Records of Bengaluru – Page 7

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)

KARNATAKA: POWER & ENERGY / GREEN : How Bengaluru start-ups Biome, Boson Whitewater, Tankerwala & Bluecred turn Wastewater into a Resource

Experts and start-ups alike are working on new dynamics of water management and distribution in a mission to save groundwater and leave enough for lakes and water bodies to be recharged .

Welcome to the new sustainable world where one man’s waste is another’s resource. And welcome to Bengaluru where all kinds of experiments in urban water are taking place. Focus first on S Vishwanath of Biome, the man who followed rules, collected rainwater and rooftop runoffs, stored it in tanks and reused it. Then the grey water was recycled and used for horticulture and growing vegetables on rooftops. Then he met with a number of residents’ bodies and the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) to foster partnerships which would revive not just lakes but wells and any aquifers which would save the water in the city. Today he teaches a water management course at Shiv Nadar University and is also a consultant to the BBMP.

Sewage treatment plants (STPs) are mandatory in the city for multi-storey apartment living. Today many are able to release their treated water into bio-remediation segments of the lakes where water islands and select plants clean the quality of water such that it can be released into the lake. Periodic checks are done to ensure that water quality in the lakes is of the required standards. As a result, about 100 of the 210-odd surviving lakes are in a state of reasonably good health, says Vishwanath.

Income from Wastewater

But managing lakes is a resource-intensive job and it needs more money. Here arrived the entrepreneurs who created start-ups which would address various parts of the water chain. Consider for instance Vikas Brahmavar of Boson Whitewater who works with RWAs of housing societies helping manage the excess water that comes out of the treatment. Brahmavar treats it to the right quality and sells it to bulk users such as developers and other bulk users in Bengaluru who need large quantities of clean water for construction .

Now take the case of Shravanth Donthi, co-founder and CEO of Tankerwala. Former owner of an airline in South Africa, he sold his stock and came to India to work in the water and sustainability space. When his wife and he saw tankers delivering water every other day, they built tankerwala, an app to aggregate all the water tankers on an app, during COVID. Borewells were tested and reports of the water being supplied by the tankers were issued. When real estate companies started buying 2-3 lakh litres of water a day, a quest for other sources of water started, so that groundwater could be protected. STPs in the city were generating water. Tankerwala started picking up this water and delivering it to construction companies and metro sites at Shivaji Nagar and Cantonment to contractor Afcons. They used this water for tunnel boring. For every metre, it uses 70,000-1 lakh litres of water, and for the metro network, they needed to dig tunnels of 40-50 km in the city. The first mission of using treated water was met.

For concrete applications, the water was cleaned up and met IS 456-2000 standards. Tankerwala identified the STP, deployed vehicles and supplied water. Monthly testing became the norm for RCC projects. This accounted for 3-5 lakh litres from 6-7 STPs. The challenge now was that the STP network of the city was not mapped, and water had to be supplied in a 5 km radius to remain carbon neutral on different sites.

This led to a new app called Bluecred which allowed suppliers and users to register and sell or seek water. The system matches the STP, buys water from the generators and provides the residents with enough money to manage the STP. They use 30 per cent of the water for flushing and horticulture. This dynamic grid has been very successful in those pockets where there are occupied projects and a lot of new construction taking place.

Water for the Lakes

But Dhonti and Brahmavar’s solutions became Vishwanath’s problem. Will lakes get enough water if commercial users corner the cleaned water? There was even a power plant that helped water management if a certain quantity went to them. Now an arrangement has been made to ensure the lake gets its supply and the rest is sold to the power plant.

Ultimately, the network will only grow if the sewage is treated as a resource and noat as waste. For the RWAs, it is important to find the right start-ups that would pay them the operating cost to source the excess water. For start-ups, there needs to be a documented network of STPs that they can source water from. City managers simply need to map the STPs. For the suppliers, the water volumes have to be planned area-wise so that demand can be matched to local supply to reduce carbon footprint. The lake warriors need their regular supplies to keep the lakes up and running with vibrant fish and bird populations.

Ultimately, as Vishwanath says, the plethora of organisations need to synchronise to achieve the final goal — to unlock the value of wastewater and purify it to the requirements of different user groups. As lakes recharge the water aquifers, the depletion of underground water can also be contained. This can only be a win-win situation.

source/content: moneycontrol.com (headline edited)

KARNATAKA: EDUCATION / CYBER SECURITY: National Cybersecurity Centre of Excellence set up at SJB Institute of Technology (SJBIT) in Bengaluru

Dr K V Mahendra Prashanth, Principal of SJBIT, said that the partnership with NICC will prepare students in the digital age.

Aimed at reaching a significant milestone in the field of cybersecurity education and research in India, the National Information and Cybersecurity Council (NICC) announced the establishment of the National Cybersecurity Centre of Excellence at SJB Institute of Technology (Autonomous) (SJBIT).

Stating that the centre, which is said to be the first-of-its-kind in Karnataka, will play a pivotal role in fighting cyber threats and improving the nation’s cybersecurity capabilities, Dr Prakashnath Swamiji, Managing Director, BGS and SJB Group of Institutions, said, “The centre will provide advanced cybersecurity training to students, professionals and different organisations. It will provide cutting-edge research which will strengthen national cybersecurity.”

He said that the centre will also have partnerships with various industries and have a community outreach to raise awareness about cybersecurity and also help students in job placement.

Dr K V Mahendra Prashanth, Principal of SJBIT, said that the partnership with NICC will prepare students in the digital age.

The programmes under this initiative will benefit students from various educational institutions from Karnataka and other states. “This partnership with SJBIT reflects our collective dedication to nurturing cybersecurity expertise and enhancing the nation’s cybersecurity posture,” said P Arjun, head of research and operations at NICC.

source/content: newindianexpress.com (headline edited)

INTERNATIONAL / NATIONAL / KARNATAKA: ARTS & CULTURE / PHOTOGRAPHY: Bengaluru’s 10-year-old Vihaan Talya Vikas Bags Best Award in ‘Wildlife Photographer of the Year (WPY) organised by the National History Museum, London

A total of 50,000 images were submitted, out of which top 100 were considered for the competition and 11 were chosen in different categories, with Vihaan winning the under-10 category award.

10-year-old Vihaan Talya Vikas from Bengaluru, was awarded the best photographer in his category at the prestigious Wildlife Photographer of the Year (WPY) competition held in London.

Organised by the Natural History Museum, London, the competition showcases the finest wildlife photography from around the world. The event is also considered as the ‘Oscars of Photography’. Vihaan’s photo of a spider along with Krishna’s carving clicked on the outskirts of the city and helped him bag the award.

Inspired by his father’s passion for wildlife photography, Vihaan said, “I am very happy and excited to receive this award. I like doing photography because it helps us think creatively and connect with nature.”

The competition this year saw submissions from 95 countries in different categories. A total of 50,000 images were submitted, out of which the top 100 were considered for the competition and 11 were chosen in different categories, with Vihaan winning the under-10 category award.

Vihaan’s image will be part of the WPY59 collection and will be presented in the Wildlife Photographer of the Year Exhibition at the Natural History Museum, which will tour around 25 venues across 4 continents to create awareness about the protection of wildlife.

A student of Kumarans School, Vihaan’s journey began at the age of 7, under the guidance of his father.

Dhritiman Mukherjee, Wildlife and Conservation Photographer and Competition Judge, said, “Vihaan’s image served the purpose of art, concept, conservation and science very nicely.” He also appreciated the young boy’s thought process behind it and the composition of the image.

source/content: newindianexpress.com (headline edited)

INTERNATIONAL / NATIONAL – KARNATAKA: Bengaluru-based students get United Nations (UN) Recognition for efforts to tackle poverty on October 17th the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty.

United Nations (UN) has recognised the efforts of Bengaluru-based students to tackle poverty among internal migrants in India, on the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty.

The United Nations (UN) has recognised the efforts of Bengaluru-based students to tackle poverty among internal migrants in India, on the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, October 17.

Kristu Jayanti College, a member institution of the United Nations Academic Impact (UNAI) in India, introduced an ‘adult literacy and migrant labour’ as a general elective this academic year to create better understanding of community-related issues.

Under the leadership of Assistant Professor Dr Juby Thomas, students analysed employment stability, emotional well-being, financial literacy, substance abuse, digital safety awareness, food and nutrition, among the internal migrants. This research provides a grassroots-level understanding of issues affecting internal migrant communities, emphasising the need for all-round support. “The efforts of these students are a testament to the potential of higher education institutions to drive positive change,” he explained.

In the second phase, students designed awareness campaigns. “Our students started a campaign with the theme Sip Right, Live Bright, to empower internal migrants to access and utilise safe and clean water sources. This initiative seeks to educate migrants on purifying water independently,” Dr Augustine George, Principal of Kristu Jayanti College, said.

Through live demonstrations, students could explain the usage of simple purification methods. Students are designing adult literacy plans in the third phase, understanding how adults equipped to read, write and comprehend information can access opportunities. Rudri Dave, Department of Psychology, said, “Through this course, I have learned that comprehending human behaviour and motivation is essential when tackling social and public health issues.”

source/content: newindianexpress.com (headline edited)

KARNATAKA: HEALTH & MEDICAL SERVICES / AMAZING SURGERIES :Bhagwan Mahaveer Jain Hospital Celebrates 750 Successful Scoliosis Surgeries on World Spine Day

Bhagwan Mahaveer Jain Hospital recently held a special event on World Spine Day to celebrate the achievements of the doctors in their Department of Spine and Joint Surgery. The event marked the completion of 750 successful scoliosis surgeries by the hospital.

The purpose of the event was to not only acknowledge the patients and their families, but also to recognize the medical professionals who have contributed to the success. It served as an opportunity to raise awareness about scoliosis and highlight the importance of early diagnosis and timely intervention. The hospital emphasized the fact that with the right treatment, scoliosis patients can overcome the limitations imposed by the condition.

The Chief Guest at the event, Minister for Health and Family Welfare Dinesh Gundu Rao, praised the hospital for their dedication to excellence in spinal surgeries. He stated that each successful surgery represents a life transformed from suffering to a life free from the limitations of scoliosis.

Scoliosis is a medical condition characterized by an abnormal curvature of the spine. It can cause physical deformity, pain, and discomfort. Early diagnosis and timely intervention are crucial in managing the condition effectively. The Department of Spine and Joint Surgery at Bhagwan Mahaveer Jain Hospital has been at the forefront of providing high-quality care to scoliosis patients.

The celebration of 750 successful scoliosis surgeries is a testament to the hospital’s commitment to improving the lives of individuals living with this condition. Through their expertise and dedication, the medical professionals at Bhagwan Mahaveer Jain Hospital have made a significant impact in the field of spine and joint surgeries.

Sources:
– Bhagwan Mahaveer Jain Hospital
– Minister for Health and Family Welfare Dinesh Gundu Rao

source/content: expresshealthcaremgmt.com (headline edited)

INTERNATIONAL / NATIONAL / KARNATAKA: TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER OF MEDICAL RESEARCH: Sepsis Treatment SUR-101 Developed by Researchers in Bengaluru and Bhubaneswar licensed to Dutch Biotech firm SurvivX

The development of the treatment was announced by C-CAMP director Dr Taslimarif Saiyed at an event with Netherlands PM Mark Rutte last month.

A novel sepsis treatment, called SUR-101, developed collaboratively by the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Platforms (C-CAMP), Bengaluru, and the Institute of Life Sciences, Bhubaneswar, was licensed to Dutch biotech firm SurvivX in the presence of Netherlands Prime Minister Mark Rutte on Thursday.

The development of the technology, presently at the preclinical stage, was announced by Dr Taslimarif Saiyed, director-CEO of C-CAMP, at an event with Rutte on the latter’s visit to Bengaluru on the sidelines of the G20 summit last month.

Sepsis is a life-threatening medical emergency. It happens when an infection that a patient already has triggers a chain reaction throughout the body. According to C-CAMP, existing interventions for sepsis are found to be effective only at the very early onset of sepsis. By modulating the immune response, the current technology allows a longer time window for administering targeted interventions for sepsis.

“Sepsis is a worldwide challenge, with approximately 50 million cases and 11 million sepsis-related deaths worldwide, accounting for 20 per cent of all global deaths. The new compound, called SUR-101, is an immune-stimulating therapeutic in sepsis patients with signs of immune suppression. It could be the first step towards personalization and precision in sepsis medicine that has thus far been treated as a drug discovery problem. The technology presently at the preclinical stage is a discovery by a team of scientists led by Prof Ravindran Balachandran from ILS. It has been translated and co-developed by the translational research group of Dr Saiyed at C-CAMP,” said a media release from the Bengaluru centre, which is an initiative of the Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science, Technology and Earth Sciences.

Speaking on the licensing effort, the Dutch ambassador to India, Marisa Gerards, said, “Life sciences & health remains a priority sector for the bilateral cooperation between the Netherlands and India. We have successfully been working in this field for many years, and this new partnership is a great example of what India and the Netherlands can do together. Sepsis is an important global societal challenge, and it is in need of innovative solutions.”

“This is one of the first global technology transfers by C-CAMP of an academic invention developed exclusively in India. We are excited about the partnership with SurvivX, a biotech company in the Netherlands, in the antimicrobial resistance domain. This agreement will be a model in innovation-focused bilateral partnerships that addresses global issues together,” Dr Saiyed said.

SurvivX CEO Remko van Leeuwen said, “Our technology is based on a specific protein excreted by a tropical parasite: the filarial roundworm. The team in India made the remarkable observation that people infected by this parasite typically do not end up at an ICU unit when they develop sepsis. They started studies to find the cause of this protective effect that an infection with this worm seems to have.”

According to Leeuwen, the researchers discovered that a specific protein secreted by the worm was responsible for the effect. “We have already shown that the protein leads to a much better survival of mice with sepsis, confirming the protective effect seen in filaria patients. But mice are not human, Thus, SurvivX needs to show the safety and activity of the protein in humans before it can be tested as a novel therapeutic approach,” he added.

source/content: indianexpress.com (headline edited)

KARNATAKA : SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGH: C-CAMP announces Centre of Excellence in Antimicrobial Resistance Innovation with SBI Foundation

According to C-CAMP, AMR has been identified by World Health Organisation (WHO) as one of the top ten global health threats claiming 7,00,000 lives per year globally with a projected fatality rate of 10 million per year by 2050.

The Centre for Cellular and Molecular Platforms (C-CAMP), a biotech research and innovation hub in Bengaluru, Friday announced the establishment of a Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) innovations with SBI Foundation, a CSR subsidiary of the State of India.

This project is aimed at addressing global health threats by providing a structured platform for support systems that include funding and frameworks to advance the development, translation and scale-up of indigenous deep science entrepreneurships in the AMR domain.

“While India is one of the leading nations from the Global South in research towards AMR mitigation, deep science entrepreneurial efforts to deliver these emerging solutions from bench to bedside have shown a serious lacuna. This unaddressed gap is now the focus of a new partnership between C-CAMP and SBI Foundation. The project will establish a CoE in AMR innovation by providing a structured platform for support systems and frameworks to advance the development, translation and scale-up of indigenous deep science entrepreneurships in the AMR domain,” C-CAMP said in a release.

Prof Ajay Sood, Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India, said, “The AMR poses a grave challenge to public health systems across the world and is a WHO priority. Paradoxically, AMR is one of the least funded domains in biotechnology due to its skewed market economics. Funding and handholding support for this deep science sector by the C-CAMP-SBIF CoE will be a tremendous boost for AMR innovation development.”

C-CAMP Director-CEO Dr Taslimarif Saiyed said, “We are excited to ring in our latest partnership with SBI Foundation. This is a crucial PPP collaboration through which we will address AMR by supporting ventures that develop and commercialise scientific breakthroughs and innovations for on-field impact. As the latest ICMR study on AMR showed, last-resort antibiotics like carbapenems are beginning to fail in hospital-acquired infections in ICUs with signs of locally resistant strains emerging. This implies a dire need for indigenous solutions tailored for Indian conditions which this CoE will help identify and support.”

Sanjay Prakash, Managing Director, SBI Foundation, said he is confident that the CoE for AMR Innovation will be the cornerstone in identifying, funding and nurturing startups leading the AMR Innovations.

The CoE will be under the aegis of the global India AMR Innovation hub (IAIH) also anchored by C-CAMP and chaired by the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser. The focus of the CoE will be on identifying and supporting through funding and other means, a 360 degree portfolio of cutting-edge deep-science solutions, across AMR and the larger One Health domain spanning Food and Agriculture, Environment and Healthcare.

The CoE plans to kick off its operations by identifying and nurturing up to 12 innovations in the next two years.

source/content: indianexpress.com (headline edited)

WORLD / NATIONAL/ KARNATAKA: WORLD RECORD SPORTS : Sibling Sisters, 10-year old Ovee Malve and Ruchi Malve from Bengaluru become World’s Youngest Certified Scuba Diver Sisters

Their interest in scuba diving stemmed from those videos and they started swimming and later training for scuba diving.

A day after turning 10, Bengaluru-based Ovee Malve set a world record of becoming the youngest certified scuba diver.

With this, both Ovee and her sister Ruchi, daughters of Bangalore Mountaineering Club founder Neeraj Malve, have become the youngest certified scuba diver siblings in the world. Neeraj himself has been a scuba diver for 16 years now. Ovee achieved the feat in Puducherry at 7.18 am on October 11, becoming the youngest Professional Association of Diving Instructors-certified open water diver.

Elated and proud, Neeraj said he understands that adventure sports are not easy, especially at a young age. He never pressured his children and ensured that they underwent proper training. The daughters were water babies since they were little and were fascinated with his scuba diving videos.

Their interest in scuba diving stemmed from those videos and they started swimming and later training for scuba diving, he said. Ovee enrolled for a junior open water diver course at Temple Adventures, Puducherry and trained under coach Shreya Mehta.

Her sister Ruchi (14) trained under Shaurya Tarni of Dive Goa in Goa. Ruchi enrolled for the Junior Open Water Diver certification course on October 27, 2022 and received the Scuba Schools International certificate on October 30, 2022. At the age of 10 and 13, both Malve sisters have become the world’s youngest scuba diver sisters.

Previously, a Mumbai-based boy, Dwit Nandu, at age 10 set the world record around 8 am on August 25, 2023.

Both the sisters underwent two-day rigorous training which included a 200-metre nonstop swimming and floating for 10 minutes without any support.

They studied five chapters of theory about performing underwater skills in confined waters, passed a written exam and successfully performed four dives in open water up to 18-metre depth to earn their open water diver certification.

source/content: newindianexpress.com (headline edited)