Monthly Archives: August 2013

Maruti, Anand lead in Dakshin Dare Rally

Sports

Erode pair of Karthik Maruti and navigator Sankar Anand took a slender lead over National TSD Rally champions Satish Gopal Krishnan and Savera D’Souza, the husband-wife tandem from Bangalore  as just 42 seconds separated the top seven in the verall classification at the end of Leg 1 of the Endurance category in the 5th Maruti Suzuki  Dakshin Dare Rally here Monday.

While Maruti (0:00:12) led Gopalkrishnan (0:00:24) by 12 seconds, in third place was Kolkata pair of Sudip Kumar Ghosh and Arindam Ghosh (0:00:26). Incidentally, the Kolkata duo led the field in the Car OE category.

Maurti and Gopalkrishnan also took the top two spots in the SUV Open category, followed by Mysore’s K. Prasad and Nishanth who had a penalty of 54 seconds.

Another Erode combination of Ganesh Moorthy and T. Nagarajan led the field in the Car Open category with a penalty of 29 seconds that also placed them fourth overall, while Raveendra (Velmurugan) were second in the Car Open category with one minute, 47 seconds penalty, well ahead of Ashwin Reddy (Supreeth S) who tallied 10 minutes, 33 seconds.

Trailing Sudhip and Arindam in the Car OE category were Palthuna Raghavendra (Jeevarathinam) with a penalty of four minutes, three seconds, followed by Narayanan Iyer (Shrinivasa) who were docked 19 minutes, 14 seconds.

In all, 41 competitors took the start from Bangalore early Monday morning with 37 completing the first leg and they will head to Ooty for the second leg Tuesday.

Provisional classification (Leg 1 – Endurance):

Overall: Karthik Maruthi / Sankar Anand 1 (0:00:12secs penalty); Satish Gopalkrishnan / Savera D’Souza 2 (0:00:24); Sudip Kumar Ghosh / Arindam Ghosh 3 (0:00:26).

SUV Open: Maruthi / Anand 1; Gopalkrishnan / D’Souza 2; K Prasad / Nishanth 3 (0:00:54).

Car Open: Ganesh Moorthy / T Nagarajan 1 (0:00:29); Raveendra / Velmurugan 2 (0:01min, 47secs); Aswin Reddy / Supreeth S 3 (0:10:33).

Car OE: Sudhip Kumar Ghosh / Arindam Ghosh 1; Palghuna Raghavendra / Jeevarathinam 2 (0:04:03); Narayanan Iyer /Shrinivasan 3 (0:19:14).

Manufacturer (Suzuki Maruti): Jagmeet Gill / Musthafa 1 (0:00:31); Somdeb Chanda / Amit Saha 2 (0:00:38); Deepak Chahal / Amit Kumar Garg 3 (0:20:25).

Corporate: Pavan AK / Sagar 1 (0:06:16); Manjunath GM / Avinash 2 (0:11:05); Philip Baklin / David Sharon 3 (0:13:02).

Corporate Select: Pramod Vig / Abhilash 1 (0:39:58); Ashish Gupta / Ashvind Ratnakaran 2 (1hr, 15mins, 07secs).

Couples: Sreejith PA / Krishnaveni KC 1 (0:11:27). All Ladies: Gauri Gupta / Poulami Dutta 1 (0:56:46)

source: http://www.business-standard.com / Business Standard / Home> News – IANS> Sports / by IANS – Mysore , August 05th, 2013

Librarians go for digital makeover

Education, Records, All

 

Staff at Egmore Connemara library take a closer look at old books preserved by the library on Monday. — DC
Staff at Egmore Connemara library take a closer look at old books preserved by the library on Monday. — DC

Chennai:

As the Internet becomes the platform to study and research, and libraries are trying to keep pace with the digital wave, librarians in the city talk of adapting to this change on Na­tional Library Day.

Meenakshi Murugan, assistant librarian at Connemara public library in Egmore for the last 32 years, says, “Changing reading habits and increased dependence on internet are some of the changes happening across the domain,” but asserts that the responsibility of the librarian remains unaltered. “The librarian is still the guide when it comes to conveying to the reader the know-how of which books to refer and where.”

The day is celebrated on the birth anniversary of S. R. Ranganathan, mathematician and librarian, and also the father of library sciences in India.

T. Vijayalakshmi, librarian at the British Council,  for the past 11 years seconds the opinion and adds, “We are looking at integrating physical resources (books) with online academic material.”

Speaking of the cause that led her to her choice of profession she says, “My interests since childhood were books and that triggered the choice.”

She says, “Being a librarians is a profession where being updated about a new book and what is of interest to the reader is imperative.”

Talking of the new tech in the library, Vijayalakshmi adds, “At the British Council library, books are enabled with radio frequency identification technology which minuses the librarian’s role of issuing a book; a swipe with the chip fitted on the book is all that’s needed.

source: http://www.deccanchronicle.com / Deccan Chronicle / Home> News> Current Affairs / by Jackson Jose, DC / August 13th, 2013

Heritage of Chennai: Multi-media presentation contest – Registration on

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Historical Links, Pre-Independence

In connection with the Madras Day celebration, Mylapore Times, a neighbourhood newspaper is organising a Multi-media presentation contest for the city schools on Aug. 20, 2013.

The subject of the contest is The Old Houses of our City.

Students of classes 8 to 12 can participate in teams of three. The teams need to be registered through their schools and each school can send only one team.

The contest requires study of a old / heritage house located in Chennai and present in on PowerPoint and narration by the students on the spot.

The best presentation will take home a rolling trophy for their school and three top presentations will receive trophies and gifts. All the participants will receive certificates.

Registration for the contest is open to 20 schools on first-come-first-served basis.

More details of the contest is at – http://themadrasday.in/heritage-of-chennai-multimedia-presentation-contest-for-city-schools/

source: http://www.yocee.in / YOCee.in / Home> What’s On / by Team YOCee / August 01st, 2013

Students get rare chance to know about Kangayam cattle

Business & Economy, Green Initiatives/ Environment, Nature
School students seen at the Kangayam tract in Tirupur district. / by Special Arrangement / The Hindu
School students seen at the Kangayam tract in Tirupur district. / by Special Arrangement / The Hindu

For the group of 37 school students from Coimbatore, the two-day stay at Senaapathy Kangayam Cattle Research Foundation (SKCRF) and Kangayam cattle tract offered a different experience. Not only did they get an opportunity to know about the cattle but they also went back richer with the knowledge of making some unique value-added products from the cow’s urine and dung.

Kathiyawadi horse

They also got a glimpse of the Kathiyawadi horse, a rare breed of horse from the North-Western belt of the country, reared at the facility. “We are facilitating and encouraging these type of visits by youngsters only to ensure that the future of the animal-species that face extinction like Kangayam cattle will be safe in the hands of the next generation,” K.S.M. Karthikeya, managing trustee of SKCRF, told The Hindu.

Jeeva Amirtham

Apart from teaching the students the origin and benefits of Kangayam cattle to the farming community, the resource persons from SKCRF explained the techniques to make Jeeva Amritham, a product that can be made from urine of Kangayam cattle and used as a substitute for nitrogenous fertilizers. Another product that was usually made from Kangayam cattle’s urine and dung is Bij Amritham, used for seed treatment due to its anti-fungal properties.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Coimbatore / by R Vimal Kumar / Tirupur – August 06th, 2013

SRM University to honour eleven Tamil scholars, writers

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Education, Records, All

Chennai :

SRM University will honour Tamil scholars, researchers and authors for their contribution to the growth and development of the language. The university will present 11 experts in Tamil with the Tamil Academy Awards  on August 24, which is also the birthday of university chancellor TR Pachamuthu.

University officials said the third edition of the awards would carry a total cash prize of Rs 20.5 lakh.

The Lifetime Parivendhar Achievement Award, carrying a cash award of Rs 5 lakh, will be given to Tamil scholar Tamizhannal. The Parithimaar Kalaignar Award for the best Tamil scholar would be given to Kovai Gnani. It carries a cash prize of Rs 2 lakh.

The Vipulanandar Award, instituted this year, will be presented to an author who has published Tamil books abroad. A Muthulingam will be the first to get this award for his book titled ‘Amerikakkari’. The award carries a cash prize of Rs 1.5 lakh.

Jayamohan’s ‘Aram’ has been selected for the Pudumaipithan Award for short stories and drama, while the Bharathiyar Poet Award goes to Elakkumi Kumaran Gnana Draviyam for his book ‘Perunayaipuraithal.’

The Valliappa Child Literary Award will be shared by three authors this year. The GU Pope Translation Award will go to MA Suseela for the book ‘Asadan’ and the Appuswamy Scientific Tamil Award will go to Mohan Sundararajan for his book ‘Nano : the Next Revolution.’

The Anandakumaraswamy Fine Arts Award will go to Kudavayil Balasubramanian for his book ‘Raja Rajecharam,’ and the Muthuthandavar Tamil Isai award for E Angayarkanni, while the Development Tamil Award will go to K Jawahar. These awards carry a cash prize of Rs 1.5 lakh.

Vice-chancellor of the university M Ponnavaiko said 523 entries were received for the 11 awards. The best five were shortlisted and circulated among eminent scholars to bring down the choice  to two. The final choice was made by a panel of jurists.

source: http://www.articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Chennai> SRM University / by M. Ramya, TNN / August 02nd, 2013

Double digit investment growth for TN: Study

Business & Economy

Tamil Nadu has attracted domestic and foreign investment worth over Rs 10 lakh crore in the last eight years, almost seven per cent of the total investment commitments made across India, according to a study.

The study titled ‘Realising double digit growth in Tamil Nadu’ — released by Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India southern region council chairperson Ravindra Sannareddy, chairman of India-SAARC business promotion council Ravi Wig and national secretary general D S Rawat ­— says Tamil Nadu is ranked sixth among industrialised states attracting investments. Clocking a year-on-year growth rate of over 10 per cent, Tamil Nadu has successfully attracted investment proposals worth over `10 lakh crore as of June 2013, the report says.

“The electricity sector with a share of 44.5 pc in total investment is the main investment absorber. The State is witnessing investments in both conventional and non-conventional energy resources and has 132 proposals absorbing investment worth over `4 lakh crore, clocking year-on-year growth of over 30 per cent,” the study says.

After power, the services (29.1 per cent) and manufacturing (16 per cent) sectors are the important investment destinations in Tamil Nadu, the report says.

The real estate sector has attracted 9.1 per cent of the total investment, while the irrigation and mining sectors have gotten lower shares in investment.

As for the implementation status of investment projects, more than 52.8 per cent of these investments are under implementation and 40.4 per cent are in announcement stage, the report says.

Tamil Nadu has acquired a share of over nine per cent and over five per cent in the total investments made by government and private sources respectively across India, it states.

Recording a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of about 10 per cent, the services sector accounted for the highest contribution of over 61 per cent to the State Domestic Product (SDP). The report states that the industrial sector in Tamil Nadu grew at nine per cent CAGR, thereby contributing over 30 pc to the SDP.

The study also points out that agriculture is increasingly transforming into a failing economic activity.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Education> Student / by Express News Service – Chennai / August 02nd, 2013

Grafica to launch “nano-prinTag” at KnitShow in Tirupur

Business & Economy, Science & Technologies

Grafica Flextronica, manufacturer and exporter of screen printing machines and allied products for textile, graphics and industrial printing sectors, will unveil the nano-prinTag, world’s fastest and first all electrical-mechanical automatic direct-to-garment tagless label screen printing machine at the forthcoming KnitShow exhibition, which is scheduled for 11-13 August 2013 in Tirupur, Tamil Nadu.

Bhargav Mistry, managing director, Grafica, said, “This is yet another breakthrough product from Grafica. The machine is designed, keeping in mind the minimum power consumption and minimum maintenance requirement. It runs without a compressor because there is no pneumatics inside, which makes the machine fastest and trouble free.”

Mistry: "Yet another breakthrough product from Grafica"
Mistry: “Yet another breakthrough product from Grafica”

Over the last three years, Grafica has been regularly introducing a range of Nano series screen printing machines such as Nano-Print, Nano-Screen Maker 5-in-1, Nano-UV, Nano-Squeegee Sharpener,  Nano-Print plus, Nano-PrinTex, Nano-Texdryer, Nano-flashTex and allied products to meet the global market demands.

“Each machine has found to be having tremendous potential and has been doing well with many repeat orders within a year of their launch. And now, we are introducing Nano-PrinTag, which is expected to be another revolutionary product,” concluded Mistry.

source: http://www.printweek. in / Print Week India / Home> News> Press Room / by Sidhesh Kanade / July 31st, 2013

Prime Minister seeks tech innovation to reduce carbon footprint

Business & Economy, Records, All, Science & Technologies
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is greeted by Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram as MoS at PMO V. Narayanasamy claps during dedication of two BHEL projects to the nation at Thirumayam in Pudukottai district on Friday. — DC
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is greeted by Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram as MoS at PMO V. Narayanasamy claps during dedication of two BHEL projects to the nation at Thirumayam in Pudukottai district on Friday. — DC
Pudukottai: 
Observing that climate change has become an urgent concern across the globe, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday stressed on the need to find ways and means to reduce country’s carbon footprint as it would be among the nations to be “most seriously” impacted.
“We need to develop ways and means to reduce our carbon foot-print through technological innovation. In our country, more than 50 per cent of power comes from coal-based generation, which is a major emitter of greenhouse gases,” he said.
Dedicating to the nation BHEL’s two new projects – Rs 1,000 crore high-pressure boiler plant unit-II, a green-field initiative at Tiruchy, and the Rs 300 crore power plant piping unit at Thirumayam, the PM said  the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar mission sought to develop 20,000 MW f power generating capacity by the end of 13th five Year plan.
Get into solar tech, PM tells BHEL
Stating that the Jawa­harlal Nehru national solar mission’s success has the potential to enhance India’s energy security, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh urged the public sector undertaking, Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL), to get into developing solar power technology, apart from solar power generation.
Dedicating to the nation BHEL’s two new projects — Rs 1,000 crore high-pressure boiler plant unit-II, a green-field initiative at Tiruchy, and the Rs 300 crore power plant piping unit at Thirumayam on Friday, Dr Singh said, “The Jawaharlal Nehru national solar mission seeks to develop 20,000 MW of solar power generating capacity by the end of the 13th Five Year Plan. Its success has the potential of enhancing India’s energy security and contributing handsomely to efforts to combat climate change.”
He hoped that BHEL, “bestowed with engineering expertise, manufacturing prowess and a commendable human reso­urce base,” will not only take the lead in solar energy in terms of power generation but also in the development of solar power technology.
He added that it was a difficult commercial decision, but well worth taking in the long-term interest of our country. He lauded finance minister P. Chidambaram saying that he was instrumental in persuading BHEL, a maharatna PSU, to locate their new power plant piping unit at Thirumayam, in Pudukottai district.
According to Dr Singh, the country needs to expand manufacturing substantially, both in absolute terms and in proportion to the gross domestic product. Only this can enable us to generate productive employment for our large and growing labour force, he said.
Citing the government’s plan to add over 100,000 MW including renewables in the 12th Plan, Dr Singh said in the 11th Plan period, the country added around 55,000 MW of generation capacity. “Of this, Bharat Heavy Electricals alone accounted for almost half,” he said.
source: http://www.deccanchronicle.com / Deccan Chronicle / Home> News> Current Affairs / by DC / August 03rd, 2013

University of Bristol students help bring electricity to Indian villages

Education, Green Initiatives/ Environment, Inspiration/ Positive News and Features, Nature, Science & Technologies, World Opinion

Chloe Tingle and Adam Smith, students at the University of Bristol, have travelled to the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu to look at ways in which the residents of a Mumbai slum and two remote villages can improve their lives by generating their own power.

India has a population of 350 million people, but a quarter of the country still has no electricity. Vast areas of Tamil Nadu suffer from intermittent electricity or no energy supply at all, making even the most basic daily tasks extremely difficult.

Students are visiting India as part of a project led by Bristol-based charity The Converging World
Students are visiting India as part of a project led by Bristol-based charity The Converging World

Chloe and Adam arrived in Mumbai on Saturday 27 July to undertake a fact finding mission as part of a project led by Bristol-based charity The Converging World (TCW), which has installed wind farms in the area, investing the profits into helping people who live in energy poverty.

The pair will run workshops in the Mumbai slum, where a solar project is underway at a local community centre, educating local people about the importance of renewable energies. They will then travel to the villages of Kalilaspura and Muthumakamura, which are close to wind turbines built by TCW, where they will assess the energy needs and lifestyles of the local people and will also meet local suppliers of biomass and biogas generators.

Both students are part of the Bristol branch of Engineers Without Borders (EWB), a student-run organisation working to remove barriers to development through engineering.

Chloe, who is in the final year of a Master’s degree in Engineering Design, is a volunteer project manager for TCW’s Access to Affordable Sustainable Energy programme. She says:  “Our trip is a fact-finding mission to gain an appreciation of local lifestyles. Meeting with communities face to face is the best way to understand their needs and learn about how their quality of life could be improved.”

Adam, who has just completed a Masters in Physics, adds: “At The Converging World we are focussed on sustainability, so it’s important that we don’t go straight in and install energy systems that no-one understands how to use or maintain, that will be forgotten after a couple of years.”

When the pair return to the UK at the end of August they will continue to work on the project, using their research to compile recommendations regarding the best type of technology to use and which suppliers in India could help.

Chloe and Adam’s part time internships at TCW are sponsored by the University of Bristol and their trip to India has been self-funded through grants and fundraising events.

Further information can be found at www.sponsorcraft.com/p/theconvergingworld/.

source: http://www.guide2bristol.com / Guide 2 Bristol / Home> Bristol News/Features / July 31st, 2013

New set of students at KAP College vow to serve in rural areas

Education

Trichy : 

It was a new beginning for students of the K A P Viswanatham Government Medical College (KAPVGMC), as they stepped into the college portals for the first time after gaining admission into the 15th batch of the MBBS course, which commenced on Thursday. As part of this, the students pledged to dedicate their noble service to the rural service.

A total of 85 students enrolled into the MBBS course under the state merit quota. Of the total 100 seats, the 15 seats are reserved for national quota. The first day of the college for these students was marked by a function to welcome the freshers. Dr MA Aleem, vice-principal of this college presided over the event and advised the students to minimize the use of mobile phone and maximize their period of study as well as to make use of library.

In an interaction with few students, it was found that most of them were first-generation medicine students. It showed that not only the children of doctors but also others too win the race to become future doctors. B Sowmya, a student from Dindigul, who is a first medicine student in her family told TOI, “It was my grandparents’ wish to produce a doctor in our family. And, I was also determined to become a doctor in a Government College. With the support of my father L Boomirajan, a farmer and my mother V Santhanalakshmi, I achieved this feat. After successful completion of my course, I would dedicate my service to the rural people.”

Another first generation medicine student K Kaviya from Peravoorani in Thanjavur district also echoed the same view. “It was my lifetime aim to serve the rural people. I have felt the difficulties of rural people in getting quality medical treatment. I want to serve them to prove that it is a noble profession,” Kaviya said, whose father is working as a tailor abroad.

Asked whether they would have joined medicine if they had not secured a seat in a government college, the students said ‘no’.

In addition to the 100 seats, the Medical Council of India has approved to increase the number of seats to 150 from this year. So, the counselling for rest of the seats will be over shortly.counselling for rest of the seats will be over shortly.

source: http://www.articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Madurai> Government College / TNN / August 02nd, 2013