The Dindigul municipality has been upgraded as Municipal Corporation with effect from Wednesday.
Chief Minister Jayalalithaa handed over the government order to Municipal Chairman G. Marudharaj. On receipt of the information, All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam councillors celebrated the occasion by distributing sweets to the public and bursting crackers.
According to officials, the population of the newly created Corporation limits is 2.7 lakh.
The annual revenue to the exchequer is expected to be around Rs.30 crore.
The Chief Minister had announced at the Assembly on April 10, 2013, that the municipality would be upgraded as Municipal Corporation.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> National> Tamil Nadu / by Staff Reporter / Dindigul – February 20th, 2014
Fans of late M.G. Ramachandran were delighted to see a separate stall having the photographs of the Tamil cinema’s icon at the book fair in Tiruchi. / Photo: M.Moorthy / The Hindu
Next book exhibition will be held in September, say the organisers
There was plenty of food for mind and body at the week-long book fair at St. John’s Vestry Anglo-Indian Higher Secondary School organised by the Rotary Club of Tiruchirappalli. The event had the added attraction of a “food mela” this year.
Fifteen publishing houses took part in the book fair and though the number of participants was less this year, sales were reported to be higher, organisers toldThe Hindu.
“Our event’s dates overlapped with those of the Booksellers and Publishers Association of South India (BAPASI) book fair in Perambalur because of which many publishers pulled out at the last minute,” said Mr. Saravanan, chairman of the Rotary Club.
This year, 84 stalls were set up, and six stayed vacant because of the scheduling problems. “We are planning to hold the next book fair in end-September, which is our usual time for the event.”
Besides daily talks by leading Tamil writers and social commentators, visitors could sample food from regular street snacks to ethnic cuisine offerings at the 40 stalls set up in an adjoining enclosure as part of the food fair. A cookery competition on Saturday was the highlight of this event.
“We decided to add the food fair because we wanted families to get the experience of a full outing,” said Mr. Saravanan. “Next time, we are planning to create space for gardening enthusiasts and display rare orchids. But we are not going to get children’s joy-rides – it will become too much of a carnival,” he added.
With the business model of traditional publishing getting slowly upended by electronic media, book fairs seem to be the few places where the old-style paper and ink books can still be found in vast numbers.
At the Tiruchi event, most stalls seemed to have stuck to either school-friendly tutorial material in the form of colouring and activity books or encyclopaedia sets, or gone for works on philosophy and religion. Stalls selling English fiction were few, and as usual, it was the discount counters that drew the most number of browsers.
As usual, cookbooks, and anthologies of Tamil magazine articles drew a steady number of browsers. The more unusual exhibitors included herbal cosmetic vendor, two art galleries, and spoken English course CD sellers. “Although there were fewer stalls this year, the sales were better,” said P.R. Panchanathan, a Rotarian.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Tiruchirapalli / by Nahla Nainar / Tiruchi – February 16th, 2014
In the wake of the recent exhibition of Bargur cattle, organised by the Veterinary Department in the district recently, scientists have recommended popularisation of this breed by showcasing higher income-generation possibilities.
The indigenous breed, reared on the Bargur hills, find their own food, and do not require sheds. Owing to the low cost of rearing, cost of production per litre of milk and meat is lower than that of exotic breeds.
Also, the feed conversion ratio to milk and meat is superior, said A. Kirubakaran, Assistant Professor, Veterinary University Training and Research Centre, Erode. Superior productivity, and higher disease resistance capacity are the other advantages, he added, saying that no genetic abnormality has been identified till date among this breed of cattle.
The native breed was highly adaptable to our environment compared to exotic breeds. While native breeds do not face any problems up to seventh calving, the exotic breeds start developing complications after their third calving, Mr. Kirubakaran said.
Termed ‘Semmarai’ in Tamil since the horn, eyes, and muzzle are light red in colour, this breed of cattle, with typical brown colour and white patches, survive under zero-input conditions.
The dung of the native breed contain more microbes and acts as natural fertilizer to soil.
The milk-yielding capacity of the Bargur breed may not be as much as the yield of exotic breeds, but farmers on the hills have traditionally been rearing the cattle in large numbers as there was no need for them to spend on fodder, Regional Joint Director of Animal Husbandry Department P. Jayaraman said. The hooves of this breed were naturally strong and did not require horseshoes, he said.
Despite its compact size, Bargur ox is sought after for drawing carts and ploughing fields.
Farmers buy this cattle breed in large numbers at the annual shandy in Pudupalayam in Anthiyur block, Mr. Jayaraman said.
Popularisation of the Bargur cattle is expected to be a natural course as the State Animal Husbandry Minister T.K.M. Chinnaiah has assured to explore scope for starting a research centre for the indigenous breed.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Coimbatore / by R. Krishnamoorthy / Erode – February 15th, 2014
In addition the gold cluster taking shape in Madurai, industrial clusters on rubber, auto engineering and textile are in the pipeline. S R Samuel, joint development commissioner, cluster development of micro small and medium enterprises (MSME), Government of India, New Delhi told this to reporters at Madurai District Tiny & Small Scale Industries Association ( MADITSSIA) on Thursday. He is on a tour visiting various industrial clusters in the region.
MSME has allotted Rs 2.50 crore to gold cluster in Madurai by providing equipment and infrastructure. From traditional manufacturing the industry is moving towards mechanisation and the modern equipment are provided to the cluster, he said. Similarly, the electrical engineering cluster at Paramakudi, safety matches’ cluster in Sattur, readymade garment cluster at Thalavaipuram, coir industry cluster at Singampunari, printing industry cluster at Sivakasi are coming up fast.
Among the 47 clusters coming up in the country, 31 are in Tamil Nadu with the small-scale industry taking up cluster development in full scale. Among the 47 clusters, 10 have been completed and others are in various stages of development. Altogether, Rs 141.25 crore have been sanctioned for cluster development in Tamil Nadu, Samuel said.
Addressing the industrialists who came from various clusters in Madurai and Virudhunagar, Samuel listed out the various benefits small-scale industrialists can avail from MSME ministry. For the diagnostic study report, the industrialists can get Rs 2.5 lakh and Rs 5 lakh for detailed project report. MSME provides Rs 25 lakh assistance for marketing assistance. Further, industrialists can avail as much as Rs 15 crore under common facility centre (CFC) where a group of small-scale industries can set up a facility for common use. For the small-scale units, intellectual property rights facility centre is functioning in Chennai. Small-scale industries play a vital role in the economic growth of the country. It is imperative that the MSME sector is healthy for the prosperity of the country and people, he added.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Madurai / TNN / February 09th, 2014
Mohammed Aquil (left) with his father Mohammed Abdul Latheef at Camera Crafts. / Photos: K.V. Srinivasan / The Hindu
Spanning nine decades, Camera Crafts in the city has been a witness to the evolution of the photo industry
An auto screeches to a halt. A man gets down and walks in carrying a camera. Many customers have already settled into the backless seats at the store, and more filter in with cameras. Mohammed Aquil is busy shuffling in and out of his workshop at the back. Such scenes have remained unchanged at Camera Crafts in Triplicane for many years now. But what hasn’t changed is how the store has continuously adapted itself to the evolution of the photo industry.
Mohammed Abdul Sattar set up a camera repair shop in Triplicane in 1925 since there was nothing of that sort anywhere in the vicinity. “We were among the first in the Presidency,” says Aquil, as he wipes lenses carefully and places them aside. “My grandfather was good with carpentry and so, we started manufacturing wooden field cameras soon,” says Aquil, beside whom is a model of an old wooden camera with adaptable zoom lens.
For studios
Aquil says that his grandfather had told him how most of Camera Crafts’ customers back then were studios or wealthy locals who wanted their cameras repaired. Another aspect that Aquil remembers is Sattar narrating how military personnel visited the store during World War II. “Apparently, we were the only shop here then, so my grandfather would tend to all their cameras as well.”
When Sattar passed away in 1969, Aquil’s father Mohammed Abdul Latheef took over the business — just after the era of wooden cameras and at the beginning of the mechanical era. In keeping with the store’s tradition, he manufactured enlargers, studio lights and single-bulb flashes.
“Before the era of digital prints, one would need an enlarger to zoom images, and so my dad was making those. At one point, my father manufactured about 40,000 single-bulb flashes for studios such as Choksi Brothers spread across the country,” he says. And when electrical flashes became the norm, Aquil’s father decided to create sockets in older cameras to fit flashes. “He made those pre-War cameras compatible with flash,” he says.
In 1988, Aquil himself joined the shop, after completing a degree in electrical engineering. “We had a factory right here, which we demolished in the late 1980s. We moved the shop to a small one-room setup in the street opposite and functioned out of there for some time. Now, we have stopped manufacturing machines or cameras, and stick to just servicing. A lot of studios, professional and wildlife photographers continue to come here since we have been around for long.” He does sell cameras but not too many. “I mostly sell professional models.”
Cameras of yore: At Camera Crafts / The Hindu
However, he does have a large collection of cameras. “So many cupboardfuls,” he laughs. “Maybe 500 or even more.” Among the old cameras in his collection are the wooden field cameras his grandfather made — Leica and Rolleiflex. “A lot of them are pre-War cameras. I’m trying to restore as many as possible,” he adds. “Recently, I sold six cameras to a tourist who was looking for antiques. I just opened the cupboard and asked her to pick whatever she wanted.”
Camera Crafts has no visiting card. “Whatever customer base I have built is purely through word-of-mouth,” he smiles. “You can see for yourself.” Sure enough, more customers walk up to the counter with cameras.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> MetroPlus / by Anusha Parthasarathy / Chennai – February 06th, 2014
Kangayam bulls at the exhibition-cum-beauty contest at Kangayam in Tirupur district on Saturday. / The Hindu
Contest aimed at enthusing cattle breeders to save the species from extinction
Displaying their trademark sturdiness, a total of 452 Kangayam head of cattle lined up for a beauty contest-cum-exhibition organised by the Department of Animal Husbandry at Kangayam here on Saturday.
A panel of six judges, comprising experts from Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University and retired officials from Animal Husbandry Department, evaluated the cattle in terms of classification Kangayam Bull, Kangayam Bullock and Kangayam Cow as well as by their colours. In the end, as many as 78 proud owners of Kangayam cattle from Coimbatore, Tirupur, Dindigul, Erode and Karur districts, the areas falling under the Kangayam cattle tract, walked away with cash prizes totalling Rs.1.8 lakh.
“The contest has been aimed at enthusing cattle breeders and farmers to opt for different varieties of pure Kangayam breed and save the species from extinction,” L. Nagarajan, the Regional Joint Director of Animal Husbandry, said.
M. Thangamuthu (48), a farmer from Sivanmalai, who came with his majestic Kangayam Bull for the sheer pride of participation, told The Hindu that the government should provide assistance to farmers/breeders to offset the cost of rearing if the population had to be multiplied.
“Nurturing the Kangayam breed in a healthy manner requires almost Rs. 300 a day these days,” he pointed out.
A large number of visitors thronged the event venue and among were veterinary students and researchers.
Good experience
“It is a good experience as the event not only provided us with an opportunity to see different varieties of genetically pure Kangayam cattle breed at a single place but also to interact with its breeders,” a student from Veterinary College and Research Institute, Namakkal, said.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> National> Tamil Nadu / Tirupur – February 09th, 2014
Chennaiites may spot an empty train going up and down the city, over the next nine months, after which they will be able to hop on to Chennai Metro and travel from Koyambedu to Alandur. / Photo: K. Pichumani / The Hindu
In coming months, several trial runs will be conducted on elevated stretch
At a quarter to twelve on Saturday afternoon, the train operator switches to ‘isolator mode’ and presses the ‘start’ button.
With a slight jolt, the Chennai Metro Rail train takes off from CMBT Metro Rail station. Since it is only a trial run, the train crawls at 10 kmph on the elevated corridor and reaches Ashok Nagar in half an hour.
While the train doors open automatically, they shut only after the driver looks at the CCTV cameras and hits the close button.
The pre-recorded announcements inform passengers of the route and destination details; this, apart from the electronic route map in both English and Tamil on either side of each car.
Should there be an emergency, there is an internal manual alarm or passengers can speak directly to the train operator through the intercom; there is also a helpline displayed inside the train which will enable passengers to contact Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL).
The trains that took shape in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and Sri City, Andhra Pradesh, will last at least 30 years and are equipped with regenerative braking that has the capacity to recover 30-35 per cent of the energy during braking.
So far, of the nine trains manufactured in Brazil, five have arrived in Chennai and will be put through the trial run after two months, says an official of CMRL.
The first of the remaining 33 trains manufactured at the Sri City plant will arrive in the city later this month, says L. Narasim Prasad, director (systems and operations), CMRL.
“Each train will have a special class in which a third of the seats will be common and the other two-thirds will be exclusively for women. At first, we plan to use nine trains for operations,” he says. Chennaiites may spot an empty train going up and down the city, over the next nine months, after which they will be able to hop on to Chennai Metro and travel from Koyambedu to Alandur.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Chennai / by Sunitha Sekar / Chennai – February 16th, 2014
During a visit last week Thursday to Sterlite Copper, a subsidiary of Vedanta Resources, which owns the Skorpion Zinc mine in southern Namibia, Minister of Trade and Industry, Calle Schlettwein, reiterated Namibia’s stance on beneficiation in the mining industry. In mining, beneficiation is a variety of processes whereby extracted ore from is prepared for further processing or direct use.
The process encourages economic development at the point of mineral extraction and increases the proportion of the value derived from asset exploitation, which stays ‘in country’ and thereby increases the benefits for local communities. Sterlite Copper, based in the port city of Tuticorin in the district of Thoothukudi on the southern tip of India, represents copper business in India of Sesa Sterlite Limited, the principal operating company of Vedanta Resources. Sterlite Copper initially started producing cables and then moved into rod production and then to smelter activities and refining, after which it also acquired copper mines. These mines feed around 5 to 7 percent of its captive consumption. Sterlite is one of the fastest growing private sector companies in India and is listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) and the National Stock Exchange (NSE) in India. Sterlite is also the first Indian metals and mining company to get listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in 2007.
Since the inception of the massive industrial plant in Thoothukudi in 1996, the district of Thoothukudi went into a developmental phase as per capita income increased three-fold, while the overall literacy rate increased to 92 percent from 81 percent. The material handling capacity of Tuticorin port also doubled as Sterlite played a pivotal role by importing huge volumes of copper concentrate and exporting copper and also other raw materials and finished goods. The plant now produces copper cathodes and copper rods from the imported copper concentrate, as well as sulphuric acid, phosphoric acid and hydro-fluoro silicic acid.
According to Ponnuswamy Ramnath, Chief Executive Officer of Sterlite Copper, Sterlite is continuously and consistently taking steps to become an international player in non-ferrous mining and metals. “Sterlite set up a wholly owned new company – Sterlite Opportunities and Ventures Limited in 2002, which acts as a vehicle for its acquisitions and mergers. Sterlite acquired the copper mines of Tasmania (CMT) in Australia via acquisition of their holding company Monte Cello Corporation,” said Ramnath. The Sterlite copper rod plant is now India’s largest copper producer with 400 000 tonnes annual capacity, resulting in an Indian refined copper market share of about 40 percent.
source: http://www.allafrica.com / allAfrica / Home> English / by Edgar Brandt / February 03rd, 2014
The Department of Economics attached to the Thiruvalluvar University, here, in association with the Central Institute of Classical Tamil, Chennai, is hosting a three-day national conference on ‘Economic thoughts in classical Tamil literature,’ from February 5 on its campus at Serkkadu near here.
According to Dr C Dhandapani, the conference organiser attached to the university, while many fora in the country had been organised to discuss the westernised economic theories and thoughts, for the first time an attempt had been made to explore the economic theories propagated in the classical Tamil literature.
The three-day national conference would also dwell at length on the contribution of economic thoughts madeby the Sangam literature.
Students of Tamil language and Economics, faculties, research scholars, academicians and experts from across the country are expected to participate in the conference.
Dhandapani also said that over 70 research papers would be presented during the conference.
Former vice-chancellor of the Manonmaniam Sundaranar University, Tirunelveli, Dr Vedagiri Shanmughasundram will inaugurate the conference on February 5 while the vice-chancellor of Bharathidasan university in Tiruchy Dr C Thangamuthu will deliver the valedictory address on February 7.
The vice- chancellor of the Thiruvalluvar University Dr Gunasekaran will preside over on the occasion.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Tamil Nadu / by Express News Service – Vellore / February 04th, 2014
Indian scientists have developed a monitoring software that can detect the telltale signs of botnet activity on a computer and disable the malware.
Botnet, a network of computers infected with malware – so-called zombies – that allow a third party to take control of those machines can be detected using a statistical tool first published in 1966, according to researchers from PSG College of Technology, Coimbatore.
In a study published in the International Journal of Electronic Security and Digital Forensics, researchers wrote that millions of computers across the globe are infected with malware, despite the best efforts of public awareness campaigns about phishing attacks and antivirus software.
Security and software companies do monitor internet activity and there have been successes in destroying such botnets but malware writers are always developing new tools and techniques that allow them to infect unprotected computers and rebuild botnets, researchers said.
Researcher R Anitha and colleagues at PSG College of Technology have turned to a statistical tool known as the hidden semi-Markov model (HsMM) to help them develop monitoring software to detect botnet activity on a computer.
In probability theory and statistics, a Markov process is one in which someone can predict the next state of a process based on its current state without knowing the full history of the process.
A hidden-Markov model would thus include variables of which the observer has no sight but can infer and so predict an outcome.
Predicting whether it rained on a given day based on whether a fair-weather-only walker was out on a given day without you having a weather report for their area involves a hidden-Markov process.
A hidden semi-Markov model then involves a process of this sort but where the time-elapsed into the current state affects the prediction.
The team has applied the statistical logic of the hidden semi-Markov model to forecast the characteristics of internet activity on a given computer suspected of being a “zombie computer” in a botnet based on management information base (MIB) variables.
These variables are the components used to control the flow of data packets in and out of the computer via the internet protocol.
Their approach can model the “normal” behaviour and then highlight botnet activity as being a deviation from the normal without the specific variables that are altered by the malware being in plain sight.
Tests on a small zombie computer network shows that the hidden semi-Markov model researchers have developed as a lightweight and real-time detection system can see through this disguise easily.
If implemented widely such a system could lock down this kind of botnet very quickly and slow the assimilation of zombie computers by criminals and others with malicious intent, researchers said.
PTI
source: http://www.zeenews.india.com / Z News / Home> Sci-Tech> Net News / by PTI / Wednesday – February 05th, 2014
