Month: March 2022

** Alaska Air selects IBS for air cargo IT solution

BS Software, an IT solutions company headquartered in the capital city, has signed a long-term agreement with Alaska Air Cargo to transform and modernise its air cargo IT ecosystem.

IBS Software will implement its full suite cargo management solution across the air cargo business of Alaska Airlines.

iCargo will digitally transform Alaska Air Cargo’s sales and inventory, cargo terminal operations, air mail handling and revenue accounting, and mobile applications. It will also enable the airline to have an end-to-end view of its air cargo value chain activities and provide important operational insights across the entire network.

** After port terminal deal, Adani group bags power projects in Sri Lanka

India’s Adani Group has signed a deal for two large power projects in Sri Lanka’s Northern Province, six months after it bagged a strategic port terminal project in Colombo that it is now executing with majority stakes.

** RGIA declared best airport by size and region in Asia-Pacific

The Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, Hyderabad, has been declared the best airport by size and region in the Asia-Pacific region for 2021.

This is in the category of 15 million to 25 million passengers per annum.

Luis Felipe de Oliveira, director general, ACI World, congratulated GMR Hyderabad International Airport and said that the award reflects their commitment to improving passenger experience.

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** The BAFTA validation for promising creators

Directors Ajitpal Singh and Prateek Vats get candid about being part of BAFTA Breakthrough India honourees for 2022

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) has selected 10 promising talents in cinema, television and gaming for its Breakthrough India initiative for 2022.

In the second year of this initiative, the honourees were selected by a jury that included music composer A R Rahman, writer Apurva Asrani, actors Anupam Kher and Ratna Pathak Shah, director Shonali Bose and producers Guneet Monga and Siddharth Roy Kapur.

The selection intends to help the new cohort explore international opportunities for networking and professional development, with the support of BAFTA and Netflix.

** First ever GI-tagged Kashmir carpets flagged off to Germany

The QR code will certify genuineness of hand-knotted carpets with info on manufacturer, weaver, raw material

The Jammu and Kashmir government has finally started a Geographical Indication (GI) registry for the famed Kashmiri carpet with a quick response (QR) code with details of artisans and the material used. The first ever consignment of GI-tagged carpets were exported to Germany from New Delhi on Friday.

The Carpet Export Promotion Council (CEPC), in collaboration with the Jammu and Kashmir Directorate of Handicrafts and Handloom, held a seminar in New Delhi to raise awareness about the GI registration of authentic carpets from Kashmir.

** Cooking, swimming and singing bhajans: Army’s first all-women crew relive their maiden voyage

On February 15, 10 women officers from the Indian Army set sail from the Chennai Port for a gruelling journey from Chennai-Nizampatnam-Vizag-Nizampatnam-Chennai by sea. They have not only charted a new course in the history of the Indian Army but also made the country proud. Shattering all possible glass ceilings, making their own mark and setting new benchmarks, these women completed a successful expedition and proved their mettle.

The 10-day long expedition was led by Major Mukta Gautam, and the crew comprised Major Priya Semwal, Major Priya Das, Major Rashmil Sangwan, Major Arpita Dwivedi, Major Sanjana Mittal, Captain Jyoti Singh, Captain Malvika Rawat, Captain Shubham Solanki, and Captain Sonal Goyal.

The women covered a distance of nearly 900 nautical miles, marking this voyage as the first-ever sailing expedition undertaken by the all-women crew of the Indian Army, after the Navika Sagar Parikrama by the Indian Navy in 2018.

** Indian scientists discover strategy to synthesise novel solid adsorbents for CO2 capture

Amidst the growing attempts to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, the Indian scientists have discovered a strategy to synthesise novel solid adsorbents for CO2 capture and utilisation.

Although several industrial advancements have already been demonstrated, none of the technologies can provide an economically viable and complete CO2 capture and utilization solution. Therefore, fundamental research on novel solid adsorbents might offer a critical material for CO2 capture and CO2 utilisation.

Professor Rahul Banerjee’s group at IISER-Kolkata, with support from Department of Science & Technology, Government of India under Mission Innovation programme, has demonstrated a strategy to synthesise novel solid adsorbents, especially for CO2 capture and CO2 utilisation.

** Debasish Panda to be IRDAI Chairman

More than 11 months after the post fell vacant, the Central government on Friday decided to appoint Debasish Panda, former Secretary, Department of Financial Services, as the Chairman of the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI).

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the appointment of Panda as IRDAI chief, initially for a period of three years from the date of assumption of the charge of the post or until further orders, whichever is earlier.

Subhash C. Khuntia retired as IRDAI chief in early May 2021 and the government didn’t fill up the post after that.

** Mentor Match raises $1 million in pre-seed round of funding

The start-up that went live from December 2021, currently operates through WhatsApp

Mentor Match, an ed-tech start-up, has raised $1 million in its pre-seed round of funding from Sapient Fund, a US-based seed-stage venture fund led by Karthik Sundaram.

Founded by a group architecture graduates, Rohit Raheja (CEO), Sachit Dugar (COO) and Rayhaan Shaik (CMO), the Chennai-headquartered Mentor Match is a self-study platform that helps students of Classes VIII-XII connect instantly with tutors through a one-on-one live video call for JEE, NEET, NTSE, Board exam and school exam aspirants. And interestingly, many tutors are students from institutions like IIT, NIT and BITS.