Category >> World News
Posted by: Administrator
on Jun 27, 2010
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A team led by an Indian-origin professor has devised a method of using mobile phones for conducting eye tests, a technique it hopes will be useful in places lacking hi-tech eye equipment.
The device, called NETRA, which means eye in Hindi, has been designed by Massachusetts Institute of Technology Media Lab associate professor Ramesh Raskar, visiting professor Manuel Oliveira, student Vitor Pamplona and postdoctoral research associate Ankit Mohan.
The two-minute eye test can be carried out using a small plastic device clipped in front of a cellphone's screen.
The patient looks into a small lens, presses the phone's arrow keys until sets of parallel green and red lines just overlap. The process is repeated eight times with the lines at different angles for each eye.
The entire process takes less than two minutes after which the software loaded in the phone provides prescription data.
"Our device has the potential to make routine refractive eye exams simpler and cheaper, and, therefore, more accessible to millions of people in developing countries," Oliveira said in a statement.
The technology takes advantage of the huge improvements over the last few years in the resolution of digital displays and their widespread proliferation on cellphones.
Posted by: Administrator
on Apr 25, 2010
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From a teledensity (number of phones in use for every 100 individuals) of just 1.4 per cent in 1995, India today has reached a teledensity of over 50 per cent, with big cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bangalore, etc going up to 130-140 per cent, same as in Europe and North America.
These facts were shared by Minister of State for Communications and Information Technology Sachin Pilot at a media briefing in Toronto on March 31.
"But in rural India the teledensity is still 18 to 20 per cent," Pilot said. "Within the next three years, we will connect every village in India with high-speed broadband access."
The government has decided to connect "tribal areas, border areas, north-eastern parts of our country, Kashmir valley, the sparsely populated areas; we are going to put up 11,000 towers to improve communication facilities," he said.
"It is important that every Indian living even in far off areas has a right to be equal partner in the IT revolution," Pilot said. "This revolution must not be limited to Delhi, Mumbai, etc. It has to be available all over the country -- the infrastructure, resources, facilities at cheapest possible rates and best quality -- and that's where the government comes in."
Pilot also wants to revolutionize Indian post offices by incorporating services like train and bus tickets bookings, e-bill payments, passport renewals, etc, so that even the rural ones play a broader role and the institution becomes profitable.
Posted by: Administrator
on Apr 13, 2010
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A doctor by profession, Karthik Adapa gave up scholarships to Harvard and Cambridge to join the Indian Administrative Services.
Thinking beyond marks, appreciating the value of each subject and teaching these very subjects to students during his preparation helped him ace the exam.
Now stationed at Ranikhet, a small town in Uttarakhand, Karthik (who was ranked first in the IAS exam of 2008) aspires to make a difference by working at the grassroots...
Why did you opt for the IAS?
It offers a tremendous opportunity for leadership and to work at the grassroots level. For example, I now work in a small town with a population of around 20,000. It is such a backward region that even a little work we do has a tremendous impact on the people here. You also get a chance to impact people's lives across a variety of domains such as health, education, water, sanitation, roads and electricity. In fact, as a topper, I was given the option to go to my hometown in Khammam, Andhra Pradesh but I chose Ranikhet as it's a much more backward place and that's the kind of place I wanted to contribute to.
Medicine is considered a noble profession. What prompted you to move out of it?
I enjoyed being a doctor and in fact, continue to be a doctor even now. In my capacity as an administrator, I organise health camps, where I also serve as a doctor. But what I realised is that as a doctor, the canvas you get to paint on is very small. Health is the only field you can work in as a doctor.
Tell us about life as a student...
I was always a good student, which helped me secure admission to a national medical college. I got a scholarship for a postgraduation at both Harvard and Cambridge. I also got a Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation scholarship for a PhD in Molecular Medicine at Harvard and the Jawaharlal Nehru [ Images ] Memorial Trust Commonwealth Shared Scholarship for my PhD in Cambridge. But I opted for the IAS. In two earlier attempts, I also got through the Indian Police Services, but I let it pass, too.
Three attempts? It sounds taxing! How did you prepare?
I enjoyed the process. I wish I had to give ten attempts so I could study for ten years! You actually grow a lot in the process; the reading is voracious. I look upon it as a way of life and not much has changed since those times for me. I still read a lot, keep abreast of what's happening in the world, in the country, in my state.
Which subjects did you chose during the mains and why?
Zoology and Psychology. Having done medicine, which is Advanced Biology, I wanted to go back to my basics and study Zoology, which is Basic Biology. I also wanted to study one subject that was different and would tell me something I enjoy in life and Psychology fitted the bill well. I worked really hard in Psychology. Though I didn't score too well, it gave me new perspectives to see my life events. It brings about a holistic change in your personality, which happens as long as you don't study merely for marks but internalise the subject. You must appreciate the basics of the subject and study its varied topics.
Posted by: Administrator
on Apr 08, 2010
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Hyderabad's Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) has been rated the world's number one airport in the category of airports handling 5 to 15 million passengers by the Airport Council International. The Hyderabad airport has also been voted as the fifth best airport worldwide.The RGIA handles about 6.4 million passengers annually.
Commercial flight operations began from the Hyderabad airport from March 2008. The Rajiv Gandhi International Airport is the second public-private partnership venture among Indian airports, after the Cochin International Airport.
With one of India's longest runways (4260 metres), the airport is designed to handle 12 million passengers, more than 100,000 metric tonne of cargo and 90,000 ATM (air traffic movements) per annum in the initial phase.
RGIA is also the first airport in Asia and second in the world to be awarded LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design ) Silver Rating for its eco-friendly design.Austin, Cancun, Nagoya, Jacksonville are the other airports that won in the 5-15 million passengers-per-year category.
The Airports Council International (ACI) is an autonomous and independent body that undertakes the ASQ Survey capturing the passengers' immediate perception of the quality of more than 34 aspects of service that they have experienced at the airport.
Posted by: Administrator
on Apr 05, 2010
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The first of the series of the ambitious road shows of the XIX Commonwealth Games 2010 Delhi was launched with a lot of fan fare in the God’s Own Country – Kerala. Kochi town came out in large numbers to welcome the Games’ mascot Shera.
As a part of this elaborate public contact program initiated by the Organising Committee Commonwealth Games 2010 Delhi; cultural events, road shows, painting competitions, quiz programs and dance festivals are being organised across the nation. Kochi becomes the first stop in the country-wide road shows for the Games. Mr. Jiji Thomson, Special Director-General, Organising Committee Commonwealth Games 2010 Delhi is spearheading this initiative. Mr. Thomson along with the Games’ mascot Shera is on Kochi visit between 3 to 5 April.
Posted by: Administrator
on Apr 03, 2010
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India is set to clash with Britain over Westminster's new Equality Bill which outlaws caste discrimination as a form of racism.The bill, which has been passed in the House of Lords, has been welcomed by campaigners for India's "dalits" or "untouchables", a caste which suffers extreme violence and persecution, but has been rejected by their government.There are more than 250 million dalits in India, many of whom are denied water, access to schools, and in some cases the right to pass through villages by upper caste Hindus who believe their presence, or even their shadow, pollutes them. Some dalits in India still work as "night soil carriers" – transporting human waste from latrines.
One prominent dalit campaigner had his arms and legs amputated because he refused to withdraw a police complaint against higher caste men who had raped his daughter.Ministers in London have become increasingly concerned about discrimination and persecution against lower caste Indians in Britain following a report last year which claimed thousands had been ill-treated because of their caste.
The report, by the Anti-Caste Discrimination Alliance, surveyed 300 British Asians and cited cases of children being bullied at school, bus inspectors refusing to work with lower caste drivers, and employees being sacked after their bosses discovered their caste status.
Posted by: Administrator
on Apr 03, 2010
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As a break from all the dense textbooks about dusty marbles, I decided to visit Tate Modern to see Marsyas, Kapoor's monumental blood-red sculpture, which was the third commission in the Unilever series inviting artists to make work for the gallery's echoing Turbine Hall. Upon seeing it, I was amazed – a reaction no doubt shared by many of the 1.85 million people who saw the sculpture before it was dismantled the following year. Marsyas didn't just fill the space around it. It dominated it.
To make this awe-inspiring work of art, Kapoor, assisted by the structural engineer Cecil Balmond, had stretched a crimson PVC membrane between three gargantuan steel rings.
Posted by: Administrator
on Mar 31, 2010
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The iconic British cabs will carry attention-grabbing images from "God's Own Country" with the Kerala Government launching yet another innovative branding exericse to woo tourists from abroad to the South Indian state.Kerala, already one of the top destinations in India as far as foreign tourists are concerned, is using images of its scenic grandeur, classical dances and martial arts to showcase its tourism products in various parts of the United Kingdom.
Among other things, the taxis will carry pictures of Kerala's famous backwaters and Kathakali dancers.A press release from Kerala Tourism said as many as 120 cabs with images of Kerala are now operating in Glasgow, Manchester and Birmingham under a branding exercise launched by it.
Posted by: Administrator
on Mar 27, 2010
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Earth Hour is a global event organized by WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature, also known as World Wildlife Fund) and is held on the last Saturday of March annually, asking households and businesses to turn off their non-essential lights and other electrical appliances for one hour to raise awareness towards the need to take action on climate change. Earth hour was conceived by WWF and The Sydney Morning Herald in 2007, when 2.2 million residents of Sydney participated by turning off all non-essential lights.
India along with 92 other countries will observe "lights out" between 8.30 p.m. and 9.30 p.m. Saturday. All government buildings, private banks and ITC hotels will turn off lights during this time.
Posted by: Administrator
on Mar 27, 2010
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Chief Executive Officer Michael Dell said in a conversation with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh that the south Asian nation is poised to become a technology manufacturing center.
The remarks came this week during a discussion with Singh about ways to boost hardware manufacturing in India, Dell spokesman David Frink said in an interview. The company denied an account of the discussion by Singh, who said Dell may be looking for a “safer environment” than China.
“With the right kind of progress, Mr. Dell said that he believes India also has an opportunity to become a hardware manufacturing hub, generating employment and adding to that country’s impressive growth,” Frink said.
India, Asia’s third-largest economy, needs to spend $1 trillion on roads, ports, power and other infrastructure between 2012 and 2017 to help accelerate economic growth to 10 percent and cut poverty, Singh said this week. Getting computer makers like Dell to invest in India rather than China is “an area where there are immense opportunities,” Singh said in a March 23 speech to members of India’s Planning Commission.
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