Monthly Archives: May 2013

His designs for DC

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Records, All

 

DeccanChronicleHF12may2013‘There are signs everywhere’ is one of those cryptic pieces of advice we have all heard. For 23-year-old Syed Saif, all the important signs in life were in the Deccan Chronicle. So, it was as though our ad, asking readers to send in their entries for new logo designs, spoke to him directly.

“My earliest memories of the newspaper go back to my school days, when I would draw comic strips from the supplement in a scrapbook all day,” he recalls.

It was also an ad in the newspaper for an animation school that triggered off the idea in Syed’s mother that her artistic son could make a career out of his skills, especially since he had started working immediately after his schooling.

Now, a creative designer at an advertising firm, Syed says, “My work shows up in DC all the time. I have designed print ads for Meena Jewellers, Fusion 9 and Liquids, so when I read the paper, I see my work as well!”

Designing the masthead was difficult, he admits. “I wasn’t able to make any aesthetic connections with the name ‘Deccan Chronicle’ itself. So I went online and researched the work DC has done in the past and its achievements. Then, my thoughts became clearer and the ideas came through.”

Syed sent in four impressive designs; including emphatic symbols of a torch and a pen to more creative works, using typography. Explaining the logic behind each design, he says, “From a visual aspect, a torch in the shape of newspaper depicts DC’s journey of enlightening readers with the truth since 1938. A hand holding a pen shows strength and confidence in the reporting the truth and being the largest and most circulated English daily in South India. My third design is a simple typographic logo that says ‘Since 1938’, along with a tagline. The fourth option is a trendy look with a simple font in black and white.” Designing is such an integral part of Syed’s life that he also uses his talent to give back to society. “I also work with an NGO called Aikrathya, which is involved in financially supporting poor children to holding blood donation camps for blood cancer patients. I design for them for free,” he shares.

source: http://www.deccanchronicle.com / Deccan Chronicle / Home> Lifestyle> Offbeat / by Samyuktha K, DC / April 27th, 2013

‘Wonder toys’ from a TV mechanic

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Records, All, Science & Technology

ToysHF12may2013

MLA Malla Vijay Prasad and film personality Gollapudi Maruti Rao being shown the working model of a human being at a function in Visakhapatnam on Tuesday. / Photo: C.V. Subrahmanyam. / The Hindu

What started off as a hobby, five years ago, has now earned fame for Pentakota Rajesh who continues to work as a television mechanic. A six-foot homo sapien, created by him, hopes to enter Guinness Book of World Records soon. The clay craft combined with rubber mould represents how each and every part of human body functions with inbuilt electronic and electrical mechanism.

Rajesh had created many clay moulds under the name of ‘wonder toys’ that blinks, speaks and plays cricket. His creations ‘Ayyappa makara jyothi’ and ‘cricket Ganesha’ have already entered Limca Book of Records, India Book of Records and Book of State Records. Spending almost two years understanding the mechanism of Homo sapien, he now intends to enter Guinness Book of World of Records. “I did a lot of research to design the concept. After working for almost two years, I was able to create a homo sapien. I hope my work not only helps me get recognition worldwide but also helps schoolchildren,” he said. Appreciating the creative thoughts of Rajesh, founder president of Creative Makers in Events Vincent Pratap Kumar said:

“Rajesh works hard for his living and his innovative thoughts made him design 56 toys so far using printed circuits, and electronic and electrical mechanism. With his latest invention, he hopes to reach schoolchildren and help them understand the structure of human body.”

Dedication, hard work and perseverance can make a man achieve greater heights, MLA Malla Vijaya Prasad said. “Being a commerce student and working as a television mechanic, Rajesh has created wonders in the world of science. His creations are innovative and has a message to deliver,” he said.

Actor and writer Gollapudi Maruti Rao appreciated Rajesh and added that his designs should not be just restricted to entering a record books but should reach a generation.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Visakhapatnam / by Staff Reporter / May 01st, 2013

Science talent prizes presented to children

Education, Records, All
Union minister of state for communications Killi Kruparani presenting the national level science talent search annual award to students in Hyderabad on Sunday | Express Photo
Union minister of state for communications Killi Kruparani presenting the national level science talent search annual award to students in Hyderabad on Sunday | Express Photo

K.Ravi Sri Teja, a Class VI student of St Ann’s English Medium School at Tadepalli, has won the first prize in the National Level Science Talent Search Examination (NSTSE) 2013.

Union minister of state for communication and information technology Killi Kruparani presented the prizes at a function held at Ravindra Bharati here on Sunday. Around 274 school students, who qualified in NSTSE, Unified Cyber Olympiad (UCO) and the State Level Talent Search Examination (SLSTSE), turned up to collect prizes and certificates.

“The Union government has declared 2010-2020 as the Decade of Innovations. Most of the innovations in the modern world have been carried out by those who excel in mathematics and sciences. There is a need for revolutionary changes in various fields,” the minister said.

Around 6 lakh students of Classes 2 to 12 participate in the talent search examinations every year. “Around 5,000 schools were represented at the examination across the country. We also conduct examinations abroad in Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Russia, Oman and some others,” said Srinivas Kallur, director of Unified Council.

Telugu writer Yandamuri Veerendranath and guidance counsellor BV Pattabhiram also spoke.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Hyderabad / by Express News Service – Hyderabad / May 06th, 2013

New project to save Great Indian Bustard in Kurnool

Green Initiatives / Environment, Nature, Science & Technology
The Great Indian Bustard in flight at the Rollapadu Sanctuary in Kurnool district. / Photo: Rakesh Narala / The Hindu
The Great Indian Bustard in flight at the Rollapadu Sanctuary in Kurnool district. / Photo: Rakesh Narala / The Hindu

The rare giant bird, Great Indian Bustard, is currently facing deep trouble due to ecological changes. According to an estimate, the endangered species has shrunk to just 300 in the entire globe. The birds at the Rollapadu Great Indian Bustard Sanctuary in Kurnool district have also dwindled to five from 10.

As the alarm bells are ringing, the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF), the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS), World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and State Forest Department have launched a unique Species Recovery Programme to save the Great Indian Bustard, which will continue for a decade.

Majestic bird

The project will be implemented at the Rollapadu Great Indian Bird Sanctuary set up in 1987 in an area of 6.14 square km near Nandikotkur in Kurnool district.

The BNHS will spare a principal investigator and two researchers who will lead the project to improve the breeding, habitat development and help increase the numbers. Over a dozen staff members will assist the scientists.

The Great Indian Bustard is a majestic bird with an average height of up to 120 cm, long neck and legs and a brownish plumage. A mature bird weighs up to 14.5 kg, while female birds are 15 to 20 per cent less in height and weight.

The GIB feeds on locusts, beetles, butterflies, snakes, scorpions, lizards, mustard, pulses like Bengalgram and groundnut seed. The bird spends most of the time on the ground and flies only when it intends to undertake long flights to migrate to other areas. A bird lays one or two eggs in a breeding season, which is the August-December period in Rollapadu.

Detailed study

Farmers in Rollapadu area recall that the busty birds would flock around them during harvest time to pick up insects that got exposed from the ground. These scenes have disappeared completely now and even a decade ago the GIB population was estimated at 40-50.

Divisional Forest Officer at Atmakur, Mohammad Moiddin Nawab, who is incharge of the sanctuary, told The Hindu that in the first stage of the recovery programme, a detailed study would be undertaken to pinpoint the causes of the falling numbers.

According to a view, the characteristics of the habitat are changing rapidly after construction of the Alaganur Balancing Reservoir close to the sanctuary. Initially, everyone thought that improvement in water availability would help the sanctuary. But this was not so. The improved irrigation facilities around the sanctuary have transformed the ecosystem from grassland to wetland. Farmers have now shifted from dryland crops to paddy and other commercial crops, which consume large amounts of chemicals and pesticides.

Within the sanctuary, the number of co-species hostile to the GIB such as wolf and the blackbuck have increased rapidly.

The blackbuck population rose from 17 in 1982 to 1,000 now. Wolves relished GIB eggs and chicks. Last year gloom descended on the sanctuary when a wolf devoured a precious chick. Currently, two forest watchers are guarding an egg laid by a bird. Sometimes, stray cattle also trample on the eggs.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> National> Andhra Pradesh / by D. Sreenivasulu / Kurnool – May 07th, 2013

Visakha Dairy new plant to be ready in 3-4 months

Business & Economy, Green Initiatives / Environment, Nature

Visakhapatnam :

Visakha Dairy plant, which is under construction at Rangampeta in East Godavari district, will be ready by August-September, according to Chairman, A. Tulasi Rao.

He was speaking to reporters at the Visakha Dairy plant here on Sunday after releasing a new product — 100-ml toned milk in tetra pak at Rs 5.

He said the dairy was selling 75,000 litres of high quality milk per day with varying fat content in toned, double toned, skimmed and standard milk variants. The dairy aims at a target of 1 lakh litres per day by the end of the year.

The 100-ml Visakha Tetra Pak is aimed at the lower-end consumer, combining the twin features of affordability and single use. The product would be sold in Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Orissa.

He said that the plant could process 6 lakh litres per day. Visakha Dairy is procuring milk from Srikakulam, Vizianagaram, Visakhapatnam and the two Godavari districts.

“We are setting up the Rangampeta processing plant at a cost of Rs 20 crore with a capacity of 2.5 lakh litres to 3 lakh litres, as it is becoming increasing difficult to bring milk all the way from the two Godavari districts. We have to cut down on the transport costs. We tried to acquire the sick Godavari Dairy and turn it around, but the Government was not very keen on it. Therefore, we decided to put up a plant on our own,’’ he said.

Rao said that Visakha Dairy is procuring milk from more than 2 lakh farmers in the five districts, covering 2,800 villages.

“Our primary objective is to provide quality milk and milk products to consumers and at the same time do justice to our farmers by paying them a remunerative price. Of course, a balance has to be struck between the two aims. We have set up a hospital with excellent facilities here for the sake of the farmers and staff and we also try to provide educational facilities to the children of the farmers,’’he said.

source: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com / Business Line / Home> Companies / by Ch. R. S. Sarma   sarma.rs@thehindu.co.in / Visakhapatnam – May 05th, 2013

Kollur village near Gachibowli : Rural attraction for high-end techies

Business & Economy, Science & Technology

Hyderabad:

Kollur, a tiny village in the outskirts of Hyderabad, is slowly carving out as a satellite hamlet for fast developing Cyberabad. Located about 13 kms from Financial District, Kollur is easily accessible from Gachibowli, Kokapet and Narsingi and it is the second village along the Outer Ring Road (ORR), after Kokapet.

Interestingly, the village is under the restricted zone under government order banning organised residential and commercial development in order to protect the Osman Sagar and Himayat Sagar lakes. Thus the village has turned as home for several high end villa projects costing between Rs 2 to 3.5 crore.

A drive from Kokapet, the new buzzing location for corporate and commercial activity, would lead to villages – Vattinagulapalli, Khanapur, Janwada, Mirjaguda etc. on the Mumbai highway. On northern side of ORR there is Tallapur village. Apart from Kollur, the villages like Velimala, Edulunagulapalli, Padi, all facing the ORR, command similar opportunity and lands are available for medium to long term investments.

KolurHF10may2013

Apart from Financial District and Kokapet, these under-dog villages have easy and quick access to Gachibowli signal, Nanakramguda, Narsingi etc, some of the fast developing locations on ORR.

Here, the land is generally flat and offers vegetation, thus extends clean and pollution free environment. On the connectivity side, besides the ORR, the village is also connected with railway line. About two kilometers from Kollur, there is Edulunagulapalli Railway Station on Hyderabad-Mumbai line. And with MMTS being extended up to Shankarpalli village, Edulunagulapalli station will have access to MMTS.

While driving from airport, we can get on to service road at Puppalguda intersection and drive to Kollur past Kokapet. The intersection at Kollur (called Edulunagaluapalli intersection), gives access to the ORR itself, instead of using service road.

Besides, the village has excellent education facilities set up by industry majors like NCC runs Samsthi International School and Open Minds established by Birlas. Having just 15 minutes access from Gachibowli Financial District, the parents, who are working here can reach their wards very quickly.

Further, being close to Gachibowli, the villages have attracted new-age development by providing comfortable residential location for high-end IT employees in the Cyberabad.

Several residential developers are working on various villa projects in Kollur and neighbouring villages like Edulunagulapalli, Velimala and Pati. With the presence of over 50,000 employees working in the Financial District area, and many more are expected to join, the location has high potential for property investment, as the prices are now at low.

source: http://www.thehansindia.com / The Hans India / Home> Headlines / May 04th, 2013

Aurobindo Pharma gets USFDA nod for two drugs

Business & Economy, Science & Technology, World Opinion

Hyderabad : 

Homegrown pharma player Aurobindo Pharma Limited on Saturday informed the bourses that the company had received USFDA’s (United States Food and Drug Administration) final nod to manufacture and market tamsulosin hydrochloride capsules and clindamycin palmitate hyderochloride  for oral solution in the US market.

The Hyderabad-headquartered company did not disclose the timeline but said that the products would be launched soon.

Tamsulosin hydrochloride capsule is the generic version of Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals’ Flomax capsules and is indicated for the treatment of symptoms of enlarged prostate in men. According to industry estimates, the market size of the product is estimated to be $244 million for the twelve months ending September 2012.

Clindamycin Palmitate Hydrochloride for oral solution is the copycat version of Pharmacia  & Upjohn’s Cleocin Pediatric for oral solution and is indicated for the treatment of serious infections caused by susceptible anaerobic bacteria in infants.

Industry estimates state that the market size of the product is $57 million for the twelve months ending September 2012.

According to the company, Aurobindo now has a total of 190 Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) approvals from the US regulator USFDA .

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> Business> India Business / TNN / May 04th, 2013

Eye bank opened at government hospital in Warangal

Science & Technology
Backward Classes Welfare Minister B. Saraiah inaugurating the eye bank at the regional eye hospital in Hanamkonda on Saturday.– Photo: M. Murali / The Hindu
Backward Classes Welfare Minister B. Saraiah inaugurating the eye bank at the regional eye hospital in Hanamkonda on Saturday.– Photo: M. Murali / The Hindu

BC Welfare Minister B. Saraiah inaugurates the new facility

For the first time in government sector, an eye bank was set up here at the Regional Eye Hospital on Saturday with an estimate of Rs. 2 crore.

Backward Classes Welfare Minister B. Saraiah inaugurated the new facility and said this would help give eyesight to many people. The facility will enable the doctors collect the cornea of dead within six hours and store in the bank. This could be given to those whose lost sight due to damage to the cornea.

The Minister said all the referral hospitals in the State were being added new facilities and it was decided to sanction more funds to the regional eye hospital in Warangal to create further facilities.

Warangal MP S. Rajaiah, Joint Collector P.S. Pradyumna, hospital superintendent Panduranga, district medical and health officer Sambasiva Rao and others were present.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Andhra Pradesh /  by Special Correspondent / Warangal – May 05th, 2013

Urban agriculture booms in Hyderabad

Business & Economy, Green Initiatives / Environment, Nature, Science & Technology

Hyderabad :

Urban agriculture is the new culture that is catching up in the city. More than 4000 households in the outskirts of the city currently are self reliant for the vegetable needs of the family. This time Horticulture department for a change is giving subsidy directly to the citizens instead of farmers who want to grow of complete nutrients set of vegetables.

Officials say according to the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) estimates, by 2050, global food demand will grow by 70 per cent to cater to the needs of the global population of 9.3 billion. As the natural resource to feed this population is going to be difficult task urban agriculture is seen as big solution to the problem.

Speaking to TOI horticulture department director K Devamuni Reddy said that the initiative as part of urban farming is met with good response since it was initiated two months back. “We give the citizens who are ready to grow a cluster of vegetables at their home a subsidy of Rs 360 and they have to spend another Rs 1200 from their pockets” he added.

This subsidy kit involves four silatin round beds, red earth, farmyard manures, 14 bags and other essential things to grow a garden at home. Officials said though the citizens have to spend additional Rs 400 to 500 for transporting ,response has been more than good. Mostly people in Uppal, Dilsukhnagar, LB nagar, Vanastalipuram who have own houses have shown good interest with more than 4000 subsidy kits being distributed so far. Officials plan to increase this number to another 1000 in next few months.

The growers will be able to get Ladies finger, Tomato, Brinjal, Pallak, coriander, Amarathis, Ridge guard, Bottle guard, Beans, cucumber, and Cluster beans. The subsidised kit will have the required seeds and the kit will be sufficient for two seasons to grow. “The programme is designed in a way that Indian Council of Medical Research ( ICMR) recommendation for nutritional needs are fulfilled. With each kit there would be a yield of 450 KG yield which would be covered in a span for three to four months” K Devamuni Reddy said. It would cover nearly one hand half KGs a day for a family of four members.

Official sources said that in Hyderabad, it was found that households that produce vegetables saved 20 per cent of their total food expenditures by retaining part of the produce for household consumption. “I find this programme interesting because we can get the guidance from them directly. Costs can be brought down too” V Venkatalakshmi of LB Nagar said. Soon the officials are planning to do visits of as many as households possible and monitor their practices.

source: http://www.articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Hyderabad> Vegetables / by Sribaala Vadlapatla, TNN / May 04th, 2013

Asian Seabass seed production unit to be set up in Krishna district

Business & Economy, Green Initiatives / Environment, Nature, Science & Technology

National Fisheries Development Board (NFDB) has sanctioned Asian Seabass seed production unit — the first in Andhra Pradesh — in Krishna District. With brackish water aquaculture activity gaining ground in the district, demand for huge quantity of Asian Seabass (Lates Calcarifer) species has also gone up.

Brackish water aquaculture is taken up in more than 5,000 acres across the district, but the farmers depend only on Seabass seed provided by Central Institute of Brackish water Aquaculture (CIBA), Tamil Nadu. The CIBA officials said that the variety survives in freshwater aquaculture ponds also, hence very popular.

The yield of Asian Seabass is much higher compared to other species. This led to the demand increasing manifold. Getting entire requirement from Tamil Nadu is turning out to be a Herculean task.

Many farmers had to withdraw their plan of growing the variety due to non-availability of seed in the district. “The NFDB has sanctioned a seed production unit worth Rs.72 lakh, which is proposed at Urlagonditippa village. It will be set up by T. Sankara Rao, a farmer,” Fisheries Deputy Director T. Kalyanam told The Hindu.

source: http://www.thehindu.com  / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Vijayawada / by T. Appala Naidu / Machilipatnam – May 05th, 2013