NATIONAL: ENGINEERING / SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY: The ‘TAPAS 201 Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) UAV’ completes flight test of 18 hours. Totally Indigenous Designed and Developed by Aeronautical Development Est (ADE).

TAPAS 201 has been designed and developed by the Bengaluru-based Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE).

The TAPAS 201 Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) UAV has achieved a significant milestone after undertaking a flight test lasting 18 hours at the Aeronautical Test Range in Chitradurga, Karnataka.

TAPAS 201 has been designed and developed by the Bengaluru-based Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE). HAL and BEL will be the production partners for the MALE UAV.

Announcing the milestone, Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) tweeted: India’s TAPAS UAV, #designed & #developed by Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE), Bengaluru for tri-services has successfully achieved #milestone flight test of 18 hours at Aeronautical Test Range, Chitradurga.

TAPAS 201 is a multi-mission UAV being developed to carry out Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance roles for the three wings of the armed forces with endurance in the range of 24 to 30 hours.

Described as the Indian version of the US’s Predator drones, TAPAS 201 is capable of carrying different combinations of payloads, like Medium Range Electro Optic, Long Range Electro Optic, Synthetic Aperture Radar, Electronic Intelligence, Communication Intelligence and Situational Awareness Payloads, to perform missions during day and night.

The MALE UAV, which was earlier referred to as RUSTOM II, undertook its first flight in November 2016. Since then, it has undertaken many test flights.

In 2019, the TAPAS 201 programme suffered a setback when the UAV crashed during an experimental flight near the Aeronautical Test Range in Chitradurga.

Apart from the Indian army, air force and navy, internal security agencies like State Police Forces, BSF, CRPF, and the Coast Guard are also prospective users of the MALE UAV.

source/content: thehindu.com (headline edited)

NATIONAL: BANKING & ECONOMY / I.T: Bengaluru Leads the Country in Digital Payment Transactions reaching 14.82 million Transactions in only 10 months Jan to Oct 2022

Between January and October this year, Bengaluru saw 14.82 million such transactions valued at ₹3,620 crore.

Netizens in the tech capital of India have made 14.82 million digital payment transactions in the January to October 2022 period, the highest in the country, amounting to ₹3,620 crore, according to a study put out by Worldline India, a payment technology player.

Hyderabad accounted for 10.36 million digital payment transactions amounting to over ₹3,050 crore and Chennai 9.76 million at ₹2,250 crore. The country’s financial capital, Mumbai saw 9.4 million people carrying out digital payment transactions amounting to ₹2,740 crore and Pune with 7.88 million transactions clocked ₹1,730 crore.

The 10-month period under consideration, saw frequently visited physical merchant categories like grocery stores, restaurants, clothing and apparel, pharmacy, hotels, jewellery retail, speciality retail, household appliances, and departmental stores while in the online-space category wise, e-commerce (shopping for goods and services), gaming, utility and financial services together accounted for over 86% in terms of volume, according to the survey.

Festive season sales, and a rise in consumption after the pandemic have helped the city to take the top spot in digital payments transactions, stated the study.

Ramesh Narasimhan, Chief Executive Officer – India, Worldline, said: “Today, both customers and sellers are more receptive towards digital payments. Digital payments are gradually becoming like a commodity, and forming a subtle yet an integral part of our lives. The swift adoption of digital payments can be witnessed with each passing quarter.’‘

Payment instruments like UPI, cards, PPIs were already clocking over 23 billion transactions in the country in a quarter, he added.

source/content: thehindu.com (headline edited)

INTERNATIONAL: INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY: Shreya Narayan, Student of Bangalore Institute of Technology Wins First Position in ‘UNESCO-India-Africa Hackathon 2022’, Greater Noida

Shreya Narayan, a student of Bangalore Institute of Technology, Bengaluru, took part in the UNESCO-India-Africa Hackathon 2022 held at Gautam Buddha University, Greater Noida, recently and won the first place with a cash prize of ₹3 lakh, said a release.

source/content: thehindu.com (headline edited)

KARNATAKA: BUSINESS & ECONOMY: INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY / EXCELLENCE: Infosys, Intel Win ‘Karnataka IT Rathna Awards’ & Host of others Won the ‘IT Pride of Karnataka Awards’ at Bengaluru Tech Summit-2022

Infosys and Intel bagged the Karnataka IT Rathna awards at the 25th edition of the Bengaluru Tech Summit (BTS) 2022 held in Bengaluru, informed a press release.

The awards which were given away at the meet have been instituted by the Software Technology Parks of India (STPI) and are given to companies that have clocked more than ₹10,000 crore in exports.

Minister for IT-BT, Science & Technology Dr C N Aswath Narayan also honoured companies such as TCS, Bosch, Mindtree, and 21 others with the award ‘IT Pride of Karnataka’ for clocking ₹2,000 crore to ₹10,000 crore in exports.

Speaking on the occasion, the Minister said “Karnataka is clocking exports worth ₹1 lakh crore annually and expressed hope that it would rise to ₹1.5 lakh crore in the next three years and also achieve $1 trillion in the digital economy space.”

However, the Minister expressed anxiousness over the 40% shortage of finances in the current account despite a high turnover in exports from the state. He urged the IT captains to raise exports and reduce imports to maintain a good balance of trade. He also assured the industry that the government will continue to extend its support.

Aravind Kumar and Shailendra Tyagi of STPI, IT Vision group chairman Kris Gopalakrishnan, Additional chief secretary of IT-BT department E V Ramana Reddy, and director Meena Nagaraj were also present at the vent.

Winners of the ‘IT Pride of Karnataka Awards’:

– Accenture, Amazon Development Centre, Dell, EIT Services, Goldman Sachs, HSBC, IBM, JP Morgan, Juniper Networks, Mercedes Benz, Microsoft, Qualcomm, Samsung, SAP Labs, Standard Chartered, VMware and Wipro won the IT Pride of Karnataka awards.

source/content: hindustantimes.com (headline and sub-head edited)

KARNATAKA: Kannada Rajyotsava Award 2022 Winners List

The Karnataka government has announced the Kannada Rajyotsava Award winners for the year 2022 to coincide with the celebrations of the Karnataka formation day. Here’s a look at achievers from all walks of life who have won the award for the year 2022

Kannada Rajyotsava Awards 2022 winners

Complex Constituency -Subbaram Shetty (Bangalore), Vidwan Gopala Krishna Sharma (Bangalore), Mrs. Soligara Madam (Chamarajanagar) Soldier- Subedar BK Kumaraswamy (Bangalore) Journalism-HR Srisha (Bangalore), GM Shirahatti (Gadag) Agriculture-Ganesh Thimmaiah(Kodagu), Chandrasekhar Narayanapura(Chikkamagaluru) Science and Technology-K.Sivan, DR Baluragi Environment-Salumada Ninganna Civil Works Sector-Mallamma Vulaishadagali Administration-L.H.Manjunath, Madan Gopal Horanadu-Devidasa Shetty, Arvind Patil, Krishnamurthy Manja Overseas-Gulf Countries Rajkumar Medicine-Dr.H.S.Mohan, Dr.Basavanthappa Theater-Tippanna Helavar, Lalitabai Channadasar, Gurunath Hoogar, Prabhakar Joshi, Srishaila Huddar Sangeet-Narayana.M, Ananthacharya Balacharya, Anjinappa Satpadi , Ananta Kulkarni Folklore-Samadevappa Erappa Nadiger, Gudda Panara, Kamalamma Sulagithi, Savitri Pujar, Rachaiah Salimath,

A complex field
Subbarama Shetty (Bangalore),
Vidwan Gopal Krishna Sharma (Bangalore),
Mrs. Soligara Madam (Chamarajanagar)

Soldier
Subedar BK Kumaraswamy (Bangalore)

Journalism
H.R. Srisha (Bangalore),
GM Shirahatti (Gadag)

Agriculture
Ganesh Thimmaiah (Kodagu),
Chandrasekhar Narayanpur (Chikkamagaluru)

Science and Technology
K. Sivan (Bangalore)
D.R.Baluragi (Raichur)

The Environment
Salumada Ninganna (Ramanagar)

Civil Service Sector
Mallamma Flower Boat (Vijayanagar)

Administration
L.H. Manjunath (Shivamogga),
Madan Gopal (Bangalore)

Abroad
Devidas Shetty (Mumbai),
Arvind Patil (Overseas),
Krishnamurthy Manja (Telangana)

Abroad
Rajkumar of Gulf Country (Gulf Nation)

Medical
Dr. H. S. Mohan (Shivamogga)
Dr. Basavanthappa (Davanagere)

Social service
Ravishetti (South Kannada)
Kariappa (Bangalore Rural)
MS Cory Shetter (Haveri)
D. Madegowda (Mysore)
Balbir Singh (Bidar)

The Broadcasting industry
BV Naidu (Bangalore)
Jayaram Banan (Udupi)
Srinivas (Kolar)

Theater
Tippanna Helavar (Yadagiri)
Lalitabai Channadasar (Vijaypur)
Gurunath Hoogar (Kalaburgi)
Prabhakar Joshi (Udupi)
Srishaila Huddar (Haveri)

Music
Narayan.M (South Kannada)
Anantacharya Balacharya (Dharwad)
Anjinappa Satpadi (Chikkaballapur)
Ananta Kulkarni (Bagalakot)

Folklore
Samadevappa Erappa Nadiger (Northern Kannada)
Gudda Panara-Divine Dancer (Udupi)
Kamalamma Midwife (Raichur)
Savitri Pujar (Dharwad)
Rachaiah Salimath (Balakote),
Mahadeshwar Gowda Lingadahalli, Veeragase (Haveri)

Sculpture
Parushuram Pawar (Bagalakot),
Hanumanthappa Balappa Hukkeri (Belagavi)

Painting
Sannarangappa Chitrakar-Kinna’s Art (Koppal)

Movie
Duttanna (Chitradurga), Avinash (Bangalore)

Television
Bittersweet Moon (Bangalore)

Yakshagana
MA Naik (Udupi)
Subrahmanya Dhareshwar (Uttar Kannada)
Sarapadi Ashok Shetty (South Kannada)

Open
Advaiah Cha Hiremath-Doddata (Dharwad)
Shankarappa Mallappa Horpet (Koppal)
H. Pandurangappa (Bellary)

Literature
Shankar Chachadi (Belagavi)
Krishna Gowda (Mysore)
Ashoka Babu Nilagarh (Belgavi)
A. Ra Mitra (Hassan)
Ramakrishna Marathe (Kalaburgi)

Education-
Koti Rangappa (Tumkur)
MG Nagaraj – Researcher (Bangalore)

Sports
Dattatreya Govinda Kulkarni (Dharwad)
Raghavendra Annekar (Belagavi)

Judiciary
Venkatachalapathy (Bangalore)
Nanjundereddy (Bangalore)

Dance
Kamalakshacharya (South Kannada)

Amrita Mahotsava Rajyotsava Award of Independence-2022

Ramakrishna Ashram (Mysore)
Lingayat Progressive Organization (Gadag)
Agadi Tota (Haveri)
Thalassemia and Haemophilia Society (Bagalakote)
Amrita Shishu Niwas (Bangalore)
Sumana Foundation (Bangalore)
Yuva Vahini Organization (South Kannada)
Nele Foundation-Orphan Rehabilitation Center (Bangalore)
Nammane Summane – Refugee Ashram (Mangalmukhi Institute (Bangalore)
Uma Maheshwari Backward Classes Development Trust (MANDYA)

source/content: english.sakshi.com (headline edited)

KARNATAKA: BUSINESS & ECONOMY: ‘Techceleration 2022’ , 2-day Event to Promote Hubballi-Dharwad-Belagavi Cluster by the Karnataka Digital Economy Mission (KDEM)

Taking forward the ‘Beyond Bengaluru’ concept, a two-day event initiated and coordinated by Karnataka Digital Economy Mission (KDEM) will be held in Hubballi on Sunday and Monday to display the progress achieved so far and deliberate upon the way forward.

Addressing presspersons in Hubballi on Saturday, the CEO of Karnataka Digital Economy Mission Sanjeev Gupta said that the event named ‘Techceleration-2022’ would  bring together the entire ecosystem of industry leaders, start-ups and businesses to showcase the growth so far, the opportunities available and the road map ahead. “What is even more important is that we will see venture capitalists investing in the start-up ideas from Hubballi-Dharwad-Belagavi belt,” he said.

source/content: thehindu.com (headline edited)

NATIONAL: EDUCATION, ACADEMIC RESOURCES: Open Access Digital Repository of Academic Resources unveiled by Azim Premji University

It is the first-of-its-kind digital repository of academic resources translated from English to Indian languages.

‘Anuvada Sampada,’ touted as a first-of-its-kind open access digital repository of academic resources translated from English to Indian languages, was unveiled by Azim Premji University here on Tuesday.

Aimed at making these resources freely and widely available to students, teachers, teacher educators, etc., across the country, the repository has close to 2,000 academic resources and growing and is currently available in Hindi and Kannada.

The translations repository was launched by the Vice Chancellor of Azim Premji University, Indu Prasad and seeks to address the paucity of high-quality academic resources in Indian languages at the graduate and post-graduate level. The initiative, said a release, will enable students, academics, and practitioners to mine, use and reuse academic resources in sciences, social sciences, humanities, and languages. The repository is also expected to help promote original writing, reading, deliberation and discourse in Hindi and Kannada.

“Non-availability of academic resources in Indian languages is a major constraint in expanding access to education and ensuring inclusion. We believe this initiative will help students engage more deeply with concepts and ideas currently available only in English, encourage nuanced debates, and develop perspectives in diverse contexts,” said Hriday Kant Dewan, who leads the initiative at Azim Premji University.

The repository includes select academic resources for postgraduate programmes in education and development, and undergraduate programmes in arts, sciences, and diploma courses. Besides these, there are select articles from journals, extracts or complete chapters from books, podcasts, short films, brief lectures, and panel discussions related to higher education.

Articles focused on various aspects of school education from different publications of Azim Premji University like Learning Curve, At Right Angles, I wonder.., and Pathshala, apart from books and research studies published by Azim Premji Foundation, form part of the collection, added the release.

The University is also in the process of seeking copyright permissions from various publishers to expand the number of open access academic readings on the site.

Anuvada Sampada is available at: https://anuvadasampada.azimpremjiuniversity.edu.in/.

source/contents: thehindu.com (headline edited)

KARNATAKA: SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY & HEALTH SERVICES: OPHTHALMOLOGY: SAP, CleaVision to Deploy Deep Tech to minimise Blindness in Premature Babies

The solution is currently being piloted at Narayana Nethralaya Eye Institute in Bengaluru.

The power of machine learning and data analytics can be explored to reduce blindness that occurs as a result of Retinopathy of Prematurity, a condition where abnormal growth of blood vessels inside the eyes of pre-term babies can cause bleeding, scarring and retinal detachment, as per SAP.

SAP and CleaVision, a social venture, on Thursday announced an initiative aimed at reducing the risk of preventable blindness as a result of Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP) in pre-term babies.

A solution driven by machine learning and data analytics would help doctors to arrive at a more accurate diagnosis while treating such babies, said SAP in a statement. The solution is currently being piloted at Narayana Nethralaya Eye Institute in Bengaluru.

“We are piloting the software through the KIDROP (Karnataka Internet Assisted Diagnosis of ROP) programme, which performs up to 2,500 imaging sessions each month from 135 neonatal units across Karnataka,” said Dr. Anand Vinekar, Head, Paediatric Retina Department at Narayana Nethralaya Eye Institute.

Automating the screening process

Explaining the process, the company said, the CleaVision solution would integrate image data processing with SAP Business Technology Platform, SAP AI Platform, and SAP Analytics Cloud to automate the identification of retina and blood vessel features and to make a recommendation on plus disease – a severe manifestation of ROP in premature babies.

The screening data would then be served to hospitals and could be reviewed in the KIDROP telemedicine network.

source/content: thehindu.com (headline edited)

GLOBAL: Infosys enters a five-year collaboration with Kansas, U.S. based ‘Spirit AeroSystems’ to Boost Aero Structural Services

IT services major Infosys on Wednesday announced a five-year agreement with Spirit AeroSystems, the manufacturer of aerostructures for commercial airplanes, defence platforms and business or regional jets.

The IT company will collaborate to provide aerostructure and systems engineering services for product development of commercial, business jet and emerging aircraft programs, and Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) services.

Headquartered in Wichita, Kansas, Spirit has facilities in the US, UK, France, Malaysia and Morocco.

As part of this engagement, Infosys said it will offer end-to-end product development services, including design engineering, sustaining engineering, systems engineering, stress engineering, manufacturing engineering, and repair and maintenance. 

“Our longstanding collaboration with Infosys means we are well-positioned to co-innovate on critical stages of product development. This strategic agreement will leverage mutual synergies to accelerate the development of sustainable aerostructures and services across our commercial and aftermarket business segments,” said Sean Black, Senior VP and Chief Engineer, Engineering and Technology, Spirit AeroSystems.

Infosys collaborates with 7 of the top 10 global aerospace companies.

Jasmeet Singh, Executive VP and Global Head of Manufacturing, Infosys, said, “Aerospace and defence organisations need to rapidly reinvent their digital foundation.”

The company has been investing in aerostructure engineering and next-gen technologies like artificial intelligence and the cloud.

source/content: newindianexpress.com (headline edited)

INDIA: KARNATAKA: ARTS & CRAFTS: CINEMA / ANIMATION: Mangaluru’s Plangle Studio Wins Best Indie Studio Award at ANN Awards, Mumbai

Plangle Studio, based in Bejai-Kapikad, Mangaluru, has been awarded the Best Indie Studio at ANN Awards, which took place in Mumbai on August 26. ANN Awards are presented by Animation Xpress and are India’s largest awards in the animation space.

Other award winners during the event included major studios such as Green Gold, Cosmos Maya, Paperboat Design Studio, Viacom18 and Reliance Animation Studio.

Prajwal Vas, CEO and founder, of Plangle Studio, believes that this award provides good exposure and is a boost for talent in Mangaluru. There is immense artistic talent in Mangaluru and the city can be a hub for creative professionals, similar to Mumbai and Bengaluru, Prajwal said. He has established the studio to hire local talent, train them to create world-class VFX and animation to serve the global film industry.

Plangle Studio has done the VFX, edit, DI and VFX supervision for Tulu superhit film Raj Sounds and Lights which recently completed 100 days in cinemas. Plangle Studio also did the VFX and colour grade for Tulu film Pepperere Perererere.

Other notable works of the studio include: Ninnanthor yaaru ilvallo, an animation song featuring a digital version of Dr Rajkumar. The song is a preview for upcoming Kannada movie Daredevil Musthafa, which is based on a novel by the same name written by Mysurean novelist Poornachandra Tejasvi and directed by debutant director Shashank Sogal. The song is a first-of-its kind animation and was created entirely in Mangaluru by Plangle Studio, it has received over 6 lakh views on YouTube so far. The studio has also done other animation work for this film which is currently under post-production and slated for release later this year.

The next project on Plangle Studio’s roster, in collaboration with a Bangalore-based studio, is Kannada film Spooky College directed by Bharath G and other Kannada film projects.
Plangle Studio is also the recipient of a grant under the IDEA2PoC Grant Scheme of of Karnataka Startup Policy, KITS, Dept. of Electronics, IT, Bt and S&T Govt. of Karnataka.

source/content: daijiworld.com (headline edited)