FOC-Standard LCA Tejas takes to skies on maiden flight in Bengaluru

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K A Muthana (Retd), Chief Test Flying (Fixed Wing), the aircraft took-off from HAL Airport at around 1230 hours, the Bengaluru-headquartered defence PSU said in a statement.

LCA Tejas. (File | EPS)
LCA Tejas. (File | EPS)

Bengaluru :

Tejas, the first Light Combat Aircraft in Final Operational Clearance-standard (SP-21) took to the skies for its maiden flight here on Tuesday, the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited said.

Piloted by Air Cmde. K A Muthana (Retd), Chief Test Flying (Fixed Wing), the aircraft took-off from HAL Airport at around 1230 hours, the Bengaluru-headquartered defence PSU said in a statement.

It was airborne for 40 minutes.

This flight signifies exemplary teamwork between various stakeholders of the LCA Tejas programme such as HAL, Directorate General of Aeronautical Quality Assurance, Centre for Military Airworthiness and Certification, Indian Air Force and Aeronautical Development Agency, HAL CMD, R Madhavan said.

“HAL achieved the momentous feat within a record time of 12 months after the release of Drawing Applicability List (DAL) and SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) by CEMILAC”, the statement said.

“This would pave the way for the production of remaining 15 fighters from FOC (Final Operational Clearance) block, which are planned to be delivered during the next financial year”, it said.

The FOC aircraft are equipped with advanced features such as Air-to-Air refuelling and Beyond Visual Range (BVR) missile system.

“It imbibes a lot of manufacturing improvements which were based on the operational feedback of LCA IOC (Initial Operational Clearance) fleet with IAF”, HAL said.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Nation / by PTI / March 17th, 2020

Karnataka Ganakala Parishat golden jubilee celebrations held

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GanikaParkshathBF17mar2020

Sangita Sangama – Sahitya Sambhrama

The recently concluded golden jubilee celebrations of Karnataka Ganakala Parishat was a one-of-a-kind event where the confluence of Sangitam, Sahityam, Gana Yagnam and ‘anna dasoham’ (distribution of food prasadam) took place with amazing precision for 16 days.

Musicians of national and international repute made the event a shining example of ‘a world unified by music.’

The inaugural day began in the presence of Sri Sri Sri Shivarathri Deshikendra Swami of Veerasimhaasana Maha Sansthan, Suttur Kshetra. The Golden Jubilee celebrations working committee was also announced at the time.

Five books were released and their authors were also honoured on the occasion.

With the exception of the inaugural day and the concluding day, each of the 14 days started with a Gana Yagna by musicians led by Dr.R.K.Padmanabha, paying obeisance to Vaggeyakaras, Raga devathas and the chanting of relevant Sanskrit slokas.

All the concerts and lecture demonstrations were special in their own way, full of substance and depth.

Some vocal and instrumental music concerts included performances by T.S.Satyavathi, Dr. Suma Sudhindra, the Saralaya Sisters, a and many others.

The exposition, exploration, interpretation, scholarly analysis of music and various aspects of musicology by musicians in their lecture demonstration sessions were fascinating, educative and interesting.

Topics such as ‘Tyagaraja’s Kritis on Tulasi’, ‘Violin Vadya Vaibhava’ “ Mridanga Tarang’, and the Tradition of Nagaswara in Temples were covered.

On the eve of the Ganakala Bhushana, the Gana Kalashri Awards were conferred. Post the Pancharatna Goshti Gayana in the afternoon, the Parishat serenaded all four awardees of Gana Kalabhushana and Gana Kalashri in a decorated chariot.

Presidents of the Senior Musician conference, the Mysore Brothers — Mysore Nagaraj and Dr Mysore Manjunath were conferred with the titles of ‘Ganakala Bhushana,’ while the Presidents of the Junior Musicians conference G Guruprasanna and Giridhar Udupa were conferred with the titles of ‘Ganakala Shri’.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Society / by Ambika Ananth / March 16th, 2020

Rail museum is back on fresh, gleaming tracks in Mysuru

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The Central Park station from where the toy train starts at Mysuru rail museum. | Photo Credit: M.A. SRIRAM
The Central Park station from where the toy train starts at Mysuru rail museum. | Photo Credit: M.A. SRIRAM

The Mysuru rail museum, renovated and expanded at a cost of ₹9 crore, was opened to the public on Saturday, adding a new heritage site of historical value to the city.

Providing an experience of the history and evolution of the Railways, starting from the steam era down to the modern times, the exhibits, including the steam locomotives and wagons, have been refurnished and restored aesthetically.

The renovated museum was inaugurated on Saturday by H. Ashwathnarayana, a long-serving employee of the museum, in the presence of Ajay Kumar Singh, general manager, South Western Railway, Aparna Garg, Divisional Railway Manager, and other officials of SWR.

The Maharani’s Pavilion, housing the vintage saloon used by the maharanis of the Wadiyar dynasty, was inaugurated by G. Mala, a veteran staff member of the rail museum. Originally, it was supposed to be inaugurated by Jamuna Bai, one of the members of the cleaning crew of the steam era, but she could not make it owing to illness.

Ms. Garg said the renovated museum was the Railways’ contribution to the heritage city of Mysuru. “We wanted to make it more experiential, rather than a collection of exhibits. The Indian Railways and the city of Mysuru have one thing in common — a lot of heritage — and the museum complements this,” she said.

Sumedha Sah, an architect from Bengaluru who was involved in the redesigning of the museum, said a lot of thought went into it and the few old structures were renovated and connected with the walking pathway. Each site is connected visually and spatially by the pathway, inspired by how the Railways has knitted the sub-continent. Likewise, the pathways link all the exhibits, she said.

Cafeteria and galleries

A metre gauge coach has been converted into a cafeteria while there is a coffee shop with a library, complete with literature and books related to the Railways. There are pictorial galleries tracing the evolution of the steam locomotive and diesel locomotive, while the old signalling contraptions used by the Railways have been painted and displayed in the signalling section along with other equipment.

The earlier exhibits have been refurbished and given a fresh coat of paint, while the audio-visual gallery with touch-screen monitors provides complete information about the museum but the Railways in general. The toy train and the Central Park station have been redone. The museum also has a website (www.mysururailmuseum.com). A postal cover was released to mark the occasion.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home>News> States> Karnataka / by R. Krishna Kumar / Mysuru – March 15th, 2020

Karnataka senior IPS officer passes away

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Former Additional Commissioner of Police K S R Charan Reddy
Former Additional Commissioner of Police K S R Charan Reddy

Senior IPS officer of the State K S R Charan Reddy passed away in the wee hours of Friday.

He was battling cancer for at least three years now and had suffered multiple recurs after treatment. He was hospitalised for the past three days. His condition turned critical on Thursday when he went into coma and he passed away Friday morning, sources said. He was on a long leave from work since November 2019.

A 1993 batch IPS officer of Karnataka cadre, he hailed from Chittoor district, Andhra Pradesh. He was Additional Director General of Police, Criminal Investigation Department, when he passed away. Known as a “no nonsense” person in the department, he was known for his acumen in investigations.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Karnataka / by Special Correspondent / Bengaluru – March 13th, 2020

ISRO shortlists 368 student ‘scientists’ for YuViKa

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The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has shortlisted 358 high school students from across the country to be part of its second annual ‘catch them young’ programme, YuViKa.

The provisional list has 10 local students in the Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) category. The final pool of over 100 ‘budding scientists’ from class 9 will be selected by March 31 and they will take part in a two-week residential awareness programme to be held in different ISRO centres from May 11 to 22, ISRO said.

The online selection process began in February with priority to applicants from government or aided schools in rural areas. The five girls and five boys shortlisted from Karnataka are from schools in Nipani, Challakere, Baindur, Holenarsipur, Bangarpet, and rural Mysuru.

Finally, three students from each State or UT and studying in CBSE, ICSE, and State streams will join the Yuva Vigyani Karyakram. Five additional seats are for pupils in the OCI category.

The programme includes invited talks, sharing of experiences by eminent scientists, visits to ISRO facilities and laboratories, discussions with experts, practical and feedback sessions.

Log into yuvika2020@isro.gov.in for details. YuViKa secretariat (Respond & AI) can be reached on 080 2217 2269.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Karnataka / by Special Correspondent / March 11th, 2020