated sulfuric acid is high-school chemistry. But the intense heat released is not well-controlled,” explained Dr Atul Suresh Deshpande, assistant professor at IIT-H.

In order to control the exothermic dehydration of sugar, the researchers add common salt. Salt helps in controlled dehydration of sugar, which leads to formation of the desired carbon nanoplates. “Due to the low cost of precursors with practically zero energy input and simplicity of reaction, this process of producing carbon nanoplates can be easily adapted for large-scale commercial production,” added Prof Sunil Kumar Maity.

This development is important for States such as Uttar Pradesh and the two Telugu states which are the largest producers of corn in India. The large amount of corncob waste can now be converted into fuels and allow additional income for farmers of corn, provide a sustainable energy source and reduce carbon footprint in the automobile/ aviation sector.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Hyderabad / by Express News Service / July 31st, 2019

Incubated in IIT-Hyderabad, start-up PURE EV raises VC Nannapaneni’s funding

PURE EV has also been developing a prototype of HVDC electric truck/bus lithium battery modules and intends to showcase them in 2020 for potential collaborations.

VC Nannapaneni is working on the development of high-speed and long-range scooters and motorcycles

Hyderabad :

Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad-incubated startup PURE EV has raised venture capital funding from Hyderabad-based pharmaceuticals visionary VC Nannapaneni, in his personal capacity. The funding is coming at an opportune moment for the company with its plans for expansion of its manufacturing capacity and R&D initiatives. It is working on the development of high-speed and long-range scooter and motorcycle, which are scheduled for commercial launch in October this year and early 2020 respectively.

PURE EV has also been developing a prototype of HVDC electric truck/bus lithium battery modules and intends to showcase them in 2020 for potential collaborations. PURE EV is now looking to ramp up its EV manufacturing capacity to 2000 units per month by October 2019.

The company was founded in 2016 by Dr Nishanth Dongari, Associate Professor, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, IIT Hyderabad, and is led by Rohit Vadera, an alumnus of IIT Bombay. The startup will continue to collaborate with R&D laboratories of IIT Hyderabad.

PURE EV recently launched four two-wheeler models – ‘EGNITE,’ ‘ETRANCE,’ ‘EPLUTO’ and ‘ETRON’. It aims to deploy over 10,000 electric vehicles on the road during 2019-20. It has established an 18,000-sqft state-of-the-art facility, co-located with IIT Hyderabad, for cutting-edge research and development and for large-scale production of electric vehicles and electric batteries.

The company had also recently launched its CMVR-exempted electric vehicles commercially in the market and is actively working on building strategic partnerships for vehicle financing and branding collaboration. Nannapaneni, speaking about his reasons for the investment, said, “We hope they are able to succeed in their vision to promote usage of electric vehicles amongst the masses.”

“The funding will be primarily utilised for expanding the manufacturing capacity by installation of an automated assembly line,” said Rohit Vadera, CEO, PURE EV.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Hyderabad / by Express News Service / July 11th, 2019

Telangana: UPSC state topper shunned his dream to make father’s come true

Varun, currently an assistant commissioner with the Income Tax department, and undergoing Indian Revenue Services (IRS) training in Nagpur, is a native of Miryalguda.


Karnati Varun Reddy. (Photo: Facebook)

Hyderabad : 

Pursuing his father’s dream of seeing him as an IAS officer, Telangana-lad Karnati Varun Reddy has secured the seventh rank in the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) exams, and stood first in the State. Varun, currently an assistant commissioner with the Income Tax department, and undergoing Indian Revenue Services (IRS) training in Nagpur, is a native of Miryalguda. He is the son of P Nagamani, additional director with the Agriculture department and Dr Janardhan Reddy, an ophthalmologist. His elder sibling is a surgeon at Kakatiya Medical College, Warangal.

It was Varun’s fourth attempt that saw him achieve his father’s dream.

Speaking to Express, his father Dr Janardhan Reddy said that after securing the 29th rank in JEE and a seat at IIT Bombay, Varun wanted to pursue MBA from one of the top IIMs. “But it was my dream that my son should be an IAS officer, and for four years, he put in all efforts to make my dream come true,” said an elated Dr Reddy. “It is no surprise that he has fared so well,” he added.

Varun was unable to clear the exam in his first attempt. “This did not deter him and he worked harder and secured the 166th rank in his second attempt. Still dissatisfied, he gave a third try and got the 225th rank. Finally, this time, he placed seventh all over the country, and topped among the two states,” said Dr Reddy.

All through the years, Varun had been staying in Delhi, where he was undergoing IAS coaching.

The results of the prestigious civil services examinations, which were announced by the Union Public Service Commission on Friday evening, saw Kanishak Kataria, a B Tech from IIT Bombay, bag the first rank. The topper among women was Srushti Jayant Deshmukh, who secured the fifth position overall.

Continuing their good performance, this year too, over 20 Telugu students made their mark by securing a place in the top 1000 ranks. Another city lad, Naveen Mallarapu, secured the 75th rank. The 2017 civil-services topper, Anudeep Durishetty, too was from Hyderabad. This year, a total number of 759 candidates have been recommended for appointment to IAS, IPS, IFS, IRS and other Group A and Group B Central services.

Secured seventh rank in fourth attempt
Talking about Karnati Varun Reddy’s journey, his father Dr Janardhan Reddy said Varun failed to clear the exam in his first try. In his second attempt, he secured the 166th rank. “Still dissatisfied, he gave a third try and got the 225th rank. Finally, this time, he placed seventh all over the country,” Dr Reddy said. The exam was topped by Kanishak Kataria, a B Tech from IIT Bombay

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Telangana / by Express News Service / April 06th, 2019

Mountain climber Malavath Poorna scales Cartensz Pyramid in Indonesia

Malavath Poorna, the youngest girl to summit Mount Everest when she was just 13 years old, has added another feather in her cap.


Malavath Poorna. (Photo | Twitter@indianeagle)

Hyderabad :

Malavath Poorna, the youngest girl to summit Mount Everest when she was just 13 years old, has added another feather in her cap.  Now at 18, she has scaled another major peak the Cartensz Pyramid which stands at a height of  4884m in Indonesia.

As part of her 7-Summits Challenge, which is about scaling the seven tallest mountains, one in each continent, Poorna has scaled five peaks with her latest addition. Now, Poorna is just two peaks away from achieving her goal.

But scaling Cartensz Pyramid had a different set of challenges when compared to Himalayan and other ice-capped peaks. This peak is located in dense jungles of Indonesia and getting to the base camp is a big challenge. After reaching the base camp, a lot of rock-climbing skills are needed to get to the summit.

In order to train for this climb, the teenager trained at Rock Climbing School, Bhongir, (RCSB), under the guidance of chief instructor Parmesh Kumar Singh.  She trained specifically in the techniques that would be required in not only climbing, but also descending from this peak in Indonesia. After her intense training and preparation for the climb, Poorna left Hyderabad for Indonesia on March 17. 

“It was very windy but I had maintained my composure throughout. I reached the summit in the early hours of March 22. It was a very satisfying climb. My entire team and I had a safe summit and have now descended back to the base camp. We will reach Hyderabad on March 27,” she said over phone. 

Poorna is currently pursuing her under graduation in the Telangana Social Welfare Residential Educational Institutions Society (TSWREIS) for Women, in Tadwai, Kamareddy.  RS Praveen Kumar, secretary, TSWREIS, lauding Poorna’s feat said, “We always believed that she has the spark within and no mountain is too high for her. I hope she continues to be successful in her future expeditions,” he said.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Hyderabad / by Express News Service / March 26th, 2019

IIT-Hyderabad students win Smart India Hackathon-2019

For developing an app on delivering updates on construction progress

A team from Indian Institute of Technology, Hyderabad, has won the Smart India Hackathon-2019 for coming up with a solution to a problem on steel construction.

The team christened SNAAPP comprising six M.Tech students – Siddharth Gupta, Prabhat Kumar Rai, Nisha Akole, Ajay Hase, Prasad Gaikwad and Aman Agarwal – did non-stop coding for 36 hours and delivered the mobile application as part of their proposed solution.

Their problem statement was to develop a mobile application that can manage the hierarchical system of updating construction site progress and generate reports directly via the app to managers and higher authorities.

Speaking on the victory, Abhinav Kumar, the mentor of SNAAPP and assistant professor at Department of Electrical Engineering, said, “SNAAPP delivered an innovative solution to the problem of updates on construction site progress”.

The application is developed for Android mobile phones for now.

Siddharth Gupta, team leader of SNAAPP, said, “Each one of us worked hard for the successful completion of the idea and to deliver the prototype within the time limit. We are planning to work with the Ministry of Human Resource Development for further extension of the project and produce it as a commercial product for construction industries.”

As the application sends updates directly from the authorities who are working on the field, this would reduce the time gap in information-sharing between site engineers and managers.

It would also help in optimising the cost incurred compared to the expected cost.

The application can assign tasks to site engineers and get feedback/alerts from them.

It would help in maintaining the project time-line as it would show details on the project delay.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Cities> Hyderabad / by Special Correspondent / Hyderabad – March 22nd, 2019

Decades of dedication

In 1996, Holy Mary Group established the first MCA college in South India at Jubilee Hills which was later moved to SR Nagar.

Hyderabad :

Holy Mary Group of Institutions Secretary Dr Arimanda Vijaya Sarada Reddy speaks on her journey thus far in the field of education, the laurels won, and her message for youthIt takes a long hard road to make it to the top. Through ups and downs, Arimanda Vijaya Sarada Reddy, the Secretary of Holy Mary Group of Institutions, shines bright. “Along with my husband Arimanda Vara Prasad Reddy, I had set up Nalanda Vidyalaya High School way back in 1985, after a lot of struggle,” she says. The school went on to achieve successive state ranks, Pratibha Awards and many other recognitions.

Her interest in teaching began from her schooling days. Her educational qualifications look impressive – PhD in management studies from JNTU Hyderabad, BA, MA from Osmania University, BEd from Andhra University, MEd from Sri Venkateswara University (SVU), MS (Psychology) from University of Madras, MS (Counselling and Psychotherapy) from Kuvempu University, MPhil (Psychology) from SVU, MBA from IIM Bangalore, certifications from Dale Carnegie.

Training – the list goes on. 
What was the reason behind her obtaining so many degrees? “I am passionate about teaching and learning. And I am a hands-on person who believes in mingling with students to know them better. In order to know what is being taught to MBA students, I enrolled for the course. Similarly, to interact with students and understand their feelings, I did Psychology courses,” she says matter-of-factly. She also adds, “I always update myself  with new ideas and technology.  The basic nature of mine is continuous learning and as a result I am updated.  I try to introduce the same to my students.”

In 1996, Holy Mary Group established the first MCA college in South India at Jubilee Hills which was later moved to SR Nagar. They now offering MBA courses too. The group established engineering colleges in Hyderabad and Guntur in the year 2000. In 2011, Dr Arimanda Vijaya Sarada Reddy took part in a ‘Women in Leadership’ in-house programme at IIM Bangalore. She was one among 26 aspirants across the country and the only one from the erstwhile Andhra Pradesh.

“It was a wonderful experience interacting with industry leaders like ICICI MD Chanda Kochhar, politicians such as former Delhi CM Sheila Dixit, MP Daggubati Purandeswari, Vice-President Venkaiah Naidu and others. The course focussed on the nitty-gritty of politics. As part of the coursework, we went to Singapore to study how their leaders function, how Parliament proceedings happen, etc. It was a hectic but rewarding experience, during which I had learned a lot,” she reminisces. 

She is the only woman from India to take part in a UN conference on ‘Global Problems and Local Solutions’ organised by Geneva Institute for Leadership and Public Policy in 2013. And she represented India at the ‘WEConnect International Day’, a business-oriented meet held in Philadelphia, US in 2014.


“I joined Confederation of Women Entrepreneurs (COWE) as a member, and was elected unanimously as its Chairperson in 2014. I helped organise various empowerment sessions to women and contributed to their growth,” she adds.

How about the support given by her family? “My husband supported me a lot. In the late 90s, he left his Central government job at MIDHANI to assist me. He gave constructive criticism, which helped me grow. Without his feedback, I would not be here today,” she says humbly.

A Dale Carnegie certified Train the Trainer, Dr Arimanda Vijaya Sarada Reddy takes sessions on soft skills such as goal setting, time management, positive attitude, among others. Over her decades-long career, she has  helped thousands of students achieve their potential. As part of official engagements, she has toured many countries in Asia, Europe, Middle East, etc.

Within the country, she organised skill development and entrepreneurship programmes for women, distributed uniforms and notebooks to schoolchildren, held stress management workshops for Police personnel and many other sessionsAny words of wisdom for youth? “Keep a goal for each year and try to achieve it in the same year. If I face problems in this process I will try to sort things out but will never turn back. So I say only two things – be goal-oriented and try to be a continuous learner,” she says with a smile.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Hyderabad / by Express News Service / March 08th, 2019

English language expo celebrates Indian writers


Students explaining a model to a guest at the expo at Paramita High School in Karimnagar.   | Photo Credit:  By arrangement

Students of Paramita High School here organised a unique expo on Monday to showcase a mosaic of components of English language to commemorate the endeavours of writers R.K. Narayan, Mulk Raj Anand and Raja Rao.

The two-day expo called ‘Coalesce on English Language’ was inaugurated by Paramita Educational Institutions chairman E. Prasada Rao, who interacted with the participants. The students showcased their talent in the history of English literature, vocabulary, grammar, idioms, tenses, phrases etc.

Through models and charts, they spoke about the contributions of the writer trio to English language works in the country. Day 2 of the expo is expected to attract students and teachers from other government and private schools in the town.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities > Hyderabad / by Special Correspondent / Karimnagar – February 26th, 2019

Award for Jagtial Collector

It was executed in all government high schools in the district to improve pass percentage of students in SCC examinations.

Jagtial :

Jagtial Collector A Sharath has been selected for the ‘Indian Express Excellence in Good Governance’ award. It will be presented to him on February 28.  The collector has bagged the award for his initiative ‘UTTEJAM – Igniting the Minds of Students, Teachers and Parents’.

It was executed in all government high schools in the district to improve pass percentage of students in SCC examinations.  

Before UTTEJAM, the overall pass percentage was only 60-65; the ratio for girls was worse. Now, within just three years since the initiative was introduced, the figure has increased to 97.56 per cent.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Telangana / by Express News Service / February 27th, 2019