Monthly Archives: April 2014

RTC does it again

April 16, 2014Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, Inspiration /Positive News and Features, Records, Alladmin

Chittoor depot provides water cans in buses for commuters. Some of the Express and long route buses are already providing water during journey.

The Chittoor Depot-II of the APSRTC, which had hit the headlines for its humanitarian gesture of providing water cans in all its depot buses last year, is going to do it again this summer.

It all happened mid-summer last year when a passenger begged for water while breathing his last due to sunstroke in an RTC bus in Karimnagar . This tragic episode moved the Chittoor Depot-II manager, P. Gajalakshmi, who initiated immediate steps to arrange water cans in all the buses of the depot.

Starting with a few buses initially, the official quickly mustered the support of business and public groups in Chittoor, who came forward to sponsor the water cans in the buses. Soon, all the buses carried mineral water cans, much to the relief of passengers, particularly the aged and children on long distance journeys. The exercise continued till the summer ended. Ms. Gajalakshmi’s Samaritan gesture inspired many of her colleagues in the corporation elsewhere in the State, and they all followed suit.

Speaking to The Hindu, Ms Gajalakshmi said that this year, water cans would be made available in all the 103 buses of the depot. Some of the Express and long route buses are already providing water during journey . “A business establishment has come forward to sponsor the cans. However, we are having a mineral water plant in our depot, which has a 12,000 litre capacity tank. All the crew on the buses have been instructed to provide the water cans without fail,” she said.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> National> Andhra Pradesh / by Staff Reporter / Chittoor – April 03rd, 2014

‘Padmashri’ Kolakaluri felicitated

April 16, 2014Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Records, Alladmin

Former SVU Vice-Chancellor and litterateur Kolakaluri Enoch being felicitated at Sri Venkateswara University in Tirupati on Thursday. / Photo: K.V.POORNACHANDRA KUMAR / The Hindu

Kolakaluri Enoch, renowned litterateur and former Vice-Chancellor of Sri Venkateswara University (SVU), was felicitated at the varsity’s Srinivasa Auditorium here on Thursday, for being conferred with the prestigious Padmashri Award.

Addressing the gathering, SVU Vice Chancellor W. Rajendra heaped encomiums on the writing style of Prof. Enoch and recalled that he was the first Vice-Chancellor of the varsity to be honoured with a ‘Padma’ award. “The prestigious distinction is not only an honour to him, but to the entire varsity,” he added.

Relating his childhood experiences and theme behind his works, Prof. Enoch said that his writings were based on the idea of strengthening the downtrodden sections of the society. “I wanted to change some inherent traits in the society, which can be found in my writing. A normal person, a weak person or a poor person should reach the other side of the spectrum and that was my only idea,” he said.

Dravidian University V-C K. Ratnaiah, Former SVU VC R. Ramamurthy and other eminent personalities hailed Prof. Enoch for doing his wee bit for the uplift of the oppressed sections through his writings.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> National> Andhra Pradesh / by Staff Reporter / Tirupati – April 03rd, 2014

Accendo Tech lines up 8 enterprise apps for launch

April 16, 2014Business & Economy, Science & Technologyadmin

Company has so far developed 15 mobile apps for sectors including healthcare, education, retail, and media and entertainment

Accendo Technologies Private Limited, a Hyderabad-based startup predominantly focused on building mobile applications for enterprises, is lining up eight apps for various clients across the globe, said Diwakar Singh, vice-president (sales).

The company, floated in early 2012, has so far developed 15 mobile applications for sectors including healthcare , education, retail, and media and entertainment .

“We are currently working on apps for events industry (registration management), one for the logistics industry, and one gym app for a Singapore client, which will provide virtual physical training sessions, tips after keying in weight and body mass index, and eventually creates curiosity to actually go and join a gym. We expect to deliver these apps to our clients within six months from now,” Singh told Business Standard on the sidelines of Nasscom Product Conclave 2014 in Hyderabad on Thursday.

The self-funded company currently employs 46 professional across its Hyderabad and Sydney offices.

source: http://www.business-standard.com / Business Standard / Home> Technology> Personal Technology> Mobile / by K Rajani Kanth / Hyderabad – April 03rd, 2014

Utthishta Yekum Fund to invest in 20 tech startups

April 16, 2014Business & Economy, Science & Technologyadmin

The fund, which is a partner to Nasscom’s ’10, 000 Startups’ initiative, has so far received 1, 470 applications from various technology startups

Uttishta Yekum Fund , the debut seed fund from Hyderabad-based Utthishta Management Advisors LLP, is targeting to invest in at least 20 Indian technology startup companies every year, according to Mohsin Khan, general partner of the fund.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi)-registered alternative investment fund, with a fund size of Rs 70 crore, has so far invested in seven companies. These include New Delhi-based GreatWideOpen, an adventure travel company, and Claimback, which takes care of customer grievances against brands, and Hyderabad-based happyweddings.com.

Utthishta Yekum, which writes the ‘first cheque’ of between Rs 10 lakh and Rs 20 lakh for very very early-stage startups, has M Prabhakara Rao as its anchor investor with an already committed Rs 31-crore infusion into the fund. Rao is the chairman of Hyderabad-based Rs 5, 600-crore Nuziveedu Seeds Limited (NSL group), which has interests in agriculture, textiles, sugar and renewable energy.

“Our focus going forward will be on startups that are into mobility, software, analytics and cloud computing. And, we intend to invest in at least 20 such companies each year,” Khan told Business Standard on the sidelines of Nasscom Product Conclave 2014 here recently.

The fund, which is a partner to Nasscom’s ‘10, 000 Startups’ initiative, has so far received 1, 470 applications from various technology startups on its website.

According to P Rama Krishna, another general partner at Utthishta Yekum Fund, they typically pick up 10-15 per cent stake in very very early-stage startups in exchange of their investments.

“Since we invest at a very very early-stage, we hold on to them for at least five years for an exit. Of course, we do expect 18-19 per cent return on investment from them,” Krishna said, agreeing that purely product-focused companies in India where very less now.

source: http://www.business-standard.com / Business Standard / Home> Companies> News / by K Rajani Kanth / Hyderabad – April 07th, 2014

Odias celebrate Utkal Divas

April 13, 2014Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Historical Links, Pre-Independenceadmin

Visakhapatnam :

The Utkal Sanskrutika Samaj, a socio-cultural organization of people from Odisha, organized Utkal Divas celebrations here on Tuesday on the occasion of the 79th formation day of Odisha.

Portraits of freedom fighters Utkalmani Gopabandhu Dash and Utkal Gauraba Madhusudan Dash were garlanded. Both Gopabandhu and Madhusudan fought against the British to achieve freedom, said vice- president of the samaj Arun Das. Odisha was the first state to be carved out in India on the basis of language, according to a press release issued by the samaj.

As part of the celebrations, an Odia food festival was inaugurated by J K Nayak, president of the samaj. Exclusive Odia delicacies like sijha manda, chana manda, karkara, gulgula, poda pitha, chhena poda and others were on offer for the foodies. A cultural programme was also arranged in which dance and drama shows were performed by Mamini Kala Parishad from Cuttack.

Commissioner of customs, Visakhapatnam, C Rajendiran and chairman and managing director of the Dredging Corporation of India Limited Captain D K Mohanty were present on the occasion.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Visakhapatnam / April 02nd, 2014

French ‘Burrakatha’ exponent feted

April 13, 2014Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Education, Records, All, World Opinionadmin

French National Institute of Oriental Languages, Civilisations assistant professor and an international authority on the folk art form of ‘Burrakatha’ Daniel Negers was felicitated for his contribution to Telugu by the Telugu Association of Netherlands (TANE) at its Ugadi celebrations.

The Telugus living in Netherlands met in the city of Eindhoven on Ugadi and felicitated Prof. Negers for his contribution to Telugu, according to a press release here by TANE team.

It was following his recommendation that Telugu was made one of the 90-odd languages taught at the Institut national des langues et civilisations orientales (INALCO), a national institute of France.

Prof. Negers speaks Telugu fluently and flawlessly like a person from Coastal Andhra Pradesh.

He lived in Peddapuram of East Godavari district for several years to study Burrakatha under various gurus.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Vijayawada / by Special Correspondent / Vijayawada – April 13th, 2014

It’s wedding time for Adilabad adivasis

April 13, 2014Arts, Culture & Entertainmentadmin

The two-month marriage season for adivasis in Adilabad has begun with the puja of goddess Inderai at Indervelli mandal head quarter village on Ugadi and the next day. All tribal villages where in marriages are scheduled will sport a festive look until the end of May.

As per their tradition, the Gond adivasis offer prayers to Goddess Inderai before undertaking marriages. The Inderai temple at Indervelli is visited by Gond families from Adilabad, Gudihatnoor, Indervelli, Narnoor, Jainoor, Sirpur (U) and Utnoor mandals and also from some places in Maharashtra.

Tribal families from other places have temples of Inderai at different places where they go to offer prayers on Ugadi. Prayers are offered seeking the well being of the families which will unite through marriages in the season.

The process of wedding actually starts around Diwali festival every year during the Ghusadi dance festivals. All betrothals take place at that time while the marriage is performed only after the harvesting of rabi crops.

Every year an estimated 500 marriages take place across the district and tribal marriage parties can be spotted moving in long lines of bullock carts. The traditional mode of travel however, is being discontinued as more and more marriage parties opting to travel in lorries these days.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> National> Andhra Pradesh / by S Harpal Singh / Adiblabad – April 02nd, 2014

IPGI crop geneticists sequence peanut’s genome: ICRISAT

April 13, 2014Green Initiatives / Environment, Nature, Science & Technologyadmin

ICRISAT, a member of the Peanut Genome Consortium, today claimed that the International Peanut Genome Initiative (IPGI) has successfully sequenced the genome of the humble peanut.

City-headquartered ICRISAT is a member of the Peanut Genome Consortium, a multi-national group of crop geneticists working in co-operation for several years in the peanut genome sequencing project.

The new peanut genome sequence will be available to researchers and plant breeders across the globe to aid in the breeding of more productive, more resilient peanut varieties, an ICRISAT statement said.

Peanut (Arachis hypogaea), also called groundnut, is an important crop both commercially and nutritionally.

Globally, farmers tend about 24 million hectares of peanut each year, producing about 40 million tonnes. While the oil and protein rich legume is seen as a cash crop in the developed world, it remains an important sustenance crop in developing nations.

“Rich in protein and edible oil, peanut is central to the financial and nutritional well-being of hundreds of millions of farmers and consumers across the semi-arid tropics of Asia and sub-Saharan Africa,” Director General of the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) William Dar said.

“Improving peanut varieties to be more drought, insect and disease resistant, using the genome sequence, can help farmers in developed nations produce more peanuts with fewer pesticides and other chemicals and help farmers in developing nations feed their families and build more-secure livelihoods,” Rajeev Varshney, Research Programme Director – Grain Legumes and Director, Center of Excellence in Genomics, ICRISAT.

source: http://www.business-standard.com / Business Standard / Home> PTI Stories> National> News / Press Trust of India / Hyderabad – April 02nd, 2014

Wipro’s ‘AppThon 2014’ Challenges Young Technology Enthusiasts

April 13, 2014Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Science & Technologyadmin

Wipro Ltd. held its first application building competition – ‘Appthon’, for engineering students across Andhra Pradesh, providing them with a unique opportunity to showcase their technical prowess. The objective of the event was to offer young technology enthusiasts a platform to build futuristic applications for consumer and enterprise segments.13 teams from across Andhra Pradesh were shortlisted from the entries received to compete in this two day marathon contest – ‘Appthon’.

The teams, comprising of 4 students and a faculty member, from each college developed their applications based on one of the 3 themes – enterprise productivity, public safety &utilities and mobile grid based applications. Wipro assigned a mentor to each of the teams to provide assistance and guidance in the development of the applications. The winning teams were felicitated with a cash prize from the chief guest and industry veteran, J A Chowdary, Founding Director of STPI Bangalore & Hyderabad and Former Chairman of Hyderabad Software Exporters Association (HYSEA renamed to ITsAP).

Mr. Srinivas Rao, Head, Hyderabad Center, Wipro said, “We at Wipro are delighted by the innovative applications the students have developed in such a rapid manner. Through this contest, Wipro has strived to offer an inspiring opportunity to these smart minds to expand their horizons and create pioneering technology applications using structured methodologies and become industry ready. It also speaks volumes about the high quality talent that is locally available in Hyderabad and Andhra Pradesh.”

Winners

The winners for Wipro’s application building competition – AppThon2014 are:

They happen to be joint winners, scored almost the same

Team 1: Avengers

College: MVSR Engineering College
Team members:

– D Charith, K Siddhartha, D Vamsheedhar Reddy and Mohd Mehmood Ali

Application: Mobile Security Watch

Team 2: Ideacabin

College: GITAM University Visakhapatnam
Team members:

– Raghu Teja, Mohan PSNS, Anirudh Upadhyayula, T Auro Lakshman and Sourabh Bollapragada

Application: Conferencing App

Shares of WIPRO LTD. was last trading in BSE at Rs.565.2 as compared to the previous close of Rs. 560.5. The total number of shares traded during the day was 225827 in over 5698 trades.

The stock hit an intraday high of Rs. 572.4 and intraday low of 559.65. The net turnover during the day was Rs. 128283921.

Source: Equity Bulls

source: http://www,equitybulls.com / Equity Bulls / Home> Stock Report / April 02nd, 2014

Old books seldom die hard

April 11, 2014Arts, Culture & Entertainmentadmin

Blazing sunrays ripple through numerous books, mostly English-language titles, heaped on the road at Gandhi Nagar making canyons of books for human browsers to walk through. One could call it Abids version of Vijayawada. But with a little variation: Footpath book sellers display their collection not just on Sunday but also on working days at the little space available close to Hotel Ilapuram.

People reading books displayed by a street vendor on a footpath at Gandhi Nagar in Vijayawada.- Photo: Ch. Vijaya Bhaskar / The Hindu

Few years ago, this avenue was a favorite hunting territory for bargains and out-of-print editions. Once bustling tribe of old book sellers has shrunk to about 10 book-sellers who do a tight rope walk every day to eke out livelihood. Some have left the profession looking for greener pastures and there are very few new entrants.

Rambabu, a sentinel of these vanishing treasures and survivor of a once flourishing tribe of footpath booksellers in the city, stands sweltering to dust the books now and then with his homemade duster. “I have been in this profession for more than 20 years. Even this hotel (Ilapuram) was not constructed when I made debut in this profession, Rambabu recalls.

People still love old books despite change in life styles. Yeah, there is a tendency that the demand for text books is more. But, the business is not that worse, he says, “But we still have a faithful clientele for rare and antique books, out-of-print editions.”

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Vijayawada / by G. V.R. Subba Rao / Vijayawada – April 02nd, 2014

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