Monthly Archives: November 2014

Telangana Doc Elected President of AMASI

Founder-president C Palanivela (left) presenting a badge to Dr Suresh Chandra, who has been elected president of the Association of Minimal Access Surgeons of India, at a function held in Dubai.
Founder-president C Palanivela (left) presenting a badge to Dr Suresh Chandra, who has been elected president of the Association of Minimal Access Surgeons of India, at a function held in Dubai.

Hyderabad :

Eminent city-based doctor Dr Suresh Chandra Hari was elected president of The Association of Minimal Access Surgeons of India at a special conference held in Dubai on Sunday.

Hari, who took over from Dr Palanivelu, will hold the office for a term of two years. He is the first Telangana surgeon to become national president of this prestigious association whose primary objective is to bring advanced laparoscopic surgical treatment all over India. Earlier. in 2007, he was elected secretary of AMASI which has 7,200 members.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Telangana / by Express News Service / November 17th, 2014

KCR Announces Four Telangana State Icons

KCRiconsTELANGANA18nov2014

Hyderabad :

Chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao on Monday announced Telangana’s four new state icons. They are: the State Animal — ‘Jinka’ (Deer); the State Bird — ‘Palapitta’ (Indian Roller or Blue Jay); the State Flower — ‘Tangedu’ (Tanner’s Cassia); and, the State Tree — ‘Jammi Chettu’ (Prosopis Cineraria).

These icons reflect the culture and tradition of Telangana state and three of them — ‘Tangedu’ flowers, Blue Jay and ‘Jammi Chettu’ — are associated with the popular festivals of Batukamma and Dasara.

While ‘Tangedu’ flowers are used in Batukammas, spotting the Blue Jay on Dasara is considered a good omen and people worship ‘Jammi Chettu’ on that day.

As for the deer, it is present in almost all the districts of Telangana. Though there were numerous proposals from various people for being chosen as the state icons, the chief minister finally zeroed in on these four icons. However, he did not name the official fruit, song, dance and sport of the state

Every state needs to have its own icons, more so a new state like Telangana. While three of the Telangana icons are different from those of the AP, the state bird – ‘Palapitta’ – is common to both the states.

While the icons of the undivided AP were selected keeping Seemandhra in mind, Rao opted for four separate icons to represent Telangana culture and tradition. KCR, who announced his decision on the symbols at a meeting with the officials, explained thus:

‘Jinka’: “Deer is deeply associated with Indian history and a reference to this graceful animal was there in the great epic Ramayana. It can survive in the smallest forests also. It reflects the mindset of the people of Telangana as it is very sensitive and innocent”.

‘Palapitta’: “Lord Rama spotted the ‘Palapitta’ before invading Lanka and vanquished Ravana. ‘Palapitta’ has been chosen to put Telangana on the path of victory”.

‘Jammi Chettu’: “Pandavas had vanquished a large army of Kauravas only after performing worshipping the ‘Jammi Chettu’. They had hidden their weapons on a ‘Jammi Chettu’ when they had been forced into exile in the forests. Now, Telangana requires the blessings of the ‘Jammi Chettu’.

‘Tangedu’ Flower: ‘Tangedu’ flower which is used during the ‘Batukamma’ festival by women folk is the most appropriate choice as the state flower.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Telangana / by Express News Service / November 18th, 2014

Telangana gets its first International Master

M. Chakravarthy Reddy of Telangana State won the Asian youth (under-18) open category chess title. / by Special Arrangement
M. Chakravarthy Reddy of Telangana State won the Asian youth (under-18) open category chess title. / by Special Arrangement

M. Chakravarthi Reddy wins Asian Youth Chess Championship U-18 open category title in Delhi

M. Chakravarthi Reddy is all set to become the first-ever, ‘original’ International Master from the newly-formed Telangana State after winning the Asian Youth Chess Championship under-18 open category title in Delhi.

It’s a highly remarkable achievement by the first year student of CBIT in ECE, considering the fact that the first ever IM from the then united Andhra Pradesh was Lanka Ravi way back in 1987 amongst the very few from this part of the country.

It was an event, which was clearly dominated by Indians who won three gold, five silver and two bronze besides, the overall championship.

A proud father, Venkat Reddy, who is an agriculturist hailing from Halia mandal near Nagarjunasagar in Nalgonda district, says that his son started playing chess from class 6 onwards.

Coached by Shiva Kumar and C.R.G. Krishna, this happens to be the first major win for Chakravarthy as his only other big achievements were gold, silver and bronze in the last three editions of the National School Games.

New rules
Because of the change in rules in awarding the IM title, the FIDE will now confer it to the continental champion directly unlike in the past when a player has to complete three IM norms despite winning these kind of events.

The new rule clearly states that on a title gained by achieving a certain place or result in a tournament — winning or achieving with a result of 50 per cent, the respective national federation in Chakravarthi’s case, AICF, will have to send the application and confirmation by the qualification commission, the title will be awarded automatically.

Mosadeghpur Masoud of Iran and Serikbay Chingiz of Kazakhstan settled for silver and bronze respectively in the U-18 Open category.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Hyderabad / by V.V. Subrahmanyam / Hyderabad – November 16th, 2014

KCR hails Saina’s title win

Badminton player Saina Nehwal. / PTI
Badminton player Saina Nehwal. / PTI

Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao has complimented ace shuttler Saina Nehwal on her winning the China Open Series women’s singles badminton title on Sunday.

In a statement, Mr. Rao said it was third title of the season for Ms. Saina, who is settled in Hyderabad, and second super series title. The sportspersons of Hyderabad are an inspiration to Telangana State which is trying to overcome all adversities to be in the forefront of progress, he said.

The success of women players in particular would inspire and infuse confidence among girls of Telangana in different walks of life, he hoped.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Hyderabad / Hyderabad – November 17th, 2014

Farming has a different meaning for him

K Srinivas with vegetables at his leased farm at Kavalmpet in Medak. Photo: Mohd. Arif / The Hindu
K Srinivas with vegetables at his leased farm at Kavalmpet in Medak. Photo: Mohd. Arif / The Hindu

Tenant farmer Katakam Srinivas, who is making profits in farming, treats crops like new born babies that have to be nurtured with love and care

For this tenant farmer, agriculture has a different meaning. “Plants are like new born babies and farmers have to nurture them with love and care,” says Katakam Srinivas, a farmer who had migrated from Kadiyam in East Godavari district to Medak in search of greener pastures about a decade ago.

Well, he seems to have found the greener pastures, as he has been successful in making profits out of farming, quite a rarity these days. But it didn’t happen in a day or a year. It took him over a decade of hard labour which finally has made him a happy farmer.

His day begins at 4.30 in the morning and ends late in the evening. And if it’s the harvesting season, the working hours stretches even further. At 10 in the morning, he is usually seen supervising the sale of vegetables like snake gourd and bottle gourd. And his two sons – Jeevan Phani Kumar and Ganapati – assist him and see to the finer aspects of growing vegetables.

Srinivas along with his sons Jeevan Phani Kumar and Ganapathi at his leased farm at Kavalmpet in Medak. Photo: Mohd. Arif / The Hindu
Srinivas along with his sons Jeevan Phani Kumar and Ganapathi at his leased farm at Kavalmpet in Medak. Photo: Mohd. Arif / The Hindu

Mr. Srinivas came to Medak in search of a job in a private factory, but failed to get one. After working as a daily labourer for some time, he approached some locals for help. As he had prior experience in cultivation, he was asked to take up farming and that changed his life for better. Now, he cultivates about 30 acres of land as a tenant farmer and has a dozen labourers to assist him. “I also have cattle to take care of. After supplying milk to the canteen of a local factory, I go to the farm,” says Mr. Srinivas. He is also into banana cultivation this year. “If the weather conditions are good, banana is one of the best crops that generate good revenue. We got saplings from East Godavari where banana crop is largely cultivated,” he says.

His belief that Mother Earth never deceives farmers only if they care for the crop they grow has yielded him good result. He suggests the other farmers to take up multi-cropping instead of a single one as it is profitable.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> National> Telangana / by R. Avadhani / Kavalampet (Medak Dist). / November 13th, 2014

TDF Atlanta chapter inaugurated

The Telangana Development Forum has started its Atlanta chapter to make its activities more inclusive in order to contribute to the development of Telangana State.

Telangana Development Forum, vying for its fair share of visibility among the Telugus in the USA, is gaining momentum overseas what with the new executive, under Vishweshwar Kalavala’s leadership, giving wings to various city chapters in USA.

Bharath Naravetla, who was elected for the TDF USA Board of Trustees (BOTs) recently from Atlanta, took the initiative and made the first meeting of Telanganites a huge success in Atlanta.

The attendance of 70 people represented a balanced diversity of age groups, professions, and places they came from back home and was a good mix of local organisations ATA, NATA, TANA and others.

The TDF Atlanta Advisory Panel comprising Narender Reddy Ganta, T. Ramchander Reddy, Mohan Reddy KomatiReddy, Laxma Reddy Paripati, Rathnaker Elugunti, Sathyanarayan Reddy Thangirala, Dr. Sreenivas Gangasani, Srijan Joginpally, Kiran Pasham, Vivek Reddy Edula, Upender Kadire and Goutam Goli was also announced on the occasion.

The members present and the advisory panel provided their inputs for the development of Telangana and announced an action plan of TDF Atlanta to work in tandem with the local organizations to develop Telangana region and promote Telangana culture in USA, said the TDF Media Chair, Santosh Reddy Kakulavaram.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> National> Telangana / by Special Correspondent / Hyderabad – November 14th, 2014

Sreeja gets a call for national duty

Akula Sreeja
Akula Sreeja

The 15-year-old will represent India at the prestigious Wisdom 2014 World Junior Championship in Shanghai later this month.

Gifted table tennis player Akula Sreeja, a product of the Global Table Tennis Academy here, has been named to represent India in the prestigious Wisdom 2014 World Junior Championship, which will be held in Shanghai from November 30 to December 7.

The 15-year-old champion youngster happens to be the sole representative from Telangana to be selected for the event, which is said to be the third-biggest after Olympics and the World Championship. Sreeja’s parents A. Praveenand A. Sai Sudha were delighted at the news and hoped their daughter would continue to surprise many.

Coached by Somnath Gosh, Sreeja’s selection got a boost when she recently won the National Ranking (East Zone) Table Tennis Championships in Durgapur. Other girls in the Indian team include Ayhika Mukharjee (West Bengal), Shruti Vijay Amrute (Maharashtra) and Riti Shankar (New Delhi).

“Playing on any big stage gives players like me a very good exposure,” said Sreeja.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Hyderabad / by Special Correspondent / Hyderabad – November 12th, 2014

Best App in Asia award to Hyderabad entrepreneur

The Best App In Asia category of the digital winners 2014, Raghu Kanchustambham, explains about his application in Hyderabad on Wednesday. Photo: G. Ramakrishna / The Hindu
The Best App In Asia category of the digital winners 2014, Raghu Kanchustambham, explains about his application in Hyderabad on Wednesday. Photo: G. Ramakrishna / The Hindu

The app helps coffee growers to get instant returns for their produce. Livelihood 360 is also capable of estimating quantity of the produce in the fields and sell the crop at fair price.

The coffee farmers of Araku valley these days get instant returns for their produce. Gone are the days when they had to wait for nearly a month till the buyers completed the weighing process of the produce and release money through co-operative society. Thanks to a mobile application developed by Hyderabad-based entrepreneur, Raghu Kanchustambham, there is no waiting period.

The app dubbed as ‘Livelihood 360 (L360)’ was adjudged the Best App of Asia in the Telenor Digital Winners Conference, a global competition held in Oslo, Norway this month. The award came with a cash prize of Rs. 9,79,000, which will be utilised by the developer to further “scale up” the concept.

It all started when Mr. Raghu, who has a start-up ‘Concept Wave’, met the officials of Naandi Foundation, which was already working with the coffee farmers of Araku valley. “The basic premise was to utilise technology and reach to those people not having access to technology and internet. I visited Araku valley and spent time with them and learnt a lot about their lifestyle and livelihood,” he said.

Mr. Raghu said the previous system of remittance to coffee growers in Araku was taking about a month. The coffee growers would take their produce to a prescribed ‘adda’ where the truck drivers would collect and transport coffee beans to another location for weighing and valuing. “We gave the truck drivers an application that would quantify the yield and also determine the quality instantly. The drivers will immediately remit the amount on the spot to farmers,” he explained.

Livelihood 360 is also capable of estimating quantity of the produce in the fields and sell the crop at fair price. “We have already adopted this application among 12,000 coffee farmers in 650 villages of Araku. Between 40 and 50 truck drivers from Araku were given training on using the application on a feature phone and not a smart phone,” he explained.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Hyderabad / by M. Sai Gopal / Hyderabad – November 12th, 2014

Aviation conference takes off in Hyderabad on Wednesday

Representatives from 15 countries and 20 international speakers from Defence and aerospace engineering global majors are pariticipating in the meet.

A three-day aviation conference showcasing Telangana State as an investment hub in defence and aerospace engineering opens in Hyderabad on Wednesday.

The event, Defence & Aerosupply India, at the Novotel Hyderabad airport will bring the best in the aviation business to discuss new opportunities and challenges. There will be representation from 15 countries and 20 international speakers from defence and aerospace engineering global majors.

According to the organisers – Government of Telangana and Kenes Exhibitions – well known names globally in the sectors, including Airbus, Dassault, Lockheed Martin, Honeywell, Bell Helicopters, Israeli Aerospace Manufacturing Federation, have confirmed participation.

The conference comes in the backdrop of the State government announcing its decision to set up a new aerospace park to promote defence and aerospace industries. These two, as a combine, figure in the list of 12 sectors identified by the State for promotion and expected to get impetus in the upcoming industrial policy.

Senior officials of Telangana State, who briefed presspersons here on Tuesday about the conference, said the State government is keen to promote difference industries and studied incentives offered by neighbouring States to stay competitive. Special Chief Secretary and Commissioner for Industrial Promotion and Mines K. Pradeep Chandra and Commissioner for Industries, Commerce and Export Promotion Jayesh Rajan addressed the meet.

Chief Minister K.Chandrasekhar Rao is scheduled to inaugurate the conference on Wednesday. On November 13 and 14, a host of sessions focussed on specific areas such as supply chain management, MRO (maintenance, repair and overhaul) challenges, aviation systems and technologies besides company presentations would be held.

According to a press release, the conclave aims to bring global companies engaged in the supply chain of the aerospace arena with focus on technologies, high end products and expanding their supplier base to explore new business opportunities in the Indian market. It will provide broad coverage of the full supply chain in design and manufacturing of aero structures, engines, avionics, ECS, interior, MRO, engine refurbishment and sub-systems.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Hyderabad / by Special Correspondent / Hyderabad – November 11th, 2014

Microsoft hosts ‘Codess’ event in Hyderabad

Hyderabad :

IT major Microsoft said it had hosted ‘Codess’, a global community for women coders, at its Microsoft India Development Center campus in the city on Friday.

Codess was established by Skype in March 2013 to explore ways to promote gender diversity in the field of engineering. “Codess Hyderabad is one in a series of Codess events worldwide and second in the series to be organized in India. Codess entered India in May 2014 in Bangalore. Themed ‘Coding an Innovative Enterprise’, Codess Hyderabad provided the attendees an opportunity to interact with women achievers in the area of engineering,” Microsoft said in a statement.

Around 84 women coders from Hyderabad with experience in development, testing and project management participated in the event, the company release said.

The company pointed out that the theme of ‘Coding an Innovative Enterprise’ was relevant as India is seeing a steady rise in technology startups and is emerging as the third largest base for startups after the US and UK.

“Innovative thinking, enterprising approach and problem solving attitude are some of the key skills to build a startup. These skills are also important to be a great coder. The theme, therefore, aimed at aligning thoughts, drawing parallels and providing a common platform for the participants to share experiences as entrepreneurs and coders,” it added.

Microsoft India R&D Pvt Ltd managing director Anil Bhansali said, “The program aims to bring together women in engineering to share personal and professional experiences, network and learn from each other.”

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Hyderabad / by Swati Rathor, TNN / November 07th, 2014