Bengaluru Records – Page 6

NATIONAL: KARNATAKA: RECORDS: Bengaluru Most Favoured Office Space Market in Country

Quality office space supply in Bengaluru has driven rentals upward in the market. The average transacted rentals in Bengaluru grew by 6.6% year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 86.4/sq ft/month in 2023.

Bengaluru registered an office transaction volume of 12.5 million square feet in 2023, the highest transaction volume recorded amongst the leading cities in India, according to a report by Knight Frank India released on Wednesday.

In its latest report titled ‘India Real Estate: Residential and Office (July-December 2023)’, Global Capability Centres (GCC), flex spaces and India-facing occupiers supported the office leasing momentum in Bengaluru while there was a moderation from the tech occupiers. During 2023, flex space occupiers and GCCs dominated the leasing activity in Bengaluru, each accounting for 30% of the total transactions in the city.

The growing occupier interest and the quality office space supply in Bengaluru have driven rentals upward in the market. The average transacted rentals in Bengaluru grew by 6.6% year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 86.4/sq ft/month in 2023, according to the report.

As per the report, in 2023, the Bengaluru market witnessed a new supply infusion of 13.4 mnsqft, leading to a stock accumulation of 215 mnsqft. The market contains an adequate inventory to fulfil occupier demands in the near future.

Shantanu Mazumder, Executive Director, Bengaluru, Knight Frank India, said, “The moderate leasing activity by third-party IT was positively cushioned by the market share consolidation by GCC, flex and India-facing businesses. Bengaluru is an attractive market for GCC occupiers as the city is already an established global hub, has a diverse talent pool and a unique ecosystem comprising technology penetration, research and development, start-ups, academia and more. Bengaluru’s office market fundamentals remain strong.

The acceleration of return-to-office by firms and the growth in India-facing businesses along with stable business inflow from the western developed markets into India should support the growth in the office market demand in the near term.”

According to the report, in 2023, Bengaluru registered a nine-year high sales volume of residential units at 54,046. The North Bengaluru micro-market is an emerging and one of the fastest-growing clusters in the city. In 2023, the micro-market witnessed 22% of sales, with a sharp rise in absolute volumes.

The city witnessed new launches of 51,126 units, a multi-year high, as the market experienced a strong influx of new project launches in 2023, indicating an 18% year-on-year increase. South Bengaluru micro-market continued to dominate sales comprising a share of 39% of the total sales in the city in 2023. The weighted average price of residential units in Bengaluru increased by 7% YoY to Rs 5,900/sq ft/month.

source/content: newindianexpress.com (headline edited)

KARNATAKA: Bengaluru Press Club Confers ‘Person Of The Year’ Award To DK Shivakumar (DKS)

Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar (DKS) was conferred with ‘Person of the Year’ award by the Press Club of Bengaluru at a programme organised here recently. Also, former Minister Shyamanur Shivashankarappa, Labour Minister Santosh Lad and the CM’s Political Secretary K. Govindaraju were felicitated.

Speaking on the occasion, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said that the Constitution is our dharma and following ‘Rajakiya Dharma’ is the best honour that we can give to our Constitution.

Pointing out that the Constitution was implemented after a prolonged and purposeful debate, he said as such, it is the responsibility of every political party to honour and follow the Constitution.

Observing that reporting facts should be the ‘Patrika Dharma’ of newspapers, the CM said expressed disappointment that of late the Press is giving undue coverage to non-issues and issues of little importance or significance. He called upon the journalists to caution the Government whenever it goes on the wrong path.

Siddaramaiah also released the Press Club’s 2024 Diary at the event. Former Supreme Court Judge Shivaraj Patil and others were present.

source/content: starofmysore.com (headline edited)

NATIONAL: KARNATAKA: AVIATION & AEROSPACE: ENGINEERING: HAL’s New Design & Test Facility for Aero Engine Research & Development Centre (AERDC) inaugurated

Union Government’s Defence Secretary Giridhar Aramane inaugurated a new design and test facility at HAL’s Aero Engine Research and Development Centre (AERDC) in Bengaluru on Friday.

Hailing the important work being done by HAL, Aramane said, “HAL has received applause at the highest levels and the government trusts your capability to deliver and make the country self-reliant. Manufacturing sector is the future of our country and in the coming decades, HAL should focus on mastering technologies for all types of aircraft. Think ahead as the entire paradigm of warfare is changing.”

Thrusting on the role of unmanned aircraft in the future warfare, he encouraged HAL to collaborate with other private companies to develop new platforms.

“HAL is the largest DPSU in India and I want it to become the top ten companies in the world,” he said, adding that he had a look at the manufacturing range of various engines and test beds and also paid a visit to HAL’s Aerospace Division.

C B Ananthakrishnan, CMD (Addl. Charge), HAL said, “The development of this facility marks a key milestone in HAL’s growth trajectory. It is a testimony of HAL’s commitment towards achieving Aatmanirbharta in aero-engine design and development.”

The new facility spanning over 10,000 sq. meters has been established under the modernisation plan.

Dr D K Sunil, Director (Engineering, R&D) outlined the design perspectives of HAL’s R&D initiatives.

The AERDC is currently involved in the design and development of several new engines including two strategic engines — Hindustan Turbo Fan Engine (HTFE) of 25 kN thrust for powering trainers, UAV’s, twin engine small fighter aircraft or regional jets and Hindustan Turbo Shaft Engine (HTSE) of 1200 kN thrust for powering light and medium weight helicopters (3.5 to 6.5 tonnes in single/twin engine configuration).

The new state-of-the-art facility houses special machines, advanced setups leveraging on computational tools, in-house fabrication facility and two test beds for testing HTFE-25 and one test-bed each for testing HTSE-1200 and upcoming JV engine for IMRH to be co-developed by Safran, France and HAL.

In addition, the newly developed facility has setups for testing Air producer of Jaguar, Gas Turbine Starter Unit (GTSU) -110 M2 and 127E of LCA, Auxiliary Power Units of IMRH and AMCA, Gas Turbine Electrical Generator (GTEG)-60 for An-32 aircraft. Setups to carry out various critical tests for engine components and LRUs have also been established within the new facility.

The Centre, established in the 1960s, holds the unique distinction of being the only design house that has developed test beds for engines of both Western and Russian origin. It has successfully developed and certified PTAE-7 engine, the first indigenous turbojet engine of India powering Lakshya (Unmanned Aircraft), Gas Turbine Electrical Generator GTEG-60 for starting An-32 aircraft, Air starter ATS 37 and Air producer for starting Adour-Mk 804E/811 on Jaguar Aircraft and Shakti engine for powering ALH to support Ad804/811 engine of Jaguar aircraft.

Senior officials from HAL, IAF, GTRE. ADA, NAL, CEMILAC and ADE were present on the occasion.

source/content: daijiworld.com (headline edited)

NATIONAL: ENGINEERING & SCIENCE: DRONES: India closer to New Drone Power as NRT’s Indigenous Solar-Powered Pseudo-Satellite Flies for over 21 hrs

Start-up announced that its prototype had completed flight during Winter Solstice trial. Big fillip to India’s plan of having long-endurance drone capable of flying in stratosphere.

Bengaluru-based NewSpace Research and Technologies Pvt Ltd (NRT) announced Saturday that its long-endurance drone, the solar-powered High Altitude Pseudo-Satellite (HAPS), had carried out its first flight lasting over 21 hours. The development comes as a big fillip to India’s plan to have its own long-endurance drones capable of flying in the stratosphere.

The project is being spearheaded under the Innovation for Defence Excellence (iDEX) initiative of the defence ministry. Under this, NRT has signed a contract for an initial proof-of-concept demonstrator, which targets a solar-powered flight lasting longer than 48 hours.

Sameer Joshi, CEO of the start-up and a former Air Force pilot, announced on X, formerly Twitter, that the company’s prototype completed its flight during a Winter Solstice trial on 22 December.

The Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year, tests the solar-powered Unmanned Aerial Vehicle’s (UAV) endurance at its worst. The next flight will take place on 21 June or the Summer Solstice, when the Sun will be at its brightest.

The IAF has included HAPS under a Rs 1,000 crore ‘Make I project’ of the Government of India. This means that 70 percent of the funding will come from the government.

Upbeat about the NRT feat, defence sources told ThePrint that this was the next big thing in air warfare and that the flight included both day and night flying, with the UAV using solar energy for travel during the day and using its solar-charged battery for flying at night. The sources refused to get into details of what altitude the UAV flew at, but said the plan is to have it fly in the stratosphere at about 65,000 feet, above air traffic.

For context, commercial aircraft typically fly between 31,000 and 38,000 feet, or at about 5.9 to 7.2 miles.

Since the HAPS operates on solar power, it can continue to fly for months.

India’s first stratospheric vehicle?

The HAPS UAV is part of a new genre of solar-powered platforms being designed across the world for persistent surveillance, communications, and specialist science missions.

Both the IAF and the Navy are on board with the project and are looking at acquiring this capability in the short term as well as in the long term.

In India, the National Aerospace Laboratories under the government’s Council of Scientific and Industrial Research is also working on a similar project, but details of its progress are yet unknown.

Defence sources told ThePrint that India does not have a stratospheric vehicle.

Running exclusively on solar power and flying above the weather at 16-20 km autonomously for months at a stretch, a HAPS platform will fill a capability gap between satellites and HALE (High Altitude Long Endurance) UAVs, sources said.

The sources explained that HAPS is ultra-lightweight but has a strong body with the ability to take onboard batteries and other systems. They said that as the battery technology improves, the endurance would also grow.

The intended surveillance payloads for HAPS include electro-optical/ infra-red (EO/IR) solutions, synthetic aperture radars (SAR) besides communication payloads — including range extenders, electronic intelligence (ELINT) and electronic warfare (EW).

The existing technology limits of the ISR payloads for HAPS allow observations of up to 80-100 km from stratospheric altitudes, which is 2-3 times more as offered by MALE (Medium Altitude Long Endurance) UAVs. ISR, or Intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR), is vital for military operations.

Sources said the HAPS technology will offset the lack of critical ISR gap felt during the Doklam crisis, the Balakot incident, and the ongoing crisis in Ladakh.

The Navy will be an immediate beneficiary since this allows continuous low-cost manning of the Indian Ocean Region (IOR), sources said.

They also explained that the civilian use of HAPS is equally important since it can provide telecommunication connectivity all over India — especially in regions with patchy terrestrial network issues because of the challenges of terrain and costs.

source/content: theprint.in (headline edited)

INTERNATIONAL: NATIONAL: KARNATAKA: ARTIC RESEARCH: Raman Research Institute Scientists head to Arctic to study ‘Cosmic Dawn’

The 4-member team will be working in the vicinity of the Himadri research station in Norway’s Svalbard archipelago.

A team of scientists from Bengaluru’s Raman Research Institute has been sent to the Arctic Circle for a research expedition. The four-member team, which is led by Girish B S of RRI’S Electronics Engineering Group, will be working in the vicinity of the Himadri research station, located in Norway’s Svalbard archipelago.

The mission, which was flagged off from Delhi on Monday, is set to last until January 15, under the aegis of the Ministry of Earth Sciences. The mission will seek to deploy instruments near Himadri to study radio signals in the 5 to 500 megahertz range. It will assess whether Svalbard is “radio-quiet” enough to deploy Shaped Antenna measurement of the background Radio Spectrum (SARAS) radio telescopes.

The radio telescopes are used in the study of the ‘cosmic dawn’, an era in the development of the universe which saw the formation of the first stars and galaxies.

According to a statement from the RRI, these ancient signals are easily drowned out by modern cell phone towers and other interference.

Girish B S stated that due to rampant urbanisation in recent years, the space for the deployment of scientific experiments for cosmological studies is fast shrinking. “Several places, where low frequency astronomical observations were conducted in the past, are no longer suitable for carrying out precision measurements. And the biggest limitation in achieving the required sensitivity is RFI (radio frequency interference),” he said.

SARAS has previously been deployed in remote parts of Karnataka and Ladakh.

source/content: indianexpress.com (headline edited)

KARNATAKA: BUSINESS & ECONOMY / TRANSPORT: KSRTC Launches Goods Cargo Services, 500 Trucks to be added by 2024-end

Reddy said the Basaveshwara bus station at Peenya will be utilised as a depot for operation and maintenance for cargo trucks.

Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) has become the first public bus transportation entity in the country to launch a goods parcel service, using trucks. It has entered into a memorandum of understanding with KMS Coach Builders for lending cargo truck services on rent for two months. It has signed a similar agreement with SM Kannappa Automobiles for one month.

Ramalinga Reddy, who flagged off the services, said, “Namma (Our) Cargo truck services with the tagline, ‘Your Confidence, Our Concern’, will start operations with 20 trucks and then scale up to 100 in the upcoming days. The aim is to have 500 trucks by the end of next year. The project is an ambitious initiative that intends to augment KSRTC’s non-ticket revenues.

Reddy said the Basaveshwara bus station at Peenya will be utilised as a depot for operation and maintenance for cargo trucks. He added that the remaining vacant space in the non-functional bus station will be handed over to government companies to generate revenue.

“KSRTC had earlier ventured into the logistics business under the brand name ‘Namma Cargo’ to carry parcels on KSRTC route buses. Taking this forward, we introduced ‘Namma Cargo truck service’ fitted with GPS for goods transportation,” said KSRTC MD Anbu Kumar.

source/content: newindianexpress.com (headline edited)

INTERNATIONAL / NATIONAL/ KARNATAKA: GREEN-ENVIRONMENT / SPORTS : Bengaluru’s Ultra-Marathoner Aakash Nambiar runs 104Km barefoot in Dubai to raise ‘Awareness for Climate Change’

Aakash Nambiar’s initiative was inspired by the momentum generated by COP28, the climate change conference held earlier in December.

Aakash Nambiar, a 34-year-old ultra-marathoner from Bengaluru, took to the streets of Dubai barefoot, covering a staggering 104Km in just over 17 hours and 20 minutes. Known as ‘Barefoot Mallu’ on Instagram, Nambiar’s feat was not just a test of physical stamina but also a call to action against climate change.

Starting his journey at the break of dawn from Love Lake in Al Qudra, Nambiar traversed some of Dubai’s most iconic landmarks, including the Palm Jumeirah, Burj Al Arab, Kite Beach, Jumeirah Beach, La Mer Beach, Etihad Museum, and the Museum of the Future. His final destination was the towering Burj Khalifa, which he reached by midnight. Throughout this extraordinary marathon, Nambiar ran without shoes, braving the hot Middle Eastern terrain, save for the last few stretches at night.

Nambiar’s initiative was inspired by the momentum generated by COP28, the climate change conference held earlier in December. Through his run, he aimed to engage with community members, discussing the collective effort needed to combat climate change. His message was clear: “WE ARE RUNNING OUT OF TIME” to act on this global issue.

“A 100KM inside Dubai, the city of skyscrapers!! The run started after the sun rise from Love, Lake to finish at the tallest building in the world Burj Khalifa covering Palm Jumeirah, Burj Al Arab, Kite Beach, Jumeirah Beach, La Mer beach, Etihad museum and Museum of future with a total of ~ 104KMs,” Nambiar wrote.

As reported by Khaleej Times, Nambiar expressed that running through the streets and meeting people made him feel alive and provided a powerful platform to spread his message on environmental conservation.

source/content: indiatoday.in (headline edited)

NATIONAL / KARNATAKA: ELECTRONICS & AVIATION: HAL to host Avionics Expo in Delhi on December 7, 8

The expo will unveil a comprehensive range of avionics products deployed in various aircraft platforms, including advanced flight control systems, communication systems and navigation systems.

Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) will showcase its rich legacy in the design, development and production of a diverse range of avionics systems during Avionics Expo-2023, to be held at Dr Ambedkar International Centre, New Delhi, on December 7 and 8.

The Expo will be inaugurated by Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan.

“We will demonstrate HAL’s capabilities and contributions toward self-reliance in avionics, to our stakeholders, including the Indian Armed Forces, Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Civil Aviation, DRDO and other important institutions,” said CB Ananthakrishnan, CMD (Additional Charge), HAL.

The expo will unveil a comprehensive range of avionics products deployed in various aircraft platforms, including advanced flight control systems, communication systems and navigation systems. Several panel discussions will feature experts from the Armed Forces, HAL, partner organisations, and academia, providing a holistic view of the sector.

“The event will serve as a hub for professionals, industry leaders and stakeholders from the aviation sector. They will have ample networking opportunities to establish meaningful connections, foster collaborations and explore potential business partnerships. It is a testament to HAL’s commitment to advancing aerospace technology in India,” said DK Sunil, Director (Engineering and R&D).

A section for live demonstrations will allow visitors to witness the performance and reliability of HAL’s avionics solutions in realtime scenarios. Engineering students from in and around Delhi have also been invited to gain the experience. HAL’s Avionics Expo aims to achieve self-reliance in avionics and is a testament to its commitment to advancing aerospace technology in India.

source/content: newindianexpress.com (headline edited)

INTERNATIONAL/ NATIONAL/ KARNATAKA: Bengaluru Scientist Prof Urbasi Singh, 1st Indian Scientist to get Canadian Excellence Research Chair (CERC) Award, Wins USD 8 million grant

Prof Urbasi specialises in quantum science and her research interests span cutting-edge topical areas such as quantum communication, quantum computation, quantum optics and quantum fundamentals.

Prof Urbasi Singh from the Quantum Information and Computing (QuIC) laboratory at the Raman Research Institute (RRI), Bengaluru, is the first Indian scientist to be awarded Canada Excellence Research Chair (CERC) in Photonic Quantum Science and Technologies.

She won a grant worth $8 million, opening possibilities for international interactions in academia, industry and other sectors developing lab-to-market innovative models — for building a future ecosystem based on quantum technologies.

Prof Urbasi specialises in quantum science and her research interests span cutting-edge topical areas such as quantum communication, quantum computation, quantum optics and quantum fundamentals and information processing.

Her lab is one of the first in India to manufacture and establish the usage of heralded and entangled photon sources towards various applications in quantum technologies.

source/content: newindianexpress.com (headline edited)

NATIONAL: INVESTMENTS IN MEDICAL & HEALTH SERVICES: Philips Launches Innovation Campus in Bengaluru; gen AI provides more Opportunities, says CEO

The company has over 9,000 employees in India, and of these 5,000 employees in Bengaluru will be working on innovative health technologies. The company employs over 70,700 employees globally.

Generative AI (Artificial Intelligence) provides a lot of opportunities, and it is the next wave of new technology that can help solve the problems of customers, said Roy Jakobs, CEO of Royal Philips.

The company launched its new innovation campus in Bengaluru that can accommodate 5,000 employees. Speaking on the sidelines of the launch in the city on Thursday, Jakobs said if you look at healthcare, our customers are asking how we can serve more patients.

“So, we are looking at how technology can help them process more patients,” he said, explaining the significant role that AI plays in innovation.

The company has over 9,000 employees in India, and of these 5,000 employees in Bengaluru will be working on innovative health technologies. The company employs over 70,700 employees globally.

It also has a Healthcare Innovation Centre in Pune, Global Business Services in Chennai, and commercial teams in Gurugram.

For the Netherlands-headquartered Philips, India plays a significant role and it is a major hub for innovation.

“Philips has been innovating for more than 130 years and started doing business in India some 92 years ago. In the last 27 years, the Philips Innovation Campus in Bengaluru has grown to represent almost all our business categories and supporting roles,” the CEO said.

“In India, we not only want to speed up access to care but also locally develop and contribute to solutions for the rest of the world,” he added.

Last year, with an investment of Rs 400 crore under the PLI scheme, the company’s healthcare innovation centre in Chakan, Pune, started manufacturing radio frequency coils for MRI machines. The company also plans expansions in Pune. It spends yearly over $1.7 billion on innovation, of which 50% goes into software development. Philips also sees growth opportunities in the beauty and grooming verticals of its business in India.

The company’s group sales increased 11% to euro 4.5 billion for the third quarter of this year, and it also raised its full-year guidance to 6-7% comparable sales growth and an Adjusted EBITA margin of 10-11%.

source/content: newindianexpress.com (headline edited)