Monthly Archives: May 2018

Excellence awards given to 43 civil servants

Inspiration / Positive News and Features, Records, All

Focus needed on result-oriented administration: CS

Telangana Excellence Awards for 2017 and 2018, instituted by the State government, were presented to 43 civil servants for innovation, general and flagship schemes under individual, group and organisation categories here on Monday.

Deputy Chief Minister Kadiyam Srihari said civil servants would be doing complete justice to their coveted positions only when they were proactive in understanding problems of the people and put their best foot forward in finding enduring solutions. He complimented their contribution towards outstanding success of such innovative interventions such as reorganisation of districts, purification of land records, welfare of farmers, nutritious food for poor students and development of all sections of society. Mr. Srihari said swift decision making was the need of the hour in order to measure up to the rising expectations of people. Minister for Industries K. Taraka Rama Rao underlined the importance of 3D mantra to enrich the quality of governance – decentralisation of administration, extensive use of information and communication technology in service delivery and democratic style of functioning.

“TS-iPASS has resulted in a number of beneficial outcomes including issuance of about 66,000 permissions to industries in an expeditious manner resulting in inflow of investment to the tune of over US$20 billion besides creation of about 3 lakh jobs”, he said.

He stated that similar initiatives were in the pipeline for issuing time-bound permission for building plans. He suggested that the pursuit of excellence by civil servants should continue unabated but cautioned them receiving the Awards should not lead to a sense of complacency.

Chief Secretary S.K. Joshi said while process-oriented administration was important in its own right, equal focus should be laid on result-oriented administration. He underlined the need for overhauling all manuals and re-engineering of all processes in order to improve the quality of governance.

Director General of Dr. Marri Channa Reddy HRD Institute B.P. Acharya said there were multiple avenues of recognition in the uniformed services but similar opportunities in the civil services leave much to be desired. “In this scenario, presenting these Awards, is a step in the right direction”, he noted.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Hyderabad / by Special Correspondent / Hyderabad – May 22nd, 2018

Award for hospital founder

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

Continental Hospitals founder and Director Guru N. Reddy was conferred the ‘UK & Asia Inspirational Business Leaders award 2018’ in London by Ambassador and Deputy High Commissioner of UK Dinesh K. Patnaik, Lord Swaraj Paul and Lord Karan Billimoria on May 17.

Dr. Reddy was chosen from among 200 leaders by a distinguished jury of ibrands 360 and editorial team of Leaders Asia Magazine.

Other recipients of this award in the past include Apollo Hospitals chairman Dr. Prathap C. Reddy, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, Biocon chairperson and MD Kiran Mazumdar Shaw and Tata Sons chairman Ratan Tata, a release said.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Hyderabad / by Special Correspondent / Hyderabad – May 19th, 2018

CSR award for NMDC

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

Its initiatives support education, health and skill development

Public sector iron ore miner NMDC Ltd has bagged S&P Global Platts Global Metals Award 2018 in the corporate social responsibility category.

Chairman-cum-Managing Director N. Baijendra Kumar and Director (Personnel) Sandeep Tula received the award at a function held on Thursday in London on Thursday. The honour S&P Global Platts Global Metals Award recognises top performers – industry leaders and innovators. It corporate social responsibility (CSR) award recognises the organisation that best demonstrates leadership, commitment to action and real-world social impact on social responsibility of corporate business entity, a release from NMDC said.

The public sector firm is the largest iron ore mining company in India. With iron ore production of around 35 million tonnes per annum, it has a domestic market share of about 25% (non-captive category). NMDC also extracts diamonds through its mine in Panna, which is the only mechanised diamond mine in Asia.

Mr. Kumar said the company’s CSR initiatives adopt a “flexible, inclusive, non-perspective, process-oriented approach to enable the stakeholders to determine the scope of our programmes and activities. NMDC has shown that it is possible to be profitable, while being socially and environmentally responsible”.

NMDC’s CSR spend has increased from ₹86 crore ($13.25 million) in 2011-12 to an average of ₹190 crore ($30 million) during the last three years. The company has been supporting initiatives on education, health, skill development, infrastructure creation, drinking water with a view to enhance the quality of life and empower the local population, the release said.

source:http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Hyderabad / by Special Correspondent / May 18th, 2018

TTWREIS students excel at karate championship

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

Students of TTWREIS who bagged gold and silver medals at the International Karate Championship held in Dubai.

Five tribal students bring home four gold and six silver medals

Five tribal students of Telangana Tribal Welfare Residential Educational Society (TTWREIS) schools clinched four gold and six silver medals in various categories at the International Karate Championship held in Dubai on May 10 and May 11, in which contestants from 49 countries had participated.

Sridivya bagged a gold medal in Kata category and silver medal in Kumite category (Under 14 years), Pavanika won silver medals in Kata category and Kumite categories (Under 16), B. Ganesh got gold in Kata and silver in Kumite categories (Under 16), P. Harshith received the gold medal in Kata category and silver in Kumite category (Under 16) and B. Ramesh was awarded the gold medal in Kata and silver medal in Kumite categories (Under 16).

An elated Sridivya said, “Winning the medals is a huge morale booster as I am preparing for major international championships like the Tokyo Olympics. I am excited and humbled.” Another student Pavanika, an orphan at the Kothaguda school in Mahabubabad, said, “I never even dreamt I would cross the Indian borders and go to Dubai to participate in an International Karate Championship considering my background.”

Secretary R.S. Praveen Kumar, speaking during the felicitation function on Monday, said the institutions were encouraging and training thousands of girl students in martial arts to defend themselves in challenging times. He expressed happiness that tribal boys and girls have been breaking the barriers by excelling in IIT, NEET, mountaineering and now karate competitions.

He said these achievements were possible because of support from CM K. Chandrasekhar Rao, Tribal Welfare Minister A. Chandulal and the State govt. for providing quality English medium education and a world of new opportunities to the marginalised children.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Hyderabad / by Special Correspondent / Hyderabad – May 14th, 2018

Stoves that are not just poor-friendly, but fuel-efficient

Amazing Feats, Business & Economy, Green Initiatives / Environment, Inspiration / Positive News and Features, Records, All, Science & Technology
The stoves created by environmental chemist Sai Bhaskar N. Reddy.

Hyderabad-based chemist creates over 50 designs that help in reducing smoke

More than 50 designs, painted in hues of blue and red that adorn the walls of a one-room museum located amid wilderness in Jangaon, were created for a single purpose – to efficiently burn.

The stoves of Sai Bhaskar N. Reddy, a city-based environmental chemist, are a result of years of travel, discovery experimentation with biomass and material to produce designs that are replicable, cheap and can improve fuel efficiency by reducing smoke.

“In 2005 at a village in Mahabubnagar, I found people cooking on three-stone stoves, but could send their children to convent schools and had dish connectivity. The biogas stoves subsidised by the government were not functional. I sought the government’s assistance to intervene, but nothing happened,” he said explaining his resolve to make biomass stoves. Dr. Reddy’s designs have been uploaded on the Internet for free use. Every design, he says, is an improvement over the previous one, to achieve improved burning of multiple types of biomass fuels. Though a large number of rural households now use LPG, a stove that burns biomass, often wood, is also used in rural homes, mainly for heating water.

The WHO estimates that nearly four million people are killed worldwide annually due to indoor pollution caused by inefficient combustion. Stoves at Dr. Reddy’s museum at Peddamadduru in Jangaon are made from low-cost aluminium boxes in which cooking oil is conventionally sold or cast iron. The gasifier variety of stoves is fitted with small fans used as exhaust in computers.

“This, I would say, is the most iconic design,” he says pointing to a stove that looks more like a traditional grill. “The 3G stove allows inflow of air at various levels during combustion. It also helps easy loading of biomass and allows for production of biochar.” Biochar, a charcoal produced from plant material, has found in use many applications, including those of environmental decontamination to agriculture. Dr. Reddy’s stoves have been used by the homeless in Mumbai, in the villages of Mahabubnagar and even possibly by refugees in Europe. “After October 2015, traffic from European nations, including Germany, to my website where I have uploaded designs has surged,” Dr. Reddy says adding that cooking apart, his stoves could also be used for heating.

A proponent of open source knowledge, Dr. Reddy says he does not monetise his designs. He believes that low-cost solutions made available online free of cost for other purposes like treating water, sanitation and makeshift houses could greatly help the poor, refugees and the homeless and help achieve the goals of development that govt.s have been striving to achieve.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Hyderabad / by Rohit P.S. / Hyderabad – May 13th, 2018