Category: Records, Karnataka

KARNATAKA: AIRPORTS & AVIATION: PM Modi Inaugurates ‘lotus-shaped’ Shivamogga Airport, launches slew of development projects

PM Modi also inaugurated and laid the foundation stones for development projects worth over ₹3,600 crore in the district.

In what is his fifth visit to poll-bound Karnataka in two months, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Shivamogga airport at Sogane. The event coincided with the 80th birthday of BJP strongman from the State and former Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa.

He also inaugurated and laid the foundation stones for development projects worth over Rs. 3,600 crore in the district. Later in the afternoon, he will take part in a nine-km roadshow and inaugurate the renovated railway station in Belagavi.

Airport to bring improved connectivity

The new airport has a lotus-shaped terminal and has been developed at a cost of around ₹450 crore. The passenger terminal building of the airport can handle 300 passengers per hour.

Built on 775 acres of land, the airport has aa 3.2 km long runway, and the passenger terminal has a built-up area of 4,320 sqft. The airport can handle aircraft ranging from the ATR 72 to the Airbus 320.  

It is considered the second largest airport in the State, after Kempe Gowda International Airport in Bengaluru. The exterior design of the passenger terminal resembles lotus, symbol of the ruling BJP, which was objected to by some people earlier.

The airport is expected to improve connectivity and accessibility from Shivamogga and other neighbouring areas in the Malnad region of Karnataka, officials said.

A view of the Shivamogga Airport that was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 27, 2023 | Photo Credit: ANI

The new airport was the dream project of four-time Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa who hails from Shivamogga district. Though he announced his retirement from electoral politics, Mr. Yediyurappa remains a key leader for the party’s poll campaign. He was the Deputy Chief Minister in the Janata Dal (S)-BJP coalition government in 2007 when an airport for Shivamogga was approved.

Earlier, a section of BJP leaders in Shivamogga had proposed that the airport be named after Mr. Yediyurappa. But the former Chief Minister himself suggested that it be named after Kuvempu, the first Kannada poet to get the Jnanpith award and who also hails from Shivamogga.

Frequent visits

Mr. Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and BJP president J.P. Nadda have been visiting the State frequently for the last two months, and this would be the Prime Minister’s fifth visit to Karnataka in two months, and the third in February alone. Earlier, he visited Hubballi (January 12), Kalaburagi (January 19), Bengaluru and Tumakuru (February 6), and again Bengaluru to inaugurate Aero India on February 13.

(With inputs from PTI)

source/content: thehindu.com (headline edited)

INTERNATIONAL: SPORTS / TENNIS: Rohan Bopanna and Matthew Ebden Win Men’s Doubles Title at Qatar Open 2023

On Friday, Indian tennis player Rohan Bopanna and his Australian partner Matthew Ebden took home the men’s doubles championship in the Qatar Open 2023 tennis competition in Doha. The pair defeated Botic van de Zandschulp of the Netherlands and Constant Lestienne of France 6(5)-7(7), 6-4, 10-6.

It was Rohan Bopanna’s second victory in the Qatar Open. He had finished second last year with Canadian Denis Shapovalov in the doubles competition after winning it in 2020 with his Dutch partner Wesley Koolhof.

Throughout his career, Rohan Bopanna has already won 23 doubles championships. It was his first time playing alongside current Wimbledon  doubles winner Matthew Ebden. At Tel Aviv, Pune, and Adelaide, the Indian tennis player won three championships last year. Bopanna’s first championship of 2023 was the ATP 250 victory in Qatar.

Bopanna and Ebden also advanced to the Rotterdam Open ATP 500 final last week, but they fell to Austin Krajicek of the USA and Ivan Dodig of Croatia in the match tiebreaker following the winning point.

The third-seeded Indian-Australian combination in Doha on Friday had a break advantage at 6-5 in the first set before being pushed back and dropping the set in a tiebreaker. In the second game, both defences improved, and the teams maintained their serves until the ninth game. Bopanna and Ebden, though, triumphed in the tenth game to force a match tiebreak.

Bopanna is ranked No. 37 in the world and No. 17 in the ATP doubles rankings. The match tiebreaker was won in 99 minutes by Ebden after they successfully converted four of six break-point opportunities.

source /content : sportscafe.in (headline edited)

KARNATAKA: ARTS & CULTURE: 4th ‘Bangalore International Centre (BIC) Hub’ba’ kicks off

The fourth edition of Bangalore International Centre’s Hub’ba features a dedicated children’s corner, policy discussions on a variety of topics, short films in addition to music and dance .

 The annual Bangalore International Centre (BIC) Hub’ba is kicking-off today and features a variety of events for Bengalureans to participate in: lectures, conversations, panel discussions, traditional dance, music programmes and a dedicated corner for children.

For the first time, the fourth edition of the festival also features a section for short films about the city produced by citizens from different backgrounds. 

“This year, we are hoping to create a carnival-esque vibe. It’s called a ‘hubba’ for obvious reasons. The idea is to emulate a good-old fun fair. But it is mainly characterised by the sheer variety of events. Everything that people will be interested to know about or participate in, but may not know where to look for,” says 

Lekha Naidu, thespian and programming manager at BIC. 

It was the success of the original event in 2019 that prompted its return as an annual event ever since. “The whole point of the fest was to create a packed-up version of all different sorts of events that we do throughout the year,” Naidu explains.

This year, the festival also features a section titled ‘B-LORE’ that is dedicated to stories about Bengaluru from a variety of perspectives told through the short films. “We wanted to garner many perspectives and stories about the city. What Bengaluru means to people and what they see in the city. We wanted a repository of information and stories connected to the city. And that led us to putting out an open call for films,” she shares, adding that among the 60 entries that they received, 26 were picked up by the jury and will be premiered at the festival. 

While BIC Hub’ba has continued to add events each year, this time the organisers have made a key change to help the audience have a better time at the festival. “We have spaced out the sessions to give the audience a bit more breathing time. In the earlier editions, we had back-to-back sessions, and people would complain about having too many options at the same time and not being able to catch all of them,” Naidu concludes.

source/content: newindianexpress.com (headline edited)

KARNATAKA: ’19th Toto Funds the Arts (TFA) Awards 2023′ Ceremony returns to Stage, February 18th

The 19th edition of the Toto Funds the Arts (TFA) awards recognised 10 winners across various categories, including literature, music, short film, photography, and digital art.

Dadapeer Jyman, a promising talent in the Kannada literary scene, could hardly contain his emotion as he accepted the award for creative writing in Kannada at the 19th edition of the Toto Funds the Arts (TFA) awards ceremony held at Bangalore International Centre on February 18. With a tremulous voice, Jyman expressed his joy at winning the prize. “I’ve dreamt of winning a Toto for three to four years now. I’ve been longlisted and shortlisted… It feels like finally being accepted after pursuing a loved one for long,” he said.

Having won the Sahitya Akademi’s Yuva Puraskar in 2022, Jyman is making a name for himself as a rising star in Kannada literature. His award-winning story, Taha’s Letter, explores the clash between two worlds, through the lens of two close friends, Dileep and Taha. One is stuck in the village, while the other has become an activist in the city. Taha is queer, and, as the story unfolds, we see how two worlds collide and get a chance to examine why it did not work out between them.

Following two years of virtual editions, the Toto Awards finally made a return to the physical stage. “Nothing compares to meeting young artists in person and hearing a live audience cheer them on. All of us at TFA were excited to do an on-ground event,” said CK Meena, chaiperson, TFA.

The TFA is a non-profit trust that was founded in 2004 to commemorate the passing of Angirus ‘Toto’ Vellani, a 20-year-old art and literature lover. Every year, the trust awards prizes in a range of categories, including literature, music, short film, and photography, and hosts workshops, talks, readings, film screenings, and intimate addas to discuss arts-related topics.

A new category was established this year to pay tribute to the memory of abstract artist Mehlli Gobhai, dedicated to digital art, and an additional award was presented for music. The ceremony included a short ghatam performance by Sumana Chandrashekar.

“It is a great platform for youngsters riddled with self doubt about their potential,” said chief guest MS Sriram, Kannada writer and chairperson of the Centre for Public Policy at the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore. “This award is a big endorsement from the community. While there are several language-based art communities in Bengaluru, what makes this one unique is its diversity. I was amazed by the different regions the award winners came from, as usually in these gatherings we only see local talent.”

Moachiba Jamir, who won the award in the creative writing in the English category, said, “The story, Expecting Caterpillars, talks about grief in a way that also touches the culture that I come from, where very strong emotions such as grief and happiness are not really shared. We don’t really hug people, we don’t say we are sorry… I wanted to explore that in my story,” said Jamir.

A native of the Ao tribe in Kohima, Nagaland, Jamir includes his cultural roots in his writing. “I am inspired by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, who said there’s not just one story. So, I am not the only story from my culture; I am just a little voice out of all the voices that are around.”

This year’s ceremony recognised 10 winners across various categories, each of whom received a cash prize. In the music category, both Dindūn and Rudy Mukta were awarded ₹60,000 each. The creative writing in the English category saw Moachiba Jamir and Aparna Chivukula winning ₹50,000 each. Dadapeer Jyman won ₹50,000 in creative writing in the Kannada category. The photography category was won by Aswin Sharma and Anuja Dasgupta, with each of them receiving ₹50,000. In the short film category, Pratik Girish Bhoyar and Nikhil Vinay received ₹50,000 . Sankalpa Raychaudhury won the digital art category, receiving a cash prize of ₹50,000.

source/content: thehindu.com (headline edited)

NATIONAL: HEALTH & MEDICAL SCIENCES: NIMHANS signs MoU with Mpower for implementation of Tele-MANAS across India

Tele-MANAS is a 24/7 mental healthcare facility which was launched under National Mental Health Programme (NMHP).

Taking a step forward towards the implementation of Tele Mental Health Assistance and Networking Across States (Tele-MANAS) services on the ground level across the country, National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS) on Friday, February 24, signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Mpower, a mental health initiative of the Aditya Birla Education Trust.

Tele-MANAS is a 24/7 mental healthcare facility (14416) which was launched under National Mental Health Programme (NMHP). 

To support the implementation of the programme, Mpower has taken up the responsibility of setting up, operating and managing all day-to-day affairs at the Tele-MANAS centres. Mpower will be provided with the necessary access to the platform, operating guidelines, training and mentoring, monitoring and framework needed to operate the centres. 

The collaboration is expected to integrate Tele-MANAS services locally and make qualified professionals and expert mental health counselling services available to individuals who need them.  

“There is no health without mental health and the pandemic has exacerbated mental health issues among people of all ages. Now, we are looking forward to see how we can expand Tele-MANAS to the length and breadth of India,” said Pratima Murthy, Director and Senior Professor of Psychiatry at NIMHANS.  

She added, “Our goal is to make sure that the Tele-MANAS services are accessible to all and in this journey, we are happy to look at Public Private Partnerships with strong knowledge of the space. At Tele-MANAS, we offer counselling services in 20 regional languages. We have a framework and we look forward to Mpower expanding this programme in various States.” 

The two-tiered structure of Tele-MANAS includes State Tele-MANAS cells (Tier 1), which are staffed with qualified counsellors and mental health professionals. Specialists in Tier 2 are accessible at District Mental Health Programme (DMHP)/Medical College resources for in-person consultations and through e-Sanjeevani for audio-visual consultation. 

source/content: thehindu.com (headline edited)

NATIONAL: SPORTS / BOATING: ’11th National Dragon Boat Championship’ begins in Swarna River, Heroor,Udupi, February 23 to 26th

700 participants from 15 States are likely to participate in the races till February 26. The event will be held at Swarna river in Heroor.

The 11th national dragon boat championship will begin in Udupi for four days from Thursday, with about 700 participants from 15 States expected to participate.

Organised by the Udupi district administration, in association with the Indian Kayaking and Canoeing Association, the competitions will be held on the Swarna near Heroor in Udupi.

Those selected in this championship will be eligible to participate in Asian Games to be held in September/October, 2023.

Arrangements like two access roads, space for viewers have been organised in Heroor.

According to Udupi MLA K. Raghupathi Bhat, dragon boat race has evolved into a competitive global sport.

‘‘Udupi got an opportunity to host this championship. The prospects of Udupi in organising water sports championships can be explored further. The championship will have 200 metres, 500 metres, and 2 km race,” he told presspersons.

In each category, 25 participants will get selected to participate in the Asian Games, Mr. Bhat said, adding that the dragon boats have already arrived at the venue.

The boats have been designed to look like a dragon’s head, while the rear is carved to look like a tail.

In this event, 22 persons sit on the narrow boat, while the rest of the team works the oars and one person sitting in the front will beat a drum to egg them on and a coxswain steers the boat. There will be three more persons on reserve.

The 10th national dragon boat championship was held in Bhopal last year.

source/content: thehindu.com (headline edited)

NATIONAL: HORTICULTURE: National Horticulture Fair (NHF2023) Organised by ICAR and IIHR begins Packed with Activities to have Stalls, Workshops and Conferences Feb 22 to 25

The National Horticulture Fair 2023 (NHF2023), which will be held between February 22 and 25 in Hesaraghatta on the outskirts of the city under the theme of ‘Innovative horticulture for self-reliance’, will be inaugurated by Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar virtually on Wednesday at 12 p.m., said Sanjay Kumar Singh, Director of ICAR-IIHR and chairman of the organising committee NHF 2023.

The fair, being organised by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and the Indian Institute of Horticultural Research (IIHR), will showcase latest technologies such as vegetable, flower and medicinal crop varieties for import substitution, pollination in protected cultivation, leaf curl virus resistant chilli varieties, carotenoid content rich marigold varieties, flower waste utilisation, terrace gardening solutions for urban horticulture, production technologies for exotic fruits such as dragon fruit and avocado and cost-effective traps for management of invasive pests, etc. for the benefit of horticulturists and other stakeholders during the NHF2023 at ICAR-IIHR.

The NHF-2023 will have 250 hi-tech stalls on various products and 50 nursery stalls, according to ICAR-IIHR officials.

Apart from this, officials said that special workshops and conferences on horticulture development on various aspects, including value added millet products, composting of bio-waste, urban horticulture, mushroom production and value addition, safe use of pesticides, preparation of incense sticks from floral waste and tribal horticulture, will be organised during the four-day fair.

Last year, the event was cancelled due to the pandemic, and in 2021, the fair was in a hybrid mode because of the pandemic. The institute is expecting about 50,000 farmers from various States of the country.

Hopcoms fair at Lalbagh

The Horticultural Producers’ Cooperative Marketing and Processing Society (Hopcoms) will oragnise grapes and watermelon mela at Lalbagh from Wednesday. Three to four varieties of watermelon and 13 to 15 varieties of grapes will be sold at the fair, according to a Hopcoms release.

source/content: thehindu.com (headline edited)

NATIONAL: HEALTH & MEDICAL SCIENCES: 52nd Conference of Indian Pharmacological Society (IPSCON 2023) & Awards Presentation to be held in Mysuru, February 22-25th

The JSS College of Pharmacy will host the 52 nd annual conference of Indian Pharmacological Society to be held in the city from February 23 to 25 and will showcase the developments in the field of pharmacology in India.

M Pramod Kumar, Organising Chairman of 52nd IPSCON 2023, and Principal, G.V. Pujar, to media persons here on Tuesday that the theme will be latest technologies and better strategies to discover new drugs and the conference will also highlight several crucial and contemporary issues in pharmacology.

In all, 110 talks are planned by scientists from across the globe and experts as part of the conference and there will be a pre-conference workshop on Wednesday. More than 1,000 delegates are participating from across the country and there will be 17 scientific sessions comprising symposiums, plenary lectures, distinguished lecture series, current scientific updates, brainstorming sessions and panel discussions

The conference will also feature an exhibition of scientific equipment while a walkathon will be held on February 24 to create awareness about health. The walkathon will be led by former Indian cricketer Javagal Srinath, according to the organisers.

During the inauguration three eminent pharmacologists will receive ‘’Lifetime Achievements Awards” for the contribution to drug discovery and development; 10 teachers will be awarded as “Best Teachers Awards”; 4 eminent pharmacologists will be given “Fellow of Indian Pharmacological Society-FIPS”; and eight researchers will be delivering the ‘orations’ talk during the conference.

Vice-Principal K.L. Krishna, Organizing Secretary of 52nd IPSCON 2023, B.R. Prashantha Kumar, Associate Professor, and other officials of JSS AHER and JSS College of Pharmacy faculty were present.

source/content: thehindu.com (headline edited)

KARNATAKA: HEALTHCARE / NEUROSCIENCE RESEARCH: Pratiksha Trust signs MoU with Indian Institute of Science (IISc) & Centre for Brain Research (CBR)

CBR is uniquely positioned to take on the challenge of tackling this impending healthcare and socioeconomic crisis.”

The Pratiksha Trust signed an MoU with the Indian Institute of Science (IISC) and Centre for Brain Research (CBR), an autonomous centre of IISC, to accelerate breakthrough discoveries and translational research on neurodegenerative diseases.

Under this MoU, the charitable trust, founded by Infosys co-founder Kris Gopalkrishnan, has agreed to provide support to CBR in perpetuity with an initial outlay to the tune of Rs 450.27 crore over the next 10 years, for research, innovation and translation.

IISC Director Prof G Rangarajan said, “India’s elderly population is expected to grow rapidly to a staggering 32 crore by 2050, leading to a corresponding increase in the burden of dementia and other age-related neurodegenerative diseases. CBR is uniquely positioned to take on the challenge of tackling this impending healthcare and socioeconomic crisis.”

Gopalakrishnan said, “The human brain is one of the world’s biggest mysteries, which is yet to be fully understood. By funding this centre, we are working towards creating and sustaining a globally recognised, state-of-the-art research and innovation hub that will be at the cutting edge of research on the human brain.”

CBR has already been pursuing research in this area and this MoU will help scale up the research and activities at the centre.

It is also a part of nation-wide initiative involving 20 institutions called “Genome-India” (supported by the Department of Biotechnology, Government of India), which aims to discover India-specific genetic basis for diseases through whole genome sequencing of 10,000 samples collected from across the country.

source/content: newindianexpress.com (headline edited)

KARNATAKA: ARTS & CULTURE / MUSEUM: Museum of Art and Photography (MAP) Opens Physical Museum in Bengaluru

The museum includes virtual exhibits, artists lectures, virtual reality encounters and a number of keynote discussions that foucs on the collections.

The Museum of Art and Photography (MAP), the first major private museum in Bengaluru, opened its doors at Kasturba Road with the inaugural series, ‘Art is Life: New Beginnings’. In view of the launch, the museum is holding week-long events from February 18-24.

Supported by cutting-edge technology, the museum has been constructed on the pillars of an innovative digital format that was introduced in 2020. This entails virtual exhibits, artist lectures, virtual reality encounters and a number of keynote discussions with leading museum directors from across the world that focus on the collections.

igital interventions, such as the Sasken Multimedia Gallery, enhance the museum experience for MAP’s visitors and make the whole collection accessible even when individual pieces aren’t on show.

Four exhibitions

The brand-new series feature four exhibitions and a series of new commissions. Curated by the director of MAP, Kamini Sawhney, ‘Visible/Invisible’ includes works by leading Indian artists such as Jamini Roy, Bhupen Khakhar, Mrinalini Mukherjee, Ravinder Reddy, Arpita Singh, M.F. Hussain and examines the role of women in art.

With more than 160 images, renowned Indian artist Jyoti Bhatt’s collection “Time and Time Again” traces his path as a photographer in the second half of the 20th century. The installation highlights his experimentation with multiple exposures and fragmented mirror imagery, as well as his depiction of rural villages, portraits of other artists, and self-portraits.

The MAP also feature LN Tallur’s series of sculptures and movies called “Chirag-e-Al,” which explore the link between artificial intelligence and ritualistic belief systems while forcing viewers to consider humanity’s increasing reliance on technology. The themes of darkness, conversations between celestial entities, and white spaces are established via the use of imagined chatbots, neural networks, composite figures, and white spaces.

Three years of research-backed work

Speaking about what makes MAP so distinct, Ms. Sawhney said, “MAPs collections are spread over six categories — premodern, modern and contemporary, textiles, photography, indigenous art, and popular culture such as Bollywood posters and film scripts. It tells the stories of all communities that make up India. We tell much wider stories as compared to other museums. Visible/Invisible showcases the permanent collection of MAP but we also commissioned various artists to create work which became part of the works. We worked for three years on this exhibition and it is accompanied by a catalogue.”

MAPs collections are spread over six categories — premodern, modern and contemporary, textiles, photography, indigenous art, and popular culture such as Bollywood posters and film scripts. 

The MAP started first as a digital museum. “We developed the concept of MAP Labs which looks at the intersection of the science and the arts and how we can use technology to find art solutions. In our first collaboration with Accenture, we came up with the idea of creating a 3D persona or a hologram of M.F. Hussain, an iconic artist with whom a lot of young people have not interacted. It enabled them to have a chat with M.F. Hussain and understand his work,” Ms. Sawhney said.

source/content: thehindu.com (headline edited)