Tag: Karnataka First Records

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)

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)

INTERNATIONAL: MEDICAL TEAM AT QATAR: Pratibha N Darkasu selected as a Member of the Medical Team for the ‘FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022’

A woman, native of the taluk is selected to serve in the medical team of FIFA World Cup that is going on at Qatar.

Pratibha N Darkasu, wife of Naveen Poojary, a resident of Darkasu in Kudambettu village is the woman who is selected for this coveted job. She has become the only woman from Karnataka to serve in the medical team of World Cup.

Pratibha is the daughter of Narayana Poojary and Srimathi couple, residents of Siddakatte Soorande in Bantwal. She lives with her husband Naveen in Doha Qatar since many years.

Pratibha works in Hamad Medical Corporation government hospital.

Her special service was recognized during coronavirus pandemic also for which she was honoured.

Now she is selected as the nursing in-charge for the World Cup considering her outstanding service in the health sector of Qatar.

source/content: daijiworld.com (headline edited)

INTERNATIONAL: ARTS & CRAFTS / FILM PRODUCTION: Karthik Vijayan Awarded ‘Gulf Achievers Award 2022’ for his Short Films

City’s Karthik Vijayamani speaks about his victory at the Gulf Achievers Award 2022 for his short films, making songs for the IPL and the nature of Dubai’s content creation industry.

When Bengaluru’s Karthik Vijayamani went to Dubai in 2014 for a job in the science and technology industry, little did he know that films were his calling. But after producing multiple short film projects in the past eight years, Vijayamani has recently been recognised for his contribution after he won the Gulf Achievers Award 2022 as the best short film content creator in Dubai. He was recognised for his projects Dad Says, Dance Battle 2022 and Chords of Love.

Now, after amassing recognition in the UAE, Vijayamani feels things worked out for him after his company, Avighna Productions, redefined the concept of an advertisement. “Our production house has  made multiple ads. While working on those projects, we thought of taking a different approach. We took more of a narrative route in a short-film format. We felt it would help us relay a message to the audience better,” says Vijayamani about their work that also incorporated a few Bollywood celebrities to help the project reach a wider audience. These short-films were released in Dubai and Sharjah.

Outside of making short films, Vijayamani’s production house has also created fan anthems for the Indian Premiere League (IPL) teams Chennai Super Kings, Royal Challengers Bangalore & Mumbai Indians. Of these three, the CSK one titled ‘#CSKReturns Anthem’ especially made the rounds during IPL 2019 and has over 3.6 million views on YouTube.

“Making music for the IPL is challenging because of the intense competition. There are thousands of people who make IPL songs. The game is not just about making the song but how we choose to market. A bad marketing strategy can ruin a good song’s success. In our case, we created a film that said that whoever in the audience will dance to the first few beats of the song and put it up on social media, we will give them a gold coin if they gain a huge number of views. That strategy worked out for us,” he shares.

Vijayamani feels the content creation industry in the UAE is different compared to India. “The biggest challenge is that the people of Dubai are not easily approachable. I first had to familiarise myself with all the top Sheikhs in Dubai and maintain a healthy relationship with them.

Once I started to gain their confidence, things started to get easier. In 2018, they gave me one opportunity to make a song about people of determination, which is the official term for specially-abled citizens in Dubai. We made an album with people of determination that year. The success of that project opened many doors for me,” he concludes.

source/content: newindianexpress.com (headline edited)

GLOBAL: FIFA WORLD CUP QATAR 2022 / ARTS & CULTURE: Rochelle D’Sa’s ‘Hey Yo’ Video Song for FIFA World Cup Released on November 11th

The FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar has begun from November 20.

A team from Mangaluru has composed ‘Hey Yo’ video song for FIFA World Cup 2022 which was released on November 11.

The song ‘Hey Yo’ is composed, written and sung by Rochelle D’Sa, music programmed by Dolwin Kolalagiri, and backing vocals by Joel Rebello, Dolwin Kolalagiri and Rochelle D’Sa.

The mixing and mastered by Srinivas at Daijiworld Audio Visual Studio. The camera, editing and DI by Relwin Melrin (horizon studio).

The song is dedicated to all the football fans around the world.

source/content: daijiworld.com (headline edited)

NATIONAL: ENGINEERING / SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY /DEFENCE / AVIATION: Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) Delivers 16th Advanced Light Helicopters (ALH Mk-III Maritime Specific) to Indian Coast Guard

Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) has handed over the last of the 16 Advanced Light Helicopters (MK-III, Maritime role) to the Indian Coast Guard at a programme here on Tuesday.

The chopper was handed over to DG, Coast Guard, V.S. Pathania, in the presence of senior officials from the Indian Coast Guard and HAL.

“We are proud to be associated with HAL and happy to issue a Letter of Intent (LoI) for nine more helicopters. Despite Covid-19, HAL delivered all the helicopters at the shortest time with seamless production activities and this allows us to strengthen India’s maritime security,” Pathania said.

The DG had signed a contract with HAL for the supply of 16 ALH Mk-III in March 2017.

C.B. Ananthakrishnan, CMD, HAL, said a unique feature of the contract has been the performance based logistics (PBL) – the one stop solution for maintenance of these helicopters by HAL.

“This will serve as a benchmark for all our future contracts and boost our resolve to work with private partners to speed up the work in the interest of all our customers and strengthen Make-in-India activities in the defence eco-system,” he said.

S. Anbuvelan, CEO (Helicopter Complex), HAL, pointed out the major challenges in execution of the contract that included integration of new systems sourced from foreign OEMs, conducting flight trials for certifications and overcoming disruptions in the supply chain due to lockdowns.

ALH Mk-III is indigenously designed, developed and produced by HAL. The company has so far produced more than 330 ALHs, a versatile helicopter which has logged more than 3.74 lakh flying hours.

source/content: daijiworld.com (headline edited)

KARNATAKA: HERITAGE / ARTS & CULTURE: Learn about Karnataka’s Heritage through innovative ‘Flippar’ Postcard Videos and Postal Covers

Want to know about the unique heritage of Karnataka, its wonderful festivals and ancient culture through a short video? You just need to step inside any major Post Office this week to do so. India Post on November 18 signed an MoU with Bengaluru-based Flippar to sell its eye-catchy postcards and postal covers through major post offices in Karnataka. “The Philately bureaux of the General Post Office in Bengaluru and the Head Post Offices in Mysuru, Belagavi and Mangaluru will be selling them,” Chief Postmaster General (Karnataka Circle) S Rajendra Kumar told TNIE.

Flippar has created 600 unique Augmented Reality (AR) cards, each priced at Rs 50, which showcase India’s rich heritage. The Lion’s share of them are illustrations on Karnataka like the Stone Chariot at Hampi, Vidhana Soudha, Badami, MTR and Koshys, India Coffee House, MG Road, festivals and many heritage buildings.

What is AR card?
An AR card or cover will have a video clip accompanied by audio about a specific landmark or tradition covered. “The duration  of the clip ranges between 45 seconds and 90 seconds,” explains Vivek Mahaveer Jain, Director of Flippar. “One needs to download our app Flippar Go, available on both Google store and Apple store, click the Magic Eye button and scan the postcard to get a 3D view and for the video to play,” he said.

“They are already selling like hot cakes at book stores for over a year now. Post offices across the state will now help us have a much larger reach,” Jain said. It is a win-win situation for both as the Postal Department stands to get 20% of the revenue generated from these cards. Flippar has printed the cards in bulk and will be dispatching them to the post offices before Wednesday. “From Thursday, public can buy them,” Jain said.

Blossoms and Goobes bookshops on Church Street, Champaca bookstore on Cunningham Road, Bangalore Creative Circus at Yeshwanthpur and Paperback Bookshop at Rangasankara already sell them.

source/content: newindianexpress.com (headline 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)