HAL developing AI-driven long-endurance drone for vigil over China border

State-run aerospace behemoth Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) is working on an AI-driven multi-role, advanced and long-endurance drone for strategic missions in high-altitude areas including along the frontiers with China, people familiar with the development said on Sunday.

The rotary-wing drone will have the capability to carry a load of 40 kgs, including missiles and sensors, and it is being developed considering the requirement of the armed forces to keep a strong vigil over the mountainous areas along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), they said.

The HAL has set a target of conducting the maiden test-flying of the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) by the middle of next year and plans to produce 60 such platforms in the first phase of the project, the people in the know told PTI.

They said the operating system of the long-endurance drone will feature applications of Artificial Intelligence and the armed forces will be able to use it for multiple purposes including transporting essential supplies.

source/content: newindianexpress.com (headline edited)

RT-PCR detection kit for human monkeypox virus released

Company obtained manufacturing licence from CDSCO and is awaiting clinical validation of kit, which uses gold-standard Taqman chemistry-based RT-PCR method.

A human monkeypox virus (MPXV) multiplex RT-PCR detection kit was released by Minister for IT and BT and Science and Technology C.N. Ashwath Narayan on Friday.

Developed by NeoDx Biotech Labs, the MPXV kit is designed for specific detection of the Central African (Congo Basin) and West African Monkeypox virus clades. The kit uses gold-standard Taqman chemistry-based RT-PCR method.

The company has obtained the manufacturing test licence from Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO), under Directorate General of Health Services, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, and is waiting for clinical validation of the kit, according to a press release.

The kit was released on the occasion of the foundation-laying ceremony for the “Research and Training Unit for Rare Diseases” held at the Centre for Human Genetics (CHG) in Bengaluru.

The CHG, under the guidance of the founding Director, Professor H. Sharat Chandra, for the past 20 years, has been providing high quality genetic services to patients with rare diseases from all over Karnataka and other states, the release said.

Meenakshi Bhat, Associate Director at CHG said nearly 35,000 families with genetic disorders have been diagnosed and counselled in the past 15 years. “The genetic laboratories at CHG provide diagnostic testing in around 5,000 patients per year. The majority of these patients are from government hospitals in Karnataka and these services are provided free to BPL and other eligible patient families and at cost to others,” she said.

The Research and Training Unit for Rare Diseases is an extension of the present CHG building. This 40,000 sq. ft extension will have three floors in which comprehensive genetic counselling facilities for around 2,500 families with rare disorders will be evaluated annually, she said.

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A martyrdom saga that lives on ballads, continues to inspire Kannadigas

 Sangolli Rayanna’s martyrdom stories continue to inspire crores of Kannadigas with every child given examples of his bravery against the British. The giant banyan tree from where Sangolli and his revolutionary associates were hanged serves as a memorial to the martyrs and kindles the spirit of patriotism among the youth.

The tree also forms an integral part of school excursions to inculcate a sense of patriotism in the little hearts. Not just a railway station in Bengaluru, every city in the state has a junction or memorial named after him.

Born on August 15, 1796, in Sangolli village of Belagavi district, Rayanna hailed from the Kuruba (shepherd) community and inherited the valour and loyalty from ancestors to the Kittur kingdom.

Folk tales describe him as a 7-foot-tall warrior who brought shivers to the hearts of his enemies, particularly the East India Company. He rose to become the commander-in-chief of the army of Kittur led by an equally heroic Rani Chennamma.

Sangolli was upset over the British policy of expansion and their treacherous ways of capturing powers from Indians. After the defeat of the Kittur Army by the British forces, he raised a guerilla force to fight the British and successfully defeated them on several occasions.

His guerrilla Army moved from place to place, setting the government offices afire. Led by Sangolli Rayanna, his force attacked the British army, plundered and looted treasuries and helped the locals.

Sangolli had become a nightmare for the British and his heroics against the British were celebrated by the local people making him a legendary figure.

The British did defeat him in an open battle, but they were never able to face his guerrilla warfare and incurred humiliating defeats. Desperate to put an end to Sangolli Rayanna, the British caught hold of his uncle Lakshmana and hatched a plan to nab the rebel.

Later, they caught Sangolli while he was taking a bath. The folk songs describe that even then Sangolli kept asking his uncle to pass on the sword, he left him on the banks of the river and handed it to the British soldiers.

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Karnataka Farmer Grows 700 Different Types of Exotic Fruits in His Farm

Anil Balanja, a farmer in Karnataka, has been growing exotic fruits from 40 different nations on his land for the past 20 years.

Anil Balanja, a native of Karnataka, grew up seeing his father grow several jackfruit and mango varieties. He always knew he wanted to be a farmer, and at the age of 19, he began by sowing areca, coconut, and rubber.

The youngster made the decision to emulate his father five years ago. On his farm, he grew a variety of exotic fruits that are uncommonly grown in the nation. This includes foods like avocados, Malaysian santol, Indonesian kepel, and many others.

Currently, Anil’s farm in the Dakshina-Kannada district is flourishing with over 700 exotic fruit types gathered from 40 different nations. Each fruit’s seeds are obtained from nurseries and his international pals.

Additionally, he maintains a thorough record of every fruit, including its scientific name, therapeutic properties, ideal growing temperature, and kind of soil. To continue growing the fruits he collected, he now owns and operates his own nursery.

krishijagran.com

Mangalorean Sydneysiders to celebrate 15 years anniversary on Sep 4

The Mangalorean Catholic Association of Sydney, popularly known as MCAS is celebrating its 15th anniversary this year. The 15th anniversary celebrations will be held at Good Shepherd Parish and School, Plumpton on Sunday September 4.

The first Mangalorean Catholics arrived in Sydney in the 60s. There was a big influx in the 80-90 decades. MCAS founder Stanley D’Cruz along with adequate support from like-minded families organised an historic picnic with over 100 participants on 19 November 2006, at the Centennial Park in Homebush. They promoted the values and advantages of an official association, which led to the birth of MCAS in May 2007. It was hoped that the formation of MCAS would help in the spreading and enrichment of the culture, tradition, values and other aspects of the community.

MCAS vision is to provide a platform to bring Mangalurean Catholics together to promote and sustain Mangalurean culture, values and tradition. Its mission is to bring together through celebrations of faith and fellowship in traditional culture.

Numerous Mangalurean Catholic families in Sydney are multi ethnic, they have married spouses from Sri Lankan, Tamilian, Malayalee, Anglo Saxon, Goan, Punjabi, Gujarati, Ukraine, European, backgrounds etc. MCAS, as per government guidelines showcases the benefits of cultural diversity to promote social cohesion. Presently the community members work in the fields of education, banking, IT services, health, construction, government services etc and have participated to a great extent to the economic prosperity of NSW for the past 60 years or so.

Some of the popular events MCAS organises are the Monthi Fest, Lenten pilgrimage, popular Bollywood event, ManGo Cup cricket tournament, annual picnic etc. Charity has always been a hallmark of MCAS. Since inception, MCAS has donated to the Mangalore diocese, African Mission, Poor Sisters of St Claire, Infant Jesus Orphanage, Mukta Trust, White Doves etc. In 2021, MCAS through a Covid fundraiser helped 24 students in Mangaluru whose breadwinner parent died due to Covid, with assistance from the Catholic Association of South Kanara (CASK). In September 2021, MCAS organised a zoom homage meeting for the late Oscar Fernandes, eminent Mangalurean in the Indian government. This meeting was addressed by Cardinal Oswald Gracious and many other eminent Mangalureans. MCAS was also active during the past two Covid years.

Several eminent Mangalureans have been hosted by MCAS during the past many years. These include Bishop Aloysius D’Souza, late Oscar Fernandes, late Octavia Albuquerque, women’s leader, Francis Colaco, retired inspector general of police in Karnataka and Andhra states, Brig Gerry Gonsalves president KCA, Bengaluru, Fr Swebert D’Silva SJ and Fr Praveen Martis SJ, principals St Aloysius College, and Sr Olivia AC, retired principal St Agnes College.

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Gadag: Cow dung Okuli – A unique tradition the day after Nagara Panchami

A unique celebration of Okuli (spraying of colours) is followed in this city since long. In the Kumbara Oni of Gangapur Pete of the city people throw cow dung on one another and celebrate this festival.

Nagara Panchami is a festival of girls. They wear new dresses and go to Nagara Katte and offer milk and celebrate the festival. On the next day is Shashti, Karikattambali day. On this day the boys get together and throw cow dung on one another.

Preparations for this festival begin a month before. Cow dung collection begins a month before the festival. The youth of the Kumbara lane go in groups and ask for cow dung from families who have cows and calves.

The cow dung war that takes place between the boys looks exactly like Holi. However, instead of colours liquid cow dung is sprayed. First the cow dung is made into a big heap on the main road of the Kumbara lane. Various colours are sprayed on the heap. Later, the boys group themselves into two teams and go to nearby farmland and get ready to play the cow dung game.

The youths get ready for this unique Okuli in unique style. They wear garlands of various vegetables like aubergine, cucumber, onion, ridge gourd, tomato etc. In addition, they wear peculiar costumes for drawing attention. They also wear dresses of females. Once ready, they all go to Durgadevi temple in a procession and offer pooja. After the pooja, the cow dung play is flagged off.

The cow dung game goes on for about two hours. Cow dung has special mention in Ayurveda medicine. It is impossible to imagine the life of a farmer without cow dung. The farmer community has given cow dung the position of a deity. This cow dung Okuli that is celebrated from centuries is mainly done to proclaim the sanctity of cow dung. In addition, people of this locality believe that all kinds of skin diseases are cured if one pours cow dung liquid on the body.

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Ranganathittu bird sanctuary is Karnataka’s first Ramsar site

Ranganathittu sanctuary also finds a place in the Important Bird Areas (IBA) list of 42 sites in Karnataka that are identified by the Bombay Natural History Society.

After a wait of over ten years, Karnataka got its first Ramsar site on Wednesday.

The ministry of environment, forests and climate change (MoEFCC) declared Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary in Mandya as a Ramsar site. With this, the forest department, local administration and tourism department will not just be able to ensure better conservation but also scale up its eco-tourism potential to international standards. Located in the mid-stream of the Cauvery river, Ranganathittu is an integral part of the wetland system and spreads across 517.70 hectares.

It also finds a place in the Important Bird Areas (IBA) list of 42 sites in Karnataka that are identified by the Bombay Natural History Society. Ranganthittu houses 188 species of plants, 225 species of birds, 69 species of fish, 13 species of frogs, 98 species of medicinal plants and 30 species of butterflies.

It is an important breeding site for around 20 species of water birds, 17 of which breed on trees growing on islands on the spot. It houses healthy populations of mugger crocodiles (Crocodylus palustris), smooth-coated otter (Lutrogale perspicillata) and the endangered hump-backed mahseer fish (Tor remadevii).

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Dhinidhi Desinghu: Bengaluru’s little swimming champ

12-year-old Dhinidhi Desinghu breaks 13-year-old swimming record

Bengaluru’s Dhinidhi Desinghu has been making waves in the swimming circuit. The 12-year-old rose to prominence last year when she set national records in the 100m freestyle, 200m freestyle and 200m individual medley at the Junior and Sub-Junior National Aquatic Championship.

This year, she has kept up her gold-winning performances, bagging three gold medals in the Karnataka Mini Olympics in May and following it up with three more golds at the Karnataka Junior and Sub-Junior Aquatic Championship, including a recording-breaking effort in 100m freestyle (59.64 seconds) that rewrote a 13-year-old record.

The youngster has the tough task of balancing her academics and swimming commitments. “Since school timings have changed after the easing of the pandemic restrictions, it is a bit more stressful and my academic workload has increased since the previous year. But I am able to cope,” says Dhinidhi, a Grade 7 student at Kendriya Vidyalaya DRDO in CV Raman Nagar.

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Catch them young: HCL’s TechBee career programme to hire 2,000 Class 12 students in Karnataka

HCL Technologies is currently conducting walk-in training interviews across four cities — Bengaluru, Shivamogga, Hubballi and Mysuru — to hire Class 12 students

HCL Technologies, an IT services and digital transformation solutions provider, is planning to hire over 2,000 fresh talent from Karnataka, under its ‘catch them young’ drive.

As part of its early career programme, TechBee, the firm is currently conducting walk-in training interviews across four cities — Bengaluru, Shivamogga, Hubballi and Mysuru — to hire Class 12 students. Students who have completed Class 12 in 2021 or 2022 with a minimum of 60% with Mathematics or Business Mathematics in their curriculum would be eligible to be part of this programme, the company said.

Bespoke training and mentoring

To offer bespoke training and mentoring initiatives, HCL has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Karnataka Skill Development Corporation (KSDC) to train tech-savvy, enthusiastic individuals seeking to accelerate their careers in IT.

Subbaraman B, Vice President, HCL Technologies, said, “Under TechBee, we aim to hire the best talent, train them and enable them to achieve financial independence at the start of their career. So far, over 8,000 students have been selected for the TechBee programme across the country and are in various stages of their career journey with HCL.’‘

“We, at HCL, observed a lot of interest and potential in students in Karnataka as well. That is why we chose to do these walk-in drives in the state,’‘ he told The Hindu.

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Tata Steel signs MoU with start-up for drone-based mining solutions

Tata Steel will also work jointly with AUS to provide exclusive drone-based solutions, including mine analytics and geo-technical mapping, to Tata Steel group companies.

Domestic giant Tata Steel on Wednesday said it has inked a pact with a Bengaluru-based startup for drone-based mining solutions for effective mine management.

The primary goal of this collaboration is to jointly develop and offer sustainable and end-to-end integrated solutions that will focus on efficiency, safety, and productivity of open cast mining operations.

“Tata Steel has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Aarav Unmanned Systems (AUS), a Bangaluru-based startup, providing end-to-end drone solutions… for effective mine management,” the company said in a statement.

Tata Steel will also work jointly with AUS to provide exclusive drone-based solutions, including mine analytics and geo-technical mapping, to Tata Steel group companies across mining locations in India, it said.

On the partnership, D B Sundara Ramam, vice president, Raw Materials, Tata Steel, said: Drone survey enabled digitalisation and other technology will assist in gathering impactful and actionable insights. We see enormous potential in redefining core mining processes such as exploration and mine planning using drone data and adequate analytics.

business-standard.com