The Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) in Hyderabad has been judged the “best cargo airport of the year” at the recently held 40th Annual Convention of Air Cargo Agents Association of India in Jaipur.
This is the second year in a row that RGIA has been recognized for its cargo operations, said a statement by GMR Hyderabad International Airport Ltd (GHIAL), the operator of the airport.
“Winning this award for the second consecutive year demonstrates our commitment in service excellence to our customers and stakeholders. This award is a welcome boost for us in our endeavours to establish RGIA as a logistics hub of India,” said S.G.K. Kishore, CEO, GHIAL.
RGIA has emerged as India’s first and only airport based Free Trade Zone, providing high value potential business opportunities to customers in the region for value processing, trading and distribution.
ACAAI is the national association representing the air cargo Industry in India. It promotes growth, development and professionalism in the cargo agency business.
source: http://www.ianslive.in / IANS Live / Home> Business / by IANS / Hyderabad – November 11th, 2013
If you have just moved to Hyderabad and looking for an affordable school near your locality, chances are that it has shut down and an expensive school that runs exclusive IIT training courses for students from an early age has sprung up in its place.
In the past year-and-a-half, at least 200 “affordable” private schools have been gobbled up by two chains of educational institutes that provide courses for competitive exams from junior level. About 2,000 such institutes have mushroomed in the same period across the twin cities.
These schools, which lure parents with dreams of seeing their children becoming future IITians with fat salaries have left officials very worried. “Parents should have a choice about which school they want to send their wards, but that is seldom the case now,” A Subba Reddy, a district education officer told STOI.
Some of the schools which were immensely popular with the middle-class but have shut down, include St Augustine in Boiguda, Sadar school at Madannapet, Vidyaniketan Talent School at Narayanguda, Om Vidyalaya at Barkatpura and Genius Grammar High School and Shantiniketan High School, Amberpet.
Some areas in the city have seen a huge drop in “affordable” schools, where the annual fees hover around Rs 35,000-Rs 40,000 per year compared to Rs 75,000 -1 lakh per year charged by specialist schools.
Officials and parents association members said IIT coaching schools are either buying out the neighbourhood schools, or luring students with free tuitions for a short while and later charging huge sums for training their kids for competitive exams.
“Parents should encourage smaller schools by not getting drawn to the bigger brands,” said Sangeetha Reddy, a school owner. S Srinivas Reddy, president of the AP Recognised Schools Management Association, said he has come across many such instances and in one case managed to stop a very popular school in Ramanthapur
from shutting down, after a big chain had lured half of its students away.
“They were running into losses and I somehow managed to save it with help from some like-minded people,” Reddy told STOI. But not many were so lucky. “I struggled to find a decent school which was cheaper as the one recommended by my relative in Bangalore. I am forced to spend nearly 40% of my salary now on education of my two kids,” said Mrinalini Nair, a resident in Himayatnagar.
About six months ago, the schools education department had asked all specialist schools to drop qualifying words such as “Techno” and “Olympiad” to prevent marketing of the brand name, but no steps have been taken to implement so far.
source: http://www.articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Hyderabad> Schools / Nikhila Henry, TNN / November 10th, 2013
Twelve-year-old Saathvik Reddy, representing the US in the World Futsal Championship to be held at Madrid in December, hails from the city
Twelve-year-old Saathvik Reddy hails from the twin cities but is now representing the United States donning the super famous No. 10 jersey. But, it is for the World Futsal Championship to be held in Madrid (Spain) this December.
Futsal is just like soccer but played on a smaller (mostly hard court field) and comprises five players with one of them being a goalkeeper and with unlimited substitutions. It is quite a remarkable achievement for the boy whose parents are settled in the US.
Saathvik represents the ‘Legends’ which incidentally is the same team which the youngster had played for in the US National Championship and had finished runners-up. “We are all honoured to represent the US on the world stage as this is once in a lifetime opportunity presented by the Soccer World Cup Federation. It is a dream has come true for the San Jose Legends under-12 team this year,” exclaimed Saathvik in a communication from the US.
“It is a great opportunity for youngsters like me to compete against the best and get a perspective as to where we stand in the presence of renowned coaches,” says Saathvik, all excited to showcase his skills in front of the best coaches from other countries. “This is a great moment of joy and pride for all of us. We are already into encouraging Saathvik to raise his own funds for this trip which would cost $4,000 for each player,” say the proud parents. “We are very happy as it is not easy for a youngster from India to reach this stage,” says Sisupal Reddy, Saathvik’s grandfather, a maintenance engineer at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium here.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Hyderabad / by V.V. Subrahmanyam / Hyderabad – September 19th, 2013
Hyderabad’s Salar Jung Museum plans to evaluate & tabulate its antique clock collection.
Salar Jung Museum in Hyderabad and (top) the British musical clock, one of the rare clocks housed there
The Salar Jung Museum in Hyderabad, will begin work on evaluating and tabulating its clock collection, considered by clock enthusiasts as among the finest in India. Speaking to dnaover the phone from Hyderabad, Dr Nagender Reddy, director, Salar Jung museum said that this would be the biggest such exercise since the clocks were taken over from various private collectors in the 1960s.
“We want to do it in a scientific way, to add value to what is already a glorious collection of more than 400 of the rarest clocks in the country. It is a tedious and delicate process which includes the showcases that hold these clocks, evaluating the individual parts. All of this has to be done in such a way that no damage, whatsoever, comes to the clocks,” said Reddy. The process would be done along with the Lucknow-based National Research Laboratory for Conservation (NRLC), which is the apex body in the country for the conservation of cultural heritage.
The plan to evaluate the clock collection has already begun creating excitement among watch-lovers with Dr Reddy admitting that several people had contacted the museum to be part of the process. However, he said that it calls for a lot of formalities at various levels of the government as outsiders are not allowed to be part of these processes.
dna has learnt that among the people who have shown willingness to be part of the process is a senior railway officer from Mumbai. Saurabh Mitra, an Indian railway accounts service officer with Western Railway. Mitra, a watch enthusiast and collector, however, refused to comment.
About Salar Jung Museum
The museum was established in 1951. A major portion of the collection was acquired by Salar Jung III. In 1958, it was taken over by the Indian government. It is now run by an autonomous board chaired by the governor of Andhra Pradesh.
source: http://www.dnaindia.com / DNA / Home> Mumbai> Report / by Binoo Nair / Place: Mumbai, Agency: DNA / Friday – November 08th, 2013
When more than four decades ago, the Andhra University in Visakhapatnam started a course in oceanography, little did the students who opted for the course know that it would open opportunities for them to work in Kerala.
Back then, only one another university, the Cochin University of Science and Technology (Cusat), offered the course.
Not surprisingly, the first Telugus in the modern period were all scientists or academics who moved to Kochi either to work at the Naval Physical and Oceanographic Laboratory (NPOL), Central Institute of Fisheries Technology (CIFT) or to teach at Cusat.
Over the years, the members from this state have grown bigger, and today there are over 500 families in Kochi from Andhra. A good number of Telugus, settled in the city, work at the Southern Naval Command, a few at BPCL-Kochi Refineries Ltd with some into business and the realty sector. The Andhra Cultural Association Hall in Panampilly Nagar has become their second home, and it’s here that the Telugu community celebrate festivals such as ‘Sankranti’, ‘Ugadi’, ‘Dasara’ and ‘Diwali’.
However, when it comes to authentic Andhra food, the city has turned out to be a disappointment. Dishes such as ‘royyala iguru’, ‘bommidalu pulusu’, ‘kodi guddu’, varieties of pickles or ‘idli’ with ‘kodi pulusu’, and ‘ragi sankati’ with ‘ulavacharu’ are some that no one in the city would have even heard about. The only time you can find anything remotely close to Telugu cuisine is when food festivals are held in the city during seasonal events or celebrations.
Many early settlers say it was difficult to find boiled rice (white rice) in Kochi shops. But later, hotels started serving white rice, which while failing on the flavour front was still better than the local rice.
However, on the positive side, they get to taste the cuisine of people from other states. “We get to meet people from other communities. We are planning an outing with members of the Kerala Kannada Sangha this year,” said Rudrama Devi, a Kochi-based Telugu housewife.
The Kerala cuisine is a big hit too. The various ‘payasams’, ‘appam’, ‘puttu’ and even the ‘papadams’ are hot favourites,” said S Sanjay, president, Andhra Cultural Association Hall and a manager with BPCL-Kochi Refineries Ltd.
Members of the Telugu community also impart training in ‘kuchipudi’ and other dance forms from Andhra Pradesh to those interested in the city.
source: http://www.articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Kochi> Andhra Pradesh / TNN / November 09th, 2013
The three-day Andhra Pradesh Science Congress will be held at the University of Hyderabad from November 14. The theme is `Innovations in Science and Technology for emerging knowledge society.’
The annual science event is being jointly organised by the A.P. Akademi of Science and the university. About 500 scientific papers will be presented over a period of three days in six parallel sessions, according to Ch. Mohan Rao, President of the Akademi and Director, Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology said.
The A.P. Akademi will celebrate its golden jubilee with year-long S &T activities from December, 2013 to December, 2014, covering the entire state of Andhra Pradesh, he said.
source: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com / Business Line / Home> News> Science / by The Hindu Bureau / Hyderabad – November 08th, 2013
Leading up to Navy Day on December 4, a string of events have been planned beginning Sunday. In the run up to Navy Day, ships of the Eastern fleet have already started visiting ports along the coast of Tamil Nadu and West Bengal to conduct operational demonstrations.
As part of the Navy Day celebrations, the Eastern Naval Command (ENC) will also conduct a painting competition for children at Rajiv Gandhi Indoor Stadium on Sunday, in which over 1,200 students, including special children, are expected to take part.
An outreach programme will be undertaken on November 17 wherein a medical camp will be conducted at Prema Samajam at Dabagardens. A live performance will be held by the ENC Band at Vuda Park the same evening.
A ‘Day at Sea’ for children and media will be organised on November 20 onboard ships of the Eastern fleet. In addition, the ships will be open for visits by schoolchildren and organised groups on November 19 and 20.The Navy Mela, scheduled to be inaugurated on November 21, will be open to the public from November 22 to 24.
A visit to ships for special children is slated for November 22 and for the general public on November 23&24. Two blood donation camps will be conducted on November 27 & 30. The grand finale, in which ships, submarines and aircraft of the ENC Eastern Naval Command will showcase their capabilities, will be held on Navy Day on December 4 off RK Beach.
source: http://www.articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Visakhapatnam> Eastern Fleet / TNN / November 09th, 2013
The Hyderabad Public School choir singing their school song during the inauguration of the three-day Eagles’ Fest being conducted as part of the 90th anniversary celebrations on Thursday | Neeraj Murali
Hyderabad Public school (HPS) is hosting the Eagles’ Fest as part of its 90 year celebrations. The three-day cultural, literary and creative celebrations which kickstarted on Thursday, will see participation from 24 schools in the city. The flagship event has 1000 students contesting for 45 events.
“The Eagles’ Fest is a powerful medium to express and show your talents and as students you must participate with healthy rivalry and a true competitive but gracious spirit,” advised Major General Cherish Mathson, the chief guest at the inaugural. “As children you must not forget that you are after all children; you must accept uncertainty because from that emerges your true calling,” added the major.
The fest split into three categories – Literary Hub, Cultural Hub and Creative Zone. The Literary Hub began teh festivities with the Turn Coat debate, book review and creative writing events.
“The Turn Coat debate is a different style of debating, where the participant debates both, for and against the theme. It is interesting because it tests the debater’s logical thinking capacity, whether they can differentiate between both the sides,” explained Meera Vedre, teacher and one of the organisers of the Literary Hub. The theme for the debate was ‘The only thing that interferes with my learning is my education’. Contesting students from grades six and 12 debated for three minutes each, throwing light on points like education being the pathway to learning, the marking system creating a rat race thereby removing the joy out of learning and the aspect of commercialisation of institutions where students become literate but not educated.
At the same time, the Cultural Hub hosted a poetry recitation and fancy dress competition. “The participants were very excited and were eager to recite their poems,” echoed a beaming Uma Rani, senior teacher and organiser of the event. Themed ‘Me and Mother nature,’ the fancy dress competition saw participation from nervous and shy yet eloquent tiny tots like Pushti, a class two student who dressed up as a globe and advised the audience to think green and act green. Class one student, Vignesh portrayed a tribal man and asked the audience to not cut his home – the jungle, and try to preserve it. The next two days will see students contest in extempore, quiz, recitation, music and dance events.
Alumnus Shaaz Mehmood, who is also the chief coordinator of the fest, found himself in not so familiar territory. “I miss wearing the uniform and lugging a heavy bag around the campus. Things have changed; today’s kid’s are fast and tech-savy and all the classrooms of HPS have been converted to e-classrooms,” said the 25 year-old restaurateur who left the school eight years ago. “Everything going on around here is very transparent, four different committees are set up in order to declare fair results,” added the alumnus.
As the chief coordinator of The Eagles’ Fest, he is extremely excited and is certain that the event will be a huge success. “After seeing such an immense participation, we may decide to have the fest next year as well,” he added. A valedictory function will be held on November 9 to give away the trophies to the Eagles’ Fest Champion school, cultural championship, literary championship and creative champions.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Hyderabad / by Ushma Jhaveri – Hyderabad / November 08th, 2013
Indian School of Business (ISB) with campuses at Hyderabad and Mohali is set to host the 11th edition of ISB Leadership Summit (ILS), the flagship business conclave of the Graduate Students’ Association (GSA) at its Hyderabad campus tomorrow.
In its 11th year now, the two-day ILS 2013 with the theme ‘Breaking the Myth’ will be held with participation from over 40 high-profile leaders across sectors, ISB said in a statement today.
The first look of ILS 2013 was unveiled by Vinod Khosla co-founder of Sun Microsystems and founder of Khosla Ventures on September 6, 2013.
The event will host key note speakers such as Vineet Nayar , Vice chairman of HCL Technologies; Banmali Agrawala, President and CEO for GE South Asia; and CP Gurnani, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Tech Mahindra, the release said.
source: http://www.articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> News> News By Company> Corporate Announcements / by PTI / November 07th, 2013
Shoppers visiting a stall selling artificial flowere at The HIndu Metro Plus Lifestyle Show 2013 organised at AU Engineering College Grounds Visakhapatnam on Wednesday./ Photo: C.V. SUBRAHMANYAM / The Hindu
The event is being presented by Hayagriva Shoppe and associate sponsors are Prestige, SBH, and Kantipudi Nissan
The Hindu Metro Plus Lifestyle Show was inaugurated on Wednesday by VUDA Vice Chairman N. Yuvraj. He went around the exhibition pausing at every stall to enquire about the products being sold. The opening day of the exhibition had many footfalls as shoppers made use of the holiday to step out along with their family to spend time shopping and familiarizing themselves with new products.
There was a buzz of activity at the air conditioned hangar with salesmen displaying products and using their skills to sell everything from cars to brooms. Women were seen crowding around shops selling jewellery, trinkets and jute products while men were seen checking out the latest cars and gadgets.
The food stalls at the exit also saw a number of people having a snack after a shopping spree. Some of the stalls selling custom-made blinds, solar lamps, security systems and brass products saw many visitors crowding around.
The event is being presented by Hayagriva Shoppe and the associate sponsors are Prestige, SBH, and Kantipudi Nissan. The water partner is ASL Aqua, radio partner is RED FM and the event partner is I Ads and Events. There is ample space for parking vehicles. Entry tickets are priced at Rs. 30. The show will be on till October 6.
Timings are from 10 a.m to 8 30 p.m.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Visakhapatnam / by Staff Reporter / Visakhapatnam – October 03rd, 2013
