Monthly Archives: March 2018

Teen inventer of garbage collection machine dines with minister

Amazing Feats, Education, Green Initiatives / Environment, Inspiration / Positive News and Features, Records, All, Science & Technology

Agra :

Shikanto Mandal, 15, from Mathura, who had developed a unique machine to collect garbage, was invited by the President for dinner on Tuesday. However, it was cancelled at the last moment and the dinner was hosted by science and technology minister Dr Harsh Vardhan at the CSIR centre at Lodhi Gardens in New Delhi.

Mandal, who hails from West Bengal, had showcased his innovative machine at the Festival of Innovation being held in Delhi from March 19 to 23. Earlier speaking with TOI while on his way to New Delhi, Mandal said he had dined with then President Pranab Mukherjee during the Festival of Innovation.

The young inventor said hopes to become a successful engineer one day and fulfil all wishes of his parents and give them every comfort of life. Mandal’s parents are daily wagers. Talking with TOI, Mandal’s teacher Manoj Kumar, who helped him in his project and under whose guidance he built the machine, said he had developed the manual waste lifting and dumping machine when he was in Class IX at Jai Gurudev Balya Balak Vidyadan Higher Secondary School in 2016. He is presently studying in Class XI at KR Inter College, Mathura.

Mandal’s invention, inspired by Swacch Bharat Mission, was chosen for display at the district-level exhibition organized by the department of science and technology in 2016. His machine’s model was then showcased at a state-level exhibition held in Lucknow and later, at the national level.

His model has been patented by a Gujarat-based company, where he holds a 50% stake of the market share.

In January, Mandal was invited by film star Akshay Kumar his movie, “Padman”, screened at the Innovation conclave in which 16 innovators from across the country participated and received Rs 5 lakh each for their innovation.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> News> City News> Agra News / TNN / March 21st, 2018

Know the man behind the camera Abhinav Khare, a young lad and owner of Tasvir in Lucknow!

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy

“Happy is the man who can make a living by his hobby”, this line by GB Shaw, completely fits in the life of this young lad who is a photographer by profession. Abhinav Khare, a pass-put of Amity University, is the proud owner of a fantastic studio in Lucknow, known as- Tasvir.

Right at the beginning of the three years Journalism program, Abhinav took to photography. What he started as a hobby, soon became his passion. Generally, it takes time for people to find out what their true love lies in. But, Abhinav got lucky here and found out that his hobby is also his future. After passing-out from college he took separate photography projects and after a couple of years, he established Tasvir in Lucknow.

Knocksense: What were the initial challenges you faced while establishing Tasvir?

Abhinav: In our industry, there are many competitors and its good to have competition but in our industry people doesn’t want to work together they just want to cut you down and hence to establish such a studio in Lucknow was a bit difficult.

Knocksense: Why the name Tasvir?

Abhinav: Tasvir is a Hindi word for Picture. I really like that word, and it directly relates to the work and also clicks with the people.

Knocksense: How has Lucknow’s market evolved in the last few years?

Abhinav: Lucknow’s market is evolving slowly, but that’s also good actually. Market ethics, in this business particularly need to be established. The major problem is, there are a lot of freelancers, who would do the work for free. Now, nobody is ever going to question the work, that has been done for free. Even if it is bad. However, some people totally take a chance because of lack of knowledge and awareness, since everyone loves on saving some bucks.

Knocksense: Was it tough to get funding initially?

Abhinav: It was tough, but me and my partner Shivaa Shukla are into this field for past 4 years and it is our parents who have helped us out since the very beginning.

Knocksense: Are people willing to spend on pre-wedding shoot In Lucknow?

Abhinav: Yes, slowly people are more getting interested in pre-wedding shoots that too concept based. It takes time for people to understand and follow the trends.

Knocksense: How big is your team?

Abhinav: My team consists of 10 people, 5 cinematographer and 5 photographers as of now.

Knocksense: What is the vision and motto of Tasvir?

Abhinav: The vision and motto of Tasvir are to change the thinking of people living in Lucknow about photography. People do understand photography but there are a lot of things which are new for them. Some people are totally up for it, while others need more convincing. It is challenging and going good, so far.

Knocksense: Are you looking to expand in other cities?

Abhinav: Yes, definitely I’m looking forward to expand my business soon in another metro cities

Knocksense: Any words for Amity University?

Abhinav: Amity has given me the confidence and potential, which helps me stand out in the business world. So ya Amity helped a lot in building my personality.

source: http://www.knocksense.com / KnockSense / Home> Experience India> Cities> Lucknow / by KnockSense Staff / March 22nd, 2018

Haldar’s legacy to be revamped for arts students in Lucknow

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Education, Historical Links / Pre-Independence, Records, All

Lucknow :

Students of the college of arts and crafts at Lucknow University will no more have to organize cultural and literary events in their classrooms.

Lying neglected for over a decade, the 106-year-old Haldar Hall, named after legendary painter and first Indian principal of the college Asit Kumar Haldar, will get a fresh lease of life in a month.

With the capacity of around 200 students, the historical hall is being revamped and its doors will be open to students in a month. The hall was out of use for years due to its poor condition. “The Rashtriya Uchhatar Shiksha Abhiyan has granted Rs 50 lakh to restore the auditorium named after the famous Indian painter,” said director for internal quality and assurance cell Prof Rajiv Manohar.

He added that the state-of-the-art multi-purpose hall-cum-auditorium will have advanced lighting and seating facilities. Initially known as the boys’ dining and lecture hall, it was renamed Haldar Hall in 1957.

“Asit Kumar Haldar’s paintings had made a mark across the globe. His talent was not confined to India but reached all parts of the world. The British government had appointed him as the principal of the Government School of Arts and Crafts in 1925,” said record-keeper Desraj.

“The hall has been in a dilapidated condition for four years. We did not have any auditorium to showcase our artwork or organize our fest. We are happy that now, we will have an auditorium which will not only exhibit our creativity but also unfold the glorious history of arts college, which gave so many famous artists to the country,” said Prashant Tiwari, a student of fine arts.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News> City News> Lucknow News> Schools & Colleges / by Mohita Tewari / TNN / March 20th, 2018

Indo-French club launched ahead of Emmanuel Macron’s Kashi visit

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, Leaders, World Opinion

Varanasi :

A group of citizens and some French nationals, including tourists, have formed a club to give a warm welcome to French President Emmanuel Macron and Prime Minister Narendra Modi during their proposed visit on March 12 and also work for strengthening ties between the people of the two nations.

Formal launching of the club took place at Assi Ghat on Thursday evening. “On my first India visit, I had seen the then French president Francois Mitterrand in Agra in 1982. And now on my 21st India visit, I am getting opportunity to see my President Emmanuel Macron in Varanasi,” said Mustafa, a 60-year-old native of Paris.

Mustafa was leading a group of French tourists who had come to Assi Ghat on Thursday evening to join the Indo-French Club, an initiative of some local youths to strengthen people-topeople contact ahead of the high-profile visit.

The club coordinator, Uttam Ojha, said: “We aim at bringing the people of the two nations at one forum to share history, culture, arts and food. The club will hold various academic, art and cultural activities for the next five days at the ghats along the Ganga by involving more French tourists.”

Portraits of PM Narendra Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron at Assi Ghat on Thursday ‘One life is not enough to discover India’

Like Mustafa, all French tourists in his group have been frequenting Indian tourist destinations for the past many years. Another Paris native, Fabien, who is in India for the12th time, said, “One life is not enough to discover India, which has different cultures in all its parts. I had come to India for the first time to attend marriage of a friend, but started frequenting this country because it teaches you to know what you are from inside and where you stand spiritually.”

“I gotinformation about Macron’s Varanasi visit two days back, when I had already booked a ticket to leave Varanasi on Friday. Had I been aware about my president’s visit before booking the ticket, I would have stayed on,” he added.

An elderly tourist, Marie, of Rennes city in France and her companions like Francoise were keen to know whether they can get passes to see Macron from close. Expressing similar intent, Mustafa also revealed how he converted to Buddhism in 1978 after getting inspired by Lama and visited India for the first time in 1982.

“I saw Mitterrand in Agra in 1982 and now will get a chance to see Macron in Varanasi. also a coincidence that I share my date of birth with Macron, which is December 21. I am his supporter,” said Mustafa, who will leave for Dharmshala in Himanchal Pradesh on March 14.

Several French tourists accompanying Mustafa said spirituality, culture, food and Yoga have always attracted the people of their country towards India.

An assistant professor of French in Banaras Hindu University, Geetanjali Singh, who also accompaniedthe members of this newly formed club, said: “In recent years we are seeing how French embassy is giving a push to the efforts of attracting Indian students towards France for higher and technical studies.

It is also resulting in increasing number of admission seekers in French language classes.” “Most of the students of foreign language are in French classes. It is expected that Macron’s visit will increase the charm of French learning as the number of tourists from France also remains very high,” she added.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News> City News> Varanasi News / by Rajeev Diksht / TNN / March 09th, 2018

Lucknow boys shine in international academic test

Education, Records, All, World Opinion

Lucknow :

Two students from the city have secured top positions in the International Benchmark Test – an international programme of assessments conducted by the Australian Council for Educational Research.

Class IV student Ayush Shukla (10) and Class IX student Atharva (14) have scored 100 percentile in the test. Both are students of City Montessori School.

While Atharva scored 100 percentile in science, Ayush has topped in all five different skills of English language which includes comprehension, grammar, punctuation, spelling and vocabulary.

Both students have been awarded prize money of Rs 50,000 each.

The programme tests knowledge of students in subjects like English, mathematics, science and Arabic.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News> City News>> Lucknow News> Schools & Colleges / TNN / March 19th, 2018

From pilots to TTEs, it was women’s day at railways

Amazing Feats, Inspiration / Positive News and Features, Records, All, Travel
At reservation counters, too, it was women on duty for the day

Lucknow :

Women piloted express trains in Lucknow division of both Northern Railway and North Eastern Railway on the occasion of International Women’s Day on Thursday.

At reservation counters, too, it was women on duty for the day. The all-women staff on Lucknow-Prayag Intercity Express included one assistant loco pilot, five travel ticket examiners (TTEs) and sanitation staff.

The train was flagged off by divisional railway manager (DRM) Northern Railway Satish Kumar from Charbagh station around 7.30am. At NER station, Gorakhpur-Nautanwa Express was driven by a woman assistant loco pilot. With four women TTEs, the train departed from Gorakhpur around 11.30am.

According to Kumar and DRM NER Vijaylaxmi Kaushik, this was the first time in the history of NR and NER’s Lucknow divisions that maximum operational work, including piloting the train, ticket checking and reservation, was carried out by women.

For assistant loco pilot Mamta Yadav, it was the first opportunity to pilot an express train. A graduate from Gorakhpur, Mamta said, “It was a dream come true. Since childhood, I had wanted to drive a train. It felt daring to take such a responsibility.”

TTE of Lucknow-Prayag Intercity Express Vijayalaxmi said, “I have been a TTE for five years. For the first time, I have seen an all-female staff on the train.” TTE Mundri Devi said, “Incidentally today, there were around 150 female passengers on my reservation list. I felt like all women had come out to support us. I am thankful to the railways.”

Riyansha, who had come to board the train for Prayag, said, “When I woke up this morning, my husband wished me for women’s day. At the station, I saw women everywhere, even my loco pilot and TTE were females. I felt very proud.”

Gulnaaz, another passenger, said, “My friends and cousins had planned to celebrate women’s day in my hometown. On knowing that a woman will pilot my train, I immediately sent a message of thanks to railways on social media.

Rahul, who had no reservation and demanded Mundri Devi a seat, was turned by her. “I have realised that not only at home, but even outside, women uphold values of honesty and integrity. I will have to adjust in a general coach, but I also proud somewhere,” said Rahul.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News> City News> Lucknow News / by Urooj Khan / TNN / March 09th, 2018

IIT-A organises Aparoksha

Business & Economy, Education, Science & Technology

Allahabad :

‘Aparoksha’—the four day technical fiesta of Indian Institute of Information Technology, Allahabad kicked off at Jhalwa campus here on late Thursday night. The fest will witness over dozens of different technical events.

Ratan Lal, the general manager of the Central Organization for Railway Electrification (CORE), graced the opening ceremony of Aparoksha-2018 as the chief Guest. He praised the fact that Aparoksha has established very high benchmarks in a very small duration. He highlighted the significance of learning in our lives, stating that the process of learning is imperative and must go on perpetually in our lives. Focusing on technical fests like Aparoksha, he mentioned that these fests cater a plethora of learning and broadening the boundaries of our knowledge.

Professor P. Nagabhushan, Director, IIIT-A laid emphasis on the importance of technical fests, stating that tech fests are the perfect arena for an engineering students to learn, grow and polish his technical skills. He essayed the fact that engineering is not just about the classroom learning, it is about exploring the practical field and expanding your horizons, competing and enriching your knowledge in the real life simulation of actual International level events. The director appreciated the organisation of Aparoksha-2018 and congratulated the team for succeeding in conducting the event at such a high level.

The theme for this edition of Aparoksha is the digital renaissance, in compliance with the digital Indian initiative of Government of India.

The entrepreneurship talks planned by IIIT-A incubation centre, confab, the flagship event consisting of eminent panelists including Awdhesh Singh, Babar Ali, Adhitya lyer and Vinay Menon will give their thoughtful insights on the Indian educational system.

The keynote lineup is star studded with the likes of Dr. Pawan Agarwal, Varun Agarwal and Sahil Vaidya who will inspire students on March 17 night. This time, apart from interesting speakers and panelists, an exhibition, showcasing the modern marvels of technology will showcase drones, Al controlled robots, 3D printers, robotic arm, spy robot, loT enabled smart city and rope climbing robot, NAO, firebird-V, VI, amigo bot and round bot.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News> City News> Allahabad News / by Rajiv Mani / TNN / March 16th, 2018

Classical vocalist, flautist have audience all ears

Arts, Culture & Entertainment
Classical vocalist Pt Sarathi Chatterjee performs at Tagore Theatre on Thursday. TRIBUNE PHOTO: NITIN MITTAL

Chandigarh :

Classical vocalist Pt Sarathi Chatterjee and flautist Pt Rajendra Parsanna stole the limelight on the third day of the ongoing Bhaskar Rao Nritya Sangeet Sammelan at Tagore Theatre here today.

With performances over the last four decades in India and abroad, the Benares gharana stalwart Sarathi rationally blends the elements of Benares gharana into the Kirana gharana gayaki.

This was perceptible as Sarathi opened with a reposeful aalap of raga Shudh Kalyan and a slow-paced composition “Dayani daya kar de”, which melted into its medium-paced bandish “Peeharava aaye more mandir mein”.

A tarana in raga Bihag stamped his versatility while concluding a romance-laden thumri “Mein toh sari raat jagi par sayian na aaye” left the audience ecstatic.

Debashish Adhikari and Rajendra Bannerjee provided accompaniment on tabla and harmonium, respectively.

Flautist Prasanna bared the melodic features of raga Bageshri through an aalap and compositions in gayaki before presenting a composition in raga Jhinjhoti. The audience was thrilled to relish the concluding captivating dhun in Banarasi Dadra.

Rishabh Prasanna on flute and Athar Husain on tabla embellished his performance.

source: http://www.tribuneindia.com / The Tribune / Home> Chandigarh / February 23rd, 2018

IIT Kanpur researchers find why babies need to move in the womb

Education, Records, All, Science & Technology, World Opinion
“We are now investigating if osteoarthritis is also associated with appearance of BMP signalling in the wrong place,” says Amitabha Bandyopadhyay (left) | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

Permanent cartilage is formed in an embryo due to the mechanical movement.

Formation of joints in the developing embryo and their maintenance after birth is sensitive to mechanical movement. Now, researchers at Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur have deciphered the molecular mechanism underlying this phenomenon. They have demonstrated how permanent cartilage is formed in an embryo due to mechanical movement. They also found out how permanent cartilage is lost and temporary or transient cartilage is formed in its place in the absence of movement.

While permanent cartilage lines the joint, the transient cartilage is a bone-forming one. Earlier this group demonstrated that during embryonic development, a bipotential cartilage population gives rise to both permanent and transient cartilage. BMP and Wnt are two major signals regulating this process. While BMP promotes transient cartilage formation, Wnt promotes permanent cartilage formation.

In patients with osteoarthritis, the permanent cartilage acquires all the characteristics of a temporary cartilage, which affects joint function. Currently, in people with osteoarthritis, it is not possible to reverse the fate of permanent cartilage that has become a temporary-like cartilage. The work done by a team led by Prof. Amitabha Bandyopadhyay from the Department of Biological Sciences and Bioengineering at IIT Kanpur suggests that it might be possible to prevent osteoarthritis from worsening if intervened at an early stage. The results were published in the journal Development. The work was carried out in collaboration with the laboratory of Prof. Paula Murphy of Trinity College Dublin.

On-off switches

BMP signaling — which helps in the formation of transient cartilage — is normally not present in permanent cartilage cells in a joint. That transient cartilage forms in the place of permanent cartilage due to joint immobilisation was already known. And independently, the team had shown that BMP signalling promotes transient cartilage formation. “So we wanted to find out if immobilising the joints in a chick embryo allows the BMP signaling to come up in the joint cartilage cells. We did find that happening,” Prof. Bandyopadhyay says.

The investigation into what causes the BMP signaling to be present in future permanent cartilage cells when the joint is immobilised led them to a surprise finding. The lead author, Pratik Singh, found out that an inhibitor of BMP signaling (Smurf1) is absent in the joint that is immobilised resulting in increased BMP signaling. “The role of the Smurf1 inhibitor is to maintain a BMP-free area thereby enabling the progenitor cells to become permanent cartilage. But due to increased BMP signaling the permanent cartilage gets converted into transient-like cartilage,” says Prof. Bandyopadhyay.

The Smurf1 inhibitor is not directly involved in joint cartilage formation but creates an environment that permits the formation of permanent cartilage by keeping the BMP signalling under check. Mechanical movement seems to act like a toggle switch. In the presence of it, Wnt – the signal that promotes joint cartilage – is on and BMP signalling is off in the joint cartilage cells. The opposite is true when the joint is immobilized. This is the reason why immobilisation of joints causes greater disturbance to permanent cartilage than even inhibition of Wnt signalling.

“We are now investigating if osteoarthritis is also associated with appearance of BMP signalling in the wrong place. If so, we can block the BMP signaling in these cells during the early-stage of osteoarthritis to possibly prevent the condition from worsening,” he says.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Science / by R. Prasad / Chennai – March 13th, 2018

Time to ‘Spring up’ Lucknow as Spring House Coworking Launches Its New Space in the City

Business & Economy

A community enabler with a more collaborative, innovative and state-of-the-art environment

One of India’s most diverse community enablers, Spring House has opened doors to its newest co-working space in the ‘City of Nawabs’ in collaboration with Design Factory India. This is Spring House’s second successful association with this premier experience design firm, the first being in Noida.

This coworking space is located in Gomti Nagar and comprises of 50 workstations. It offers amenities like high-speed internet, courier and printing services, housekeeping services, complimentary tea & coffee and access to conference rooms.

Sourabh Gupta, Founder of Design Factory India shares, “We are delighted to partner again with Spring House, one of India’s fastest growing network of co-working spaces. Spring House, Lucknow; is designed to complement the modern work force and portrays fine balance of well-designed layouts and essential features which will help Lucknowites manage their work with ease.”

As an integral part of their strategy to provide flexibility and choice around how people work, Spring House has expanded beyond NCR and entered a tier-2 city. Be it start-ups, SMEs, online professionals, freelancers or teams of large corporate houses; everyone can experience this preeminent one-stop ecosystem of the most connected professionals across various industries. After enabling communities across 9 locations with co-working spaces and business centres across Delhi, Gurgaon and Noida, Spring House is ready to launch in Lucknow. Their vision is to bridge the gap between entrepreneurs from Lucknow and the well-established startup ecosystem across Delhi NCR.

Speaking about the launch of the new workspace, Mukul Pasricha, Founder & CEO, Spring House said, “We are extremely dedicated to endorsing local growth. Once we started getting positive appreciation from tier-2 cities, it was indeed quintessential to make the move. We are currently one of the first few established co-working spaces that has opened in Lucknow with a fully managed centre. Lucknow has a large youth population and a community enabler like Spring House can motivate them to turn dreams into start-ups. We firmly believe that a tier-2 city is always just one startup away from putting them on the world map.”

source: http://www.bwdisrupt.businessworld.in / BW Disrupt / Home / by BW Online Bureau / March 14th, 2018