He was known for directing supernatural as well as heroine-oriented movies.
Veteran movie director Kodi Ramakrishna, who directed nearly 202 movies in a career spanning 37 years, passed away on Friday afternoon at a hospital in the city. He was 70 and was ailing for the past few days.
Telugu film industry went into mourning as the news of the deathof the successful director spread. Born in Palakollu in West Godavari district, Mr. Ramakrishna directed movies in multiple languages including Tamil, Hindi and Kannada.
“Extremely saddened by the news of director Kodi Ramakrishna garu’s demise. His contribution to Telugu cinemais unparalleled; our industry will never forget his work. My thoughts & prayers are with his closed ones… May his soul rest in peace!” tweeted actor Mahesh Babu.
“A huge loss to #TFI..His contribution to cinema remains remarkable with so many path-breaking films like #Arundhati #Ammoru #ManganmaGariManavudu #Ankusam and many others…Strength to the family and loved ones…RIP #KodiRamakrishna garu..” Manchu Lakshmi posted on a microblogging site.
Beginning his career with a bang, in 1982 he helmed the Intlo Ramayya Veedilo Krishnayya which led to the rise of another superstar in Telugu film industry Chiranjeevi. Gollapudi Maruthi Rao scripted it, and the movie was a big hit and was remade in many languages including Hindi where Govinda was cast as the hero. Two years later, in 1984 he scored another hit with Mangamma Gari Manavadu which had Nandamuri Balakrishna in the lead. The duo went to score more hits together.
Known for supernatural as well as heroine-oriented movies, the last big hit Mr. Ramakrishna delivered was Arundhati, the 2009 supernatural drama starring Anushka Shetty propelled him to stardom for the second time in his long career.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Entertainment> Movies / by Special Correspondent / Hyderabad – February 22nd, 2019
Following the success of the India Rwanda Innovation Growth program started in 2017, the FICCI Association launched a similar programme with the Ethiopian Government this summit.
Hyderabad :
Launching the India-Ethiopia Innovation, Technology Transfer & Commercialization Programme along with the Ethiopian government, the Global Research and Development Summit 2019 commenced in Hyderabad on Thursday.
The two-day conclave inaugurated by Professor Ashutosh Sharma, Secretary, DS & T, Government of India, focussed upon strengthening technology and development ties between India and Africa.
Following the success of the India Rwanda Innovation Growth program started in 2017, the FICCI Association launched a similar programme with the Ethiopian Government this summit. Dr.-Ing. Getahun Mekuria, Minister of Science & Technology, Govt. of the Republic of Ethiopia talked about the several benefits of the scheme including more job opportunities for the people and help Ethiopia move from an agriculture-based to a knowledge-based ecosystem.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Hyderabad / by Express News Service / February 22nd, 2019
(Left) Research scholars Kruthi Doriya and Anup Ashok with chemical engineering associate professor Devarai Santhosh Kumar (centre) at Industrial Bioprocess and Bio-Prospecting lab at IIT-H; (above) civil engineering associate professor Asif Qureshi.
IIT-H team finds Antarctic fungi that may help treat Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia
Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology-Hyderabad (IIT-H) working with scientists from National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR), Goa, have isolated Antarctic fungi that contain ‘L-Asparaginase’, an enzyme-based chemotherapeutic agent used to treat Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL).
Fewer side-effects
ALL is the most common type of childhood cancer and isolation of L-Asparaginase’ containing fungi from extreme environments could lead to development of new chemotherapeutic treatment methods that have fewer side-effects than the existing methods.
In ALL, the bone marrow produces an excess of immature lymphocytes, a form of white blood cells.
One of the most frequently used chemotherapy drugs to treat ALL is the enzyme ‘L- Asparaginase’ which reduces the supply of asparagine, an amino acid that is essential for the synthesis of protein, to cancer cells. This prevents the growth and proliferation of the malignant cells.
The path-breaking work has recently been published in Nature’s Open Source Journal, Scientific Reports (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-018-38094-1). IIT-H team consisted of Devarai Santhosh Kumar, associate professor, department of chemical engineering, and Asif Qureshi, associate professor, department of civil engineering, along with their research students Anup Ashok, Kruthi Doriya and Jyothi Vithal Rao while NCPOR team included Dr. Anoop Kumar Tiwari.
Drug costs
Principal investigator Dr. Santhosh Kumar said, “Extensive purification steps are necessary before L-Asparaginase derived from E. Coli and E. Chrysanthemi is used as a drug to treat ALL. This increases cost of the drug.”
‘L-Asparaginase’ enzyme used for chemotherapy is currently derived from commonly found bacteria such as Escherichia coli and Erwinia chrysanthemi. These enzymes are always associated with two other enzymes, glutaminase and urease, both of which cause adverse side effects in patients such as pancreatitis, hemostasis abnormalities, central nervous system dysfunction and immunological reactions.
The research team looked at psychrophiles as alternate sources of the enzyme. Psychrophiles are organisms capable of growth and reproduction in low temperatures in the range of −20 °C to +10 °C, such as those found in Antarctic regions.
These organisms have modified life processes that help them adapt to the extreme conditions of living. For example, psychrophiles have ‘anti-freeze’ enzymes that are powerful enough to be able to work at the freezing temperatures of the poles, unlike mesophiles that live in more habitable zones of the earth. The potency of the enzymes makes them promising as powerful drugs for diseases such as cancer, he said.
55 samples collected
Industrial bioprocess and bioprospecting laboratory research team, seeking alternate sources of L-Asparaginase, screened and isolated fungi collected from the soil and mosses in Schirmacher Hills, Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica. These fungi were found to have L-Asparaginase free of glutaminase and urease. The team isolated 55 samples of fungi, of which 30 isolates had pure L-Asparaginase.
Absence of glutaminase and urease would prevent the serious side-effects currently seen with the use of bacteria-derived L-Asparaginase. “Fungal species have the ability to mimic the properties of human cells, as both are eukaryotic in nature, which makes it easier for their usage in treatment of ALL,” the researchers wrote in their Nature Scientific Reports paper.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities > Hyderabad / by Special Correspondent / Hyderabad – February 20th, 2019
Selected for week-long tour after essay writing competition
Twenty-five students from the Paramita Heritage School have been selected for the international conference at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), USA, for seven days ithis May.
Go for Guru, NASA, Florida Institute of Technology and Astronaut Memorial Foundation had recently conducted essay writing competitions at the school after which 25 students were selected for an educational tour to NASA.
Of a total 5,000 students from across the country who took part in the competition, 470 were selected. Among them, 124 belong to Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, including 25 from just one school, informed Paramita Educational Institutions chairman E. Prasada Rao here today.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Hyderabad / by Special Correspondent / Karimnagar – February 19th, 2019
Safran to make parts for LEAP turbofan engine with €36 million investment
French aerospace major Safran on Tuesday said it will set up a plant in Hyderabad to make parts for CFM International’s LEAP turbofan engine with an investment of €36 million.
Construction on the facility will begin in June. The target is to produce the first batch of parts by early 2020. By end of this year, operations at the plant will be launched with about 50 employees while over time, the headcount will be 300.
Near airport
The 13,000-square metre plant, to be built at the Special Economic Zone of GMR near the airport, will include 8,000 square metres of workshops. When the plant hits cruise speed in 2023, it will be able to deliver 15,000 parts per year. CFM International is set to deliver 1,800 engines this year, a number expected to increase to 2,000 next year.
With more than 17,000 orders and commitments till date, LEAP is the fastest selling engine. The new-generation LEAP entered service in 2016 and has passed the mark of three million flight-hours. It powers over 700 Airbus A320neo and Boeing 737 MAX commercial airliners, including 54 operated by Indian airlines, said an official release.
Expressing happiness at Safran selecting Hyderabad to establish the plant, Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao said the company joins the league of other global original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) which are already manufacturing and exporting from Telangana.
Aerospace, he added, is a focus industrial sector for Telangana and the State government is providing maximum support to encourage the industry.
In the release, Safran CEO Philippe Petitcolin, who is on a visit to India for the Aero India Show, said, “Aerospace continues to be a significant driver of India’s growth and we want to fully support this dynamic by bolstering our investments and training programmes in the country.”
Safran, which has been in India for around 65 years, has, at present, over 600 employees at seven companies that provide design, production and support services for aerospace and defense, plus a maintenance training centre in Hyderabad for CFM engines. The centre, which was established in 2010, can train more than 500 technicians a year.
‘Very excited’
Former Industries Minister K.T. Rama Rao tweeted: “Very excited to welcome Safran’s new investment in Telangana.”
The French multinational had, in 2018, announced the setting up of a Safran Electrical and Power factory to produce LEAP engines harnesses and Rafale fighter electrical wiring interconnections systems in Hyderabad. The 4,000-square metre facility, also at the SEZ, will be ready by mid-2019 and employ 250 people. The operations have begun in a temporary building with 33 employees.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Hyderabad / by Special Correspondent / Hyderabad – February 20th, 2019
Malavath Poorna after conquering the 6,962-metre Mt. Aconcagua, the highest peak of South America, on Friday
Poorna becomes youngest tribal girl to scale world’s four highest peaks
Malavath Poorna has added another feather to her snow-capped hat. She has become the world’s youngest tribal woman to scale four highest mountain peaks across four continents.
The 18-year-old successfully climbed Mt. Aconcagua, the highest peak in Southern and Western Hemisphere on February 15. “I cannot even describe how difficult the climb was; it was much tougher than Mount Everest but I was determined to go ahead with the mission,” Poorna said, speaking from Mt. Aconcagua.
Before this, she had scaled Mt. Everest (Asia), Mt. Kilimanjaro (Africa) and Mt. Elbrus (Europe).
‘Sky’s the limit’
The sky should be the limit for girls hailing from marginalised communities, she asserted. “We can achieve great goals in life,” she said. Poorna was a student of Telangana’s Social Welfare Residential Educational Institutions. She is currently pursuing her undergraduate studies at Telangana Social Welfare Residential Degree College for Women in Kamareddy.
“My goal is to make Telangana and India proud by becoming the youngest tribal woman in the world to scale the seven highest peaks across all seven continents. Now, I have set my sights on scaling Mt. Denali in North America, Vinson Massif in Antarctica) and Mt. Kosciuszko in Australia,” she declared.
Sekhar Babu, director of Transcend Adventures, had sponsored Poorna’s Aconcagua expedition.
Reacting to Poorna’s latest achievement, TSWREIS secretary R.S. Praveen Kumar said, “What makes her feat unique is that she hails from a poor tribal community and her parents, Laxmi and Devidas, work as agricultural labourers in Pakala village of Nizamabad district. Poorna has become a role model and source of inspiration for millions of girls from marginalised communities throughout the world.”
Poorna also participated in the 70th United Nations General Assembly in New York in September, 2015, to speak on equal rights for girls. In 2017, Bollywood actor-filmmaker Rahul Bose released a film on the young mountaineer that he titled ‘Poorna: Courage Has No Limit’.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Hyderabad / by Special Correspondent / Hyderabad – February 16th, 2019
TRS MP K. Kavitha will be the main speaker at Global Compact Network India (GCNI)’s ‘Gender Equality Summit 2019’ in New Delhi on March 1. The GCNI is the local arm of United Nation’s Global Compact.
Ms. Kavitha will speak on ‘Preparing women for the future of work’. She was chosen for her passion to accelerate efforts to achieve sustainable development goals, especially gender equality in India, a press release informed.
The highlights of the summit include a thought leadership piece that will be brought out in collaboration with GCNI’s knowledge partner, Deloitte, on preparing women for the fourth industrial revolution and presenting the second best practices awards on gender equality in India.
Preparing blueprint
Chief executive officers, chief human resource officers, chief sustainability officers, policy makers, CSR practitioners, and members of civil society organisations and NGOs will attend the event to prepare a blueprint for the road ahead.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Hyderabad / by Special Correspondent / Hyderabad – February 16th, 2019
GHMC Commissioner M. Dana Kishore on Friday received ‘Swachhata Excellence Award’ at a special function held in New Delhi as the civic body stood first under cities with over one million in engaging community-based organisations and information on waste pickers in sanitation and solid waste management.
The Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Urban Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NULM) Swachhata Excellence Awards have been instituted by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs to recognise the Area Level Federations (ALFs), City Level Federations (CLFs) and Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) working towards achieving sanitation outcomes with their communities and promoting dignified livelihoods in the sanitation sector.
Main objectives
The main objectives of Swachhata Excellence Awards are to bring cleanliness, sanitation and livelihoods to the forefront of social discourse.
It is also to encourage ULBs, ALFs and CLFs for their initiatives related to elimination of open defecation, eradication of manual scavenging, behavioural change towards healthy sanitation practices, creating awareness about its impact on public health and modern and scientific solid waste management.
Through this initiative, the urban local bodies (ULBs) are supposed to mainstream informal sanitation workers, improve their income-earning capacity and engage community organisations to achieve sanitation and cleanliness outcomes, a press release said.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Hyderabad / by Special Correspondent / Hyderabad – February 16th, 2019
A formerly rare variety of cucumber which was grown at Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao’s farmhouse at Erravalli in Gajwel district has taken Karimnagar by storm.
KCR keera dosa sells at `40 per kg in Karimnagar| Express
Karimnagar :
A formerly rare variety of cucumber which was grown at Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao’s farmhouse at Erravalli in Gajwel district has taken Karimnagar by storm. The rather unremarkable vegetable christened KCR keera dosa by the local populace has now become a staple in every household here, with people preferring the chief minister’s namesake to the local variety which is at least 25 per cent cheaper
The local variety costs Rs 30 a kilo, while KCR keera dosa has a going rate of Rs 40 per kg. Sriramula Srinivas, a vegetable vendor, said he sells over 1 quintal of KCR keera dosa everyday. “KCR keera dosa is very tasty and does not have seeds, so people prefer this to the local fare,” he explained. What’s more, locals just don’t seem to be getting enough of the cucumber, with the vegetable being brought in from other districts as well.
“It is certainly good. We like it. I think it will become popular across the State soon,” T Laxmi, a homemaker, told Express while purchasing the cucumber from a market here.Its popularity is such that farmers are now importing seeds from the Netherlands where the vegetable grows in large numbers. Orders can be placed online — a pack of 1,000 seeds costs Rs 8,500.
And it’s healthy too!
KCR keera dosa has higher water content than the local variety and is much softer. It’s free of seeds, more or less uniform in size and doesn’t taste bitter like the local fare at times does. However, the variety can be grown only in poly houses, not farms.
Locals ditch homegrown variety for KCR keera
The vegetable christened KCR keera dosa by the local populace has now become a staple in every household in Karimnagar, with people preferring KCR keera to the local variety which is at least 25 per cent cheaper
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Telangana / by Naveen Kumar Tallam / Express News Service / February 15th, 2019
Veteran film director Vijaya Bapineedu, 82, died on Monday at his residence, in Banjara Hills.
Veteran film director Vijaya Bapineedu, 82, died on Monday at his residence, in Banjara Hills. He had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and was receiving treatment from Apollo Hospital for the past four years. Born on September 22, 1936, in Chataparru, Eluru as Gutta Bapineedu Chowdary, the director had a great share in aiding Megastar Chiranjeevi to reach stardom.
The duo has collaborated for about seven films and their combination made a major impact at the box office. Some of their notable works include Patnam Vachina Pativrathalu (1982), Maga Maharaju (1983), Khaidi No 786 (1988) and Gang Leader (1991).
Bapineedu’s films with late actor Sobhan Babu – like Bharyamani (1984), Maharaju (1985) and comedy hero Rajendra Prasad – like Naku Pellam Kavali (1987), Donga Kollu (1998), Zoo Laka Taka (1989) and Valu Jada Tolu Beltu (1992) were lapped up by the urban audience.
Having started his career as an editor of Bommarillu and Vijaya magazines, Bapineedu made his directorial debut with Dabbu Dabbu Dabbu (1981) and he went on to direct 23 films between 1981 and 1998. His production ventures include films like Yavvanam Katesindi (1976), Rambha Urvasi Menaka (1977) and Bommarillu (1978) among others.
He is also credited for introducing young talents like directors Durga Nageswara Rao, G Rama Mohan Rao, Mouli, Vallabhaneni Janardhan and cameramen – MV Raghu, Maheedhar, Sreenivasa Reddy, lyric writer Bhuvanachandra and dialogue writer Kaasi Viswanath, to the industry. Recently, he was in the news for expressing his wish to direct Chiranjeevi again in a film. Known as a man with no airs, he was admired by all sections of the film industry.
Condolences pour in Megastar Chiranjeevi expressed deep shock and grief at the demise of Vijaya Bapineedu. “I still cannot believe that (Vijaya) Bapineedu garu is no more. He encouraged me as a father, brother and mentor. Besides our professional relationship, our families are close to each other and he is like a member of my family. We worked in over half-a-dozen films together, since Patnam Vachina Pativrathalu (1982),” said Chiranjeevi.
Terming Bapineedu’s death a personal loss, Chiru added, “I would persuade him to work with other heroes, but he would insist that his comfort-level and bonding with me is way more than any of them. After I moved to Hyderabad (from Chennai), Bapineedu garu offered me accommodation in his guest house and allocated two floors to our family. He is going to be missed, badly,” added Chiru. Recalling his association with Bapineedu, actor Mohan Babu said, “He (Bapineedu) was a man of great character. Our friendship goes back about a quarter of a century.
He is not only a successful director but also a good screenwriter who has created a niche for himself with wonderful creativity.”The Chief Ministers of the Telugu States – Nara Chandrababu Naidu and Kalvakuntla Chadrashekhar Rao have conveyed their condolences at the demise of the renowned filmmaker. They said Bapineedu has a left a legacy with his films and his death created a vacuum in the Telugu film industry.
Funeral on February 14 Vijaya Bapineedu’s last rites will be performed at Mahaprasthanam, Hyderabad on February 14 since his elder daughter is yet to arrive from the US.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Hyderabad / by Murali Krishna CH / Express News Service / February 13th, 2019
