Records – Page 13 – Karnataka First

Bengaluru teen Pranav Anand becomes India’s 76th Chess Grandmaster

The 15-year-old, having already met the other requirements that are necessary for a GM title, achieved the honour late on Thursday.

Bengaluru teenager Pranav Anand became India’s 76th Grandmaster after he crossed the 2,500 Elo mark in the ongoing World Youth Chess Championship in Mamaia, Romania.

The 15-year-old, having already met the other requirements that are necessary for a GM title, achieved the honour late on Thursday.

To become a GM, a player has to secure three GM norms and cross the live rating of 2,500 Elo points. Anand had scored the third and final GM norm at the 55th Biel Chess Festival in Switzerland in July.

“He is passionate about chess. Extremely interested and passionate about the game. He can work for any number of hours,” Anand’s coach V Saravanan said.

“He is especially good in calculation and end games; they are his two biggest strengths right now,” Saravanan said about his ward’s ninth-round win in the under-16 section of the World Youth Chess Championship 2022.

“Also, the most important reason for Pranav’s achievement is the dedication of his family; his mother, and father. They have spent so much time on and supported him. If the pandemic was not there, Pranav could have become a GM at least a year ago. He is one of the most talented kids I have ever come across,” the International Master added.

Anand had secured his third and final GM norm in Biel by drawing his game against Spain’s number five GM Eduardo Iturrizaga Bonelli (2619) in the penultimate round.

He had also beaten GM Maxime Lagarde of France (2631), GM Sethuraman S P(2623), drawn with GM Aryan Chopra (2610) and GM Shant Sargsyan of Armenia (2661) in the event.

His first two GM norms came in the Sitges Open (in January 2022) and Vezerkepso GM Round Robin (March 2022) tournaments.

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Mysuru zoo rated second best in CZA evaluation

The century-old Mysuru zoo has been rated ‘very good’ by the Central Zoo Authority (CZA), which conducted the Management Effectiveness Evaluation of Zoos in India 2022. The country’s medium and large zoos were comprehensively evaluated during the first-ever exercise by the CZA.

Though Mysuru zoo has been adjudged ‘very good’ among large zoos during the assessment by the experts, it, however, stands second as Arignar Anna Zoological Park in Chennai has secured a score of 83 marks and was graded ‘very good’ by the CZA. The Mysuru zoo has got 80 marks but yet graded ‘very good’ in the evaluation considering its best management practices and standards.

Expressing happiness over the rating, Executive Director Ajit Kulkarni said the evaluation was done for the first time by the CZA and an expert team had visited the zoo to appraise the zoo and its practices. “Whatever suggestions have been made for the zoo’s improvement will be implemented. The action to be taken, as endorsed by the CZA, will be looked into,” he said.

Among the medium zoos, the Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park, Darjeeling, is rated the best, according to the evaluation report.

The CZA, in its report, said the mission, vision, objectives and strategies mostly identified at the Mysuru zoo but need to be systematically formulated and documented as per the National Zoo Policy. The zoo has been told to make efforts to pair all single animals.

Also, the conservation breeding programMEs for Gaur, Nilgiri Langur, Lion-tailed Macaque, Dhole, Indian Grey Wolf etc., can be managed with improved scientific rigour and with the development of detailed plans for conservation breeding including genetic profiling, individual marking of names for identification, community engagement plan, plan for soft release, and survey of release sites, the CZA said, in its evaluation of the Mysuru zoo.

The Mysuru zoo management must pursue the development of an interpretation centre, according to the report.

Citing about the best practices at the Mysuru zoo in its evaluation, the CZA said the zoo is one of the self-sustainable zoos. In the past two decades, the zoo administration has introduced many interventions, innovations and programs — from waste management policy, to a flexible animal adoption programme. After segregation of the waste, the biodegradable waste is used for making biogas, vermicompost, and manure in the campus itself. Biogas is used in zoo kitchens. The zoo has tie-ups with various NGOs for the recycling of plastic waste. The zoo harvests 79 crore litres of rainwater through directed infrastructure changes. The surrounding areas of the zoo and the farmers have also been benefited by the system as no borewells go out of water during summer. The zoo also provides RO drinking water for free to the visitors. Seventy percent of water that gets wasted from the RO units are reused On the zoo premises.

The CZA said the MEE assessment is an inclusive exercise – the assessment is based on information and documentation produced by the zoo and the detailed site visit.

The actionable points derived from the assessment, along with pillars of change indicated in the vision plan for Indian zoos (2021-2031), can become the catalyst for the transformation, build innovation and leadership and help zoos deliver experiences that inspire visitors to take conservation action and affirm deeper community connect, the CZA concluded in its assessment, a report of which has been sourced by The Hindu.

Comprehensive Urban Primary Health Centre established in Bengaluru, opening to coincide with PM Narendra Modi’s birthday

Karnataka Government says that the comprehensive Urban Primary Health Centre (CUPHC) is the first of its kind in India, and is located at Palace Guttahalli, near Malleswaram

A comprehensive Urban Primary Health Centre (CUPHC), which the government says is the first of its kind in India, located at Palace Guttahalli near Malleswaram, will be inaugurated by Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on September 17.

Along with services like testing, diagnosis and treatment, medicines will also be provided at CUPHC at either zero cost or an affordable price. The CUPHC has been set up by Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) in collaboration with Manipal Health Enterprises and with philanthropic contributions by several citizens.

C.N. Ashwath Narayan, Minister and MLA of Malleswaram, said that the hospital will be dedicated to the public on the occasion of the 72nd birthday of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on September 17. “This healthcare centre is the very first completely digitalised healthcare centre to be established in India. Our solemn aim is to provide quality healthcare services, without turning down anyone, at affordable price.”

”The PHC is established with a two-bed facility, emergency medical equipment like ECG, nebuliser, defibrillator, oxygen facility and high-end monitors for monitoring patients. There will also be services like eye-testing, dental testing, ICU, physiotherapy and Prime Minister’s Jan Aushadhi Kendra. The centre has an in-patient department and EMR system. There will also be a command centre to provide appropriate consultation and assistance for treatment for ailments like heart disease,” he said.

The Minister informed that similar CUPHCs are being set up at Nagappa Block, Gandhi Grama, Yeshwantpur and Mathikere in his Assembly constituency, and that they will be operational within a month.

IIM Bangalore’s one-year EPGP in management ranks first in India, according to Bloomberg survey

In the APAC region, IIMB is preceded only by NUS Singapore

The one-year full-time Executive Post Graduate Programme (EPGP) at the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIMB), which is offered to experienced professionals, has bagged the top rank in India and fifth rank in the Asia Pacific (APAC) region in the Bloomberg Best Business Schools Survey 2022.

The programme scored well on all the parameters, including Learning (88.6), Networking (83.5) and Entrepreneurship (82). The overall score went up from 13.5 in 2021 to 66.4 this year. Compensation too saw a significant increase (34.2) this year over last year (10.1).

Professor Rishikesha T. Krishnan, Director, IIM Bangalore, said, “IIMB works hard at educating leaders who will think broadly of their role in society and foster inclusive innovation and growth. It is a good feeling when rankings, global and national, reflect our efforts.”

In the APAC region, IIMB is preceded only by NUS Singapore.

According to the IIMB, Bloomberg surveyed 117 MBA programmes around the world. The rankings were generated using data from 18,504 students, alumni, and recruiter surveys, as well as income and employment data from each school and its alumni. The best B-schools results for 2022 are divided into four regions: Europe, Asia-Pacific, Canada, and the United States.

Anathalaya To Present Thathaiah Award-2022 To ‘Software Ratnakara’ Dr. S. Murali Tomorrow

By C. V. Gopinath, President, Anathalaya and former Additional Secretary to Government of India

The Anathalaya on Narayana Shastri Road, Mysuru, founded in 1896 to serve the poor students, this year is celebrating Thathaiah’s Day at 4 pm on Saturday, 10th September 2022, at the Anathalaya premises.

The celebration coincides with the commemoration of the 178th birth anniversary of its Founder, the Grand Old Man of Mysore, Vrudhapitamaha, Daya Sagara, M. Venkatakrishnaiah.

Every year on the occasion of the Founder’s Day celebration, the institute confers Thathaiah Award after the name of Vrudhapitamaha, Daya Sagara, M. Venkatakrishnaiah and carries a purse of Rs. 25,000.

The award is conferred on persons of high achievements in the field of education, journalism, social reforms and service to society. This year’s award will be conferred on Dr. S. Murali, the renowned Educationist and Eminent Computer Engineer popularly known as “Software Ratnakara.”

About the Awardee

S. Murali holds a Ph.D in Computer Engineering from the University of Mysore (UoM) with a teaching experience in engineering subjects for more than 33 years. He has to his credit more than 250 research papers at National and International levels. Murali has conducted several workshops on Computer Vision and Image Processing technology. He has guided more than 16 Ph.D scholars.

At present he is serving as Chairman of two Technical Colleges, twenty Degree Colleges, two MBA Institutes, one each of Ayurvedic Degree College and Nursing College. Murali has received many national and international awards.

Thathaiah and Anathalaya

Hailing from Magge village in Anatharasanthe hobli of H.D. Kote taluk in Mysuru District, Magge Venkatakrishnaiah, popularly known as Thathaiah, and always referred as the Grand Old Man of Mysore established this institution in 1896. He came from a very poor family that migrated to Mysore and was joined by several like-minded people such as Ambale Annaiah Pandit, C. Narasimhaiah and others to serve the cause of poor students by providing free food and shelter.

Initially, Anathalaya was established by Swami Nanjunda Saraswati at Niranjana Mutt premises on Krishna Vilasa Road. Later some land was allotted near Subbarayanakere on Narayana Shastri Road. At this stage, Thathaiah took charge of this institution when over a period of time Advocate K. Chandrashekharaiah, Chartered Accountant P.R. Hariharan, landlord Mirle Najundaiah, Prof. S.V. Ranganna and Thathaiah’s grandson, M.S. Srinivasa Rao joined the humanitarian crusade by making major contributions to develop this institution for serving the cause of poor students coming from villages in and around Mysore district.

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Shell enters EV charging business, starting with Bengaluru

The energy company has plans to install over 10,000 charging points across India by 2030

Shell, an integrated energy firm, has chosen Bengaluru to set up its first sets of electric vehicle (EV) charging stations for four-wheeler and two-wheeler segments in India.

To start with, the company on Thursday opened five Shell recharge stations at Yeshwanthpur, Marathahalli, Old Madras Road, Brookefield, and on Kanakpura Road.

Shell will provide customised charging solutions at on-the-go locations such as Shell fuel stations, standalone EV hubs, home charging, and destination locations.

For on-the-go and standalone EV hubs, the company will deploy 100 kilowatts (KW) and above direct-current (DC) fast chargers to enable fast charging and the lowest possible dwell time, as per company officials.

The company has plans to expand its EV charging infrastructure beyond its existing retail markets of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Telangana, Assam, and Andhra Pradesh.

Shell Energy said it has plans to set up over 10,000 such stations across the country by 2030. Shell recharge chargers would be 100% powered by green energy, it said.

Customers will be able to operate these chargers through the ‘Shell Recharge India app’, available on both Android and iOS operating systems.

Why home delivery partners prefer electric bikes

Mangaluru: 25th annual national homoeopathic conference ‘Impetus’ inaugurated at FMHMC

The inaugural programme of the 25th Annual national homoeopathic conference ‘IMPETUS 2022 – Kindle The Process To Success’ of Father Muller Homoeopathic Medical College (FMHMC) was held on September 16 at the Father Muller Auditorium, Deralakatte.

The chief guest of the programme was Prof Dr Satheesh Kumar Bhandary, MS (ENT), FRCS (England), vice chancellor NITTE (Deemed to be University) and the president of the function was Fr Richard Aloysius Coelho, the director of Father Muller Charitable Institutions.

The chief guest of the programme, Prof Dr Satheesh Kumar Bhandary gave his inaugural address in which he highlighted the immense contribution of Father Muller Institution to the field of health and Education. He expressed his wishes and hopes in forming collaborative joint ventures in the field of Scientific Research and Education in the form of Memorandum of Understanding. The chief guest, then proceeded with the release of the souvenir and was accompanied by the other dignitaries on the stage. Dr Raisa Cherian the Chairperson of the Souvenir Committee joined the release of the Souvenir Magazine.

Father Muller Homoeopathic Pharmaceutical division is famous all over the world for its quality products and medicines and is always in the process of modernizing, renovating and creating better products. Fr Roshan Crasta, administrator, FMHMC&H and FMHPD, launched a series of new products, along with the director Fr Richard A Coelho. In his message on the occasion, the administrator explained about the new products and also conveyed his wishes for the day.

Research and innovations are the life blood of any educational institution and the research unit of FMHMC have brought out a research bulletin, aggregating and spotlighting the achievements of the staff and students in this arena. The first introductory volume of the research bulletin was released by the director, Fr Richard A Coelho. The Research and Scientific Committee coordinator Dr Kurian P J also joined the dignitaries for the release.

Rangayana Mysuru gears up for 17-day cultural celebration of theatre and theatre music from September 19

The theatre music festival is being held in memory of B.V. Karanth while the Dasara theatre festival will celebrate Nada Habba

Theatre repertory Rangayana has chalked out a series of programmes to mark the birth anniversary of playwright and doyen of theatre B.V. Karanth as well as Dasara celebrations over the next 17 days in Mysuru.

The programmes will commence from September 19 which is being celebrated as ‘’Bharatiya Rangasangeetha Dina’’ (Indian Theatre Music Day) to commemorate the birth anniversary of the late Karanth, who was also the first director of Rangayana.

Sharing details of the forthcoming programmes, Mr. Addanda C Cariappa, Director of Rangayana, said the contribution of Karanth to the field of theatre and culture was immense. Hence, since the last two years, his birth anniversary was being celebrated with a Ranga Sangeethothsava or theatre music festival and this year, too, it will be celebrated in a befitting manner, he said.

The theatre music festival will be inaugurated by Amod Bhat of Rangaparva, Mumbai on September 19. The venue for the programme is Bhoomigeetha and the events will commence from 6.30 p.m. This will follow programmes by Srinivas Bhat of Ranga Snehitaru, Mysuru (Sept 20); Y.M. Puttanaiah, music director, Mysuru (Sept 21); Kalyani, music director, Sopanam Institute of Performing Arts and Research Centre, Kerala (Sep 22); R. Srinath, music director, Ranga Snehitaru, Bengaluru (Sept 23) and on the last day (Sept 24), a play Mookana Makkalu, for which the late B.V.Karanth composed the music, to be staged by the Rangayana repertory of Mysuru.

Dasara Rangothsava

The theatre music festival will be followed by Dasara Ranghotsava from September 25 to October 4. The two back-to-back events spread over 17 days will provide a rare treat to connoisseurs of arts in the city.

The Dasara theatre festival will also be held at Bhoomigeetha everyday from 6.30 p.m. and the inaugural play, Krishnegowdana Aane, will be staged by the Rangayana repertory. The other plays are: Samarkatha by students of Bharatiya Rangavidyalaya, Rangayana, Mysuru (Sept 26); Policeariddare Echharike by Ayama Rangathanda, Mysuru (Sept 27); Madhavi by Kaivalya Kalakendra troupe (Sept 28); That’s All Your Honour by Rangasangathi Sanskrathika Pratishtana, Mangaluru (Sept 29); Ee Kelaginavaru by NSD troupe, Bengaluru (Sept 30); Marichana Bandhugalu by Sneharanga, Bengaluru (Oct 1); Halagali Samara by Rangayana repertory, Mysuru (Oct 2); Vishanke by Rangabhumi, Udupi (Oct 3) and Mamateya Suli by Kalabhi theatre, Mangaluru (Oct 4).

Mr. Cariappa said the valedictory ceremony of the theatre festival on October 4 will also be marked by bestowing Dasara Rangagowrava Puraskara to veteran theatre personality Dr. Na Ratna.

Theatre training

A short-term theatre training camp will also be conducted by Rangayana from October 5 onwards for 45 days. It is open to those interested in theatre in the age group of 18 to 40 years. The training programme will be conducted from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. daily and the participants will also be exposed to technicalities of theatre. Certificates will be issued on completion of the course.

Krishi Mela in Dharwad from Saturday

University of Agricultural Sciences will host the four-day event

University of Agricultural Sciences (UAS) Dharwad will host a four-day Krishi Mela to showcase various developments in the farm sector and farm technologies in Dharwad from Saturday.

Acting Vice-Chancellor of UAS Dharwad R. Basavarajappa told presspersons in Dharwad on Wednesday that the Krishi Mela being organised with the theme, Agriculture Technologies for Doubling Farmers Income, will be formally inaugurated by Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Sunday, at 11.30 a.m.

The Krishi Mela is being held after a gap of two years because of COVID-19 and related restrictions. Exhibition of agricultural inputs, farm machinery, organic farming, hi-tech horticulture, integrated farming system, Home Science, cottage industries, bakery products, medicinal and aromatic plants and animal husbandry will be organised, apart from consultation to farmers by farm scientists.

Prof. Basavarajappa said that to educate farmers on value-addition to crops for better returns, the university has invited resource persons from across the country. This apart, food processing units too have been invited to participate in the farm fair and the effort is to create a link between them and farmers, he said.

The Krishi Mela attracts lakhs of people from across North Karnataka and neighbouring States. This time, it will have 184 hi-tech stalls, 364 general stalls, 21 machinery stalls, 27 food stalls, 54 livestock display stalls and nine field stalls.

The Krishi Mela will have sessions and stalls on nutri cereals – production, value addition and marketing, bio-fertilizers and bio-pesticides, integrated crop, nutrient, pest and disease management, rabi crop technologies, rainwater harvesting and groundwater recharge, hi-tech horticulture, fruits and flowers show, nutri-garden, terrace garden and vertical garden, improved water management practice for higher yield and water conservation, conservation of resources through integrated watershed development, soil fertility and conservation of soil health, use of improved farm equipment and drone in agriculture, farmers innovations, dialogue with progressive farmers and farm women, farm advisory services by experts, animal husbandry, exhibition of breeds and fodder crops technologies, community science technologies for empowerment of women.

Prof. Basavarajappa said that seven progressive farmers and farm women each chosen from seven districts under the jurisdiction of UAS Dharwad will be honoured with the Shreshta Krishika and the Shreshta Krishika Mahile awards during the event.

This apart, the university has instituted an award in the name of poet Channaveera Kanavi and it will be conferred on those who have penned poems on farming, he said.

Director of Extension P.S. Hugar, Director of Research P.L. Patil and others were present.

IISc scientists develop gold-coated vesicles to fight tuberculosis

The spherical vesicles, which can be delivered to immune cells, are expected to potentially trigger an immune response

To combat tuberculosis, researchers at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) have designed a new method under which a vaccine candidate for the disease can be delivered by making use of Outer Membrane Vesicles (OMVs). These spherical vesicles, which can be delivered to immune cells, are secreted by bacteria coated on gold nanoparticles. The deliverance is expected to potentially trigger an immune response to offer protection against TB.

Across the world, TB, which is caused by a bacterium called Mycobacterium tuberculosis, claims the lives of over a million people every year. Currently, BCG is the only effective vaccine against TB. It contains a weakened form of the disease-causing bacterium, which when injected into the bloodstream, produces antibodies which can help fight the disease.

However, the scientists have said that the BCG vaccine does not protect adolescents and adults as effectively as it does children. Prompted by this, Rachit Agarwal, Assistant Professor at the Centre for BioSystems Science and Engineering (BSSE), IISc, and his group worked on developing a potential subunit vaccine candidate that contains only parts of the infectious bacterium to stimulate an immune response.

Although other scientists had developed subunit vaccines based on a handful of proteins from the disease-causing bacteria earlier, they had not been effective in the treatment. Agarwal’s group decided to take a slightly varied approach and made use of OMVs — which are spherical membrane-bound particles released by some bacteria, and contain an assortment of proteins and lipids which could induce an immune response against the pathogen.

“They’re safer compared to a live bacterium, and since they are membrane-derived, they contain all kinds of antigens,” explained Agarwal, the senior author of the paper published in Biomaterials Advances. The researchers further explained that while subunit vaccines typically only contain a limited number of antigens — bacterial proteins that can elicit an immune response in the host, the OMVs contain a variety of antigens, which can induce a better immune response.

“Mycobacterium-derived OMVs are usually unstable and come in different sizes, making them unsuitable for vaccine applications. But the OMVs coated on gold nanoparticles (OMV-AuNPs) by the IISc team were found to be uniform in size and stable. The researchers also found that human immune cells showed a higher uptake of OMV-AuNPs (gold nanoparticles) than of OMVs or gold nanoparticles alone”, said an IISc press release.

According to Avijit Goswami, a former postdoctoral fellow at BSSE and one of the first authors of the study, the most challenging part was the production and scaling up of OMVs as it was a complex process. “To synthesise OMV-AuNPs, the OMVs and the gold nanoparticles are forced together through a 100 nm filter. The OMVs break up in the process and encapsulate the gold nanoparticles,” explained Edna George, a former postdoctoral fellow at BSSE, and co-first author of the study.

During this study, the immune cells, which were cultured in the lab, were treated with OMVs derived from a related bacterial species which does not cause disease in humans, called as Mycobacterium smegmatis. Furthering their research, the team plans to develop gold-coated OMVs derived directly from Mycobacterium tuberculosis. They will then test the same on animal models and carry the results forward for clinical applications.

“Such efforts could open up new avenues for the development of vaccines for other bacterial diseases as well”, the release said.