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Maker Village’s progress in 4 years worth a quarter century’s: Union Minister

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Maker Village

Kochi: Maker Village Kochi is a role model fit for the application in a wide range of fields including high-tech and deep-tech to agriculture, healthcare, environment, automation, business and industry, Union Minister of State for Electronics & Information Technology, Communications, and HRD Mr. Sanjay Dhotre said today.

Hailing the country’s largest hardware incubator as the only successful hardware startup venture by the Union Government in association with a state, he said during a visit to Maker Village that the four-year-old establishment has made progress that is usually achieved in a quarter-century. “I’d say this is a startup of startups,” he added, after addressing representatives from Industry firms such as Bosch, BPCL, Cochin Shipyard, NPOL, V-Guard, SFO, Brinc, GAIL, Altair, and Qualcomm.

Describing the Industries’ relation with Maker Village as “symbiotic”, Mr. Dhotre said such tie-ups can help the country develop “horizontally, and not just vertically”. He wants to replicate this model in other parts of the country so that the entire country gets benefits out of this model. Maker Village, which functions under the Union Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, has the Indian Institute of Information Technology-Kerala as the host institute.

The minister said Maker Village could engage in improving the country’s defense ecosystem. The suggestion comes four days after the Union government selected Maker Village as a partner for its iDEX program to create solutions for the armed services.

“We are looking for indigenization as part of our mission for a Shreshtha Bharat,” he said. “The country needs more and more of its products to be made in its soil. Maker Village will be a good resource in the ongoing initiative.”

The minister also called upon Maker Village Kochi to involve BSNL and MTNL in enabling the two state-owned communications companies to develop products of cutting-edge technology.

Earlier in the day, the minister and his high-level delegation took a round of the products at the Maker Village, learning about the array of products developed by the incubator since its inception in February 2016.

Introducing the innovative devices, Maker Village CEO Mr. Prasad Balakrishnan Nair pointed out that the establishment had by far incubated 75 startups and applied for 48 patents of which six have been sanctioned. “The minister, who is a mechanical engineer as well with great interest in agriculture and industry can guide us well,” he noted. “More so, at this juncture when Maker Village is looking new direction in going ahead with its motto of ‘Passion for technology, Compassion for the community’.

The Maker Village CEO submitted two proposals to the minister: one for the creation of a 5G district and the other an advanced manufacturing facility for Industry 4.0.

Mr. M Sivasankar, Secretary, IT, said Kerala’s hardware startups have a “huge problem” in raising working capital, for which they needed grants from the Centre. Taking a cue from the minister’s call for horizontal growth, he said the country wanted more such establishments in tier-2 cities, with Kochi has come up with a successful model.

At the roundtable, Kerala Startup Mission CEO Dr. Saji Gopinath briefed the minister about the functions of the state’s central agency for entrepreneurship development and incubation activities.

The minister was gifted with the Aranmula Kannadi, a handmade alloy mirror made in Kerala’s central Travancore region, as a symbol of the state’s rich heritage in metallurgy.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s a two-day visit to Brazil is over

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Brazil

New Delhi: The Prime Minister’s two day Brazil visit is over. The Prime Minister also addressed the BRICS Chamber of Commerce. He also communicated with the New Development Bank, which was formed by Countries of BRICS. The Prime Minister later tweeted that the BRICS summit was positive. Effective discussions have taken place in trade, innovation, technology, and culture. Future targeted actions will lead to greater cooperation between the BRICS countries and thereby benefit the people at large. The Prime Minister said innovative ideas are the basis of development and pointed out that more cooperation should be made between countries for this purpose. He said the next 10 years should work towards increased cooperation. Narendra Modi stressed the need for an efficient and effective BRICS system. Prime Minister has invited Indian businessmen from the BRICS countries to invest in India. India has political stability and an investment-friendly atmosphere. Terrorism is a major threat to peace and progress, the prime minister said in the conclusion of the summit.

Heavy rain in isolated areas: Yellow alert announced

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kerala weather 1

Thiruvananthapuram: Heavy rains are expected in isolated places in the state, the Met Department said. Heavy rains are expected in Kollam district tomorrow. Yellow Alert announced tomorrow in Kollam districts, reports said.

KSUM inks MoU with Calicut varsity to set up Fablab on campus

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Kerala Startup Mission

Kozhikode: Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the University of Calicut (UoC) to set up a mini Fablab on the campus with a special focus on digital fabrication and future technologies.

The facility will enable students of the university to familiarise themselves with new manufacturing methodologies like 3D printing, laser cutting, and electronics production.

Dr. Saji Gopinath, CEO, KSUM, and Dr. C.L. Joshy, Registrar, UoC, signed the MoU at a function at the Senate House, UoC, here on Wednesday.

On the occasion, Dr. Saiji Gopinath said: “The mini Fablab will enable to promote entrepreneurship culture among students, alumni and other stakeholders of the UoC. Several evangelization programs will be conducted through the mini FabLab.”

“The UoC will provide 2,000 square feet space for setting up the facility with capital assistance from KSUM. The mini Fablab will promote maker culture in the region, and enable students to associate with industry bodies, professionals and other supporting entities to develop their ventures into sustainable enterprises,” said Dr. Joshy. 

Dr. K. Mohammed Basheer, Vice-Chancellor, UoC; Dr. P. Mohan, Pro-Vice-Chancellor; Dr. M. Manoharan, Director – Internal Quality Assurance Cell (IQAC) and Member, Syndicate, UoC; and Mr. Ravindran Kasthuri, CEO, Uralungal Labour Contract Co-operative Society (ULCCS) were also present.

As per the MoU, KSUM will manage the Fablab for a minimum period of 18 months. During this period, the agency will appoint necessary personnel to manage the lab at its own cost, and operating cost after this period will be borne by the UoC.

The mini Fablab will be open to both professionals, local innovators, entrepreneurs, and students. It will run fabrication projects and other training courses to students on a periodic basis.

KSUM, Kerala’s nodal agency of Government for entrepreneurship development and incubation activities will extend the mentorship, technology guidance and connects for the users of the mini Fablab in their domain fields.

Rafale; the Supreme Court dismissed the review petitions

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Rafale

New Delhi: The Supreme Court today ruled that there is no need to reinvestigate in the Rafale deal. The bench comprising Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, Justices S K Kaul, and KM Joseph has dismissed the petition seeking reconsideration of the verdict.

The court also dismissed Rahul Gandhi’s defamation petition for calling Modi a ‘chowkidar chor’ in the Rafael case. The court directed Rahul Gandhi to be more cautious in the future. Former Union Ministers Yashwant Sinha, Arun Shourie, and lawyer Prashant Bhushan have filed a petition seeking a Rafale inquiry. However, a three-member bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi refused.

There were media reports that, contradicted what the central government had said before the court. Sinha and others filed a reconsideration petition after some of the errors in the judgment came out.

On December 14, 2018, the Supreme Court ruled that there was nothing suspicious about the deal to buy Rafale warplanes from France. The court observed that there was no evidence that the government had benefited from Reliance.

Irregularity in decision making in connection with Rafal deal, the contract was for a higher price, the Hindustan Aero Nauticals lost the opportunity of public sector undertaking due to Reliance Aerostructure was the allegations in the petition.

Sabarimala review petitions go to a larger bench

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Sabarimala

New Delhi: Supreme Court upheld a seven-judge bench to hear the review petitions in the Sabarimala case. The Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi ruled in a petition for reconsideration of the admission of women entering in Sabarimala. The case will be considered by the seven-membered Constitutional Bench. The existing judgment does not stay.

The decision was taken on September 28, 2018, in 56 review petitions against the court’s decision to allow youth to enter Sabarimala. A three-member majority verdict came against the two men on the bench.

At first, the verdict of the three was pronounced. Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, Justice Indu Malhotra and Justice AM Khanwilkar’s verdict was pronounced at first. The other members of the bench are RF Nariman and DY Chandrachud.

The Sabarimala review petition was not a unanimous decision from the Supreme Court. Justice DY Chandrachud and Rohinton Nariman wrote the dissenting verdict when three out of five judges wanted a broad bench.

There are other similar petitions as well as pending review petitions. All the petitions, including the entry of Sabarimala women and the admission of women to Muslim Parsi shrines, will now be considered by a broad bench.

The Constitutional Bench comprising Chief Justice of India Deepak Mishra, Justices RF Nariman, A N Khanwilkar, DY Chandrachud, and Indu Malhotra, granted women entry in Sabarimala on September 29, 2018. Justice Justice Indu Malhotra disagreed and all four judges upheld women’s access. 56 review petitions and four writ petitions were filed against the verdict. New Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi has joined the five-member bench following the retirement of Justice Deepak Mishra. Other judges are unchanged. The verdict was adjourned to February 6 after hearing the case. The Pandalam royal family, the temple tantri and the NSS have filed a review petition.

Political uncertainty; President’s rule in Maharashtra

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Maharashtra

President’s rule imposed in Maharashtra. The decision comes at a time when there is no end to the political uncertainty in the state. President Ramnath Kovind has approved the Union Cabinet’s recommendation.

The move comes on the recommendation of the governor as no party can form a government in Maharashtra even 18 days after the assembly elections. Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari pointed out that in the present situation, it is difficult to formulate a government in the state according to the constitution. First BJP They were invited to form the government but they withdrew. The Governor was invited by the Shiv Sena. As the Shiv Sena was unable to prove its support, the governor invited the NCP. However, the NCP could not secure majority support. The Shiv Sena, meanwhile, has approached the Supreme Court over the governor’s decision not to grant three days’ notice of support. But the court did not recognize the urgent need to hear the case. Congress alleged that the governor’s action was a violation of constitutional principles.

Asuran to Telugu: Venkatesh and Shriya Saran in the lead role

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Asuran movie to Telugu

Dhanush’s latest movie is Asuran. The film has the specialty of Manju Warrier’s Tamil movie. The film premiered on October 4. The film has received a good response. Now the film is about to remake in Telugu. Venkatesh is all set to remake the film in Telugu. In Telugu, Venkatesh and Shriya Saran play the roles of Dhanush and Manju.

The film is directed by Vettiraman. The music of the film was composed by GV Prakash Kumar. The film produced by Kalaipuli S Thanu. The film has grossed over Rs 150 crore in total business.

Seven people were killed when a car bomb exploded

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Afghanistan

Kabul: Car bomb blast kills seven in Afghanistan. A car carrying explosives exploded in the area of PD 15 in Kabul at around 7.25 am local time. News agency ANI tweet the incident. Seven people were injured and several vehicles were reportedly damaged. Authorities said several foreign NGOs and narcotics officers were operating in the area of the blast. No terror groups claim the responsibility of the attack. And, the aim of the attack is still unknown.

Lost document restored with the help of technology

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Lost document

Thiruvananthapuram:  The documents which lost in the flood has been restored through a technology. In a technology-powered drive, hundreds of basic documents and certificates lost or damaged during the floods this year have been retrieved and digitized by Certificates Retrieval Adalats conducted by district administrations jointly with Kerala State IT Mission in different parts of the state.

The restored documents, which included ration cards, mark lists, birth and marriage certificates, and property documents, have been safely kept in DigiLocker accounts opened for the beneficiaries, so that they can be downloaded whenever needed.

A total of 1,797 documents were restored during the campaign, from 2012 applications.  In all, 859 DigiLocker accounts were opened to keep these documents as part of the drive, which concluded in Malappuram earlier this week.

These documents included Aadhar, SSLC and Plus Two mark books and certificates, driving licenses, land deed documents and caste and community certificates, said Dr S Chithra IAS, Director, Kerala State IT Mission. These are basic records for people to avail benefits from a range of welfare schemes and services provided by the Government.

Those who had lost the documents during the floods had been asked to personally appear at the adalats and submit requests for their retrieval/ restoration. The mission was carried out with the support of DigiLocker team of the Department of IT, Government of India.

An application software developed by Indian Institute of Information Technology and Management-Kerala (IIITM-K) was used for the exercise.

The camps were led by the IT Mission’s District Project Managers with the support of district administrations. The Government departments including Education, Food and Civil Supplies and Motor Vehicle joined the drive. Akshaya workers also stepped in by setting up help desks at the camps.

The largest number of 1,208 documents were retrieved by camps held in Malappuram district, followed by Wayanad 192, Kozhikode 180, Thrissur 161 and Kannur 56. District-wise count of DigiLocker accounts opened is Malappuram 494, Kozhikode 129, Wayanad 120, Thrissur 79 and Kannur 37.

After last year’s devastating floods as many as 30 certificate adalats were held and over 6000 documents were restored to their owners.

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