Month: February 2022

** Bengaluru: IISc receives Rs 425-crore donation to set up medical institute, 800-bed multi-speciality hospital

The academic centrepiece of this initiative will be an integrated dual-degree MD-PhD programme aimed at creating a new breed of physician-scientists.

The Indian Institute of Science (IISc) will set up a postgraduate medical school along with an 800-bed multi-speciality hospital in its Bengaluru campus. On Monday, the institute inked a partnership with philanthropists Susmita and Subroto Bagchi, and Radha and NS Parthasarathy, who collectively donated Rs 425 crore to set up the new facilities. The sum is considered to be the largest single private donation received by the IISc. The hospital will be named as the Bagchi-Parthasarathy Hospital.

The academic centrepiece of this initiative will be an integrated dual-degree MD-PhD programme aimed at creating a new breed of physician-scientists, who will pursue careers in clinical research to develop new treatments and healthcare solutions, driven by a bench-to-bedside philosophy, said officials. They will be trained simultaneously in the hospital as well as in the science and engineering laboratories at the IISc.

** Tata Group appoints former Turkish Airlines chairman Ilker Ayci as new Air India MD and CEO

yci was born in Istanbul in 1971. He is 1994 alumni of Bilkent University’s Department of Political Science and Public Administration, according to the Tata Group statement.

After a research stay on political science at the Leeds University in the UK in 1995, he completed an International Relations Master’s program at the Marmara University in Istanbul in 1997.

** APNRT Society uniting Telugu diaspora worldwide: Minister

‘It has helped many migrants with investment guidance and orientation’

Minister for Industries, Commerce, IT and Skill Development Mekapati Goutham Reddy on Sunday hailed the Andhra Pradesh Non-Resident Telugu (APNRT) Society in the UAE for doing a good job of uniting the Telugu diaspora worldwide and providing them a platform to engage with Andhra Pradesh.

Speaking at a Telugu Diaspora Dinner organised on the sidelines of Dubai Expo 2020, organised with the help of APNRT Association in Dubai and across the Emirates, the Minister said the NRT Society had been assisting the Telugu diaspora in investment guidance, emergency assistance, orientation for migrants and educating them on the AP Policy NRI Cell.

** The wild oranges of India

The first oranges

Where did the citrus originate? Botanist Chozaburo Tanaka was an early proponent of the Indian origin of the citrus. An exhaustive study of the genomes of many citrus varieties concluded that the last common ancestor of all the varieties we see today grew about eight million years ago in what is now Northeast India (overlapping Meghalaya, Assam, Arunachal, Nagaland and Manipur) and adjacent regions of Myanmar and Southwest China (Wu, et al, Nature (2018) 554, 311-316) This region is, famously, one of the world’s richest biodiversity hotspots. A biodiversity hotspot is defined as a region that contains at least 1,500 species of native plants, and has lost at least 70% of its vegetation. The Northeast corner has 25% of India’s forests and a large chunk of its biodiversity. Here you will find tribes such as the Khasi and Garo, and nearly 200 spoken languages. This area is also a rich repository of citrus genomes, with 68 varieties of wild and developed citrus found here today.

** Industrialist Rahul Bajaj to be given state funeral in Pune

ountry has lost a socially aware, fearless individual: Uddhav

‘Hamara Bajaj’ was the iconic jingle that resonated with the aspirations of the middle class in a pre-liberalised India. And the man behind that brand was one of the biggest and bravest industrialists — Rahul Bajaj. The Chairman Emeritus of the Bajaj Group died at a hospital in Pune on Saturday afternoon. He was 83. The last rites will be held on Sunday.

Bajaj will be accorded a state funeral, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray said on Saturday as he and Governor B.S. Koshyari condoled the demise of the veteran industrialist. They said Bajaj’s contribution to industrial development in the country was unparalleled.

** Jaishankar lauds Indian community’s key role in shaping positive image in Australia

Melbourne has a vibrant Indian community with Indian-born migrants making up 3% of the city’s total population. Since 2001, the number of Indian-born migrants in Melbourne has more than tripled.

** A metamaterial that can make use of origami to reduce shock

To be useful, materials need to maintain a constant Poisson ratio under pressure

A car that dashes against an obstacle suffers damages, first to its fenders. There is a keen interest to develop materials that can be sandwiched in the fender system which will absorb the shock and prevent the interiors from being damaged. Origami metamaterials that crumple rather than tear, and take the impact, can play an important role in such situations. Researchers from Indian Institute of Technology Madras have developed such a material, which could have many such uses.

** QR code to ensure authenticity of famed Kashmiri carpets

The QR-code based label will capture vital parameters of the carpet such as GI user, manufacturer, artisan, knots per square inch, the material used, among others.

Lt Governor Manoj Sinha launched the QR-code for handmade Kashmir carpets, claiming to be first-of-its-kind in the country. Customers could now verify the authenticity and other requisite details of carpets produced in Jammu and Kashmir and assure themselves that the product they purchased was not fake.


The QR code-based system can help in checking the cheating and misbranding that has badly dented the carpet Industry in Kashmir. 

** India send medical supplies to island nation of Kiribati amid COVID: External Affairs Ministry

India on Saturday delivered medical supplies to Kiribati after the Pacific island nation appealed for help to deal with the first outbreak of COVID-19. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said the consignment comprised pulse oximeters, PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) kits and emergency COVID-19 medication.