Monthly Archives: March 2019

Hyderabad-based organisation launches YouTube series on polls

The Youtube series, which has been on air since March 16, has already opened to a wide response with at least 1.7k views on the 10-minute explainer about the methodology of the Indian election.


Youtube screengrab of the video series DECODE

Hyderabad :

At a time when fake news and false information is rampant on the internet and driving several netizens from the news media, Factly, a Hyderabad-based initiative, has launched a video series on YouTube to demystify elections and related subjects. DECODE, the video series has been made in order to help voters understand the voting process and bust myths about policy misinterpretation ahead of the 17the Lok Sabha elections. The Youtube series, which has been on air since March 16, has already opened to a wide response with at least 1.7k views on the 10-minute explainer about the methodology of the Indian election.

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“In our interaction with people, we realised that people want to engage with political and policy issues but find them monotonous. With this initiative we are making policy issues entertaining and engaging,” noted Rakesh Dubbudu, founder of Factly. The fact-checking initiative has been in place for years now, however, the weekly Youtube series started only a few days ago, in view of the elections. “This is the best time to educate people about the democratic process as there is a lot of excitement and chatter about these things,” added Rakesh.  

Rakesh further added that the main motive of Factly is to bust fake news. “Fake news takes over when there is no credible information. We will be giving official sources on government websites so that people can verify the facts for themselves,” he said.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Hyderabad / by Express News Service / March 29th, 2019

Sunitha Simon is one of the few Triumph Thunderbird storm riders in India

The woman, the machine, the kick. The pride is nothing without responsibility and safety, says Thunderbird Storm rider Sunita Simon

It was love at first sight. Roughly two years ago, Sunitha Simon’s eyes fell on the Triumph Thunderbird Storm when she accompanied her friend to a high-end two-wheeler showroom.

Completely besotted, Sunitha couldn’t get the 350 kg, 1700cc twin cylinder beast out of her mind. “I can cycle, but on bikes, I’ve always been a pillion rider. I had never considered riding a two-wheeler until I saw it that day,” Sunitha recalls with a smile. She kept dreaming of owning it.

Owning it wasn’t simple. First, she had to learn to ride a two-wheeler. Since neither of her parents rode a two-wheeler, she got her driver to teach her on his Hero Honda.

After 20 days of daily lessons and practice, she was “confident about riding the vehicle on which I was learning. I took another couple of days to ride it on my own around my neighbourhood.” All this preparation was just enable her to ride the Thunderbird Storm.

Even when she brought the bike home, her mother had to persuaded to let Sunitha ride it; she took her own time to agree. “My bike might weigh 350 kg on the stand, but when I am riding it, it feels nimble. To me, riding the bike is all about challenging my limits. I’ve always done and wanted to do what is unconventional. So when I wanted to pick the beast, my dad was not surprised. Besides, probably no other girl in India rides the Thunderbird Storm in India as far as I know, so that makes me proud of myself,” says Sunitha.

Sunitha is among the handful of owners and riders of this classic British engineering beauty. She still considers herself a baby-rider and is learning to ride like a pro with a small group of riders.

On Women’s Day, Triumph India featured Sunitha on their Facebook homepage as one of the few Thunderbird Storm riders in India. As a proud owner of the beast, she didn’t modify the bike at all and wants to ride it the way it should be; “The thundering sound is its ultimate ornament,” she says.

Riding may give Sunitha immense confidence, but at the same time she’s not big on speed. “I prefer relaxed rides. My bike rides help me meet my other two passions — travel and food. However, when on a ride one has to be careful of what they eat. I learnt it the hard way. On one my rides, I couldn’t resist the lassi I saw at a dhaba. After a glassful, I couldn’t continue the ride as I felt sleepy. I was forced to stop and that held back the other riders. Thankfully, when we go on rides, it is all about taking care of each other’s back,” adds Sunitha.

A marketing professional with a leading telecom brand, Sunitha is a handloom sari-clad young girl at work. She says her newest passion i.e., riding has extended her wardrobe. “From shoes to the helmet, riders need their gear. The gear is as important as knowing how to control a vehicle. I wear a L52 helmet, boots and jacket by Triumph, Scott’s gloves and knee guard. Sadly most of the stuff isn’t made for women. So getting a jacket for my size was a big task, Finally I settled for jacket that is a size bigger because there is no way I would ride without my gear. It’s safety and responsibility over style,” assures Sunitha.

She is thrilled to bits that one brand has come out with gloves for women, “with a pink band around the knuckles,” she chuckles.

Having done three long rides that includes a trip to Araku, Tippeshwar and Bengaluru, Sunitha is looking forward to more rides. “These rides are helping me discover places. I love being independent, so going with a big group doesn’t serve my purpose. I ride with a small group of like-minded peopleto plan and ride better,” she adds.

What’s next? “I want to learn to go off-roading for which I want a bike with better ground clearance, so that is definitely playing on my mind now.”

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Hyderabad > Motorycylce Diaries / by Prabalika M . Borah / March 28th, 2019

Mission Shakti: Dedication of Hyderabad scientists helped pull off remarkable feat

The A-SAT interceptor missile hit its target at an altitude of 300 km in a span of 3 minutes.


G Satheesh Reddy, DRDO chief |Express

Hyderabad :

‘Mission Shakti’, as it is rightly being hailed, is a remarkable achievement for the country, and a matter of pride for Hyderabad, as the project was conceived in the city.

Speaking to TNIE, chairman, DRDO and secretary to the Department of Defence R&D G Satheesh Reddy said scientists of Research Centre Imarat (RCI), along with those from Defence Research Development Labs (DRDL) and Advanced Systems Laboratory (ASL) — three premier DRDO labs in city — had been working on the project for the last two years. “But in the last six months, our scientists have worked day and night to achieve this on a mission mode,” the distinguished scientist added.

The A-SAT interceptor missile hit its target at an altitude of 300 km in a span of 3 minutes. “With an extremely high degree of accuracy, it can hit targets in the low earth orbit (LEO) at an altitude of up to 1,000 km,” Reddy pointed out.

On the obstacles faced, Reddy said, “It was a technological challenge because, primarily, the relative velocity between the missile and target satellite was 10 km per second. It is a hit-to-kill weapon and we have worked very hard to achieve an accuracy of centimetres.” Though the accuracy in centimetres is yet to be calculated, he said it could be around five-to-six cm.

The interceptor missile was a three-stage missile with two solid rocket boosters. Tracking data from range sensors, according to DRDO has confirmed that the mission met all its objectives.“There are no warheads. Accuracy has to be very high. You need to develop a lot of mechanism like ‘divert thrusters’ which gives the manoeuvrability to the vehicle.

The algorithms have to be very precise and accurate for various environments. You need to hit with high accuracy. The BMD(ballistic missile defence) programme technology has been used,” said Reddy.


While India now has joined the elite club of USA, Russia and China, what is next for DRDO? “We have mastered the technology which can give an accuracy of centimetres. We have to plan (future course of action) and work it out,” he said.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Telangana / by Rahul V. Pisharody / by Express News Service / March 28th, 2019

TS seeks German support in setting up seed park

Telangana emerging as seed bowl of the country with about 400 seed companies based in the State

The Telangana government has requested the officials of the German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture to extend technological support in establishing the seed park at Banda Mylaram in 150 acres.

The request was made to a delegation of the German Federal Ministry including officials of the Indo-German (seed) Cooperation Project visiting the State. Agriculture Minister S. Niranjan Reddy, Principal Secretary C. Parthasarathi, Commissioner Rahul Bojja, Director of Marketing G. Lakshmi Bai, and Director of Telangana State Seed and Organic Certification Authority K. Keshavulu had a meeting with the visiting delegation.

A bilateral agreement was also signed by Telangana and German Federal Ministry for the development of seed sector in the State. Speaking at the meeting, Mr. Niranjan Reddy said Telangana was emerging as the seed bowl of the country with about 400 seed companies based in the State and doing a business to the tune of ₹ 5,000 crore with the help of 1.5 lakh skilled labour in seed production.

Giving a powerpoint presentation to the visiting delegation, Mr. Parthasarathi said high quality hybrid seed of paddy, jowar and maize was being produced in the State and even the seed produced in other States was being processed and stored here due to the most conducive conditions. The Indo-German seed project was also extended for three more years recently, he noted.

Parliamentary State Secretary to the German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture Michael Stubgen said there was huge scope for food processing sector too in Telangana and they were ready to cooperate in that area too. He invited the Agriculture Minister to visit Germany for studying the agriculture sector there.

Director of TSSOCA Mr. Keshavulu asked the German delegates to attend the International Seed Testing Association congress being organised here in June-July this year. President of National Seed Association of India M. Prabhakar Rao and others participated.

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