RECORDS IN ASIA – Page 4 – Global Records India

Dravidian language family is 4,500 years old: study

The Dravidian language family’s four largest languages — Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil and Telugu — have literary traditions spanning centuries, of which Tamil reaches back the furthest, researchers said.

The Dravidian language family, consisting of 80 varieties spoken by nearly 220 million people across southern and central India, originated about 4,500 years ago, a study has found.

This estimate is based on new linguistic analyses by an international team, including researchers from the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History in Germany, and the Wildlife Institute of India in Dehradun.

The researchers used data collected first-hand from native speakers representing all previously reported Dravidian subgroups. The findings, published in the journal Royal Society Open Science , match with earlier linguistic and archaeological studies.

South Asia, reaching from Afghanistan in the west and Bangladesh in the east, is home to at least six hundred languages belonging to six large language families, including Dravidian, Indo-European and Sino-Tibetan.

The Dravidian language family, consisting of about 80 language varieties (both languages and dialects) is today spoken by about 220 million people, mostly in southern and central India, and surrounding countries.

Along with Sanskrit, Tamil is one of the world’s classical languages, but unlike Sanskrit, there is continuity between its classical and modern forms documented in inscriptions, poems, and secular and religious texts and songs, they said.

“The study of the Dravidian languages is crucial for understanding prehistory in Eurasia, as they played a significant role in influencing other language groups,” said Annemarie Verkerk of the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History.

Neither the geographical origin of the Dravidian language nor its exact dispersal through time is known with certainty.

The consensus of the research community is that the Dravidians are natives of the Indian subcontinent and were present prior to the arrival of the Indo-Aryans (Indo-European speakers) in India around 3,500 years ago.

Researchers said that it is likely that the Dravidian languages were much more widespread to the west in the past than they are today.

In order to examine questions about when and where the Dravidian languages developed, they made a detailed investigation of the historical relationships of 20 Dravidian varieties.

Study author Vishnupriya Kolipakam of the Wildlife Institute of India collected contemporary first-hand data from native speakers of a diverse sample of Dravidian languages, representing all the previously reported subgroups of Dravidian.

The researchers used advanced statistical methods to infer the age and sub-grouping of the Dravidian language family at about 4,000-4,500 years old.

This estimate, while in line with suggestions from previous linguistic studies, is a more robust result because it was found consistently in the majority of the different statistical models of evolution tested in this study.

This age also matches well with inferences from archaeology, which have previously placed the diversification of Dravidian into North, Central, and South branches at exactly this age, coinciding with the beginnings of cultural developments evident in the archaeological record.

Professor from Chennai to head continental mathematics panel

Sanoli Gun from city’s The Institute of Mathematical Sciences will be the first president of Asia-Oceania Women in Mathematics

The Committee for Women in Mathematics, which is a part of The International Mathematical Union, announced on its website that the Asia-Oceania Women in Mathematics (AOWM), the continental organisation for women mathematicians, has been established by an online meeting on August 1, this year.

With over 200 founding members from the continents, the organisation will have as its first president Sanoli Gun, a professor of mathematics at The Institute of Mathematical Sciences, Chennai, who specialises in Number Theory. There are two vice-presidents – Melissa Tacy from University of Auckland, New Zealand, and Polly Sy from University of Philippines Diliman, Philippines – and executive committee members including women mathematicians from Korea, Indonesia, Japan, China, Kazhakstan and Iran.

Among its myriad activities, the International Mathematical Union is the body that awards the Fields Medals, the highest honour in mathematics. It is the largest organised body of mathematicians across the world.

“We have to set the tone, and generate funds to actually make all the programmes happen. We have to create a logo and a website to start with. We also have to integrate… Asia is a very diverse continent, and there is Oceania. So there’s a lot of work ahead,” Said Prof. Gun.

The goal of this committee is threefold – facilitate exchange of knowledge between all the member countries, and improve the number of women mathematicians working on their Ph.Ds in mathematics and the mathematical sciences. The second goal is to help women who have Ph.Ds, but somehow get lost in the system. “Maybe we can create some fellowships,” says Prof Gun. The third goal is to make conditions more favourable for those women in faculty positions in various institutes. This will help check the so-called ‘leaky pipeline’. “About steps specific to Asia and Oceania, we will have a better idea after our first EC meeting in September,” she said.

She also pointed out that when a young person takes up research in mathematics, the names she or he encounters are usually Ramanujan and Harishchandra, and very few are inspired. The importance of having the work of great women mathematicians thrown into prominence is therefore obvious. Prof. Gun also mentioned that her colleagues from Europe had spoken of having an exhibition that describes the phenomenal work done by women in mathematics.

Unlike in literature, there are no prizes specifically for women in mathematics. “This is one of the things we will try to get for young people,” she said.

Women in research and even in faculty positions face a lot of discrimination. “One way to tackle this is by creating more women mathematicians,” Prof. Gun said.

‘Cup of Life’ creates Guinness World Record, one lakh and one menstrual cups donated in Kerala’s Ernakulam

Hibi Eden, Ernakulam MP who has been spearheading the ‘Cup of Life’ campaign, received the Guinness World Records certificate at Lulu Mall in Kochi on August 31.

Creating history and a Guinness World Record (GWR), one lakh and one menstrual cups were distributed for free in a span of 24 hours last week in Ernakulam. Hibi Eden, Ernakulam MP who has been spearheading the ‘Cup of Life’ campaign, received the Guinness World Records certificate at Lulu Mall in Kochi on August 31. Along with district administration, Indian Medical Association, with the support of Muthoot Finance, and scores of people collaborated for the world record.

Starting from Rajiv Gandhi Indoor Stadium to Lulu Mall, the cups were distributed to the beneficiaries at more than 100 centres.

Japanese venture capital firm joins hands with IIT-Hyderabad

Aimed at boosting entrepreneurship

The Indian Institute of Technology-Hyderabad (IIT-H) and Beyond Next Ventures India (BNVI), Bengaluru, headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, have joined hands to extend academia and industry cooperation.

This IITH-BNVI collaboration is expected to usher in a new wave of innovations at IIT-H by investing and mentoring entrepreneurial ideas emerging from the IIT-H startup community to go from ideas to markets.

“The collaborations between the two countries are broader and more diverse, where startups and their ecosystems are the emerging key factors. I strongly support BNVI’s philosophy about open innovation to foster social innovation from early-stage technologies in laboratories. Such a philosophy is very important to utilise the academic-research outcomes better and more for solving the real-world problems in both countries and even beyond,” said IIT-H director B.S. Murty.

“IIT-Hyderabad has a strong and broad start-up ecosystem, including multiple incubation centres, entrepreneurship curriculums, and student organisations. The collaboration with BNVI will further increase the thrust of the startup ecosystem,” said IIT-H associate faculty Kotaro Kataoka.

“ We have been investing in India for the last two years, and it gives us immense pleasure to begin this new journey with IITH, which has invention and innovation as its core ethos,” said Tsuyoshi Ito, CEO, BNVI,.

India, Bangladesh ink first water sharing pact in 25 years; PM Hasina flags Teesta

PM Modi said there were 54 rivers that pass through the Indo-Bangladesh border, and have been linked to the livelihood of the people of the two countries for centuries

India and Bangladesh on September 6 signed an interim water sharing agreement for Kushiyara river, the first such pact since the signing of the Ganga water treaty in 1996.

Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina noted that India and Bangladesh share 54 rivers and sought early conclusion of the Teesta water sharing agreement, which has been hanging fire for more than a decade due to opposition from West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

India and Bangladesh signed a memorandum of understanding on sharing of waters of Kushiyara river, a pact that will benefit people residing in southern Assam and the Sylhet division of Bangladesh.

Also Read | A lot is at stake for India-Bangladesh ties

“Today, we have signed an important agreement on sharing water of the Kushiyara river. This will benefit southern Assam in India and Sylhet region in Bangladesh,” Mr. Modi told reporters after the talks with Ms. Hasina.

He said there were 54 rivers that pass through the Indo-Bangladesh border, and have been linked to the livelihood of the people of the two countries for centuries.

“These rivers, folk tales about them, folk songs, have also been witness to our shared cultural heritage,” Mr. Modi said.

Ms. Hasina shared the sentiments expressed by Mr. Modi and also stressed the need to have water-sharing agreements for other rivers as well.

“I recall that the two countries have resolved many issues in the spirit of friendship and cooperation. We hope that all outstanding issues, including Teesta water sharing agreement, will be concluded as an early date,” Ms. Hasina said at a joint media interaction at the Hyderabad House.

Also Read | ‘India should join hands with Bangladesh to create peace in Chittagong’

“There are 54 rivers. As long as Prime Minister Modi is here, India and Bangladesh will resolve all these issues,” she said.

Mr. Modi also said he and Ms. Hasina had a fruitful conversation on enhancing cooperation in relation to flood mitigation.

“India has been sharing flood-related data with Bangladesh on a real-time basis and we have also extended the period of data sharing,” Mr. Modi said.

Earlier, Ms. Hasina was accorded a ceremonial reception at the forecourt of the Rashtrapati Bhawan where Mr. Modi extended a warm welcome to her.

She said the two nations were also working to develop stronger economic ties to fulfill the basic needs of the people of the two countries.

“Our main aim is to develop the economy and fulfill the basic needs of our people. With friendship you can solve any problem. So we always do that,” Ms. Hasina said.

After the bilateral talks, Mr. Modi hosted a one-on-one lunch for the visiting dignitary at the Hyderabad House.

India and Bangladesh had signed the Ganga water treaty in 1996 for sharing waters of the mighty river for a period of 30 years. The treaty was signed by the then prime minister H.D. Deve Gowda and Ms. Hasina.

India overtakes U.K. to become fifth largest economy in the world

With India being the world’s fastest growing major economy, its lead over the U.K. will widen in the next few years

India has overtaken the U.K. to become the world’s fifth-largest economy and is now behind only the US, China, Japan and Germany, according to IMF projections.

A decade back, India was ranked 11th among the large economies while the U.K. was at the fifth position.

With record beating expansion in the April-June quarter, the Indian economy has now overtaken the U.K., which has slipped to the sixth spot.

The assumption of India overtaking the U.K. is based on calculations by Bloomberg using the IMF database and historic exchange rates on its terminal.

“On an adjusted basis and using the dollar exchange rate on the last day of the relevant quarter, the size of the Indian economy in ‘nominal’ cash terms in the quarter through March was $854.7 billion. On the same basis, the U.K. was $816 billion,” stated a Bloomberg report.

With India being the world’s fastest growing major economy, its lead over the U.K. will widen in the next few years.

“Proud moment for India to pip the U.K., our colonial ruler, as the 5th largest economy: India $3.5 trillion vs UK $3.2 trillion. But a reality check of population denominator: India: 1.4 billion vs UK 0.068 billion. Hence, per capita GDP we at $2,500 vs $47,000. We have miles to go… Let’s be at it!,” Uday Kotak, CEO of Kotak Mahindra Bank, said in a tweet.

India has a population 20 times that of the U.K. and so its GDP per capita is lower.

“We just became the 5th largest #economy in the world, surpassing the U.K.!,” tweeted Anil Agarwal, chairman of mining giant Vedanta group. “What an impressive milestone for our rapidly growing Indian economy… In a few years, we will be in Top 3!”

India’s GDP expanded 13.5% in the April-June quarter, the quickest pace in a year, to retain the world’s fastest growing economy tag but rising interest costs and the looming threat of a recession in major world economies could slow the momentum in the coming quarters.

Gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 13.5% year-on-year compares to a 20.1% expansion a year back and 4.09% growth in the previous three months to March, according to official data released earlier this week.

The growth, though lower than the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) estimate of 16.2%, was fuelled by consumption and signalled a revival of domestic demand, particularly in the services sector.

Pent-up demand is driving consumption as consumers, after two years of pandemic restrictions, are stepping out and spending. The services sector has seen a strong bounce back that will get a boost from the festival season next month.

But the slowing growth of the manufacturing sector at 4.8% is an area of worry. Also, imports being higher than exports is a matter of concern.

Additionally, an uneven monsoon is likely to weigh upon agriculture growth and rural demand.

The GDP print will, however, allow the RBI to focus on controlling inflation, which has stayed above the comfort zone of 6% for seven straight months.

The central bank has raised the benchmark policy rate by 140 basis points in three installments since May and has vowed to do more to bring inflation under control.

Besides tighter monetary conditions, Asia’s third-largest economy faces headwinds from higher energy and commodity prices that are likely to weigh on consumer demand and companies’ investment plans.

Also, consumer spending, which accounts for nearly 55% of economic activity, has been hit hard by soaring food and fuel prices.

The GDP growth in the first quarter of the current fiscal was higher than China’s 0.4% expansion in April-June.

India ‘world’s pharmacy’: UNGA president

External Affairs minister S Jaishankar, after meeting Shahid, said India’s “Neighbourhood First” and the Maldives’ “India First” policies complement each other.

President of the United Nations General Assembly and Maldives foreign minister Abdulla Shahid on Monday stressed on the role played by India at the UN. External Affairs minister S Jaishankar, after meeting Shahid, said India’s “Neighbourhood First” and the Maldives’ “India First” policies complement each other.

Gautam Adani now world’s 3rd richest person, overtakes Louis Vuitton chief

This is the first time an Asian person has broken into the top three of the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

Business conglomerate Adani Group’s chairman Gautam Adani is now the world’s third-richest person after overtaking France’s Bernard Arnault according to Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

With a total net worth of USD 137.4 billion, 60-year-old Adani has surpassed the wealth of Louis Vuitton chairman Arnault and is now just behind business magnate Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos in the ranking.

In the latest Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Reliance chief Mukesh Ambani is at number 11 with a total USD 91.9 billion worth.

This is the first time an Asian person has broken into the top three of the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

The index is a daily ranking of the world’s richest people. Details about the calculations are provided in the net worth analysis on each billionaire’s profile page. The figures are updated at the close of every trading day in New York.

The net worth of Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos are currently at USD 251 billion and USD 153 billion, respectively.

Adani is a first-generation entrepreneur and the Adani Group comprises of 7 publicly listed entities with businesses spanning energy, ports and logistics, mining and resources, gas, defence and aerospace and airports. In each of its business areas, the Group has established a leadership position in India.

The Adani Group is the third largest conglomerate (after Reliance Industries and the Tata Group) in India.

Listed Adani group companies are Adani Enterprises, Adani Green Energy, Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone, Adani Power, Adani Total Gas, and Adani Transmission.

Over the past 5 years, flagship company Adani Enterprises has invested heavily in new growth sectors that include airports, cement, copper refining, data centres, green hydrogen, petrochemical refining, roads and solar cell manufacturing.

Looking ahead, it plans to foray into the telecom space and has massive plans to grow its green hydrogen and airports businesses.

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Unheralded Tamil short film ‘Shashthi’ wins 25 film festival awards

Featured in 59 film festivals, ‘Shasthi’, which digs into the world of a girl and her journey, has already won 25 awards.

From a career in chartered accountancy to winning accolades in international film festivals, it may seem like a long shot. But producer and director Jude Peter Damian has done just that with ‘Shashthi’, his first short film.

Featured in 59 film festivals, ‘Shasthi’, which digs into the world of a girl and her journey, has already won 25 awards.

As a director, Jude always wanted to make movies projecting “good characters” who can be examples for developing nations and societies.

‘Shashthi’ narrates the interesting tale about Devi, a woman from an economically weaker background, who changes society to the extent that she is equated with ‘Shashthi’, the goddess of children. It is about how ordinary people (particularly women) can do ‘great’ things and about how perceptions change in different circumstances.

While talking about the recognition that the film is receiving constantly, Jude shared: “Right from the time of writing/planning of the film production, I had international film awards in my mind.”

“I’m happy about the recognition from so many international film festivals, but, honestly, I’m slightly disappointed that the film was not able to enter the Academy Awards competition. I hope I’ll be able to make a film in the near future that gets nominated for the competition sections of the Academy Awards and Cannes Festival.”

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Crowded at the top: On strong domestic base propelling Indian chess\

A strong domestic base is propelling Indian chess to great heights.

When a 17-year-old beats the five-time World champion and strongest chess player of all time in three games in a row, it is bound to attract attention. R. Praggnanandhaa did that at Miami on Sunday, the final day of the FTX Crypto Cup. His stunning victory over Magnus Carlsen, however, was not enough to win the tournament; he had to settle for the runner-up spot behind the Norwegian. But this is more than creditable, as all his seven rivals in the round-robin event had higher Fide ratings. And it was not the first time that he was beating Carlsen, having scored wins in online tournaments earlier this year. The great show at Miami should no doubt be a huge morale-booster for the Chennai lad. He had flown to Miami soon after helping India 2 win the bronze medal at the Chennai Chess Olympiad. He was not the biggest star at Mamallapuram, though. His teammate, D. Gukesh, also from Chennai and also a teenager, had created a sensation at the Olympiad, posting eight wins on the trot. A few months earlier, it was yet another Indian teenager, Arjun Erigaisi, who was hitting the headlines.

Apart from Praggnanandhaa, Gukesh and Erigaisi, two other young Indians — Nihal Sarin and Raunak Sadhwani — had also come up with excellent performances at the Olympiad. Sadhwani then won the blitz title at the Abu Dhabi International Chess Festival, a few hours before Praggnanandhaa’s victory against Carlsen. At the Masters section of the tournament, Sadhwani shared the second spot after five rounds with Erigaisi and Sarin, among others. As for Gukesh, he is busy improving his rating at the Turkish Chess Super League in Ankara. That all these hugely talented youngsters are making their Grand-masterly moves at the same time augurs well for Indian chess. And there are a few more youngsters waiting in the wings, such as V. Pranav and Bharath Subramaniyam. Rarely has India threatened to take the world on, in any sport, with a group of promising teenagers. Viswanathan Anand, the man who began it all, may have been the lone Indian at the top, but his successors are likely to have company. He is now mentoring the young Indians, who have acknowledged how much they have gained from working with him. These days, quality coaches, some of them Grandmasters, are available across the country. A strong domestic base, made possible by, among other things, parental support and the rise in the popularity of the game, promises even brighter days ahead for Indian chess.