Leaders, Karnataka State – Page 7

INTERNATIONAL: INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY & SOFTWARE: Int’l Institute of Information Technology Bangalore (IIITB) Develops Platform to provide Aadhaar-like Digital Identities for 9 Countries

Citizens of Philippines, Morocco, Sri Lanka, Uganda, Ethiopia, Republic of Guinea, Sierra Leone, Burkina Faso and Togolese Republic will enrol on the platform.

Around 70 million citizens in Philippines (80% of the population) have enrolled themselves on their national digital identity programme rolled out by Modular Open-Source Identity Platform (MOSIP), a digital identity platform developed by a team at the International Institute of Information Technology Bangalore (IIITB).

Upon the request of World Bank to initiate research and development, the project provides digital identities similar to Aadhaar to underdeveloped and developing countries. So far, 16 lakh lines of codes have been developed and used by countries, free of cost.

People of 9 nations to enroll

Although the project was first aimed at providing MOSIP to five countries, it has now been extended to nine countries. Philippines, Morocco, Sri Lanka, Uganda, Ethiopia, Republic of Guinea, Sierra Leone, Burkina Faso, and Togolese Republic are the countries whose citizens will enroll on the platform. A team of 30 people, comprising top designers and others from software, database design, security and privacy departments, are working on the project at IIITB.

“Along with technical know-how, we will also help the countries with technological training. Data, privacy, and security will all be within their own country and their policy, we will not interfere with it. We are providing digital identity for the world in a modular nature so that it can be customised to their needs. For instance, in Philippines, English, and Filipino are the languages which used, while in Morocco, it is French and Arabic. Different countries have separate biometric needs and accordingly, the modular biometrics will be used,” explained Debabrata Das, Director, IIITB, who is also the Chairman of Executive Committee for the project.

Scalable. secure

Prof. Rajagopalan, President of MOSIP project, added that the project is highly scalable and secure. The developers have also figured out a way to operate in 5,000+ habitable islands of Philippines where there is no good internet connection.

“We have developed a new technology to identify people where there is no internet or low bandwidth connection. A lot of research went into it and we developed a secure QR code which can be stored in local servers and mobiles and can be used to authenticate each other. Later, when they get internet connection, the information can be exchanged and authenticated,” he further said.

The project is also being funded by Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Norad, Sir Ratan Tata Trust, Pratiksha Trust and Omidyar Network.

source/content: thehindu.com (headline edited)

KARNATAKA: LEADERS: Former Minister RV Deshpande Conferred with the ‘Best Legislator Award 2022’ during Belagavi Legislature

Senior Congress leader and former minister R V Deshpande was felicitated and conferred the Best Legislator for the Year 2022 award during the Belagavi legislature session on Wednesday.

Assembly Speaker Vishveshwara Hegde Kageri, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister J C Madhuswamy, Congress opposition leader in the assembly Siddaramaiah and other leaders cutting across party lines felicitated Deshpande.

The Chief Minister later inaugurated the Belagavi City Police Commissioner’s Building and said the State Government has taken steps to establish over 100 police stations in the State in a single year.

Bommai lauded the work of the State Police Housing Corporation throughout the State and mentioned that 2,500 police quarters were being build work on construction of 16 buildings for police stations were under completion.

He said the State Government has taken steps to enable the police to buy 300 jeeps and Scorpio vehicles at a cost of Rs 80 crore.

The police department must concentrate on solving the problems of the people rather than merely displaying its might. The department must maintain close rapport and contacts with the people, he said.

Home Minister Araga Jnanedra, Water Resources Minister Govind Karjol, MP Mangala Benake, MLA Anil Benake, Director General of Police Praveen Sood and Home Department’s Additional Chief Secretary Rajneesh Goel were present.

The Chief Minister also inaugurated the new building of the Belagavi Zilla Panchayat.

source/content: daijiworld.com (headline edited)

KARNATAKA: Parameshwar Hegde, DySP Mangaluru Central sub division Awarded Prestigious President’s Medal

Parameshwar Hegde, DySP Mangaluru Central sub division, received the prestigious President’s Medal Parameshwar Hegde for his meritorious service, in a ceremony held at the Raj Bhavan in Bengaluru recently.

Governor Tawarchand Gehlot conferred on him the President’s Medal in the presence of state home minister Araga Jnanendra.

Parameshwar Hegde had joined the police force as PSI in 1994 and took effective actions to maintain law and order. He served in Mangaluru north police station from 2004 to 2006, took charge of the rowdy squad and cracked several cases. He arrested Balakrishna Shetty alias Vikki belonging to Chota Rajan gang and confiscated a car worth Rs 3.05 lacs, pistol and bullets.

He had arrested notorious rowdy sheeter Asgar Ali, Bodda Lathif and Nazeer and seized foreign made revolver, bullets, Maruti car and two mobile phones from them.

When he was deployed in CCB in 2015, he joined the team to nab Jane Snatcher, collecting information about the Bavariya gang by visiting Uttar Pradesh and Delhi.

He also joined the team to nab Irani thieves and recovered gold chains weighing 2.4 kg. He was promoted as DySP in 2015 and was assigned at CID, Bengaluru, where he investigated 14 cases registered against misuse of chief minister’s funds and submitted the charge sheet in 8 cases.

When he was assigned the duty ACP of Vijayanagar sub division he cracked 389 theft cases, robbery and looting cases, recovered 9,700 grams gold ornaments, 192 two wheelers, four four wheelers and 157 mobile phones and handed them over to the owners.

The president of India has presented him with a medal during the Independence Day celebrations in 2020 as well considering his professional dedication and service.

source/content: daijiworld.com (headline edited)

KARNATAKA: HONOURS AWARD / SERVICE TO SOCIETY: Akkamahadevi Women’s University- Vijayapura to Present Honorary Doctorate to Three Eminent Women Contributors – S G Susheelamma, Indumati Katadare & Reshma Kaur.

Vijayapura-based Karnataka State Akkamahadevi Women’s University will present honorary doctorate to three eminent women who have contributed to society in the fields of education and women’s welfare.

S.G. Susheelamma of Sumangali Sevashrama of Bengaluru, Indumati Katadare of Gujarat Punaruthan Vidyapeetha and Reshma Kaur, director of Guru Nanak Group of Education Institutions in Bidar will be given honorary doctorate, Vice-Chancellor of the university B.K. Tulasimala told journalists in Vijayapura on Sunday.

Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot will present honouris causa degrees at the university’s 13th and 14th convocation being jointly held in Vijayapura on Monday. The event will be held in the sports complex of the Jnyanashakti campus in Vijayapura.

Vice-Chancellor of Jawaharlal Nehru University Santishree Dhoolipudi Pandit will deliver the convocation address. Higher Education Minister C.N. Ashwath Narayan and Dr. Tulasimala will be present.

A total of 202 gold medals will be awarded to 167 students. A total of 23,911 students will be awarded degrees. The university offers several courses including BA, BSW, B.Ed, BP.Ed, B.Com, BBA, B.Sc, B.Fed, BCA and BFT.

And, 2,169 students will get post-graduate degrees. The Master’s courses include MA, M.Com, MBA, M.Sc, M.Ed, MPEd, MLISc, MSW, MCA, among others. As many as 55 will get doctorate degrees.

The event can be viewed live on the university’s social media accounts and YouTube channel, Dr. Tulasimala said.

source/content: thehindu.com (headline edited)

GLOBAL: AIRPORTS / TRAVEL/ METAVERSE: Kempegowda Intl Airport’s Terminal-2 (KIA T-2) is One of the First in the World that can be Experienced on the Metaverse. First phase of ‘BLR Metaport’ Launched

The Kempegowda International Airport’s Terminal-2 has become one of the first terminals in the world that can be experienced on the metaverse, after Bangalore International Airport Limited, operator of the KIA, on Tuesday announced the first phase launch of the BLR Metaport.

The Kempegowda International Airport’s (KIA) Terminal-2 has become one of the first terminals in the world that can be experienced on the metaverse, after Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL), operator of the KIA, on Tuesday announced the first phase launch of the BLR Metaport.

Built in collaboration with Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Polygon, the BLR Metaport offers an immersive, three-dimensional (3D) virtual experience of the newly launched terminal.

Interested travellers and members of the public can log on to www.blrmetaport.com and virtually tour and navigate the new terminal using their smart devices.

The BLR Metaport is an outcome of the Joint Innovation Centre (JIC), announced in April 2022 by BIAL, AWS, and Intel. The JIC focuses on driving the development and adoption of digital solutions in aviation.

“For BIAL, the mission of the JIC is to leverage emerging technologies to build new business models and passenger experiences and be at the forefront of technology innovation in India’s commercial aviation,” BIAL added.

Developed in line with this mission, the BLR Metaport is one of the first airport metaverse experiences, designed to deliver an enhanced digital experience.

A 3D interface will offer customers new ways to interact with the airport, such as checking into flights, navigating terminals, shopping, and social aspects like connecting with other travellers.

BLR Metaport brings the virtual and physical worlds together to provide consistent engagement, and aims to excite travellers with new, unique, and immersive experiences.

BIAL’s Chief Strategy and Development Officer, Satyaki Raghunath said, “We are very excited that BIAL is entering into the new world of metaverse through the BLR Metaport.

This is our first foray into the world of Web3 and non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and we aim to delight travellers with a unique, immersive, and virtual experience. We believe that it is important to connect with a new generation of our global audience through the metaverse.

We also have several initiatives planned around the BLR Metaport, which promise to increase ways in which we can engage with our global audience and enhance business impact over the next few years.”

source/content: thehindu.com (headline edited)

INTERNATIONAL / NATIONAL / KARNATAKA: ENGINEERING & TRANSPORT / GLOBAL J.V. / INDUSTRY LEADER:Vikram Kirloskar – The man who brought Toyota to Karnataka

Vikram Kirloskar brought global auto giant Toyota to Karnataka in 1997, when the State wasn’t yet a big name in the global business arena.

Way back in 1997, when Karnataka wasn’t yet a big spot on the global business map, auto major Toyota set up a manufacturing facility at Bidadi, on the outskirts of Bengaluru. The man who was instrumental in bringing the Japanese automaker to Karnataka was Vikram Kirloskar who passed away on November 29.

The initial efforts towards bringing Toyota Motor Corp to India were made during the tenure of Chief Minister Veerappa Moily in the early 1990s, and were later followed up by his successor H.D. Deve Gowda. During J.H. Patel’s tenure, Toyota Kirloskar officially started its operations in Karnataka. Thereafter, the business savvy S.M Krishna and his industrious industries minister R.V. Deshpande extended support to the venture.

Although multiple Chief Ministers and their industries ministers were involved in bringing, hosting and settling Toyota at Bidadi, one key person who worked tirelessly from outside was Vikram Kirloskar, who is a mechanical engineering graduate from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), U.S.A.

Industries Minister Murugesh Nirani said, “He was a dear personal friend, an industry friend and, more importantly, a genuine human being who was always ready with a smile. With the passing of Vikram, a prominent face and a pillar of the business community of Karnataka is no more.”

The Kirloskar family hails from Haveri in the Dharwad region. They have been running various businesses, including automotive engineering, pumps, gensets, and machine tools for over 100 years. Vikram Kirloskar became the mainstay of ‘Karnataka Inc.’ with Toyota Kirloskar in 1997.

Since its inception, Toyota has invested over ₹20,000 crore in Karnataka, and Mr. Kirloskar’s personal commitment in 2010 was ₹1,500 crore.

“He has been a great help in organising Global Investors’ Meet. He and (his wife) Geetanjali came with me for a road show in the U.S. prior to GIM in 2010,” recalled Mr. Nirani.

A doyen of the automotive industry, Mr. Kirloskar was extremely supportive of young people and their business ideas.

Addressing a trade body event that had several youngsters in the audience recently, he said, “You are the future leaders. You should soon be sitting here where I am sitting.”

The fourth-generation entrepreneur of the Kirloskar family leaves behind his wife Geetanjali and daughter Manasi, who works in the company.

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: EDUCATION: Chanakya University launched, A Step Towards ‘Indian Multidisciplinary System of Education’

The key method for innovation, he said, is the ability to borrow concepts from other disciplines.

Renowned mathematician Prof Manjul Bhargava said Chanakya University is a step towards India moving towards a multidisciplinary system of education.

He was speaking at the official launch of Chanakya University as the chief guest on Saturday evening. The event was attended by Minister for Higher Education Dr CN Ashwath Narayan and a number of eminent personalities supporting the university.

Prof Bhargava said, “The Indian numerals were a basis for a lot of modern mathematics used in everyday life and in technology. Without it, the Europeans were still using Roman numerals. The ‘zero’ is foundational. Its start came from philosophy, then linguistics, then poetry, music, astronomy and, finally, to mathematics and computer science. This shows the importance of multidisciplinary education.” The key method for innovation, he said, is the ability to borrow concepts from other disciplines.

“The idea of having a multidisciplinary background and drawing ideas from aesthetics, science and art to work on whatever we’re working on, is still applicable today. The best companies hire multidisciplinary teams and people. Many inventors come from a multidisciplinary background. We need more such homegrown stories in India and it is time to move our education system in that direction. I compliment Chanakya University for moving forward on the recommendations of the NEP. I hope it is a model for future new institutions and already established institutions in pursuing multidisciplinary education,” he said.

Established by several architects of the National Education Policy under the Centre for Educational and Social Studies (CESS), Chanakya University has the support of many philanthropists and eminent members involved in multidisciplinary settings. “This unique institution is being established by a charitable trust and through funds collected by the public, having no commercial angle and is not-for-profit. The news about the university has reached other cities and the people have woken up. They are willing to come forward to fund the university with an emphasis on quality and value-added education,” said Dr Sitharam Jindal, founder chairman and managing director, Jindal Aluminium.

Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, founder and chairperson of Biocon India, said Bengaluru has been blessed with many great educational institutions and the university will contribute to this. “Knowledge is paramount in terms of economic success. We are adding another great educational institute to the knowledge profile of Bengaluru. This helps in creating Bengaluru as not only a ‘Science Capital’, but the ‘Knowledge Capital’ of the country, which will be an extremely proud moment for us,” she said.

source/content: newindianexpress.com (headline edited)

NATIONAL: AVIATION & AIRCRAFT / MANUFACTURING: ‘Saras Mk 2’, India’s very Own 10-seater Civilian Aircraft Indigenously Developed by National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL) in collaboration with CSIR may soon Dot Skies over tier 2, 3 cities by 2025

The 19-seater civilian aircraft is being developed by National Aerospace Laboratories in Bengaluru, in collaboration with CSIR.

One of the major attractions at this year’s Bengaluru Tech Summit is a model of the Saras Mark 2, the upgraded version of the first ever indigenously built civilian aeroplane, the Saras Mark 1.

Almost 20 years after its predecessor’s historic maiden flight, the Saras Mk 2 may soon become a common sight in the skies across the state.

The Saras Mk 2, a 19-seater multi-purpose civilian aircraft, is being developed by National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL), Bengaluru, in collaboration with the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).

“The aircraft is an upgraded version of the Saras Mk 1. It can be used for multiple purposes, including for medical emergencies or in the event of natural disasters. However, it can also help in transporting passengers from Tier-1 cities to Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities,” said Naman Dugar, a senior scientist at NAL, who has been involved with the development of the aircraft. He also said that the aircraft will be used for defence purposes as well.

The aircraft has an additional five seats when compared to Saras Mk-1, which had only 14 seats. Dugar says the plane is ideal for carrying passengers to shorter distances, like to nearby cities. With Karnataka’s push towards developing Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities in the coming years, the aircraft may become an ideal option for the state’s transport needs in this direction.

“There are many larger planes. However, they are developed for long-distance travel and are generally more expensive. In terms of travelling to closer cities by air, for example, Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities, the Saras Mark 2 will become a sought-after plane. The aircraft does not need much space for take-off and landing,” said Dugar. The development of Saras Mk 2 is expected to be completed by 2024 and make its maiden flight by 2025.

source/content: newindianexpress.com (headline edited)

GLOBAL / NATIONAL: SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY / INNOVATION / LEADERS: 14th Infosys Prize Award’ . 6 Awarded for the understanding of Galaxy, Statute, Engineering, Social Sciences

14th edition of Infosys Prize awarded to six persons who each will get a gold medal, a citation, and a cash award of $100,000 or its rupee equivalent.

The Infosys Science Foundation on Tuesday announced the winners who include a mathematician tackling challenges in a field sometimes called “the queen of mathematics”, an economist working on governance and accountability, and a law school professor and expert on the Indian Constitution.

The winners are Suman Chakraborty at the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, for engineering and computer science; Sudhir Krishnaswamy the vice-chancellor at the National Law School of India University, Bangalore, for humanities; Vidita Vaidya at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai, for life sciences; Mahesh Kakade at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, for mathematical sciences; Nissim Kanekar at the National Centre for Radio Astronomy, Pune, for physical sciences; and Rohini Pande at Yale University in the US for social sciences, the foundation said.

This is the 14th edition of Infosys Prize. The prize for each category includes a gold medal, a citation, and a cash award of $100,000 or its rupee equivalent.

Chakraborty has studied how fluids behave in tiny channels to design novel medical devices, including low-cost tools, to detect infectious diseases and a hand-held torchlike device for early diagnosis of oral cancer.

The technology has drawn commercial interest within and outside India. Krishnaswamy was awarded the prize for “his insightful understanding of the Indian Constitution, especially his carefully argued account of the importance of the landmark ‘basic structure doctrine’ adopted by the Supreme Court in 1973 that guides and constrains efforts to amend it, while also ensuring its stability in the face of executive and legislative outcomes,” the foundation said.

Vaidya has contributed to understanding the brain mechanisms that underlie mood disorders such as anxiety and depression, including the role of a neurotransmitter called serotonin in causing persistent changes in behaviour induced by early life stress.

The foundation said Kakde has made “outstanding contributions” to algebraic number theory, often called the queen of mathematics that has practical applications in areas such as cryptography or secret communications.

“But I don’t do things with any applications in mind,” Kakde said on Tuesday. His work has yielded proofs for several key conjectures at the heart of modern numbertheory. The conjectures serve as tools to address hard math problems involving so-called polynomial equations.

Kanekar has received the award for his study of star formation in galaxies eight billion years ago and especially for his work on elusive signatures of atomic hydrogen in distant galaxies that has resolved along-standing astronomical puzzle — why have star births in galaxies declined over time?

Pande’s research on governance, accountability, women’s empowerment, the environment, and the role of credit in the lives of the poor “offer major promise and potential for policy design in emerging economies”, the foundation said.

source/content: telegraphindia.com (headline edited)