** Bangalore Baptist Hospital: Giving hope to kids with spinal muscular atrophy

On the sets of KBC, Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) suddenly got the limelight it deserved when Amitabh Bachchan announced that he would like to donate for the Rs 16 crore one-time Zolgensma drug for a child suffering from this fatal rare disease.

The drug, the most expensive in the world, and Spinraza that costs Rs 78 lakh per vial (needed for a lifetime) are administered to children with SMA, at Bangalore Baptist Hospital, which is home to India’s only paediatric neuromuscular centre.

** Bengaluru startup among the winners of IAF drone contest

Bengaluru-based start-up Newspace Research and Technologies Private Limited was among the three firms that won the “Mehar Baba Swarm Drone Competition” conducted by the Indian Air Force (IAF).

IAF Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari on Sunday, October 24, 2021, presented awards to Newspace Research and Technologies Private Limited (Best Swarm Architecture), Team Delhi Technological University-Flair Unmanned Systems Private Limited (Best Communication Architecture) and Dhaksha Unmanned Systems Private Limited from Anna University, Chennai (Best Drone Architecture), at IAF station, Yelahanka, Bengaluru.

A total of 154 teams had registered for the competition conducted in line with the central government’s “Atma Nirbhar Bharat” initiative.

** Chikkaballapur: Litterateur Rangareddy Kodirampura passes away

Renowned litterateur Rangareddy Kodirampura died at his residence in the city on the morning of Sunday, October 24.

Rangareddy is survived by his wife, two sons, and scores of admirers.

Rangareddy was the president of the fifth Kannada Sahitya Sammelana that was held at Chikkaballapur in 2015. He also served in Yakshagana Academy, Kannada development authority and Janapada Academy.

** Keepers of the family tree

Helavarus, who trace genealogy, are oral chroniclers who keep records of births, deaths, marriages and families .

They are the original keepers of records, the genealogists of yore, the Google of ancient times. The Helavaru, a semi-nomadic tribe of archivists and soothsayers, know every branch of every family tree in the villages of North Karnataka.

** Winning strokes

All eyes are on  11-year-old Bengaluru swimmer Dhinidhi Desinghu, as she creates two records in the ongoing sub-junior  and junior nationals.

She’s just 11, but Bengaluru girl Dhinidhi Desinghu has a clear vision of her goals. Working towards becoming a ‘top swimmer and feature in the Olympics’, Dhinidhi is pushing herself hard to realise her dreams. If her achievements are anything to go by, she, for a start, is on the right track.

In the ongoing 37th sub junior and 47th junior National Aquatic Championship here, she created two new national records in the 200m individual medley and 200m freestyle, both in group III girls. She was the best swimmer in her age group at the state-level competition last month too.

** A saga of more than 100 years

The railway line between Chitradurga and Chikjajur has a history of over 100 years and the works was sanctioned by the Government of India on January 28,1914 though the actual construction work commenced in October 1917.

It connected Chikjajur, which was then a station on the Bangalore-Harihar main line and was managed by the Madras & Southern Mahratta Railways Company. It was opened for public transportation on May 6,1921.

** Karnataka ranks third among larger States in administering first dose

Karnataka has administered the third highest number of first doses among larger States in the country. In terms of coverage per million population, Karnataka is in the fifth position.

Contributing 6.2% of the total 100 crore doses administered in the country till Thursday, Karnataka has covered 84.7% (4,15,10,701) of the 4.9 crore eligible population with the first dose. Gujarat has covered 90.2% of its population with one dose, and Madhya Pradesh 89.5%, according to data from CoWIN.

** International conference on innovation in agriculture organised

Indian Institute of Plantation Management (IIPM) Bengaluru, in association with Royal Agricultural University, Cirencester, UK, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia and Faculty of Management Sciences, Suratthani Rajabhat University, Thailand, had organised a one-day International Conference on Challenges, Opportunities and Innovations in Agriculture, Plantations and Allied domanis posed by the Pandemic on Thursday

According to a IIPM release, delivering the inaugural address, Prof. V.G. Dhanakumar, director, IIPMB, emphasised on the ned to develop a research culture to address issues posed by the pandemic. He also encouraged delegates to strive for publishing in peer-reviewed and internationally indexed journals of ABDC, ABS and FT 50 series.

David Bozward, Professor and Dean, School of Entrepreneurship, Royal Agricultural University, presented a paper on ‘A Strategic Model for Opportunity Recognition and Entrepreneurship within Rural and Agricultural Regions’. He discussed different entrepreneurship models, applications and their impact on rural development.

** Three mobile learning centres flagged off

For the benefit of children of migrant families and students who had to drop out of school because of the pandemic, the State Government along with the non-government organisation, Save the Children, launched three mobile learning centres on Friday.

Minister for Primary and Secondary Education B.C. Nagesh flagged off three buses that will function as learning centres at Vidhana Soudha. They have been stocked with books and educational tools. They will visit 30 areas in Bengaluru, including slum pockets.