The US-based Ansr on Wednesday announced acquisition of Bengaluru-based artificial intelligence (AI) firm FastNext in a cash and stock deal.
However, the company didn’t disclose the acquisition cost.
Post the acquisition, FastNext employees will join Ansr and work closely with its product Talent500.
“The acquisition will enable Ansr empower global enterprises to build the best teams for their global capability centres (GCC) by using deep learning and AI-powered tools across talent acquisition and management, smart workspace management and management and business workflows,” Ansr said in a statement.
The first of the capabilities Ansr aims to build with FastNext is in AI driven talent acquisition and management that will augment existing consulting and technology capabilities. It will help clients in areas such as talent acquisition and management.
“Ansr’s Talent500 will play a pivotal role in this partnership for achieving comprehensive 360-degree candidate profiles,” the statement said.
source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> City> Top Bengaluru Stories / by PTI / November 05th, 2020
The Bengaluru Tech Summit on Saturday showed that biological sciences are integral to the tech ecosystem. This year the Smart Bio Awards were conferred on companies and organisations in five categories.
Fibroheal Woundcare, a healthcare biotech startup that has developed biomaterial-based wound healing products, was recognised as the ‘Startup of the year’. The products, containing bio-active silk protein, heal wound faster and with reduced scar formation.
Nibedit Dey, founder and CEO of Ibrum Technologies, a multidisciplinary engineer and creative technologist with a background in biomedical engineering, embedded system and biodesign, was named ‘Innovator of the year’. The company is developing a novel point-of-care pneumonia screening device for primary healthcare users to screen and refer babies with early symptoms.
Kavitha Iyer Rodrigues, co-founder and CEO of Zumutor Biologics Pvt. Ltd., was recognised as the ‘Woman entrepreneur of the year’ for her entrepreneurial acumen and leadership qualities. Zumutor is focused on developing novel techniques for fighting cancerous tumours.
ShanMukha Innovations’ product was named the ‘Best product against COVID-19’. It seeks to bring the diagnostic lab to the samples through translation of technologies developed at the lab into products and solutions for the Indian market. The company has developed Mobile Infection Testing and Reporting Labs to provide RT-PCR testing infrastructure.
Jalodbust, recognised as the ‘Best social enterprise/institute’, is working on the problems of manual scavenging and exposure of sanitation workers to disease, drudgery, and social ignominy.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Karnataka / by Special Correspondent / Bengaluru – November 21st, 2020
How a hole in a boat led to the emergence of Bridge Man of India.
Gudaari in Odisha
Mangaluru :
For him, it was not a bridge too far. Though a mechanical engineer, he learnt — that too by chance — that one can transform lives by building bridges. In the last three decades, he has built over 130 such structures, the latest one being built in Telangana.
Girish Bharadwaj (70), fondly called the Bridge Man, is seen as a messiah by many villages. His journey started with a hole in the bottom of a boat. For decades, the poor people of Aramburu, a remote village in Sullia taluk of Dakshina Kannada, were dependent on a country boat to cross the Payaswini river to reach the mainland for all their work.
Kanive in Kodagu, Karnataka
But whenever the only boat developed a hole in the bottom, the village used to come to a standstill until it was fixed or a new boat was built. Fed up, in 1989, the villagers decided to find a permanent solution to their perennial problem and approached Girish Bharadwaj, a young graduate in mechanical engineering who was running a fabrication unit, with a request to construct a footbridge to tide over the crisis.
Initially, Bharadwaj laughed at the villagers’ innocent belief that all engineers can build bridges. But he finally decided to give it a shot after the villagers refused to believe that a mechanical engineer can’t build bridges and also seeing their pathetic situation. With the help of engineering friends from other streams and referring to books on bridges, he designed a plan for a low-cost hanging bridge. It was a crowd-pooling project with some villagers even offering ‘shramdaan’.
Apart from other labour costs and sponsored construction materials, the project cost less than Rs 2 lakh. The villagers were immensely happy as the bridge ushered in a new life. Months later, the economical bridge caught the attention of a senior government official who had flown to Mangaluru from Bengaluru on some work and he called him.
After going through the bridge design, the official requested Bharadwaj to join hands with the government in providing connectivity to several isolated villages in Malnad and the coastal region. The journey thus started took him to various parts of Karnataka and even Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Odisha where he built more than 130 bridges in over 30 years and became popular as the Bridge Man of India. His contribution to the rural empowerment was recognised by the government and he was bestowed with the Padma Shri in 2017.
Fern Hill in Ooty, Tamil Nadu
Bharadwaj said he adopted the technology of San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge and Japan’s Akashi Kaikyo, both suspension bridges and considered marvels of modern engineering, and simplified it to suit the local needs. His suspension bridges are cost-effective compared to conventional ones. Though they are built as a matter of temporary solution to last for 10-20 years, many of them have stood in good condition even after the estimated life. Also, the bridges saw advancements in designs over the years.
With his work, Bharadwaj has also built bridges in the hearts of several villagers as they consider him as a messiah who lifted them from their miseries. In most of the work sites, he and his team of 30-40 workers pitch camp till the work that takes 3-6 months, is completed. While a majority of bridges are government-sponsored, there are a few, constructed with funds pooled by the villagers. For such projects, he offers his services for free. In some cases, when the project could not be completed due to lack of funds, Bharadwaj has spent from his pocket to complete it.
Bharadwaj was delighted when he received an individual letter from Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking his support for Swachch Bharat in which he recognised his ‘Sethu Bandhu’ work to have empowered poor villagers and has connected them to the world of opportunities. Bharadwaj says the demand for footbridges is almost nil now as people with four-wheelers prefer big RCC structures. Now, Bharadwaj’s son Pathanjali Bharadwaj, who is an M.Tech graduate, is continuing the work.
FABRICATION WORKS After completing his engineering from PES College, Mandya in mid 1970s, Bharadwaj had dreamt of becoming an MD of some factory. But his father who was an agriculturist, encouraged him to aspire to become an employer and provide jobs to others rather than being just an employee under someone. Thus, he set up Rational Engineering Works in Sullia which carried out general fabrication works and manufactured farm machinery
IN NUMBERS
Bharadwaj has built
95 bridges in seven districts of Karnataka
32 in Kerala
05 in Telangana
03 in Odisha
One more in Telangana is under progress now
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Karnataka / by Vincent D’Souza / Express News Service / November 15th, 2020
A view of the Krishi Mela in Bengaluru on Wednesday. | Photo Credit: Sudhakara Jain
The three-day Krishi Mela 2020, organised by the University of Agricultural Sciences-Bangalore (UAS-B), began here on Wednesday. This year, in view of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Mela is low-key with limited number of people physically participating and limited number of stalls.
M. Byre Gowda of the University of Agricultural Sciences (UAS) said 17 new agricultural technologies and three new varieties of crops, including groundnut, had been released this year for the benefit of farmers.
Demonstrations and information about the new agricultural technologies and three new varieties of crops were made during the the Mela.
Inaugurating the Mela, A.K. Singh, Deputy Director General (Agricultural Extension) Division, (Extension) Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), New Delhi, said the UAS has been continuously supporting farmers in the use of technologies.
“The Government of India and the ICAR have developed State-specific documents as to what has to be done in each State and how agriculture universities and ICAR institutes and farmers should work together so that the technologies that are required for doubling farmers’ income could directly go the farmers,” he said and added that they were working in 2,000 villages across the country to develop a model for doubling farmers’ income.
“ICAR has recently developed around 70 bio-fortified varieties which have micronutrients. Hence, there is great scope for bio-fortified research and practice in the country,” he said.
V. Venkatasubramanian of ICAR said that they were focusing on increasing the productivity of the crop and livestock, as also the cropping intensity.
“Around 33 Krishi Vigyan Kendras in Karnataka are working to strengthen the quality and quantity of the produce and continuity of the produce based in the market demand and consumer preferences. We are apprising the farmers on generating resources on their own farm to reduce the cost of cultivation,” he said. Such efforts would yield better results in the future, he said.
Awards were given to progressive farmers at taluk level, district level and State levels at the Mela. Around 25 stalls on new technologies, including drone technology for farming, drew attention of farmers.
Those who are not able to physically attend the mela can watch it online on the website, YouTube, and social media.
Around 200 farmers were allowed at a time, and all anti-COVID-19 precautions, like face masks and social distancing, were in place. Only those in the age group of 18 to 60 are being allowed to physically attend the Mela.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Bengaluru / by Staff Reporter / November 12th, 2020
Poornima Seetharaman did not set out to be a game designer. After her engineering, she landed her first job at a South Korean mobile game development company in Mumbai. She was given a month’s time to come up with the design for a 2D mobile game along the lines of Neverwinter Nights. “Back then, there were barely any resources available. I found Chris Crawford’s Game Design Document template. The company also provided me with Dungeon and Dragons (D&D) manuals which are considered the Bible for role-playing games,” she says. It was enough to get her hooked on.
Today she has become the first Indian game designer to be inducted into the Women in Games, Global Hall of Fame. The Bengaluru-based designer has managed to break into a strictly male bastion. “On one hand, there is the struggle of breaking the invisible glass ceiling and on the other hand you do get some opportunities because you are a woman in gaming. At times, it is a struggle to be taken seriously or to be considered an equal or better. I’m here because I refuse to give up and I’ve a support system that treats me on equal footing,” says Seetharaman, who is currently part of the Zynga family as their Lead Game Designer.
Screen grabsof the games she designed
In her almost 15-year-long career, Seetharaman considers Bioshock 3D Mobile—a remake of the original BioShock game for the BREW platform—the major turning point. Fitting a sprawling game into a feature phone with all sorts of restrictions was a huge achievement for her team and was one of the most rewarding experiences for her. It helped her grow as a professional, believes the designer, who is also visiting faculty, project consultant and curriculum committee member at the National Institute of Design, Bengaluru.
When not designing, Seetharaman likes to play Age of Empires II and Warcraft III, which according to her are “the reasons why I’m in game development today”. Quiz her about her dream project and she replies without hesitation, “Madhuram (sweetness), an infusion of Carnatic music with games, to take the player on a journey of Navarasa (nine emotions). The idea—inspired by my late aunt, Guru TR Balamani who devoted her entire life to teaching Carnatic music even as she sacrificed her concert career—has been brewing for almost six years now.
It shall hopefully see light of the day soon.” India is slowly edging towards becoming a gaming hub. But the prime focus is the mobile market that assures funding for companies that run fantasy sports, real money gaming, educational games ,etc. “The PC/Console game and generally the indie scene in India could use some more love. We have the talent and the skills. I’m setting up a community for women and marginalised genders in games,” says Seetharaman, who believes in using the power of gaming to create a meaningful and impactful change in thinking.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Magazine / by Medha Dutta Yadav / November 08th, 2020
It is modelled on the Delhi government’s mohalla clinic
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is starting an ‘Aam Aadmi clinic’, modelled on the Delhi government’s mohalla clinic, in Shantinagar on Sunday, which is celebrated as Rajyotsava Day.
The clinic will be run with donations from the savings of volunteers and supporters through a registered trust.
“This is a pilot project to show how primary health service should be provided by the BBMP and the government. It will function from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday to Saturday,” said former IAS officer Renuka Viswanathan, who is one of the five trustees.
“The clinic will have a doctor, a nurse, a lab technician and another person to help with patient registration. We will provide allopathic consultation, drugs and 60 diagnostic tests free of cost. While the blood samples will be collected at the clinic, we have tied up with a private lab for the tests,” she said.
The clinic, located on Basappa Road in Shantinagar, will be inaugurated at 10.30 a.m. on Sunday, she added.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Bengaluru / by Special Correspondent / November 01st, 2020
Mercy Mission, a coalition of NGOs working for COVID-19 relief in Bengaluru, that runs a helpline to meet plasma needs of COVID-19 patients, has sourced 400 units so far. It has partnered with Bangalore Medical Services Trust (BMST TTK blood bank) and Healing Touch, an NGO to provide the free service.
Safeer Mohammed, a volunteer with Mercy Mission, told The Hindu that over 70% of their donors are volunteers themselves. “We prioritise requests for plasma and to ensure the request is authentic, we do a thorough check,” he said. “We cater to patients’ requests round the clock and do not ask for replacements.”
Patients can contact the Covid Plasma Helpline 080-47191133 (press 2)/ +91 8792025246.
Individuals can also visit Mercy Mission’s Twitter page (MercyMission1) or websites -http://healingtouch-society. comandhttps://covidhelpline bangalore.com/
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Karnataka / by Special Correspondent / Bengaluru – October 22nd, 2020
The instrument used for batch combustion of organic material at the Centre for Advanced Research in Environmental Radioactivity (CARER) laboratory at Mangalore University. | Photo Credit: CARER, Mangalore University
The Centre for Advanced Research in Environmental Radioactivity (CARER) at Mangalore University has established a facility for Carbon-14 dating of archaeological artefacts or material of biogenic origin based on Liquid Scintillation Counting technique.
Carbon-14 dating is a method for determining the age of an object containing organic material by using the properties of radiocarbon, a radioactive isotope of carbon. The method was developed in the late 1940s at the University of Chicago by Willard Libby, who received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry to this work in 1960.
Measuring the amount of Carbon-14 in a sample from a dead plant or animal, such as a piece of wood or a fragment of bone, provides information that can be used to calculate when the animal or plant died, a release from the university said on Thursday.
This facility has been established through financial support from the Board of Research in Nuclear Sciences (BRNS), Department of Atomic Energy (DAE). Through a research project sanctioned by BRNS and with collaboration with Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), Mumbai, the CARER had undertaken a study for standardising the method for Carbon-14 measurements in the vicinity of nuclear power plants, it said.
A team of scientists led by Karunakara N., a professor and coordinator, CARER, in collaboration with BARC has standardised a batch method for the thermal combustion of the samples by tube furnace system for Carbon-14 measurements. The spin-off application of this method is its application for determining the age of the material up to 30,000 years old, the release issued by K. Raju Mogaveera, Registrar (administration), said.
The CARER with state-of-the-art facilities has been established by the university as a national facility through financial support from BRNS. This is an advanced centre for radioecological and radiation protection research in the country with collaborations with many advanced laboratories of the world. The centre is serving the research needs of various research groups from national laboratories/institutions/universities.
Those who are interested in using this facility may contact through email carermu@gmail.com, or drkarunakara@gmail.com. Phone : 0824 2888754.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Karnataka / by Special Correspondent / Mangaluru – October 22nd, 2020
She and her husband K V Ramanan, who was also an IAF officer and had persuaded her to join the Army Medical Corps, were also the first couple to serve in the Air Force
IAF officer Vijayalakshmi Ramanan (left) with then Vice President S Radhakrishnan
Bengaluru :
The first woman officer of the Indian Air Force (IAF), Wing Commander Vijayalakshmi Ramanan, passed away in Bengaluru on Sunday night at the age of 96.
She had pursued her MBBS from Madras Medical College in 1943. Awarded the best outgoing student in 1948, she went on to do her DGO and MD in obstetrics and gynaecology, and worked at Egmore Maternity Hospital, Chennai.
Later, she joined the Army Medical Corps in 1955 on Short Service Commission and was seconded to the Air Force as the first lady commissioned officer as a gynaecologist. She was posted in the Air Force Hospitals in Kanpur, Secunderabad and Bengaluru. During the wars in 1962, 1966 and 1971, she treated wounded soldiers.
She and her husband K V Ramanan, who was also an IAF officer and had persuaded her to join the Army Medical Corps, were also the first couple to serve in the Air Force. He passed away at the age of 47, in 1971, after battling cancer.
“Even until 11 days ago, she was alert and had written a note to her attending doctor. And until a few months ago, she was filing her income tax returns,” shares son-in-law SVL Narayan, a retired IT professional.
She pursued her interest in Carnatic music, having learnt from eminent musicians. “She was an AIR artiste from the age of 15 and represented her college in music competitions. She broadcast regularly from Delhi, Lucknow, Secunderabad and Bangalore,” says Narayan.
Ramanan was elated when one of her “interns” visited to seek her blessings last year. “Padma Bandopadhyay, who went on to become the first air marshal in the Air Force, was facing opposition from family when she wanted to marry her Bengali colleague. That’s when my grandfather intervened and oversaw the marriage in Secunderabad,” recalls her granddaughter Sukanya.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Bengaluru / by Vidya Iyengar / Express News Service / October 21st, 2020
Students of Manipal Institute of Technology, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, bagged the second prize at the recently-concluded Aero Dominator 7.0, a national-level aero design competition.
The competition was held during Vellore Institute of Technology’s technical fest “Gravitas” from October 2 to October 5 wherein 25 teams from all over the country competed.
The task was to design a fixed wing RC UAV capable of transporting medical cargo and first aid during emergencies. Teams were judged on three criterion – design report, technical presentation and predicted flight score.
The team of students consisted of team manager Aditeya Gurumurthy, aerodynamics Head Nagaraj Ganesh Prabhu and senior team members Pranav Gupta, Prahaladh Chandrahasa, and Rahul Alvares.
MIT director Srikanth Rao congratulated the team.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Karnataka / by Special Correspondent / Mangaluru – October 17th, 2020
