Category: Science & Technology

** Honeywell bags ₹496.57 crore Bengaluru Safe City project

ity to have 7,000 video cameras at over 3,000 locations

The Union Government has selected Honeywell Automation India to lead the ₹496.57-crore Bengaluru Safe City project under the Nirbhaya Fund. The project was initiated by the Ministry of Home Affairs to create a safe, secure and empowering environment for women and girls in public places to enable them to pursue all opportunities without the threat of gender-based violence or harassment.

Bengaluru is among eight cities selected for the government’s Safe City project, which involves identification of hot spots for crimes against women and deployment of various components, including infrastructure, technology adoption, and capacity building in the community through awareness programmes.

** Mangaluru: LiveStream Studio inaugurated at World Konkani Centre

Nirupama G Shenoy inaugurated the new LiveStream Studio donated by Nandakumar Shenoy in memory of his parents Lakshmi and V Nandagopal Shenoy at the World Konkani Centre on Friday October 15.

In his inaugural address, Nandakumar Shenoy stressed the need for means of communication to reach out to the community without facing the hindrances of dialects and regions. “Our ancestors did many good things for us. Now with the same spirit, we have to hand over some good things to our future generation. The legacy of our culture and language should be continued. I hope this facility will turn into a knowledge enrichment center.”

** Progressive Karnataka farmer generates power from pond

Suresh Balnad, a resident of Bayar in Balnad village of Puttur taluk, uses water from a pond that is above 60 feet to generate power. He has fixed a wind turbine with a pipe to generate electricity. For the last 17 years, Suresh has been producing 2 kilowatt (KV) of power as water flows via canal.

** Seismometer installed at tremor-hit Gadikeshwar village

Taking note of the frequent tremors striking a few villages in Kalaburagi district in the past couple of weeks, a team of scientists from the National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI) visited the area and took stock of the situation.

The team comprised seismologists Suresh and Shashidhar from NGRI and Ramesh and Abhinaya from Karnataka State Disaster Management Authority. Associate scientist Anaveerappa Biradar from Sharan Sirasagi Seismic Centre in Kalaburagi was also present.

** A gecko named Jackie Chan in the Western Ghats

A new revision of Cnemaspis gecko in the Western Ghats has described 12 new species

A new revision of Cnemaspis geckos (day gecko) in the Western Ghats has described 12 new species, including ones named, among others, after Jackie Chan and dragons from Game of Thrones and Lord of the Rings. Of the 12 species, 10 were found in southern Western Ghats.

The paper, ‘Diversifying on the Ark: multiple new endemic lineages of dwarf geckos from the Western Ghats provide insights into the systematics and biogeography of South Asian Cnemaspis (Reptilia: Squamata)’, authored by Saunak Pal, from the Bombay Natural History Society, Mumbai, Princia D’Souza and Kartik Shanker from the Centre for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science (IISc.), Bengaluru; and Zeeshan A. Mirza from the National Centre for Biological Sciences, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Bengaluru, was published in Zoological Research recently.

** Five scientists, engineers get IISc’s Distinguished Alumnus Award

This year’s awardees are Dr Anuradha M Annaswamy, a senior research scientist at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Professor Sajal K Das of Missouri University of Science and Technology, Professor T Pradeep of IIT Madras, Professor C S Raghavendra of the University of Southern California and Dr Ritu Shrivastava, a former vice president of Technology Development at SanDisk Corporation.

** India’s second govt hospital for gastroenterology opens in Bengaluru

The Institute of Gastroenterology and Organ Transplant (IGOT), which opened on the Victoria Hospital campus on Sunday, is India’s second government facility dedicated to the treatment of the disorders of the stomach and intestines. 

Delhi’s Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences (ILBS), run by that state government, was the only state-run gastroenterology facility in the country

** ‘Largest’ residential rooftop solar power plant commissioned in Bengaluru

A rooftop solar power plant, touted as “the largest” for a residential apartment complex in the country, was inaugurated in the city on Saturday. Enphase Energy announced the installation of the 354.4KW plant over 13 residential high-rise buildings at the Brigade Gateway Apartment Complex here.

“This is the largest rooftop solar power plant for a residential apartment complex in India, that enables residents to save up to 69% of their present estimated consumption, while also helping save carbon emission of up to 530 tons annually,” a release said.

** Mysuru gets therapy park for children with communication disorders

Developed by AIISH, it can be accessed easily by wheelchair users

The All India Institute of Speech and Hearing (AIISH), Mysuru, has developed an inclusive therapy park, which, according to the institute, is one of its kind for children with communication disorders, including wheelchair users.

The park is designed keeping the barrier-free model in mind, making it accessible to all individuals, irrespective of their abilities. It provides an inclusive environment for children with special needs and facilitates their independent play skills.