Category Archives: Records, All

Students from Dakshina Kannada fare well in NEET

Education, Records, All

Students from Dakshina Kannada, including those studying in Alvas PU College, Excellent Science and Commerce PU College, Expert PU College, Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya, and Chaitanya PU College, have fared well in the National Eligibility Cum Entrance Test (NEET) 2020, the results of which were declared on Friday.

As many as 914 students from Alvas PU College, Moodbidri, scored good marks in NEET. of which eight scored more than 650 marks, 37 scored between 600 and 650, 139 students between 500 and 600, and 203 students between 400 and 500 marks. Arnav Ayappa topped with 685 marks, followed by Anargya K. (683), and P.S. Ravindra (670), chairman of Alvas Education Foundation Mohan Alva said in a press release.

Of the 1,085 students from Expert PU College who qualified, Aakarsh R. Pai topped with 691 marks, followed by Akash G. (687), and H.C. Gourish (675). As many as 14 students scored more than 650 marks, followed by 112 students between 600 and 650, and 482 students scored between 500 and 600 marks, said Narendra L. Nayak, chairman of the Expert Educational and Charitable Foundation.

Chirag Rao topped among students from Chaitanya PU College by scoring 685 marks. In all, five students scored more than 600 marks, while 17 scored between 500 and 600 marks, said a release by college principal Ramakrishna Bhogyam.

All the 119 students coached by Excellent Science and Commerce Pre-university College, Moodbidri, qualified. Shreyas G.R. topped with 660 marks, followed by Sahana V.P. (653), and Dheeraj Hegde (645). Seven students scored above 600 and 35 students scored between 500 and 600, said Yuvaraj Jain, chairman of Excellent Group of Institutions, in a press release.

Abdul H. Shahrukh, Spandana M.N. and Sudeep S. from Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya, Mudipu, qualified in the examination, said V. Srinivasan, principal of the vidyalaya.

Anjali E.D. topped among five students from Vikaas PU College, Mangaluru, with 600 marks, followed by Kousar Ibrahim (571), and Ashritha M. (553). A total of 67 students qualified in NEET, said a release by the college.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Mangaluru / by Special Correspondent / Mangaluru – October 17th, 2020

‘GoPink’ women-only taxi service at Bengaluru airport having a smooth ride

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, Inspiration/ Positive News and Features, Records, All, Travel

Women, senior citizens and children are taken on board this service. Apart from pre-booking of taxis, spot booking too is permitted by GoPink.

Bengaluru :

The increase in domestic passenger traffic at the Bengaluru airport with every passing month means good news to a taxi service operated by women for women at the Kempegowda International Airport. Taxi service, GoPink, which was hugely popular among women flyers to Bengaluru, is now seeing much better days, a sharp contrast to the bleak future it was facing in the first quarter of this financial year.

Domestic flight operations shut since March 25 across the country have resumed from May 25 while regular international flights continue to remain shut from March 22 with only Vande Bharat Mission and the Air Travel Bubble flights operating. GoPink Co-founder Anuradha Udayshankar told The New Indian Express, “Our business is picking up now, particularly the last three months, and my drivers are extremely busy. In contrast to the scene experienced by male cab drivers of taxis operating to and from the airport who appear to be waiting for countless hours to get a customer, our cab drivers run four to five trips per day from KIA presently. In addition, they are getting requests for travel to outstation locations from Bengaluru.”

The taxi service, which began operations at the airport on January 7, 2019, is fitted with GPS, Panic buttons, Mobile Data terminal devices as well as Pepper sprays to ensure safety of both the driver and the passenger.

Women, senior citizens and children are taken on board this service. Apart from pre-booking of taxis, spot booking too is permitted by GoPink. “We used to operate 24×7 earlier. In the absence of most international flights which used to land at night, we now operate from 5.30 am to midnight and sometimes even an hour beyond it,” she said.

Though business is not anywhere near pre-COVID levels, Udayshankar was upbeat. “Traffic is picking up with each passing month due to the increase in passenger flow. More women drivers are showing an inclination to join our workforce,” she added. Speaking about the health and safety protocol being observed bearing in mind the COVID scenario, the co-founder said that much care was taken before every trip.

“The vehicle is sanitised before every trip to ensure passenger safety. Masks are worn and physical distancing is maintained. None of our drivers has caught the Corona virus so far. Barring the first national lockdown, we have been operating daily,” she explained. The women drivers have also been advised to use sanitizers frequently as well as inhale steam and have hot water baths after reaching home after work and they are adhering to it scrupulously, the co-founder added.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Good News / by S. Lalitha / Express News Service / October 16th, 2020

MIT students bag prize at aero design competition

Education, Records, All, Science & Technology

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

Karnataka: Items from bygone era enthrall people

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Historical Links, Pre-Independence, Records, All, Travel, Uncategorized
Visitors look at the vast range of antique utensils and other items exhibited from the collection of Ponnacchana Madhu in Madikeri on Friday.

She was speaking after inaugurating the exhibition of antique items from the collection of Ponnacchana Madhu at Coffee Krupa building near Raja Seat in Madikeri on Friday. The exhibition a part of Janapada Dasara, was organised by Taluk Janapada Parishat.

“The items that were used by our ancestors had scientific applications. Some utensils in the older days were designed to improve the health of people. Unfortunately, the young generation is forgetting the significance of the livelihood of their ancestors,” she added.

Zilla Janapada Parishat president B G Anantashayana said that the folklore was close to nature. Folklore is a form of knowledge. But, the modernity has been taking us away from this knowledge, he added.

Taluk Janapada Parishat president Anil H T said that Ponnacchana Madhu, the exhibitor, had collected rare items in the last three years.

These items will be on display till October 26. The work by Madhu and Preethu couple is laudable, he added.

Collector and Exhibitor Ponnacchana Madhu said that he purchased old items in the households, after convincing the elders in the houses. Many tourists have been willing to purchase them from me. However, they are not for sale. The collection began with an old lamp contributed by an old lady called Arifa Munavar, a scrap dealer in Madikeri.

Taluk Janapada Parishat Treasurer Ambekal Navin Kushalappa, Parishat Directors Savita Rakesh and Veenakshi were present.

Exquisite collection

The collection showcases traditional weapons, a 120-year-old mud bowl, an ancient lamp from a temple in Tamilnadu with 84 diyas, puja items, African dolls, bronze items,  utensils, coffee grinding machines and so on.

The agricultural equipment are an added attraction.

source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> State / by DHNS, Madikeri / October 17th, 2020

CHD Group wins award

Inspiration/ Positive News and Features, Records, All

CHD Group, a public health organisation based in Mangaluru, has won the ASSOCHAM NGO Award 2020 for its work carried out as part of COVID-19 emergency relief activities.

CHD Group won the award under the category of “Excellence in demonstrating speed in decision making and supporting time critical needs of the community”, said a statement from the group.

It worked remotely during the lockdown in Karnataka, Odisha, Chhatisgarh and Telangana to provide relief and rehabilitation to distressed people and support farmers as well as farm workers during harvest season.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Karnataka / by Special Correspondent / Mangaluru – October 15th, 2020

The Richie Rich of Bengaluru

Business & Economy, Education, Inspiration/ Positive News and Features, Leaders, Records, All, World Opinion

Garden City, tech hub, pub city… And now most preferred city for business headquarters for young wealth creators.

Nikhil Kamath,  co-founder and CIO, Zerodha and True Beacon

Bengaluru : 

The recently-released IIFL Wealth Hurun India 40 & Under Self-Made Rich List 2020 has a ranking of the self-made Indian-origin entrepreneurs with a wealth of Rs 1,000 crore, aged 40 years and under. Bengaluru figures as the city with the highest number of persons on the list. As many as nine entrepreneurs from the list of 17 are city-based, with Nithin Kamath and Nikhil Kamath from Zerodha, ranking first with a wealth of Rs 24,000 crore. 

Sharing his thoughts on the findings, Anas Rahman Junaid, MD and chief researcher, Hurun India, said some of the names on the list have fully or partly exited their core businesses and are setting up investment funds and backing other young entrepreneurs. “This will have a compounding effect on the growth of disruptive entrepreneurship in India,” he said in a statement. 

The 17 Indian-origin entrepreneurs have together added wealth close to Rs 45,000 crore. The list also includes Media.net’s Divyank Turakhia in second place, Bengaluru-based Udaan’s Amod Malviya and Sujeet Kumar in third position, Flipkart’s Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal in seventh rank and Zomato Media’s Deepinder Goyal in the 13th position. 

The only woman on the list is 39-year-old Devita Saraf, who ranks 16th with a wealth of Rs 1,200 crore. Saraf derives her wealth from Vu Technologies, a television manufacturing company, which she founded in 2006.

Richie Rich in Namma Ooru

Nithin Kamath and Nikhil Kamath 
(rank 1; Rs 24,000 cr)Co-founders of online trading platform Zerodha, which grew to become India’s largest stockbroker by the number of clients.

Amod Malviya and Sujeet Kumar 
(rank 3; Rs 13,100 cr) Co-founders of B2B commerce company Udaan.

Riju Ravindran (rank 6; Rs 7,800 cr) 
Brother of Byju Raveendran, who co-founded Byju’s in 2011 with his wife Divya Gokulnath. All three have stakes in the online edtech company.

Binny Bansal and Sachin Bansal (rank 7; Rs 7,500 cr) 
Co-founders of Flipkart. Since their exit from Flipkart, Binny Bansal has been investing in several start-ups as an angel investor and Sachin Bansal has co-founded and is the CEO of Navi, a neo-bank start-up headquartered in Bengaluru.

Bhavish Aggarwal and Ankit Bhati (rank 10; Rs 3,500 cr and rank 14; Rs 1,600 cr) 
Co-founders of Ola. In July 2020, Ola incentivised Aggarwal and Bhati by way of issuing equity shares at a nominal price of Rs 10 per share – resulting in a 13% increase in their wealth compared to last year.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Bengaluru / by Express News Service / October 14th, 2020

Former India football captain Carton Chapman passes away

Leaders, Records, All, Sports, World Opinion
Footballer Carlton Chapman   | Photo Credit: K. Murali Kumar

A creative midfielder, Chapman played for India between 1995 and 2001 and the country won the 1997 SAFF Cup under his captaincy.

Former India football captain Carlton Chapman, who had formed a deadly trio in club football with Bhaichung Bhutia and IM Vijayan in the 1990s, died on Monday following a heart attack in Bengaluru. He was 49.

Chapman was hospitalised on Sunday night at a hospital in Bengaluru and passed away early this morning.

“I got a call from Bengaluru from one of his friends that Chapman is no more. He passed away early this morning. He was a happy-go-lucky man, always smiling and ready to help others,” Chapman’s one-time India team-mate Bruno Coutinho told PTI from Goa.

A creative midfielder, Chapman played for India between 1995 and 2001 and the country won the 1997 SAFF Cup under his captaincy. At the club level, he had two successful spells with East Bengal and one with now-defunct JCT Mills.

A product of the Tata Football Academy in early 1990s, Chapman joined East Bengal in 1993 and scored a hat-trick in his team’s 6-2 win against Iraq club Al Zawra in a first round match at the Asian Cup Winners Cup that year.

But his best came after moving to JCT in 1995. Chapman won 14 trophies with the Punjab-based club, including the inaugural National Football League in 1996-97, and formed a formidable combination with Vijayan and Bhutia.

Chapman later joined now-defunct FC Kochin. But after one season, he returned to East Bengal in 1998 and the club won the NFL under his captaincy in 2001. He announced his retirement from professional football in 2001.

As coach, Chapman had stints with I-League 2nd Division club Tata Football Academy, Royal Wahingdoh FC of Shillong and Sudeva Moonlight FC of Delhi before becoming the Technical Director of the Kozhikode-based Quartz International Football Academy in 2017.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Sport>Football / by PTI / New Delhi – October 12th, 2020

Chuku Buku dream on track

Business & Economy, Green Initiatives / Environment, Inspiration/ Positive News and Features, Records, All, Science & Technology, Travel, World Opinion

Railway activists celebrate green-lighting of project after campaigning for five years

Bengaluru :

The excitement of the Chuku Buku brigade was palpable, as members tweeted their joy and shared their hopes on WhatsApp groups. Ever since news broke that the Suburban Rail project had been cleared, railway activists who played a crucial role in the campaign, have been celebrating.

Sanjeev Dyammanavar, urban transportation expert and founder of Praja.in, told TNIE, “It is a long-pending project. The dream of all Bengalureans has become a reality today. It was pursed by various departments and K-RIDE showed its keenness in executing it by beginning preliminary work in this connection.”

The ‘Chuku Buku Beku’ campaign, which began in Bengaluru in 2015, an initiative on social media and offline, fetched a great deal of publicity for the project nationwide. Srinivas Alavilli, who coordinated the campaign involving citizens and NGOs, said, “I am cautiously optimistic.

After it was announced in the Union Budget a year ago, it has taken so long for the cabinet nod. We are keen on seeing the actual running of trains and physical infrastructure like stations. Priority needs to be given to Whitefield and Outer Ring Road where traffic congestion is the maximum.”

Rajkumar Dugar, convener, Citizens for Citizens, said, “I am extremely delighted. But I wish an official announcement too had been made. On highest priority is the KSR-Devanahalli line as connectivity to the airport is very important.”  Zibi Jamal of Whitefield Rising said, “It has been a long, hard campaign with so many people contributing, including Praja and Citizens for Bengaluru. Politicians across parties supported us.” 

Proposed fare structure

Minimum: Rs 13 (for less than 3 km) to a maximum of Rs 100 at 2025  price levels.
Price level to be escalated by 10% every two years.

Airport connectivity

 Krantivira Sangolli Rayanna-Yesvantpur-Yelahanka-Devanahalli-Kempe Gowda International Airport: 41.4 km

 Land required 15.96 acres.

Cost Rs 251.9 cr

Length: 5.5 km

Train operation plan
 Six-car trains  
19 hours a day operation from 5 am till midnight with 30-second stop  at each station

Average speed 33 kmph with a maximum speed of 90 kmph

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Bengaluru / by Express News Service / October 08th, 2020

Udupi artist’s KSTRC bus model rewarded with real bus for village school

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, Education, Records, All, Travel
Prashanth Achar and his brother Prakash met KSRTC MD Shivyogi C. Kalsad on Monday to present the models.   | Photo Credit:  Sudhakara Jain

KSRTC places order for models, which will be displayed or gifted as mementos

Instead of sitting idle during the lockdown, artist Prashanth Achar, 30, from Kundapur taluk in Udupi district, started building models of Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) buses. First, he built a model of an ‘Airavat’ bus.

Elated by the response from his friends and relatives, he built other models of buses, such as ‘Karnataka Sarige’. His effort has been recognised by the transport corporation.

After meeting him on Monday, KSRTC MD Shivyogi C. Kalsad has placed an order for 10 models of various brands of buses operated by the Corporation.

But that is not all. During his meeting with KSRTC officials, Mr. Achar sought help to improve the infrastructure of the government school in his village Bagwadi.

“There was one more reason for visiting Bengaluru, and that was to seek help to improve the infrastructure of the government school in my village where 85 students are enrolled. I am planning to meet the Transport Minister who is also the Deputy Chief Minister. Improving infrastructure at Bagwadi school will help children from rural areas.”

Mr. Kalsad decided to provide an old bus of the KSRTC that can be converted into a classroom for the benefit of school children.

“I am very happy with the MD’s offer of a bus. He has asked us to come up with innovative ideas to make use of the bus,” Mr. Achar said.

“During the lockdown, I had a lot of free time. I was always fascinated by KSRTC buses. I thought why I should not use the free time to build models of these buses. First, I made a model of an ‘Airavat’ bus and posted photos of the bus on social media. The work received very good response from the general public. Even higher ups in the KSRTC took note and contacted me,” he added.

He uses foam sheets to build the models and takes eight days to build a model.

An official of the KSRTC said, “The models of buses designed by Mr. Achar are really good. They are lightweight and easy to carry. We have placed orders for 10 models. We will display them. We are also planning to present them as gifts to dignitaries visiting our office.”

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Karnataka / by Special Correspondent / Bengaluru – October 06th, 2020

Initiative to gift a meal to those in need

Amazing Feats, Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, Inspiration/ Positive News and Features, Records, All, Travel

The pandemic has not been easy for anyone, more so for the economically and socially disadvantaged. While there have been several instances of an outpouring of help, now, you can do your bit too. Soon, when you walk into a few restaurants in the city, after you order your meal, you can also buy a token which will be used to provide a meal for people who may not be able to afford it.

This is an initiative of Bruhat Bangalore Hotels Association and will begin on a pilot basis in around 30 restaurants in the city from October 2. The initiative is called Sanchigondu — one for the bag. The tag line of the project is ‘gift a meal, bring a smile’.

P.C. Rao, president of the association, said each hotel would fix a price of the token. “The customer can pay either for a meal or a beverage. We have told hotel owners to cap the token to a maximum of ₹100,” he said. He said they would conduct a sensitisation workshop for all the restaurant owners. “We want these tokens to help daily wage labourers, poor students, differently abled persons, and those who are unemployed,” he said.

Veerendra Kamat, treasurer of the association, said they started this project as they wanted people who were unable to afford food to get access to quality food. “During the pandemic, many people do not have a steady source of income and our effort is to help such people,” he said. He said once they finish the pilot project and understand the challenges, they would think of scaling this to other hotels in the city.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Bengaluru / by Staff Reporter / Bengaluru – September 27th, 2020