Category Archives: Leaders

Indian-origin aeronautical engineer to fly into space

Amazing Feats, Business & Economy, Inspiration /Positive News and Features, Leaders, Nri's / Pio's, Records, All, Science & Technology, World Opinion
Sirisha Bandla
Sirisha Bandla

Sirisha Bandla, a 34-year-old aeronautical engineer, is set to become the third Indian-origin woman to head to space when she flies as part of Virgin Galactic’s first fully crewed flight test on Sunday.

Ms. Bandla, who was born in Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, and brought up in Houston, Texas, will join Sir Richard Branson, the company’s billionaire founder, and five others on board Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo Unity to make a journey to the edge of space from New Mexico.

“I am so incredibly honoured to be a part of the amazing crew of #Unity22, and to be a part of a company whose mission is to make space available to all,” she tweeted.

Ms. Bandla will be astronaut no 004 and her flight role will be Researcher Experience, according to her profile on Virgin Galactic.

She will become the third Indian-origin woman to fly into space after Kalpana Chawla and Sunita Williams.

Ms. Bandla started in her role as the Vice President of Government Affairs and Research Operations at Virgin Galactic in January 2021.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> International / by PTI / Houston, July 10th, 2021

Memorial for Prakasam Pantulu long overdue

Amazing Feats, Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Historical Links, Pre-Independence, Inspiration /Positive News and Features, Leaders, Records, All
Tanguturi Gopalakrishna paying tributes at the statue of his grandfather Prakasam Pantulu on his birth anniversary, in Ongole on Friday. Ministers B. Srinivasa Reddy and A. Suresh are seen.
Tanguturi Gopalakrishna paying tributes at the statue of his grandfather Prakasam Pantulu on his birth anniversary, in Ongole on Friday. Ministers B. Srinivasa Reddy and A. Suresh are seen.

His island villa in Ongole, house in Vinodarayunipalem and Vijayotsavam Stupa paint a picture of neglect

Statesman Tanguturi Prakasam Pantulu’s island villa in Ongole, his house in Vinodarayunipalem and the Salt Satyagraha site near Devarampadu are forgotten for most of the year except on the great man’s birth and death anniversaries.

Little has been done to convert these structures into memorials except for the occassional lip service twice a year on his birth and death anniversaries. His admirers feel that building the memorials would be a fitting tribute to the great freedom fighter and politician who earned the epithet of ‘Andhra Kesari’ for his opposition to British rule.

The ‘Vijayotsavam Stupa’ in Devarampadu village, built in 1935 to mark the launch of Prakasam Pantulu’s Salt Satyagraha and unveiled by Babu Rajendra Prasad, also cries for attention with the road leading to it in an urgent need of repair.

Several times in the past, VIPs had skipped visiting this site on important occasions like Independence Day, Republic Day and Prakasam Pantulu’s birth and death anniversaries. A library which has a good collection of books on the freedom struggle is also in a dilapidated condition, lament villagers.

“We have been pleading successive governments to develop the site into a tourist spot by building a park. But our efforts have not borne fruit so far,” they said.

Assurances

Taking note of the poorly maintained road in the midst of lush green fields, Energy Minister Balineni Srinivasa Reddy, who experienced a bumpy ride on Friday, said that the Government would lay a cement road to the historic site so that the youth could draw inspiration from the life of the great man, who had become the Prime Minister of Madras Presidency as well as the first Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh when it was formed in 1953.

The Education Department would soon construct a new building for the library at the site where Prakasam Pantulu had spent his last days in a mango orchard, Education Minister A. Suresh promised.

Vinodarayunipalem, where Prakasam Pantulu was born, too lacked a befitting memorial, as also the island villa in Ongole from where he had led the freedom struggle and ran his ‘Swarajya’ newspaper. Today, a private college occupies most of the space. Even now, a memorial could be built on the vacant land available on the premises, felt Andhra Kesari Prakasam Seva Samiti leader P. Venkateswarlu.

Prakasam Pantulu’s grandson T. Gopalakrishna said the YSRCP government could draw lessons from the way Prakasam Pantalu administered the State and grapple with bifurcation blues.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Andhra Pradesh / by Special Correspondent / Ongole – August 24th, 2019

Vizag cybercrime cops win best crime detection award

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Explaining their efforts, Vizag cybercrime police inspector V Gopinath said the officers spent hours only to analyse 7,010 common numbers as the accused made WhatsApp VOIP calls.

Vizag cybercrime CI V Gopinath receiving ABCD award from DGP on Monday | EXPRESS
Vizag cybercrime CI V Gopinath receiving ABCD award from DGP on Monday | EXPRESS

Vijayawada :

Director General of Police (DGP) D Gautam Sawang presented the Award for Best in Crime Detection (ABCD) to police officials at the Police Headquarters in Mangalagiri on Monday.
Vizag city cybercrime police bagged the first prize for solving the sensational case of extortion of money by four youths, impersonating themselves as personal secretary of Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy and former Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu.

Vizianagaram Central Crime Station (CCS) police received the second prize for solving a theft case and Railway Kodur police of Kadapa district got the third prize for solving the murder case of a Muslim youth.

Addressing the media, DGP said a total of eight cases were shortlisted and three were selected based on various parameters such as efforts, intelligence and presence of mind of officials while investigating the case.

Sawang said that such awards would bring a friendly competition among police and help them share, know, improve and refine their style of investigation.Awards were given to those officers who thought out of the box and solved critical cases with their outstanding investigation skills and presence of mind, the DGP said and added that in all the three cases, the investigating officers showed their mettle while unravelling the mystery.

Explaining their efforts behind the investigation, Vizag cybercrime police inspector V Gopinath said the officers spent hours only to analyse 7,010 common numbers as the accused made WhatsApp VOIP calls. Based on the complaint of Visakhapatnam South MLA Vasupalli Ganesh, police tried to trace IP address of the accused. “Unfortunately, we did not get needed help from WhatsApp. They gave anonymous IP address, which made us verify Internet Protocol Detail Records (IPDRs) to trace the IMEI numbers of the mobile phones used by the accused.

After validating cell IDs with the tower location and WhatsApp destination server IP address through command prompt and further filtration, we obtained the customer application form and showed it to driver of Bandaru Satyanarayana, who lost `10 lakh to the gang. The accused, P Vishnu Murthy and his three friends, were arrested and `5.8 lakh cash and gold ornaments were recovered,” the CI said.

Similarly, Vizianagaram Central Crime Station (CCS) DSP J Papa Rao explained how he and his team arrested a lorry driver who absconded with a paper load of truck. Also, Railway Kodur police inspector K Balaiah recounted his team’s investigation.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Andhra Pradesh / by Express News Service / July 30th, 2019

Kandukuri death centenary

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Speaking on the occasion, Bapatla mandal deputy tahsildar G Sricharan heaped praises on the social reformer for his role in conducting widow remarriages and abolition of child marriages.

Guntur :

Rich tributes were paid to social reformer and renowned scholar Kandukuri Veeresalingam on his centenary death anniversary held under the aegis of ‘Forum for Better Bapatla’ at Bapatla in Guntur district on Monday.

Speaking on the occasion, Bapatla mandal deputy tahsildar G Sricharan heaped praises on the social reformer for his role in conducting widow remarriages and abolition of child marriages.

“With his rational and dynamic outlook, Veerasalingam vehemently fought for equal rights for women.

Apart from being a social reformer, he was a public leader and a great scholar with keen interest in poetry and drama.

Despite being born into an orthodox Brahmin family, he brought a period of renaissance in Andhra and introduced Telugu literature to the people,” he said.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Andhra Pradesh / by Express News Service / May 28th, 2019

Andhra Pradesh SP scales a peak in Papua New Guinea

Amazing Feats, Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Inspiration /Positive News and Features, Leaders, Records, All, Sports, World Opinion

RadhikaANDHRA23mar2019

SP inches close to ‘Seven Summits Challenge’

Radhika G.R., Superintendent of Police from the State was on cloud nine, literally, for inching a step closer to her goal of completing the ‘mountaineering challenge’– conquering the seven summits of the world.

Video released

In a short video recorded, Ms. Radhika who works with the State’s Organisation for Counter Terrorist Operations (OCTOPUS), could be seen elated, having the 4, 884-metre tall Carstensz Pyramid or Puncak Jaya, the highest summit in Oceania, under her feet. The video was released by State police on Thursday.

Thanks A.P. police

Carrying the Indian national flag and OCTOPUS flag, Ms. Radhika proudly says, “Today, I have reached the top of Carstensz Pyramid, the highest peak of Oceania in Puncak Jaya island. We reached the summit at 10 a.m. Indonesian time with the help of two guides and mountain professionals team. I thank the AP police and the AP government.”

In December last, the 43-year-old Ms. Radhika summited the Antarctica’s highest peak of Mount Vinson. Earlier in 2017, she scaled the 5, 642-metre high Mount Elbrus, the tallest in Russia and Europe and became the first Indian woman to do so.

She made headlines in 2016 for being the first Indian policewoman to conquer the world’s highest peak Mt. Everest when she worked as an additional SP in the State.

As part of her goal to complete the ‘Seven Summits Challenge’, a dream for any professional mountaineer she also scaled Mt. Kilimanjaro in Africa, Mt. Kosciusko in Australia and others and has inched close to fulfilling the goal on Thursday. She began her career as a government lecturer and later got selected as Deputy SP.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Andhra Pradesh / by Staff Reporter / March 22nd, 2019

CII-AP chapter gets new chief for 2019-20

Business & Economy, Leaders, Records, All

Vijay Naidu Galla, completed his M Tech in Industrial Engineering from SV University, Tirupati and General Management Programme from IIM- Bengaluru.

Visakhapatnam  :

Vijay Naidu Galla, President of  Mangal Industries Ltd, an Amara Raja Group company, has been elected the new Chairman of the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) Andhra Pradesh Chapter for the year 2019-20. D Rama Krishna, Managing Director, Efftronics Systems Pvt Ltd, is the Vice-Chairman. The CII-AP Chapter Annual Meeting was held here in the Port City on Saturday. The annual meeting focused on the theme of “Unlocking economic potential of AP.”

Vijay Naidu Galla, completed his M Tech in Industrial Engineering from SV University, Tirupati and General Management Programme from IIM- Bengaluru. He was the Vice-Chairman of CII AP.
D Rama Krishna, Managing Director, Efftronics Systems Pvt Ltd, is an active State Council member of CII-AP. He did his M.Tech (Electrical Engineering) in IIT- Madras.

On the occasion of annual meeting, CII organised the AP Economic Conclave focusing on the theme of ‘Unlocking Economic Potential of AP’, chief guest Rear Admiral Kiran Deshmukh, Admiral Superintendent, Naval Dockyard, stressed on the importance of indigenisation creating a shared ecosystem. He made a point that the skill set needs to be enhanced and made to meet global standards.

He urged MSMEs to focus on long-term sustainable rather than short-term gain. J Krishna Kishore, CEO, AP Economic Development Board, mentioned that the State is emerging as a major electronics manufacturing hub and automobile hub and the work is in progress to make Vizag the Maritime Capital of India.

Efftronics chief is Vice-Chairman  

D Rama Krishna, Managing Director, Efftronics Systems Pvt Ltd, is the Vice-Chairman.
J Krishna Kishore, CEO, APEDB says the State is emerging as a major electronics and automobile manufacturing hub.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Andhra Pradesh / by Express News Service / March 11th, 2019

Session to build GenNext entrepreneurs in Vijayawada

Business & Economy, Inspiration /Positive News and Features, Leaders

Vijayawada :

Observing that opportunities for women in the country have increased with the availability of technology, Brandix India Partner Dora Swamy said there is an immense need to mentor them in the right direction so as to make them self-sustainable.

Delivering a keynote address at ‘Building Next Generation Women Entrepreneurs’ event in Vijayawada on Wednesday, Dora Swamy called upon the men in the society to encourage the fairer sex by giving them jobs in all fields of the society. The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE), Amaravati and Andhra Pradesh Innovation Society have organised the event.

“Out of total 22,000 staff in our company, a majority of them i.e.18,000 are women, who hail from rural background. This is our priority the company accords to women,” he added. “We at Innovation Valley believe that entrepreneurship potential can be enhanced vis-a-vis structured support to establish enterprises,” Andhra Pradesh Innovation Society CEO Winny Patro said.

He said, “We are creating a framework to support women entrepreneurs and encouraging them to work in their companies.” TiE Board member Purnima Kamble said the session focused on topics such as challenges faced by women in leadership positions in a male-dominated work environment.
Association of Lady Entrepreneurs of AP President K Ramadevi among others participated.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Vijayawada / by Express News Service / February 28th, 2019

Alumni walk through familiar corridors as college turns 50

Education, Leaders, Records, All
A view of the Sri Govindaraja Swamy (SGS) Arts College in Tirupati
A view of the Sri Govindaraja Swamy (SGS) Arts College in Tirupati

Association to come out with database of graduates soon

What do A.P. Tourism Development Corporation (APTDC) Chairman V. Jayarami Reddy, litterateur ‘Sahasravadhani’ Medasani Mohan, former Minister Peddireddy Ramachandra Reddy, Progressive Writers Association president Sakam Nagaraja and bureaucrat K. Dhananjaya Reddy have in common? They graduated from the Sri Govindaraja Swamy (SGS) Arts College here.

As the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD)-run institute entered its golden jubilee year on Wednesday, its old students went down the memory lane by recalling the “golden moments” of their lives.

After opening arts colleges for men and women in the name of Sri Venkateswara and Sri Padmavathi respectively, the TTD opened another arts college to cater to a growing demand for higher education in Tirupati. Besides students from the Rayalaseema districts, many from Nellore, Prakasam and Guntur districts have studied at the college, known for its value-based education.

Many alumni at the golden jubilee event took selfies with their old classmates, related anecdotes to one another and walked with a heavy air of nostalgia through the institution’s corridors and rooms.

“The values ingrained in the curriculum made us what we are today,” says Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) State general secretary G. Bhanuprakash Reddy, an alumnus. “Compared to corporate colleges, TTD institutions have better infrastructure, faculty members and foster spaces to encourage creativity among students,” says TTD Public Relations Officer T. Ravi, an alumnus.

Meanwhile, the alumni association of the institution has begun collecting details of its alumni through WhatsApp groups and Facebook profiles to come out with a database at the end of the year-long celebrations.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Andhra Pradesh / by Special Correspondent / Tirupati – February 28th, 2019

City doctor selected for psychiatrist board

Education, Leaders, Records, All, Science & Technology

The National Board of Examinations has the responsibility of granting permission for starting new PG Medical courses in recognised private and government hospitals.

Vijayawada :

Director of VIMHANS Hospitals and a senior psychiatrist there, Dr Indla Ramasubba Redyy, has been selected as part of a national-level psychiatrist board by The National Board of Examinations, affiliated to the Central Ministry of Health.

The National Board of Examinations has the responsibility of granting permission for starting new PG Medical courses in recognised private and government hospitals.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Vijayawada / by Express News Service / February 23rd, 2019

Uyyalawada’s death anniversary observed

Agriculture, Historical Links, Pre-Independence, Leaders, Records, All

The 172nd death anniversary of Uyyalawada Narasimha Reddy, one of the early freedom fighters, was observed in Bapatla on Friday.

Rajamahendravaram  :

The 172nd death anniversary of Uyyalawada Narasimha Reddy, one of the early freedom fighters, was observed in Bapatla on Friday.

Organised by Forum for Better Bapatla, Zilla Parishad  chief executive officer (CEO) P Surya Prakash was the chief guest on the occasion.

Narasimha Reddy was at the heart of a  rebellion against the British East India Company in 1846, when thousands protested changes to the traditional agrarian system.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Andhra Pradesh / by Express News Service / February 23rd, 2019