City students performed exceedingly well in the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) class XII results that were announced on Monday with most institutes securing 100% pass percentage. Incidentally, the overall pass percentage in the state stood at 92.96%, higher than that of neighbouring Andhra Pradesh, which stood at 87.84%.
The top score in the Science stream was achieved by Pranjal Pathak from Delhi Public School, Nacharam, with 98.6%, whereas in Commerce, the top scorer was P Amukta from P Obul Reddy School with 96.8%. Many students from Chirec Public School, Meridian School, Silver Oaks, Kennedy High School, etc., crossed the coveted 90% mark.
“Almost 32% students in our school have scored 90% and above. Although the papers were a little application-based this year, our students performed well,” said Iffat Ibrahim, principal of Chirec Public School in Kondapur.
According to students, the question paper for Maths, English and Chemistry were tougher this year. “The English and Chemistry papers were lengthier this time. However, I am glad I scored well in both the subjects,” said Yadavalli Susan, who scored 81 in Chemistry and 80 in English.
Among the high scorers in the Science stream were GS Satwik from P Obul Reddy School with 96.8%, Naila Fatima from Meridian School in Banjara Hills with 95.8%, Dhruvika Sahni from Chirec Public School with 95.8%, Arica Moirancthem from Kennedy High School with 94.6%, Yadavalli Susan from Silver Oaks with 92.5% and B Simren from Jubilee Hills Public School with 91.8%.
In the Commerce stream, Vishesh Agarwal from Meridian School with 96.4%, Mahitha Samyukta from Chirec Public School with 96% and Ankita Agarwal, Sharath Sonti and Utsav Badra from Delhi Public School with 95.8% were the top scorers. A total of 3,856 students from Telangana appeared for the exams conducted from March 2 to 26 this year. The pass percentage of girls in the state was higher than boys at 94.8% as compared to 90.93%.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Hyderabad / TNN / May 26th, 2015
Refusing to be shackled, these young entrepreneurs from small towns are making it big in Hyderabad.
According to American entrepreneur and author Scott Belsky, ‘It is not about ideas. It’s about making ideas happen.’ Entrepreneurs in the city certainly seem to agree when it comes to realising their start-up dreams. Despite humble beginnings in life, these entrepreneurs are determined to make a difference with their entrepreneurial pursuits. Refusing to be shackled, these small town entrepreneurs decided to push their boundaries to set up successful start-ups and are now set make it big in their own right.
Ram Nutakki
Take for instance, Ram Nutakki, founder of Ynew, a re-commerce portal that encourages people to buy used and refurbished gadgets like laptops and cellphones. “When we started 2.5 years ago, we had a different vision. However, along the way that changed and we now have Ynew. Before I decided to become an entrepreneur I was running my own business consultancy, which I did straight out of college. So I’ve been through my share of changes and along the way I have realised that for an entrepreneur, adaptability is one of the most important qualities,” he says.
Hailing from an agricultural family in a small town in Guntur district, Andhra Pradesh, Ram was all set to become a doctor until circumstances forced him to drop out of MBBS mid-course. He then went on to pursue a degree in B.Pharmacy, which also he had to discontinue. He finally completed his graduation in BBM and then went on to do his MBA in Hyderabad. “I’m a first-generation entrepreneur and expectedly my family was not too convinced about it. But my stint as a business consultant gave them some confidence in my vision. At the end of the day struggle is part of the business, but I believe in adapting to the circumstances and being emotionally resilient.”
Jay Guru Panda,
For Jay Guru Panda, who co-founded Wazzat Labs, a visual search engine for fashion e-commerce portals, launching his own start-up is a break away from his upbringing in Damanjodi in Koraput district of Odisha. “I moved to Hyderabad to study at IIIT-H and by the end of it I knew that I wanted to set up my own company. Wazzat allows people to use the image of an outfit they like, to scan various e-commerce sites and find similar styles and patterns. We’ve tied up with various retailers, one of them being Target in US.
Wazzat Labs was set up soon after I graduated and we participated in and won the Google Launch Pad event earlier this year; and also received seed funding. Right now we are looking to raise a larger sum in the third quarter of 2015,” he says, adding, “Fortunately, my parents trust me with my choices and I didn’t have to work too hard to convince them when I decided to set up my own company. These days, there is a lot more acceptance of start-ups.”
Sunil Mohan Ranta
Sunil Mohan Ranta, who hails from a small town in Himachal Pradesh with a total population of 600, too decided early on to not settle for a regular desk job. Which is why, he launched his company Crypsis even as he was pursuing his Masters’ degree. “At Crypsis we work with technology start-ups throughout their product life cycle, starting from conception to the launch and beyond. We have a lot of US clients today and are a 30-member strong team. Fortunately, we are at a stage where we don’t need to raise any funding for the company,” says Sunil, adding that convincing his family initially was no mean feat. “Though initially, my family was sceptical about me setting up my own company, today they are at ease with my decision. At the end of the day I wouldn’t trade my entrepreneurial pursuit for anything else.”
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> MetroPlus> Society / by Ranjani Rajendra / May 22nd, 2015
City students are giving their entrepreneurial dreams wings as they set up their own companies
A new crop of Hyderabadi youngsters are looking to do a lot more than be just students. From setting up their own photography studios to launching learning solutions companies or tracking apps, these students can’t wait to get started with their entrepreneurial pursuits, even as they juggle college and full time classes.
Raveena and Puranjani of Project Sonder / Special Arrangement
Small beginnings
Take for instance, Puranjani Kabra and Raveena Kandregula, two second year students from St. Francis Degree College. With a common passion for photography and filmmaking, the duo set up Project Sonder and have shot some weddings and even a fashion show for Gaurang Shah at Taj Falaknuma apart from a music video on a song by The Script. Puranjani talks about what prompted them to take the entrepreneurial plunge: “I have been into photography for a while now, doing self-driven projects and experimenting. With Raveena I got interested in filmmaking as well and I thought that instead of doing internships, we could combine what we both have and start earning by doing what we love best. My father’s willingness to invest in us provided the final push for us to begin.”
Raveena chips in, saying, “I love feeling busy. It is a challenge to maintain college attendance, stay up late hours and still be able to do shoots. But it is definitely a challenge we love. Project Sonder’s vision is to capture, through photographs and videos, every emotion and the story behind every life, as if it is the centre of the universe – rare, vivid, and complex in its own way. We are excited about this and do not want to limit ourselves in any way. We will complete our graduation in a year and if everything goes as planned we would love to continue.”
The larger picture
Aneeq Dholakia on the other hand, decided a regular 9 to 6 job was not for him. The fourth year student at IIIT-Hyderabad knew he wanted the freedom to do things on his own terms and decided to launch his start-up Spaceman & Mammoth along with his partner Kaushik Nooguri, who is also pursuing a course in CS. “Most of my batch mates have landed plum jobs through placements and I realise I may not make as much as they will even in the next couple of years; then again they all plan to take a break now before they join their jobs, but I cannot afford to do that since we are working on establishing our start-up. These are sacrifices I’m willing to make. After experiencing what it is like to do your own thing I am willing to spend 24 hours doing something I love,” he says, adding, that their company is all about introducing experiential learning programmes. “We have a three-day boot camp coming along called Reboot for undergraduate students to reflect on their current scenario and discover new, exciting and unique opportunities. The idea for this came along when we attended an event by AIESEC where we conducted a session called Spaceman vs. Mammoth. That is where the idea to reinvent the whole learning process came from,” he explains.
Time Management
The going doesn’t get any easier for these student-turned-entrepreneurs. It involves a lot of juggling and time management to be able to handle both academics and their work. Ravneet Singh Kathuria, a student of IIIT-H, who along with five other friends launched Brthe, a tracking app, says, “I think getting our families to see our vision is the hardest thing to do. It helps that we receive so much support from our mentors at CIE. I’ve always wanted to be an entrepreneur and as of now most of our days and nights are spent working on Brthe. Sometimes one person from our group manages to get us proxy attendance and we catch up on missed lectures later. It’s all about time management and I’m willing to do it to be able to realise my entrepreneurial dreams,” he says.
But it is not just about setting up their own companies. The idea is to take forward their vision and receive funding to establish them. Jeevan Chowdary, who launched Shoppers Express — a company that helps you get cash backs on online purchases — , says that his company recently received funding and will soon be employing four full time employees as well. “Our whole business philosophy is to create a cohesive experience for users to engage in e-commerce. Across our company’s touch points, we strive to give; give as we get. And that in my best opinion is what good businesses do. Entrepreneurship is something like connecting the dots. What I realised is that if anyone wants to launch a start-up, he shouldn’t search for the ideas and try to implement them. The best way to go forward to identify problems he/she faces and implement an efficient solution. Provide that same service to the world to bring out the entrepreneur in you,” says the IIIT-H student, who is looking forward to completing his one year of entrepreneurship along with Rohit, his technical head.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> MetroPlus / by Ranjani Rajendra / Hyderabad – May 06th, 2015
Freedom fighter and CPI leader K Rami Reddy passed away in his native Nalgonda district of Telangana today.
He was 96.
He died due to old-age related ailments, CPI sources said here.
He is survived by wife, three sons and three daughters, they said.
Reddy had participated in the freedom movement and also the Telangana Armed Struggle and was incarcerated for three years at a jail in Jalna in 1949. He is a recipient of Freedom Fighter’s Tamrapatra (certificate).
Reddy was subsequently active in CPI and held several party positions in Nalgonda district.
CPI General Secretary S Sudhakar Reddy, several party leaders and Indian Journalist Union leader Amar Devulapalli condoled the death of Reddy in separate press statements.
source: http://www.outlookindia.com / Outlook / Home / Hyderabad – May 05th, 2015
