Bengaluru Records – Page 2

INTERNATIONAL: INDIA / KARNATAKA: COMMUNICATION SATELLITES: NewSpace India (NSIL) and Malaysian firm (MEASAT)tie up to enhance satellite capacity for DTH, broadcasting services

Space sector reforms in India, announced by the Government of India in 2020, enable NSIL to own and operate its fleet of communication satellites and provide services to users from both the government and private sectors.

NewSpace India Limited (NSIL) has entered an agreement with MEASAT Global Berhad (MEASAT), Malaysia’s premier satellite solutions provider, to provide satellite capacity for DTH and broadcasting sectors in India. The partnership was formalised during the recently concluded Bengaluru Space Expo 2024.

Under the new agreement, MEASAT will offer its MEASAT-3b and MEASAT-3d satellite capacity to the DTH operators and broadcasters, under provisions of the Indian Space Policy 2023, NSIL said on Friday.

NSIL, a Government of India company under the Department of Space and the commercial arm of ISRO, operates a fleet of 11 communication satellites that provide satellite capacity to various service providers in broadcasting, DTH, digital satellite news gathering (DSNG), very small aperture terminals (VSAT), in-flight and maritime communication (IFMC) and other domains.

A Arunachalam, director (Technical and Strategy), NSIL, said the agency was committed to meet the demands of users in the Indian market and would continue business activities with international satellite solutions providers.

“The success of our CONNECTme satellite broadband service in helping to close the connectivity gap in rural Malaysia could be replicated in India through this partnership. We are also keen to tap on NSIL’s satellite launch service capabilities and other services to support MEASAT’s initiatives in the region,” Ganendra Selvaraj, Chief Commercial Officer, MEASAT, said.

source/content: deccanherald.com (headline edited)

NATIONAL: KARNATAKA: Bengaluru schools shine, bag spots in Top 10 in national rankings

The survey rates and ranks the country’s Top 4,000 schools in four main and 23 sub-categories.

Bengaluru schools have once again made a mark by securing several spots in countrywide ranking of schools surveyed by EducationWorld in association with Bengaluru-based AZ Research Partners Pvt Ltd. The annual report — Education World India School Rankings (EWISR) 2024-25 — was released Monday.

The Rashtriya Military School, Bengaluru, secured the first spot in the country under the category of government boarding schools, while the Air Force School, Hebbal, was awarded the fifth spot under the central government day school category. Brindavan Education Centre, Academy for Severe Handicaps and Autism (ASHA) and Vidyaniketan Academy, Centre for Learning Challenges, are featured in the best special needs schools in the country.

The survey rates and ranks the country’s Top 4,000 schools in four main and 23 sub-categories. This year, a sample database of 8,700 respondents, including 5,150 parents and 3,550 education professionals across 34 cities in the country, were surveyed.

Schools were surveyed on 14 parameters of educational excellence, such as academic reputation, competence of faculty members, individual attention to students, leadership quality, curriculum and pedagogy (hybrid learning readiness), co-curricular education, sports and more.

“Schools are grouped in discrete categories to eliminate apples and oranges type comparisons. Another special feature of the annual EWISR is that it is a national survey based on field interviews with over 8,700 knowledgeable respondents, not on the opinions of a handful of selected jurors,” said DilipThakore, founder-editor of EducationWorld.

In the Vintage Legacy Co-Ed Day Schools category, St Joseph’s Boys High School stood at number two and Bishop Cotton Girls School secured the sixth rank. Smt Kamalabai Educational Institution achieved the seventh rank in the co-ed category.

source/content: newindianexpress.com (headline edited)

KARNATAKA: SPORTS / CHESS: Atharv Venkatesh and Leah R Joseph are the champions of Karnataka State Under-11 Open and Girls 2024

Atharv Venkatesh (Bengaluru Urban) and Eshwar Veerappan Aiyappan (Mysore) scored 7.5/9 each at Karnataka State Under-11 Open Rating Championship 2024.

Atharv won the tournament on tie-breaks, Eshwar secured second place. Eight players scored 7/9. Out of them, top seed, Samaksh Ashok was adjudged third. In the Girls event, Leah R Joseph scored sole 7.5/9 to become the champion. Five players scored 7/9. Indusheetala N (Bengaluru Urban) and Anvita Sathi (Uttara Kannada) secured second and third place according to tie-breaks. The total combined prize fund of the tournament was ₹100000. The top three prizes were ₹12000, ₹8000 and ₹6000 along with a trophy each respectively. The three-day nine-round rating tournament was organized by Giristuti Checkmate School of Chess Foundation from 30th August to 1st September Gujarat Bhavan in Belgaum, Karnataka. Photo: Praveena N

Bengaluru Urban players clinch the championships

Atharv Venkatesh, a student of Legacy School, Bangalore, scored 7.5/9 to win Karnataka State Under-11 Open. He was fourth seeded and suffered only one loss against Vyan Banchor in Round 3. Atharv won the tournament with better tiebreaks.

Leah R Joseph, a student of St. Pauls English School, Bangalore scored 7.5/9 and finished a half point ahead. She was fifth seeded and lost only one game against Aarna Jain in Round 5. This is Leah’s second State title. Last year she won Karnataka State Under-9 Girls Championship 2023.

Open Top 3 (L to R): 3rd Samaksh Ashok 7/9, 1st Atharv Venkatesh 7.5/9 and 2nd Eshwar Veerappan Aiyappan 7.5/9 | Photo: Praveena N

Eshwar Aiyappan from Amrita Vidyalayam, Mysore scored 7.5/9 and secured second place. He was seeded eleventh and suffered only one loss against Indrajit Majumdar. Eshwar drew with the eventual champion, Atharv in the final round. Indusheetala Natarajan from National Hill View Public School, Unit 2 Bangalore scored 7/9 and finished second. She was seeded sixth and her only loss was against Aadya Gowda. Indusheetala drew with the eventual champion in the Girls, Leah in the final round.

Girls Top 3 (L to R): 3rd Anvita Sathi 7/9, 1st Leah R Joseph 7.5/9 and 2nd Indusheetala 7/9 | Photo: Praveena N

A total of 153 players in the Open and 91 in the Girls took part from various districts of Karnataka. The nine-round Swiss league Rating tournament took place from 30th August to 1st September 2024 at Gujarat Bhavan in Belgaum, Karnataka.

It was organized by Giristuti Checkmate School of Chess Foundation, Belgaum.

The time control was 60 minutes + 30 seconds increment.

source/content: chessbase.in / Praveena N (headline edited)

KARNATAKA: SPACE INNOVATION: Bengaluru Start-up Bellatrix Aerospace Unveils Groundbreaking Low Earth Orbit Satellite

Bellatrix Aerospace, a Bengaluru-based start-up, has unveiled an ultra low earth orbit satellite capable of operating at 200 km altitude, thanks to its in-house developed propulsion systems.

This breakthrough aims to significantly enhance satellite performance and could revolutionize satellite applications.

A Bengaluru-based space-sector start-up has set a new milestone by unveiling an ultra low earth orbit satellite capable of operating at an altitude of 200 km. This remarkable feat was achieved through advanced propulsion systems developed in-house.

The satellite, known as Project 200, was showcased by Bellatrix Aerospace. It was officially unveiled by Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre (IN-SPACe) Chairman Pawan Kumar Goenka.

Traditionally, Low Earth Orbit satellites are deployed at altitudes around 450 km to avoid atmospheric drag. Placing satellites in lower orbits typically results in them falling back to Earth more quickly. However, Bellatrix Aerospace’s co-founder and CEO, Rohan Ganapathy, stated that their cutting-edge propulsion technology enables satellites to maintain 200 km orbits for years, rather than deorbiting in a few days.

Ganapathy highlighted that operating at 200 km significantly boosts satellite performance, improving communication latency and image resolution while reducing costs compared to 450 km altitude satellites. This innovation promises to be a game changer, delivering new capabilities previously unachievable by satellites, according to Bellatrix’s co-founder and COO, Yashas Karanam.

Bellatrix Aerospace has also pioneered the use of water-fueled plasma thrusters and high-performing green propulsion alternatives, marking a pivotal step towards reimagining future space operations.

(With inputs from agencies.)

source/content: devidiscourse.com (headline edited)

NATIONAL: KARNATAKA: SWIMMING RECORDS: Bengaluru’s Siddhartha Agarwal becomes oldest Indian to swim solo across English Channel

Siddhartha Agarwal, a 49-year-old swimmer from Bengaluru, has made history by becoming the oldest Indian to swim across the English Channel. Agarwal successfully navigated the 42-km stretch between England and France on August 29, completing the grueling swim in an impressive 15 hours and six minutes.

Reflecting on his achievement, Agarwal said he wasn’t sure about achieving this feat.

Agarwal’s quest in the freezing waters of the English Channel first began in 2018 when he crossed the Channel as part of an eight-member relay team. Incidentally, this was the same year when Srikaanth Viswanathan, also from Bengaluru, entered the Limca Book of Records for becoming the oldest to swim the English Channel solo at the age of 46.

Six years later, Agarwal, affectionately known as “Sid” in the swimming community, surpassed his compatriot’s record. The final 10 km of his swim presented the greatest challenge, as he battled rigid conditions and high tides, exacerbated by winds reaching approximately 25 miles per hour. Despite these obstacles, Agarwal successfully completed the swim, solidifying his place in the record books.

“Until I actually completed the swim, I never believed that I could actually do this. It took me a while for it to sink in. What worked for me was that I trusted my coach, I believed in the process and just focused on what I needed to do that week and that month,” Siddhartha was quoted as saying in a release from Swim Life.

It was the mammoth preparations for the solo swim under a taskmaster of a coach Satish Kumar, a former international swimmer himself, that was the most challenging.

“I was never a swimmer; at best I would splash around in the pool at my school as a kid. To inculcate the discipline and clock those regular hours in the pool despite my role as an entrepreneur in real estate and family commitments was the real challenge that excited me,” Agarwal said.

“The preparations would start with 3km swims, at a pace of 2min 15secs per 100m. The distance would increase and the pace would reduce as we got closer to the date of the solo swim. Satish was a real taskmaster, his rules were simple: If you can’t achieve that day’s target of distance and pace, he would cancel out the enter session as invalid and start afresh the following day,” he added.

With the growing popularity of endurance sports among Indians across age groups, open water swimming is truly catching on with professional set-ups like Swim Life opening doors for amateur swimmers to take up a new challenge and pursue a fitness regime that promises a lifestyle change.

Satish, who trained Siddhartha, believes this feat will inspire several others to take up open water swimming.

“Sid is really a man on a mission when he sets his sight on a goal. It wasn’t easy swimming the channel. Though the swim was for 15 hours, the training was for 15 months. We had trained and mastered every aspect of the channel before the swim,” Satish said.

“With his incredible discipline and dedication, Sid could fight the most challenging situations in the sea on that day. This success comes as a huge inspiration for amateur swimmers, regardless of their age, who are dreaming of achieving similar feat in their lifetime.”

source/content: ddnews.gov.in (headline edited)

NATIONAL: SPORTS-SWIMING: S Sharanya Wins 04 gold medals at National Aquatic Championship 2024, Bhubaneswar-Odisha

S. Sharanya, a native of Uginahalli in K.R. Nagar taluk of Mandya district, has secured gold medals in four categories of the 40th Sub-Junior and 50th Junior National Aquatic Championship-2024 (Swimming) held at Bhubaneswar in Odisha recently.

He won the first place in 1,500 mts Freestyle (16.45.40 minutes), 800 mts Freestyle (8.53.89 minutes), 400 mts Freestyle (4.14.63 minutes) and 4×100 mts Freestyle (3.45.86 minutes).

A 9th standard student of Jain Heritage School at Kampapura in Bengaluru, Sharanya had previously won gold medals in Khelo India Swimming Championship and Swimming Contest held at Rajkot in Gujarat.

Sharanya is the son of Sridhar, a Computer Engineer and Dr. H.K. Lakshmi, a Gynaecologist at Manipal Hospital in Bengaluru.

source/content: starofmysore.com (headline edited)

INTERNATIONAL: SPORTS-ATHLETE: A silver lining. Para-athlete Nishad Kumar clinches ‘Silver in Men’s High Jump T47 , Paris Paralympics 2024

Para-athlete Nishad Kumar, who lost his right hand in an accident at a very young age, talks about clinching the silver medal in the men’s high jump T47 event at the Paris Paralympics 2024.

Reflecting on his silver medal in the men’s high jump T47 at the Paris Paralympics, Nishad Kumar recalls focusing on staying calm and composed just before the competition.

Although aware of the expectations, he tried to ‘shut all the noise in his head to focus on himself.’ “I was not trying to overthink and was keeping myself calm. I was going through all that we had planned and where to take the jump. I had prepped well; at that point, I was just focusing on implementing all that I had learned from training,” says Kumar, speaking to us from Paris.

The 24-year-old, who trains in Bengaluru, achieved a season-best jump of 2.04 metres, finishing behind the USA’s Roderick Townsend. “I was never intimidated by anyone. I knew where I stood and was hoping for a silver. Anything more than that would have been a pleasant surprise, but I am quite happy,” says Kumar, who trained in the USA under coach Jeremy Fischer, coach of Olympic medallist Will Claye, before the Paris Paralympics.

Among the long list of congratulatory messages that followed his podium finish was one from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who took to X to hail Kumar’s achievement, calling it a ‘remarkable’ at the ongoing Paralympics.

Kumar, originally from Badaun village near Amb in Himachal Pradesh, called his mother after clinching the medal. “They were happy and quite proud. My mother promised to make kheer when I returned home; that’s my favourite dessert. Now I am looking forward to reaching home,” says Kumar.

The 6-foot-4-inch para-athlete credits his success not only to his coaches but also to his mother, who never gave up on him after he lost his right hand to a freak accident in 2007 involving a fodder-cutting machine. As a young child, Kumar had always wanted to serve his country and aspired to join the Indian Army.

Although that dream was cut short by the accident, it did not stop him from achieving his goal of representing the country. “It is always an honour to represent India. You become the face of the nation at that point, and that is not something small. I cherish it,” says Kumar, who also won silver at the Tokyo Paralympics three years ago.

Kumar plans to stay in Paris until September 9 before returning to India for a grand welcome. “I am planning to first go to my village to meet my mother. But before that, I am looking forward to climbing the Eiffel Tower,” says Kumar.

source/content: newindianexpress.com (headline edited)

INTERNATIONAL: NATIONAL: KARNATAKA / ROAD TRANSPORT: Germany’s FlixBus expands to South India, offers Rs 99 fares from Bengaluru for intercity routes

FlixBus to commence operations in South India on September 10.

FlixBus India will connect a total of 101 cities and 215 stops nationwide.

Germany-based travel-tech firm FlixBus India announced its expansion into South India on September 3. The company will begin operations on September 10, offering services from Bengaluru to Chennai and Hyderabad.

Subsequently, services will be extended to Coimbatore, Madurai, Tirupati, Vijayawada, and Belagavi.

FlixBus has partnered with six bus operators so far, and plans to expand further by adding 33 cities across Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Kerala and more than 200 connections throughout South India. FlixBus India will connect a total of 101 cities and 215 stops nationwide.

As part of its Bengaluru launch, FlixBus also announced a special promotional fare of Rs 99. “This offer is exclusively available for the new routes launched around Bengaluru, with the booking period running from September 3 to September 15 and the departure period spanning from September 10 to October 6,” said a statement from FlixBus.

Karnataka Minister for Commerce & Industries, Infrastructure MB Patil, global FlixBus leaders Max Zeumer, COO, and Daniel Krauss, Co-founder, were present at the launch.

Patil said, “We welcome FlixBus not only as a foreign investor in Karnataka but also as a partner in our journey toward sustainability.”

Surya Khurana, Managing Director of FlixBus India, said, “After the success of our operations in North India, expanding to South India is the next step in our journey to revolutionise intercity travel”,

“In South India, FlixBus will continue its strategic collaboration with local bus operators, employing its proprietary technology platform to enhance business operations. Through network planning, revenue management, and yield optimization, FlixBus ensures an efficient and seamless travel experience for both passengers and operators, committing to quality, safety, and exceptional customer service,” the company stated.

“These standardized buses, equipped with BS6 engines, adhere to stringent emission norms, significantly reducing pollutants and reinforcing FlixBus’s dedication to environmental sustainability. Each bus is outfitted with state-of-the-art facilities, including ABS (anti-lock braking system), ESC (electronic stability control), and 2-point seat belts for all seats, ensuring the highest level of passenger safety and comfort”, it adds.

source/content: moneycontrol.com (headline edited)

NATIONAL: KARNATAKA: PROJECT DIGITISATION: Close to 12,000 books digitised in Bengaluru for All India Gandhi Library project

The collection, assembled over three months and spanning 12 languages, includes Mahatma Gandhi’s collected works, publications such as Harijan and Young India and audio recordings.

The Servants of Knowledge, a non-profit group, has announced that 11,720 books from the library of Bengaluru’s Gandhi Bhavan have been digitised as part of the All India Gandhi Library project.

The group announced this at the valedictory session of a seminar held on Sunday to mark the 75th year of the Gandhi Smaraka Nidhi Organisation.

According to a statement by the non-profit group, Gandhi Bhavan had already made 1,272 books publicly available online. The freshly digitised collection, assembled over three months and spanning 12 languages, includes the collected works of Mahatma Gandhi, his publications such as Harijan and Young India and audio recordings of him speaking on All India Radio.

The digitised libraries have been presented to 12 Gandhian organisations.

Among the speakers at the seminar was American public domain information advocate Carl Malamud, who is also part of Servants of Knowledge and the founder of the US-based Public.Resource.Org.

“For the last several months, we have been digitising every book here at the Karnataka Gandhi Smaraka Nidhi libraries. Today we are presenting all of those books in digital format to the organisations here, making them the trustees of this knowledge….this is the first release of the All India Gandhi Library. We have offered to digitise at no cost additional Gandhi materials these organisations may possess to add to the collection. We have already assisted the Gandhi Smaraka Nidhis of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh and we welcome additional materials…..as we say ‘scanning is the new spinning’,” he said at the seminar.

Explaining the digitisation process, Malamud told indianexpress.com later, “We make the scanners and frames here in India and have 17 scanners here at Gandhi Bhavan and can scan 15 lakh pages every month… Once you get good at it, you can do 500 pages in an hour. After the scan, a post-process happens where you crop the pages, de-skew it, run optical character recognition and create a PDF file—a whole chain of processes.”

Explaining the challenges of working with old books in general, Malamud added, “If the material is truly fragile, we work with INTACH (Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage) and they help us conserve the books. The same goes with fragile palm leaves. We’re careful while turning the pages with older books, but if the book is going to disintegrate we have it go through the conservation process.”

About some other work done by the Servants of Knowledge, Malamud said, “Om Shivaprakash (another archivist with the Servants of Knowledge) has been instrumental in finding old Kannada books and gotten permission to digitise old Kannada magazines from publishers…. We’re also working on Lalbagh right now and digitising their library of 6,000 books and digitising old and rare prints. There are all sorts of materials that are on the internet for the first time and that is something we’re particularly proud of.”

source/content: indianexpress.com (headline edited)

KARNATKA: BUSINESS & FINANCE: INDIA’S FIRST: IIM Bangalore announces India’s first ‘Global Centre of Excellence on Private Equity (PE) and Venture Capital (VC)

As the private equity (PE) and venture capital (VC) landscape in India continues to grow, IIM Bangalore on Saturday announced to set up country’s first global centre on PE-VC.

Professor U Dinesh Kumar, Dean, Faculty at IIM Bangalore signed an MoU with Mathew Cyriac, Executive Chairman, Florintree Advisors Pvt Ltd, to set up the Tony James Centre for Private Equity and Venture Capital.

Named after the legendary investment banker Tony James, the Centre aims to be a global thought leader for research in matters relating to the PE and VC landscape.

Cyriac is contributing Rs 17.5 crore towards the centre. “This is the single largest-ever contribution from an alumnus and we are grateful to Mathew not just for his generous support but for his extreme thoughtfulness in contributing to the naming of four classrooms on campus after faculty who taught his batch,” said Professor Rishikesha T Krishnan, Director, IIM Bangalore.

Cyriac said he expects the Centre “to emerge as a globally reputed ‘go-to’ place for all players interested in private equity as well as venture capital.”

The Centre will serve as a hub for cutting-edge research, education and industry collaboration in the field of PE-VC, where students will connect with industry leaders, gain hands-on insights, and explore the latest trends in the sector.

James has watched the Indian PE landscape flourish. He said that private equity is a strong contributor to the vibrant Indian economy.

The opening of the Centre comes at a time when foreign investment in the country is booming across sectors, riding on the country’s robust domestic macros.

VC investment in the country surged to $4 billion in the April-June period (Q2 2024), from $2.9 billion in the previous quarter. VC investment is expected to continue to pick up in India, driven in part by the country’s stable government and positive economic environment, according to a latest KPMG report.

India Inc saw impressive 195 deals worth $8.4 billion in July, a 16 per cent jump in volumes. PE deal activity continued to lead the volumes for the month, contributing to 57 per cent of the overall volumes, according to ‘Grant Thornton Bharat Dealtracker’.

source/content: daijiworld.com (headline edited)