Month: April 2022

** Melur girl qualifies to participate in sports event in France

Ananthi, a beach volleyball player, will represent India at the international event

A. Ananthi, a beach volleyball player from Melur, has qualified for the International School Sports Federation (ISF) Gymnasiade 2022, to be held in Normandy in France between May 13 and 28.

She qualified in the national-level selection organised by School Games Federation of India (SGFI) held at Namakkal on March 20 where more than 1,200 athletes competed in various sports. She will represent India at the ISF along with her teammate K.B. Amirthaa and substitute player M. Swethaa.

Ananthi is a Class XII student in Palaniappa Memorial Higher Secondary School, Palanichettipatti, near Theni and resides in a Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu hostel. She hails from Therku Theru in Melur, near Madurai.

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** India’s senior chess women’s champion at 16, Divya Deskhmukh eyes bigger conquests

Divya Deshmukh — National senior women’s chess champion at just 16 and multiple-time world champion in age-group events — wants to claim the sport’s top prizes over the course of her career. With the right financial support, she could have a shot at taking her game to the next level

While covering the World Chess Championship match between Viswanathan Anand and Magnus Carlsen at Chennai’s Hyatt Regency in late 2013, this correspondent paid a visit to the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium. It was the final day of the National Under-9 championship, in which more than 300 kids were taking part.

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** Legal Aid Cenre for Korean investors launched

The centre will help in dealing with legal issues for the next nine months

The Consulate General of the Republic of Korea in Chennai has launched a legal aid centre for the benefit of Korean investors in South India.

The centre will troubleshoot diverse legal issues encountered by Korean investors for the next nine months. A lawyer and business analysts have been hired for this purpose. 

The centre can be contacted by e-mail at Chennai@mofa.go.kr, jshwang22@mofa.go.kr and on telephone on 044-40615500.

There are approximately 150 Korean companies in Tamil Nadu and 250 in South India, which employ three lakh Indians and support 1.5 million jobs indirectly.

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** NITC develops smart solar stove 

Researchers at the Department of Electrical Engineering at the National Institute of Technology-Calicut (NITC) have designed and developed an eco-friendly smart solar stove with zero operating cost for domestic and roadside eateries (thattukadas).

An excellent alternative cooking system, especially when prices of domestic cooking gas are rising, the smart solar stove with multiple versions has been tested for practical feasibility and is ready to be launched in the market at an affordable price, a press release said here on Tuesday.

The Department of Biotechnology of the Union Ministry of Science and Technology had funded the project.

NITC Director Prasad Krishna launched the product on the campus. One of the product versions that can be used directly under the sun has a single and double stove suitable for domestic cooking.

Another model, which can be employed for all types of cooking purposes, has a provision to connect an LED lamp. The sufficient illumination will help vendors to extend their business operating hours during night hours.

Another model has a battery with a control unit for extending the cooking time during overcast weather.

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** New book traces journey of Manipuri cinema

Work by Meghachandra Kongbam is an authoritative account

Nobody would imagine that Manipur, whose territory is much smaller than any district of Assam or U.P. and with a population of hardly 20 lakh in those days, brought laurels for the country at several national and international film events.

The first Manipuri feature film Matamgi Manipur directed by Debkumar Bose was released on April 9, 1972, and won the national award. This film won the President’s silver medal at the 20th National Film awards.

In 1982, Imagi Ningthem directed by A. Shyam Sharma won the Grand Prix award at the festival of three continents held in Nantes, France, to become the first Indian film to win the prestigious award.

It was the only Indian film invited to the festival. Ishanou (The Chosen One) produced in 1990 and directed by Shyam Sharma was the only official selection for the Cannes Film Festival of 1991.

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** Veteran Bengali writer wins coveted O. Henry Award for 1977 story

Sahitya Akademi awardee Amar Mitra wrote Gaonburo when he was 26 years old

Amar Mitra wrote the story back in 1977, when he was only 26; today, it has fetched him the 1919-founded O. Henry Award, whose past winners include William Faulkner, Saul Bellow and Raymond Carver.

The award has reinforced Mr. Mitra’s belief that the short story — titled Gaonburo in Bangla and The Old Man of Kusumpur in English — must have some “internal force” for even the Western audience to find it relevant after 45 long years.

“It has often been hailed, at various times, as a ‘wonderful story’. Maybe it really is a wonderful story. I don’t remember the last time an Indian writing in an Indian language getting such a recognition,” Mr. Mitra, recipient of the Sahitya Akademi Award and several other prestigious honours at home, told The Hindu.

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** Manipal HealthMap acquires Hyderabad firm

Manipal Group entity and diagnostic service provider Manipal HealthMap has acquired a majority stake in Hyderabad-based MedcisPathlabs, in an all-cash deal.

MedcisPathlabs currently operates 17 labs across the southern, western and northern parts of the country.

The central lab in Hyderabad is NABL-accredited and caters to the molecular and cytogenetics segments. All other labs cater to an exhaustive service for biochemistry, haematology and immunology tests, Manipal HealthMap said in a release on Tuesday.

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** Jubilee Mission celebrates 70th anniversary

Free OP, cleft lip surgeries, treatment for the differently abled

Jubilee Mission Hospital under the Thrissur Archdiocese (Syro-Malabar) is celebrating its 70th anniversary.

Started as a dispensary in 1951, the hospital has developed into a multispecialty hospital with 48 departments, 13 specialty and 27 superspecialty wings. It has a full-fledged research centre too.

In connection with the 70th anniversary celebrations, the hospital has initiated seven major projects, said hospital director Fr. Renny Mundankurian here on Wednesday.

The hospital will start a free outpatient (OP) wing at its Public Health Centre at Nadathara. The project will be inaugurated by Revenue Minister K. Rajan on April 13.

A special clinic, St. Giles Clinic, for the differently abled with free service of ENT, paediatrics, psychology and psychiatry departments will be opened in connection with the anniversary.

Jubilee Mission is one of the few hospitals in central Kerala that offers specialised treatment for severe burn injuries. The intensive care unit (ICU) of the burn clinic has been modernised with Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) facility.

A health-care Missionary Award has been instituted in the name of Mon. Mathew Muringatheri, founder of the hospital.

A memorial oration will be held in the name of eminent cleft lip surgeon Hijri Sorab Adenwalla, popularly known as Smile Maker.

th/kerala

** Award for surgeon

He received the award from AIIMS Director Randeep Guleria

Thoracic surgeon Nasser Yusuf has bagged the prestigious A.S. Paintal-RC Jain Memorial Chest Oration Award instituted by the National College of Chest Physicians.

He received the honour from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences Director Randeep Guleria during the national conference on pulmonary diseases hosted between March 31 and April 3 in Varanasi

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** HAL-Israel sign MoU for conversion civil aircraft into Multi Mission Tanker Transport Aircraft

In a move aimed at bolstering the ‘Make in India’ campaign, HAL has entered into a MoU with Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) to convert Civil (Passenger) aircraft to Multi Mission Tanker Transport (MMTT) aircraft in India.

The move will provide India’s defence ecosystem with new capabilities and cost effective solutions in the market. The MoU will facilitate HAL and IAI’s decades’ long expertise in developing, manufacturing and producing leading defence platforms.

The scope of MoU also covers “passenger to freighter aircraft” conversion along with MMTT conversions.

A formal Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed in Delhi by D Maiti, CEO (MiG Complex), HAL and Yaacov Berkovitz, Vice President and General Manager, Aviation Group, IAI in the presence of Chandraker Bharati, JS (Aero), Ministry of Defence, Goveernment of India.

“We are glad to join hands with our long standing partner IAI in this venture of MMTT conversion business which is one of the strategic diversification avenues identified by HAL”, said R Madhavan, CMD, HAL.

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