Category Archives: Education

For the record

Amazing Feats, Education, Records, All, World Opinion

Ask Rahul Murali Krishnan (23) to subtract 100-digit numbers and he takes less than one minute — 54.89 seconds to be precise.

Rahul Murali Krishnan
Rahul Murali Krishnan

Bengaluru :

Ask Rahul Murali Krishnan (23) to subtract 100-digit numbers and he takes less than one minute — 54.89 seconds to be precise. Krishnan, who is pursuing a post-graduate diploma in risk management from Global Risk Management Institute in the city, was recently recognised by Spain-based Official World Record Organization for ‘Fastest 100 Digits Subtraction Ever’.

Krishnan was introduced to abacus at the age of 8. “So I never really had a problem in solving math problems,” he says. Krishnan also learnt techniques and shortcuts that helped in solving math problems. The idea of registering for a record came when he watched a show about a world record event. “I was excited to see people achieving something unique in different fields.

I wanted the same for myself,” he says. “I started with 30 digits, and kept pushing myself. Finally, I decided to target 100 digits. The next problems were speed and accuracy.” Initially, it took him over three minutes to solve a 70-digit problem. “But with practice, I was able to increase my speed and accuracy,” he says.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Bengaluru / by Express News Service / June 29th, 2020

Medico medalists all smiles as they graduate

Amazing Feats, Education, Records, All

There is a need for more research in the health sector, said former IISC director Dr P Balaram.

A student receives a medal during the RGUHS convocation on Thursday | EXPRESS
A student receives a medal during the RGUHS convocation on Thursday | EXPRESS

Bengaluru :

“My first interest was a seat in MBBS as I wanted to be a gynaecologist, but it was due to circumstances that I studied dentistry. But I started loving what I was studying,” said a smiling Dr Rashmitha R, who bagged six gold medals at the 22nd Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences Annual Convocation on Thursday.

“I wanted to show that a dentist is not just one you go to in pain, but also to have a perfect smile,” she said. With 83.39%, she specialised in prosthodontics at SDM College of Dental Sciences and Hospital, Dharwad, and is doing her MD in Mangaluru.

Dr Chindu, who completed her undergraduation and got six gold medals in Ayurveda, believes that it is the future of medicine and aims to become a gynaecologist in Ayurveda in Kerala. Coming from a middleclass family, she is following in the footsteps of her sister to set up a clinic and reach out to as many people as possible.

The dreams of Dr Pooja R Hittelamani are not small, but show the harsh reality of life. She obtained 79.92% from SDM College of Dental Sciences and Hospital, Dharwad, wants to become a pediatric cardiologist and set up super speciality hospitals in North Karnataka.

“During my internship and course I saw many patients referred to KIMS or sent to Bengaluru for treatment. Many people cannot afford it. Facilities should improve in north Karnataka and I want to be the one to do it,” she said. She draws inspiration from her mother Dr Girijatai G H, a gynaecologist at Dharwad District Hospital, and father Dr H S Hittelamani, a taluk health officer in Hubballi.

‘Covid has exposed lack of knowledge among officials’

The pandemic has exposed lack of preparedness and knowledge among government officials and medical professionals alike, Dr P Balaram, former IISC director said on Thursday. Politicians talk of using chloroquine and get away with it with arrogance. Arrogance is a sign of disaster, Dr Balaram said during the convocation of RGUHS. Global lockdowns have now alerted economists to look at being better prepared in the health sector. There is a need for more research to be undertaken as little is being done now.

A total of 36,434 students passed out this year, including 70 gold medallists and 30 PhD students. The pass percentage this year is 82.29%, down from 88.2% last year. Vice Chancellor Dr S Sacchidanand said it was because the convocation was delayed from March to June and more students were added to the list.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Bengaluru / by Bosky Khanna / Express News Service / June 26th, 2020

ITC Infotech supports John Hopkins University in COVID-19 Control Study

Education, Science & Technology, World Opinion

The project team from Johns Hopkins is working with ITC Infotech’s Digital Experience (DX) team to further enhance the user interface and user experience (UI/UX) of the COVID-19 Control data collection App.

Tracking the spread of the coronavirus is an ongoing challenge. But researchers at Johns Hopkins University are conducting a study that uses an app to collect information that can help localise potential COVID-19, clusters and flare-ups.

COVID-19 Control – a Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health approved institutional review board (IRB) study, is a new surveillance tool for COVID-19, based on self-reported body temperatures and, optionally, other symptoms, from users around the country using a user-friendly app.

By using spatial science analytics applied to these data they will identify anomalous increases in body temperatures and generate real-time, pre-clinical, risk estimates of potential COVID-19 outbreaks.

The project team from Johns Hopkins is working with ITC Infotech’s Digital Experience (DX) team to further enhance the user interface and user experience (UI/UX) of the COVID-19 Control data collection App.

ITC Infotech’s DX experts are helping the team from Johns Hopkins fast track UI/UX enhancements to drive higher adoption by introducing more user-friendly features.

“Data from this app will allow us to map and identify hot spots of fevers across the United States, potentially indicating emerging outbreaks of COVID-19 before health care or testing is sought. That information can be key in our efforts to control and mitigate the spread of the virus,” said team member Frank C. Curriero, a professor in the Department of Epidemiology and director of Spatial Science for Public Health Center at the Bloomberg School of Public Health.

“The COVID-19 Control data collection App by Johns Hopkins University is very well-timed, as stay-at-home and shelter-in-place restrictions start getting lifted. We are happy to collaborate with the team from Johns Hopkins University, especially during this unprecedented crisis when industry-academia collaboration is critical,” said Sudip Singh, CEO & Managing Director, ITC Infotech.

This syndromic surveillance tool will allow healthcare systems and government agencies to potentially pre-empt outbreaks and better deploy resources to mitigate consequences. Acquiring data directly from individuals rather than hospitals/laboratories greatly reduces the delay in identifying new outbreaks of the disease and expands basic monitoring of health, he further said.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Sci-Tech> Health / by Special Correspondent / Bengaluru – June 11th, 2020

Homage To Unwin Of Kannada: Prof. H. M. Shankaranarayana Rao

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Education, Records, All

ShankarnarayanaRaoBF09jun2020

When I was browsing through some literature on Prof. H. M. Shankaranarayana Rao, a write-up in Kannada with the title ‘Unwin of Kannada’ written by M. Satyanarayana Rao of Geetha Book House-fame, attracted my attention. A great Publisher can understand and appreciate another equally great Publisher more intimately.

For the benefit of those who are not familiar with Unwin, I may add that Sir Stanley Unwin of England was one of the Publishers known all over the world for publishing books of everlasting value written by distinguished authors. For want of a better title, I simply copied that title to pay homage to Prof.  H. M. Shankaranarayana Rao, the architect of Sharada Mandira, a Kannada Publishing House which has made Mysuru City proud.

Though he was elder to me by two decades, I had the privilege of knowing him fairly intimately. Placing Prof. Shankaranarayana Rao on the same pedestal occupied by Unwin is perhaps the best tribute to Prof. Rao.

Prof. Shankaranarayana Rao (1913-1997) was born at Harihara, a place of great antiquity sanctified by Harihareswara temple built by the Hoysalas eight hundred years ago. Shankaranarayana is another name for Harihara, a composite deity which establishes the identity of Siva and Vishnu, a wonderful concept. Instead of continuing as the priest of this temple, Shankaranarayana Rao chose to get modern College education. Any other person would not have even dreamt of College education when poverty was staring at him. But the young Rao had a dream of his own.

Weekly meals

In those days, the concept of weekly meals was very popular among poor students. Weekly meals did not mean taking food once in a week but eating each day at a different house in turn with the consent of the owner of the house. In fact most of the distinguished persons have grown under this umbrella of weekly meals.

Shankaranarayana Rao had arranged for weekly meals for all the seven days of the week. He joined the Maharaja’s College and automatically got 50% exemption from the payment of the tuition fee. But Rao could not afford to pay the remaining 50%. He met Principal Prof. J.C. Rollo (Englishman) and told him that he is poor and surviving on weekly meals.

Prof. Rollo understood this as eating once a week and asked the College Manager if this is true and the latter replied ‘Yes, Sir.’ And Prof. Rollo granted Rao exemption from the payment of the remaining 50% of the College fee. This enabled Shankaranarayana Rao to prosecute his College education. This incident sounds like a fairy tale to the students of the present generation.

H. M. Shankaranarayana Rao had the good fortune of getting a Master’s degree in Kannada literature under the luminaries like B.M.Sri, Ti.Nam.Sri, T. S. Venkannaiah, A. R. Krishnasastry, DLN, M. H. Krishna, Srikantha Sastri, Rallapalli, M. Hiriyanna  and others. His friends like Paramesvara Bhatta and K. Venkataramappa gave him good company. After some initial struggle, Shankaranarayana Rao joined the Sarada Vilas College as a lecturer in Kannada, became a Professor and finally emerged as the Principal of that College.

During his leadership, Sarada Vilas College attained name and fame as a great centre of education and became popular. H. M. Shankaranarayana Rao paid great tribute to the management of this College by saying: ‘This is perhaps the only College where the Principal and the staff are allowed to work without any interference from the Management.’

Man of innovations

Prof. Shankaranarayana Rao was a man of innovations. His creative mind always aspired for new things to help the society. Once he wrote a long essay in Kannada and wanted to get it published. Instead of going and waiting at the doors of the Publishers, he thought of starting a Publishing House of his own and serve Kannada.

At the suggestion of Ti.Nam.Sri, it came to be called ‘Sharada Mandira’ (House of Goddess Sharada, the presiding deity of Knowledge). From that day onwards neither Sharada Mandira nor Shankaranarayana Rao looked back and Rao became a Kannada Publisher.

In the beginning, he published his own books and began approaching other authors who came in search of Shankaranarayana Rao with a request to publish their books. Rao has published over four hundred titles of great authors including A.R. Krishna Sastry, Veesi, Gorur, Ti.Nam.Sri, DLN, K. Venkataramappa, Pu.Thi.Na, Murthy Rao, Krishnamurthy, Ashwattha, Tarasu etc. Thus practically all illustrious writers of that period have found a place in Sharada Mandira. This is not a mean achievement.

Scholarly monograph on  Harihareswara temple 

Prof. Shankaranarayana Rao enriched Kannada literature by publishing his own 25 books. As a student of History and Epigraphy, I have always admired his scholarly monograph on Harihareswara temple at Harihara. I had suggested to him to get it translated into English so that non-Kannadigas would be benefitted by it.

Another virtue which has endeared Prof. Rao to the Authors and Publishers is the way he respected the authors. He believed that an author is the focal point of the literary world and hence he should be respected and rewarded properly. He started the practice of giving royalty to authors in a single lumpsum. In addition he has helped many authors by giving financial help in times of needs such as marriage, buying a site or completing a house etc. This showed his concern for the authors who were the backbone of the Publishing industry.

In this connection I may quote what Prof. Rao told me once. ‘I very much desire to give you royalty; please give me a manuscript.’ Unfortunately, I could not do it and the loss is mine.

Prof. H. M. Shankaranarayana Rao was not merely a great Publisher but a great scholar in Kannada. He has written more than 25books in Kannada including independent works and edited old classics. Fortunately, many of his works became text books and the students were the real beneficiaries. His beautiful Kannada handwriting has been admired by his contemporary scholars. Some twenty years ago, I received a beautifully written post card from him.

It seems he was reading Ranna and at one place, he saw a phrase ‘posa-pon’ meaning new gold and it did not suit the context. In my book on coins of Karnataka, I had indicated that ‘pon’ is a gold coin and this meaning suited his context, as newly minted gold coins. He congratulated me for this interpretation.

I used to meet Rao occasionally in the evenings at the first floor of the famous Geetha Book House at K. R. Circle. Though it was a small place surrounded by books on all sides, it was made a pleasant place by the brothers Satyanarayana Rao, Gururaja Rao and Gopalakrishna. Prof. Rao, Venkataramappa, HSK, H. M. Nayak used to be there with pleasant conversation on literature, men and matters laced with generous comments without malice to anybody. Light eatables were always there. I was the youngest of the lot and the horizon of my knowledge was broadened greatly. Alas! Such meetings are not held nowadays either in Colleges or in homes or when friends meet. Now it has passed into the pages of history.

In the meantime, it is our duty to salute and pay homage to Shankaranarayana Rao who has made Mysuru city proud by his Publishing House Sharada Mandira.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Columns / by Prof. A.V. Narashima Murthy / June 07th, 2020

H. Narasimhaiah: A legacy in Gandhian and rationalist thoughts

Amazing Feats, Education, Records, All, Science & Technology
File photo of H. Narasimhaiah going on a morning walk at Lalbagh in Bengaluru in June 1998.
File photo of H. Narasimhaiah going on a morning walk at Lalbagh in Bengaluru in June 1998.

Saturday marks the birth centenary of noted educationist, physicist, freedom fighter and rationalist H. Narasimhaiah. Given his simplicity — always clad in Khadi panche and jubba and living in a student hostel — he would have shunned any ostentation around the day if he were alive, say his long-time associates at the National Education Society (NES). HN, as he was fondly called by students, taught physics at National College at Basavanagudi, which was run by the society, and later headed it.

In a way befitting his memory, the society has decided to mark the centenary with a year-long expansion of laboratories for Internet of Things, Robotics, Data Science, and Artificial Intelligence at National Colleges, said S.N. Nagaraja Reddy, secretary of NES.

Humble beginnings

Born into a poor family at Hosur, Kolar district, in 1920, the young Narasimhaiah walked to the city (over 85 km away) to join National High School in 1935. The school also became a platform for his interaction with Mahatma Gandhi the very next year, when the latter visited it and young Narasimhaiah was the translator for his speech. He became a lifelong Gandhian. He was jailed during the Quit India Movement. While he went on to do his Ph.D in nuclear physics at Ohio State University in 1960, he remained a strong votary of non-violence and peace and idolised Albert Einstein.

Since the day he joined National High School, he remained associated with NES till his last breath. He studied, taught at, and headed it for decades, and also expanded its horizons. He went on to be Vice-Chancellor of Bangalore University in 1972-77, when he shifted it to the Jnana Bharati campus, and started many departments — Performing Arts, Psychology, Business Administration, and Mass Communication.

“He believed education and rational thinking were the means to uplift the masses. He started five schools and colleges in remote villages of Kolar district, including at his native Hosur, taking affordable public education to the underdeveloped district’s villages,” said H.V. Venugopal, a former principal at National College, Basavanagudi.

Fighting godmen

A firm believer in science, Narasimhaiah is best known for his campaigns against godmen and their so-called miracles. “He was a rare public intellectual — a sceptic and rationalist who questioned godmen and all claims of miracles. He influenced a generation of youngsters to question,” said Dr. Venugopal. Narasimhaiah instituted the first ever Committee to Investigate Miracles and Verifiable Superstitions within Bangalore University, when he was V-C.

The committee’s efforts to probe the miracles by Sathya Sai Baba, who often conjured sacred ash, lemons, watches, and gold ornaments out of thin air, led to a heated debate in the State. “If Sai Baba can create objects out of thin air, I request him to give me a pumpkin,” he once famously said.

Narasimhaiah resigned as Vice-Chancellor when Govind Narain, a Sathya Sai Baba devotee, took charge as Governor of the State in 1977. “I thought about it. The Chancellor is a devotee of Sai Baba, while the Vice-Chancellor is the chairman of the committee to investigate his ‘miracles’. I resigned to avoid any conflict,” he wrote in his autobiography Horatada Hadi (A Path of Struggle). The very next day, he returned to National College and resumed teaching. His work as chairman of the legislative committee that probed incidents of Bhanamati (black magic) in Kalaburagi and Bidar in 1980 played a key role in creating awareness that some of them were manifestations of mental health issues and were treatable.

“The rationalist movement in Karnataka was a low-key affair until he started creating ripples,” said Narendra Nayak, president of the Federation of Indian Rationalist Associations. He was instrumental in starting Karnataka Rajya Vijnana Parishat and Bangalore Science Forum — two forums that have been working for decades to spread scientific temper.

Narasimhaiah was a lifelong sceptic with one motto — “never accept anything without questioning” — something he borrowed from Gautama Buddha. “His motto is all the more relevant now. In an age of cult following in every sphere of life, the only way we can rescue ourselves is by a simple act — questioning,” said Nagaragere Ramesh, former principal of an NES college.

Promoter of arts and Kannada

National College turned into a vibrant theatre hotspot in the city under the tutelage of Narasimhaiah. The annual inter-class drama competitions were where many lead actors of Kannada cinema took to stage for the first time in their lives. He had a keen interest in not only theatre but in all art forms. He started the Performing Arts course at Bangalore University and Bangalore Lalitha Kala Parishat. A passionate votary of primary education in Kannada, he also headed the Kannada Development Authority.

Sense of humour

Narasimhaiah once wrote a letter to the city’s civic body about the pathetic condition of vans transporting the dead, and ended it with the line, “The vans should be maintained so well that one should feel like going and sleeping in them”. The “Nale Baa” writing on doors to ward off ghosts become “Ivatte Baa” (come today only) on his hostel door. Even on his deathbed, he joked of his cremation, asking his students and colleagues to use only dried firewood as only that would ensure he did not wake up coughing.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Karnataka / by K.V. Aditya Bharadwaj / Bengaluru – June 05th, 2020

Move over NASA, IISc builds ventilator in just 60 days

Business & Economy, Education, Records, All, Science & Technology, World Opinion

Indigenous prototype

A ventilator developed by IISc
A ventilator developed by IISc

A crash-course programme by the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) to develop a new ventilator model has resulted in a proof-of-concept prototype some 60 days later.

The development has been compared to a similar ventilator programme by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), which churned out a working, high-pressure prototype in 37 days.

“What both projects have in common is utilising engineering know-how for different applications,” said Dr Gaurab Banerjee, of the institute’s Electrical Communications Engineering (ECE) Department and one of the core members of the development team.

Dr Banerjee insisted that the invention, dubbed “Praana” took just 35 days from the drawing board to the prototype stage. “The initial days of the project were spent ensuring that we could replicate ventilator mechanics,” he said.

But where the JPL device has a lifespan of three to four months, the IISc team said their unit is intended as a full-fledged alternative to existing ventilators.

“The technology will be transferred to interested manufacturers,” the IISc team said, adding that the new unit would probably be priced between Rs 1.5 and 2 lakh per unit. Existing commercial machines cost between Rs 5 to 7 lakh.

Before that happens, however, the unit still has to pass compliance tests to ensure that it stands up to field use.

Worst-case scenario

But is such a project needed? When the team first began their work, there was a serious shortage of ventilators in the country. According to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the country had roughly 14,000 ventilators, out of which 734 were in Karnataka.

The situation has now changed with a Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) spokesperson telling DH that the company is already churning out ventilators against a 30,000-unit order.

The IISc team, however, pointed to the recent surge in cases in Karnataka and in Mumbai, coupled with observations that the pandemic could rebound in winter, as a sign that we are not yet out of the woods.

“We will have this completely indigenous technology, built mostly out of water filter automotive parts, ready if things get worse,” they said.

The project began in the penultimate week of March, with staff from both the ECE and the Department of Aerospace Engineering, and joined over the internet by volunteers.

source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> City> Top Bengaluru Stories / by Akhil Kadidal / DHNS, Bengaluru / June 03rd, 2020

NLSIU alumni help migrant workers travel from Mumbai to Ranchi

Education, Records, All

Arrange charter flight on Sunday; another to Bhubaneshwar planned for Wednesday

Joining in citizens’ efforts to help stranded migrant workers reach home, alumni of the National Law School of India University (NLSIU), Bengaluru successfully sent home 180 workers from Mumbai to Ranchi on Sunday. This was the second chartered flight arranged by the alumni between the two destinations; the first one on May 28 helped 174 people reach home.

The ‘NLS mission aahan vahaan’ was conceptualised by the NLSIU Bengaluru batch of 2000. One of them, Priyanka Roy, who now has a corporate law practice in Mumbai, told The Hindu that they decided to focus on regions that are not easily accessible from Mumbai.

“There is a huge database of workers from every State. We were largely concentrating on the eastern States because they are not easily accessible from Mumbai. On Wednesday, another flight will carry workers from Mumbai to Bhubaneshwar,” she said.

The alumni ruled out buses and railways as the former would mean long and tedious journeys while the latter would end their intervention with handing over a list of names to the authorities concerned.

“We wanted to make a meaningful intervention and fill in the gap. So we started talking to airlines. We decided to charter flights. The Jharkhand government has been making great arrangements for last-mile connectivity due to which people are able to reach home in 24 hours. We are working with a lot of NGOs too,” Ms. Roy said.

On Sunday’s flight, there were infants as young as 17 days old, as well as a senior citizen, who does not even own a phone but was able to reach the airport after a cab was arranged for her.

The first flight was entirely crowd-funded by the NLS alumni network, but since then they have been getting funding from corporates and others for subsequent initiatives.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Bengaluru / by Staff Reporter / May 31st, 2020

Two Mangaluru hospitals get ICMR nod for COVID-19 testing

Education, Records, All, Science & Technology

ICMRbf23may2020

Experts from both hospitals have been trained at NIMHANS

Father Muller Medical College Hospital in the city and K.S. Hegde Hospital in Deralakatte have received approval from ICMR for conducting COVID-19 sample tests.

The laboratories at both the hospitals have begun conducting RT-PCR method of testing for COVID-19.

Experts from both the hospitals have undergone special training at NIMHANS, which is the mentor institute for COVID testing in the State, the hospitals said in separate press releases.

The release from Father Muller Medical College Hospital said that the test will be done only for suspected cases as per ICMR protocol on prescription by physicians with proper documentation using ICMR RT-PCR app.

A dedicated kiosk for sample collection is also available at the hospital for out-patients. Specimens are transported to the laboratory through proper cold chain and safety protocols, the release said.

K.S. Hegde Hospital said that Amit Kelgi from its Department of Microbiology has been appointed as the Nodal officer of the testing facility The Viral Transport Medium would be provided to all recognised health centres free of cost to collect the throat swab sample. Tests will be done at affordable cost as per government guidelines and test results will be reported by expert staff on the same day, the release said.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Mangaluru / by Special Correspondent / Mangaluru – May 23rd, 2020

IIHR launches portal for online sale of seeds

Agriculture, Education
Arka Rakshak, a high-yielding and disease-resistant variety of tomato brought out by IIHR in Bengaluru. | Photo Credit: B.S. Satish Kumar
Arka Rakshak, a high-yielding and disease-resistant variety of tomato brought out by IIHR in Bengaluru. | Photo Credit: B.S. Satish Kumar

The Indian Institute of Horticultural Research (IIHR) in Bengaluru has launched a seed portal through which people living anywhere in the country can get quality seeds at their doorstep after paying online.

Said to be the country’s first such seed portal from a public sector unit in horticulture with a wide range of seeds, it offers more than 60 high-yielding varieties of seeds for vegetables, flowers and fruit crops. Though the ICAR-IIHR seed portal (https://seed.iihr.res.in) was launched by Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) Director-General Trilochan Mohapatra during the National Horticulture Fair organised by the institute on its campus this February, it has become functional now.

According to institute director M.R. Dinesh, the portal aims to take the institute’s quality seeds to even remote places of the country which do not have access to quality plant material through this portal. “This helps in increasing productivity of horticultural crops as all our seeds are high yielding and have resistance to several diseases,” he said.

Pointing out that IIHR has adopted a novel seed village concept of using skilled farmers to produce seeds, he said the income of farmers who are into seed production is also bound to increase thanks to the seed portal. Environment protection will also get a boost as the use of pesticides will reduce since IIHR varieties have resistance to many diseases, Mr. Dinesh said.

K.K. Upreti, principal scientist and nodal officer of the Agricultural Knowledge Management Unit of the institute, said the institute produces over 15 tonnes of seeds of fruits, vegetables and flower crop varieties annually for sale to farmers. The sales are expected to increase by 20-25% now. When a farmer registers online for buying seeds, he will also be told whether the location is suitable for cultivation of such a variety, he said. In the coming days, the institute also plans to provide counselling on cultivation practices. It has prescribed norms on maximum purchase of each variety, to ensure that quality seeds are available to a large number of farmers.

IIHR has branded all of its seeds with the prefix “Arka”, as it is located on the banks of river Arkavathi. Some of the popular varieties of vegetable crops developed by the IIHR include tomato (Arka Rakshak), chilli (Arka Meghana), onion (Arka Kalyan), ridge gourd (Arka Prasan), French beans (Arka Arjun), and okra (Arka Nikita and Arka Anamika).

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Karnataka / by B.S. Satish Kumar / Bengaluru – May 22nd, 2020

NIT-K develops low-cost, reusable face shield

Business & Economy, Education, Records, All, Science & Technology
Low cost face shield developed by NITK Surathkal, in Mangaluru.
Low cost face shield developed by NITK Surathkal, in Mangaluru.

It costs only ₹12 to make such a shield

The National Institute of Technology-Karnataka (NIT-K), Surathkal, has developed an economical, reusable and transparent face shield using locally available low- cost material to fight against COVID -19.

According to Arun M. Isloor, Professor and Head, Department of Chemistry at the institute, the production cost of each face shield will be a maximum of ₹12.

Mr. Isloor who supervised a team of volunteers who prepared the shield at the institute said that the Director of the institute K. Uma Maheshwar Rao handed over 300 such face shields to Sindhu B Rupesh, Deputy Commissioner of Dakshina Kannada on Saturday.

A yoga mat, a polyester transparent sheet, a synthetic adhesive and velcro tape have been used for making the shields. “Each shield can be used for at least 90-100 days by washing it in soap water or by using some four droplets of hand sanitiser,” Prof. Isloor said.

He said that during mid-March he saw his Malaysian collaborators wearing face shields made of an elastic band, which was not only expensive but inconvenient for long-time wearing. One late evening he observed his seven-year-old son playing with his small yoga mat, which suddenly made him to think that the strip of yoga mat can be used for making the face shield.

One of the important reasons for the rapid spread of the COVID-19 across the globe is lack of availability of Personal Protecting Equipment (PPEs) such as hand gloves, protective coverage, masks, face shield, etc. The PPEs are out reach of the common people due to high cost and limited supply. Due to complete lock down of industries which can manufacture them on large scale, has also add to the lack of supply, he said.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Karnataka / by Special Correspondent / Mangaluru – May 12th, 2020