Daily Archives: June 28, 2014

City students win laurels in the pool

Swimmers from different age groups from Hyderabad who won medals in the recently-held National life-saving pool championship in Pune. PHOTO: By Arrangement / The Hindu
Swimmers from different age groups from Hyderabad who won medals in the recently-held National life-saving pool championship in Pune. PHOTO: By Arrangement / The Hindu

Swimmers from Hyderabad put up a creditable performance winning four gold, 11 silver and seven bronze at the National Life-saving Pool Championship-cum-training in Pune. The camp’s focus was on life-saving techniques, a media release said.

The young talent, in the age group of 12-17 years, were initially given training in the different forms of saving lives in water. The swimmers were also taught how to respond to crisis calls, with focus on the recent Beas tragedy in which some college students from the city were washed away due to the sudden release of water from a dam.

For the 14 swimmers from the city, who had trained at the SAAP swimming pool here, it was an experience to remember.

“It is a creditable performance given that this was the first-ever exposure for the children, who had initially joined the pool at the Police Control Room solely for recreation. We hope to keep improving in the days to come, given the abundance of talent,” says coach Hajira Abbasi.

“It is a unique event wherein the skills of young talent are not only put to test, but in the process, they are made aware of their social obligation: that of helping the needy in the waters,” says the coach.

The medallists include: Under-12: Nadia Ishan Omer – 1 gold, 3 silver. Asma Anwar – 2 bronze, 2 silver. Devan – 1 gold, two bronze. Under-10: Akash Vardhan – 1 gold, 1 silver. Under-14: Manasa Mohte – 1 gold, two silver. Akshith Reddy – 2 silver. Teja Singh – 2 silver. Under-17: Snehit Reddy – 3 bronze.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Hyderabad / June 28th, 2014

UP govt honours CSIR-IICT scientist with young scientist award

Hyderabad :

Dr Surya Prakash Singh, a scientist at the Inorganic and Physical Chemistry Division of the CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (IICT), Hyderabad, has been given the prestigiouYoung Scientist Award by the government of Uttar-Pradesh. The Council of Science and Technology UP Government selects bright and young scientists below 35 years age for this award every year for the recognition of their significant contributions in their respective area of research. The award has been bestowed to Dr. SP Singh on his contributions in the area of chemical sciences particularly on solar energy research.

Dr. Singh is working as a Scientist at CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Technology, Hyderabad. He studied chemistry at the University of Allahabad, India, and obtained his Ph. D in 2005. After working at Nagoya Institute of Technology, Japan, as a postdoctoral fellow (2006-2008), he joined, as an Assistant Professor at Osaka University, in 2008. He worked as a researcher at Photovoltaic Materials Unit, National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS), Tsukuba, Japan (2010-2011).

He has been involved on novel C-C bond forming reactions and synthesis of New and Highly Efficient Sensitizers for Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells, Organic-Thin Film Solar Cells and published over 85 papers in peer-reviewed journals and 5 patents, editor of two books and author of two book chapters. He is guest editor in chief for several international journals like Advances in Optoelectronics, Journal of Nano Energy, Current Organic Chemistry, and Power Research etc.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Hyderabad / by Ch. Sushil Rao, TNN / June 28th, 2014

A peephole to history

What gives late 19th century photographer Raja Deen Dayal’s work the acclaim it has received? An exhibition showcasing arguably India’s first professional photographer’s works tries to dissect

LISTENING TO THE PHONOGRAPH: DEEN DAYAL, GHALIB JUNG AND FRIENDS AT HYDERABAD 22ND MAY 1891The palpable excitement of Nawab Ghalib Jung and his friends whilelistening to the first phonograph in Hyderabad is visible. Such naturalexuberance is seldom seen in 19th century photography
LISTENING TO THE PHONOGRAPH: DEEN DAYAL, GHALIB JUNG AND FRIENDS AT HYDERABAD 22ND MAY 1891The palpable excitement of Nawab Ghalib Jung and his friends whilelistening to the first phonograph in Hyderabad is visible. Such naturalexuberance is seldom seen in 19th century photography

Lala Deen Dayal was to Indian photography what his peer Raja Ravi Varma was to painting. As a 20-something civil engineer, Deen Dayal was working at the draughtsman office at the Indore Public Works Department when he heard an ominous rumour — all draughtsmen were to be replaced by photographers. It was 1866. Dayal decided to brush up his photography skills; a subject that he had learnt during his final year in college. A decision that paved the way for Deen Dayal to eke out a successful career in professional photography.

Vikram Sampath, Executive Director of the Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts (IGNCA), says: “The heavy Bellow cameras of the 19th century would have been cumbersome. But his photographs are so extensive that they can be the starting point for fleshing out the socio-cultural aspect of that period.” IGNCA is presenting the exhibition Raja Deen Dayal Photographs, a collection of 150 rare period photographs which will be shown in the city for the first time.

Sampath says he can imagine how hard it must have been for Deen Dayal to get people to be photographed, considering the superstitions around the act. “People believed that if photographed, their life span would be reduced.” It was not uncommon for him to break the glass-plate negative in front of the subject after giving them their photographs, probably to assure them that it wouldn’t be used again. But he would have stealthily kept another copy in the archive.
Grand old man

Here was an Indian photographer appreciated by Indian maharajas (the sixth Nizam of Hyderabad, in fact, wrote a verse in praise of him) and British Viceroys. His photographs were exhibited to great reviews in international exhibitions. He was appointed the court photographer for Hyderabad (1885); Mir Mahboob Ali Khan, the Nizam of Hyderabad, conferred on him the title Musawwir Jung Bahadur (the Bold Warrior Photographer) and referred to him as Raja Deen Dayal. In 1897, Queen Victoria granted him the Royal Warrant, which meant he could cover the Delhi Dubar (1903). He had flourishing studios in Secunderabad, Indore and Bombay that were operated by his firm Deen Dayal & Sons. And even after his death (1905), his fifth generation has photo studios in the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad. Not bad for a man who was born (1844) in a small town near Meerut.

Luck and talent

In 1870, when Deen Dayal was hired by the Archeological Survey of India, his brief was to capture 78 monuments of Central India. The technique used was refreshingly different. The monuments stood out against the sky as he captured them from a low angle, making them imposing and grand. Some, like the Gwalior Fort, had an extraordinary view of the sharp precipice below the steep path leading up to the main entrance. The portraits of the monuments form an extensive collection of places across India.

Deen Dayal quit his government job to pursue photography when he realised that the albums prepared by him on Indian monuments were a hit with the British officers returning to Britain. Sir Henry Daly appointed him the official photographer for the Prince of Wales’s tour of India in 1875. He started accompanying the Viceroys, Lord Dufferin and Lord Elgin, on their tours. His interactions with Indian royalty gave him unmatched access to their world. By being the court photographer of the Nizam, Deen Dayal secured a generous patron and an easy access to British officers in the cantonment. He was probably the first Indian photographer to have a Zanana (ladies only) studio at Hyderabad which was run by a specially-appointed employee, Kenny Levick.

From glass plates to digital

Deen Dayal’s family had preserved the glass-plate negatives with history recorded on them. Those negatives required long exposures and hours of work. Each comes with documentation of the place and year, apart from the name of the royals or nobles. The commoners were categorised broadly with captions such as ‘Maratha’ and ‘Brahmin’. IGNCA has reproduced the originals after the entire collection of about 3,000 negatives were handed to them by the family in 1989. These were then digitised and the first exhibition took place in New Delhi in 2010. For all aficionados of photography, this show remains the best place to know how it all began for one photographer, arguably the first Indian professional photographer.

Raja Deen Dayal Photographs, 10 am to 5 pm till July 20, NGMA

source: http://www.bangaloremirror.com / Bangalore Mirror / Home> Entertainment> Lounge / by Jayanthi Madhukar, Bangalore Mirror Bureau / June 23rd, 2014

Bonalu, Bathukamma declared state festivals

Hyderabad :

The vibrant and unique folk festivals, Bonalu and Bathukamma, that reflect the Telangana culture were on Monday declared as the state festivals by the TRS government.

“The government has decided to declare Bonalu and Bathukamma as state festivals as they signify the unique culture of Telangana,” said excise minister T Padma Rao Goud. By declaring them state festivals, the government will fund the official celebrations in the temple and make other necessary arrangements. The decision was taken in a meeting of officials convened by CM K Chandrasekhar Rao where he reviewed arrangements for the Ramzan month starting June 28 which coincides with the celebration of Bonalu in the twin cities this year.

Along with Goud, deputy chief minister Md Mahmood Ali, MIM leader and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi, Mayor Majjid Hussain, deputy mayor G Rajkumar, Hyderabad city police commissioner and others were presented in the meeting. Goud said mobile transformers would be used during Bonalu celebrations at various temples in the twin cities to ensure uninterrupted power supply. Bonalu is celebrated during the month of Ashada on the Hindu calendar which normally falls in July or August. This time, the Ashada month is starting on June 28. Devotees offer cooked rice and jaggery to Mahankali, a female deity, as a mark of thanksgiving. On the first Sunday of Aashadam, celebrations are held at the temple at Golconda Fort. On the second Sunday, the festivities move to Ujjaini Mahakali temple in Secunderabad and Balkampet Yellamma temple in Balkampet, and on the third, at the Matheswari temple of Lal Darwaza in the Old City.

Bathukamma falls in September-October and is celebrated for nine days during Navaratri. It starts on the day of Mahalaya Amavasya and the 9-day festivities culminate on “Saddula Bathukamma” or “Pedda Bathukamma” festival on Ashwayuja Ashtami, popularly known as Durgashtami which is two days before Dasara.The CM also sanctioned Rs 5 crore for Ramzan.

“Special arrangements would be made to supply water and power to the mosques during the month of Ramzan. And the government and private establishment have been informed to relieve Muslim employees by 4.30 pm during the holy month,” said Mahmood Ali.

Meanwhile, the state government decided to continue the existing fee reimbursement scheme of the students from the weaker sections. In a decision taken at an all-party meeting convened by the CM, the government said it would reimburse even the fee for the students from Seemandhra, while the AP government would reimburse the fee for the students from Telangana studying in that state.

“It was decide to continue the scheme without any alteration. The Telangana government will reimburse the fee for the students studying in Telangana and the AP government will reimburse fee for the students studying in Seemandhra,” said education minister G Jagadish Reddy.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Hyderabad / TNN / June 17th, 2014

Nose typing: First Indian with 2 Guinness Records

Khursheed Hussain with his Guinness World Records certificate (Photo: DC/File)
Khursheed Hussain with his Guinness World Records certificate (Photo: DC/File)

Hyderabad:

Khursheed Hussain, a Guinness World Record holder in typing, has now set the world record in typing using his nose. The record for ‘nose-typing’ was earlier held by a girl from Dubai.

He is the first one from India to hold two Guinness World Records. “I had to struggle a lot to get this for the country. I had to undergo regular mental and fitness training. And I practised for about eight hours a day for six months,” said Mr Hussain.

source: http://www.deccanchronicle.com / Deccan Chronicle / Home> Nation> Current Affairs / DC Correspondent / June 25th, 2014

PV Birth Anniv to be State Function

Hyderabad :

The Telangana government will celebrate the birth anniversary of former Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao as ‘state function’.

The government issued orders to this effect on Tuesday. ‘’All the Heads of Departments and all district collectors are requested to celebrate the birth anniversary of PV Narasimha Rao, former Prime Minister on June 28 in a befitting manner,’’ the orders said.

Telangana Bidda PV was the first Telugu Prime Minister.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Telangana / by Express News Service / June 25th, 2014

Story of growth: Business woman emerges out of sick firm

Padmasree Gunnala (Photo: DC)
Padmasree Gunnala (Photo: DC)

Hyderabad:

For the success of a business, a good management is as important as the product itself. Several people have made fortune just by reviving companies that have fallen sick due to inefficient management. Padmasree Gunn-ala belongs to this creed.

Padmasree, a young home maker who was a lawyer by education, found reviving a sick company more interesting and challenging. “In 2005, I was planning to start a business as I was always interested in entrepreneurship. My friend suggested me to start a unit in ancillary sector. He had an experience in that sector. So we partnered to buy a sick company and revived it to be known as Mudra Flexible Printers and Laminators,” she told this newspaper.

Mudra operates in the roto-packaging industry, which manufactures food-grade packaging products. Its specialty lies in catering to all kinds of flexible packaging material in multi-colour printing and laminations.

The partners, however, later found that acquiring a sick company will have its own share of hiccups. And Padmasree was very quick to realise that getting a bank loan for a sick company was very difficult.

“So we pooled in about `6 lakh for working capital as no bank was forthcoming to help us. The same was the case with customers. It took pretty long time for us to convince customers to give us orders as they were unsure about our business continuity,” she recalled.

A well-trained karata, Padmasree had to endure testing time when her factory was gutted in a fire accident. “I don’t whether I can call it a turning point or not; but the fire accident that gutted my factory has strengthen my resolve to succeed and it showed my customers’ faith in me.”

Mudra, which started off with 18 clients, claims a fairly strong customer base of 700 companies, comprising varied spectrum starting from MSMEs to MNCs. The customers spread across sectors like food and FMCG, pharmaceuticals, agro industries, bio-technology, cement, automobiles, distilleries and many more – both in India and abroad.

Though successful in business, Padmasree rues about the fact that her work-life balance was skewed towards business and as a result, she could not focus on the upbringing of her son, who is now pursuing engineering course. “I feel woman entrepreneurs must focus on this aspect also.”

Padmasree was among the chosen few to be a part of the Golman Sachs 10,000 Women’s program-me along with Indian School of Business (ISB).

Ask her about her success mantra and she is quick to respond saying, “hard work.” She explains that there is no other alternative for hard work, quality and customer satisfaction. Mudra saw the growth from being a small scale enterprise to a medium scale enterprise and now, Padmasree, only dreams of Mudra to flourish with a better annual turnover every year.

(In association with jobsdialog.com of TMI e2E Academy)

source: http://www.deccanchronicle.com / Deccan Chronicle / Home> Business> Latest / DC–jobsdialog.com / June 24th, 2014

Never too Old for business

A block printing workshop at Lad Bazaar. Photo: G. Ramakrishna
A block printing workshop at Lad Bazaar. Photo: G. Ramakrishna

Charminar and its vicinity will soon don a festive look for Ramzan, but regular visitors vouch for colour and mirth in the Old City any time of the year

How early is early depends on which part of Hyderabad you are in. The market areas of the Old City barely are stretching themselves out of slumber around 9 a.m., a time when arterial roads in other parts of the city are choked with vehicles. These areas come alive only after noon. The 9 a.m. to 12 noon window is when one can drive through the area within minutes, or walk along the arched pathways, taking in views normally hidden behind endless street-side stalls peddling all things from quilts to dresses, leather to books, old coins to pearls, Unani medicine to mehndi.

By noon, the areas from Gulzar Houz to Patherghatti and Charminar to Lad Bazaar, leading up to the Chowmohalla Palace teem with people. Navigating this part of the town on a regular day is no less intriguing than during Ramzan, when shops here sparkle even more, selling all things bright and colourful. With a few days for Ramzan, the Old City is gearing up to cater to food lovers who will make multiple visits for their fill of haleem. But as a few vendors point out, there’s no dearth of activity all year round.

Ali Bin Abdullah, who runs a hole-in-the-wall store at Patherghatti stocked with plastic containers, mehndi and other cosmetics, points out, “On a regular day, I begin my work early because I have plenty of stock. It will take me at least an hour to dust and arrange them and by the time the first few customers come in, the display has to be good.” Adjacent to this store, Iqbal is busy wiping the dust off perfume bottles and adds, “The area has become so polluted and it takes time to clean the bottles. We have brisk sales through the year.”

Jewellery boxes, gift pouches, leather articles, trinkets and kaarigars working overtime to embroider garments for special occasions are all what make the market areas of the Old City a much frequented place. Large paper kites adorn the streets near Gulzar Houz during Sankranti and clay diyas are prominent during Deepavali. As for food, there’s never a dearth. Merchants sell seviyan round the year though the stock multiplies during Ramzan; pushcarts sell pieces of ‘junnu’ for Rs. 10 and fresh produce of fruits and vegetables are laid out for eager customers.

A few kilometres ahead, the kova sellers of Shah Ali Banda are gearing up for the festive season with more stock along with the eateries offering haleem. Elsewhere, in the bylanes of Begum Bazaar, traffic threatens to clog the roads every now and then. Plastic wares, aluminium and steel utensils, clay crafts, bangles and household items, the markets in Begum Bazaar make brisk business.

V. Sandhya, a homemaker who lives in Secunderabad, frequents the Old City to pick up pouches for return gifts, costume jewellery and kaarigars who take up custom tailoring. “Ours is a large family and whenever there is a celebration — be it weddings or smaller functions — people count on me to help. These days, you can source gift pouches and bags from General Bazaar and Ameerpet as well but nothing matches the vibrancy of the Old City. The bangles one gets in Lad Bazaar and the Begum Bazaar are unbeatable. My visits to these bazaars are incomplete without a lassi or falooda. I am sure I will visit these pockets with my family during Ramzan for the great food, but nothing stops me even other times of the year,” she says.

Anjum, a homemaker who specialises in making sweets, puts things in perspective, “The Old City symbolises Deccani tehzeeb in every aspect and I consider these areas a reminder of our history.”

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> MetroPlus / by Sangeetha Devi Dundoo / Hyderabad – June 24th, 2014

Why academic, gender diversity is imperative in B-schools

BSchoolsTELAN28jun2014

Management institutes look to re-jig the student mix for a holistic perspective

Puja Das talks excitedly about her new role as President of the graduate student board of the Hyderabad-based Indian School of Business. Conversing in the sandstone-coloured wind-swept cavernous atrium of the B-school, her enthusiasm is infectious.

The 26-year-old IIT Bombay graduate, who worked a little over two years in oil exploration company Schlumberger before joining ISB, has her agenda full: add lustre to the ISB brand, reach out to alumni, host national-level competitions… she’s brimming with ideas.

For ISB’s Deputy Dean Savita Mahajan this year has been in some sense one of twin triumphs. The Class of 2015 of the post graduate programme in management has 231 women students constituting 30 per cent of the total class size – the highest number ever since the school’s inception 13 years ago. “From the start of ISB, we had this target of 30 per cent in mind; it’s been steadily going up and this year is a landmark for us,” she explains. And, for the first time, the student’s body has a woman President: Puja Das won after a hard fought election, which saw six women in a field of 14 competing in two rounds of polling.

But, the landmark the Dean refers to isn’t just mere symbolism or a target to be achieved. It’s something that B-schools around the country have been grappling with these past few years: how to increase both academic and gender diversity in business schools. As Dean Mahajan explains, “Diversity of any kind; in educational background, gender, culture, is very useful in the learning process. It brings different skill sets and perspectives in the analysis of a problem situation and its possible solution. Particularly in management education, where the case method is used to illustrate real life situations, usually there is no single ‘right’ answer. Diverse opinions can challenge the mainstream view, and throw up out-of-the-box solutions, thus enhancing the whole group’s learnings and insights.”

As Das herself says of her a little over two-month stint at ISB, “We get to learn a lot from our colleagues, because they come from such diverse backgrounds.”

Importance of diversity

How important then is academic and gender diversity at B schools? Very much, going by what IIM-A Director Ashish Nanda said in an earlier interview to Business Line. “When I came here and met the students in different sections, my question was: How many of you are engineers? But I couldn’t ask the other questions; more than 95 per cent of the students were engineers. In our kind of classrooms, where learning is by discussion, if a teacher is just coming to teach fact and data then academic diversity doesn’t matter so much. But, if you have a class where most of the learning happens in interaction, and the faculty member is a facilitator, then it is important that students come from different points of view and are surprised by what others say and build on those learnings.”

Diversity, says Nanda, comes from different points of view; it comes from intellectual curiosity; gender; different socio-economic and educational backgrounds. “The participants of a classroom at IIM-A would benefit more if this were to happen,” he adds. Nanda, himself a 1983 batch alumnus of IIM-A, recalls that the imbalance was not so acute during his days as a student. And, now as Director of the country’s top B school, Nanda worked along with the admissions committee to restore some balance by making some proactive changes to the recruitment and admissions process for the 2014-16 batch. Partly as a result of these changes and with a greater recruiting effort by IIM-A in non-traditional areas, non-engineers constitute 11 per cent of the students to whom offers have been made this year, compared to 5 per cent or less of the batches in the past three years.

Also, 28 per cent of the offers, a record high for IIM-A, have been made to women applicants, compared to women constituting 11 per cent to 22 per cent of batches in the past three years.

But, as B-school dons point out, more women in management education indicates a quiet social phenomenon at work as well. ISB’s Mahajan says the pool of women entering the corporate workforce has multiplied otherwise one wouldn’t see the numbers going up in B-schools. “The gender scenario in the corporate world itself is changing and lot more women feel confident that this is a career they can build,” she says. Schools such as ISB and Great Lakes Institute of Management require a minimum of two years work experience to enrol for a one-year programme. GLIM’s Executive Director S Sriram says that traditionally very few women pursued higher education and those of them who did, got into humanities and social sciences and career wise, most aspired to become teachers and jobs of similar nature. “Modern women are pursuing engineering and other professional education and naturally they aspire to become managers and leaders of organisations. This is the supply side explanation.”

On the demand side, he says, corporates are increasingly realising the need and importance to have women managers and leaders. They are not only good in people management and organisational building due to their better developed EQ but also bring in possibly better corporate governance and ethics, as women tend to have less tolerance for compromise. “Even research conducted after the 2008 crisis found that companies with more women on board suffered less,” explains Sriram.

Uday Salunkhe, Group Director, WeSchool, says it’s all a domino effect due to the better policies in place that support women and overall a society that respects women for the talent they show. “With every woman you train, you fade the gender bias prevalent in many regions and strata and strengthen their determination for a better life. Well balanced gender diversity in all facets of life helps developing a healthier attitude and better respect for all. ” he adds.

Schools such as ISB have also been proactive in roping in women into B-school by reaching out to them during their undergraduate courses. It also admits women on an average who are younger then similarly qualified men. “We realised if we don’t give them an opportunity then or say you’re too young and work a couple of years and come back, they say there is too much pressure to get married and they may not be able to do the course later. It’s a valid reason. So we are open to taking them younger,” says Mahajan. But, even that is changing, she adds. With married students’ accommodation and conducive campus facilities, more married women are signing up for a B-school education — this year she says there are 45 married women on campus.

Best case practices

IIM-A’s Nanda recalls that two decades ago, MIT in the US used to have a similar problem of fewer women joining. It’s considered one of the top schools in hard sciences, but it was not getting many women students “and the reason was there was a general wisdom that you don’t get many women interested in hard sciences as the environment is not supportive of them.”

The leadership of MIT said it had to aggressively go and recruit women from schools, encourage them to apply; bring them to MIT to spend a couple of days; offer scholarships. “Today, MIT has almost 50 per cent women. And, in fact, it is considered one of the most women-friendly institutions. But, it took a decade. So we have to reach out to students; encourage people in society who think it’s important and provide motivation and incentives to people from different backgrounds to apply,” explains Nanda.

Anaita Singh, a student of the 2015 batch at ISB, who earlier worked in a bank, a government project and for a political party in the Delhi state elections, says earlier there was a set agenda for women, that they could work only in particular sectors. “We have more support systems now. And, now we are in a position to create something for ourselves rather than be stereotyped.”

Not just IQ, but EQ and SQ as well

The Chennai-based Great Lakes Institute of Management has traditionally had a high proportion of women in its batches since it started ten years ago. Executive Director S Sriram points out that managers who aspire to be in managerial and leadership positions need to have a strong EQ (emotional quotient) and SQ (social) apart from IQ.

“Our traditional education, and particularly in the Indian context, does not provide structured inputs to develop EQ and SQ. More particularly in management education, these aspects are very important as an overwhelming majority of students come from an engineering background which emphasises the IQ component almost to the exclusion of the other two,” he explains. One of the effective ways to respond to this of equipping future managers and leaders with an SQ and EQ component is ensuring diversity in terms of gender and the academic background they come from. “Women,” he says, “traditionally possess a higher EQ component. So, by being in the same class, interacting with them, looking at and learning from their perspective of managerial and leadership situations enables one to not only appreciate the EQ component but also develop it further.” People who come from diverse undergrad backgrounds bring in their own perspective to managerial issues/challenges. For example, he points out, a humanities person will look at a productivity problem very differently compared to an engineer. This not only enriches class room learning but also enables one to develop diverse perspectives.

source: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com / Business Line / Home> Features> New Manager / by Vinay Kamath / June 24th, 2014

ECIL completes field trials of giant Gamma-ray telescope

A giant Major Atmospheric Cherenkov Experiment (MACE) Gamma-ray telescope, being developed and manufactured by Electronics Corporation of India Limited (ECIL), has successfully undergone all the field trials, its manufacturer said here today.

The telescope has been developed for Mumbai-based Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) and was ready to be dispatched to Hanle site in Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir.

“When installed and fully operational by early 2016, this MACE telescope (which weighs about 180 tons) will be the second largest Gamma-ray telescope in the world. It will help the scientific community of the country to enhance their understanding in the fields of Astrophysics, Fundamental Physics, Particle acceleration mechanisms etc,” according to an ECIL statement.

Similar telescopes, setup in Namibia, Europe and the US, have been developed by collaborative efforts of multiple institutions, whereas the MACE telescope has been designed and developed from concept stage to assembly stage by ECIL with technology support from BARC, it said.

The MACE telescope flagging-off ceremony will be held on June 28 by Dr R K Sinha, Secretary, Department of Atomic Energy & Chairman, Atomic Energy Commission, at Antenna Systems Group, ECIL.

According to the ECIL, Very High Energy (VHE) gamma rays in the telescope offer a unique insight into some of the most extreme phenomena of universe.

The largest telescope of the same class is the 28 metre diameter HESS telescope, operating in Namibia.

source: http://www.business-standard.com / Business Standard / Home> PTI Stories> National> News / Press Trust of India / Hyderabad – June 24th, 2014