Category: Records, India

Karnataka team wins nine medals in National Sea Kayaking and Stand-Up Paddling event


Team Karnataka, under the leadership of Udupi-based Rohan R. Suvarna and comprising seven members, bagged nine medals in the recently concluded National Sea Kayaking and Stand-Up Paddling Championship-2023 at Thoothukudi, Tamil Nadu.

The championship, conducted for the first time, was organised by the Indian Kayaking and Canoeing Association.

The Karnataka team bagged the medals in various events. Sinchana D. Gowda achieved an impressive feat, clinching four gold medals (one in the individual category and three in doubles), one silver, and four bronze medals. Anne Mathias secured three gold medals in the doubles category. Tharuna Kumar B.R. and M. Manjunatha Naik jointly won the bronze medal in the doubles category.

Karnataka team’s exceptional performance led the team to emerge as the runner-up champion. Dileep Kumar, secretary, Karnataka Canoeing and Kayaking Association, supported the athletes throughout this event.

source/content: thehindu.com (headline edited)

KARNATAKA: ARTS & CRAFTS / HANDLOOM: Meet 97-year-old Freedom Fighter Turned Handloom Hero of Kodekal Village Sangappa Mante

From padayatra to trekking, freedom fighter Sangappa Mante from Kodekal village is trying everything to revive the industry.

At the ripe age of 97, Sangappa Mante is on a mission: to save the handloom industry. For more than two decades, the warhorse from Kodekal village of Hunasagi taluk (Yadgir district) has been fighting to protect traditional handloom weaving. He took up a padayatra twice in the past decade, and three years ago, trekked 300km from Kodekal to Kottur in Davanagere district.

Mante, whose family continues traditional handloom weaving, has joined hands with Charaka Movement founder Prasunna, well-known theatre artist-director and activist. Mante has always been a restless soul, having fought for the liberation of erstwhile Hyderabad state from the then Nizam, who had declined to merge with an independent India on August 15, 1947. 

Hyderabad state, comprising 17 districts of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra, along with Bidar, Kalaburagi and Raichur districts, were part of the erstwhile kingdom and continued to be part of the Nizam’s kingdom after 1947.

In the heady days following Independence, Sardar Veerupakshappa Gowda of Rajankollur village near Kodekal, was a leading figure in the fight against the Nizam’s army (razakars) to liberate erstwhile Hyderabad state. Gowda was soon killed.

Sangappa Mante, Gowda’s close associate, adopted the Gandhian style of resistance against the Nizam, walking around Kodekal village in khadi attire and carrying the national flag to raise awareness on the happenings in the country. His aim was to ignite a sense of patriotism among the villagers. 

He and his friends would shelter activists of liberation movement and place hurdles on the road to prevent the razakars from entering Kodekal village.

The Nizam government arrested Mante in 1948 and put him in Kalaburagi Central Jail for three months for waging war against it. He was released a few months before liberation of erstwhile Hyderabad state, on September 17, 1948.

Ever since, Mante has held khadi dear, and is continuing the fight to revive the dying handloom industry. Yadgir district administration said that Mante is the only surviving activist of erstwhile Hyderabad state liberation movement from Yadgir district.

“The government should do everything possible to protect traditional industries. Instead of giving free grains, money etc, the government should double or treble the wages of artistes, provide materials at subsidised rates, and provide a good market. The government should take steps to popularise products of traditional industries. It will not only save the traditional industry, but also increase employment opportunities and keep youngsters in good health,” he said.

Family bond with handlooms

Sangappa Mante was born on June 25, 1926, in a weaver’s family at Ikkalaki village of Aland taluk in Kalaburagi district. His family later shifted to Kodekal in Yadgir. He started working on handlooms at the age of 16, when his family had only two handloom units.

“There was a lot of demand for khadi and handloom back then, and we used to get sufficient cotton,” said Mante, who went on to increase the number of handloom units from two to 20, from 1942 to 1946.

Until 1960, his family had 22 units. There were 300 families in Kodekal which were involved in weaving, Mante recalls.

After 1960, the number of handloom production units started declining, and now his family has only two units, which are operated by Mante’s three sons. There are hardly 7-8 families who are still involved in traditional weaving, says Mante.

Mante, who is state unit president of the Federation of All-India Handloom Associations, had been invited by the President to participate in a reception for freedom fighters and activists at the Rashtrapati Bhavan on August 9, 2015.

‘Working on loom better than yoga’
Asked whether he was did yoga or exercise to maintain his health at the age of 97, Sangappa Mante said working on a handloom is a better exercise. We have to use our hands, legs, eyes and mind in coordination, which is a great exercise, he felt.

Roll of honour
Mante received the state-level Deshi Rastriya Kaimagga Prashasti (National Handloom Award) for 2012-13 on December 21, 2014, and Nekara Ratna Award instituted by Karnataka Rajya Nekara Samudayagala Okuta (Federation of Karnataka State Weaving community) on August 7, 2022

A few weeks ago, Yadgir Deputy Commissioner Sushila visited Mante’s house and felicitated him on behalf of the district administration. Sangappa has received an invitation from Kalyana Karnataka Amrit Mahotsava Samiti to receive an award on September 17 in Kalaburagi for his contribution to the liberation movement.

source/content: newindianexpress.com (headline edited)

NATIONAL & KARNATAKA: HERITAGE: Three Hoysala Temples of Karnataka Inscribed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites

All three temples are protected by the Archaeological Survey of India and the nominations were entered as ‘The Sacred Ensembles of Hoysalas’.

The Hoysala temples at Belur, Halebidu and Somanathapur in Karnataka were declared as UNESCO World Heritage Sites on September 18 in a move that will bring global recognition with prospects of increase in international tourism to these places.

The Chennakeshava temple at Belur and Hoysaleshwara temple at Halebidu — both in Hassan district have been on the UNESCO’s tentative list since 2014. The Keshava temple at Somanathapur in Mysuru district was appended to the other two monuments under the tentative list and all the three were officially nominated by the Centre as India’s entry for 2022-23 in February in 2022.

An expert from the International Commission on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) concluded the site visits covering all three temples in September last year and the monuments were officially inscribed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites during the 45th session of the World Heritage Committee at Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

All three temples are protected by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and the nominations were entered as ‘The Sacred Ensembles of Hoysalas’.

The Hoysala temples are known for evolving a distinct style that is ornate with temple architecture following a stellate plan built on a raised platform. The material used in temple construction is choloritic schist which is also known as soapstone that are soft and amiable to carving.

While the construction of the Chennakeshava temple at Belur in commenced during the period of king Vishnuvardhana in 1117 CE and took 103 years to complete, the Hoysaleshwara temple was commissioned in 1121 CE while the Keshava temple at Somanathapur in Mysuru district was commissioned by Somanatha Dandanayaka during the regime of Narasimha III in 1268 CE.

A. Devaraju, Commissioner, Department of Archaeology Museums and Heritage said the inscription of the 3 sites as World Heritage Sites will give global recognition for the three monuments which are known for sculptures and carvings and further boost tourism.

The dossier for final submission was prepared by the Bengaluru chapter of INTACH for the Department of Archaeology Museums and Heritage and Department of Tourism with support from the Archaeological Survey of India.

source/content: thehindu.com (headline edited)

INTERNATIONAL : NATIONAL & KARNATAKA: EDUCATION : IIT gets its First Woman Director. Mysuru-Born Dr. Preeti Aghalayam Is IIT Zanzibar-Tanzania Director

IIT gets its first woman Director

The Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras), the country’s top-ranked educational institution, has achieved the distinction of being the first IIT in India to establish an international campus, set to be located in Zanzibar, Tanzania.

The institute has also set another first by appointing the IIT’s first woman Director.

Heading this initiative is Mysuru-born Dr. Preeti Aghalayam, who is an alumna of IIT Madras. She is also a Professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering.

The Zanzibar Offshore  Campus of IIT Madras will be situated on Zanzibar Island, off the East African mainland and is slated to commence its inaugural academic session in October 2023.

The establishment of this offshore campus aligns with the National Education Policy (NEP) of 2020, which encourages high-performing Indian Universities to establish campuses abroad.

Dr. Preeti grew up on 13th Main Road in Saraswathipuram and attended Demonstration School (DMS School) in Mysuru. After completing her Pre-University, she made it to IIT Madras and chose Chemical Engineering as her field of study.

According to Meena Mysuru, a retired officer from the Indian Information Service (IIS) and resident of city, a close friend of the family, Dr. Preeti hails from a family of educators.

Her father, late Dr. Janardhan, was a Chemistry Professor at the Regional Institute of Education (RIE), Mysuru, while her mother, Dr. Rama, taught linguistics. Both her parents held Ph.Ds and her grandfather was a renowned historian.

Professional journey: Dr. Preeti Aghalayam completed her B.Tech in Chemical Engineering at IIT Madras in 1995 and later earned her Ph.D. from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 2000. Her professional journey includes a stint as a post-doctoral researcher at MIT in Cambridge and a faculty position at IIT Bombay.

Dr. Preeti joined IIT Madras as a faculty member in 2010 and is actively involved in the Office of Global Engagement at the institute, where she oversees international academic programmes.

Her contributions led to her recognition as one of the 75 Women in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) by the Principal Scientific Advisor’s office.

Running enthusiast

Beyond her academic pursuits, Dr. Preeti has a strong sports background and was an avid basketball player during her school days. She is also an accomplished marathon runner.

In an interview, she said, “Running is everything for me as it helps me shred off the stress. If I am under a lot of stress, my family asks me to run and come back. Running makes me feel human again.”

In the initial plans, faculty members for the Zanzibar campus will be either deputed from IIT Madras or recruited from India. Presently, the institute will operate from a temporary campus in the Bweleo district of Zanzibar, with the permanent 200-acre campus on Zanzibar Island set to be completed by 2026.

source/content: starofmysore.com (headline edited)

ASIA RECORDS: INDIA & KARNATAKA: SPORTS / CRICKET: India vs Pakistan: Kohli, Rahul Record Highest-ever Partnership in Asia Cup History

Virat Kohli and KL Rahul registered the highest-ever partnership in the history of Asia Cup during the Super 4 match between India and Pakistan at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Monday.

Virat Kohli and KL Rahul registered the highest-ever partnership in the history of Asia Cup during the Super 4 match between India and Pakistan at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Monday.

The Indian duo had a sedate start and took a couple of overs to settle down before they began their onslaught. They ended up scoring 233 off 194 deliveries, nine higher than previous record-holders Nasir Jamshed and Mohammad Hafeez. They help India reach a daunting 356/2 in their 50-over quota.

On the way to this record, Kohli became the fastest batter to reach 13,000 ODI runs. He took just 277 innings and betterd the record of fellow Indian great Sachin Tendulkar (321 innings).

Highest partnerships in Asia Cup history:

PlayersRunsWicketTeamOpposition
Virat Kohli-KL Rahul233*3rdIndiaPakistan
Mohammed Hafeez-Nasir Jamshed2241stPakistanIndia
Younis Khan-Shoaib Malik2143rdPakistanNepal
Iftikar Ahmed-Babar Azam2145thPakistanBangladesh
Ajinkya Rahane-Virat Kohli2133rdIndiaPakistan

source/content: sportstar.thehindu.com (headline edited)

NATIONAL & KARNATAKA: Virat Kohli Creates IPL history as Bangalore Captain, smashes Multiple Records during RCB vs PBKS IPL 2023 match

Virat Kohli smashed multiple batting records in RCB’s match against PBKS at the IPL 2023.

Batting icon Virat Kohli was back at the helm when Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) squared off against Punjab Kings (PBKS) in match No.27 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 at the Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium on Thursday. Kohli, who earlier stepped down as RCB’s captain, was only reinstated as the leader of the Bangalore franchise for their IPL 2023 match against Punjab Kings.

Kohli captained the Royal Challengers Bangalore while skipper Faf du Plessis featured as the Impact Player against Punjab Kings. Opening the innings with stand-in skipper Kohli, RCB’s regular captain Du Plessis tormented the Punjab Kings bowlers in the action-packed contest at Mohali. Leading the Bangalore franchise from the front, Kohli also smashed a sublime half-century as his batting heroics laid the foundation for a competitive total.

Kohli is the second-highest run-getter for RCB against Punjab in the IPL. The stand-in skipper smashed multiple records with his gritty half-century against the Shikhar Dhawan-less side. Rewriting history in the cash-rich league on Thursday, Kohli became the first batter to score 6,500 runs in the IPL as captain. Kohli has achieved the staggering feat in 186 innings. The batting icon also joined Shikhar Dhawan and David Warner on an elite list. Kohli is the third batter to hit 600 fours in the world’s richest T20 league.

Delhi Capitals (DC) skipper Warner has struck 608 fours in the world’s richest T20 league while Punjab Kings skipper Dhawan has hit 730 fours in his incredible IPL career. The senior batter missed RCB’s match against PBKS as the Punjab skipper is nursing a shoulder niggle. England batter Liam Livingstone was named in the PBKS XI while all-rounder Sam Curran captained the Punjab side in the absence of Dhawan.

Talking more about the match, Kohli slammed 59 off 47 balls while Du Plessis played a stroke-filled knock of 84 off 56 balls to help RCB post 174-4 in 20 overs. Kohli’s RCB outclassed PBKS by 24 runs to secure the fifth spot on the IPL 2023 points table. The Bangalore stand-in captain has climbed to the second spot in the Orange Cap standings after smashing his fourth half-century of the IPL 2023. The 34-year-old has amassed 279 runs in 6 matches for RCB this season.

source/content: hindustantimes.com (headline edited)

NATIONAL & KARNATAKA: CONSTRUCTION TECHOLOGY BREAK-THROUGH: Indian Institute of Science(IISc) cracks Code to Build Low-Carbon Construction

The multilateral project is funded jointly by the Department of Science and Technology (DST) under the trans-national platform of Accelerating Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage Technologies.

Researchers at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) have pioneered breakthrough materials and processes that could bring down the building industry’s carbon emissions and supplement sustainable construction practices.

The Centre for Sustainable Technologies in IISc has utilised 3D-printable material formulations with industrial by-products, including construction and demolition wastes (CDW), blast furnace slag, and fly ash, for carbon sequestration.

Carbon sequestration is the process where atmospheric carbon dioxide is captured and stored. The method aims at reducing the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

The multilateral project is funded jointly by the Department of Science and Technology (DST) under the trans-national platform of Accelerating Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage Technologies.

The 3D printable material formulations have the potential to be used in fabricating walls, slabs, and various other building components, a DST statement said.

“The developed material, utilising an optimised process of accelerated carbonation curing, can store 35-40 per cent of carbon dioxide by mass of cement,” DST said. Small crystals of carbonate minerals formed during the sequestration can also enhance the engineering performance of the material.

The innovation could replace up to 75 per cent of natural sand in cement-based construction materials. The research has been published in the journal — Construction and Building Materials.

source/content: deccanherald.com (headline edited)

INTERNATIONAL / NATIONAL & KARNATAKA: GLOBAL HEALTH & PHARMAEUTICALS: Biocon Chief Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw Appointed Member of Court of Regents at Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh

Biocon Ltd and Biocon Biologics Ltd Executive Chairperson Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw has been appointed as Regent of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (RCSed), a Biocon release said on Thursday.

On her appointment as the latest member to the College’s Court of Regents, Mazumdar-Shaw said: “I am humbled and deeply honoured to be appointed Regent of the Royal College of Surgeons Edinburgh. As the oldest surgical college in the world with just under 30,000 members in 100 countries, the RCSed has been championing the highest standards of surgical and dental practice by providing high quality medical education. I look forward to contributing to the College’s mission and advancing the frontiers of surgical excellence.”

The Court of Regents comprises a group of distinguished and accomplished individuals in their field who provide the college with advice and expertise.

The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh is a prestigious Scottish medical association which was founded in 1505 by Royal Charter granted from King James IV. It is the oldest surgical colleges in the world with nearly 30,000 members in 100 countries, and about half of them are from overseas, touching every stage of the career path from medical students to consultants.

source/content: daijiworld.com (headline edited)

INTERNATIONAL, NATIONAL & KARNATAKA : SILK INDUSTRY: Sericulture And Silk Industry International Training Session Begins, Mysuru

Over 30 foreign delegates attend month-long programme at Central Sericultural Research and Training Institute in Mysuru city.

A month-long international training programme on ‘Sericulture and Silk Industry’ began at the Central Sericultural Research and Training Institute (CSRTI) in the city this morning.

More than 30 delegates from countries including Cameroon, Ethiopia, Ghana, Iran, Kenya, Myanmar, Nigeria, Philippines, Uganda, Vietnam, Zimbabwe, Laos, Thailand and Bangladesh are participating.

This training programme is conducted under the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC), sponsored by the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India. The trainees will undergo 30 days of practical training in mulberry silkworm rearing, complemented by classroom teaching and exposure visits to all sectors of sericulture.

The event was inaugurated at CSRTI premises on Manandavadi Road here by Dr. C. Meenakshi, Director (Finance) and Member-Secretary of the Central Silk Board, in the presence of Dr. Gandhi Doss, Director of CSRTI and R. Dileep Kumar, Executive Director of the International Sericulture Commission.

Dr. Meenakshi emphasised the importance of sericulture technologies and training for the development of the silk industry. She highlighted India’s unique position in the world’s premium silk production and the role of the International Sericulture Commission in conducting the international training.

Dr. Meenakshi stated that the trainees would receive hands-on training in mulberry silkworm rearing for four weeks and be exposed to the latest technologies developed by CSRTI. They will also visit progressive sericulture farmers and allied sectors of sericulture in and around Mysuru, with the goal of increasing silk production worldwide.

She informed the delegates that CSRTI Mysuru, as a pioneering Sericultural Research Institute under the Central Silk Board, is dedicated to research and development of technologies to enhance silk productivity and quality in India.

The institute also conducts training programmes on various aspects of sericulture for national and international participants. She encouraged the trainees to share the knowledge gained from quality silk cultivation in their respective nations.

According to CSRTI, the main objectives of this training programme are to support the introduction and development of sericulture activities in third-world countries, generate skilled manpower in sericulture, provide training in extension management and technology transfer, and impart knowledge in post-cocoon technology and successful commercial sericulture practices for replication in other developed countries.

source/content: starofmysore.com (headline edited)

NATIONAL & KARNATAKA: SPACE TECHNOLOGY: Udupi Ramachandra Rao (U.R. Rao) – The Man who Built a Satellite in a Shed

Let us shift our attention away from the lander to Chandrayaan-3, the satellite that carried it there, and to the story of India’s satellite dream, which began in 1972 in six rough industrial sheds outside Bengaluru.

Last week, as the Vikram lander descended into a graceful, precise, soft landing on the dark side of the moon, Indian hearts exploded in pride. This week, let us shift our attention away from the lander to Chandrayaan-3, the satellite that carried it there, and to the story of India’s satellite dream, which began in 1972 in six rough industrial sheds outside Bengaluru.

The problem with space technology is that countries guard their knowhow fiercely – there’s very little, and very sketchy, information available in the public domain. In 1966, therefore, Vikram Sarabhai, then director of the Indian National Committee for Space Research (INCOSPAR) invited one of his former PhD students at Physical Research Laboratories (PRL) Ahmedabad, who had been researching solar cosmic-ray phenomena while working with Pioneer space probes and Explorer satellites at MIT, to return and head the satellite engineering team he was putting together. The brilliant young man who bought into the dream and would later be hailed as India’s Satellite Man was 34-year-old Udupi Ramachandra Rao.

When UR Rao took over the satellite program, he was the only one on the team to have ever seen a satellite. At that time, the satellite engineering team was divided between the Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station (TERLS) near Trivandrum, and PRL in Ahmedabad. The untimely death of Sarabhai in 1971 brought Satish Dhawan to the helm of ISRO (INCOSPAR became ISRO in 1969). Unwilling to give up his job as Director of the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Dhawan negotiated for ISRO to move to Bengaluru, providing the perfect opportunity for Rao, who had spent his boyhood in Ballari and the little village of Adamaru in Udupi, to decide to move the satellite centre here as well.

It wasn’t easy. The unionized labour force at TERLS went on the warpath, refusing to allow any equipment to be moved out. In Bengaluru itself, premises had to be found. At first, the IISc gymkhana was co-opted; later, the Karnataka government offered Rao a few sheds at the brand-new (read: entirely lacking facilities) Peenya Industrial Area outside town. In a dazzling feat of jugaad, involving thermocol, vinyl, and, presumably, duct tape, one of those dusty, asbestos-roofed sheds was converted into the ‘clean room’ required for satellite activity.

In those sheds, between 1972 and 1975, a young and inexperienced but passionate team of scientists and engineers – average age: 26 – put together, under Rao’s dynamic, inspiring. impatient leadership, India’s very first satellite, Aryabhata. It was a magnificent feat – no other country had built a satellite in under three years. The famous picture of Aryabhata being transported on a bullock cart was scoffed at in the American press, which questioned a poor country’s need for a space program. Rao explained it years later as another brilliant example of jugaad. The spacecraft had to be tested for electromagnetic capability and interference in an open area, but metal trucks threw off reflections that interfered with the satellite’s antenna. Someone came up with the brilliant idea of using a wooden bullock cart to transport it instead – et voila!

In 2017, at the age of 85, after overseeing the design of 18 more satellites, accelerating the development of satellite launch vehicles like the ASLVs and PSLVs during his decade-long tenure as Chairman of ISRO, and becoming the first Indian to be inducted into the International Astronautical Federation’s ‘Hall of Fame’, the much-decorated UR Rao died with his boots on. Since then, the ISRO Satellite Centre in Bengaluru, which he so capably raised on the wings of a dream and a prayer, and where all the Chandrayaan satellites were built, has carried his name, and now goes by UR Rao Satellite Centre.

source/content: hindustantimes.com (headline edited)