Monthly Coverage Dossier

December 2018

IIT Madras A Campus of Choice

Date: 2nd November 2018 Publication: The Hindu Tamil Edition: Chennai Page No: 3 Journalist: NA Headline: 130 Students of IIT-Madras Receive Pre-placement Offers

Date: 1st November 2018 Publication: India Today Edition: Online Journalist: Harshita Pathak Professor: Prof Manu Santhanam Headline: IIT Madras observes elevation in PPOs yet again this year URL: http://www.indiatoday.in/education-today/news/story/iit-madras-ppos-1380159-2018-11-01

IIT Madras observes elevation in PPOs yet again this year

Major recruiters are in Core and R&D sectors with Qualcomm and Samsung Research being the top recruiters. The Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IITM) is an institute of national importance. The Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IITM) is an institute of national importance. The Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IITM) has observed an increase in pre-placement offers (PPOs) yet again this academic year of 2018- 19. As many as 130 students (excluding Department of Management Studies) of IIT Madras got PPOs against 114 in the preceding year.

The Department of Management Studies (DOMS), IIT Madras, which coordinates its own internships and placements, also recorded an increase in PPOs during 2018-19.

One of the principal reasons for this strong show in PPOs has been the robust internship program of IIT Madras, which helped students in getting internships at top-notch companies.

Speaking about the reasons behind the increase in PPOs this year, Prof Manu Santhanam said, "Each year, we have regularly seen an increase in the number of PPOs. This is primarily because of increased interest to recruit students after internships. Companies have a better opportunity to gauge the candidates during the 6 - 10 week internships as compared to a 30-minute interview."

Pre- placement offers at IIT Madras: The internships are facilitated through an Institute-coordinated process. The constant increase in PPOs is the result of excellent performance of students during the internships.

Prof Manu Santhanam, Advisor, Training and Placement, IIT Madras, said, "The good number of PPOs is hopefully indicative of a strong placement season. The steady increase over the years in PPOs also points to the value placed by recruiters on the internship program." Pre-placement offers at IIT Madras: Recent Years

Year 2015-16 2016-17 2017-18 2018-19 PPOs 69 73 114 130 Major sectors that offered PPOs during 2018-19: Core and R&D: 61 per cent Analytics, Consulting and Finance: 19 per cent

FMCG (Fast-Moving Consumer Goods): 14 per cent

Information Technology: 6 per cent

Companies that offered the highest number of PPOs: Qualcomm: 19

Samsung Research (Noida, Delhi, Bangalore combined): 16 Microsoft: 9

Goldman Sachs: 8

ITC Ltd: 7

PPO from Start-ups (Aether Energy): 1

Pre-placement offers at Department of Management Studies (DOMS): Recent years

Year 2015-16 2016-17 2017-18 2018-19 PPOs* 8 16 19 22 * Exclusive of IIT Madras PPOs

Major Recruiters from DOMS, IIT Madras:

The major recruiters include companies like Accenture, VIP Industries, Dell, Ford, Amazon, IBM, Tiger Analytics, Royal Bank of Scotland, Wipro and Fresh Works besides Titan and Crisil.

Speaking about the placement process at DOMS, Prof Usha Mohan, Placement Coordinator, DoMS, IIT Madras, said, "A good number of companies visiting our Department do provide pre-placement offers to our students during their summer internships." She added, "We constantly strive to invite and work with firms that offer challenging projects and multiple job profiles to our students. We also support MSMEs and non-profit firms through our departmental initiatives."

Students also got to work on social organisations such as Rural Technology Action Group (RuTAG) and Government projects (from Madhya Pradesh) as a part of the summer internship programmes.

Date: 5th November 2018 Publication: Hindustan Times Edition: Pune/Mumbai Page No: 9 Journalist: Shreya Bhandary Professor: Prof Manu Santhanam Headline: Pre-placement offers spike across IITs URL: https://www.hindustantimes.com/mumbai-news/pre-placement-offers-spike-across-iits/story-AyZ8ETqzSQm6FAIFljg6uK.htm

Date: 4th November 2018 Publication: The Economic Times Edition: Mumbai / Delhi / Pune / Bangalore / Hyderabad / Chennai / Kolkata / Kochi / Ahmedabad / Chandigarh Page no.: 12 Journalist: Ishani Duttagupta Professor: Prof R Nagarajan Headline: Finding foreign fellows URL://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/66492918.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cpp

Date: 6th November 2018 Publication: The New Indian Express Edition: Bangalore / Kochi Page No: 12 Journalist: Sumi Sukanya Dutta Headline: IITs see rise in PPOs as placement season nears URL: http://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/2018/nov/06/iits-see-rise-in-ppos-as-placement-season-nears-1894756.html

Date: 17th November 2018 Publication: The Times of India -Chennai Times Edition: Chennai Page No: 4 Journalist: Purnima Shah Professor: Prof Ligy Philip Headline: TN’s green campuses URL: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/spotlight/tns-green-campuses/articleshow/66652738.cms

Date: 26th November 2018 Publication: The Indian Express Edition: Mumbai/Pune/Hyderabad/Kolkata/Kochi/Ahemdabad Page No: 3 Journalist: Ritika Chopra Professor: Prof D Karunagaran Headline: In Century Of Biology, IITs Make Space For Life Science URL: https://indianexpress.com/article/education/tracking-change-in-century-of-biology-iits-make-space-for-life-science-5464197/

Date: 26th November 2018 Publication: Hindustan Times Edition: Mumbai/Pune Page No: 12 Journalist: NA Professor: Prof Manu Santhanam Headline: IITs to US

Date: 27th November 2018 Publication: The Hindu Business Line Edition: Chennai / Delhi / Mumbai / Pune / Bangalore / Hyderabad / Ahmedabad / Chandigarh/Kolkata/Kochi Page No: 15 Journalist: NA Headline: IIT-M set for a strong placement season URL: https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/education/iit-m-set-for-strong-placement-season/article25599406.ece

Date: 27th November 2018 Publication: The Hindu Edition: Chennai Page No: 3 Journalist: Sangeetha Kandavel Professor: Prof Manu Santhanam Headline: IIT-M draws global players for placement season URL: https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/chennai/iit-m-draws-global-players-for-placement-season/article25601418.ece

Date: 26th November 2018 Publication: The Financial Express Edition: Delhi/Mumbai Bangalore/Chennai/Kochi Page No: 4 Journalist: NA Professor: Prof Manu Santhanam Headline: IIT-M set for big placement sees participation of Bain Nomura among top players

Date: 27th November 2018 Publication: NDTV Edition: Online Journalist: NA Professor: Prof Manu Santhanam Headline: IIT Madras Placement 2018: 326 Firms Register For Phase I Beginning On December 1 URL: https://www.ndtv.com/education/iit-madras-placement-2018-process-from-december-1-microsoft-goldman-sachs-intel-citibank- qualcomm-ba-1953594

IIT Madras Placement 2018: 326 Firms Register For Phase I Beginning On December 1

The first phase of IIM Madras campus recruitment for 2018-19 will be held between December 1 and

CHENNAI: Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras is all set for this year's placement season, scheduled to begin on December 1, 2018. Till today, as many as 326 companies have registered for more than 490 job profiles for Phase I, compared to about 270 companies in the whole of last year for the same period. The first phase of IIT Madras campus recruitment for 2018-19 will be held between December 1 and December 8, 2018 with a break of one day (December 5, 2018). An IIT Madras statement said about 34 percent of the recruiters are from Core Engineering / Research and Development sector, 21 percent from Finance / Analytics / Consulting sectors, and 32 percent from the IT sector with the rest from other sectors.

During the placement season, the Institute will host more than 50 start-ups this year.

IIT Madras To Set Up Joint Research Centre With Japanese Manufacturing Firms

With 130 Pre-Placement Offers (PPOs) this year (2018-19), the institute recorded a 20 percent increase in PPOs, which comes from internships.

Speaking about this year's Placement Season, Prof Manu Santhanam, Advisor, Training and Placement, IIT Madras, said, "The number of recruiters coming to campus has seen an upswing this year, which is clearly an indicator of the growing perception about the quality of students coming from IIT Madras, in addition to our consistently top rank in NIRF."

More than 1,300 students have registered for placements across different study streams and departments this year.

The number is expected to increase as more Research Scholars become eligible (this happens as and when they achieve a specific target in their research programme).

About 30 students have opted for deferred placements as they are either pursuing Start-up ventures or planning to apply for higher studies. Prominent first-time companies this year include Bain & Company, Nomura, Ather Energy, and Jaguar Land Rover.

Electronic Health Pill Innovation For Cardiac Care Wins 'Accenture Innovation Challenge' 2018

An interesting trend in this academic year (2018-19) is the increased number of profiles for data analytics, which reflects the current industry.

There are around 59 analytics/data science job profiles as of now compared to around 48 in the whole of last year.

Similar to last year, IIT Madras will not have the 'Graveyard Slot,' which begins the early hours of Day One (December 1), usually from 12 midnight to 6 am.

Date: 27th November 2018 Publication: The Indian Express Edition: Online Journalist: NA Professor: Prof Manu Santhanam Headline: IIT-Madras placements: Firms registered for phase-I double the number of total cos registered last year URL: https://indianexpress.com/article/jobs/iit-placements-2019-microsoft-data-analyst-startup-5465006/

IIT-Madras placements: Firms registered for phase-I double the number of total cos registered last year IIT Placement 2019: Google and McKinsey to return to IIT-M for placements season starting December 1, 2018. Increase in number of data analyst posts

IIT Madras enters into collaboration with Tamil Nadu e-Governance agency

IIT-Madras, IIT-Madras pre-placement offers, pre-placement offers, Indian Institute of Technology-Madras, IIT placement The number of start-ups coming for recruitment has increased by 50 per cent. (File Photo) The Indian Institute of Technology, Madras (IIT-M) has already received registrations from 326 companies for the phase-I of placement season for more than 490 job profiles. This is a jump from last year when nearly 270 companies appeared for recruitment throughout the entire year. Placements are expected to begin from December 1 and last till December 8.

About 34 per cent of the recruiters are from core engineering, research and development sector, 21 per cent from finance, analytics, consulting sectors, and 32 per cent from the IT sector and rest 13 per cent will be from other sectors. The institute will host more than 50 start-ups this year.

As many as 130 pre-placement offers (PPOs) have already been made which is an increase of 20 per cent from last year. Over 1,300 students have registered for placements across different study streams and departments this year. The number is expected to increase as more research scholars become eligible. About 30 students have opted out of placements as they are either pursuing start-up ventures or planning to apply for higher studies.

Companies including Bain & Company, Nomura, Ather Energy, and Jaguar Land Rover will come for the first time to IIT-Madras placement this year. Traditional recruiters including Microsoft, Goldman Sachs, BCG, Intel, Citibank, Qualcomm, Bajaj, General Electric have registered for recruitment as well. As many as 23 companies have advertised international profiles, most of which are for positions in Asian countries such as Japan, Singapore, and Taiwan, along with the US.

There has been an increased number of profiles for data analytics. Around 59 analytics or data science job profiles are registered for phase-I already as compared to around 48 jobs in the entire last year.

Date: 26th November 2018 Publication: Business Standard Edition: Online Journalist: Gireesh Babu Professor: Prof Manu Santhanam Headline: 326 companies register for first phase of IIT Madras's recruitment season URL: https:/www.business-standard.com/article/education/326-companies-register-for-first-phase-of-

iit-madras-s-recruitment-season-118112600482_1.html You are here: Home » Education » News Quantitative Analysis tougher than expected in CAT 2018, cheering engineers 326 companies register for first phase of IIT Madras's recruitment season Microsoft, Goldman Sachs, BCG, Intel, Citibank, Qualcomm, Bajaj, General Electric will be on the campus, IIT Madras, ONGC sign agreement to boost operational lifecycle of platforms Social entrepreneurs can ease job woes IIT-Madras researchers design first indigenously-developed microprocessor IIT Madras Incubation Cell sees surge in number of start-ups at 18% in FY18

As many as 326 companies till Monday had registered at the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT-M) to select candidates for more than 490 job profiles in the first phase of recruitment at one of India’s top engineering college.

As many 270 companies visited the campus in 2017-18. The 2018-19 recruitment will be held between December 1 and 8, with a break of one day on December 5.

"The number of recruiters coming to campus has seen an upswing this year, which is clearly an indicator of the growing perception about the quality of students coming from IIT Madras, in addition to our consistently top rank in NIRF," said Manu Santhanam, advisor, training and placement, IIT Madras, reffering to the National Institutional Ranking Framework, a government methodology to rank institutions of higher education.

About 34 per cent recruiters this year at IIT Madras are from core engineering/ research and development, 32 percent from the IT sector, and 21 percent from finance, analytics, consulting, and the rest is from other sectors. The institute will host more than 50 start-ups this year.

Traditional recruiters Microsoft, Goldman Sachs, BCG, Intel, Citibank, Qualcomm, Bajaj, General Electric will be on the campus this year as well. Around 23 companies have advertised international profiles, mostly for positions in Japan, Singapore, Taiwan, and the US. Bain & Company, Nomura, Ather Energy, and Jaguar Land Rover are among the prominent firms that will visit the campus for the first time. This academic year there is an increased number of profiles for data analytics. There are around 59 analytics/data science job profiles as of now compared to around 48 in the whole of last year.

IIT-M has said it will not hold a graveyard slot, a recruitment session from 12 midnight to 6 am on the first day of placement. This is the second consecutive year the institute is not organising the slot.

More than 1,300 students have registered for placements across different study streams and departments this year, as compared to 1172 students last year. The number is expected to increase as more Research Scholars become eligible, which is as and when they achieve a specific target in their research programme.

About 30 students have opted for deferred placements as they are either pursuing Start-up ventures or planning to apply for higher studies.

With 130 Pre-Placement Offers (PPOs) in 2018-19, the institute recorded a 20 percent increase from 114 last year, which comes from internships.

IIT-M has been ranked as the first among Engineering Institutions in the India Rankings for three consecutive years - 2016, 2017 and 2018. The Institute was also ranked as the second in the category of Overall Institutions in 2017 and 2018 Rankings, released by the National Institutional Ranking Framework, Ministry of Human Resources Development.

Date: 26th November 2018 Publication: Hindustan Times Edition: online Journalist: NA Professor: Prof Manu Santhanam Headline: IIT Madras set for another strong placement season as 326 firms register for phase I URL: https://www.hindustantimes.com/education/iit-madras-set-for-another-strong-placement-season-as-326-firms-register-for-phase-i/story- o0SgSzX4LIqfsKkDKBnGRL.html

IIT Madras set for another strong placement season as 326 firms register for phase I

Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras is all set for this year’s placement season, scheduled to begin on December 1, 2018. The 1st phase of campus recruitment for 2018-19 at IIT Madras will be held between December 1-8 with a break of one day (5th December 2018).(PTI) Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras is all set for this year’s placement season, scheduled to begin on December 1, 2018. As many as 326 companies have registered (as on November 26) for more than 490 job profiles for phase I, compared to about 270 companies in the whole of last year (2017-18).

The 1st phase of campus recruitment for 2018-19 will be held between December 1-8 with a break of one day (5th December 2018).

About 34% of the recruiters are from Core Engineering / Research and Development sector, 21% from Finance / Analytics / Consulting sectors, and 32% from the IT sector with the rest from other sectors. The Institute will host more than 50 start-ups this year.

With 130 Pre-Placement Offers (PPOs) this year (2018-19), the institute recorded a 20% increase in PPOs, which comes from internships.

More than 1,300 students have registered for placements across different study streams and departments this year. The number is expected to increase as more research scholars become eligible (this happens as and when they achieve a specific target in their research programme).

About 30 students have opted for deferred placements as they are either pursuing Start-up ventures or planning to apply for higher studies.

Prominent first-time companies this year include Bain and Company, Nomura, Ather Energy, and Jaguar Land Rover.

Speaking about this year’s Placement Season, Prof Manu Santhanam, Advisor, Training and Placement, IIT Madras, said, “The number of recruiters coming to campus has seen an upswing this year, which is clearly an indicator of the growing perception about the quality of students coming from IIT Madras, in addition to our consistently top rank in NIRF.”

Date: 26th November 2018 Publication: The Economic Times Edition: Online Journalist: Sreeradha D Basu Professor: Prof Manu Santhanam Headline: 326 companies offering 490 job profiles register for Phase 1 of final placements at IIT Madras URL: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/jobs/326-companies-offering-490-job-profiles-register-for-phase-1-of-final-placements-at-iit- madras/articleshow/66807834.cms

Date: 26th November 2018 Publication: The Financial Express Edition: Online Journalist: NA Professor: Prof Manu Santhanam Headline: IIT Madras Placements 2018: Stage set – What students and job seekers need to know URL: https://www.financialexpress.com/jobs/iit-madras-placements-2018-stage-set-what-students-and-job-seekers-need-to-know/1394441/

IIT Madras Placements 2018: Stage set – What students and job seekers need to know

IIT Madras Placements 2018: In a statement issued on Monday, the premier institute said that as many as 326 companies have registered for more than 490 job profiles, compared to 270 companies in the whole of last year. iit madras placements 2018, IIT Madras Placements 2019, iit madras placement packages, iit madras salary, iit madras salary packages, iit madras salary, iit madras placements salary

IIT Madras Placements 2018: The first phase of placement is scheduled to begin on December 1, 2018. Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT) Madras is set for yet another strong placement season with over 300 firms registering for phase I, higher than last year. The first phase of placement is scheduled to begin on December 1, 2018. In a statement issued on Monday, the premier institute said that as many as 326 companies have registered for more than 490 job profiles, compared to 270 companies in the whole of last year.

“About 34 per cent of the recruiters are from Core Engineering/Research and Development sector, 21 per cent from Finance/Analytics/Consulting sectors, and 32 per cent from the IT sector with the rest from other sectors,” IIT-Madras said. The institute will host over 50 start-ups this year. The institute has also witnessed a 20 per cent increase in pre-placement offers (PPOs) this year, which comes from internships. So far, it has received 130 PPOs for 2018-19.

So far, more than 1,300 students have registered for placements but this number is expected to go up as more research scholars become eligible. Among the companies that have registered for the first time are Bain & Company, Nomura, Ather Energy, and Jaguar Land Rover. Traditional recruiters such as Microsoft, Goldman Sachs, BCG, Intel, Citibank, Qualcomm, Bajaj, General Electric will also recruit from IIT-Madras.

Speaking on this year’s placement season, IIT Madras Training and Placement Advisor Manu Santhanam said: “The number of recruiters coming to campus has seen an upswing this year, which is clearly an indicator of the growing perception about the quality of students coming from IIT Madras, in addition to our consistently top rank in NIRF.”

Date: 27th November 2018 Publication: Deccan Chronicle Edition: Chennai Page No: 2 Journalist: NA Professor: Prof Manu Santhanam Headline: IIT Madras placement season looks promising URL: https://www.deccanchronicle.com/nation/current-affairs/271118/iit-m-placement-season-looks-promising.html

Date: 27th November 2018 Publication: The Times of India Edition: Chennai Page No: 5 Journalist: NA Professor: Prof Manu Santhanam Headline: IIT-M placement sees surge in interest URL: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/iit-m-placement-sees-surge-in-interest/articleshow/66817631.cms

Date: 27th November 2018 Publication: UNI Edition: Online Journalist: NA Headline: IIT Madras set for another strong Placement Season as 326 firms URL: http://www.uniindia.com/iit-madras-set-for-another-strong-placement-season-as-326-firms-register-for-phase-i-beginning-1st- dec/south/news/1416433.html

IIT Madras set for another strong Placement Season as 326 firms register for Phase I, beginning 1st Dec

Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)Madras is all set for this year’s placement season, scheduled to begin on December 1st. As many as 326 companies have registered (as on 26th Nov 2018) for more than 490 job profiles for Phase I, compared to about 270 companies in the whole of last year (2017-18). A press release from IIT Madras here on Monday said Google and McKinsey return to campus for recruitment this year to IIT Madras The 1st phase of campus recruitment for 2018-19 will be held between December 1st and 8th, 2018 with a break of one day (5th December 2018). About 34 percent of the recruiters are from Core Engineering / Research and Development sector, 21 percent from Finance / Analytics / Consulting sectors, and 32 percent from the IT sector with the rest from other sectors. The Institute will host more than 50 start-ups this year. With 130 Pre-Placement Offers (PPOs) this year (2018-19), the institute recorded a 20 percent increase in PPOs, which comes from internships. More than 1,300 students have registered for placements across different study streams and departments this year. The number is expected to increase as more Research Scholars become eligible (this happens as and when they achieve a specific target in their research programme). About 30 students have opted for deferred placements as they are either pursuing Start-up ventures or planning to apply for higher studies. Prominent first-time companies this year include Bain & Company, Nomura, Ather Energy, and Jaguar Land Rover. Traditional recruiters such as Microsoft, Goldman Sachs, BCG, Intel, Citibank, Qualcomm, Bajaj, General Electric are coming to IIT Madras for recruitment this year as well. As many as 23 companies have advertised international profiles, most of which are for positions in Asian countries such as Japan, Singapore, and Taiwan, along with the U.S. as well. An interesting trend in this academic year (2018-19) is the increased number of profiles for data analytics, which reflects the current industry. There are around 59 analytics/data science job profiles as of now compared to around 48 in the whole of last year. Similar to last year, IIT Madras will not have the ‘Graveyard Slot,’ which begins the early hours of Day One (Decemb

Date: 26th November 2018 Publication: India Com Edition: Online Journalist: NA Professor: Prof Manu Santhanam Headline: Over 3OO firms to take part in IIT-M campus placements URL: https://www.india.com/news/agencies/over-3oo-firms-to-take-part-in-iit-m-campus-placements-3447734/

Over 3OO firms to take part in IIT-M campus placements

Chennai, Nov 26 (PTI) More than 300 companies have registered to participate in the first phase of campus placements at Indian Institute of Technology-Madras.

In a statement, the institute said the first phase of campus recruitment for 2018-19 will be held between December 1 and 8 with a break of one day on December 5.

“More than 1,300 students have registered for placements across different study streams and departments this year. The number is expected to increase…,” it said.

As many as 326 firms have registered as on November 26 for more than 490 job profiles for first phase of placement, compared to about 270 companies in the whole of last year.

IIT-M Training and Placement adviser Prof Manu Santhanam said, “The number of recruiters coming to campus has seen an upswing this year, which is clearly an indicator of the growing perception about the quality of students coming from IIT Madras, in addition to our consistently top rank in NIRF (National Institutional Ranking Framework).” The second phase of campus placements would he held in January.

Date: 27th November 2018 Publication: India Education Diary Edition: Online Journalist: NA Professor: Prof Manu Santhanam Headline: IIT Madras set for another strong Placement Season as 326 firms register for Phase I, beginning 1st Dec URL: http://indiaeducationdiary.in/iit-madras-set-another-strong-placement-season-326-firms-register-phase-beginning-1st-dec/

IIT Madras set for another strong Placement Season as 326 firms register for Phase I, beginning 1st Dec

Chennai: Indian Institute of Technology Madras is all set for this year’s placement season, scheduled to begin on 1st December 2018. As many as 326 companies have registered (as on 26th Nov 2018) for more than 490 job profiles for Phase I, compared to about 270 companies in the whole of last year (2017-18).

The 1st phase of campus recruitment for 2018-19 will be held between 1st and 8th December 2018 with a break of one day (5th December 2018).

About 34 percent of the recruiters are from Core Engineering / Research and Development sector, 21 percent from Finance / Analytics / Consulting sectors, and 32 percent from the IT sector with the rest from other sectors. The Institute will host more than 50 start-ups this year.

With 130 Pre-Placement Offers (PPOs) this year (2018-19), the institute recorded a 20 percent increase in PPOs, which comes from internships.

About 30 students have opted for deferred placements as they are either pursuing Start-up ventures or planning to apply for higher studies.

Prominent first-time companies this year include Bain & Company, Nomura, Ather Energy, and Jaguar Land Rover.

Traditional recruiters such as Microsoft, Goldman Sachs, BCG, Intel, Citibank, Qualcomm, Bajaj, General Electric are coming to IIT Madras for recruitment this year as well. As many as 23 companies have advertised international profiles, most of which are for positions in Asian countries such as Japan, Singapore, and Taiwan, along with the U.S. as well. An interesting trend in this academic year (2018-19) is the increased number of profiles for data analytics, which reflects the current industry. There are around 59 analytics/data science job profiles as of now compared to around 48 in the whole of last year. Similar to last year, IIT Madras will not have the ‘Graveyard Slot,’ which begins the early hours of Day One (December 1), usually from 12 midnight to 6 am.

Speaking about this year’s Placement Season, Prof. Manu Santhanam, Advisor, Training and Placement, IIT Madras, said, “The number of recruiters coming to campus has seen an upswing this year, which is clearly an indicator of the growing perception about the quality of students coming from IIT Madras, in addition to our consistently top rank in NIRF.”

Date: 27th November 2018 Publication: Vijaya Karnataka Edition: Bangalore Page No: 9 Journalist: NA Headline: - 300 (Over 300 firms to take part in IIT-M campus placements)

Date: 27th November 2018 Publication: The New Indian Express Edition: Chennai/Hyderabad Page No: 3 Journalist: NA Professor: Prof. Manu Santhanam Headline: 20 pc jump in firms arriving for IIT-M campus placements URL: http://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/chennai/2018/nov/27/20-pc-jump-in-firms-arriving-for-iit-m-campus-placements-1903683.html

Date: 27th November 2018 Publication: DT Next Edition: Chennai Page No: 8 Journalist: NA Headline: Phase I of IIT-M placements to begin on Dec 1

Date: 27th November 2018 Publication: Web India 123 Edition: Online Journalist: NA Professor: Prof. Manu Santhanam Headline: IIT Madras set for another strong Placement Season as 326 firms register for Phase I, beginning 1st Dec URL: https://news.webindia123.com/news/articles/India/20181126/3480787.html

IIT Madras set for another strong Placement Season as 326 firms register for Phase I, beginning 1st Dec

Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)Madras is all set for this year's placement season, scheduled to begin on December 1st. As many as 326 companies have registered (as on 26th Nov 2018) for more than 490 job profiles for Phase I, compared to about 270 companies in the whole of last year (2017-18).

A press release from IIT Madras here on Monday said Google and McKinsey return to campus for recruitment this year to IIT MadrasThe 1st phase of campus recruitment for 2018-19 will be held between December 1st and 8th, 2018 with a break of one day (5th December 2018).

With 130 Pre-Placement Offers (PPOs) this year (2018-19), the institute recorded a 20 percent increase in PPOs, which comes from internships.

More than 1,300 students have registered for placements across different study streams and departments this year. The number is expected to increase as more Research Scholars become eligible (this happens as and when they achieve a specific target in their research programme). About 30 students have opted for deferred placements as they are either pursuing Start-up ventures or planning to apply for higher studies.

Prominent first-time companies this year include Bain & Company, Nomura, Ather Energy, and Jaguar Land Rover.

Speaking about this year's Placement Season, IIT Madras, Training and Placement, Advisor, Prof. Manu Santhanam, said, The number of recruiters coming to campus has seen an upswing this year, which is clearly an indicator of the growing perception about the quality of students coming from IIT Madras, in addition to our consistently top rank in NIRF", the release added.

Date: 27th November 2018 Publication: Paper Dabba Edition: Online Journalist: NA Professor: Prof. Manu Santhanam Headline: IIT-M set for strong placement season URL: https://paperdabba.com/2018/11/26/iit-m-set-for-strong-placement-season/

IIT-M set for strong placement season

IIT-Madras (IIT-M) is set for another strong placement season as 326 companies have registered for the first phase starting on December 1. Google and McKinsey are returning to the campus for recruitment this year. This compares with about 270 companies in the whole of last year (2017-18), a press release said.

Some of the prominent first-time companies this year include Bain & Company, Nomura, Ather Energy, and Jaguar Land Rover.

Foreign offers Traditional recruiters such as Microsoft, Goldman Sachs, BCG, Intel, Citibank, Qualcomm, Bajaj, and General Electric will visit the institute as well. As many as 23 companies have advertised international profiles, most of which are for positions in Asia (in Japan, Singapore, and Taiwan), with some in the US.

The first phase will be held between December 1 and 8 with a break of one day (December 5). Openings are for as many as 490 job profiles. for the first phase compared to

About 34 per cent of the recruiters are from core engineering/R&D sector; 21 per cent from finance/analytics/consulting; 32 per cent from the IT sector and the rest from other sectors.

The institute will host over 50 start-ups this year. With 130 Pre-Placement Offers (PPOs) this year (2018-19), the institute recorded a 20 per cent increase in PPOs, which come from internships.

1,300 candidates More than 1,300 students have registered for placements across study streams and departments this year.

The number is expected to increase as more research scholars become eligible (this happens as and when they achieve a specific target in their research programme).

About 30 students have opted for deferred placements as they are either pursuing start-up ventures or are planning to apply for higher studies, the release said.

Date: 27th November 2018 Publication: Devdicourse Edition: Online Journalist: NA Professor: Prof Manu Santhanam Headline: IIT-Madras: Over 300 companies for first phase of campus placement URL: https://www.devdiscourse.com/Article/education/267569-iit-madras-over-300-companies-for-first-phase-of-campus-placement

IIT-Madras: Over 300 companies for first phase of campus placement

IIT Madras to set up research cell in collaboration with Japanese firms Fasal Bima Yojana designed to profit insurance companies: Chidambaram 13 companies shares rose up to 10%, following addition in MSCI index More than 300 companies have registered to participate in the first phase of campus placements at the Indian Institute of Technology-Madras. In a statement, the institute said the first phase of campus recruitment for 2018-19 will be held between December 1 and 8 with a break of one day on December 5. "More than 1,300 students have registered for placements across different study streams and departments this year.

The number is expected to increase...," it said.

As many as 326 firms have registered as on November 26 for more than 490 job profiles for the first phase of placement, compared to about 270 companies in the whole of last year.

IIT-M Training and Placement adviser Prof Manu Santhanam said, "The number of recruiters coming to campus has seen an upswing this year, which is clearly an indicator of the growing perception about the quality of students coming from IIT Madras, in addition to our consistently top rank in NIRF (National Institutional Ranking Framework)." The second phase of campus placements would be held in January.

Date: 27th November 2018 Publication: India Today Edition: Online Journalist: NA Professor: Prof Manu Santhanam Headline: IIT Madras placement season: 326 firms register for Phase I including Google and McKinsey URL: https://www.indiatoday.in/education-today/news/story/iit-madras-placement-season-google-mckinsey-divd-1397146-2018-11-27

IIT Madras placement season: 326 firms register for Phase I including Google and McKinsey

Google and McKinsey return to campus for recruitment this year to IIT Madras. November 27, 2018UPDATED: November 27, 2018 15:04 IST Google and McKinsey return to campus for recruitment this year to IIT Madras Indian Institute of Technology Madras is all set for this year's placement season, scheduled to begin on December 1, 2018. As many as 326 companies have registered for more than 490 job profiles for Phase I, compared to about 270 companies in the whole of last year (2017-18).

The phase 1 of campus recruitment for 2018-19 will be held between December 1 and 8, 2018 with a break of one day (December 5, 2018).

IIT Madras placement season: Number of recruiters About 34 percent of the recruiters are from Core Engineering / Research and Development sector, 21 percent from Finance / Analytics / Consulting sectors, and 32 percent from the IT sector with the rest from other sectors.

The Institute will host more than 50 start-ups this year.

With 130 Pre-Placement Offers (PPOs) this year (2018-19), the institute recorded a 20 percent increase in PPOs, which comes from internships.

IIT Madras placement season: More than 1,300 students registered More than 1,300 students have registered for placements across different study streams and departments this year. The number is expected to increase as more Research Scholars become eligible (this happens as and when they achieve a specific target in their research programme).

About 30 students have opted for deferred placements as they are either pursuing Start-up ventures or planning to apply for higher studies.

First time and traditional companies Prominent first-time companies this year include Bain and Company, Nomura, Ather Energy, and Jaguar Land Rover. Traditional recruiters such as Microsoft, Goldman Sachs, BCG, Intel, Citibank, Qualcomm, Bajaj, General Electric are coming to IIT Madras for recruitment this year as well.

As many as 23 companies have advertised international profiles, most of which are for positions in Asian countries such as Japan, Singapore, and Taiwan, along with the US as well.

Speaking about this year's Placement Season, Prof. Manu Santhanam, Advisor, Training and Placement, IIT Madras, said, "The number of recruiters coming to campus has seen an upswing this year, which is clearly an indicator of the growing perception about the quality of students coming from IIT Madras, in addition to our consistently top rank in NIRF."

Date: 27th November 2018 Publication: Live Chennai Edition: Online Journalist: NA Professor: Prof Manu Santhanam Headline: More companies have registered for recruitment in IIT Madras in this placement season URL: https://www.livechennai.com/detailnews.asp?catid=&newsid=45322

More companies have registered for recruitment in IIT Madras in this placement season

One of the premier educational institutions in India, Indian Institute of Technology Madras or IIT-M has been playing a huge role in producing high quality professionals in the fields of engineering and technology. This IIT Madras is now making superb news. The number of companies registered for recruitment has increased to 326 now. This is an increase in 20% when compared to the previous year. IIT-M placement season looks promising now. It is known that in the 2017-18 season as many as 270 companies visited IIT-M campus for recruitment.

Many traditional recruiters such as Microsoft, Qualcomm, Goldmann Sachs etc would be visiting IIT-M for recruitment. In addition to these companies IIT-M would also be visited by many prominent companies like Bain and Company, Nomura, Ather Energy and Jacquar Land Rover etc. It is sensational to mention here that these prominent companies would be visiting IIT-M for recruitment for the first time. From 1st of December 2018 to 8th of December 2018, first phase of campus recruitment would take place in IIT-M. There would be one day break on 5th December. In this year, more than 1300 students have got registered for campus placements and these students belong to different streams. It is worthy to note that for the positions in Asian countries like Japan, Singapore, Taiwan and USA etc as many as 23 companies have advertised international profiles.

Professor Manu Santhanam, advisor, training and placement, IIT-M, expressed his happiness regarding the increase in the recruiters in IIT-M. He highlighted that increase in the number of recruiters indicated the quality of IIT-M students. For phase 1, the companies have offered 490 job profiles. He later spoke about how the number of job profiles for data analytics have increased to 59 this year and how this reflects the present trend in the industry. He pointed out that in this year 34 percent of the recruiters were from core engineering, research and development sector. There were also recruiters from finance, analytics and consulting sectors and they accounted for 21%. Information and Technology has been doing amazingly now and 32% recruiters belong to this IT sector. The standard of IIT-M has been of high quality and over 50 start-ups expressed their interest in recruiting IITM students. There has been 20% increase in the pre-placement offers or PPOs at IIT-M in this year 2018-19 with 130 pre-placement offers. In a release, IIT-M mentioned that like last year IIT-M would not have a ‘Graveyard slot’ which starts from early hours of day 1 on 1st December from midnight 12 to 6am in the morning. It must be noted that around 30 students have opted for deferred placements as they are either pursuing start-up ventures or planning to apply for higher studies Date: 27th November 2018 Publication: India Finance new Edition: Online Journalist: NA Professor: Prof Manu Santhanam Headline: IIT Madras Placements 2018: Stage set – What students and job seekers need to know URL: https://www.indiafinancenews.com/iit-madras-placements-2018-stage-set-what-students-and-job-seekers-need-to-know/

IIT Madras Placements 2018: Stage set – What students and job seekers need to know iit madras placements 2018, IIT Madras Placements 2019, iit madras placement packages, iit madras salary, iit madras salary packages, iit madras salary, iit madras placements salary IIT Madras Placements 2018: The first phase of placement is scheduled to begin on December 1, 2018. Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT) Madras is set for yet another strong placement season with over 300 firms registering for phase I, higher than last year. The first phase of placement is scheduled to begin on December 1, 2018. In a statement issued on Monday, the premier institute said that as many as 326 companies have registered for more than 490 job profiles, compared to 270 companies in the whole of last year.

According to the institute, 23 firms have advertised international profiles, most of which are for positions in Asian countries. The number of profiles for data analytics has increased this year. There are around 59 analytics or data science job profiles compared to around 48 in the last year, the statement said. Speaking on this year’s placement season, IIT Madras Training and Placement Advisor Manu Santhanam said: “The number of recruiters coming to campus has seen an upswing this year, which is clearly an indicator of the growing perception about the quality of students coming from IIT Madras, in addition to our consistently top rank in NIRF.”

Date: 27th November 2018 Publication: Higher Education Plus Edition: Online Journalist: NA Professor: Prof Manu Santhanam Headline: IIT Madras set for another Strong Placement Season URL: https://highereducationplus.com/iit-madras-set-for-another-strong-placement-season/

IIT Madras set for another Strong Placement Season

Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras is all set for this year’s placement season, scheduled to begin on December 1, 2018. As many as 326 companies have registered by November 26, 2018 for more than 490 job profiles for phase I, compared to about 270 companies in the whole of last year.

The 1st phase of campus recruitment for 2018-19 will be held between December 1-8 with a break of one day (5th December 2018).

With 130 Pre-Placement Offers (PPOs) this year (2018-19), the institute recorded a 20% increase in PPOs, which comes from internships.

More than 1,300 students have registered for placements across different study streams and departments this year. The number is expected to increase as more research scholars become eligible.

About 30 students have opted for deferred placements as they are either pursuing Start-up ventures or planning to apply for higher studies.

Prominent first-time companies this year include Bain and Company, Nomura, Ather Energy, and Jaguar Land Rover.

An interesting trend in this academic year (2018-19) is the increased number of profiles for data analytics, which reflects the current industry. There are around 59 analytics/data science job profiles as of now compared to around 48 in the whole of last year. Similar to last year, IIT Madras will not have the ‘Graveyard Slot,’ which begins the early hours of Day One (December 1), usually from 12 midnight to 6 a Date: 27th November 2018 Publication: Daily Pioneer Edition: Online Journalist: NA Professor: Prof Manu Santhanam Headline: Over 3OO firms to take part in IIT-M campus placements URL: https://www.dailypioneer.com/2018/jobs-exams-alerts/over-3oo-firms-to-take-part-in-iit-m-campus-placements.html

Over 3OO firms to take part in IIT-M campus placements

More than 300 companies have registered to participate in the first phase of campus placements at Indian Institute of Technology-Madras.

In a statement, the institute said the first phase of campus recruitment for 2018-19 will be held between December 1 and 8 with a break of one day on December 5.

"More than 1,300 students have registered for placements across different study streams and departments this year. The number is expected to increase...," it said.

As many as 326 firms have registered as on November 26 for more than 490 job profiles for first phase of placement, compared to about 270 companies in the whole of last year.

The second phase of campus placements would he held in January.

Date: 27th November 2018 Publication: The Economic Times Edition: Online Journalist: NA Professor: Prof Manu Santhanam Headline: Over 300 firms to take part in IIT-M campus placements URL: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/services/education/over-300-firms-to-take-part-in-iit-m-campus- placements/articleshow/66812680.cms

Date: 27th November 2018 Publication: Dt Next Edition: Online Journalist: NA Professor: Prof Manu Santhanam Headline: Over 3OO firms to take part in IIT-M campus placements URL: https://www.dtnext.in/News/City/2018/11/26190551/1097162/Over-3OO-firms-to-take-part-in-IITM-campus-placements.vpf

Over 3OO firms to take part in IIT-M campus placements

In a statement, the institute said the first phase of campus recruitment for 2018-19 will be held between December 1 and 8 with a break of one day on December 5.

Chennai: More than 300 companies have registered to participate in the first phase of campus placements at Indian Institute of Technology- Madras.

In a statement, the institute said the first phase of campus recruitment for 2018-19 will be held between December 1 and 8 with a break of one day on December 5.

"More than 1,300 students have registered for placements across different study streams and departments this year. The number is expected to increase...," it said. As many as 326 firms have registered as on November 26 for more than 490 job profiles for first phase of placement, compared to about 270 companies in the whole of last year. IIT-M Training and Placement adviser Prof Manu Santhanam said, "The number of recruiters coming to campus has seen an upswing this year, which is clearly an indicator of the growing perception about the quality of students coming from IIT Madras, in addition to our consistently top rank in NIRF (National Institutional Ranking Framework)."

Date: 27th November 2018 Publication: Business Standard Edition: Online Journalist: NA Professor: Prof Manu Santhanam Headline: Over 3OO firms to take part in IIT-M campus placements URL: https://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/over-3oo-firms-to-take-part-in-iit-m-campus-placements-118112600807_1.html

Over 3OO firms to take part in IIT-M campus placements

More than 300 companies have registered to participate in the first phase of campus placements at Indian Institute of Technology-Madras.

In a statement, the institute said the first phase of campus recruitment for 2018-19 will be held between December 1 and 8 with a break of one day on December 5.

"More than 1,300 students have registered for placements across different study streams and departments this year. The number is expected to increase...," it said.

As many as 326 firms have registered as on November 26 for more than 490 job profiles for first phase of placement, compared to about 270 companies in the whole of last year.

The second phase of campus placements would he held in January.

Date: 27th November 2018 Publication: Englisgh Matrubhumi Edition: Online Journalist: NA Professor: Prof Manu Santhanam Headline: Over 3OO firms to take part in IIT-M campus placements URL: https://english.mathrubhumi.com/education/news/news-updates/over-3oo-firms-to-take-part-in-iit-m-campus-placements-1.3345147

Over 3OO firms to take part in IIT-M campus placements

More than 300 companies have registered to participate in the first phase of campus placements at Indian Institute of Technology-Madras. In a statement, the institute said the first phase of campus recruitment for 2018-19 will be held between December 1 and 8 with a break of one day on December 5. "More than 1,300 students have registered for placements across different study streams and departments this year. The number is expected to increase...," it said. As many as 326 firms have registered as on November 26 for more than 490 job profiles for first phase of placement, compared to about 270 companies in the whole of last year. IIT-M Training and Placement adviser Prof Manu Santhanam said, "The number of recruiters coming to campus has seen an upswing this year, which is clearly an indicator of the growing perception about the quality of students coming from IIT Madras, in addition to our consistently top rank in NIRF (National Institutional Ranking Framework)." The second phase of campus placements would he held in January.

Date: 28th November 2018 Publication: Trinity Mirror Edition: Chennai Page No: 8 Journalist: NA Professor: Prof Manu Santhanam Headline: 300 firms to take part in IIT-M campus placements on Dec 5

Date: 28th November 2018 Publication: Dinamalar Edition: Chennai Page No: 13 Journalist: NA Professor: Prof Manu Santhanam Headline: Campus interview at IIT Madras

Date: 27th November 2018 Publication: Puthiya Thalaimurai Edition: Electronic Journalist: P. Abhinaya Professor: Prof Bhaskar Ramamurthi Headline: : ஐ.ஐ. (Prof Bhaskar Ramamurthi, Director, IIT Madras, speaks about Engineering Education) URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mEQUoKQSHrM&feature=youtu.be

Date: 29th November 2018 Publication: Scroll Edition: Online Journalist: Mr. Ashok Kumar Headline: Bridging the knowledge gap, one foreign exchange student at a time URL: https://scroll.in/bulletins/180/bridging-the-knowledge-gap-one-foreign-exchange-student-at-a-time

Bridging the knowledge gap, one foreign exchange student at a time

IIT Madras offers a vibrant experience to foreign students who seek it out. Indian Institute of Technology Madras has been consistently making an appearance in trusted higher education rankings, such as the QS, the Times Higher Education and the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) rankings. Long revered for its academic reputation in the country, IIT-M has been climbing up global rankings by focusing on international relations. The ripple effect is significant; attracting international talent not only ensures an inclusive, multinational academic environment, it facilitates exchange of best practices as well.

Apart from recruiting foreign faculty and increasing research collaborations, IIT-M also seeks to attract international students. In 2016, IIT-M reported over 60% rise in foreign exchange students in a span of just five years. These exchange students, most of whom arrive from Europe and Asia, either seek research collaboration or wish to simply experience a semester in the Indian academic environment. And IIT-M has set up a whole ecosystem to make them feel welcome and comfortable during their stay.

The university boasts a dedicated Office of International Relations which caters to the needs of foreign faculty and students. Apart from academics, foreign exchange students are also encouraged to experience other, diverse aspects of student life at IIT-M – such as the thriving sports culture, a ‘student lab’ that caters to various passions (robotics astronomy, animation and more) and, of course, an artistic outlet in the form of cultural clubs and festivals. Every year, the university also organises International Day, a cultural extravaganza where foreign exchange students get to experience the Indian festive spirit as well as present their native cuisines to the campus community.

Indeed, IIT-M has emerged as an attractive option for curious foreign students looking for academic rigour and a new culture to explore. For some, the closed-wall campus is a novel experience, and the hostel life a luxury providing them respite from domestic responsibilities. Many also find that the faculty-student ratio at IIT-M’s Masters programmes facilitates an intimate and comfortable academic experience. Of course, a significant learning curve lies ahead for each foreign exchange student, requiring many physical adjustments (to climate, food etc.) as well as some cultural, like adjusting to hostel curfews and learning to bunk classes strategically to maintain minimum 85% attendance.

The experiences of German exchange students at IIT-M were recently featured on Manthan, the popular Hindi-language science and technology show on Doordarshan. Watch the segment below. Manthan - a collaboration between Doordarshan and DW, Germany’s public broadcaster - aims to inform Hindi-speaking audiences of the latest developments in science and technology, with a special focus on innovations from Germany and Europe. Manthan airs every Saturday at 11:00am on Doordarshan. You can watch all previous episodes of Manthan on DW Hindi’s YouTube channel, here.

Date: 30th November 2018 Publication: Business Standard Edition: Online Journalist: Arnab Dutta & Vinay Umarji Headline: IIT placements see uptick in marquee firms, international offers URL: https://www.business-standard.com/article/current-affairs/iit-placements-see-uptick-in-marquee-firms-international-offers- 118113000030_1.html

IIT placements see uptick in marquee firms, international offers

The first phase of placement season at IITs, has attracted significantly higher number of recruiters compared to last year

From marquee first time recruiters like Jaguar Land Rover, Alphonso Inc., and Ather Energy to international offers in USD, country's premier engineering colleges; the Indian Institute of Technologies (IITs); are witnessing an uptick in placement offers this season.

The first phase of placement season at IITs, scheduled to start from 1 December, has attracted significantly higher number of recruiters compared to last year. At IIT Madras, for example, 326 companies have expressed interest to participate in the first phase of the placement process for BE students this year for 490 ...

Date: 30th November 2018 Publication: Business Standard- Hindi Edition: Mumbai page No: 12 Journalist: Arnab Dutta & Vinay Umarji Headline: IIT placements see uptick in marquee firms, international offers

Date: 29th November 2018 Publication: Careers 360 Edition: Online Journalist: Samiksha Jain Professor: Prof. Manu Santhanam Headline: IIT Madras phase I placement to offer 490 job profiles to fresh graduates URL: https://news.careers360.com/iit-madras-phase-i-placement-offer-490-job-profiles-fresh-graduates

IIT Madras phase I placement to offer 490 job profiles to fresh graduates

NEW DELHI, NOVEMBER 29: Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras will start the 2019 placement from December 1, 2018. As many as 326 companies have registered for more than 490 job profiles for Phase I placement season. If compared the figure from the previous year, the Institute has seen a surge in the companies registration. Last year (2017-18), only 270 companies registered in whole placement season

The first phase of campus recruitment for 2018-19 will be held between December 1 and 8, 2018 with a break of one day (5th December 2018).

About 34 percent of the recruiters are from Core Engineering/Research and Development sector, 21 percent from Finance/Analytics/Consulting sectors, and 32 percent from the IT sector with the rest from other sectors. Not only this, the Institute will host more than 50 startups this year.

With 130 Pre-Placement Offers (PPOs) this year (2018-19), the institute recorded a 20 percent increase in PPOs, which comes from internships.

Speaking on the development, Prof. Manu Santhanam, Advisor, Training and Placement, IIT Madras, said, “The number of recruiters coming to campus has seen an upswing this year, which is clearly an indicator of the growing perception about the quality of students coming from IIT Madras, in addition to our consistently top rank in NIRF.”

How many student registered?

About 30 students have opted for deferred placements as they are either pursuing startup ventures or planning to apply for higher studies.

Who are the recruiters?

Prominent first-time companies this year include Bain & Company, Nomura, Ather Energy, and Jaguar Land Rover.

An interesting trend has been witnessed this academic year (2018-19). It has seen that there is an increase in a number of profiles for data analytics, which reflects the current industry. There are around 59 analytics/data science job profiles as of now compared to around 48 in the whole of last year. Similar to last year, IIT Madras will not have the ‘Graveyard Slot,’ which begins the early hours of Day One (December 1), usually from 12 midnight to 6 am.

Date: 29th November 2018 Publication: Swarajya Edition: Online Journalist: NA Professor: Prof. Manu Santhanam Headline: IIT Madras Placement Season: Surge In Number Of Companies; Institute To Host More Than 50 Startups This Year URL: https://swarajyamag.com/insta/iit-madras-placement-season-surge-in-number-of-companies-institute-to-host-more-than-50-startups-this- year

IIT Madras Placement Season: Surge In Number Of Companies; Institute To Host More Than 50 Startups This Year

Indian Institute of Technology, Madras Three hundred and twenty-six companies have registered for over 490 job profiles for 1st phase of the placement season at Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras. This figure is higher than the previous placement season (270). The placement season is scheduled to begin on 1 December 2018, India Today has reported.

Among the companies that have registered, 34 per cent of the recruiters are from research and development sector/core engineering, 21 per cent from analytics/consulting sectors/finance and 32 per cent from the information technology sector, with the remaining 13 per cent being from other sectors.

Aligning with the startup culture which is gradually gaining momentum in the country, the institute will host more than 50 start-ups this year. There has been a significant increase in pre-placement offers (PPOs). These offers usually come after internships. The number of PPOs this year is 330 (20 per cent more than last year).

Over 1300 students from various departments have registered for placements this year, and the number is expected to increase as research scholars become eligible after completing their research targets.

Traditional giants like Goldman Sachs, BCG, Intel, Microsoft, Qualcomm, Citibank, Bajaj and General Electric are expected to visit the IIT Madras campus for recruitment along with first-time companies like Nomura, Ather Energy, Bain and Company and Jaguar Land Rover.

IIT Madras is a Multicultural Campus

Date: 1st November 2018 Publication: DD Podhigai Edition: Electronic Journalist: NA Headline: International Day at IIT Madras

Date: 1st November 2018 Publication: The Times of India Edition: Online Page no.: 2 Journalist: NA Headline: IIT Madras celebrates International Day

Date: 1st November Publication: News J Tamil Channel Edition: Electronic Professor: Prof. Mahesh V. Panchagnula Headline: ஐ.ஐ. (IIT celebrates Food festival of International students) URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4T2HaL4bWc&feature=youtu.be

Date: 1st November Publication: Puthiya Thalaimurai Edition: Electronic Journalist: Mr. Kathiravan Professor: Prof Mahesh V. Panchagnula Students: Haana, Yogesh Kumaran Headline: ஐஐ (IIT Madras hosts cultural and food festival) URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vlCr5bOtk-U&feature=youtu.be

IIT Madras is a an industry friendly Institute

Date: 3rd November 2018 Publication: NDTV Edition: Online Journalist: NA Professor : Prof Bhaskar Ramamurthi Headline: IIT Madras Hosts Conclave To Boost AI And ML Ecosystem In Chennai URL: https://www.ndtv.com/education/iit-madras-hosts-conclave-to-boost-ai-and-ml-ecosystem-in-chennai-1941972 IIT Madras Hosts Conclave To Boost AI And ML Ecosystem In Chennai Indian Institute of Technology Madras undertook a major effort to give a boost to the Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) sectors in Chennai. Education | NDTV Education Team | Updated: November 02, 2018 17:17 IST by TaboolaSponsored LinksSponsored Twins are dying, they urgently need bone marrow transplants (Ketto) How about living in the warm embrace of nature? Sobha Gardenia Villas in Chennai. (Sobha Limited) IIT Madras Hosts Conclave To Boost AI And ML Ecosystem In Chennai IIT Madras Hosts Conclave To Boost AI And ML Ecosystem In Chennai

NEW DELHI: Indian Institute of Technology Madras undertook a major effort to give a boost to the Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) sectors in Chennai. The Robert Bosch Center for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence, IIT Madras, organized the 'Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning Conclave' focused on understand cutting-edge technology and innovation in the field with participation from top technology firms and think-tanks including Google, Amazon, Foxconn and TVS group among others. Prof Bhaskar Ramamurthi, Director, IIT Madras, inaugurated the Conclave, which was held on 23rd October 2018.

The conclave aimed at generating a greater realization of the AI/ML ecosystem in and around Chennai and facilitated the stakeholders to have a brainstorming session about the needs for this ecosystem to thrive and grow further.

This event for the first time brought together a significant number of AI/ML deep technology start-ups in Chennai in a single platform. This will lead to greater awareness of the possibilities in this space among the various companies as well as students and academics from various colleges. A specific outcome that we are looking forward to is a greater synergy between the participants and increased collaboration among the different stake holders.

Delivering the inaugural address, Mr. Santhosh K. Misra IAS, Commissioner (e-Governance) and CEO, Tamil Nadu e-Governance Agency, highlighted the importance of AI in the development initiatives of TNeGA in Agriculture, Healthcare and Education.

He spoke about the importance on AI and analytics in the Tamil Nadu e-Governance and elaborated how the Tamil Nadu Government is investing and partnering with education institution such as IIT Madras to enhance the data driven governance through AI and blockchain initiatives in agriculture, health and education sectors.

Ms Anna Roy, Advisor NITI Aayog, spoke on collaboration between Industry and Academia, the importance of AI Skilling and NITI Aayog Initiatives on AI Skilling.

Speaking later, Prof B. Ravindran, Head, Robert Bosch Centre for Data Science and AI, IIT Madras, said, "The energy and enthusiasm from the participants showed how vibrant the AI/ML community is in Tamil Nadu. As an outcome of this event, we are looking to accelerate the Government-Industry-Academia partnership in developing the AI/ML ecosystem."

The conclave had a tremendous response with more than 250 attendees and was a platform for Government officials, Business Leaders, Data Science practitioners and students to share emerging trends, challenges and best practices in the domain.

Addressing the Conclave, Mr. Venkat Viswanathan, Founder and Chairman, Latent View, focused on what has been done in the industry so far and provided with used cases on how Latentview Analytics developed innovative platform for social media analytics for beauty giant such as Revlon and Auto giant BMW. Also, best practices of companies world over, that are using AI in their digital transformation journey.

COMMENT A power packed panel discussion on 'Skills to succeed in an AI-driven digital world' was also held with thought leaders from Industry and Academia. The discussion provided insights on skills required to succeed in a AI Driven world. Also a number of start-ups showcased their AI / ML products and platforms that can solve a range of business problems across industries. They include:

Mobius Knowledge Services - Automated Lead Generation from websites Facetagr - Face The Future Buddihealth - Health Care Revenue Cycle Automation Gyan Data - Sandman Botminds - AutoML for Text Documents Burning Glass Technologies - Data Driven Work Force Analysis LatentView - Connected Vehicle Analytics Platfor Date: 3rd November 2018 Publication: The New Indian Express Edition: Online Journalist: NA Professor : Prof Bhaskar Ramamurthi Headline: IIT Madras hosts AI conclave in Chennai URL: http://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/chennai/2018/nov/02/iit-madras-hosts-ai-conclave-in-chennai-1893464.html IIT Madras Hosts Conclave To Boost AI And ML Ecosystem In Chennai Indian Institute of Technology Madras undertook a major effort to give a boost to the Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) sectors in Chennai. Education | NDTV Education Team | Updated: November 02, 2018 17:17 IST by TaboolaSponsored LinksSponsored Twins are dying, they urgently need bone marrow transplants (Ketto) How about living in the warm embrace of nature? Sobha Gardenia Villas in Chennai. (Sobha Limited)

SHARE EMAIL PRINT 0 COMMENTS IIT Madras Hosts Conclave To Boost AI And ML Ecosystem In Chennai IIT Madras Hosts Conclave To Boost AI And ML Ecosystem In Chennai

Ms Anna Roy, Advisor NITI Aayog, spoke on collaboration between Industry and Academia, the importance of AI Skilling and NITI Aayog Initiatives on AI Skilling.

Publication: The Times Of India Edition: Chennai Page No: 9 Journalist: NA Headline: IIT-M holds conclave on artificial Intelligence

Date: 3rd November 2018 Publication: The New Indian Express Edition: Chennai Page No: 1 Journalist: NA Headline: IIT Madras hosts Al conclave in Chennai URL: http://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/chennai/2018/nov/02/iit-madras-hosts-ai-conclave-in-chennai-1893464.html

Date: 5th November 2018 Publication: The Hans India Edition: Hyderabad/Delhi Page No: 8 Journalist: NA Professor: Prof Bhaskar Ramamurthi Headline: IIT-M organises AI, ML Conclave URL: http://www.thehansindia.com/posts/index/Young-Hans/2018-11-04/IIT-M-organises-Artificial-Intelligence-Machine-Learning- Conclave/437166

Date: 9th November 2018 Publication: The Times of India- Chennai Times Edition: Chennai Page No: 5 Journalist: NA Headline: IIT-M hosts AI conclave

Date: 14th November 2018 Publication: The Economic Times Edition: Online Journalist: NA Professor: Prof Bhaskar Ramamurthi Headline: IIT-Madras to set up Research Centre with Japanese cos, will lead foray into paperless manufacturing URL: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/services/education/iit-madras-to-set-up-research-centre-with-japanese-cos-will-lead- foray-into-paperless-manufacturing/articleshow/66625533.cms

Date: 14th November 2018 Publication: NDTV Edition: Online Journalist: NA Professor: Prof Bhaskar Ramamurthi Headline: IIT Madras To Set Up Joint Research Centre With Japanese Manufacturing Firms URL: https://www.ndtv.com/education/iit-madras-alfatkg-co-ltd-okabe-manufacturing-to-set-up-joint-research-centre-1947300

IIT Madras To Set Up Joint Research Centre With Japanese Manufacturing Firms Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras is going to establish a Joint Research Cell with leading Japanese Manufacturing Firms.

IIT Madras To Set Up Joint Research Centre With Japanese Manufacturing Firms This collaboration can pave way for IIT Madras students to intern in the partner firms in Japan

CHENNAI: Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras is going to establish a Joint Research Cell with leading Japanese Manufacturing Firms. A Memorandum of Understanding was signed today (November 14, 2018) with alfaTKG Co. Ltd., and OKABE Manufacturing Co. Ltd. for collaborating in core areas of manufacturing sector including Research and Development (R&D). The MoU will pave way for the cooperation between alfaTKG, IIT Madras and OKABE Co. Ltd. on areas related to joint research, sponsorship programs, usages of facilities of alfaTKG, OKABE and IIT Madras by each other, exchange of employees between them, said a statement from the technological institute.

"This collaboration can also pave way for our students to intern in the partner firms in Japan. IIT Madras has incubated startups that are doing amazing work based in IoT and AI that surpass even the big corporates in their technological innovation," said Prof Bhaskar Ramamurthi, Director, IIT Madras. Aspart of the initiative alfaTKG Co. Ltd., a pioneer in providing IoT-based solutions for knowledge driven paperless manufacturing technology in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Japan and other Asian Countries, will be introducing 'Genius Artificial Intelligence Assistance' (GAIA) for efficient manufacturing, machinery utility and health monitoring.

Prof Ramamurthi, Mr. Toshio Takagi, President and CEO, alfaTKG, and Mr. Hiroaki Okabe, President and CEO, OKABE Manufacturing Co. Ltd., signed the MoU in the presence of Prof Ravindra Gettu, Dean (Industrial Consultancy and Sponsored Research), IIT Madras, Dr. Periasamy Thanapandi, President and CEO, alfaTKG Integrated Solutions India Pvt. Ltd. and others.

Addressing the event, Mr. Toshio Takagi, President and CEO, alfaTKG, Japan, said, "This is collaboration so important to the SMEs sector, which also uses a lot of Robots and IoT-based solutions. We have to provide the new solutions to the market."

Date: 14th November 2018 Publication: UNI Edition: Online Journalist: NA Professor: Prof Bhaskar Ramamurthi Headline: IIT-Madras inks pact with Japanese firms for establishing Joint ... URL: http://www.uniindia.com/iit-madras-inks-pact-with-japanese-firms-for-establishing-joint-research-centre/south/news/1404751.html

Date: 14th November 2018 Publication: Jagran Josh Edition: Online Journalist: NA Professor: Prof Bhaskar Ramamurthi Headline: IIT Madras signs MoU with Japanese firms to set up joint research cell URL: https://www.jagranjosh.com/news/iit-madras-signs-mou-with-japanese-firms-to-set-up-joint-research-cell-147513

IIT Madras partners Japanese manufacturing firms to set up joint research centre Views: 15

Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras has signed Memorandum of Understanding with leading Japanese Manufacturing Firms to establish a Joint Research Cell.

IIT Madras has collaborated with alfaTKG Co Ltd and OKABE Manufacturing Co Ltd for Research and Development (R&D) in manufacturing sector along with other activities.

The MoU will pave way for the cooperation between alfaTKG, IIT Madras and OKABE Co Ltd on areas related to joint research, sponsorship programmes, usages of facilities by each other, and exchange of employees between them, said a statement from the technological institute.

“This collaboration can also pave way for our students to intern in the partner firms in Japan. IIT Madras has incubated startups that are doing amazing work based in IoT and AI that surpass even the big corporates in their technological innovation,” said Prof Bhaskar Ramamurthi, Director, IIT Madras.

Prof Ramamurthi, Toshio Takagi, President and CEO, alfaTKG, and Hiroaki Okabe, President and CEO, OKABE Manufacturing Co Ltd, signed the MoU in the presence of Prof Ravindra Gettu, Dean (Industrial Consultancy and Sponsored Research), IIT Madras, Dr Periasamy Thanapandi, President and CEO, alfaTKG Integrated Solutions India Pvt Ltd and others.

Toshio Takagi, President and CEO, alfaTKG, Japan, said, “This is collaboration so important to the SMEs sector, which also uses a lot of Robots and IoT-based solutions. We have to provide the new solutions to the market.”

Date: 15th November 2018 Publication: The New Indian Express Edition: Chennai Page No: 1 Journalist: NA Professor: Prof Bhaskar Ramamurthi and Prof N Ramesh Babu Headline: IIT-Madras signs MoU with leading Japanese manufacturing firms URL: http://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/chennai/2018/nov/15/iit-madras-signs-mou-with-leading-japanese-manufacturing-firms- 1898211.html

Date: 15th November 2018 Publication: Business Standard Edition: Online Journalist: NA Professor: Prof Bhaskar Ramamurthi and Prof N Ramesh Babu Headline: IIT Madras partners Japanese firms to set up research cell URL: https://www.business-standard.com/article/news-ians/iit-madras-partners-japanese-firms-to-set-up-research-cell-118111400761_1.html

IIT Madras partners Japanese firms to set up research cell

Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras has signed Memorandum of Understanding with leading Japanese Manufacturing Firms to establish a Joint Research Cell.

IIT Madras has collaborated with alfaTKG Co Ltd and OKABE Manufacturing Co Ltd for Research and Development (R&D) in manufacturing sector along with other activities.

Date: 15th November 2018 Publication: DT NEXT Edition: Chennai Page No: 12 Journalist: NA Professor: Prof Bhaskar Ramamurthi Headline: IIT Madras two Japanese firms to set up research cell URL: https://www.dtnext.in/News/Business/2018/11/15020721/1095657/IIT-Madras-two-Japanese-firms-to-set-up-research-cell.vpf

Date: 14th November 2018 Publication: Digital Learning Edition: Online Journalist: NA Professor: Prof Bhaskar Ramamurthi Headline: IIT Madras partners Japanese manufacturing firms to set up joint research centre URL: http://digitallearning.eletsonline.com/2018/11/iit-madras-partners-japanese-manufacturing-firms-to-set-up-joint-research-centre/

IIT Madras partners Japanese manufacturing firms to set up joint research centre

Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras has signed Memorandum of Understanding with leading Japanese Manufacturing Firms to establish a Joint Research Cell.

IIT Madras has collaborated with alfaTKG Co Ltd and OKABE Manufacturing Co Ltd for Research and Development (R&D) in manufacturing sector along with other activities

Date: 15th November 2018 Publication: Social News Edition: Online Journalist: Gopi Professor: Prof Bhaskar Ramamurthi Headline: IIT Madras partners Japanese firms to set up research cell URL: https://www.socialnews.xyz/2018/11/14/iit-madras-partners-japanese-firms-to-set-up-research-cell/

IIT Madras partners Japanese firms to set up research cell

Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras has signed Memorandum of Understanding with leading Japanese Manufacturing Firms to establish a Joint Research Cell.

IIT Madras has collaborated with alfaTKG Co Ltd and OKABE Manufacturing Co Ltd for Research and Development (R&D) in manufacturing sector along with other activities.

Date: 15th November 2018 Publication: Suryaa Edition: Online Journalist: NA Professor: Prof Bhaskar Ramamurthi Headline: IIT Madras partners Japanese firms to set up research cell URL: https://www.suryaa.com/58904-iit-madras-partners-japanese-firms-to-set-up-research-cell.htm

IIT Madras partners Japanese firms to set up research cell

Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras has signed Memorandum of Understanding with leading Japanese Manufacturing Firms to establish a Joint Research Cell.

IIT Madras has collaborated with alfaTKG Co Ltd and OKABE Manufacturing Co Ltd for Research and Development (R&D) in manufacturing sector along with other activities.

Date: 15th November 2018 Publication: The Hans India Edition: Delhi/Hyderabad Page No: 13/7 Journalist: NA Professor: Prof Bhaskar Ramamurthi Headline: IIT-M partners with Japanese firms to set up research cell URL: http://www.thehansindia.com/posts/index/Young-Hans/2018-11-15/IIT-M-partners-with-Japanese-firms-to-set-up-research-cell/441794

Date: 15th November 2018 Publication: Careers 360 Edition: Online Journalist: NA Professor: Prof Bhaskar Ramamurthi Headline: Japanese firms to set up Joint Research Centre at IIT Madras URL: https://news.careers360.com/japanese-firms-set-joint-research-centre-iit-madras

Japanese firms to set up Joint Research Centre at IIT Madras

NEW DELHI, NOVEMBER 15: The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras is going to establish a Joint Research Cell with leading Japanese Manufacturing Firms. A Memorandum of Understanding has been signed with alfaTKG Co. Ltd., Japan and OKABE Manufacturing Co., Ltd, Japan, for collaborating in core areas of manufacturing sector including Research and Development (R&D).

Also read : IITs receive highest pre-placements offers compared to previous year The MoU will pave way for the cooperation between alfaTKG, IIT Madras and Okabe Co., Ltd on areas related to joint research, sponsorship programs, usages of facilities of alfaTKG, OKABE and IIT Madras by each other, exchange of employees between them.

Speaking about the importance of this collaboration, Prof Bhaskar Ramamurthi, Director, IIT Madras, said, “There is a lot of potential for this kind of collaboration with IIT Madras. This collaboration can also pave way for our students to intern in the partner firms in Japan. IIT Madras has incubated startups that are doing amazing work based in IoT and AI that surpass even the big corporates in their technological innovation.”

Prof Ramamurthi, Toshio Takagi, President and CEO, alfaTKG, Japan, and Hiroaki Okabe, President and CEO, OKABE Manufacturing Co., Ltd, Japan, signed the MoU.

This agreement will help India to foray into the paperless manufacturing, which is revolutionizing the manufacturing sector across the globe. As part of the initiative alfaTKG Co., Ltd, a pioneer in providing IoT-based solutions for knowledge driven paperless manufacturing technology in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Japan and other Asian Countries, will be introducing ‘Genius Artificial Intelligence Assistance’ (GAIA) for efficient manufacturing, machinery utility and health monitoring.

The MoU will help the stakeholders to work on paperless manufacturing technology as the paper is inefficient, creates errors and problems, and doesn’t allow for the advanced analytics and real-time visibility and control a modern shop floor needs. Paperless manufacturing removes paper, and the errors and problems it causes, off the shop floor. Information is automatically converted to electronic data to be transmitted digitally. The required documents and drawings are hyper linked and are locked with revision-control, ensuring everyone is using the latest, most accurate information. All processes are automatically tracked in the system. Date: 16th November 2018 Publication: News Today Edition: Chennai Page No: 5 Journalist: NA Professor: Prof Bhaskar Ramamurthi Headline: IIT Madras & Japanese firms to set up jt research centre URL: https://newstodaynet.com/index.php/2018/11/15/iit-madras-japanese-firms-to-set-up-jt-research-centre/

Date: 16th November 2018 Publication: Mint Edition: Delhi / Mumbai / Pune / Bangalore / Hyderabad / Chennai / Kolkata / Ahmedabad / Chandigarh Page No: 17 Journalist: (Authored article by Prof Thillai Rajan A) Professor: Prof Thillai Rajan A Headline: Opinion | The conundrum of PPP road projects URL: https://www.livemint.com/Opinion/ZfpXfkS6Q8NO45hGV26NlM/Opinion--The-conundrum-of-PPP-road-projects.html

Date: 17th November 2018 Publication: The Hans India Edition: Hyderabad Page No: 8 Journalist: NA Headline: Japanese firms to set up joint research centre at IIT-Madra URL: http://www.thehansindia.com/posts/index/Young-Hans/2018-11-17/Japanese-firms-to-set-up-joint-research-centre-at-IIT-Madra/443001

Date: 17th November 2018 Publication: Deccan Chronicle Edition: Chennai Page No: 5 Journalist: NA Professor: Prof N.Ramesh Babu Headline: IIT Madras to set up joint research cell with Japanese firms URL: https://www.deccanchronicle.com/nation/current-affairs/171118/iit-madras-to-set-up-joint-research-cell-with-japanese-firms.html

Date: 19th November 2018 Publication: Telangana Today Edition: Hyderabad Page No: 7 Journalist: NA Professor: Professor Bhaskar Ramamurthi Headline: IIT Madras partners with two Japanese firms URL: https://telanganatoday.com/iit-madras-partners-two-japanese-firms

Date: 19th November 2018 Publication: The Times of India Edition: Chennai Page No: 5 Journalist: NA Headline: IIT-M Japan to set up Joint Research Centre

Date: 19th November 2018 Publication: Eduadvice Edition: Onine Journalist: NA Professor: Professor Bhaskar Ramamurthi and Prof Ravindra Gettu Headline: IIT Madras to set up Joint Research Centre with leading Japanese URL: http://eduadvice.in/home/NewsDetail?pid=15094

IIT Madras to set up Joint Research Centre with leading Japanese

The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras is going to establish a Joint Research Cell with leading Japanese Manufacturing Firms. A Memorandum of Understanding has been signed with alfaTKG Co. Ltd., Japan and OKABE Manufacturing Co., Ltd, Japan, for collaborating in core areas of manufacturing sector including Research and Development (R&D).

The MoU will pave way for the cooperation between alfaTKG, IIT Madras and Okabe Co., Ltd on areas related to joint research, sponsorship programs, usages of facilities of alfaTKG, OKABE and IIT Madras by each other, exchange of employees between them.

Prof Ramamurthi, Toshio Takagi, President and CEO, alfaTKG, Japan, and Hiroaki Okabe, President and CEO, OKABE Manufacturing Co., Ltd, Japan, signed the MoU.

Date: 21st November 2018 Publication: DT Next Edition: Chennai Page No: 8 Journalist: NA Professor: Prof A Thillai Rajan Headline: IIT Madras and Hand in Hand India train micro and marginal women entrepreneurs

Date: 21st November 2018 Publication: The Hindu Edition: Online Journalist: NA Headline: Office of International Relations, IITM: Inauguration of 13th AOTULE Network Meeting 2018, IC and SR Auditorium, IIT Madras, 9 a.m. URL: https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/chennai/chennai-today/article25560724.ece Chennai today NOVEMBER 21, 2018 23:41 IST UPDATED: NOVEMBER 21, 2018 23:41 IST SHARE ARTICLE 1 0 PRINT A A A

RELIGION

Thirumangai Azhwar: M. Gopalakrishnan, Sri Manavala Mamunigal Sannadhi, Bheemanan 2nd St., Alwarpet, 3 p.m.

Kandhapuranam: Ram Mohandoss, Sri Balasubramaniya Swamy Temple, Kurakottam, Kancheepuram, 6 p.m.; Somasundaran, Dhandayuthapani Mahal, South Mada St., Thiruvottiyur, 6 p.m.

Panchadasi: Satyavratananda, Mylapore Club, Luz Church Rd., Mylapore, 11 a.m.

GENERAL

TANSTIA - FNF Service Centre and Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom: Programme on ‘e-Commerce and Online Marketing’ and release of curriculum book and launch of TFSC Web Portal, Minister P. Benjamin participates, Hotel GRT Grand, 6 p.m.

All India Parampariya Meenavar Sangam: World Fishermen Day celebrations, Minister D. Jayakumar participates, Ramzan Mahal, Royapuram, 10 a.m.

Tamil Nadu Dr. M.G.R. Medical University; Indian Drug Manufacturers Association and Indian Pharmaceutical Association: Inauguration of workshop on ‘Good Manufacturing Practices and Updates In Pharmaceutical Industry’, Anna Salai, Guindy, 10 a.m.

Office of International Relations, IITM: Inauguration of 13th AOTULE Network Meeting 2018, IC and SR Auditorium, IIT Madras, 9 a.m.

P.S. Educational Society: 2nd C.V. Narasimhan Memorial endowment lecture on ‘Probity in Public Service’, TAG-P.S. Dakshinamurthi Auditorium, R.K. Mutt Rd., Mylapore, 4 p.m.

National Centre for Safety of Heritage Structures: Lecture on ‘Dravidian Temple Architecture and Construction Techniques’, Annexe Hall, IC and SR Auditorium, IIT Madras, 9.30 a.m.

Chartered Accountants Study Circle: Talk on ‘Reporting of Fraud Under Companies Act 2013’, Prince Arcade, Cathedral Rd., 6.30 p.m.

Narcotics Anonymous: Keep It Simple Group, St. Joseph High School,Vepery High Rd., Vepery, 7 p.m.

Al-Anon: Ezhil Nagar 3rd St., B Block, Kodungaiyur; CSI Inbarasu Aalayam, Tolgate; Santhome Boys HSS.,. Santhome High Rd.; Caring and Sharing Group, Divine School, Perumal Koil St., Oragadam, 7 p.m.

Alcoholics Anonymous: Church of Christ, Anna Nagar; Police Boys Club, Elango Nagar, Virugambakkam; Victory Child Development Centre, Muthalamman Koil St., Selaiyur; Church of Victorious Cross, Jawaharlal Nehru Salai, Ashok Nagar; St. Joseph Church, Cholapuram Rd., Ambattur; St. Sebastian Church, Madhavaram; C.S.I, Church, Tollgate; Good Shepherd Church, MMDA, Madhuravoyal; St. Joseph Church, Balayakarar St., Porur; Santhome HSS., Santhome High Rd., Mylapore; V.G.P. Pbhilominal School, Injambakkam; St. James Church Primary School, Ayanavaram, 7 p.m.

Date: 22nd November 2018 Publication: The Times of India Edition: Chennai Page No: 4 Journalist: NA Headline: IIT-M hosts AOTULE today

Date: 26th November 2018 Publication: The New Indian Express -Edex Edition: Kochi Page No: 16 Journalist: NA Headline: IIT Madras’ take on women entrepreneurs

Date: 26th November 2018 Publication: The Times of India Edition: Bangalore Page No: 19 Journalist: NA Professor: Prof R Nagarajan Headline: Talent Acquisition

Date: 25th November 2018 Publication: The Hindu Edition: Delhi/Mumbai/Kolkata/Kochi /Bangalore/Hyderabad/Chennai Page No: 14 Journalist: Shubhashree Desikan Professor:Prof Gitakrishnan Ramadurai Headline: IIT-M’s strategies to improve traffic efficiency URL: https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/iit-ms-strategies-to-improve-traffic-efficiency/article25586331.ece

Date: 26th November 2018 Publication: India Education Diary Edition: Online Journalist: NA Professor: Prof. Mahesh Panchagnula Headline: IIT Madras hosts conference of top universities in Asia- Oceania Region URL: http://indiaeducationdiary.in/iit-madras-hosts-conference-top-universities-asia-oceania-region/

IIT Madras hosts conference of top universities in Asia- Oceania Region

Chennai: Indian Institute of Technology Madras is hosting the 13th AOTULE (Asia- Oceania Top University League on Engineering) Annual General Meeting between 21st and 23rd November 2018.

The organization promotes inter-university cooperation through joint programs including an annual Dean’s meeting, student workshop an exchange of students and staff to improve the quality engineering education and research of the members. It aims to broaden participating students’ perspective through education, research and cross-cultural interaction. IIT Madras joined the network in 2014.

This year’s theme for the Dean’s meeting is ‘Leveraging Internationalization for Global Rankings.’ The Faculty Workshop will revolve around the theme of ‘Water.’ The Staff Meeting will deliberate on ‘Staff Mobility in network’ to get an exposure to best practices.’ Benchmarking still remains the best way to learn and adopt, and to avoid past mistakes and pitfalls. Staff mobility is a key ingredient in this process.

Addressing the inaugural session, A/Prof. Huynh Quyet Thang, Executive Chair, AOTULE, said, “The mission of AOUTLE is clear, to promote inter- university cooperation through workshops, student and staff exchanges and to improve the quality of engineering education in member universities. The conference is an opportunity for all of us to achieve our goals. AOUTLE is attracting the best universities in Asia-Oceania Region. This annual meeting will enhance collaboration among AOUTLE member institutes. I’m looking forward to exchange of ideas.”

Students presented their research through oral presentations, as well as during a Poster Session. During their group working session, they also discussed and deliberated about current issues concerning the theme of ‘Translating ideas for Societal Impact / Urban Mobility / Smart cities.’

Speaking later, Prof. Mahesh Panchagnula, Dean (International and Alumni Relations) IIT Madras, said, “We look forward to many more years of participation in this Network. The relevance of networks cannot be understated in this world of internationalisation. Academicians and businessmen are among the prime beneficiaries of this increased mobility between borders.”

The Meeting also aimed to broaden participating students’ perspective through research and cross-cultural interactions and promote research- based collaborations among the member institutions. This event is good opportunity to closely work with the member universities of AOTULE to promote collaborations and student exchanges.

Addressing the students, Prof. Jeffrey Cross, Tokyo Institute of Technology and Steering Committee Chair, AOUTLE, said, “You (students) should be able to communicate your research to students of other majors and members of the public and also, make efforts to learn about the research of other students to expand your horizons.”

Students should also utilize this opportunity to network with students and faculty of other institutions. Students must make the most of this opportunity to gain exposure, added Prof. Jeffrey Cross.

The AOTULE Partners include Top Universities from Asia- Oceania Region:

Ø The University of Melbourne Ø Tsinghua University Ø The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Ø Bandung Institute of Technology Ø Tokyo Institute of Technology Ø Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology Ø University of Malaya Ø anyang Technological University Ø University of Moratuwa Ø National Taiwan University Ø Chulalongkorn University Ø Hanoi University of Science and Technology Ø Indian Institute of Technology Madras

Date: 28th November 2018 Publication: The Financial Express Edition: Delhi / Mumbai / Pune / Bangalore / Hyderabad / Chennai / Kochi / Ahmedabad / Bhubaneswar / Chandigarh / Kolkata Page No: 1 Journalist: Sajan C Kumar Professor: Prof B. Ravindran & Prof Nandan Sudarsanam Headline: Power of data science: Tamil Nadu ties up with IIT Madras for data-driven governance URL: https://www.financialexpress.com/industry/technology/power-of-data-science-tamil-nadu-ties-up-with-iit-madras-for-data-driven- governance/1396035/

Date: 30th November 2018 Publication: The Times of India Edition: Delhi / Faridabad/Mumbai/Pune/Bangalore Page No: 1 Journalist: U. Tejonmayam Professor: Prof. Uday K Khankhoje Headline: A minesweeper in the sky that assists farming too URL: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/science/a-minesweeper-in-the-sky-that-assists-farming-too/articleshow/66875226.cms

Date: 30th November 2018 Publication: The New Indian Express Edition: Chennai Page No: 4 Journalist: NA Headline: MoU signed for developing research and entrepreneurial ties

IIT Madras is a research-focused Institute

Date: 1st November 2018 Publication: The Hindu Edition: Delhi/Mumbai/Bangalore/Chennai/Hyderabad/Kolkata/Kochi Page No: 7 Journalist: (Authored article by Prof G. Arun Kumar & Prof M. Suresh Babu) Professor: Prof G. Arun Kumar & Prof M. Suresh Babu Headline: Support for lives on the move URL:http://cirrus.co.in/cirrus/SPDFView.action?articleid=55970508&clientid=IIT&mail=Y&type=M&loginreq=N

Date: 1st November 2018 Publication: The Times of India Edition: Chennai Page no.: 5 Journalist: U Tejonmayam Professor: Prof. V. Kamakoti Headline: IIT Madras creates 'Shakti', India's 1st microprocessor URL: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/iit-m-creates-shakti-indias-1st-microprocessor/articleshow/66454041.cms

Date: 1st November 2018 Publication: Hindustan Times Edition: Online Journalist: NA Professor : Prof. Kamakoti Veezhinathan Headline: IIT-Madras develops India’s first microprocessor, Shakti URL: https://www.hindustantimes.com/tech/iit-madras-develops-india-s-first-microprocessor-shakti/story-kuYhudSnbTvCbRZAjMTrkL.html

IIT-Madras develops India’s first microprocessor, Shakti

Shakti microprocessor can be used in low-power wireless systems and networking systems besides reducing reliance on imported microprocessors. IIT-Madras,Shakti,microprocessor The microprocessor can be used by others as it is on par with international standards, researchers said.(AP File Photo) Researchers at Indian Institute of Technology-Madras (IITM) have designed and booted up India’s first microprocessor, Shakti, which could be used in mobile computing and other devices.

According to IITM, the Shakti microprocessor can be used in low-power wireless systems and networking systems besides reducing reliance on imported microprocessors in communication and defence sectors.

The microprocessor can be used by others as it is on par with international standards, researchers said.

The Shakti family of processors was fabricated at Semi-Conductor Laboratory (SCL), Indian Space Research Organizations (ISRO) in Chandigarh, making it the first ‘RISC V Microprocessor’ to be completely designed and made in India, IITM said.

The other crucial aspect of such an indigenous design, development and fabricating approach is reducing the risk of deploying systems that may be infected with back-doors and hardware Trojans.

This development will assume huge significance when systems based on Shakti processors are adopted by strategic sectors such as defence, nuclear power installations, government agencies and departments.

“With the advent of Digital India, there are several applications that require customisable processor cores. The 180nm fabrication facility at SCL Chandigarh is crucial in getting these cores manufacturers within our Country,” said Prof. Kamakoti Veezhinathan, Lead Researcher, Reconfigurable Intelligent Systems Engineering (RISE) Laboratory, Department of Computer Science and Engineering at IITM.ALSO READ: Huawei launches the world’s first 7nm-based Kirin 980 processor

According to IITM, Shakti processor family targets clock speeds to suit various end-user application devices such as various consumer electronic devices, mobile computing devices, embedded low-power wireless systems and networking systems, among others.

The project is funded by Union Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.

The impact of this completely indigenous fabrication is that India has now attained independence in designing, developing and fabricating end- to-end systems within the country, leading to self-sufficiency, IITM claimed.

With a large percentage of applications requiring sub 200 MhZ processors, the current success paves the way to producing many hand-held and control application devices.

Date: 1st November 2018 Publication: Pragativadi Edition: Online Journalist: NA Professor : Prof. Kamakoti Veezhinathan Headline: IIT Madras develops India’s first indigenous microprocessor Shakti URL: http://pragativadi.com/iit-madras-develops-indias-first-indigenous-microprocessor-shakti/

IIT Madras develops India’s first indigenous microprocessor Shakti

The microprocessor can be used by others as it is on par with international standards, researchers said.(AP File Photo) Researchers at Indian Institute of Technology-Madras (IITM) have designed and booted up India’s first microprocessor, Shakti, which could be used in mobile computing and other devices.

The microprocessor can be used by others as it is on par with international standards, researchers said.

The other crucial aspect of such an indigenous design, development and fabricating approach is reducing the risk of deploying systems that may be infected with back-doors and hardware Trojans.

The project is funded by Union Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.

With a large percentage of applications requiring sub 200 MhZ processors, the current success paves the way to producing many hand-held and control application devices.

Date: 1st November 2018 Publication: Navbharat Times Edition: Delhi Page No: 18 Journalist: NA Headline: IIT ' '(IIT Madras created the country's first micro processor 'Shakti') URL: https://navbharattimes.indiatimes.com/state/other-states/bangalore/chennai/iit-madras-creates-shakti-indias-first- microprocessor/articleshow/66460977.cms

Date:1st November 2018 Publication: Jagran Josh Edition: Online Journalist: NA Headline: , अ (IIT Madras created the country's first microprocessor, till now the dependents were abroad) URL: https://www.jagran.com/news/national-iit-madras-created-the-country-first-microprocessor-till-now-dependents-were-abroad- 18597810.html

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Date: 1st November 2018 Publication: Tamil Samayam Edition: Online Journalist: NA Headline: ஐஐ !(Chennai IIT University created by India's first micro-processor!) URL: https://tamil.samayam.com/latest-news/chennai-news/iit-madras-creates-shakti-indias-1st-microprocessor/articleshow/66460253.cms !

Samayam Tamil | Updated:Nov 1, 2018, 04:00PM IST 1 1 iit-madras creates ‘shakti’, india’s 1st microprocessor

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Date: 2nd November 2018 Publication: NewsTM Edition: Online Journalist: NA Headline: ; ஐஐ !(India's first microprocessor; Chennai IIT students record!) URL: https://www.newstm.in/news/tamilnadu/general/48102-iit-madras-students-manufacture-india-s-first-microprocessor.html

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Date: 2nd November 2018 Publication: Loksatta Edition: Online Journalist: NA Headline: ‘ ’ , (Shakti' is India's first microprocessor, the success of IIT Madras) URL:https://www.loksatta.com/desh-videsh-news/iit-madras-creates-shakti-indias-first-microprocessor-1782695/

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Date: 2nd November 2018 Publication: Zee News Edition: Online Journalist: NA Professor : Prof. Kamakoti Veezhinathan Headline: IIT-Madras develops India's first microprocessor 'Shakti' URL: http://zeenews.india.com/chennai/iit-madras-develops-indias-first-microprocessor-shakti-2152486.html

IIT-Madras develops India's first microprocessor 'Shakti'

India vs West Indies 3rd T20: Live Updates Many locals upset over Faizabad getting renamed to Ayodhya, say it will 'erase' city's identity Day ahead of Chhattisgarh polls, Naxals spotted in Dantewada; security tightened Daily Horoscope: Find out what the stars have in store for you - November 11, 2018 Cyclonic storm 'Gaja' over Bay of Bengal likely to intensify into Severe Cyclonic Storm in next 24 h CHENNAI: Researchers at Indian Institute of Technology-Madras (IITM) have designed and booted up India's first microprocessor, Shakti, which could be used in mobile computing and other devices.

The microprocessor can be used by others as it is on par with international standards, researchers said.

The Shakti family of processors was fabricated at Semi-Conductor Laboratory (SCL), Indian Space Research Organizations (ISRO) in Chandigarh, making it the first `RISC V Microprocessor` to be completely designed and made in India, IITM said.

The other crucial aspect of such an indigenous design, development and fabricating approach is reducing the risk of deploying systems that may be infected with back-doors and hardware Trojans.

"With the advent of Digital India, there are several applications that require customisable processor cores. The 180nm fabrication facility at SCL Chandigarh is crucial in getting these cores manufacturers within our Country," said Prof. Kamakoti Veezhinathan, Lead Researcher, Reconfigurable Intelligent Systems Engineering (RISE) Laboratory, Department of Computer Science and Engineering at IITM.

The project is funded by Union Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.

With a large percentage of applications requiring sub 200 MhZ processors, the current success paves the way to producing many hand-held and control application devices.

In July 2018, an initial batch of 300 chips, named RISECREEK was produced under Project Shakti, that were fabricated at the Multinational Chip Manufacturer Intel`s facility at Oregon, USA, that successfully booted the Linux operating system. Now, the fabrication has been done in India.

Date: 2nd November 2018 Publication: Firstpost Edition: Online Journalist: NA Professor : Prof. Kamakoti Veezhinathan Headline: IIT Madras develops India's first microprocessor which could be used in samrtphones URL: https://www.firstpost.com/tech/news-analysis/iit-madras-develop-indias-first-microprocessor-which-could-be-used-in-smartphones- 5489421.html

IIT-Madras develops India's first microprocessor which could be used in samrtphones The microprocessor can be used by others as it is on par with international standards India vs West Indies 3rd T20: Live Updates Many locals upset over Faizabad getting renamed to Ayodhya, say it will 'erase' city's identity Day ahead of Chhattisgarh polls, Naxals spotted in Dantewada; security tightened Daily Horoscope: Find out what the stars have in store for you - November 11, 2018 Cyclonic storm 'Gaja' over Bay of Bengal likely to intensify into Severe Cyclonic Storm in next 24 h CHENNAI: Researchers at Indian Institute of Technology-Madras (IITM) have designed and booted up India's first microprocessor, Shakti, which could be used in mobile computing and other devices.

The microprocessor can be used by others as it is on par with international standards, researchers said.

The other crucial aspect of such an indigenous design, development and fabricating approach is reducing the risk of deploying systems that may be infected with back-doors and hardware Trojans.

The project is funded by Union Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.

With a large percentage of applications requiring sub 200 MhZ processors, the current success paves the way to producing many hand-held and control application devices.

Date: 2nd November 2018 Publication: Dainik Bhaskar Edition: Delhi Page No: 1 Journalist: NA Headline: ‘ ’ , (Shakti' is India's first microprocessor, the success of IIT Madras)

Date: 2nd November 2018 Publication: Rajasthan Patrika Edition: Delhi Page No: 1 Journalist: NA Headline: ‘ ’ , (Shakti' is India's first microprocessor, the success of IIT Madras)

Date: 2nd November 2018 Publication: Janmabhoomi Edition: Mumbai Page No: 8 Journalist: NA Headline: Shakti' is India's first microprocessor, the success of IIT Madras

Date: 2nd November 2018 Publication: Navshakti Edition: Mumbai Page No: 18 Journalist: NA Headline: Shakti' is India's first microprocessor, the success of IIT Madras

Date: 2nd November 2018 Publication: Swatantra Vaartha – Edition: Hyderabad Page No: 4 Journalist: NA Headline: Shakti' is India's first microprocessor, the success of IIT Madras

Date: 2nd November 2018 Publication: Morning India Edition: Kolkata Page No: 1 Journalist: NA Headline: IIT-M develops Indias first microprocessor Shakti

Date: 2nd November 2018 Publication: Prabhat Khabar Edition: Kolkata Page No: 13 Journalist: NA Headline:‘ ’ , (Shakti' is India's first microprocessor, the success of IIT Madras)

Date: 2nd November 2018 Publication: Pratahkal Edition: Mumbai Page No: 5 Journalist: NA Headline: Shakti' is India's first microprocessor, the success of IIT Madras

Date: 2nd November 2018 Publication: Punya Nagari Edition: Pune Page No: 10 Journalist: NA Headline: Shakti' is India's first microprocessor, the success of IIT Madras

Date: 2nd November 2018 Publication: Andhra Prabha Edition: Hyderabad Page No: 8 Journalist: NA Headline: (Countrys first micro processor

Date: 2nd November 2018 Publication: The Economic Times Edition: Chennai Page No: 2 Journalist: NA Professor : Prof V. Kamakoti Headline: IIT-M Develops Indias First Microprocessor

Date: 2nd November 2018 Publication: Bartaman Edition: Kolkata Page No: 2 Journalist: NA Headline: (Madras IIT creates a microprocessor in domestic technology

Date: 2nd November 2018 Publication: The Times of India Edition: Kochi/Ahmedabad Page No: 6 Journalist: Ms. Tejonmayam Professor : Prof V. Kamakoti Headline: IIT-M creates Indias first microprocessor

Date:1st November 2018 Publication: Business Standard Edition: Online Journalist: NA Professor : Prof. Kamakoti Veezhinathan Headline: IIT-Madras develops India's first microprocessor Shakti URL: https://www.business-standard.com/article/news-ians/iit-madras-develops-india-s-first-microprocessor-shakti-118110101242_1.html

IIT-Madras develops India's first microprocessor Shakti IIT-Madras unveils indigenously-developed microprocessor

Researchers at Indian Institute of Technology-Madras (IITM) have designed and booted up India's first microprocessor, Shakti, which could be used in mobile computing and other devices.

The microprocessor can be used by others as it is on par with international standards, researchers said.

The Shakti family of processors was fabricated at Semi-Conductor Laboratory (SCL), Indian Space Research Organizations (ISRO) in Chandigarh, making it the first 'RISC V Microprocessor' to be completely designed and made in India, IITM said.

The other crucial aspect of such an indigenous design, development and fabricating approach is reducing the risk of deploying systems that may be infected with back-doors and hardware Trojans.

The project is funded by Union Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.

With a large percentage of applications requiring sub 200 MhZ processors, the current success paves the way to producing many hand-held and control application devices.

In July 2018, an initial batch of 300 chips, named RISECREEK was produced under Project Shakti, that were fabricated at the Multinational Chip Manufacturer Intel's facility at Oregon, USA, that successfully booted the Linux operating system. Now, the fabrication has been done in India.

Date: 1st November 2018 Publication: News D Edition: Online Journalist: NA Professor : Prof. Kamakoti Veezhinathan Headline: IIT-Madras develops India’s first microprocessor Shakti URL: https://newsd.in/iit-madras-develops-india-s-first-microprocessor-shakti/

IIT-Madras develops India's first microprocessor Shakti

Researchers at Indian Institute of Technology-Madras (IITM) have designed and booted up India's first microprocessor, Shakti, which could be used in mobile computing and other devices.

The microprocessor can be used by others as it is on par with international standards, researchers said.

The other crucial aspect of such an indigenous design, development and fabricating approach is reducing the risk of deploying systems that may be infected with back-doors and hardware Trojans.

The project is funded by Union Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.

With a large percentage of applications requiring sub 200 MhZ processors, the current success paves the way to producing many hand-held and control application devices.

Date: 1st November 2018 Publication: Social News Edition: Online Journalist: NA Professor : Prof. Kamakoti Veezhinathan Headline: IIT-Madras develops India’s first microprocessor Shakti URL: https://www.socialnews.xyz/2018/11/01/iit-madras-develops-indias-first-microprocessor-shakti/

IIT-Madras develops India's first microprocessor Shakti

Researchers at Indian Institute of Technology-Madras (IITM) have designed and booted up India's first microprocessor, Shakti, which could be used in mobile computing and other devices.

The microprocessor can be used by others as it is on par with international standards, researchers said.

The other crucial aspect of such an indigenous design, development and fabricating approach is reducing the risk of deploying systems that may be infected with back-doors and hardware Trojans.

The project is funded by Union Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.

With a large percentage of applications requiring sub 200 MhZ processors, the current success paves the way to producing many hand-held and control application devices.

Date: 3rd November 2018 Publication: Gadgets Now Edition: Online Journalist: NA Professor : Prof. Kamakoti Veezhinathan Headline: IIT-Madras Develops 'India's First Microprocessor', Shakti URL: https://gadgets.ndtv.com/mobiles/news/iit-madras-develops-indias-first-microprocessor-shakti-1941909

IIT-Madras Develops 'India's First Microprocessor', Shakti

Researchers at Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT-M) have designed and booted up India's first microprocessor, Shakti, which could be used in mobile computing and other devices.

According to IIT-M, the Shakti microprocessor can be used in low-power wireless systems and networking systems besides reducing reliance on imported microprocessors in communication and defence sectors.

The microprocessor can be used by others as it is on par with international standards, researchers said.

The other crucial aspect of such an indigenous design, development and fabricating approach is reducing the risk of deploying systems that may be infected with back-doors and hardware Trojans.

According to IIT-M, Shakti processor family targets clock speeds to suit various end-user application devices such as various consumer electronic devices, mobile computing devices, embedded low-power wireless systems and networking systems, among others.

The project is funded by Union Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology. The impact of this completely indigenous fabrication is that India has now attained independence in designing, developing and fabricating end- to-end systems within the country, leading to self-sufficiency, IIT-M claimed.

With a large percentage of applications requiring sub 200 MHz processors, the current success paves the way to producing many hand-held and control application devices.

Date: 3rd November 2018 Publication: Navodaya Edition: Online Journalist: NA Professor : Prof. Kamakoti Veezhinathan Headline: IITM , ' ' URL: https://www.navodayatimes.in/news/khabre/iit-madras-invent-the-smallest-microprocessor-shakti/99251/

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Date: 3rd November 2018 Publication: The Hans India Edition: Hyderabad Page No: 8 Journalist: NA Headline: ‘Indias indigenous chip ‘Shakti will not be outdated

Date: 5th November 2018 Publication: Digit Edition: Online Journalist: NA Professor: Prof. Kamakoti Veezhinathan Headline: Shakti is India's first microprocessor designed and fabricated in India URL: https://www.digit.in/general/shakti-is-indias-first-microprocessor-designed-and-fabricated-in-india-44511.html

Shakti is India's first microprocessor designed and fabricated in India

Shakti was designed by researchers at IIT Madras and has the potential to be used in mobile computing and other devices. By Digit NewsDesk Published Date 04 - Nov - 2018 | Last Updated 04 - Nov - 2018Shakti is India’s first microprocessor designed and fabricated in... HP Pavilion 15-CK069TX 15.6" (8th Gen In...Buy from paytm 60929 Shakti- India’s first microprocessor has been designed and booted by researchers at Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT-M). The researchers say that the chip can be used for mobile computing and other devices. The chip can be used in low-power wireless systems and networking systems. The researchers say that the chip can help reduce the reliance on imported chips in the communications and defence sector. The researchers also claim that the chip is on par with international standards.

Semi-Conductor Laboratory (SCL), Indian Space Research Organizations (ISRO) in Chandigarh fabricated the Shakti family of processors. This makes it the first 'RISC V Microprocessor' that is designed and manufactured in India completely.

As far as use cases are concerned, the Shakti family of processors can work with various devices such as consumer electronic devices, mobile computing devices, embedded low-power wireless systems and networking systems, and more. The ability to design and manufacture chips is the next step in electronics manufacturing in India. In India, smartphone components such as processors, etc. are imported and assembled in India.

The initial batch of 300 chips, named RISECREEK was produced under Project Shakti, in July 2018. The chips were fabricated at the Multinational Chip Manufacturer Intel's facility at Oregon, USA. The chips were used to successfully boot the Linux operating system. Now, the fabrication has been done in India.

Date: 5th November 2018 Publication: Telangana Today Edition: Hyderabad Page No: 7 Journalist: NA Professor: Prof. Kamakoti Veezhinathan Headline: Shakti, India’s first microprocessor

Date: 5th November 2018 Publication: The Print Edition: Online Journalist: Sandhya Ramesh Professor: Prof. Kamakoti Veezhinathan Headline: Shakti: IIT-Madras develops India’s first indigenous microprocessor URL: https://theprint.in/science/shakti-iit-madras-develops-indias-first-indigenous-microprocessor/144597/

Shakti: IIT-Madras develops India’s first indigenous microprocessor

Shakti is said to be on a par with its international counterparts, and will help reduce India’s dependence on imported systems for defence and communication.

Bengaluru: Researchers at IIT-Madras have designed and demonstrated India’s first indigenously developed microprocessor that can be used in mobile computing, networking, wireless systems, and maybe even our nuclear systems.

The processor, called Shakti, is said to be on a par with its international counterparts, and will eventually help reduce India’s dependence on imported systems for defence and communication. It is based on the RISC-V [pronounced risk-five] open instruction set architecture — born out of academia, from the University of California Berkeley, RISC-V is open standard and encourages collaboration.

RISC-V is based on a principle that allows the processor to execute instructions in fewer cycles than other instruction sets, and also provides for the development of modular processors and their extensions, enabling easy customisation. The compilers, debuggers, and operating systems that come with it are all open-source and modifiable.

However, while this is India’s first indigenously developed microprocessors, Indian engineers have long been counted among the pioneers in the field.

Most prominent among them is Vinod Dham, who is known as the father of the Pentium microprocessor that reportedly made Intel the world’s biggest chip-maker. Ajay Bhatt, the inventor of the USB, is also credited with improving chipset configurations.

Other pioneers include Ravishanker ‘Rockstar’ Kuppuswamy, who led the design team that built the Xeon E7 for Intel, and the duo — Gurindar Sohi and Terani Vijaykumar — who famously sued Apple for the infringement of a patent to make processors more efficient, and won.

Shakti was designed at the Reconfigurable Intelligent Systems Engineering (RISE) Laboratory at the IIT-Madras’ department of computer science and engineering.

Launched in 2014, the Shakti project was aimed at developing industrial-grade microprocessors and other components of the microprocessor ecosystem. It is partly funded by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) as part of two-decade-old efforts to develop indigenous microprocessors.

Also Read: Using new AI algorithm, IIT-Bombay to reduce damage caused by natural disasters in India

Larger push for AI The Shakti programme is led by Kamakoti Veezhinathan, a professor in the computer science department of IIT-Madras, and G.S. Madhusudhan, the senior project adviser.

Both are members of India’s ‘artificial intelligence task force’, which was set up by the government in 2017 to tap the growing field of AI for the country’s benefit.

A team of about 30 designers, modified and chiselled over nearly a decade, have designed the Shakti processor to specifically work for the internet of things and small devices. The processor itself was fabricated at ISRO’s Semi-Conductor Laboratory in Chandigarh, making it the first ‘RISC V Microprocessor’ to be completely designed and made in India.

In July, before moving to ISRO, 300 chips were produced at a facility of Intel, the multinational chip manufacturer, in Oregon, US. This first batch, named RISECREEK, successfully managed to boot the Linux operating system.

The chip will find uses in several applications in India, including in smartphones as well as nuclear systems, according to a 2017 report by the Department of Atomic Energy.

“With the advent of Digital India there are several applications that require customisable processor cores,” said Veezhinathan. “The 180nm fabrication facility at SCL Chandigarh is crucial in getting these cores manufactured within our country.”

Date: 5th November 2018 Publication: The Times of India Edition: Pune Page No: 24 Journalist: U.Tejonmayam Professor: Prof Kamakoti Veezhinathan Headline: IIT-M comes up with ‘Shakti country's first microprocessor

Date: 6th November 2018 Publication: The Financial Express Edition: Delhi / Mumbai / Pune / Bangalore / Hyderabad / Chennai / Kochi / Ahmedabad / Kolkata Page No: 8 Journalist: NA Headline: RISCing a future

Date: 6th November 2018 Publication: Mail Today Edition: Delhi Page No: 13 (Box Item) Journalist: NA Headline: IIT-Madras develops India’s First Microprocessor ‘Shakti’

Date: 6th November 2018 Publication: League of India Edition: Online Journalist: NA Professor: Prof Kamakoti Veezhinathan Headline: IIT-Madras develops India’s First Microprocessor ‘Shakti’ URL: https://leagueofindia.com/agents-of-change/iit-madras-develops-indias-first-microprocessor-shakti/

IIT-Madras develops India’s First Microprocessor ‘Shakti’

After ‘Shakti’, the research is now ready with ‘Parashakti’, an advanced microprocessor for supercomputers.

The researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras) have designed India’s first indigenous microprocessor, which will reduce dependency on imported microchips and the risk of cyber attacks.

The microprocessor called ‘Shakti’ was designed, developed and booted by IIT Madras with a microchip fabricated in the Semi-Conductor Laboratory of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) at Chandigarh. It has been developed at an outlay of about Rs 11 crore.

The ‘Shakti’ project is aimed at developing industrial-grade microprocessors and other components of the microprocessor ecosystem.

It is a Make In India project that is partly funded by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), as part of two-decade-old efforts to develop indigenous microprocessors.

The microprocessor will reduce dependency on imported microchips and the risk of cyber attacks..

It could be used in mobile computing, wireless and networking systems, besides reducing reliance on imported microprocessors in communication and defence sectors.

It may also provide power to mobile phones, surveillance cameras and smart meters.

The brain of all computing and electronic devices, many such microprocessors that are connected are used to operate larger high-speed systems and supercomputers.

After ‘Shakti’, the research is now ready with ‘Parashakti’, an advanced microprocessor for supercomputers.

The super scaler processor will be ready by December 2018 and it will go into desktops and 32 of them interconnected may go into supercomputers.

Timeline:

Launched in 2014, the ‘Shakti’ microprocessor was designed at the Reconfigurable Intelligent Systems Engineering (RISE) Laboratory at the IIT- Madras’ department of computer science and engineering.

In July, an initial batch of IIT-M-designed 300 chips, ‘RISECREEK’, was developed at Intel’s facility at Oregon, US, and later booted the Linux Operating System. Now, developed in the country, the microprocessor is completely indigenous.

While the microprocessor fabricated in India was in a 180nm facility, the one in the US was in a 20nm lab.

According to Prof Kamakoti Veezhinathan, lead researcher at IITM’s RISE laboratory, “180nm, though outdated, is relevant as many applications across the world look for limited frequency.”

He also added that the chip can be used for any application where conventional power is available. The one fabricated in the US consumes less power and hence can be used in mobiles.

The microprocessor has already attracted the attention of Indian industry and IIT-M is in touch with more than 13 companies involved in strategic and commercial applications.

Date: 5th November 2018 Publication: GK Today Edition: Online Journalist: NA Headline: Shakti: IIT Madras develops India’s first indigenous microprocessor URL: https://currentaffairs.gktoday.in/shakti-iit-madras-develops-indias-indigenous-microprocessor-11201862344.html

Shakti: IIT Madras develops India’s first indigenous microprocessor

After ‘Shakti’, the research is now ready with ‘Parashakti’, an advanced microprocessor for supercomputers. The researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras) have designed India’s first indigenous microprocessor, which will reduce dependency on imported microchips and the risk of cyber attacks.

The ‘Shakti’ project is aimed at developing industrial-grade microprocessors and other components of the microprocessor ecosystem.

It is a Make In India project that is partly funded by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), as part of two-decade-old efforts to develop indigenous microprocessors.

The microprocessor will reduce dependency on imported microchips and the risk of cyber attacks..

It could be used in mobile computing, wireless and networking systems, besides reducing reliance on imported microprocessors in communication and defence sectors.

It may also provide power to mobile phones, surveillance cameras and smart meters.

The brain of all computing and electronic devices, many such microprocessors that are connected are used to operate larger high-speed systems and supercomputers. After ‘Shakti’, the research is now ready with ‘Parashakti’, an advanced microprocessor for supercomputers.

The super scaler processor will be ready by December 2018 and it will go into desktops and 32 of them interconnected may go into supercomputers.

Timeline: Launched in 2014, the ‘Shakti’ microprocessor was designed at the Reconfigurable Intelligent Systems Engineering (RISE) Laboratory at the IIT- Madras’ department of computer science and engineering.

While the microprocessor fabricated in India was in a 180nm facility, the one in the US was in a 20nm lab.

According to Prof Kamakoti Veezhinathan, lead researcher at IITM’s RISE laboratory, “180nm, though outdated, is relevant as many applications across the world look for limited frequency.”

He also added that the chip can be used for any application where conventional power is available. The one fabricated in the US consumes less power and hence can be used in mobiles.

The microprocessor has already attracted the attention of Indian industry and IIT-M is in touch with more than 13 companies involved in strategic and commercial applications.

Date: 6th November 2018 Publication: The Economic Times Edition: Delhi / Mumbai / Pune / Kolkata / Ahmedabad Page No: 8 Journalist: Sreeradha Basu Professor: Prof. Venkatesh Balasubramanian Headline: IIT Madras develops human-centric business model to improve efficiencies URL: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/miscellaneous/iit-madras-develops-human-centric-business-model-to-improve- efficiencies/articleshow/66519449.cms

Date: 6th November 2018 Publication: Academic Electronics Forum Edition: Online Journalist: Anumita Das Professor: Prof. Venkatesh Balasubramanian Headline: IIT Madras Develops SMS Model for Business Excellence URL: https://academia.electronicsforu.com/iit-madras-develops-sms-model-for-business-excellence

IIT-Madras has developed the SMS business model and called it human-centric as it addresses human factors and ergonomics in the manufacturing and service sectors

IIT Madras has come up with Suzhal Management System (SMS) Business Excellence Model to help manufacturers and the service segment improve efficiency. The SMS model is also called a human-centric one for it has integrated human factors such as job rotation to address man- machine, machine-method and man-method related issues.

SMS model IIT’s new business model claims to be applicable to the enhancement of processes involved in manufacturing and aid in innovation. Prof. Venkatesh Balasubramanian, department of engineering design, IIT Madras, said that it could be applied in the service sector, manufacturing and process-oriented manufacturing companies and product development. Organisations can use the programme to build organisational capabilities in the employees.

Human factors and ergonomics

The Suzhal Management System emphasizes human factors and ergonomics besides ways for strategic implementation. Its human factors and ergonomics emphasis are to understand the skill deficit, deskilling of processes and yield reliable low-cost automation. Overall, the SMS helps improve business and become competitive and contribute to Make-in-India initiative.

The Business Excellence model is said to become increasingly used by small and large-scale industries – leather processing, automotive manufacturers, state-run India Post and Indian Railways department.

Date: 6th November 2018 Publication: The Times of India Edition: Chennai Page No: 5 Journalist: Ram Sundaram Professor: Prof Thillai Rajan Headline: How IIT-Madras taught suburban entrepreneurs tricks of trade URL: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/how-iit-madras-taught-suburban-entrepreneurs-tricks-of- trade/articleshow/66519520.cms

Date: 8th November 2018 Publication: India West Edition: Online Journalist: NA Professor: Prof. Kamakoti Veezhinathan Headline: IIT-Madras Develops India's First Microprocessor, Shakti URL: https://www.indiawest.com/news/technology/iit-madras-develops-india-s-first-microprocessor-shakti/article_37e88dae-e213-11e8-a885- 177560df4af5.html

IIT-Madras Develops India's First Microprocessor, Shakti

Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology-Madras led by Prof. Kamakoti Veezhinathan have designed and booted up India's first microprocessor, Shakti, which could be used in mobile computing and other devices. (IITM.in photo) CHENNAI – Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology-Madras have designed and booted up India's first microprocessor, Shakti, which could be used in mobile computing and other devices.

The microprocessor can be used by others as it is on par with international standards, researchers said.

The Shakti family of processors was fabricated at the Semi-Conductor Laboratory, Indian Space Research Organizations, in Chandigarh, making it the first “RISC V Microprocessor” to be completely designed and made in India, IITM said.

The other crucial aspect of such an indigenous design, development and fabricating approach is reducing the risk of deploying systems that may be infected with back-doors and hardware Trojans.

This development will assume huge significance when systems based on Shakti processors are adopted by strategic sectors such as defense, nuclear power installations, government agencies and departments.

"With the advent of Digital India, there are several applications that require customizable processor cores. The 180nm fabrication facility at SCL Chandigarh is crucial in getting these cores manufacturers within our Country," said Prof. Kamakoti Veezhinathan, lead researcher of the Reconfigurable Intelligent Systems Engineering Laboratory in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at IITM.

According to IITM, the Shakti processor family targets clock speeds to suit various end-user application devices such as various consumer electronic devices, mobile computing devices, embedded low-power wireless systems and networking systems, among others. The project is funded by the Union Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology. The impact of this completely indigenous fabrication is that India has now attained independence in designing, developing and fabricating end- to-end systems within the country, leading to self-sufficiency, IITM claimed.

With a large percentage of applications requiring sub 200 MhZ processors, the current success paves the way to producing many hand-held and control application devices.

In July 2018, an initial batch of 300 chips, named RISECREEK, was produced under Project Shakti, that were fabricated at the Multinational Chip Manufacturer Intel's facility at Oregon, which successfully booted the Linux operating system. Now, the fabrication has been done in India.

Date: 5th November 2018 Publication: Jagran Josh Edition: Online Journalist: NA Professor: Prof Kamakoti Veezhinathan Headline: IIT-Madras develops India’s first microprocessor ‘Shakti’ URL: https://www.jagranjosh.com/current-affairs/iitmadras-develops-indias-first-microprocessor-shakti-1541394643-1

IIT-Madras Develops India's First Microprocessor, Shakti

The microprocessor can be used by others as it is on par with international standards, researchers said.

The other crucial aspect of such an indigenous design, development and fabricating approach is reducing the risk of deploying systems that may be infected with back-doors and hardware Trojans.

The project is funded by the Union Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.

With a large percentage of applications requiring sub 200 MhZ processors, the current success paves the way to producing many hand-held and control application devices.

Date: 7th November 2018 Publication: Western Times Edition: Ahemdabad Page No: 3 Journalist: NA Headline: IIT-Madras develops India’s first microprocessor ‘Shakti’

Date: 12th November 2018 Channel: DD News Show: Good News Edition: Electronic Journalist: Mr. Nishant Saurabh Professor: Vignesh Muthuvijayan Student: Sudeep Chakravarthy Headline: (Story on dressing material for diabetic wounds) URL: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Su6KcSF_XoU

Date: 12th November 2018 Publication: DD Podhigai Edition: Electronic Journalist: NA Professor: Prof V. Kamakoti Headline: Story on Microprocessors

Date: 23rd November 2018 Publication: Navbharat Edition: Pune Page No: 8 Journalist: NA Headline: IIT Madras Researchers Design & Boot Up India's first Indigenously-developed Microprocessor

Date: 23rd November 2018 Publication: Kungumum Edition: Chennai Page No: 50 Professor: Prof V. Kamakoti Journalist: T. Sakthivel Headline: இந்தியாவின் 믁த쯍 மை埍ரரா பிராசஸ쏍! அசத்鏁믍 சசன்மை ஐஐ羿 (India’s First Microprocessor! Amazes IIT Madras) URL: http://kungumam.co.in/Articalinnerdetail.aspx?id=14526&id1=4&issue=20181123

Date: 25th November 2018 Publication: The Hindu Edition: Online Journalist: Shubhashree Desikan Professor: Prof Gitakrishnan Ramadurai Headline: IIT-M’s strategies to improve traffic efficiency URL: https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/iit-ms-strategies-to-improve-traffic-efficiency/article25586331.ece IIT-M’s strategies to improve traffic efficiency Shubashree Desikan NOVEMBER 24, 2018 17:28 IST UPDATED: NOVEMBER 24, 2018 17:30 IST SHARE ARTICLE 6 0 PRINT A A A

Two-wheeler throughput can be increased significantly by providing them space upfront at a signalized intersection, says Gitakrishnan Ramadurai (left). Two-wheeler throughput can be increased significantly by providing them space upfront at a signalized intersection, says Gitakrishnan Ramadurai (left).

Smoother flow of traffic can result when a dedicated lane separates two-wheelers from other vehicle s Traffic signals have been in use ever since automobiles became the preferred mode of travel. Yet, little has been done to improve their functioning, in comparison with innovations in automobile design. A group at IIT Madras has studied Indian traffic conditions and come up with three counter-intuitive strategies to improve efficiency of oversaturated traffic flow through road intersections.

In a preliminary study, Radhakrishnan, at present an assistant transport planner with Atkins, and Gitakrishnan Ramadurai from the Department of Civil Engineering, IIT Madras, collected data on the variation of headway, which is the distance between the leader vehicle and the following one. Observing vehicles at the traffic signals near three places in Chennai (Tidel Park, Tiruvanmiyur junction and Adyar depot), they found that the distance between two successive vehicles (headway) increases with duration of the green signal. This implies that longer the duration of green signal, there would be less throughput, thereby reducing the efficiency of the signal. Developing on this study, Dr Ramadurai arrived at the first strategy: keeping the duration of green signals short enough that the headway reaches a saturation value, in his paper in Communication Systems and Networks, conference proceedings published by IEEE.

Bottleneck metering The second strategy proposed in the paper is to have bottleneck metering along the lines of traffic control on expressways, near entry points and exits. Like highways, expressways have points where traffic leaves or enters through lanes, such as in T-junctions. These often experience bottlenecks because vehicles, not being in specific lanes, merge from different directions, thereby causing ‘turbulence’ in the traffic flow. The researchers collected data from arterial roads in Chennai where a four-lane one-way section of a road merges with a two-way section with two lanes in each direction in a T-junction. They monitored average flow of different types of vehicles before, during and after congestion for three days. They found that for two-wheelers and cars, there was an increase in flow once congestion starts, whereas for three-wheelers and heavy vehicles, the flow decreases. Overall, they found a capacity gain at the bottleneck, instead of a capacity drop expected from reported literature, and flows increase once congestion sets it. Taking such factors into account, they suggest that by placing signals separately for each lane that enters or leaves a bottleneck on an arterial road, and using green signals alternately, a higher throughput or a capacity gain can be engineered.

Storage space The third strategy is based on the observation that two-wheelers have significantly lower headways compared with others; they also have negligible start-up delay. Also, in congestion, two-wheelers filter through the gaps and increase overall throughput. “We show that two-wheeler throughput can be increased significantly by providing them space upfront at a signalized intersection without affecting other vehicles significantly,” says Dr Ramadurai. The idea is to have separate lanes for two-wheelers close to intersections and an exclusive two-wheeler storage space at the front where they can collect while waiting for the signal to change. A microsimulation model calibrated by S. Siddharth and Dr Ramadurai which was published in Proceedings of the Urban Mobility India 2013, conference, is used to test this idea. The simulation model showed a reduction in delay time of about 50% for two-wheelers and an overall delay reduction of 20%.

“The complex interactions *between different types of vehicles+ are broken down by physically separating two-wheelers from three-wheelers, cars, and heavy vehicles and this may be a reason for smoother flow resulting in reduction in overall delays,” explains Dr Ramadurai. However, he adds that real-world trials are required to validate this hypothesis since simulation models are only an abstraction of reality.

Date: 26th November 2018 Publication: The Times of India - Education Times Edition: Delhi / Faridabad / Gurgaon / Noida/Pune Page No: 6 Journalist: Ms. Rajlakshmi Ghosh Professor: Prof. R. Nagarajan Headline: Brain gain

Date: 26th November 2018 Publication: Swarajya Edition: Online Journalist: NA Headline: ‘Life Sciences’ To Boost Breakthroughs: IIT Updates Curriculum To Prepare New Generation URL: https://swarajyamag.com/insta/life-sciences-to-boost-breakthroughs-iit-updates-curriculum-to-prepare-new-generation

Life Sciences’ To Boost Breakthroughs: IIT Updates Curriculum To Prepare New Generation

Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) are updating their syllabi for initiating breakthroughs in biology and medicine, Financial Express has reported.

IITs at Delhi, Kanpur, Bombay, Madras, Kharagpur and Guwahati had reportedly started the process ten years back. Other institutes have included electives like bio-energy, medicinal diagnostics, biology and bioprocess. A survey showed that 20 per cent of the startups are tilted towards healthcare and medicine. This has motivated institutes to upgrade their curriculum.

In 2010, IIT Kharagpur introduced a mandatory course in its syllabus called, ‘Science of Living System’, thereby becoming one of the first institutes to do so. It’s also planning a do-it-yourself biology laboratory this year.

IIT Kharagpur director, Partha Chakrabarti, has said that knowledge regarding biology is important to an engineer as mathematics and physics are for a biologist. He stated that next-gen technology could not be created without knowing biology. IIT Kanpur, IIT Delhi and IIT Bombay have added a biology course to their curriculum. IIT Madras added biology courses in 2005 but revamped electives in 2015.

Tags: IIT Bombay, IIT Kharagpur, IIT Delhi, IIT Mdras, iit guwahati,

‘No Discrimination Against Non-South Asians’: US Jury Rules In Favour Of TCS In Class Action Suit by Swarajya Staff - Nov 29 2018, 11:45 am, ‘No Discrimination Against Non-South Asians’: US Jury Rules In Favour Of TCS In Class Action Suit Tata Consultancy Services. A nine-member United States jury has unanimously ruled in favour of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) in a class action suit filed against it by its employees, law360.com has reported. The case was heard in a court in Oakland, California.

The class-action lawsuit filed by three former TCS employees, Christopher Slaight, Seyed Amir Masoudi and Nobel Mandili had claimed that they received fewer work opportunities and were eventually fired because of their racial and national identities.

Daniel Kotchen, the attorney representing former TCS employees had presented data showing that the company has fired lesser than one per cent of its South Asian employees (who are mostly Indian) in the US. They claimed that this was lesser compared to 10.6 per cent of non-South Asian employees who had lost their jobs in TCS.

The suit filed by former TCS employees alleged that the company let go of 78 per cent of its non-South Asian workers who were taken off their assignments between 2011 and 2014. They also pointed out that only 22 per cent of benched South Asians were fired.

TCS executives in their response to allegations testified that the company had raised its year-over-year retention from 69 per cent to 82 per cent. It also pointed out that the company had increased the recruitment of US residents.

The lawyer representing TCS, Terry Garnett argued that the company's data shows a 400 per cent increase in local employees since 2011. Garnett argued that most of the workers who had been fired were let go due to their refusal to relocate. These arguments lead to a unanimous ruling in favour of TCS.

Date: 26th November 2018 Publication: The Financial Express Edition: Online Journalist: NA Professor: Prof D Karunagaran Headline: IITs including ‘Life Science’ in curriculum for breakthroughs in biology and medicine URL: https://www.financialexpress.com/education-2/iits-including-life-science-in-curriculum-for-breakthroughs-in-biology-and- medicine/1393750/

IITs including ‘Life Science’ in curriculum for breakthroughs in biology and medicine

With changing times and the advent of new technology in the fields of healthcare and medicine, the Indian Institute of Technology (IITs) are tweaking their curriculum in their attempt for breakthroughs in biology and medicine. IIT, IIT Delhi IIT curriculum, IIT syllabus, Life Science, biology, medicine, IIT Bombay, IIT Kanpur, IIt kharagpur, medical diagnostics, education news

IIT Delhi and IIT Kanpur introduced a compulsory course in Biology in 2013 and 2011 respectively. With changing times and the advent of new technology in the fields of healthcare and medicine, the Indian Institute of Technology (IITs) are tweaking their curriculum in their attempt for breakthroughs in biology and medicine. While this initiative started over the last decade across the at least six IITs including Delhi, Kanpur, Bombay, Madras, Kharagpur and Guwahati, various others are still in the process of tweaking their curriculum while some others have gone beyond the inclusion of basics of biology and included electives such as data in biology, bio-energy, medical diagnostics and bio-process, reports The Indian Express. The change in syllabus to include Life Sciences stems from the findings of an internal survey which suggest that at least 20 per cent of new startups are tilting towards healthcare and medicine.

IIT Kharagpur was among the first among the IITs to introduce ‘Life Sciences’ into its curriculum. In the year 2010, the institute introduced a compulsory course, namely ‘Science of Living System’. The IE report states that IIT Kharagpur is planning to open a do-it-yourself biology laboratory in addition to the theory course from this year. While talking about the changes taking place, Partha Chakrabarti, the IIT Kharagpur director said that the knowledge of Biology for an engineer is as important as that of mathematics and physics for a biologist. He added that “we cannot create next-generation technology without it”. Among the other institutes, IIT Delhi and IIT Kanpur introduced a compulsory course in Biology in 2013 and 2011 respectively. IIT Bombay made similar changes to their curriculum in the year 2013. IIT Madras had in 2005 introduced a compulsory course in Biology, however they revamped the same in 2015 by introducing electives for the same. D Karunagaran, head of biotechnology department at IIT-Madras, said electives have also been introduced in the compulsory paper and students have to choose two out of five elective modules. “The idea is to keep them clued in about the advances in the biology. Date: 30th November 2018 Publication: The Times of India Edition: Online Journalist: Ms Sindhu Hariharan Professor: Prof B Ravindran Headline: Data analytics jobs find no takers, 76k roles vacant URL: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/data-analytics-jobs-find-no-takers-76k-roles- vacant/articleshow/66872191.cms

IIT Madras is an innovation and entrepreneurship hub

Date: 31st October 2018 Publication: The New Indian Express - Edex Edition: Online Journalist: Shirlene Grace Isaac Alumni: Vidyashankar C, Headline: How this start-up run by IIT Madras alums is going to 3D print your next house URL: http://www.edexlive.com/happening/2018/oct/31/how-this-start-up-run-by-iit-madras-alums-is-going-to-3d-print-your-next-house- 4300.html

How this start-up run by IIT Madras alums is going to 3D print your next house

Incidentally, though they didn't start off wanting to print houses, the co-founders were very excited about 3D printing as a conceptShirlene Grace Isaac Team Tvasta Team Tvasta has built a structure in Chennai to show us how a 3D printed house will feel and look When you think 3D Printing, the image that springs to mind is a device that takes several hours to print a small object. So when IIT Madras told us that they planned to 3D print a house, we wondered how many decades that was going to take. Truth is, they tell us that it'll probably end up being faster than a normal brick-and-mortar construction once they're done with their research. IIT Madras' Civil Engineering Department has tied up with Tvasta, a start-up established by four of their alumni to create the IIT Madras Printability Lab to fast-track this project.

But before that, let's get down to the basics. How do you 3D print a house? Block by concrete block, of course. Vidyashankar C, one of the four co-founders of Tvasta, explains that 3D printing concrete is a whole other ballgame that's way faster, "It is true that most 3D printers take a lot of time to print components like plastic and metal, but the rate of concrete printing is much faster."

Incidentally, though they didn't start off wanting to print houses, the co-founders were very excited about 3D printing as a concept.

We have been working in the area of 3D printing for about five years now. We started working on it while we were students at IIT Madras and our first effort in this area was a club that we formed in the Centre for Innovation called the 3D Printing Club. We started with building small- scale, open-source printers and then gradually moved towards building industrial 3D printers. The journey has been rewarding in terms of learning and exhilarating in terms of labour and manpower Vidyashankar C, Co-founder, Team Tvasta

Team Tvasta has built a structure in Chennai to show us how a 3D printed house will feel and look. "Our prototyping and test runs have been extremely extensive. We have been running trials every single day for the past two years and what has come is the result of extensive trial and development," he explains of a journey that has only just begun. With 3D printed concrete, buildings or structures are fundamentally built layer- by-layer as compared to conventional building methods, where metal parts are cast or machined, which makes it easier, faster and (inevitably) cheaper, "We know for a fact that buildings are best suited for 3D printing or additive manufacturing (as it is known formally) than most other objects that we see around ourselves," he reckons.

Cheaper? How is that even possible, we wonder, on behalf of civil engineers everywhere. He responds quickly, "As this is new technology, it is difficult for us to give you an accurate estimate of the cost involved. We are intending to launch a pilot project to build demo houses around the country. This will enable us to estimate the cost of construction accurately, building materials and logistics. But, we can be assured that at this point in time, the cost of construction via 3D printing will be more expensive as compared to conventional construction. As per our calculations, in a few years when the economies of scale favour us, we will be on par with conventional construction companies."

With an aim to make the technology market-ready and market-sensible, the team is hopeful that this will contribute towards helping the 11 million or so homeless people in the country, find a roof to call their own, “In the near future we want to share our technology with construction agencies so as to make urban quality-construction available to rural areas across our country," he states.

Date: 3rd November 2018 Publication: 3d grenzenlos Edition: Online Journalist: NA Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT) fertigt Haus in nur 3 Tagen mit 3D-Drucker Headline: Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT) manufactures house in just 3 days with 3D printer URL: https://www.3d-grenzenlos.de/magazin/kurznachrichten/iit-madras-haus-aus-3d-drucker-in-3-tagen-27451213/

Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT) manufactures house in just 3 days with 3D printer

A team of researchers at the IIT Madras Indian Institute of Technology is currently developing a 3D printing process for a redesigned building process that will allow a 30 square meter family home to be built in three days using a 3D printer. Both the faculty and the alumni have participated in this project and are intended to counteract the housing shortage in India as well as worldwide. display Indian Institute of Technology Madras logoThe Indian Institute of Technology Madras , in cooperation with Tvasta Manufacturing Solutions, is developing a new 3D printing process for houses from the 3D printer . The team of Indian scientists works with an advanced prototype already developed at the institute that allows them to take full advantage of additive manufacturing to meet housing demand in India. summary Research into new formwork systems and automated construction methods Science and government cooperate to advance concrete 3D printing Resolve housing problems using 3D printing Further examples of buildings from the 3D printer Lower prices along with fast production time, fewer transportation challenges of expensive materials and less construction costs are the main advantages of the 3D printing process , according to an article in "The Times of India" . In this area, the institute's Building Technology and Construction Management Dis- vision research group is doing particularly advanced work.

Research into new formwork systems and automated construction methods Building from 3D printer The team that developed the concept wants to provide affordable housing (Photo © Hans India / The Times of India). The researchers are working on the development of additive manufacturing in the construction industry since 2016. Here, the institute is developing automated construction methods and new systems for formwork in the interests of rapid housing construction.

Science and government cooperate to advance concrete 3D printing In addition to this project, the institute also cooperates with other government departments to promote education on the application of 3D printing. Concrete 3D printing offers a new dimension in home construction, as this technology can best meet the complex requirements of the architecture. By applying optimally proportioned aggregates and chemical additives as well as binders, the concrete mix is adapted to the rheological properties. Ultimately, this allows material extrusion and dimensional stability.

»6 projects for bridges from the 3D printer

Resolve housing problems using 3D printing The need for innovation in construction in India is also recognized by the government as housing problems become more intense. That's why it's very encouraging to see that technologies like 3D printing can help. The startup Tvasta and IIT Madras want to accelerate the construction of houses with the 3D printing with optimal use of resources. Tvasta will build the first 3D-printed houses within a year.

Further examples of buildings from the 3D printer Such houses and other buildings from the 3D printer are not only in India. In France, a few months ago, a family moved into a 3D-printed house . The Viennese start-up PrintStones produces paving stones with 3D printers and only a few weeks ago a Russian company presented the world's first well from the 3D printer . An interesting overview offers our article " 10 amazing architectural projects that were realized or planned with 3D printing" , as well as regularly our new 3D printing newsletter ( subscribe now ).

Date: 5th November 2018 Publication: The New Indian Express - Edex Edition: Chennai Page No: 2 Journalist: Shirlene Grace Isaac Headline: You might be able to 3D print your next home

Date: 5th November 2018 Publication: The New Indian Express Edition: Chennai Page No: 3 Journalist: NA Professor: Prof. Boby George Headline: IIT-Madras students create drones, robots and sensors URL: http://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/chennai/2018/nov/05/iit-madras-students-create-drones-robots-and-sensors-1894441.html

Date: 4th Nov 2018 Publication: Dinakaran Edition: Online Journalist: NA Headline: ஐஐ : (Expo at IIT Madras, public can watch) URL: http://www.dinakaran.com/News_Detail.asp?Nid=447808

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Date: 4th November 2018 2018 Publication: Dinamalar Edition: Chennai Page No: 6 Journalist: NA Headline: IIT Madras to host 'race car' expo tomorrow

Date: 5th November 2018 Publication: The Times Of India Edition: Chennai Page No: 4 Journalist: NA Headline: IIT-M showcases unique projects of its students

Date: 5th November 2018 Publication: Deccan Chronicle - Chennai Chronicle Edition: Chennai Page No: 5 Journalist: NA Professor: Prof. Boby George Headline: IIT-M displays student innovations at Open House

Date: 5th November 2018 Publication: The Hindu Edition: Chennai Page No: 4 Journalist: NA Headline: Student innovations on display at IIT CFI Open House URL: https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-tamilnadu/student-innovations-on-display-at-iit-cfi-open- house/article25421627.ece

Date: 4th November 2018 Publication: Sun TV Edition: Electronic Journalist: NA Student: Raghav Vaidyanathan Headline: IIT-Madras students create drones, robots and sensors URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkakrJwwbY4

Date: 4th November 2018 Publication: DD Podhighai Edition: Electronic Journalist: NA Professor: Prof M S Sivakumar Headline: IIT Madras hosts CFI 2018

Date: 6th November 2018 Publication: Dinamani Edition: Chennai Page No: 16 Journalist:NA Headline: Student innovations on display at IIT CFI Open House in Chennai

Date: 6th November 2018 Publication: Asian Age Edition: Delhi Page No: 2 Journalist: NA Headline: India's first 3D printed house may be built within a year: IIT Madras Team

Date: 6th November 2018 Publication: DNA Edition: Delhi / Mumbai Page No: 9 Journalist: NA Professor: Prof Koshy Varghese Alumni: Adithya VS, Parivarthan Reddy, Vidyashankar C and Santhosh Kumar Headline: India to get 3D printed house URL: https://www.pressreader.com/india/dna-delhi/20181106/282273846375753

Date: 6th November 2018 Publication: Telangana Today Edition: Hyderabad Page No: 14 Journalist: NA Professor: Prof Koshy Varghese Alumni: Adithya VS, Parivarthan Reddy, Vidyashankar C and Santhosh K Headline: India’s first 3D printed house within a year

Date: 6th November 2018 Publication: Swarajya Edition: Online Journalist: NA Alumni: Adithya VS, Parivarthan Reddy, Vidyashankar C and Santhosh Kumar Headline: Team Of IITians Makes ‘Ghar Prapti’ Easy, With 3D Printing Technology URL: https://swarajyamag.com/insta/team-of-iitians-makes-ghar-prapti-easy-with-3d-printing-technology

Team Of IITians Makes ‘Ghar Prapti’ Easy, With 3D Printing Technology

Team Of IITians Makes ‘Ghar Prapti’ Easy, With 3D Printing Technology A 3D printer in New York City (Photo by Cindy Ord/Getty Images) India can potentially build its first 3D printed house within a year, according to a team from IIT Madras that has successfully printed a miniature single-storey structure within two days, reports The Hindu Business Line.

Tvasta Manufacturing Solutions, an additive manufacturing start-up, and the Civil Engineering Department of IIT-Madras, have established a 3D printing laboratory – the IIT Madras Printability Lab – to mature and go to market with an indigenously developed 3D printing technology.

Tvasta Manufacturing Solutions was started by four former engineering students of IIT Madras - Adithya VS, Parivarthan Reddy, Vidyashankar C and Santhosh Kumar, in collaboration with the Civil Engineering Department of IIT Madras.

Tvasta envisions to automate construction, including placement of reinforcements and finishing, by completely re-imagining and re-engineering the construction process using its proprietary technology. It aims to develop a platform and a specific process to complete a single-storey house of 320 sq ft within three days.

Speaking on the possible opportunities for immediate application of the technology, Adithya VS, Co-founder of Tvasta, said that, “The impact of 3D printing in construction will be primarily focussed towards the ‘Housing for All’ scheme under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana and construction of toilets for the ‘Swachh Bharat Abhiyan.'”

Explaining the finer aspects of the technology developed by his team, Vidyashankar said 3D printing construction technology includes four components - software, raw materials, printer and delivery system, reports Deccan Chronicle.

“After constructing the house on the computer using 3D modelling, if we feed it to the printer, then, the delivery system will bring out the component through the printer. The component either could be a house or a part of the house,” he explained.

“In the 3D printer, we can also get all shapes in the concretes. Whatever, the computer designs, the printer will bring out that form on concrete,” he said.

Currently the material that is being used is a specially designed concrete, the team said. This concrete has been designed keeping in mind the need for easy extrusion through the 3D printer and also shape retention after placement of the concrete.

“We will also be working on natural materials – such as stabilised soil – or alternative cementing materials – such as geopolymers – in the future,” the team said.

The total printing time that was required for completing the prototype structure was around two days. However, the team plans to have the capability to print the elements of a complete house of about 320 square feet in about 3 days and complete the entire assembly, including finishing, within a week.

Date: 5th November 2018 Publication: Gadgets Now Edition: Online Journalist: NA Professor: Prof Koshy Varghese Alumni: Adithya VS, Parivarthan Reddy, Vidyashankar C and Santhosh Kumar Headline: India's first 3D printed house may get built within a year URL: https://www.gadgetsnow.com/tech-news/indias-first-3d-printed-house-may-get-built-within-a-year/articleshow/66512942.cms India's first 3D printed house may get built within a year

A 3D printer in New York City (Photo by Cindy Ord/Getty Images) India can potentially build its first 3D printed house within a year, according to a team from IIT Madras that has successfully printed a miniature single-storey structure within two days, reports The Hindu Business Line.

“In the 3D printer, we can also get all shapes in the concretes. Whatever, the computer designs, the printer will bring out that form on concrete,” he said.

“We will also be working on natural materials – such as stabilised soil – or alternative cementing materials – such as geopolymers – in the future,” the team said.

Date: 5th November 2018 Publication: Times Now News - Hindi Edition: Online Journalist: NA Headline: 3 !, IIT (India's first 3D printed house to be ready soon) URL: https://hindi.timesnownews.com/science/article/indias-first-3d-printed-house-soon-students-of-iit-madras-prepared/309681

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3D printed house : 3 त 3 त ए IIT Madras IIT Madras

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, ' त 3 अ त त ए औ त अ ए त अ अ त त , औ त Date: 6th November 2018 Publication: Sakshi Edition: Online Journalist: NA Alumni: Adithya VS, Parivarthan Reddy, Vidyashankar C and Santhosh Kumar Headline: 3 ! (IIT Madras develops India's first 3D printing Construction technology) మన URL: https://www.sakshi.com/news/national/iit-madras-develops-india-first-3d-printing-construction-113212

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Date: 6th November 2018 Publication: Dinakaran Edition: Chennai Page No: 13 Journalist:NA Headline: IIT Madras students innovations attract public interest

Date:5th November 2018 Publication: Dinamalar Edition: Chennai Page No: 6 Journalist:NA Headline: IIT Madras students showcase their innovations

Date: 6th November 2018 Publication: Rajasthan Patrika Edition: Delhi Page No: 12 Journalist: NA Headline: India's first 3D Printing house can be developed in years time\

Date: 6th November 2018 Publication: Jansatta Edition: Delhi/Kolkata Page No: 5 Journalist: NA Headline: India's first 3D Printing house can be developed in years time

Date: 6th November 2018 Publication: Rashtriya Sahara Edition: Delhi Page No: 16 Journalist: NA Headline: India's first 3D Printing house can be developed in years time

Date: 6th November 2018 Publication: Prabhat Khabbar Edition: Delhi Page No: 13 Journalist: NA Headline: India's first 3D Printing house can be developed in years time

Date: 6th November 2018 Publication: Yashbhoomi Edition: Delhi Page No: 7 Journalist: NA Headline: India's first 3D Printing house can be developed in years time

Date: 6th November 2018 Publication: 3D Print Edition: Online Journalist: Sarah Saunders Alumni: Adithya VS, Parivarthan Reddy, Vidyashankar C and Santhosh Kumar Headline: National Workshop in India on 3D Printing Construction URL: https://3dprint.com/229342/3d-printing-news-briefs-11-7-18/

3D Printing News Briefs: November 7, 2018 AMS Below article leader board We’re starting with more formnext announcements on today’s 3D Printing News Briefs, then moving on to classes and workshops. Verashape is launching a new 3D printer at next week’s event in Frankfurt, while Cubicure will be presenting its new CSS software solution for 3D printing. In the meantime, SelfCAD is releasing an updated version of its software. Finally, the EU-funded METALS project has published an online 3D printing course, and the people behind a new program for 3D printed construction technology in India are organizing a workshop on construction 3D printing.

VSHAPER 500 Med Launching at formnext

Just like Polish 3D printer manufacturer Verashape introduced its 5-Axis VSHAPER 3D printer at last year’s formnext, the company is taking advantage of the 2018 event in Frankfurt, estimated to gather a record number of participants in its largest space yet, to launch its newest 3D printer – the VSHAPER 500 MED, which was developed to meet the growing demands for spatial printouts used in the medical field. The VSHAPER 500 MED, which includes a vacuum table, a closed chamber with UV light, and silver-based antibacterial coatings, is perfect for creating precise, high quality 3D printed medical models. The 3D printer also has a 420 x 420 x 440 mm workspace, along with an extruder with two V-JET heads.

“3D Printing technology is becoming an increasingly valuable tool in medical diseases treatment, fighting disabilities and increasing the effectiveness of complicated surgeries,” said Marcin Szymaoski, the company’s VSHAPER Product Manager. “The technology is already used to aid the creation of dental crowns, bone parts, blood vessels and hip-joints prosthetics.”

Date: 5th November 2018 Publication: First Post Edition: Online Journalist: NA Professor: Prof Koshy Varghese Alumni: Adithya VS, Parivarthan Reddy, Vidyashankar C and Santhosh Kumar Headline: India's First 3D Printed House could be a reality within a year say researchers URL: https://www.firstpost.com/tech/news-analysis/indias-first-3d-printed-house-could-be-a-reality-within-a-year-say-researchers- 5506191.html

INDIA'S FIRST 3D PRINTED HOUSE COULD BE A REALITY WITHIN A YEAR SAY RESEARCHERS

A prototype structure that has been printed at IIT Madras will serve as a base model for research.

India could build its first 3D printed house within a year, according to a team from IIT Madras that has successfully printed a miniature single storey structure within two days.

Researchers from Indian Institute of Technology Madras in Tamil Nadu, along with a startup by the alumni of the institute, have established a 3D printing laboratory to take the indigenously-developed technology to the mass market.

The start-up called Tvasta Manufacturing Solutions aspires to completely automate construction, including placement of reinforcements and finishing, by re-envisioning the construction process.

A metal and aluminium 3D printer manufactured by Tvasta. Image: Tvasta A metal and aluminium 3D printer manufactured by Tvasta. Image: Tvasta

Do You Want To Work From Home? This App Makes It Happen According to the researchers, India's massive infrastructure deficit in the area of housing, toilets and transportation inspired them to turn to 3D printing technology, which completely re-envisions the construction industry.

They said that they are keenly looking forward to bringing the advantages of this technology to the Indian market.

Koshy Varghese, a professor in the Department of Civil Engineering at IIT Madras, said that the institute is collaborating with several government agencies and industry to disseminate knowledge and establish standards, policies and processes to bring the new technology to the field. Adithya VS, Co-founder of Tvasta said, that they will be building India's first 3D printed house within the next one year.

"The impact of 3D printing in construction will be primarily focussed towards the 'Housing for All' scheme under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana and construction of toilets for the 'Swachh Bharat Abhiyan'," said Adithya.

"Tvasta is working with multiple stakeholders in the construction Industry to make 3D Printing technology suitable and viable for the Indian construction industry," he said.

The other three founders of the startup are Parivarthan Reddy, Vidyashankar C and Santhosh Kumar.

Currently, the material that is being used is a specially designed concrete, the team said.

This concrete has been designed keeping in mind the need for easy extrusion through the 3D printer and also shape retention after placement of the concrete.

"We will also be working on natural materials — such as stabilised soil — or alternative cementing materials — such as geopolymers — in the future," the team said.

The total printing time that was required for completing the prototype structure was around two days.

However, the team plans to have the capability to print the elements of a complete house of about 320 square feet in about 3 days and complete the entire assembly, including finishing, within a week.

Date: 5th November 2018 Publication: The Week Edition: Online Journalist: NA Professor: Prof Koshy Varghese Alumni: Adithya VS, Parivarthan Reddy, Vidyashankar C and Santhosh Kumar Headline: 'India's first 3D printed house may be build within a year' URL: https://www.theweek.in/wire-updates/national/2018/11/05/lst7-science-3d-house.html

'India's first 3D printed house may be build within a year'

A prototype structure that has been printed at IIT Madras will serve as a base model for research.

India could build its first 3D printed house within a year, according to a team from IIT Madras that has successfully printed a miniature single storey structure within two days.

The start-up called Tvasta Manufacturing Solutions aspires to completely automate construction, including placement of reinforcements and finishing, by re-envisioning the construction process.

A metal and aluminium 3D printer manufactured by Tvasta. Image: Tvasta A metal and aluminium 3D printer manufactured by Tvasta. Image: Tvasta

A prototype structure that has been printed at IIT Madras will serve as a base foundational model for accelerating research and development and testing in Tvasta's road to making affordable sanitation and housing a reality in the country. Do You Want To Work From Home? This App Makes It Happen According to the researchers, India's massive infrastructure deficit in the area of housing, toilets and transportation inspired them to turn to 3D printing technology, which completely re-envisions the construction industry.

They said that they are keenly looking forward to bringing the advantages of this technology to the Indian market. Koshy Varghese, a professor in the Department of Civil Engineering at IIT Madras, said that the institute is collaborating with several government agencies and industry to disseminate knowledge and establish standards, policies and processes to bring the new technology to the field.

Adithya VS, Co-founder of Tvasta said, that they will be building India's first 3D printed house within the next one year. "The impact of 3D printing in construction will be primarily focussed towards the 'Housing for All' scheme under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana and construction of toilets for the 'Swachh Bharat Abhiyan'," said Adithya.

"Tvasta is working with multiple stakeholders in the construction Industry to make 3D Printing technology suitable and viable for the Indian construction industry," he said.

The other three founders of the startup are Parivarthan Reddy, Vidyashankar C and Santhosh Kumar.

Currently, the material that is being used is a specially designed concrete, the team said.

This concrete has been designed keeping in mind the need for easy extrusion through the 3D printer and also shape retention after placement of the concrete.

"We will also be working on natural materials — such as stabilised soil — or alternative cementing materials — such as geopolymers — in the future," the team said.

The total printing time that was required for completing the prototype structure was around two days.

However, the team plans to have the capability to print the elements of a complete house of about 320 square feet in about 3 days and complete the entire assembly, including finishing, within a week.

Date: 6th November 2018 Publication: Dinakaran (Clip Attached) Edition: Chennai Page No: 13 Journalist:NA Headline: IIT Madras students innovations attract public interest

Date:5th November 2018 Publication: Dinamalar Edition: Chennai Page No: 6 Journalist:NA Headline: IIT Madras students showcase their innovations

Date: 6th November 2018 Publication: Hindustan Edition: Delhi Page No: 22 Journalist: NA Headline: India's first 3D Printing house can be developed in years time

Date: 7th November 2018 Publication: Punjab Kesari Edition: Delhi Page No: 16 Journalist: NA Headline: India's first 3D Printing house can be developed in years time

Date: 8th November 2018 Publication: The Asian Age Edition: Mumbai Page No: 8 Journalist: NA Headline: India's first 3D Printing house may be built within a year

Date: 8th November 2018 Publication: Dinakaran Edition: Chennai Page No: 2 Journalist: NA Headline: India's first 3D Printing house may be built within a year

Date: 8th November 2018 Publication: Dinamalar Edition: Chennai Page No: 20 Journalist: NA Headline: India's first 3D Printing house may be built within a year

Date: 10th November 2018 Publication: The Hindu Business Line Edition: Online Journalist: NA Professor: Prof Satyanarayanan Seshadri Headline: IIT-Madras develops portable cold storage device URL: https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/education/iit-madras-develops-portable-cold-storage-device/article25456160.ece

IIT-Madras develops portable cold storage device

The Indian Institute of Technology-Madras has developed a portable solar-powered cold storage device with a 500 kg capacity for storing vegetables, and fruits, among other items.

The device will help farmers store their produce for sufficient time so that it does not get spoilt before it is sold, thereby preventing wastage of agricultural produce.

The first unit of the device, which provides storage facility with temperature ranging between four and 10 degree celsius, was deployed at a farm in Madurantakam in Kancheepuram district, around 80 km from Chennai, recently.

Each unit would cost between Rs 5.5 to Rs 6 lakh and storage capacity could be scaled down based on requirement. “The unit uses thermal energy storage... The photovoltaic-powered refrigeration system is used to charge the indoor thermal battery in the form of latent heat during day time and used to maintain temperature (10 C) for 20-24 hours,” Seshadri said.

The project has been funded by Department of Science and Technology (Ministry of Science and Technology) and IIT-M.

“We are trying to look at online retailers who can deploy these devices in their aggregation centres,” he said.

A startup called Tan90, initiated by IIT-M students, aims to commercialise the technology and take it to individual farmers with even smaller devices at affordable prices.

Three years ago, students of IIT-Kharagpur developed a similar system which works at almost zero running cost. Date: 10th November 2018 Publication: The Week Edition: Online Journalist: NA Professor: Prof Satyanarayanan Seshadri Headline: IITM-Device MES2 URL: https://www.theweek.in/wire-updates/national/2018/11/09/srg8-tn-iitm-device(mes2).html

IIT-Madras develops portable cold storage device

The Indian Institute of Technology-Madras has developed a portable solar-powered cold storage device with a 500 kg capacity for storing vegetables, and fruits, among other items.

The device will help farmers store their produce for sufficient time so that it does not get spoilt before it is sold, thereby preventing wastage of agricultural produce.

“Vegetables, leaves, flowers and fruits can be stored for 24 hours in the device. Each device would be enough for 5 or 6 acres of land or for a group of three to four farmers,” professor Satyanarayanan Seshadri, who developed the system, told PTI. Each unit would cost between Rs 5.5 to Rs 6 lakh and storage capacity could be scaled down based on requirement. “The unit uses thermal energy storage... The photovoltaic-powered refrigeration system is used to charge the indoor thermal battery in the form of latent heat during day time and used to maintain temperature (10 C) for 20-24 hours,” Seshadri said.

The project has been funded by Department of Science and Technology (Ministry of Science and Technology) and IIT-M.

“We are trying to look at online retailers who can deploy these devices in their aggregation centres,” he said.

A startup called Tan90, initiated by IIT-M students, aims to commercialise the technology and take it to individual farmers with even smaller devices at affordable prices.

Three years ago, students of IIT-Kharagpur developed a similar system which works at almost zero running cost.

Date: 10th November 2018 Publication: Deccan Chronicle Edition: Chennai Page No: 4 Journalist: NA Professor: Prof Satyanarayanan Seshadri Headline: IIT-M develops portable cold storage device

Date: 10th November 2018 Publication: DT Next Edition: Chennai Page No: 7 Journalist: NA Professor: Prof Satyanarayanan Seshadri Headline: IIT-M develops portable cold storage device for veggies fruits URL: https://www.dtnext.in/News/TamilNadu/2018/11/10032707/1095056/IITM-develops-portable-cold-storage-device-for-veggies-.vpf

Date: 10th November 2018 Publication: Zeebiz Edition: Online Journalist: NA Professor: Prof Satyanarayanan Seshadri Headline: IIT-M develops portable cold storage device for veggies fruits URL: https://www.zeebiz.com/india/news-iit-madras-develops-portable-cold-storage-device-70882

IIT-Madras develops portable cold storage device

The Indian Institute of Technology-Madras has developed a portable solar-powered cold storage device with a 500 kg capacity for storing vegetables, and fruits, among other items.

The device will help farmers store their produce for sufficient time so that it does not get spoilt before it is sold, thereby preventing wastage of agricultural produce.

Each unit would cost between Rs 5.5 to Rs 6 lakh and storage capacity could be scaled down based on requirement. "The unit uses thermal energy storage... The photovoltaic-powered refrigeration system is used to charge the indoor thermal battery in the form of latent heat during day time and used to maintain temperature (10 C) for 20-24 hours," Seshadri said.

The project has been funded by Department of Science and Technology (Ministry of Science and Technology) and IIT-M.

"We are trying to look at online retailers who can deploy these devices in their aggregation centres," he said. Date: 10th November 2018 Publication: Solar Quater Edition: Online Journalist: NA Professor: Prof Satyanarayanan Seshadri Headline: IIT-M develops portable cold storage device for veggies fruits URL: https://www.solarquarter.com/index.php/93-news/web-in-india/15063-iit-madras-develops-portable-cold-storage-device

IIT-Madras develops portable cold storage device for veggies fruits

"Vegetables, leaves, flowers and fruits can be stored for 24 hours in the device. Each device would be enough for 5 or 6 acres of land or for a group of three to four farmers," professor Satyanarayanan Seshadri, who developed the system, told PTI. IIT-Madras develops portable cold storage device Portable solar-powered cold storage device with a 500 kg capacity for storing vegetables, and fruits, among other items, The Indian Institute of Technology-Madras has developed a portable solar-powered cold storage device with a 500 kg capacity for storing vegetables, and fruits, among other items.

The device will help farmers store their produce for sufficient time so that it does not get spoilt before it is sold, thereby preventing wastage of agricultural produce.

The project has been funded by Department of Science and Technology (Ministry of Science and Technology) and IIT-M.

"We are trying to look at online retailers who can deploy these devices in their aggregation centres," he said. Date: 11th November 2018 Publication: The Hans India Edition: Delhi/Hyderabad Page No: 13/ 7 Journalist: NA Professor: Prof Satyanarayanan Seshadri Headline: IIT-M to help farmers store produce URL: http://www.thehansindia.com/posts/index/Young-Hans/2018-11-11/IIT-M-to-help-farmers-store-produce/440284

Date: 12th November 2018 Publication: Telangana Today Edition: online Journalist: NA Professor: Prof Koshy Varghese Alumni: Adithya VS, Parivarthan Reddy, Vidyashankar C and Santhosh K Headline: ‘India’s first 3D printed house could be a reality’ URL: https://telanganatoday.com/indias-first-3d-printed-house-reality

‘India’s first 3D printed house could be a reality’

The start-up called Tvasta Manufacturing Solutions aspires to completely automate construction, including placement of reinforcements and finishing, by re-envisioning the construction process. AddThis Sharing Buttons Facebook Twitter Google+ LinkedIn Pinterest By AuthorPTI | Published: 12th Nov 2018 12:35 amUpdated: 11th Nov 2018 4:22 pm 3D printed houseThe impact of 3D printing in construction will be primarily focussed towards ‘Housing for All’ scheme. Chennai: India could build its first 3D printed house within a year, according to a team from IIT Madras that has successfully printed a miniature single storey structure within two days. Researchers from Indian Institute of Technology Madras in Tamil Nadu, along with a startup by the alumni of the institute, have established a 3D printing laboratory to take the indigenously-developed technology to the mass market.

The start-up called Tvasta Manufacturing Solutions aspires to completely automate construction, including placement of reinforcements and finishing, by re-envisioning the construction process.

A prototype structure that has been printed at IIT Madras will serve as a base foundational model for accelerating research and development and testing in Tvasta’s road to making affordable sanitation and housing a reality in the country.

According to the researchers, India’s massive infrastructure deficit in the area of housing, toilets and transportation inspired them to turn to 3D printing technology, which completely re-envisions the construction industry.

They said that they are keenly looking forward to bringing the advantages of this technology to the Indian market.

Adithya VS, Co-founder of Tvasta said, that they will be building India’s first 3D printed house within the next one year.

“The impact of 3D printing in construction will be primarily focussed towards the ‘Housing for All’ scheme under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana and construction of toilets for the ‘Swachh Bharat Abhiyan’,” said Adithya.

The other three founders of the startup are Parivarthan Reddy, Vidyashankar C and Santhosh Kumar.

“We will also be working on natural materials — such as stabilised soil — or alternative cementing materials — such as geopolymers — in the future,” the team said.

The total printing time that was required for completing the prototype structure was around two days.

However, the team plans to have the capability to print the elements of a complete house of about 320 square feet in about 3 days and complete the entire assembly, including finishing, within a week.

Date: 13th November 2018 Publication: Fresh Plaza Edition: Online Journalist: NA Professor: Prof Satyanarayanan Seshadri Headline: India: IIT-Madras develops portable cold storage device URL: http://www.freshplaza.com/article/9041513/india-iit-madras-develops-portable-cold-storage-device/

India: IIT-Madras develops portable cold storage device

The Indian Institute of Technology-Madras has developed a portable solar-powered cold storage device with a 500 kg capacity for storing vegetables, and fruits, among other items. This device will help farmers store their produce, preventing wastage of agricultural produce.

The first unit of the device, which provides storage facility with temperature ranging between four and 10 degrees Celsius, was deployed at a farm in Madurantakam in Kancheepuram district, around 80 km from Chennai, recently.

“Vegetables, leaves, flowers and fruits can be stored for 24 hours in the device. Each device would be enough for 5 or 6 acres of land or for a group of three to four farmers,” said professor Satyanarayanan Seshadri, who developed the system.

Each unit would cost between Rs 550,000 to 600,000 (€6,700-7,300) and storage capacity could be scaled down based on requirement.

“The unit uses thermal energy storage... The photovoltaic-powered refrigeration system is used to charge the indoor thermal battery in the form of latent heat during day time and used to maintain temperature (10C) for 20-24 hours,” Seshadri said.

Thehindubusinessline.com reports how the project has been funded by Department of Science and Technology (Ministry of Science and Technology) and IIT-M.

Date: 14th November 2018 Publication: The Economic Times Edition: Hyderabad/Chennai Page No: 7 Journalist: Anandi Chandrashekar Professor: Prof Satyanarayanan Seshadri Headline: To Help cut Farm Waste IITM Startup Develops Sola- Powered Cold Storage

Date: 14th November 2018 Publication: Krishijagran Edition: Online Journalist: Chander Mohan Professor: Prof Satyanarayanan Seshadri Headline: Portable solar-powered cold storage device for farmers by IIT Madras URL: https://krishijagran.com/farm-mechanization/portable-solar-powered-cold-storage-device-for-farmers-by-iit-madras/

Portable solar-powered cold storage device for farmers by IIT Madras

“Vegetables, leaves, flowers and fruits can be stored for 24 hours in the device. Each device would be enough for 5 or 6 acres of land or for a group of three to four farmers,” said Professor Satyanarayanan Seshadri, who developed the system.

Each unit would cost between Rs 550,000 to 600,000 (€6,700-7,300) and storage capacity could be scaled down based on requirement.

Thehindubusinessline.com reports how the project has been funded by Department of Science and Technology (Ministry of Science and Technology) and IIT-M.

Date: 14th November 2018 Publication: Pioneer Edition: Delhi Page No: 13 Journalist: NA Professor: Prof Boby George Headline: Open house innovation

Date: 15th November 2018 Publication: Careers 360 Edition: Magazine Page No: 10 Journalist: NA Professor: Prof Koshy Varghese Alumni: Adithya VS, Parivarthan Reddy, Vidyashankar C and Santhosh K Headline: IIT Madras develops India's first 3D Printing construction technology

Date: 16th November 2018 Publication: Property House Edition: Magazine Page No: 7 Journalist: NA Professor: Prof Koshy Varghese Alumni: Adithya VS, Parivarthan Reddy, Vidyashankar C and Santhosh Kumar Headline: IIT Madras Faculty & Alumni develop India's first 3D Printing Construction Technology

Date: 17th November 2018 Publication: Times of India Edition: Online Journalist: Sindhu Hariharan Headline: IIT-Madras will play key role in govt's Global Housing Tech Challenge official says URL: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/education/news/iit-madras-will-play-key-role-in-govts-global-housing-tech-challenge-official- says/articleshow/66653184.cms

Date: 17th November 2018 Publication: Chennai Patrika Edition: Online Journalist: NA Professor: Prof Ravindra Gettu and Prof Bhaskar Ramamurthi Headline: IIT Madras hosts National Workshop on 3D Printing in Construction Technology URL: http://www.chennaipatrika.com/post/iit-madras-hosts-national-workshop-on-3d-printing-in-construction-technology

IIT Madras hosts National Workshop on 3D Printing in Construction Technology

Shri Durga Shanker Mishra IAS, MoHUA Secretary, Govt of India, addressing National Workshop on 3D Printing in Construction held at IIT Madras 16th Nov 2018

CHENNAI, 16th November 2018: Indian Institute of Technology Madras hosted a National workshop on 3D Printing in Construction today (16th November 2018) in collaboration with the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Government of India and the Government of Tamil Nadu.

IIT Madras Faculty and Alumni have been involved in research on 3D printing and successfully built India’s first 3D Printed Structure through IIT Madras Printability Laboratory.

Providing a curtain raiser on Global Housing Technology Challenge of the Govt of India, Shri. Durga Shanker Mishra IAS, Secretary, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), Govt of India, said, “We are getting inputs from global players, academic, private sector and other stakeholders in housing for this challenge and are going to announce it soon. This challenge will involve creating ‘living laboratories’ across the country and will be a learning experience for the entire country. Anyone from private, public and academic sectors can learn from these laboratories.”

Congratulating IIT Madras for pioneering initiatives in global construction technologies such as the 3D Printing in Construction, he said that Honorable Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi had called for getting the best construction technologies in the world to India.

Shri. Durga Shanker Mishra, an IIT Kanpur Alumni, added that Shri Narendra Modi had launched various missions to tackle the housing needs of India. “The objective is by 2022, we must have one house for every citizen where he/she can realize their dreams.”

New technologies are opening up new opportunities. Housing is a problem that requires different and innovative thinking. By 2030, Shri. Durga Shanker Mishra said it is estimated that India is almost going to have 60 crore people living in urban areas. Construction of houses take a long time and are environmentally unsustainable as when construction is done at site, it creates a lot of carbon emission and results in huge water consumption. Shri. Durga Shanker Mishra added, “We need to use different environmentally friendly technologies. New technologies have to be sensitive to cost, environment, resources and scale.”

The conference aims to present how Construction 3D Printing has the potential to deliver a massive boost to the affordable housing sector of India and to also explore how technology can be incorporated into the area of construction. Developments in specialised concrete mixes, automation and structural design were presented by experts in industry and academia from India and around the world.

Speaking about ‘Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana’ and the role of new technologies, Shri. Amrit Abhijat, Joint Secretary, MoHUA, said, “This scheme started in June 2015 and its mission and vision is to provide housing to every eligible citizen in the country. We need modern, innovative and green technologies for faster and quality construction of houses. Andhra Pradesh has taken the lead in adopting new housing technologies such as RCC Monolithic Technology. We are looking forward to collaborate with institutes like IIT Madras on new housing technologies.”

Speaking about the Role of technology in infrastructure and housing in Tamil Nadu, Shri. S. Krishnan IAS, Principal Secretary, Housing and Urban Development Department, Govt of TN, said, “IIT Madras has probably the best Civil Engineering Department among technical institutes in India and will play a key role in the Global Housing Technology Challenge. The Government of Tamil Nadu is continuing to foster collaboration with technical institutes in the state to improve governance, service and delivery.”

Several speakers from 3D Printing and policymakers from the Government of India and Government of Tamil Nadu along with experts from the U.S., Switzerland and Singapore besides representatives from the construction industry.

Providing an overview on 3D Printing and how it can benefit affordable housing and infrastructure, Prof Ravindra Gettu, Dean (Industrial Consultancy and Sponsored Research), IIT Madras, said “The main thing this technology brings is customization. We don’t have to build large housing projects with all houses looking similar. 3D printing provides for diversification, complex shapes and structures. Robotics and automation will play a big role and we can remove the necessity for unskilled labour.”

Tvasta Manufacturing Solutions, an emerging additive manufacturing startup, and the Department of Civil Engineering, IIT Madras, have established a one-of-a-kind 3D printing laboratory – the IIT Madras Printability Lab – to take this indigenously-developed technology to the mass market. Mr. Adithya VS, co-founder of Tvasta Manufacturing Solutions, took part in a panel discussion during the workshop. Dr. Shailesh K. Agrawal. Executive Director, Building Materials and Technology Promotion Council (BMTPC) Ministry of Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation Govt of India, spoke about various construction technologies. Prof. Manu Santhanam, Department of Civil Engineering, provided a perspective on the Research done at IIT Madras on 3D printing, Prof. Koshy Varghese, Department of Civil Engineering, IIT Madras, spoke about constructability using 3D printing. Prof. A. Meher Prasad, Department of Civil Engineering, IIT Madras, provided an overview on Glass Fibre Reinforced Gypsum (GFRG) construction

Date: 17th November 2018 Publication: The Times of India Edition: Chennai Page No: 5 Journalist: NA Headline: Workshop discusses construction 3D printing

Date: 19th November 2018 Publication: Eduadvice Edition: Online Journalist: NA Professor: Prof Ravindra Gettu , Prof Bhaskar Ramamurthi,Prof Manu Santhanam and Prof. Koshy Varghese Headline: IIT Madras hosts National Workshop on 3D Printing in Construction URL: http://eduadvice.in/home/NewsDetail?pid=15097

IIT Madras hosts National Workshop on 3D Printing in Construction

Indian Institute of Technology Madras hosted a National workshop on 3D Printing in Construction today (16th November 2018) in collaboration with the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Government of India and the Government of Tamil Nadu.

IIT Madras Faculty and Alumni have been involved in research on 3D printing and successfully built India’s first 3D Printed Structure through IIT Madras Printability Laboratory. Providing a curtain raiser on Global Housing Technology Challenge of the Govt of India, Shri. Durga Shanker Mishra IAS, Secretary, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), Govt of India, said, “We are getting inputs from global players, academic, private sector and other stakeholders in housing for this challenge and are going to announce it soon. This challenge will involve creating ‘living laboratories’ across the country and will be a learning experience for the entire country. Anyone from private, public and academic sectors can learn from these laboratories.”

Addressing the workshop, Prof Bhaskar Ramamurthi, Director, IIT Madras, said, “India has a big challenge here. We have to provide housing to all our citizens as soon as possible and new technologies provide an opportunity for this but this is not an easy task. We need technologies better than what we have today. We want to be able to build the houses rapidly because the requirements are huge. IIT Madras is very keen to be part of this community and willing to take a lead role and contribute to helping the country face the housing challenge.” Providing an overview on 3D Printing and how it can benefit affordable housing and infrastructure, Prof Ravindra Gettu, Dean (Industrial Consultancy and Sponsored Research), IIT Madras, said “The main thing this technology brings is customization. We don’t have to build large housing projects with all houses looking similar. 3D printing provides for diversification, complex shapes and structures. Robotics and automation will play a big role and we can remove the necessity for unskilled labour.” Tvasta Manufacturing Solutions, an emerging additive manufacturing startup, and the Department of Civil Engineering, IIT Madras, have established a one-of-a-kind 3D printing laboratory – the IIT Madras Printability Lab – to take this indigenously-developed technology to the mass market. Mr. Adithya VS, co-founder of Tvasta Manufacturing Solutions, took part in a panel discussion during the workshop. Dr. Shailesh K. Agrawal. Executive Director, Building Materials and Technology Promotion Council (BMTPC) Ministry of Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation Govt of India, spoke about various construction technologies. Prof. Manu Santhanam, Department of Civil Engineering, provided a perspective on the Research done at IIT Madras on 3D printing, Prof. Koshy Varghese, Department of Civil Engineering, IIT Madras, spoke about constructability using 3D printing. Prof. A. Meher Prasad, Department of Civil Engineering, IIT Madras, provided an overview on Glass Fibre Reinforced Gypsum (GFRG) construction. Date: 22nd November 2018 Publication: The Times of India Edition: Chennai Page No: 4 Journalist: U Tejonmayam Professor: Prof B Ravindran Headline: Driverless cars a possibility with IIT's simulator URL: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/driverless-cars-a-possibility-with-iits-simulator/articleshow/66741973.cms

Date: 21st November 2018 Publication: WION TV Edition: Electronic Journalist: Mr Siddarth Professor: Prof Ravindra Gettu, Prof Koshy Varghese and Prof Manu Santhanam Headline: India's 1st 3D printing construction technology URL: https://youtu.be/wwz56z67sBk

Date: 27th November 2018 Publication: News Today Edition: Chennai Page No: 1&7 Journalist: Mohammed Rayaan Alumni: Adithya V S, Parivarthan Reddy, Santhosh Kumar and C Vidyashankar Headline: IIT-M alumni start-up creates India’s first 3D printed structure URL: https://newstodaynet.com/index.php/2018/11/26/iit-m-alumni-start-up-creates-indias-first-3d-printed-structure/

Date: 29th November 2018 Publication: Enbullitien Edition: Online Journalist: NA Headline: IIT-Madras will play key role in govt‘s Global Housing Tech Challenge, official says URL: https://enbulletin.com/2018/11/29/iit-madras-will-play-key-role-in-govts-global-housing-tech-challenge-official-says/

IIT-Madras will play key role in govt‘s Global Housing Tech Challenge, official says

CHENNAI: Indian Institute of Technology Madras (), an institution that successfully built India’s first 3D-printed structure last month, hosted a national workshop on Friday to explore the applications of technology in the construction sector. Organised in collaboration with the Union ministry of housing and urban affairs and the TN government, the event witnessed Durga Shanker Mishra IAS, secretary, ministry of housing and urban affairs (MoHUA) explain the status of the Global Housing Technology Challenge planned to be held “soon” by the government and note that given its front runner status in 3D printing, IIT-M will likely have a key role in supporting the challenge once it kicks off.

“We are getting inputs from global players, academic, private sector and other stakeholders in housing for this challenge and are going to announce it soon,” Mishra said.

“This challenge will involve creating ‘living laboratories’ across the country and will be a learning experience for the entire country. Anyone from private, public and academic sectors can learn from these laboratories.”

The delegates at the event estimate that India is almost going to have 60 crore people living in urban areas, creating an urgent need to use new and environmentally friendly technologies to meet the demand. The conference explored the potential of 3D printing to support the affordable housing goals of India and examine how technology can be incorporated into the traditional construction sector. Speaking about the role of technology in infrastructure and housing in Tamil Nadu, S Krishnan IAS, principal secretary, housing and urban development department, Tamil Nadu government, said, “IIT-Madras has probably the best civil engineering department among technical institutes in India and will play a key role in the Global Housing Technology Challenge. The Tamil Nadu government is continuing to foster collaboration with technical institutes in the state to improve governance, service and delivery.”

Printability Lab is the brainchild of the institute‘s department of civil engineering and Tvasta Manufacturing Solutions, an additive manufacturing startup.

Negavtie News

Date: 1st November 2018 Publication: The Hans India Edition: Online Journalist: NA Alumni : Gridhar Madras Headline: #MeToo allegation sends IISC senior professor on compulsory retirement URL: http://www.thehansindia.com/posts/index/National/2018-11-01/MeToo-allegation-sends-IISC-senior-professor-on-compulsory- retirement/435242

#MeToo allegation sends IISC senior professor on compulsory retirement

BENGALURU: The Indian Institute of Science has asked a senior faculty member — a beneficiary of many awards — to go on “compulsory retirement” after its council probed a sexual harassment accusation against the professor and found him guilty.Chemical engineer Giridhar Madras is counted among the top 1% of scientists in the world in his field, with 10,000 quotation, and has been with IISc for two decades.

He completed BE in Chemical Engineering from Annamalai University in 1988, MTech from IIT Madras in 1989 and PhD from Texas A&M University in 1993. Sources said the IISc council had ruled in a few other similar cases. “They are old cases. The recent order pertains to this (Madras) case,” IISc director Anuraj Kumar said.

Anurag Kumar told media: “Our council has ordered that professor Madras go on compulsory retirement.” He did not complex whether the 51- year-old would get retirement welfare or he’s free to consult with the institute in the future.

Madras had won the IISc award for excellence in research, SS Bhatnagar Award and the Scopus Young Scientist Award. He was a member of research into degradation of plastics in solution and posted its details on his webpage, which has since been removed by IISc.

Date: 12th November 2018 Publication: The Hindu Business Line Edition: Chennai / Delhi / Mumbai / Pune / Bangalore / Hyderabad / Kolkata / Kochi / Ahmedabad / Chandigarh Page No: 15 Journalist: Ananya Revanna Headline: The restless and the rest URL: https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/opinion/books/the-restless-and-the-rest/article25469426.ece

Other miscellaneous news

Date: 1st November 2018 Publication: Hindustan Times Edition: Online Journalist: Aishwarya Iyer Headline: Hall ticket to Europe: India is leading in targeted EU scholarships URL: https://www.hindustantimes.com/education/hall-ticket-to-europe-india-is-leading-in-targeted-eu-scholarships/story- KrN39tDszJFKLwXYxQib2O.html

Hall ticket to Europe: India is leading in targeted EU scholarships

73 Indian students are set to fly abroad this semester under grants from the Erasmus Mundus programme. A look at its growing reach and popularity. Erasmus Mundus,European Union’s (EU),Scholarships (iStock) The Erasmus Mundus programme for post-graduate study seeks to help EU institutes of higher learning expand their reach, by offering grants to students from 128 countries around the world.

India has quickly climbed to the top ranks on that list. From receiving just 5 student scholarships in 2004, to 31 in 2008, the numbers have not dipped below 60 since 2014.

This year, India recorded a 15% increase over the year before in the number of students getting the scholarships, says the panel supervising the Erasmus Mundus programme. The total was 73, the highest tally since the programme’s inception 14 years ago

In 2017, the country came in at second place on the list of largest beneficiaries. While Brazil topped that list, with 79 scholarships, India followed with 63; Iran came in third with 59, Bangladesh fourth with 58 and Mexico rounded off the top 5, with 49 .

WHAT IS THE ERASMUS MUNDUS PROGRAMME Erasmus Mundus is a joint initiative of the European Union Launched in 2004, it aims to make the education systems of member countries more effective and innovative As part of the effort to expand their reach, it offers a range of scholarships for post-graduate study, covering 100 subjects from astrophysics and urban studies to cartography and sports ethics Students, research scholars and professionals can apply for the scholarship For the academic year 2018-19, 1,345 scholarships were granted to students from across 128 EU and non-EU nations 73 of these were granted to students from India, a figure that has risen steadily over the years, from 58 in 2009 to 60 in 2014 and 63 in 2017 Since 2004, EU scholarships (including Jean Monnet, Marie Curie PhD programme, Erasmus + and Horizon 2020) have been given out to 5,700 Indian students.

“In the last five years, as per our records, over 1,500 Indian students have benefitted,” says Pavan Sriram, global head and president of Erasmus Mundus scholarships.

Erasmus Mundus and its associated programmes such as Horizon 2020, Erasmus+ and Jean Monnet don’t only benefit students but also support universities and professors partnering with them for study programmes.

For instance, the Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE) has become a Centre of Excellence for Jean Monnet scholarship programmes. “This means the institution will guide other institutes and work with them in building association with European universities so that students aspiring to study in Europe will face fewer barriers and checks,” says Neeta Inamdar, head of the department of European Studies at MAHE.

In exchange, this year, MAHE will launch a Centre of Excellence in European Studies that will focus on India-EU interdisciplinary studies centered on culture, literature, education and society.

“MAHE has received grants worth Rs 15 crore from the EU, facilitating quality learning and research experience,” Inamdar says.

The Department of European Studies at Manipal Academy of Higher Education also offers masters programme in European studies. The two- year course has a first year of studies in Manipal and an option of a second year at a partner university in Europe either with a scholarship or complete fee waiver.

The programme offers three specialisation tracks — European business and economics; European politics and international relations; and European culture and society. “The programme also focuses on providing an opportunity for students to learn at least one European language in their journey to Europe,” says Inamdar.

Similarly, over 300 Indian institutes of higher education have become members of the Erasmus+ programme since 2014, and there is interest in further expanding education collaborations, Tomasz Kozlowski, ambassador for the European Union to India, said in a statement released in August — including the Jawaharlal Nehru University, IIT-Madras and Tata Institute of Social Sciences in Mumbai.

The ties are expanding to include smaller institutes too, such as the Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology in Odisha, Chitkara University in Punjab and World University of Design in Haryana.

Dhiraj Mathur, leader of national education practices at PricewaterhouseCoopers, says the reach of such programmes should not be limited to premier universities. “Given the hardworking nature of Indians, many students bagging the scholarships is not surprising. However, the reach and awareness should be expanded.”

Date: 1st November 2018 Publication: The Asian Age Edition: Delhi Page no.: 21 Journalist: NA Headline: Riding with panache

Date: 1st November 2018 Publication: News Today Edition: Online Journalist: NA Headline: Restoration work for Sembakkam Lake begins in Chennai suburb URL: https://newstodaynet.com/index.php/2018/10/31/restoration-work-for-sembakkam-lake-begins-in-chennai-suburb/

Restoration work for Sembakkam Lake begins in Chennai suburb

Chennai: The restoration work of Sembakkam Lake at Tambaram in the city suburb by the Nature Conservancy of India in co-ordination with the Care Earth Trust and the experts of IIT Madras began recently with a formal pooja, in which residents, Sri Perumbudur M P K N Ramachandran, Tambaram MLA S R Raja, former M P Chitlapakkam C Rajendran and Sembakkam Municipality Commissioner M R Vasanthy took part.

Date: 1st November 2018 Publication: Hindustan Times Edition: Pune Page No: 4 Journalist: NA Headline: Sinhgad institute emerges winner of national HedNxt startup test 2018

Date: 1st November 2018 Publication: Trinity Mirror Edition: Chennai Page No: 6 Journalist: NA Headline: Chennai wins National HedNxt Sta Fest

Date: 1st November 2018 Publication: India Today Edition: Online Journalist: NA Professor: Prof Nandita Dasgupta Headline: IIT Mandi hosts first-of-its-kind international workshop on nano 2D & 3D fabrication and manufacturing of electronic & biomedical devices and applications URL: https://www.indiatoday.in/education-today/news/story/iit-mandi-international-workshop-1380348-2018-11-01

IIT Mandi hosts workshop on manufacturing nano 2D-3D electronic and biomedical devices

This event seeks to provide an opportunity for networking and research collaborations. The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Mandi is hosting the international workshop on nano 2D & 3D fabrication and manufacturing of electronic & biomedical devices and applications (IWNEBD-2018) at the institute campus between October 31 and November 2, 2018.

Aim of the event: This event seeks to provide an opportunity for networking and research collaborations.

Leading engineers, industrialists, scientists and student researchers from all over the world are at IIT Mandi to discuss the progress and future trends in Nano/Micro 2D- and 3D- fabrication technology used in the manufacture of electronics and biomedical devices.

The international workshop will feature talks by some of the pioneers in the field of advanced lithography, electronics and 2D-3D manufacturing from academia and industry.

Who all were present in the event? The event was inaugurated by R Subrahmanyam.

Some of the many other luminaries who are sharing their ideas and knowledge at the workshop include Vivek Singh from Intel Corporation USA, Prof V Ramgopal Rao, Director of IIT Delhi, Prof BR Mehta, also of IIT Delhi, Prof Enakshi Bhattacharya and Prof Nandita Dasgupta from IIT Madras, Prof M Jagadesh Kumar, VC of JNU, Delhi, Prof Habil Jörg Schulze from Germany, Prof Kuen-Yu Tai from Taiwan, MS M Saifullah from Singapore, and Prof Ashok Srivastava, LSU, USA and Patrick Naulleau from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory USA.

Addressing the audience, Prof Timothy Gonsalves, Director, IIT Mandi said, "We set out with the desire for our research and academics to have an impact on the Indian society at large, and the Himalayan society in particular." He added, "To achieve this, we decided to focus on theoretical as well as experiential research and invested extensively in creating world-class facilities in materials research, electronic devices design and fabrication at IIT Mandi. What you see today is a culmination of years of efforts."

Topics discussed in workshop:

Some of the invited talks at the workshop are on topics such as Computational Imaging, Technology for Sustainable Development, 2D-3D Interfaces for Thermoelectric Applications, Metal Additive Manufacturing of Medical Devices, next generation EUV Lithography etc.

Sharing an industry perspective at the workshop, Vivek Singh of the Intel Corporation USA said, "People want to be connected to a world of opportunity. Our job is to provide connectivity and education. We can play a crucial role in improving education by enhancing learning and teaching outcomes. I want all the young minds sitting here to consider that they will be bringing about change in the world." The workshop at IIT Mandi will pave the way for universal idea exchange and collaboration. "This will be the first workshop in India on advanced lithography with industry and academic leaders from the US, Taiwan and Singapore", said Kenneth Gonsalves.

"Focus will be on writing nanoscale 2D- and 3D- patterns using photons, electrons and ions, for advanced silicon chip devices" he adds, about the miniaturization of lithographic techniques.

India's foray into micro- and nano-lithography will benefit from IIT Mandi's international workshop, which will not only help in exchange of ideas and know-how among researchers, but also bring together academia, industry, public sector and the Government of India. Such collaboration will serve to identify and develop a 'silicon mountain valley' in and around Mandi, to benefit from the research at the institute.

Date: 2nd November 2018 Publication: Millennium Post Edition: Delhi/Kolkata Page No: 7 Journalist: Ashwani Sharma Headline: IIT Mandi set to make high speed nano chip for first time in India URL: http://www.millenniumpost.in/nation/iit-mandi-set-to-make-high-speed-nano-chip-for-first-time-in-india-325597

Date: 2nd November 2018 Publication: News Barons Edition: Online Journalist: NA Headline: Members of the winning team were awarded Rs. 3 Lakhs each for their projects URL: https://www.newsbarons.com/startups/hednxt-startup-fest-held-in-bengaluru/

HedNxt Startup Fest held in Bengaluru

Members of the winning team were awarded Rs. 3 Lakhs each for their projects “KrazyBee“, India’s largest micro-lending platform, plans to provide an enabling platform for college students to embark on their entrepreneurial journey with the HedNxt Startup Fest 2018. Students from Reva University- Bengaluru, IIT- Madras, and Sinhgad Institutes- Pune, emerged as winners at the Finale of the 1st Edition of the HedNxt Startup Fest 2018 conducted by KrazyBee. The winners were awarded Rs. 3 Lakhs each for their projects. The event witnessed participation from 80 colleges across India, bringing out a host of unique entrepreneurial ideas.

HedNxt Startup Fest 2018 is a student-centric start-up fest, where KrazyBee & WPS have joined hands to encourage the entrepreneurial aspirations of college-going students. HedNxt, conceived as India’s first student-centric Startup Fest, is an initiative by KrazyBee, which is India’s leading E-commerce platform and first Online Instalment Store for students. HedNxt is sponsored by Mi-Incubator and Kingsoft (WPS) who are KrazyBee’s Program and Technology Partners, while Welike is the official Media Partner of HedNxt.

Quotes from the winning team:

Pranoti Datta Giram, a student from Reva University- Bengaluru, commented, “This has been a great experience for me as opportunities like these are very rare. KrazyBee and WPS have given a perfect platform for students to showcase their ideas and move forward. With their support, I can pursue my Biometric Blood typing device, where individuals will be able to check their blood group without taking blood tests.” Taran, a student from IIT- Madras commented, “I would like to thank KrazyBee and WPS for giving us such a wonderful experience. It is with their support that we have launched Melvano, a study oriented social learning networking platform for those students who are preparing for their engineering entrance exam. Using this platform, students/candidates can interact with other students and exchange ideas and knowledge.”

Abhishek, a student from Sinhgad Institutes- Pune, commented, “I can gain a lot of experience and confidence with the right support and guidance from KrazyBee and WPS. We have started Vlogworks, a marketing agency through which we want to establish a connection between companies and individual influencers. Vlogworks functions to promote brands for various companies by connecting them to the right influencers. “ Date: 3rd November 2018 Publication: Express Computer Edition: Online Journalist: NA Headline: Electronic Health Pill Innovation For Cardiac Care Wins ‘Accenture Innovation Challenge’ 2018 URL: https://www.expresscomputer.in/news/electronic-health-pill-innovation-for-cardiac-care-wins-accenture-innovation-challenge- 2018/29904/

Electronic Health Pill Innovation For Cardiac Care Wins ‘Accenture Innovation Challenge’ 2018

Accenture has announced the winners of the Accenture Innovation Challenge 2018, a competition in India that aims to inspire students to apply their technology talent and creativity to develop innovative ideas that can create social and business impact. The grand prize was awarded to the team from Sir M. Visvesvaraya Institute of Technology (Sir MVIT), Bengaluru for their solution ‘Aayush’, a cost-effective ingestible battery-less electronic health pill that can continuously record health metrics to predict and prevent heart attacks and cardiac arrests.

Other winners in the competition included teams from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Madras; Nitte Meenakshi Institute of Technology, Bengaluru; IIT-Kharagpur; Manav Rachna International Institute for Research and Studies, Faridabad; and Delhi Technological University, New Delhi. The winners were announced at the competition’s grand finale held recently in Bengaluru, which featured 16 finalists, all of them from the engineering discipline.

The Accenture Innovation Challenge 2018 was open to students pursuing graduate, under-graduate and post-graduate programs. Students were encouraged to develop ingenious technology solutions using advanced technologies such as advanced analytics, automation, artificial intelligence, big data, blockchain, cybersecurity, immersive reality and internet of things, among others.

“We are thrilled that the Accenture Innovation Challenge this year has seen a record participation – over 13,000 entries involving over 30,000 students across 1,000+ colleges in India. Technology innovation is driving disruption in many industries, and it is exciting to see how students have applied advanced technologies to develop innovative ideas in diverse areas such as medical care, trauma care, dairy farming, energy management, music, railroad management, personal data privacy, fraud management, eco construction, and so on”, said, Mohan Sekhar, senior managing director and lead for Accenture’s Advanced Technology Centers in India. “The innovative and creative abilities these students have exhibited are commendable and we heartily congratulate all the winners and participants”. The five awards and their winners are: • Grand Prize: Awarded to the team from Sir M. Visvesvaraya Institute of Technology, Bengaluru for ‘Aayush’, a cost-effective ingestible battery- less electronic health pill to predict and prevent heart attacks and sudden cardiac arrests. ‘Aayush’ records metrics such as PH level, body temperature, heart rate and myeloperoxidase protein content of a person using bio-medical sensors from the body and transmits data to a mobile app via a wearable smart patch. The solution features a built-in artificial intelligence-enabled virtual assistant, which monitors data for abnormal variations in the parameters, and analyzes and predicts a heart attack or sudden cardiac arrest 9 – 11 minutes prior to it taking place. In cases of an emergency, the solution uses GPS location to alert the nearest hospital and the person’s family or caretaker group about the need for immediate medical care.

• ‘Innovate for Businesses’ category award: Won by the team from IIT-Madras, for their solution ‘Microwave Pyrolysis’, which can convert waste into energy through microwave pyrolysis, an age-old technique of thermal decomposition that converts non-metal waste into forms of energy including oil, gas, and char, which have multiple uses and can be incorporated into existing product supply chains.

• ‘Innovate for the Society’ category award: Won by the team from Nitte Meenakshi Institute of Technology, Bengaluru, for developing ‘EyeSee’, a solution which features a virtual reality (VR) app and headset to simulate the commonly used Humphrey field analyzer tool to carry out glaucoma detection tests. The solution is more affordable and portable to use, making it more feasible to use among people in rural and inaccessible areas.

• Jury’s Choice award: The jury named two teams as winners of this category: o ‘MusicManiac’, developed by students from IIT-Kharagpur is a system that automatically chooses chords to accompany a vocal melody using melody extraction and Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI) files, thereby giving novice musicians the opportunity to automatically create music and experiment with chord patterns without any professional knowledge of music. o ‘Virtual Exposure Therapy’ (VET), is a solution jointly developed by students from Manav Rachna International Institute for Research and Studies, Faridabad and Delhi Technological University, New Delhi. VET is a solution that aims to treat people with phobias and post-traumatic disorders in a virtual reality environment, by recreating trauma relevant scenarios, providing analysis and monitoring improvement of the patient’s psychological condition.

• Employees’ Choice award: The winner of this award was chosen through voting by employees of Accenture’s Advanced Technology Centers in India. This award was won by the team from IIT-Madras, for developing ‘Artemis’, a robot that can detect and analyze cracks in railway tracks using ultrasound technology and IoT. Some key features of this fully automated method include storing the location of cracks, sending alerts on identified cracks to mobile phones, detecting loose fish plates and surveying for anomalies on tracks. The solution aims to address the problem of train derailments in India, which cause massive loss of life and property every year.

The Grand Prize winner received prizes worth INR 150,000 and each member of the two teams selected as category winners — for ‘Innovate for Businesses’ and ‘Innovate for the Society’ — received prizes worth INR 75,000.

The winners for the Accenture Innovation Challenge 2018 were chosen from among 16 shortlisted teams that presented their ideas to a jury panel featuring Anupam Sinha, Co-founder and CEO – Vxceed; Daniel Raj David, CEO and Co-Founder – Detect Technologies; Hari Bharadwaj, Founder and CEO – eSahai; Manish Singh, Senior Director of Product Mobile and Internet – Ola (ANI Technologies); Dr. M. Vijayalakshmi, Professor and Vice Principal – Vivekanand Education Society’s Institute of Technology (VESIT), Mumbai; Sunil Rao, Partner, Business Services – Lightspeed Ventures Partners; Sunit Singh, Partner and Co-Founder – Design Capital; and Thomas Dal, Director and Dean – Strate School of Design.

Date: 3rd November 2018 Publication: The Times of India Edition: Chennai Page No: 6 Journalist: NA Headline: IIT-M to showcase works of student innovators

Date: 3rd November 2018 Publication: Daily Exlecsiror Edition: Online Journalist: NA Professor : Prof P V Subrhamaniam Headline: JU in process of establishing digital laboratory dedicated to languages: VC URL: http://www.dailyexcelsior.com/ju-process-establishing-digital-laboratory-dedicated-languages-vc/

JU in process of establishing digital laboratory dedicated to languages: VC

Vice Chancellor Prof Manoj K Dhar inaugurating International Conference at JU on Friday. JAMMU, Nov 2: Department of Statistics, University of Jammu, organized 27th Interna-tional Conference of Forum for Indisciplinary Mathematics (FIM) in conjunction with 3rd Convention of IARS on Interdisciplinary Mathematics, Statistics and Computational Techniques. The Organizers have received around 200 abstracts from different parts of the world. The delegates from different parts of the country and abroad are attending the conference and will participate in various technical and academic sessions to be held during the conference days. The inaugural function of the conference was held in The Convention Hall of The Business School, University of Jammu in which Prof MK Dhar was the chief guest and Prof Junzo Watada from PETRONAS University of Technology, Malaysia delivered the keynote address. Prof Manoj K Dhar, Vice Chancellor, University of Jammu while speaking narrated how the Statistics has amalgamated Biology and Computer Science which otherwise was impossible. On the occasion, Prof BK Das, President of FIM and Former Dean, Faculty of Mathematical Sciences University of Delhi in his presidential address talked about how FIM with an objective of development of Mathematics as an Interdisciplinary subject has evolved with new developments and new emerging fields. Prof SC Malik and Prof JPS Joorel, Director, HRDC also expressed their views. Earlier, Prof Pawan Kumar, Convener of the Conference presented the welcome address, whereas Dr Parmil Kumar, Organizing Secretary presented the vote of thanks. On the occasion Prof Rahul Gupta, Former Dean Faculty of Mathematical Sciences, Prof DS Hooda, Ex Pro-VC, Kurukshetra University, Dr Shrikant, Former Director, Joint Cipher Bureau, Dr Rajender Parsad, Head, IASRI, Prof P V Subrhamaniam, IIT Chennai and many others were also present. Meanwhile, three day 27th International Conference on the topic “The Position & Relevance of Vedanta Philosophy in Present Era” was inaugurated by Prof Manoj K Dhar, Vice Chancellor, Jammu University. Speaking on the occasion, Prof Manoj K Dhar said that the University is in the process of establishing digital laboratory dedicated to languages which will allow students and scholars to reinforce material learned in class by putting them into practice through interactive activities. Prof Jatashankar Tiwari Ex-HOD, Department of Philosophy, University of Allahabad and President Akhil Bhartiya Darshan Parishad “Saraswat Atithi”, Prof Kishor Kumar Chakrawarti Professor of Philosophy and Religion, University of California, USA and Prof Keshav Sharma, Dean Academic Affairs, University of Jammu also spoke on the occasion. Earlier, Prof Ram Bahadur HOD Sanskrit, University of Jammu and the organizing secretary of this conference delivered the welcome address, whereas vote of thanks was delivered by Prof Shohab Inayat Malik, HOD Urdu and Dean Faculty of Arts. Among others delegates from different part of India, faculty members, scholars and students from Department of Sanskrit and other institutions were also present. Date: 4th November 2018 Publication: The Economic Times Edition: Online Journalist: NA Headline: We are able to compete with many countries on faculty pay: R Nagarajan, professor, IIT Madras URL: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/services/education/we-are-able-to-compete-with-many-countries-on-faculty-pay-r- nagarajan-professor-iit-madras/articleshow/66492918.cms

Date: 4th November 2018 Publication: The Print Edition: Online Journalist: Amrita Nayak Dutta and Kritika Sharma Headline: New JNU honorary prof Rajiv Malhotra’s CV: Charges of plagiarism & whole lot of Hindutva URL: https://theprint.in/governance/new-jnu-honorary-prof-rajiv-malhotras-cv-charges-of-plagiarism-whole-lot-of-hindutva/143608/ New JNU honorary prof Rajiv Malhotra’s CV: Charges of plagiarism & whole lot of Hindutva AMRITA NAYAK DUTTA and KRITIKA SHARMA 4 November, 2018

Rajiv Malhotra | @RajivMalhotra.Official/ Facebook Text Size: A- A+ Rajiv Malhotra, appointed honorary professor at JNU’s Centre for Media Studies, has also been accused of propagating fake news.

New Delhi: A recent viral video clip had two men making some incredulous claims. They debate a business pitch that involves approaching billionaires such as Bill Gates and Warren Buffet and promising to transfer some of their wealth from this life to their “next lives”.

The proposal, which the two men call Interlife Reincarnation Trust Management, is to help billionaires who may be “born poor” or in “some African country” in their next lives.

On 30 October, the man at the heart of the ‘business’ proposal, tech millionaire and Right-wing ideologue Rajiv Malhotra, was appointed as the honorary faculty to the foremost liberal arts institution in the country, Jawaharlal Nehru University, or JNU, in the national capital.

The Indian-American author, who studied physics at Delhi’s St Stephen’s College and has a degree in computer science from Syracuse University in the US, is known for his fervent tweets on the multiple goods of Hindutva.

Malhotra’s website claims he retired from Silicon Valley at 40 to pursue philanthropy, research and public service. He established an NGO, Infinity Foundation, for this purpose in 1994.

According to his website, he is the “man behind the thought revolution” and has conducted “original research” in a variety of fields and influenced many other thinkers in India and the West.

The author of books such as Academic Hinduphobia, The Battle for Sanskrit, Indra’s Net and Breaking India has, however, been accused of plagiarism.

His claims of original research came under question in 2015, when historian Richard Fox Young accused him of repeatedly failing to acknowledge sources.

According to a report on Scroll, Malhotra did not deny the charges, but said the academic standards demanded by Young were too high.

Known to be close to the RSS leadership, the US-based Hindu ideologue heads Infinity Foundation, which claims to be working on the broad fields of “wisdom and compassion”.

Also read: What sedition headlines don’t tell you about JNU: It’s a leader in science research

‘Hindu warrior’ Malhotra has garnered a massive online following by professing to be a proud Hindu warrior. He has 1.78 lakh followers on Twitter and 6 million likes on his official Facebook page.

He upholds what he claims is Bharatiya sanskriti, questions other religions and liberals, vociferously supports the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and takes on anyone disagreeing with him. His tweets can be acerbic and contain loaded reports posted by little-known websites.

He reserves special contempt for those on the Left and foreign historians such as Wendy Doniger, whom he accuses of viewing Indian culture with a “Marxist and leftist lens”.

His online presence, however, had led him to be mired in one row after the other. During the Kerala floods, he tweeted communally charged content.

“Please donate to help Kerala Hindus. Christians & Muslims worldwide are raising lots of money to help mainly their own people and agendas,” he had tweeted, before deleting his tweet.

A picture retweeted by him stated that of the about 25 lakh temples in India, men were not allowed in six and women in five. Pegged on the Sabarimala row, the post sought to question why some “intellectuals” had no issue with the fact that over 3 lakh mosques did not allow a single woman inside.

ThePrint could not independently verify the claim or the figures cited.

In one of his lectures, uploaded on his official website, Malhotra talks of how school textbooks and the education system in India are filled with ‘anti-India’ content.

“Even the UPSC exam is full of hatred against India,” he says in the video. “People are attacked in academic circles if they go out and talk about Vedas. Go to IIT-Madras, it’s very difficult to say there is no separate Dravidism.”

He adds, “Colonisers did not want us to read Arthashastra and our own Vedic texts. We were not taught political thought, because had we been taught we would have revolted.”

Also read: Diktat for teachers at central universities like JNU & DU: Can’t criticise govt

‘Another nail in the coffin of Indian higher education’ His appointment as an honorary professor at JNU’s Centre for Media Studies has triggered criticism.

Author and Indologist Audrey Truschke, the assistant professor of South Asian history at Rutgers University, US, tweeted, “Another nail in the coffin of Indian higher education: Hindutva ideologue Rajiv Malhotra – a hate monger, plagiarist, without academic credentials, best known for his identity-fueled attacks on scholars – has been appointed an honorary professor at JNU.”

In a series of tweets, she pointed out instances where Malhotra quoted the satire portal The Onion as a legitimate source of news, including to claim that western historians had admitted that the Greek civilisation was fabricated.

“This shows the low intellectual level that we have come to,” journalist and columnist Tavleen Singh tweeted on his appointment. “I was once persuaded briefly that Malhotra was a serious scholar. In fact he is a pamphleteer who would not be considered a scholar except in India. Bad luck JNU.”

Historian S. Irfan Habib said JNU “didn’t deserve this insult”.

“A pretender, a plagiarist and Hindutva proponent Rajiv Malhotra appointed honorary visiting professor at JNU,” he tweeted.

Malhotra subsequently challenged his critics to an open debate. “I challenge Irfan Habib, Romila Thapar, Wendy Doniger, Sheldon Pollock, @Ram_Guha to have an open conversation on camera where we can share, agree, disagree freely,” he tweeted.

The Malhotra fans For all the flak he receives, Malhotra has his backers in the Indian Right.

Retired Army officer Major General G.D. Bakshi is often found praising Malhotra. In a recent tweet, Bakshi shared a link of Malhotra’s speech at India Gate during the 75th anniversary of the Azad Hind government.

“An excellent and succinct speech By Rajiv Malhotra on the eve of the…,” Bakshi tweeted.

Vivek Agnihotri, the filmmaker who courted controversy because of his book Urban Naxals, expressed happiness over the appointment.

“The entire ecosystem of bigots is rattled with the appointment of @RajivMessage and that indeed is the best news today. Congrats Rajivji,” Vivek Agnihotri tweeted after Malhotra announced his appointment.

Malhotra also has a separate twitter handle called Rajiv Malhotra fans.

JNU refuses to comment Officials at JNU refused to comment on Malhotra’s appointment. Calls to the head of department, Centre of Media Studies, Heeraman Tiwari, went unanswered.

But the university rules say that a person appointed honorary professor “should be a scholar of nationally and internationally recognised eminence and his or her contribution should have made a difference to the discipline or to society”.

Approval of at least four experts in the field that the person is going to teach in is important for the appointment. Once approved, the name is sent to the executive council for approval.

In Malhotra’s case, however, members of the council told ThePrint they were not aware of the appointment.

Some students said Malhotra’s appointment was one of the many vice-chancellor M. Jagadesh Kumar was making in keeping with “his whims and fancies”.

“Malhotra is accused of plagiarism, it is such a big charge,” said JNUSU president N. Sai Balaji.

“How can the university appoint someone facing that kind of charge as an honorary professor? It is clearly the administration’s agenda to bring people from a certain ideology into the university.

Date: 4th November 2018 Publication: Mumbai Mirror Edition: Online Journalist: Labonita Ghosh Headline: It’s raining salaries: Mirror takes a look at the cash-rich corner offices of corporate India URL: https://mumbaimirror.indiatimes.com/others/sunday-read/the-cash-rich-corner-office/articleshow/66493333.cms

It’s raining salaries: Mirror takes a look at the cash-rich corner offices of corporate India

By Labonita Ghosh, Mumbai Mirror | Updated: Nov 4, 2018, 09:10 IST It’s raining salaries: Mirror takes a look at the cash-rich corner offices of corporate India PHOTO BY GETTY IMAGES In India Inc, it’s no longer just the owners of companies who draw nine-figure salaries, but also the professionals who run it for them. A few years ago, shortly after completing the Mumbai marathon, Tata Sons Chairman N Chandrasekaran (then head of TCS) had said: “For me, running the marathon is about discipline, preparation and the ability to focus and stay in the zone for a sustained period of time, no matter what the distractions. In that sense, running the marathon is like running a business.” Chandrasekaran, a serial marathoner, had told this reporter that training for events around the world had “inculcated in me this ability to maintain the energy and be on the edge, while also staying calm and patient. It’s a very hard combination”. Clearly, he’s cracked that combination in the context of the corporate world. In February 2017, Chandrasekaran became Chairman at Tata Sons, the holding company of the group — a post left vacant by a very public falling out between Chairman Emeritus Ratan Tata and his onceanointed successor Cyrus Mistry.

Date: 4th November 2018 Publication: Navbharatimes Edition: Online Journalist: NA Headline: IIT : 2064 URL: https://navbharattimes.indiatimes.com/metro/delhi/other-news/iit-2064-degrees-given-to-students/articleshow/66491483.cms

IIT : 2064 49 378 ए 128 , 24% त औ ए ...

, : 49 378 ए 128 , 24% त औ ए 28 500 ए 834, औ 854 / ए ए अ अ 8 4 ए त , अ त त ए ' त' त ( ए) 53% त

( औ 5 अ ऊ ए) - (अ औ - ए ) - औ ए -ए त 10 4 औ 14 ए , औ त औ ए अ अ त ए ए

Date: 5th November 2018 Publication: Canton Caller Edition: Online Journalist: NA Headline: More girls in IITs this year URL: https://cantoncaller.com/more-girls-in-iits-this-year/237059/

More girls in IITs this year

Following MHRD’s mandate to accelerate the female enrolment to 14% in IITs, several premier institutes have registered more female students in various undergraduate programmes. The government’s move was aimed to improve women representation in technical institutes, which had more male students.

Most IITs have fulfilled the criterion and many have enrolled approximately 17% female this year. IIT-Delhi has enrolled around 143 females, which is a steep rise from last year, when the number of girls taking admission in UG courses was only 93. The accelerate, claim the officials is approximately to 16%. In IIT-Bombay the female registration is 159, marking 15.4% girl enrolment. In 2017, the female enrolment was 10.7%.

IIT-Madras enrolled 144 girls, which was 16.68% of female ratio. Last year, 119 female students took admissions here. Meanwhile, IIT-BHU that had enrolled 75 girls in the UG courses last year, has more than double enrolments with 146 girls (13.7%) taking admission this year, including the 77 supernumerary seats extraordinary for women.

IIT-Roorkee, on the nonstandard hand, extraordinary 68 supernumerary seats for females and total enrolment for this academic session is 148.

The further sessions conducted for girls who cleared the JEE Advanced and providing them proper counselling has helped in this rise across IITs.

“Many parents had queries regarding safety of their daughters. Most of them prefer to send their girls to metro such as Delhi or Bombay, we tried to break the notions in the counselling sessions,” said A S K Sinha, dean, academic affairs, IIT-BHU.

This year, the IITs were asked to create an added of 779 supernumerary seats for women. Of the 779 seats, 113 seats are given to IIT Kharagpur, followed by 95 seats to IIT-Dhanbad, 79 to IIT-Kanpur, 76 to IIT-BHU, 68 to IIT-Roorkee, 59 to IIT-Delhi, 58 to IIT-Bombay and 57 to IIT-Guwahati.

Date: 5th November 2018 Publication: Northlines Edition: Online Journalist: NA Professor: Prof P V Subrhamaniam Headline: Valedictory Function of FIM IARS International Conference held at JU URL: http://www.thenorthlines.com/valedictory-function-of-fim-iars-international-conference-held-at-ju/

Valedictory Function of FIM IARS International Conference held at JU

The Department of Statistics, University of Jammu, Jammu has organized Twenty-Seventh International Conference of Forum for Indisciplinary Mathematics (FIM) in conjunction with 3rd Convention of IARS on Interdisciplinary Mathematics, Statistics and Computational Techniques from November 02 to November 04, 2018. The valedictory function of the conference was held in The Conference Hall of Department of Statistics, University of Jammu in which Prof Keshav Sharma, Dean Academic Affairs was the chief guest. He congratulated the organizers of the conference for successful organization of the conference and as well as initiating series of events during the Golden Jubilee Year of Establishment of the University of Jammu. Prof Pawan Kumar, Convener of the Conference read the conference report about various sessions held and summary deliberations made in plenary sessions. During the function, the R S Varma Best Paper Award for PhD were announced by Dr. Parmil Kumar, Organizing Secretary of the conference. Bhagwati Devi, Research Scholar of Dept of Statistics, University of Jammu bagged the award which consists of certificate and cash prize of Rs. 25000/-. She was also awarded DST INSPIRE Fellowship by Govt. of India for pursuing PhD. Ankita Sharma, Research Scholar of Dept of Statistics was adjudged as the First Runner-up of the award while Aditi Chaturvedi of Dept of Statistics, B B S A University, Lucknow was adjudged as the second runner-up. Prof D S Hooda, Dr. F C Kennedy, Prof S C Malik and Prof Keshav Sharma presented the awards and certificates to the winners. At the end of inaugural function, Dr Vijay Kumar Shivgotra, Joint Secretary of the conference presented the vote of thanks. He thanked all sponsoring agencies viz. DRDO, NBHM and CSIR for providing the financial support in organizing the conference and he also extended the thanks to FIM and IARS for giving this opportunity to Department of Statistics to host the conference. On the occasion Prof J P S Joorel, Prof Rahul Gupta, Former Dean Faculty of Mathematical Sciences, Prof D S Hooda, Ex Pro-VC, Kurukshetra University Shrikant, Former Director, Joint Cipher Bureau, Prof Ajit Chaturvedi, Prof P V Subrhamaniam, IIT Chennai, Prof Tariq Raja, Dr Bilal Ahmed Bhat, Prof Anwar Hasan, Prof Tariq Raja, Prof K S Charak were also present.

Date: 5th November 2018 Publication: Business Standard Edition: Delhi/Pune/Mumbai/Bangalore/Hyderabad/Chennai/Kolkata/Kochi/Ahmedabad Page No: 1 Journalist: Dasarath Reddy Headline: Top faculty rigorous research propel IIT-Hyderabad to distinction URL: https://www.business-standard.com/article/education/top-faculty-rigorous-research-propels-iit-hyderabad-to-distinction- 118110400494_1.html

Date: 5th November 2018 Publication: The Times Of India Edition: Chennai Page No: 4 Journalist: NA Headline: IIT-M students emerge winners of contest

Date: 5th November 2018 Publication: The Hindu - EDGE Edition: Hyderabad/Chennai Page No: 16 Journalist: Geeta Padmanabhan Headline: Passion takes wing URL: https://www.thehindu.com/education/passion-takes-wing/article25271602.ece

Date: 5th November 2018 Publication: Deccan Chronicle - Chronicle Chennai Edition: Chennai Page No: 4 Journalist: M.R. Venkatesh Professor: Prof. Ashok Jhunjhunwala Headline: Inspiring stories of hope of 14 remarkable women, despite printing issues

Date: 5th November 2018 Publication: The New Indian Express Edition: Chennai Page No: 17 Journalist: NA Professor: Prof. Arun Menon Headline: The Future of Architecture

Date: 4th November 2018 Publication: Mumbai Mirror Edition: Mumbai Page No: 14 Journalist: Labonita Ghosh Alumni: Satish Pai Headline: The cash-rich corner office URL: https://mumbaimirror.indiatimes.com/others/sunday-read/the-cash-rich-corner-office/articleshow/66493333.cms

Date: 4th November 2018 Publication: The New Indian Express Edition: Chennai Page No: 5 Journalist: NA Headline: The PM 2.5 level recorded at IIT-Madras

Date: 5th November 2018 Publication: News India Times Edition: Online Journalist: NA Alumni: Suresh Garimella Headline: Trump to appoint Indian-American IIT-Madras graduate to U.S. National Science Board URL: http://www.newsindiatimes.com/trump-to-appoint-indian-american-iit-madras-graduate-to-u-s-national-science-board

Trump to appoint Indian-American IIT-Madras graduate to U.S. National Science Board By a Staff Writer - November 5, 20180

Suresh Garimella of Purdue University, Indiana (Photo: LinkedIn) President Donald Trump announced his intent to appoint a leading Indian-American engineering professor from Indiana, as a member of the National Science Board.

Suresh Garimella, the executive vice president for research and partnerships at Purdue University, was in the list of 7 board members announced by the White House Nov. 5.

Garimella is a graduate from the 1985 batch of the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras. He is currently in Indiana as Purdue University’s inaugural executive vice president for research and partnerships and the Goodson Distinguished Professor of Mechanical Engineering.

He also continues to direct the National Science Foundation Cooling Technologies Research Center, which he founded in 1999, according to his biography available on the Purdue website.

Garimella is the co-author of more than 525 widely cited archival publications and 13 patents, Garimella is an expert in micro- and nano-scale transport phenomena, thermal management and energy efficiency in electronics systems, and renewable and sustainable energy systems technology and policy. He has supervised over 90 graduate students, 25 of whom are now faculty members in prestigious universities.

Prior to his current position, Garimella served as Purdue’s chief global affairs officer (2013-2014) and associate vice president for engagement (2011-2013) at Purdue.

His responsibilities have included directing Purdue’s diverse research enterprise, which expends more than $660 million annually to support world-changing research, the University said.

Garimella oversees Discovery Park, which includes diverse facilities and institutes that enable disciplines to converge in the effort to find solutions to global challenges related to health and life sciences, sustainability, food, energy, and defense and security.

He is also responsible for Purdue’s international programs and its global and corporate partnerships endeavors, focused on strengthening relationships to advance innovation, research, education and commercialization, the University said.

Garimella is credited with achieving “consecutive record years” in research funding and establishing “significant new partnerships” around the world.

The Indian-American professor is said to have conceived and implemented an ambitious Pillars of Excellence in the Life Sciences Initiative, establishing two new institutes that bring together faculty from dozens of disciplines to study integrative neuroscience and inflammation, immunology and infectious disease, to complement signature efforts in the plant sciences and drug discovery.

Garimella was a Jefferson Science Fellow at the State Department from 2010 to 2011, analyzing cross-cutting issues at the intersection of energy security and climate change. He was a State Department delegate to the International Energy Agency (IEA). From 2011 to 2016, Garimella was a senior fellow of the State Department’s Energy and Climate Partnership of the Americas (ECPA), a regional partnership announced by President Obama to promote clean energy, advance energy security, fight energy poverty, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, support strategies for sustainable landscapes and build capacity for climate change adaptation.

He has a Ph.D. from the University of California at Berkeley, and an M.S. from The Ohio State University.

Among his many awards, Garimella has received the 2016 ITHERM Achievement Award, 2014 ASME Charles Russ Richards Memorial Award, 2011 NSF Alexander Schwarzkopf Prize for Technological Innovation, 2010 ASME Heat Transfer Memorial Award, and 2010 Distinguished Alumnus Award from IIT Madras.

Date: 6th November 2018 Publication: The Hindu Business Line Edition: Delhi / Bangalore / Chennai / Mumbai / Pune / Ahmedabad / Kolkata / Kochi Page No: 15 Journalist: NA Headline: IIT-M’s Samanvay ’18 ends URL: https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/education/iit-ms-samanvay-18-ends/article25429388.ece

Date: 6th November 2018 Publication: The Times of India Edition: Mumbai Page No: 2 Journalist: Yogita Rao Headline: Trump effect US offers at IITs may dwindle this year URL: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/trump-effect-us-offers-at-iits-may-dwindle-further-this-year/articleshow/66517207.cms

Date: 6th November 2018 Publication: The Indian Express Edition: Pune Page No: 3 Journalist: NA Headline: Startup fest for students

Date: 6th November 2018 Publication: The New Indian Express Edition: Chennai Page No: 4 Journalist: NA Headline: Amazon Alexa skills workshop held at IIT URL: http://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/chennai/2018/nov/06/amazon-alexa-skills-workshop-held-at-iit-1894733.html

Date: 7th November 2018 Publication: Business Standard Edition: Delhi / Mumbai / Pune / Hyderabad / Kochi / Ahmedabad Page No: 4 Journalist: Vinay Umarji Headline: What sets it apart: IIT-Indore freshers start with research

Date: 7th November 2018 Publication: Tribune Edition: Delhi Page No: 10 Journalist: Arteev Sharma Headline: Chorus grows for varsity in Ladakh URL: https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/jammu-kashmir/chorus-grows-for-varsity-in-ladakh/679745.html

Date: 7th November 2018 Publication: Mumbai Mirror Edition: Mumbai Page No: 6 Journalist: Rahi Gaikwad Headline: 'Shout’ loud to bring back tum-tums in IIT-B

Date: 7th November 2018 Publication: Hindustan Times Edition: Pune Page No: 8 Journalist: Amandeep Shukla Headline: Top faculty from IITs NITs will now mentor tech institutes

Date: 8th November 2018 Publication: The New Indian Express Edition: Online Journalist: SV Krishna Chaitanya Professor: Prof. SM Shiva Nagendra Headline: Weather too played a role URL: http://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/chennai/2018/nov/08/weather-too-played-a-role-1895387.html

Weather too played a role

The people of Chennai no doubt contributed to the low pollution levels in the city, but experts believe weather too had played a role.

Published: 08th November 2018 01:34 AM | Last Updated: 08th November 2018 09:43 AM | A+A A- pic: DEBADATTA MALLCKBy SV Krishna ChaitanyaExpress News Service CHENNAI : The people of Chennai no doubt contributed to the low pollution levels in the city, but experts believe weather too had played a role. Besides some experts remained sceptical about the data released by the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) on Wednesday. Some even felt the weather had a big role to bring the pollution levels down — both PM10 and PM2.5.

IIT-Madras professor SM Shiva Nagendra said weather played an important role in keeping a check on pollution. “Sunlight, clear skies and wind play an important role in dispersing the pollutants. This year, things have fallen perfectly. Besides, Chennai is also gifted with sea breeze being a coastal district. Last year, the city suffered primarily because of unfavorable climatic conditions. With cloudy skies, no rain and wind, all the pollutants stayed low,” he said.

No doubt the use of fire crackers has come down and people are slowly changing. But, Chennai recording an all-time low pollution levels was not expected. In 2015, even when Chennai witnessed unprecedented rainfall and fire crackers sales was crippled, the air pollution was much higher than this year. The PM10 reading this year in Triplicane is 70 µg/m3 (micrograms per cubic metre), Besant Nagar 75 µg/m3, Nungambakkam 48 µg/m3 , Sowcarpet 114 µg/m3 and T Nagar 97 µg/m3. When compared to 2015, which is said to be the lowest polluted year, PM10 recording in Triplicane was 90 µg/m3, while in Besant Nagar it was 88 µg/m3, Sowcarpet 93 µg/m3, Nungambakkam 131 µg/m3 and T Nagar 126 µg/m3.

Interestingly, TNPCB data show there is not much difference between the pollution levels recorded on Monday (day before) and Tuesday (Deepavali day). In fact, PM2.5 levels have dropped in Triplicane and Nungambakkam on Deepavali day. City-based environmentalist Shweta Narayan said the TNPCB data is also silent on day’s peak measurements.

“The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) real-time monitoring stations at Alandur, Manali and IIT-Madras show that PM2.5 levels have peaked as high as 302 µg/m3 in Alandur, 230 µg/m3 in Manali and 160 µg/m3 in IIT-Madras. Air Quality Index (AQI) on Deepavali day for Chennai was 103, while the standard is 60. Our air quality monitor in Ennore measured PM2.5 peak level of 916 µg/m3 between 5 pm and 7 pm on Tuesday,” she said. When contacted, a senior TNPCB official said: “Although weather played its part, there is a definite improvement on the ground and our data is completely reliable.”

Date: 8th November 2018 Publication: Business Insider Edition: Online Journalist: Dilsher Dhillion Headline: India’s government is mulling a plan to give the country’s top engineering institutes more autonomy — here’s what that would entail URL: https://www.businessinsider.in/indias-government-is-mulling-a-plan-to-give-the-countrys-top-engineering-institutes-more-autonomy- heres-what-that-would-entail/articleshow/66541240.cms

India’s government is mulling a plan to give the country’s top engineering institutes more autonomy — here’s what that would entail DILSHER DHILLONNOV 8, 2018, 10.11 AM FacebookLinkedinWhatsAppTwitterGoogle+Reddit

India’s Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) has instituted a panel to assess the viability of reducing the government’s control over all 23 IITs. The move is part of the government’s larger plan to reform the higher education sector and increase the global rankings of these institutions. Earlier this year, 20 Indian Institutes of Management (IIM) were granted more independence in choosing board members and making decisions related to course selection and hiring. Last week, India’s Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) formally instituted a panel to assess the viability of reducing the government’s control over all 23 Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT), according to a report in the Indian Express.

The seven-man committee is led by M Anandkrishnan, the former chairman of IIT-Kanpur, and comprises the directors of 5 top IITs - Bombay, Delhi, Madras, Kanpur and Kharagpur.

The move is part of the government’s larger plan to reform the higher education sector and increase the global rankings of these institutions. It will have significant implications for the operation of IITs, which are currently regulated by the government’s IIT Council.

The state-backed engineering institutes are globally renowned and routinely feature in lists of India’s best colleges. Earlier this month, QS released its rankings for India’s top universities in 2019. IIT-Bombay came first in the nation, while five other IITs rounded up the top 10 spots.

The panel will primarily focus on changes to the IIT Act. This will likely involve amendments to the selection process for the governing boards of IITs. Each IIT comprises a nine-member Board of Governors, all of whom are appointed by the central government. It could also involve the devolution of more powers to governing boards. For example, they could be allowed a greater say in amending the fundamental rules that relate to the day-to-day operations of IITs.

The possibility of giving greater autonomy to state-backed institutes has precedence. In August 2018, the possibility of giving both IIT-Bombay and IIT-Delhi greater autonomy was mooted after the institutes were granted an “Institute of Eminence” designation. The designation grants institutes the power to decide on curriculum and fee structures.

Furthermore, earlier this year, 20 Indian Institutes of Management (IIM) — the graduate business equivalent of IITs - were granted more independence. Under the amendments to the IIM Act, the 15-member governing board of these institutes will now comprise five alumni and they will also be allowed to appoint their own chairmen. This will translate into the ability to select courses and hire faculty with greater ease.

This could be the case for IITs as well. A reduction in the number of government appointees could bring about a diversity in opinion, not to mention less politically-motivated decision-making.

Before submitting its report, the seven-member IIT panel will reportedly seek feedback from the heads of IIMs to assess the pros and cons of being given greater decision-making power. The panel is expected to submit its final recommendations to the MHRD by the end of the year. Share to Twitter

Date: 8th November 2018 Publication: The Hindu Business Line Edition: Online Journalist: Raja Simhan Headline: IIT-M, 11 institutions to set up chairs in IP URL: https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/iit-m-11-institutions-to-set-up-chairs-in-ip/article25438370.ece

IIT-M, 11 institutions to set up chairs in IP TE RAJA SIMHAN T+ T- Centre seeks timeframe for posting professors CHENNAI, NOVEMBER 7

A dozen institutions, including the Indian Institute of Technology Madras, have been accorded approval by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) under the Commerce Ministry to set up Chairs on Intellectual Property (IP) to encourage study, education and research in intellectual property rights (IPR).

India is a signatory to the agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights, the most comprehensive agreements on IP that took effect on January 1, 1995.

The Centre framed the National IPR Policy of 2016 to establish a holistic atmosphere, conducive to exploiting the full potential of IP for social, economic and cultural development.

One of the policy’s main objectives was to strengthen IP chairs in educational institutions of higher learning to provide quality teaching and research, develop teaching capacity and curriculum and evaluate their work on performance-based criteria. Promoting outreach The Scheme for Pedagogy & Research in IPRs for Holistic Education & Academia (SPRIHA) was thus set up to promote outreach on IP matters, organise seminar and workshops, develop inputs, research and inculcate a long-standing recognition and respect for one’s IP and others’ IP in the students’ minds. The DIPP, in an order issued on October 16, has asked the selected institutes to set up IP Chairs to provide detailed financial proposals according to SPRIHA with a timeframe for nomination of the IPR Chair Professor. List of institutions to set up IP Chairs are: IIT Madras, Tamil Nadu; National Law University & Judicial Academy, Guwahati, Assam; Gujarat National Law University, Gandhinagar, Gujarat; National Law School of India University, Bengaluru, Karnataka; Cochin University of Science & Technology, Kochi, Kerala; Maharashtra National Law University, Mumbai, Maharashtra; Punjab University, Chandigarh, Punjab; National Law University, Jodhpur, Rajasthan; Nalsar University of Law, Hyderabad, Telengana; IIT Roorkee, Uttarakhand; West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata, West Bengal; * National Law University, Delhi.

Date: 8th November 2018 Publication: The Financial Express Edition: Online Journalist: Aniruddha Ghosh Headline: Electric vehicles: Reviving up, the Ather Energy way URL: https://www.financialexpress.com/industry/technology/electric-vehicles-reviving-up-the-ather-energy-way/1375613/ Electric vehicles: Reviving up, the Ather Energy way By: Aniruddha Ghosh | Published: November 8, 2018 12:15 AM The start-up has sold its entire inventory for 2018-19, notching up 6000-8000 bookings by June

Electric vehicles: Revving up, the Ather Energy way While electric automobiles are far from being mainstream, some companies around the world are trying to bank early upon the technology. In India, Ather Energy, which was founded by Tarun Mehta and Swapnil Jain in 2013, has developed an electric mobility solution for India, which it believes could turn out to be the perfect vehicle for the Indian customer.

Ather currently has two models in its product portfolio: Ather 340 and Ather 450. The higher-end Ather 450 gives a top speed of 80 kmph and a range of 75 km while the Ather 340 gives a top speed of 70 kmph and a range of 60 km. The bikes have features such as a touchscreen on the dashboard with navigation, system and hardware diagnostics.

The founder-duo initially had an idea of developing a battery which they could sell to companies already producing electric scooters but in the course of their research, they found out that people weren’t satisfied with their vehicles.

[Ad]Earning above 30000? Apply for a LIFETIME FREE Credit Card! Get upto Rs 1000 AMAZON voucher. Apply now on BankBazaar. “They were big believers that electric was the future but there were several problems with the vehicles that people complained about. People talked about problems such as bad quality, poor power delivery, speed, rapid battery degradation and also the charging time,” said Tarun Mehta, founder, Ather Energy.

In light of this, they decided to build a full scooter which could be sold. They started out with Rs 5 lakh as an incubation investment from IIT- Madras. After a few months, they raised an angel round of `25 lakh and `15 lakh through debt financing and started working on more prototypes for their product.

The idea struck a chord with Flipkart co-founders, Sachin and Binny Bansal who lead Ather’s seed funding of $1 million. The team expanded and moved to Bangalore and then raised Series A funding of $12 million. Ather also has backing from Tiger Global Management.

By the middle of 2016, Ather had a functional scooter and started road testing and also seeking responses from the market. While road testing the prototype, the team thought it could develop a more powerful model and hence started working on the Ather 450. Ather raised `205 crore in Series B funding led by Hero Motorcorp. In 2018, the company set up a plant, began production and has delivered the first batch of vehicles.

The investment also helped Ather build several charging stations around Bengaluru, called the Ather Grid. Also, apart from the sale of the bikes, it has an annual subscription plan called Ather One which covers maintenance and other benefits.

While Mehta didn’t mention Ather’s valuation or margins, he said it has sold out inventory for 2018-19 and had reached 6,000-8,000 bookings by the end of June, 2018. He also said the company hasn’t thought of an exit strategy but ruled out the idea of an acquisition.

But Ather Energy is not alone in the startup electric mobility space. Ampere Vehicles, a similar company has raised funding from Infosys co- founder Kris Gopalakrishnan and Tata Sons, chairman, Ratan Tata. Hero MotorCorp’s rival, TVS, has invested in Ultraviolette Automotive and Ola co-founders Bhavish Aggarwal and Ankit Bhati have funded Tork Motorcycles.

Date: 8th November 2018 Publication: Indian Web Edition: Online Journalist: Suman Chaudhary Alumni: Mythreyi Kondapi Headline: WE-Hub Incubated Product Research Startup Startoon Labs Raises First Round Equity Funding URL: https://www.indianweb2.com/2018/11/05/we-hub-incubated-product-research-startup-startoon-labs-raises-first-round-equity-funding/

WE-Hub Incubated Product Research Startup Startoon Labs Raises First Round Equity Funding Suman ChaudharyBy SUMAN CHAUDHARY Nov 5, 2018 ShareTweet 0 Secunderabad, Telangana-based product research and development startup, Startoon Labs, has raised the first round of equity funding for its operations.

Startoon Labs designs and develops industrial-grade IoT products and smart electronics systems in the embedded systems and robotics fields. The startup was incubated at WE-Hub, a women-exclusive incubator led by Telangana state government, launched this year on Women`s Day.

Founders in 2017, by husband-wife duo – Mythreyi Kondapi and Susurla V.S. Suresh, Startoon Labs is essentially a private research laboratory that is into product Development, Teaching and Engineering consultation along with world class R&D services in the field of Electronics, Embedded systems, Automation and Robotics.

Mythreyi Kondapi is an alumnus of Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad and Indian Institute of Technology-Madras, wihle her husband Susurla V S Suresh, is ab alumnus of Indian Institute of Management-Kolkata and Indian Institute of Technology-Madras in November 2017.

The startup will use the freshly raised funds to build Pheezee, a smart physiotherapy tool kit. The device is being designed to monitor and report patients’ rehabilitation and recovery by tracking their mobility and muscle strength.

With Pheezee, one can remotely perform the exercises and let his/her physiotherapist give suggestion over phone about the progress, making the patient’s recovery process fast and easy.

Besides, the startup is also developing an open source, Arduino compatible IOT board called SLabs 32 that allows to develop prototypes in the fields of wireless data acquisition, data logging, visualization, remote monitoring/ control of machines with ease.

Startoon Labs is part of the first cohort of 26 women-led startups selected for incubation at WE Hub, a Government of Telangana initiative to promote and foster women’s entrepreneurship from all sectors including IoT, AR, VR, Edutech, Healthtech and FMCG.

“Hardware development is time consuming and capital intensive. Biomedical hardware is much more so, given the stringent compliance, clinical validation and trials required. Finding investors is always challenging,” Ms. Kondapi said, adding that they had found an investor who believed in the product and the team

Stating that hardware is an integral part of any device or machine, Mr. Suresh said, “When we started off, a lot of software was being built indigenously but hardware was still at a nascent stage. Startoon Labs is building indigenous systems in the field of IoT and healthcare”. Assuring that WE Hub would enable market linkages for the commercial adoption of Startoon Labs’ physiotherapy device Pheezee, CEO of WE Hub Deepthi Ravula said: “The team at Startoon Labs represents inclusive workforce, progressive talent and innovative mindset that we are championing at WE Hub.”

“WE Hub has been working diligently in connecting women-led startups to financing and in catalysing their growth through strategic partnerships,” Principal Secretary Jayesh Ranjan said.

Date: 8th November 2018 Publication: The Times of India Edition: Online Journalist: NA Headline: TNPCB says pollution levels down, data not conclusive URL: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/tnpcb-says-pollution-levels-down-data-not-conclusive/articleshow/66538663.cms

Date: 8th November 2018 Publication: The New Indian Express Edition: Chennai Page No: 2 Journalist: SV Krishna Chaitanya Professor: Prof. SM Shiva Nagendra Headline: Weather too played a role URL: http://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/chennai/2018/nov/08/weather-too-played-a-role-1895387.html

Date: 8th November 2018 Publication: The Hindu Business Line Edition: Mumbai/Pune/Chennai/Kochi/Ahemdabad Page No: 13 Journalist: Raja Simhan Headline: IIT-M, 11 institutions to set up chairs in IP URL: https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/iit-m-11-institutions-to-set-up-chairs-in-ip/article25438370.ece

Date: 8th November 2018 Publication: The Financial Express Edition: Mumbai / Bangalore / Kolkata /Chennai/Pune/Kochi/Ahemdabad Page No: 8 Journalist: Aniruddha Ghosh Headline: Electric vehicles: Reviving up, the Ather Energy way URL: https://www.financialexpress.com/industry/technology/electric-vehicles-reviving-up-the-ather-energy-way/1375613/

Date: 9th November 2018 Publication: The Hindu Edition: Chennai Page No: 8 Journalist: Lavanya Narayanan Headline: Madrasana and IIT-M join hands URL: https://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/music/madrasana-and-iit-m-join-hands/article25443508.ece

Date: 9th November 2018 Publication: The Hindu Edition: Chennai Page No: 1 Journalist: T.K. Rohit Headline: Mercury remediation level fixed URL: https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/chennai/mercury-remediation-level-fixed/article25447814.ece

Date: 9th November 2018 Publication: Business World Edition: Online Journalist: Siddharth Shankar Headline: Sense, Plan, Act - Towards A Zero Fatality Safety Standard - Krishan Kohli URL: http://www.businessworld.in/article/Sense-Plan-Act-Towards-A-Zero-Fatality-Safety-Standard-Krishnan-Kohli-/08-11-2018-163841/

Sense, Plan, Act - Towards A Zero Fatality Safety Standard - Krishan Kohli

Today the level of safety awareness on the road is very high and situations are changing. We don't leave it just to Destiny. We don't leave it to God. - Krishan Kohli - Vehicle Dynamics Head, Continental Technology

Mr. Krishan Kohli, Head of Vehicle Dynamics Unit, Continental Adaptability is more than just an evolutionary success strategy. With its active chassis technology and electronic brakes, Continental leverages a wide range of interventions to adjust the vehicle’s behavior to unknown factors such as the condition of the road surface, load changes, and cornering. The business unit Vehicle Dynamics provides highly advanced braking technology for all vehicle types. It can be used in vehicles ranging from small cars right through to transportation vehicles, and even motorcycles. Krishan Kohli, Head Vechicle Dynamics for Continental Technology talks to BW BusinessWorld about 2/4 wheeler safety and emerging technologies

We all know India is a very big market for two-wheelers. So what kind of Products and policies do we need to improve in the safety of two- wheelers? Advertisement

I represent Vehicle Dynamics Division from Continental in India and we have Anti-Locking Braking System (ABS) technology. Which is one popular technology, we are already marketing and thereafter. We also have some other higher end technology. Right now for 4-wheelers, we have ABS, Electronic Stability Control (ESC) then we also have AEB - autonomous emergency braking solutions. For two-wheelers, we have ABS technology both one channel ABS and two-channel ABS then we also have the Motorcycle Integral Brake system – (MIB) solution, which is Advanced India currently.

Talking about Policies - The good news is that the government is determined and the regulation on safety for 125cc and above is coming with that regulation any 2wheeler below which is more than 125cc is mandated to have an ABS solution. Basically awareness towards safety has got generated in the market and seriousness that the government has to that awareness is culminating into these regulations. There are multiple fatalities that road accidents having India and globally. There are 16 accidents minute. Translate into how many fatalities per year you have So multiple hundreds of thousands of numbers that go into road fatalities and if I translate to human life value, it's wrong to put a value to it. But if I translate somehow into Indian GDP, so the total fatality, one is the loss of human life, second is that other losses that happen around it. it's almost like 3% of the Indian GDP. That's the money in which we are wasting. We can save that money and deploy elsewhere. So safety is important, coming to two-wheelers. I think this regulation that's the first step now starting April you have a hundred per cent 125cc and above with ABS.

There is one more thing which is happening in the country. As a Nation, we are graduating to the segmentation of users. So there is a mass Market which needs a solution for point A to point B, but then there is also a growing segment which needs performance solutions. So today Harley is making a lot of business in India. They have already put a local assembly. Triumph is also thinking of expanding and KTMs have formed a joint venture. BMW, TVS all the brands are coming because there is a market which is evolving So the solutions over 125 CC will keep growing. So today if I put a number 125 CC and above close to 4 – 4.5 million over five years we'll see more than 7 – 7.5 million units. This is a large market opportunity that is coming. We are very excited about this situation.

Tell us more about the challenges that India as a country with policies and with the government and with the education levels and populations faces on Road Safety. I think in past what was happening is the biggest challenge that we had was an awareness. So I this is my own philosophy there is a saying called - out of sight out of mind. So when you ask for something that thing becomes important, when you don't ask it means it's not required. So we never had awareness in the country. As nobody asked for it.

I think the awareness was the biggest issue but over time awareness for safety and awareness for life has really grown. And today the level of awareness is very high and situations are changing. We don't leave it just to Destiny. We don't leave it to God. so today what are the other issues? So awareness is one which is already in place and the good part is the government is started to emphasize on safety. The third big thing which is exciting is that people like NCAP are coming forward and they are really supporting this cause and that brings an opportunity also for people like us – continental. We join hands with NCAP and now can demonstrate these Technologies and we are expecting some decisions sometime soon, and that will take safety to the next level. We have Solutions which are available for the market those Solutions get the safety to the next level for four-wheelers. We have an ESC which actually gets a better traction control for all wheels. ABS is the starting point as you get to ESC your safety levels go up. If I take an ESC Solution on an average sedan and SUV, the fatalities get reduced by 30 to 35% on a sedan and in an SUV it is over 50% reduction in the fatality. So that's the technology and for the two-wheelers again, we are excited now, as both one channel and two channel ABS will come, the minstream will be one channel ABS today. And then maybe a couple of years we stabilize and then you take it to the next level of MIB solutions. Tell us about Vision Zero of Continental.

As an organization, Continental is committed to safety and we work on technologies providing solutions in the market. We work with partners like what NCAP and other stakeholders. To get safety standard to Zero fatalities basically. To forward this, we internally have this strategy called – Sense Plan Act, While driving you have to keep your senses alert, and then you also have to plan ahead and you have to react based on the situation on the road. So under that "sense plan act " we have Technology Solutions. Which are into Sensing, solutions that are into planning and there are solutions into acting so vehicle Dynamic Solutions are mostly in acting the part but also sensing a little bit and then we have Solutions like (ADAS) - Advanced Driver Safety Assist. So that is into all sensing. With the Sense Plan Act strategy, we are working very strongly in Vision zero, which is a vision for continental globally and we are working in every single Market including India very strongly to that Vision zero. So recently Continental has been really active in the country with initiatives like R&D Center in Gurugram, IIT Madras MOU. So what are the reasons that continental is investing so much in India?

India has been really gaining a lot of attention globally over the last many years. We have been getting a lot of global attention for the right reasons. The first reason is the market overall is big and it's growing and in the last one decade we have been seeing from a country’s standpoint the macro drivers are all in place. The economy is really getting stronger, fiscal deficits are so far in control and the GDP has been growing at a strong 7% with again some comparisons globally against China some consolidation and some change in strategy is needed. The current government is focusing on consolidation and then how do we drive this into the consumer-driven economy. Now China has taken a step back. The new Norm for growth is 6% but India is now a 7% plus almost at 7.6%. So that is really giving huge excitement as a country. We are growing faster and if you see overall we are almost in the top 5 economies and then there is a huge domestic market. So that really opens a lot of opportunity and Continental when we set up our footprint in India. We saw the growth in the country. We also saw an opportunity where we have the right Technologies to get in. Not just the tires and rubber but also Automotive technologies. There are so many opportunities we have, so we have set up an engineering centre in Bangalore a couple of years back and this is our complete engineering centre, Technical Center, it's a Global Hub working on not just Indian market but Global markets and we have close to three thousand plus people working it's a fully functional engineering centre inside. And with that, there is also R&D Labs that we have in Gurugram that we recently announced. The plant in Manesar, Gurugram, is where we do a lot of Vehicle Dynamics We have another business unit – ADAS. This comes under chassis and safety vertical. ADAS is where all Advanced Driver assistance systems come. All the next level of autonomous driving is where they step in so we already have MOU which we recently signed up with the IIT Madras where we agreed to work on future Technologies.

Future of Automotive Tech and Cyber technology in Automotive? Cyber technology is one which is a big part ADAS other things will come. If we look at Global Automotive Megatrends India follows Europe and Global markets. Electrification is one Trend globally, all this is now overlapping Connected Vehicles, Shared Mobility Autonomous driving. So these are four things that we hear. So autonomous driving needs a lot of Technologies. We definitely need ESC, we need ADAS all the radar and everything. Networking and other Solutions on a connected vehicle, the infrastructure in the country. So that's where we see eventually this Market will be. Eventually, our market will graduate to these technologies, Today India is a little away from these technologies Autonomous driving will come and electrification will definitely come to India. With the MOU signed with IIT Madras, we will be working on these technologies and we want to be there when these trends come to India. Date: 9th November 2018 Publication: The News Minute Edition: Online Journalist: Padmaja Shaw Headline: Book review: 'The Ferment' is a humane take on youth unrest in India URL: https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/book-review-ferment-humane-take-youth-unrest-india-91221

Book review: 'The Ferment' is a humane take on youth unrest in India

The book begins with the outburst of nationwide protests that followed Rohith Vemula’s death. Padmaja Shaw Thursday, November 08, 2018 - 16:03 Share @Facebook Share @twitter Share @Email Share @google+ Share @reddit

Over the last decade, the ‘demographic dividend’ that was the basis for excited predictions for India’s future, morphed into a threat to the ruling establishment when youth stepped out on to the streets to demand their rights to life, liberty and freedom – on campuses across the country, and in Telangana, Kashmir, Manipur, Nagaland, Jharkhand, Himachal Pradesh.

Young voices that could no longer be silenced found ways of articulating their aspirations through slogans, songs and video channels. This search for voice, this assertion that the system dare not confine them to the margins, became universal, infectious. Heady slogans for freedom from the JNU campus, became at once a symbol of subversion and assertion, depending on which side of the power-fence one located oneself.

Nikhila Henry, through her various encounters, sheds a humane and warm light on this ferment among the youth. The ferment that can sometimes lead into the galaxy of unlimited possibilities of Rohith Vemula’s dreams, or throw you head-long into a dehumanising armed conflict.

The book begins with the outburst of nationwide protests that followed Rohith Vemula’s death and how these myriads of voices of young Indians call into question the basic ideas of nationalism, patriotism and citizenship. The changes that swept the Indian economy and polity since the turn of the century sharpened the fissures of caste, class, religion and gender, and left little choice before the youth other than to dismantle the old certitudes.

But even as we are taken through the protests that followed Rohith’s death, we also get to meet a Chaitanya who associates with Bajrang Dal to transcend his OBC status and “though the Bajrang Dal did not give him a casteless life, it provided him the promise of a political community which had power, both electorally and socially.”

The book walks us through the newly emerging solidarities across castes and communities – the Dalit-Muslim solidarity, for instance – and to the emergence of the Bhim Army and Chandrasekhar Azad. The intense political churn also leads to a whole new set of strategies, creation of spaces for independent voices through efforts like Dalit Camera in an attempt to re-shape public representation. The countless ways in which the experiences are memorialised through poetry, songs of resistance, and naming of significant spaces (Raju-Venkatesh Park) and annual events (Senthil-Balraj Cricket Night cup), both in the University of Hyderabad. The author captures the spirit animating the challenge to status quo from different locations through colourful slogans that have become the rallying points.

Tracing the path of the Ambedkar Periyar Study Circle in IIT-Madras, the author gives us insights into the way technical education has shaped itself in India. She says: “When IIT Madras branded a beef festival organised to assert food choices, ‘unbecoming’, it further reinforced its own inability to grapple with India’s tensions. Institutions of higher learning wanted students to engage with social change without being a part of it. IITs, like other technological and management institutions, assigned themselves the role of spectators in Indian democracy.”

The section called “Conflict Bound” in the book deeply resonated with me. This section takes us through the lives of the young men and women caught in the mesh of political conflict and their troubled responses to it. We get to meet people from Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Kashmir, Manipur and Nagaland, who are struggling to change the course of history. I hope the author at some point develops this section into a separate book.

The Ferment also looks at young women coming out to seek education and employment, inter-caste marriages that face brutal sociopathic response from parents and communities. Young men and women, first-generation educated, aspiring for employment who have to confront and deal with the inevitable precarity of existence imposed on them by a neo-liberal economy are also a part of this churn.

Speaking about nationalism and the channels’ co-option of the army with hashtags like #ArmyFirstNotNetas, #AnswerTheArmy by the advertisers like Patanjali and Malabar parottas, the author says, “the nation suddenly seemed to be a unicellular organism capable of mutation. Voluntarily or involuntarily, India’s youth was in a constant conversation with this entity, in an unending loop of breaches and negotiations.”

The discontent that the book tries to map through the stories of individual lives shows starkly the limits of our democracy that restricts access to politics, culture and economy; the limits of a nationalism that cannot satisfactorily contain within it the caste, community, or subnational consciousness. The youth unrest seems to be redefining nationalism and democracy in its essence, by confronting the strategies of entrenched power structures.

The concluding part of the book, as does the preface, tries to put these issues in global perspective. Discussing the Demographic Dividend, the author says, “Unemployed, unproductive, idle youth operate as a burden in all countries. This segment was considered one of the most vulnerable populations for discontent and radicalisation. But the globally recognised idle-youth syndrome alone could not explain the youth revolt in India. ... India’s youth uprisings had more to do with fractured existence of young people in the country than a state of complacence or discontent.”

The book is interspersed with data on the national and global economies, crime, status of women, implementation of social legislation, education, that puts the narrative in perspective. The stories of the gutsy, intelligent youth who are shaping the future of the country, and the style of narration make it highly readable.

Underlying the broad canvas of this ferment of youth sweeping across India, the book captures the basic aspiration for a life of fulfilment and peace. Not much to ask for, really.

When I read The Ferment, two things struck me. First, the objective, neutral voice that’s chronicling this remarkable phase in Indian history – the decade of 2010. Second, the voice of the author is full of empathy – whether she is talking to the student leaders, Adivasi victims of violence, or the young men in the security forces.

This probably is the biggest message the book has to give. With so many failures, shortcomings, struggles and contestations, the one thing that can redeem all of us is this empathy to stop and find out why a young person is compelled to rise up in protest.

Lastly, even a decade later this book will be a valuable resource as a chronicle of one of the historical phases of youth ferment in India, almost reminiscent of the global uprisings of youth in 1968.

Date: 9th November 2018 Publication: The Hindu Business Line Edition: Bangalore/Hyderabad/Chennai/Kolkata Page No: 11 Journalist: K V Kumarnath Alumni: Mythreyi Kondapi Headline: Startoon Labs raises maiden round of funding URL: https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/startoon-labs-raises-maiden-round-of-funding/article25442463.ece

Date: 9th November 2018 Publication: The News Minute Edition: Online Journalist: Priyanka Thirumurthy Headline: Pollutants within permissible limits this Deepavali says TN board, activists deny URL: https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/pollutants-within-permissible-limits-deepavali-says-tn-board-activists-deny-91224

Pollutants within permissible limits this Deepavali says TN board, activists deny

Activists point out that the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board’s data is contradictory to that of the Central Pollution Control Board, with pollutants like PM 2.5 still well above permissible limits. Priyanka Thirumurthy

Celebrations continued for the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board in Chennai even after Deepavali ended on Tuesday. A day after the festival of lights, the TNPCB released a report that concluded that all pollutant levels were within permissible limits following the Supreme Court ordered time limit on firework celebrations. But environmentalists have contested the methodology of data monitoring by the state body and alleged lack of satisfactory comparison with previous levels of pollution. They have further termed the study inconclusive.

Following the Supreme Court’s order, the Tamil Nadu government had fixed two time slots to burst crackers during Deepavali - 6am to 7am and 7pm to 8pm. In a report issued by the TNPCB, it claimed to have conducted ambient air quality surveys and noise level surveys in 5 places in Chennai city - Triplicane, Besant Nagar, Nungambakkam, Sowcarpet and T Nagar, to monitor the impact of firework celebrations as mandated by Central Pollution Control Board. The survey was conducted seven days prior to the festival (October 31 – November 6), during Deepavali (November 6-November 7) and will continue for seven after celebrations end.

As per the TNPCB's report which gives an average of pollutants for 24 hours, PM 2.5 or particulate matter 2.5 was well within permissible levels both before and after Deepavali in their 5 monitoring stations. According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, particulate matter 2.5 are “fine inhalable particles, with diameters that are generally 2.5 micrometers and smaller.” The source of PM 2.5 comes from vehicle exhausts, construction sites, anything that involves burning of fuel, wood, coal, oil etc and also from natural sources such forest fires, states the New York Department of Health.

Incidentally, as per India’s Air Quality Index, the permissible level for PM 2.5 is between 0 and 60 μg/m3. Anything above 250 μg/m3 is categorised as “severe”.

Pre-Deepaavali, the minimum was 17 μg/m3 while the maximum was 29 μg/m3 in Triplicane. On Deepavali, the PM 2.5 levels were at 25 μg/m3 in Triplicane. In Besant Nagar, meanwhile, PM 2.5 levels increased on Deepavali day to 29 μg/m3 while it was a maximum of 21 μg/m3 before the festival. In Nungambakkam, a maximum of 33 μg/m3 was seen a week before the festival but the PM 2.5 levels saw a fall on Deepavali day to 21 μg/m3. As per the TNPCB report, Sowcarpet saw the maximum levels of particulate matter in the air at 42 μg/m3 on Deepavali while the maximum in the area was 40 μg/m3 days before the festival. In T Nagar, meanwhile, a maximum of 41 μg/m3 was recorded pre-Deepeavli while on the festival day, the levels dipped to 38 μg/m3, according to TNPCB.

The TNPCB also provided PM 10 data on Deepavali.

The PM 10 levels are recorded at 70 μg/m3 in Triplicane, 75 μg/m3 in Besant Nagar, 48 μg/m3 in Nungambakkam, 114 μg/m3 in Sowcarpet and 97 in T Nagar on Deepavali.

While the World Health Organisation (WHO) has set the permissible limit for PM 10 at 50 μg/m3, the TNPCB went on to celebrate the results by quoting the PM 10 levels in their report and claiming that all levels were within the permissible range of 100 as India’s National Ambient Air Quality standard. They have even lauded themselves for the 'awareness' that they have spread.

Incidentally, PM2.5 is a more serious health concern than PM10, since smaller particles can travel more deeply into our lungs and cause more harmful effects.

The flaws in the study

Environmentalists have, however, pointed out a number of flaws in the data that is provided by the TNPCB.

The first of this, is the fact that they have not provided PM 2.5 data from these locations in 2017 to compare if there is an actual reduction in pollution.

"Also, giving an average of 24 hours does no really give the right picture. It should have at least been recorded on an hourly basis. In fact, the Central Pollution Control Board gives you data for every 15 minutes. This will help you understand the maximum and minimum pollution seen in the day," says Shwetha Narayan, a Chennai-based environmentalist. "Averages don't work for toxic chemical or emissions," she adds.

Pooja Kumar of the Coastal Resource Centre further points out that in certain areas the PM 2.5 levels even SO2 levels are seen as lower on Deepavali than the days before the festival.

"This is logically not possible. In addition to this, TNPCB has given PM 10 data for both years but this is completely irrelevant because it doesn't affect the respiratory system as severely," she says. Most European countries, in fact have reportedly taken to measuring PM 1 now.

What Central Pollution Control Board says

The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) monitors air quality data in Alandur bus depot, Manali and Velachery residential areas. Data collected every 15 minutes on the day of Deepavali shows that between 10 pm and 10.15 pm on November 6, the PM 2.5 levels went up to as high as 302.19 μg/m3. This is two hours after the time fixed by the state government to burst crackers.

In 2017, the Alandur station, saw PM 2.5 levels reach a maximum of 837.78 μg/m3. That’s 1296.3% over the permissible limit in India.

While the monitoring station in IIT Madras is no longer functional, the one in Velachery residential areas saw PM 2.5 increase to as much as 165.65 μg/m3 between 10.45 pm and 11.15 pm on Deepavali. In Manali, meanwhile, the PM 2.5 levels were at a maximum of 186.71 till 9.15 pm. In 2017, this industrial area in North Chennai saw a maximum PM 2.5 of 999.99 μg/m3 during Deepavali.

"The levels may have reduced from a 900 to 200 μg/m3. But this doesn't mean things are now fine," says Shwetha. "As long as PM 2.5 levels are above permissible levels, the problem sustains," she adds.

Private initiative shows high levels of PM 2.5

In fact, a joint initiative to monitor air quality in Chennai by the Urban Sciences, Healthy Energy Initiative and Huma Lung Foundation has four monitoring stations located in residential neighbourhoods like Besant Gardens in South Chennai, Anna Salai (Huma Lung Foundation) in Central Chennai and in industrial areas like North Chennai’s MKB Nagar, and Ennore.

As per their reading, the levels of PM2.5 are still above permissible limits. Between 5.55 pm and 7.55pm on Deepavali, the level at Ennore was 916 μg/m3. It was 170 μg/m3 at Kuruvimedu, 65 μg/m3 at Kodungaiyur, 282 μg/m3 at Eldams Road and 100 μg/m3 at Nandanam.

"The fact that the TNPCB data is so generic and doesn't mention exactly where the monitoring system is, is problematic. In Besant Nagar itself, if they took the data in Theosophical society, the levels are likely to be lesser because of the tree cover. A main road meanwhile would have different results," says Shwetha. "From what we can see here, it seems like the TNPCB first decided what the conclusion of the data should be and then worked its way backwards."

Date: 9th November 2018 Publication: The Times Of India Edition: Chennai Page No: 6 Journalist: NA Headline: ‘India is realizing importance of public health

Date: 10th November 2018 Publication: The New Indian Express-Edex Edition: Online Journalist: Shirlene Grace Isaac Student: Taran Singh Headline: This IIT Madras student's app, Melvano, is like LinkedIn for IIT aspirants, only more 'testy' URL: http://www.edexlive.com/people/2018/nov/09/his-iit-madras-students-app-melvato-is-like-linkedin-for-iit-aspirants-only-more-testy- 4399.html

This IIT Madras student's app, Melvano, is like LinkedIn for IIT aspirants, only more 'testy'

If you believed that social media was far removed from entrance exams like JEE, check out Melvano, an app developed by an IIT Madras student Taran Singh,for self-learning aspirants to network

Imagine if you told your parents that you could crack JEE by downloading an app where the people who solved your doubts were most likely friends or peers, how do you think they'd react? As strange a proposition as that sounds like, in this day of the much-hyped entrance exam coaching centre, that's exactly how Melvano works. And in case you're wondering just how well it works, here's proof: the founder, Taran Singh, a student at IIT Madras.

Budding Entrepreneur: Taran Singh is is a fifth-year student of Aerospace Engineering

To give you the lowdown of how Melvano works, it is a study-oriented networking app that connects self-studying individuals who are looking to appear for Engineering entrance exams. They are provided with a platform to connect with others to compete in the MCQ tests or clarify doubts and participate in group discussions over complicated topics.

Teacher, App-developer and Rockstar student If you're wondering why an IIT student like Taran Singh thought about a teaching app, it's because he has the heart for it. Teaching is something he loved from a very young age and he takes time off from college to teach and train students who want to be a part of IIT or any other engineering college across India. "I took time off to train aspiring engineers over the last three years and that is when I realised the need and benefits of additional training. In this day and age, every student struggles with concentration and is constantly bothered by notifications on social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram. Social media is addictive because of the inherent need of every individual to socialise — which is an inborn trait — and in all the chaos we forget our responsibility of being a student — 'studying'. In order to bridge the gap between learning and social media, Melvano was created, thus combining the power of socialisation and learning attentively," he says.

Reward calling: Taran Singh won the title 'Most Innovative start-up' at HedNxt a national level startup competition conducted by Krazybee

Behold, the leaderboard beckons Similar to any other social media platform, Melvano even has a social media feed that updates you on the tests taken by your friends and connections. "Melvano has a social reward system as well, wherein students are given points based on the learning activities undertaken on the forum. By learning activities, I mean taking tests and initiating discussions over doubts," he adds.

How do they keep track of the points received? PUBG style, apparently. "Simple, you have access to the leaderboard, which is an additional benefit that comes with the app. Individuals are ranked based on the points they have earned thus leading to a social competition online. As far my knowledge goes, featuring names on the leaderboard at any competition boosts confidence and your ego and that is exactly what the Melvano users get to experience," he explains.

Time is money. Well, not really Setting up an app like Melvano would have taken a whole load of perseverance. Taran runs us through the journey, "I've had my ideas rejected every now and then, but being someone who was open to learning at all times I sought out my professor's mentorship, persevered and brainstormed for a unique idea. I also equipped myself to be the entrepreneur I wanted to be. And behold, a year later I had Melvano up and ready to launch. In terms of finance, I had all the support I needed from IIT Madras' Nirmaan (a pre-incubation cell) and an angel investor who believed in my vision and I couldn't be more grateful."

If you think students have the luxury of time, you should check out Taran's schedule to understand why he disagrees. "Being a student, an entrepreneur and a teacher is not an easy task, especially with the demanding 85% attendance being a compulsory slab set by the University," he laughs. He goes on to add, "I struggle with my academics and juggling responsibilities is not something I am used to. Time management was a task, I could not afford to set my start-up aside for my studies vice-versa, but I am alive and I am learning," he smiles.

Date: 10th November 2018 Publication: The Indian Express Edition: Online Journalist: NA Headline: Here’s how to prepare for GATE 2019 without coaching URL: https://indianexpress.com/article/education/how-to-prepare-for-gate-2019-without-coaching-5439632

Study plan for GATE 2019: Here’s how to prepare without coaching

To ace your preparation for GATE 2019, we suggest you try relying on the C4 technique. The C4 technique consists of the 4 Cs of concepts, confidence, command and the creation of useful shortcuts,

GATE 2019: Over the years, several Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) have used GATE scores to shortlist the candidates for various positions IIT Madras will conduct GATE 2019 on February 2, 3, 9 and 10. The exam will be on 24 subjects including Aerospace Engineering, Agricultural Engineering, Architecture and Planning, Biotechnology, Civil Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Instrumentation Engineering, Mathematics and Mechanical Engineering among other subjects.

Study plan for GATE 2019 To ace your preparation for GATE 2019, we suggest you try relying on the C4 technique. The C4 technique consists of the 4 Cs of concepts, confidence, command and the creation of useful shortcuts, for the preparation. For a better understanding of this idea of C4, we elaborate each of the Cs in detail:

C1- Understanding of the Concepts: Till you aren’t content with fixing the loopholes of your preparation, you need to grasp the concepts using questions like “what?” “why?” and “how?” C2 – Boost up Your Confidence: Once fostering up your concepts, the second mantra to ace the preparation is to recollect these concepts for a certain number of times. This activity will result in enhancing your confidence to get to the right answers for any of the questions of any of the concepts. C3 – Gain and Maintain the Command: For attaining better grasping of the concepts, you should create space for practicing more questions from several sources. Meanwhile, when practicing these problems, you must also consider other methods to solve them to arrive at the same answer. C4 – Creating shortcuts: Preparing honestly for the test is one of the spheres, at least, where shortcuts can prove to be extremely time saving for you. This is particularly so, when going through revision. Hence, we advise you to incorporate shortcuts into your methodology to solve your problems.

Take assistance from competent books The next issue that you need to address is that of the books you prepare from. You simply need to grasp the right books for GATE 2019 preparation. For this, land your hands on the books dealing in the fundamental and basic concepts. Moreover, you can also consider some books that will assist you in mastering some particular chapters. We must caution you for buying only the books of some standard. These books will make you understand the concepts easily leading you to better learning. Strengthen your strong areas Most of the top GATE scorers revealed a secret of their kind of success. Instead of making efforts for covering each and every topic of the GATE syllabus, they devoted most of their time and energy for strengthening the topics and spheres in which they were already better. Hence, they paid all of their attention to making such fortes, as strong as possible. The lesson? Perfecting certain essential entities of the syllabus is more productive than preparing in a mediocre manner for all its counterparts.

The latter is more time and energy consuming than the former one. Hence, this methodology of preparation is an important thing to consider when preparing for GATE 2019.

Turn on the rigorous mode of preparation at least a month before the exam A month or two before the holding of GATE 2019, you’ve been in the process of preparing for it, for almost a year. Therefore, now is the time to come in the mode of rigorous practice for it. You can’t enjoy the luxury of more breaks and recesses as you did earlier. Also, it’s not the time to go to picnics in between to refresh yourself. Though, you can take some breaks of smaller duration in between your preparative study.

This is the time to sincerely occupy yourself with the revision of all the learned concepts and practicing of problems, greater both in quality and quantity. And if, in this one year, you’ve practiced well, you will naturally feel the peace of mind. Also, you will be more confident regarding the exam. The closer you arrive to the day of taking the examination, the stronger you must feel these two sentiments. Presence of these, signal good preparation for the exam, on your part. When taking the exam The first of the points when talking about the solving of the problems first, you must evidently grab the easier ones. It is a more prudent thing to do when performing in already stressed situation as that of an exam! This will benefit you in more than one way. It will greatly help in boosting up your confidence for the tougher counterparts. It will make you mentally well-prepared for tackling the tougher problems as it will demarcate a line of separation between the easier and the tougher problems. This will lead you to better management of the exam, on the whole.

Next comes the front of your replies getting negatively rewarded if you happen to solve them incorrectly. The front of negative marking, therefore, is also an issue that you must be vigilant for. Sound preparation and better time management are the factors that can minimise your loss.

Moreover, you mustn’t be in a hurry. You must carefully read and evaluate the difficulty levels of the problems. Thereafter, you must attempt them according to the tip mentioned above. Summing up finally, it will be wise to remind you for the changeability of the pattern of the exam.

Hence, to deal with the problems, your plan should also be dynamic and adaptable according to the immediate changes, as and when they happen Date: 10th November 2018 Publication: The New Indian Express Edition: Chennai Page No: 4 Journalist: C Shivakumar Headline: National Institute of Urban Affairs to set up urban observatory URL: http://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/chennai/2018/nov/10/national-institute-of-urban-affairs-to-set-up-urban-observatory- 1896177.html

Date: 10th November 2018 Publication: The New Indian Express Edition: online Journalist: NA Headline: Chennai's Officers training academy gets swanky swimming pool, watchtowers URL: http://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/chennai/2018/nov/09/chennais-officers-training-academy-gets-swanky-swimming-pool- watchtowers-1896042.html

Chennai's Officers training academy gets swanky swimming pool, watchtowers

The main purpose is to provide a high, safe place from which a sentinel or guard may observe the surrounding area.

CHENNAI : In a bid to help Chennai’s Officers Training Academy (OTA) stand on par with other two top training academies in India (Indian Military Academy, Dehradun, and Officers Training Academy, Gaya), OTA is being equipped with an Olympic-size swimming pool conforming to regulated dimensions. Surveillance posts (watchtowers) are being set up near all exit gates.

“Till date in Chennai, there wasn’t really a security breach. Only last December, we had an imposter dressed in the uniform of a Major. However, he was caught immediately. But, this also made us realise that the security inside the campus must be beefed up. Moreover, unlike the north India, the calm in south India makes it a breeding ground for antisocial activities,” said Brigadier MG Sekaran. In order to address this, watchtowers are being built near all the exit gates of the campus.

The main purpose is to provide a high, safe place from which a sentinel or guard may observe the surrounding area. This would ensure dominance over the enemy on the ground and give the guard more time to alert the army, in case of an emergency. Also, the construction of an Olympic-size swimming pool as per regulated dimensions is nearing completion.

Initially, the cadets had to visit the swimming pool in Velachery or IIT Madras campus for training as the pool in the academy is way smaller than the required dimensions. “Swimming in a large pool increases endurance, confidence and prepares you for eventuality during a war. It is must for all the cadets to learn basic swimming skills.

The cadets who are good at swimming are sent to Belgaum for advanced training with complete war gear,” said an officer in the academy. The pool stretches 50 metres long, 25 meters wide, at least three meters deep. Apart from this, the OTA was also recently made accessible for persons with disability. Ramps and railings have been constructed and wheelchairs have been brought in.

Date: 10th November 2018 Publication: The New Indian Express Edition: Online Journalist: NA Headline: Taking a leap, breaking all boundaries URL: http://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/chennai/2018/nov/09/taking-a-leap-breaking-all-boundaries-1896049.html

Taking a leap, breaking all boundaries

Over 100 children from the famous children’s choir LEAP Boundary Breakers will perform a repertoire of songs at an event titled ‘Folks of Harmony’ at Phoenix MarketCity today.

LEAP Boundary Breakers expose children to new musicBy Roshne BalasubramanianExpress News Service CHENNAI: Over 100 children from the famous children’s choir LEAP Boundary Breakers will perform a repertoire of songs at an event titled ‘Folks of Harmony’ at Phoenix MarketCity today. The founder and artistic director for the performance, Srinivas Krishnan, gives us a peek into the choir’s evolution and its artistic process.

“When I calmly think about the evolution of the entire team, it takes me back to its origin about five years ago. It was an idea that was brewing in my mind...the idea to provide deep cultural immersion and foster leadership engagement through artistic performances among children,” he says talking about the choir which is mentored by AR Rahman.

For Srinivas, art and music have always been a catalyst in bringing spontaneity and creativity. “When several people including AR Rahman encouraged me to start a choir that stays updated with time, but at the same time becomes a platform for classical music, admirable to children, I decided to step up,” he shares.

Two years ago, through LEAP, world music and dance were introduced as a medium to bring in creativity, teamwork, enhance attention span into the lives of hundreds of children, and provide each child a global approach to problem-solving through performance opportunities. “It is very important to expose children to new music and cultures. As they grow old they will welcome new cultures, and fresh ideas won’t seem foreign to them,” he says. The LEAP Boundary Breakers Choir was a culmination of this mission.

From Marathi Natya Sangeet to Bengali Rabindra Sangeet; compositions of AR Rahman, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Shankar Mahadevan, Pandit Bhimsen Joshi, Arijit Singh, Adele, Queen, Bruno Mars, Ajay Atul to new composers and genres of music, the children are exposed to it all. “It is all about breaking boundaries and finding new methods to make the children ready for new ideas. They learn how to become receptive and more appreciative. They learn to become a ‘rasika’ of art,” he shares.

The LEAP Boundary Breakers has secured invitations and performed at the World Bank, Columbia University, the Ray and Maria Stata Center at MIT and Berklee NYC Powerstation. “Artistes including Lady Gaga, Bruce Springsteen, Peter Gabriel have performed in Berklee NYC,” he beams. The team has also performed in Mary Baldwin University, IIT Madras, Zee TV and Amir Mahal.

Giving us a glimpse of what the choir will be performing today, Srinivas says, “We will be spreading our repertoire. Classical songs of Rahman and few other songs will be presented in a different way, we will be weaving in different accompaniments,” he says. He clarifies that it will not be a ‘fusion’. “We have reimagined the songs. The children have played a major role by sharing their ideas and inputs. They have put in a lot of collaborative effort to elevate the performance,” he explains.

His dream is to take the children across India, where they can explore music. “I want to take them to Rishikesh, to Kerala where they can see hundreds of people playing the melam. These initial experiences will come back to them when they grow up,” he adds. (The choir will perform today from 7 pm at Phoenix MarketCity)

Date: 10th November 2018 Publication: The Hindu Edition: Chennai Page No: 7 Journalist: NA Headline: T.N. lost 41 shoreline to erosion URL: https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/tn-lost-41-shoreline-to-erosion-study/article25458192.ece

Date: 10th November 2018 Publication: Trinity Mirror Edition: Chennai Page No: 6 Journalist: NA Headline: Australia now preferred destination for Indian students

Date: 10th November 2018 Publication: DT Next Edition: Chennai Page No: 2 Journalist: NA Headline: IIT-M innovation to revive Pattamadai mats URL: https://www.dtnext.in/News/TamilNadu/2018/11/10011131/1095022/IITM-innovation-to-revive-Pattamadai-mats.vpf

Date: 11th November 2018 Publication: News Today Edition: online Journalist: NA Professor: Prof Bhaskar Ramamurthi Headline: Singapore university for collaboration with TN institutions URL: https://newstodaynet.com/index.php/2018/11/10/singapore-university-for-collaboration-with-tn-institutions/

Singapore university for collaboration with TN institutions

Prof Tan Eng Chye

Chennai: India, particularly Tamilnadu, has huge opportunity to collaborate with Singapore in the field of higher education, said Prof Tan Eng Chye, president, National University of Singapore (NUS), while delivering his keynote address at a session on ‘Higher Education in Singapore’ organised by the NUS, The Institute of South Asian Studies (ISAS) and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in Chennai recently.

Prof Tan said higher education institutions must continue to innovate in order to help prepare the future generation of students to thrive, create new opportunity and contribute to society.

Quality, transformative education, influential research supported by innovation has made NUS a leading global university in higher education, he added

An interactive session with Prof Tan, chaired by IIT Madras Director Bhaskar Ramamurthi, was part of the session. Various queries pertaining to the session theme and engagement of NUS with Indian insitutes were discussed.

Prof Tan mentioned the close collaboration of NUS with IIT Madras and expressed his desire to work with more universities in India.

ISAS chairman Gopinath Pillai and The Sanmar Group vice-chairman, N Kumar, spoke.

Date: 11th November 2018 Publication: The Hindu Edition: Online Journalist: Radhakrishna Korlam Headline: A Peek into research URL: https://www.thehindu.com/education/a-peek-into-research-life/article25462118.ece

A peek into research life opportunity to further one’s learning as well as experience life in a U.S. university campus My major target for last summer was to experience life on a U.S. university campus, gain experience doing applied research in my field of study — mechanical engineering, and ultimately, determine if pursuing a PhD at a U.S. university is something that I want to do. Purdue Undergraduate Research Experience (PURE) gave me the opportunity to accomplish all of them.

My experience at Purdue, this summer, was possible through Purdue University’s India strategic partnership. PURE is an initiative to provide third-year undergraduate students from IITM, IITB, and IITH with an opportunity to work on a summer research project under experienced faculty at Purdue for nine weeks. Considering the quality experience of doing applied research at a renowned university, along with the opportunity for each of us to learn many things about graduate programmes and their respective enrolment processes, there was obviously a lot of competition among the students to get into the PURE programme. Hundreds of students applied for the 33 slots; only students with extremely good academic background and project experience were accepted.

Research objective

My project dealt with conductive woven polymer fabrics. In this era of modern gadgets and wearable technology, these woven fabrics have become one of the most suitable materials to work with because they are light weight and easy to synthesise and utilise for any kind of application. But, this flexibility in application also demands a diverse range of thermo-mechanical properties, including high thermal conductivity. But, since these polymers naturally tend to have lesser thermal conductivity values, much research was required to improve the conductivity of the fabric configuration as a whole and that’s what our objective was.

During the programme, I especially benefited from the official weekly review meetings along with many discussions with my mentor during the internship. This constant feedback made my project work engaging and worth investing every bit of my time. The work schedule was sufficiently flexible too in order to allow all of the PURE students enough time to explore other activities on and off campus, starting from the university’s sports and gym facilities to the local cultural fests. The Fourth of July fireworks display and the weekend at ‘The Windy City’ Chicago, in particular, gave us some of the best moments of our lives.

PURE was more than just a nine-week internship. It was an amazing experience, thanks to the resourceful guidance of my faculty hosts — Professors Justin Weibel and Amy Marconnet, and my graduate student mentor. Having access to wonderful infrastructure in university labs, especially at the Birck Nanotechnology Center — one of the best labs in the country — where I worked, took my research experience to a whole new level.

This experience solidified my determination that pursuing a PhD at a U.S. university — and maybe even Purdue — is the right path for my future.

The writer is pursuing third year of B.E Mechanical department from IIT

Date: 12th November 2018 Publication: The Telegraph Edition: Kolkata Page No: 4 Journalist: NA Headline: IIT teachers, pensioners kept waiting URL: https://www.telegraphindia.com/india/iit-teachers-pensioners-kept-waiting/cid/1674896

Date: 11th November 2018 Publication: The Hindu Business Line Edition: Chennai / Delhi / Mumbai / Pune / Bangalore / Hyderabad / Kochi / Ahmedabad / Chandigarh/Kolkata Page No: 1 Journalist: NA Professor: Late. Prof TN Srinivasan (retd) Headline: Economist TN Srinivasan is no more URL: https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/economist-tn-srinivasan-is-no-more/article25469155.ece

Date: 11th November 2018 Publication: First Post Edition: Online Journalist: NA Professor: Late. Prof TN Srinivasan (retd) Headline: Eminent economist TN Srinivasan passes away; a 'guru' to many, never craved for recognition, say his admirers URL: https://www.firstpost.com/business/eminent-economist-tn-srinivasan-passes-away-a-guru-to-many-never-craved-for-recognition-say-his- admirers-5533571.html

Eminent economist TN Srinivasan passes away; a 'guru' to many, never craved for recognition, say his admirers

Well-known economist T N Srinivasan passed away on Saturday. He was 85 years old.

Born in 1933, Srinivasan or TN as he was popularly known, completed his BA honors degree in Mathematics in 1953 and MA degree in Mathematics in 1954 -- from the University of Madras, India, University of Madras. He also earned a two-year professional training in statistics from the Indian Statistical Institute, Calcutta. He had an another Master’s degree in Economics from Yale University where he earned his PhD degree in Mathematics in 1962.

Srinivasan was Samuel C Park, Junior Professor of Economics Emeritus and Professor Emeritus in International and Area Studies at Yale University. He was a Distinguished Professor (2014-2019) at the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras. Formerly a Professor, and later Research Professor, at the Indian Forget About Money Problems With This Simple Method His death was mourned by Arvind Subramanian, former Chief Economic Advisor on Twitter:

Calling Srinivasan a 'veritable guru to many' Jairam Ramesh, Congress leader and Rajya Sabha member Jairam Ramesh said he was a 'great inspiration on Twitter. He said, "one of India's truly great economists has just passed away." Jairam Ramesh recalled how Srinivasan never craved for public recognition. He was immersed in the world of scholarship till the very end," he said. Historian Ramachandra Guha recalled the 'wicked wit' of Srinivasan.

Shamika Ravi, member of the prime minister's Economic Advisory Council, expressed her sadness at the passing away of the economist. She tweeted: Srinivasan's research interests included the economy, international trade, development, agricultural economics, law and economics, and microeconomic Theory. His latest book on India was Growth, Sustainability and India’s Economic Reforms in 2011.

Date: 12th November 2018 Publication: The Times of India Edition: Online Journalist: M K Ananth Headline: Bridges are safe, sway is natural URL: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/madurai/bridges-are-safe-sway-is-natural/articleshow/66582503.cms

Date: 12th November 2018 Publication: Telecom Economic Times Edition: Online Journalist: NA Headline: Tech Mahindra looks at global 5G rollouts as huge opportunity URL: https://telecom.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/tech-mahindra-looks-at-global-5g-rollouts-as-huge-opportunity/66583905

Tech Mahindra looks at global 5G rollouts as huge opportunity

"On the telecom side, our visibility is that it will show a gradual growth from now on, the trajectory is right and we should be able to sustain it," said C P Gurnani.

The telecom department (DoT) will support a 5G technologies test bed that would be anchored out of IIT Chennai. Jaitley's 5G-related budget proposal indicates India seeks to be at the forefront of development as well as local manufacturing of 5G devices, going forward. The government is aiming to toll out 5G in 2020, in line with global markets. The telecom department (DoT) will support a 5G technologies test bed that would be anchored out of IIT Chennai. Jaitley's 5G-related budget proposal indicates India seeks to be at the forefront of development as well as local manufacturing of 5G devices, going forward. The government is aiming to toll out 5G in 2020, in line with global markets. Fifth biggest domestic tech company Tech Mahindra is looking at upcoming 5G rollouts in global markets as a big opportunity and is on the right trajectory in its communications vertical to achieve 'gradual growth' from now on, a top official has said.

In the recent past, communications, which has traditionally been the mainstay for the company, had delivered mixed results due to difficulties faced by the sector around the world, but the company surprised with a 4 per cent growth in revenue in the September quarter compared to the preceding three months.

"On the telecom side, our visibility is that it will show a gradual growth from now on, the trajectory is right and we should be able to sustain it," chief executive and managing director C P Gurnani told PTI recently.

He, however, made it clear that achieving 4 per cent growth quarter-on-quarter is not possible.

The communication vertical accounted for 41.5 per cent of its Rs 8,629 crore revenue in the September quarter. The revenue share of the segment had stood at 45.2 per cent in Q1FY18, which had steadily declined to 39.6 per cent by Q1FY19 before going up.

Gurnani singled out the upcoming 5G technologies as an opportunity for the company to grow, saying many countries have allocated spectrum in the newest technology to telcos. He said the ability to offer virtualisation is a strength that TechM has in the segment and it will be bidding for upcoming contracts.

When asked about the domestic telecom business, Gurnani said all the companies have invested in spectrum and will be looking at monetising their investments at some point of time, but declined to specify an outlook.

Even though he did not wish to give a guidance on revenue growth, Gurnani said the company is committed to grow at 8-10 per cent per year.

Chief operating officer L Ravichandran said hiring has not grown in proportion to the revenue growth due to greater automation and added that a bulk of the recent hiring has been of freshers.

The company has hired 3,000 in the first half of the fiscal, including 2,200 in the first quarter, he said, adding it is looking to hire more people.

The company is working on ways to up the margins, including automation, increasing utilisation, more efforts on training so that employees can start working on projects quickly and pursuing the right business mix, he said.

Date: 12th November 2018 Publication: The Hindu Edition: Delhi Page No: 4 Journalist: Radhakrishna Korlam Headline: A peek into research life URL: https://www.thehindu.com/education/a-peek-into-research-life/article25462118.ece

Date: 12th November 2018 Publication: The Times of India Edition: Chennai Page No: 5 Journalist: Nandini.sengupta Headline: French government focuses on state as its business hub

Date: 12th November 2018 Publication: The Times of India Edition: Chennai Page No: 3 Journalist: Komal.Gautham Headline: Ripon Bldgs cracks up again corpn looks for permanent fix URL: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/ripon-buildings-cracks-up-again-corporation-looks-for-permanent- fix/articleshow/66573951.cms

Date: 12th November 2018 Publication: The Times Of India Edition: Kolkata Page No: 19 Journalist: NA Headline: GATE Set Go

Date: 12th November 2018 Publication: News Today Edition: Chennai Page No: 3 Journalist: NA Headline: Education institutions must come up with more innovation

Date: 13th November 2018 Publication: The New Indian Express Edition: Online Journalist: NA Professor: Late. Prof TN Srinivasan (retd) Headline: Eminent economist TN Srinivasan, advocate of 1991 reforms, passes away URL: http://www.newindianexpress.com/business/2018/nov/12/eminent-economist-tn-srinivasan-advocate-of-1991-reforms-passes-away- 1897169.html

Eminent economist TN Srinivasan, advocate of 1991 reforms, passes away

The Padma Bhushan- awardee has also been mentor to incumbent RBI governmor, Urijit Patel.

Eminent economist, TN Srinivasan, known for being one of the key advocates of the 1991 economic reforms passed away in Chennai on Saturday at the age of 85.

Well known among his peers for his wit, Srinivasan, a Professor of Economics and International Area Studies Emeritus at Yale University, had been a mentor of macroeconomics to current RBI governor, Urjit Patel.

He also welcomed the government’s decision to induct Patel in the key position. Born as Thirukodikaval Nilakanta Srinivasan, in March 1933, he graduated in B.A. [Mathematics (Hons)] and M.A. in Mathematics from the University of Madras during 1953-54 after which he was trained in statistics at the Indian Statistical Institute, Kolkata.

Saddened by the passing away of Shri T. N. Srinivasan, a towering Indian economist. His contributions to macroeconomics & academia will always inspire future economist. My condolences to the bereaved family. May God render peace to the departed soul.

After earning a doctorate in Economics from Yale University in 1962, Srinivasan taught in various US institutions such as MIT, Stanford University, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy. He also had been a visiting faculty for the Madras School of Economics and Department of Humanities at IIT-Madras.

He also served as special adviser to the Development Research Center at the World Bank from 1976 to 1980 and was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 2007.

TN Srinivasan also had a wicked wit. In 1991, he wrote that the Indian Marxists who still worshipped Lenin and Stalin should import the now demolished statues in Eastern Europe of these dictators under the customs category, Open General License.

TN Srinivasan, one of India's truly great economists has just passed away. For almost 5 decades he was a veritable guru to many. He never craved for public recognition and was immersed in the world of scholarship till the very end. What an inspiration he was! Srinivasan held editorial positions in prominent business periodicals such as Economic Review, Journal of Asian Economics and World Journal of Quantitative Economics. He also founded the Journal of Development Economics, a field journal with macroeconomist Lance Jerome Taylor in 1972. Great Indian economist, TN Srinivasan has died. His legacy: outstanding scholarship; principled belief in growth, free trade & multilateralism; unassuming; mentoring; and wit. A great TN quip:”Perfect examples of Self-Referential Systems are papers written by Indian economists.”

As a strong supporter of free trade and multilateralism which was brought in via the 1991 economic reforms which brought in foreign investment in India and reduce government regulation on Indian private entities and import tariffs.

Srinivasan wrote several books on a wide range of topics including development economics, international trade, finance and development, rural economy and poverty.

His famous books include India’s Economic Reforms with renowned economist Jagdish Bhagwati and Reintegrating India with World Economy with economist Suresh Tendulkar. The Commission is feeling saddened by the news of the demise of T. N. Srinivasan. A towering figure whose iconic works in macroeconomics has left an indelible footprint for academic India. We convey our heartfelt condolences to the family and pray for peace to the departed soul.

His last rites were held in the city on Monday by his son who lives in the US.

Date: 12th November 2018 Publication: Finance and Commerce Edition: Online Journalist: NA Professor: Prof K. Murali Headline: India looks to move cargo on rivers URL: https://finance-commerce.com/2018/11/india-looks-to-move-cargo-on-rivers/

India looks to move cargo on rivers

India’s first inland voyage by a container ship since it gained independence from Britain 70 years ago ended when the vessel docked in the holy city of Varanasi on Monday, a development officials hope will help shift cargo from the country’s congested road and rail networks.

The 863 miles Ganga watercourse is one of the 111 waterways spanning 12,000 miles that India is reviving or planning to build. The World Bank- assisted Ganga waterways project — costing 53.7 billion rupees ($738 million) — will enable the commercial navigation of vessels and is set to be completed by 2023.

Transforming the country’s waterways could be a game changer for India as it will reduce the cost of transportation — 50 percent less than highways — as well as easing congestion on roads. The move is designed to encourage companies such as NTPC Ltd., India’s biggest power producer, Maruti Suzuki India Ltd., the nation’s No. 1 carmaker, Fertilizer Corp. of India Ltd. and Tata Chemicals Ltd. to use waterways to move cargo from cement to cars.

Shifting to water-based cargo transport should have happened at least 15 years ago, said K. Murali, professor at the National Technology Centre for Ports, Waterways and Coasts in the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras. “Over time it will pick up steam to become more economical and more sought after mode for shifting cargo — there will be certain cargo which will have preference to move in waterways.”

The vessel that sailed from eastern city of Kolkata on Oct. 30 was carrying food and snacks from PepsiCo Inc. in 16 containers, which is the equivalent of 16 truckloads. The Inland Waterways Authority of India vessel will make its return journey with fertilizers from Indian Farmers Fertilizer Cooperative Ltd.

To promote inland waterways, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration has started dredging channels, building terminals and adding barges and has now set about convincing companies to use them. Modi was in Varanasi — which is also his parliamentary constituency — to receive the vessel and inaugurate the new terminal.

Still, India need to overcome challenges including night-time navigation, maintaining consistent water levels and creating more infrastructure, said Murali. India’s first container cargo movement “will provide some momentum to the industry to boost commercial activities, social development and curb carbon footprints, among others” he said.

Modi’s administration also has plans to integrate coastal and inland waterways. His government has unveiled a $34 billion plan that aims to develop ports along India’s 4,660-mile coastline.

The movement of container in Ganga watercourse “is a significant milestone in the development of the inland waterways,” an official from PepsiCo said in an email.

The share of goods transported via India’s inland waterways is less than one percent, compared with 42 percent in the Netherlands, 8.7 percent in China and more than 8 percent in the U.S.

“Inland water navigation is an underutilized infrastructure in India,” said D. Dhanuraj, chairman, Centre for Public Policy Research, Kochi. While the government is trying to change this situation, the development of inland waterways and port projects has been slow, because “challenges are very high.”

Date: 13th November 2018 Publication: Bloomberg Edition: Online Journalist: Bibhudatta Pradhan Professor: Prof K. Murali Headline: PepsiCo Tests Ancient India River Route as Modi Pushes Waterways URL: https://www.bloombergquint.com/global-economics/pepsico-tests-ancient-india-river-route-as-modi-pushes-waterways#gs.4sLgSc0

PepsiCo Tests Ancient India River Route as Modi Pushes Waterways

Modi’s administration also has plans to integrate coastal and inland waterways. His government has unveiled a $34 billion plan that aims to develop ports along India’s 4,660-mile coastline.

The movement of container in Ganga watercourse “is a significant milestone in the development of the inland waterways,” an official from PepsiCo said in an email.

The share of goods transported via India’s inland waterways is less than one percent, compared with 42 percent in the Netherlands, 8.7 percent in China and more than 8 percent in the U.S.

Date: 13th November 2018 Publication: DNA Edition: Delhi Page No: 5 Journalist: Bibhudatta Pradhan Headline: PepsiCo tests ancient India river route as Modi pushes waterways

Date: 13th November 2018 Publication: The Hindu Business Line Edition: Delhi Page No: 17 Journalist: Bibhudatta Pradhan Headline: PepsiCo tests Ganga route as Modi pushes waterways

Date: 13th November 2018 Publication: The Times Of India Edition: Mumbai Page No: 3 Journalist: Yogita Rao & Sujit Mahamulkar Headline: Red letter day Paan stain eraser wins students a US award URL: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/red-letter-day-paan-stain-eraser-wins-students-a-us-award/articleshow/66595571.cms

Date: 13th November 2018 Publication: Your story Edition: Online Journalist: Venkatesh Krishnamoorthy Alumni: Rajesh Kumar Headline: With just a voice command, you can derive business insights with AI-driven Flash from GeniSIGHTS URL: https://yourstory.com/2018/11/flash-genisights-voice-command-business-insights/

With just a voice command, you can derive business insights with AI-driven Flash from GeniSIGHTS

Imagine you own four retail outlets in a city. And at the end of a business day, you need to see the sales figures for all four. All you have to do is open Flash, the business intelligence product developed by Chennai-based GeniSIGHTS, and say, “Can I see today’s sales across stores please?” Or just say “sales today”, and you will get a chart with sales figures for the day with comparative analysis with same day last year.

“We use mathematical modelling based on statistical analysis and machine learning to generate business insights,” says Parvathy Sarath, Chief Analytics Officer at GeniSIGHTS, sitting in her office at IIT-Madras Research Park.

This product startup was spun off in 2015 from Aaum Research and Analytics Private Limited, an eight-year-old services company. Aaum, standing for advanced analytics using mathematical modelling, was founded by Rajesh Kumar, an IIT-Madras alumnus, in 2010, when analytics was just beginning to gain momentum as a business proposition.

Flash by GeniSIGHTS

Parvathy Sarath, Chief Analytics Officer at GeniSIGHTS

Voice-based queries and results

Businesses not only need data on how they are performing across brands and product lines/service offerings, but also insights on rising and falling demands for a particular brand or service, or insights on whether it is worth continuing a service offering.

When competitor data is available, it can be used to see how your business measures against them, which can help you position yourself better in the market. A predictive analysis can also be done using suitable data, for example, on a particular business segment or what to focus upon in the next quarter. This business intelligence aids informed business decision-making.

The core of the Flash product is a statistical analysis based on which a mathematical model is developed. Statistical analysis can aid in grouping data in a sophisticated manner and analysing the variance. Flash provides business analytics from available data, deep insights using mathematical modelling, and uses AI to churn out scenario forecasting using statistical analysis and time series analysis. The unique feature of Flash is its voice recognition, similar to Google Assistant or Amazon Echo. It has an intuitive ability to customise its offering to an individual decision-maker, who is usually a top-level executive. Flash can customise results without a query after a period of interaction. “Over time, Flash is capable of understanding the decision maker’s action,” says Rajesh, Founder and Managing Director GeniSIGHTS

For example, if a sales VP repeatedly asks for a set of queries, Flash would understand his preferences and what he generally looks for.

It can be deployed for any business, but travel and retail customers have shown a preference for Aaum’s BI services. Finance, retail and telecom are other domains Flash is targeting, while manufacturing holds great potential. Currently, it is focusing on small and medium businesses.

Flash, BI tool from GeniSIGHTS

Rajesh Kumar, Founder and Managing Director of Aaum and GeniSIGHTS

Starting up

“During my job at Motorola in the US, I was involved in several Six Sigma projects. At Motorola, it was believed that if you don’t measure anything, it’s not right. There was a paradigm shift in data-driven initiatives in 2008,” says Rajesh. In addition, the innovation design courses that he took at IIT shaped his thinking. “Analytics was just beginning to be adopted by the industry,” he says, “Data-driven insights can be gathered from mathematical modelling of data, and businesses deriving value from those insights was my idea.” For this, collecting relevant data and analysing it is important.

Rajesh completed MBA from IIT Kanpur before moving to the US for a job. And in 2010, it was time to return to his base, Chennai, after the startup bug bit him. Aaum was incubated at the NASSCOM Warehouse at Tidel Park, as part of NASSCOM’s 10,000 Startups programme, which was launched around that time in Chennai as well. Lakshmi Narayanan, former Chairman of NASSCOM and former Vice Chairman of Cognizant, was one among the judges who chose Aaum for NASSCOM’s ambitious startup programme in Chennai.

“Lakshmi has been following us from day one,” says Rajesh. Aaum then moved into the IIT-M Research Park as one of its first occupants and initially worked with the Government of India in evaluating the MNREGA programme in Tamil Nadu, and with NABARD for credit scoring. It eventually began enrolling customers for its business analytics and intelligence services. The first customer came from the travel domain, and soon, clients from the retail industry took to the startup as well.

Aaum’s USP was its ability to provide actionable insights, which requires tremendous work using rigorous mathematical modelling of data. No other BI tool matched this capability. That’s where Parvathy came into the picture. Right after completing her masters in econometrics from Madras University in 2010, she became Aaum’s first employee because of her expertise in using statistical tools, including the more complicated R tool.

The company was providing usual business analytics (available data converted into charts and reports), business intelligence (insights from data) and scenario predictions using its proprietary modelling technique, customised to each business need. It was almost like a unique product for each customer. M.M. Murugappan, Chairman of the Murugappa group, proved to be a valuable adviser for Aaum during his periodic visits to IIT- M Research Park.

How GeniSIGHTS began

After onboarding more than 50 customers, Rajesh realised that instead of “productising” each service, they could develop a product. Machine learning and AI were increasingly being deployed for big data analysis around this time. As a result, mathematical modelling, which powered Aaum’s business intelligence offering, was strengthened with an additional layer of AI.

GeniSIGHTS as formed with a view to offer a business intelligence product ‘Flash’ built on the strengths of Aaum, and with accumulated learnings from its customer base.

Lakshmi invested an undisclosed sum.

“What differentiated us from the usual business analytics tools was our ability to generate specific and deep insights,” says Rajesh. Customers were already gung-ho about Aaum and Flash as a product was beta-tested with a few existing customers. Lakshmi, investor and adviser for GeniSIGHTS, thinks data and BI are the key ingredients for business success. He sees a transition from “touch to voice” and voice interface between humans and computers as the biggest shift in future. So, in his view, “Flash provides a gateway for a future [voice-driven] that will literally put insight and intelligence at one’s command.”

Flash got a shot in the arm when an anchor customer was signed up. “We will soon make an announcement about our engagement with that brand,” says Parvathy.

Rajesh says GeniSIGHTS is looking at the US SMB market for its growth to the next level and is waiting for the right moment to raise funds. Rajesh claims that he has already spurned many offers for a merger, takeover and funding as he is clear that the product has to grow organically before other options can be looked at.

Date: 14th November 2018 Publication: The Times of India Edition: Online Journalist: NA Headline: Cusat wins cyber security challenge URL: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kochi/cusat-wins-cyber-security-challenge/articleshow/66601746.cms

Date: 14th November 2018 Publication: The Hindu Edition: Online Journalist: NA Headline: Chennai Today - Engagements for Wednesday, November 14 URL: https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/chennai/chennai-today-engagements-for-wednesday-november-14/article25488133.ece

Chennai Today - Engagements for Wednesday, November 14

RELIGION

Saranagathi Gathiyam: Venu Raza Narayanan, Santhana Venu Gopalan Sannidhi, Pidariyar Koil St., Seven Wells, 6 p.m.

Uddava Gita: Satyavratananda, Mylapore Club, Luz Church Rd., 11 a.m.

Soundarya Lahiri: V. Rajaraman, Murugan Thiruvarut Sangam, Triplicane, 3.30 p.m.

Upadesa Undiyar: Ramana Swaroopananda, Sri Ramana Kendra, Alamelu Mangapuram, Mylapore, 6.45 p.m.

Vendanta Treatise: R. Aravindan, Harmony, Venkatarathinam Nagar, Adyar, 6.45 p.m.

Skandam: Rajagopalan, Asthika Samajam, Venus Colony, Alwarpet, 6.30 p.m.

Moral of the Story: Anubhavananda Saraswati, Tattaloka,76, Eldams Rd., Teynampet, 6.30 p.m.

CULTURE

Max Mueller Bhavan Chennai: Screening of film ‘Living the change’, Goethe-Institut auditorium, 11 a.m.

Alliance Francaise of Madras and Roam Free Films: Screening of ‘Children of the Republic’, College Rd., Nungambakkam, 7 p.m.

Lohana Seva Samaj: Jalaram jayanthi celebrations, Governor Banwarilal Purohit participates, Ekambareshwarar Agraharam, Sowcarpet, 10.45 a.m.

News J: Inauguration of television channel, Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami and Deputy CM O. Panneerselvam participate, Nehru stadium, Periamet, 5 p.m.

Children’s Day celebration: School Education department: Dr. S.R. Aranganathan awards function, State Ministers K.A. Sengottaiyan and D. Jayakumar participate, MCC HSS., Chetpet, 11 a.m.; Srinivasa Gandhi Nilayam, Ambujammal St., Alwarpet, 11 a.m.; British Council: Story reading session, 737, Anna Salai, 3.30 p.m.; Inauguration of Child Help Line, Egmore Railway station, 4 p.m.; Jawahar Vidyalaya SSS, Ashok Nagar, 4 p.m. University of Madras: Seminar on ‘Phenomenology of mind and Consciousness: Indian and Western perspective’, State Minister K.P. Anbalagan participates, Centenary building, Chepauk, 9.30 a.m.

Intach: Prof. S. Swaminathan talks on ‘Mahabalipuram: A Museum of Pallava Architecture and Sculpture’, Amethyst, Whites Rd., Royapettah, 6.30 p.m.

CII-SR Water Alliance Initiative: Restoration of Karumanchavadi Kulam restoration work, Karapakkam,10 a.m.

IIT Madras and Okabe Manufacturing: Signing of MoU in manufacturing technology, IC&SR, Guindy, 2 p.m.

Dr. A. Ramachandran’s Diabetes Hospitals and Indian Diabetes Research Foundation: World Diabetes Day celebration 2018, 110, Anna Salai, Guindy, 10 a.m.

TAG VHS Endocrinology and Diabetes Center: World Diabetes Day, VHS, Taramani, 9 a.m.

National Skill Development Corporation and MESC: Inauguration of Centre of Excellence in Media, SSS Jain College, T. Nagar, 3.30 p.m.

Valliammai Engineering College: Skill development programme, Kattankulathur, 9.30 a.m.

Choolaimedu Exnora Innovators Club: Diabetes awareness camp, Nungmbakkam railway station, 8 a.m.

Golden Butterflies: Inauguration of Children’s Palliative Care, Anna Adarsh College for Women, Anna Nagar, 5 p.m.

Shri Natesan Vidyasala MHSS.: Launch of publication, Mudichur Rd., Mannivakkam, 11.30 a.m.

Date: 14th November 2018 Publication: Business Standard Edition: Online Journalist: T E Narasimhan Headline: Chennai-based firm among 24 startups to join Airbus accelerator programme URL: https://www.business-standard.com/article/companies/chennai-based-firm-among-24-startups-to-join-airbus-accelerator-programme- 118111300732_1.htm

Chennai-based firm among 24 startups to join Airbus accelerator programme

AgniKul Cosmos is currently developing launching vehicles for unmanned missions

Despite tech prowess, start-ups in space sector find it hard to raise funds

Airbus has selected 24 new startups, including Chennai-based AgniKul Cosmos, to join its BizLab for the launch of the fourth accelerator which will provide a platform for developing previously untapped technologies and ways of working in the aerospace sector.

AgniKul Cosmos is in the process of developing its own small launch vehicles. The Chennai-based startup and other firms will participate in AirBus' six-month acceleration programme.

BizLab currently has four campuses -- in Toulouse, Hamburg, Madrid, and Bengaluru. Of the 24 startups selected, only AgniKul deals directly with the upstream space industry.

AgniKul is in the process of developing its Agnibaan orbital launch vehicle.

Srinath Ravichandran, one of the promoters of AgniKul Cosmos Private Limited, said his company is focused on building an orbital class nano- satellite launch vehicle that will be able to carry up to 100kg on a 700km Low Earth Orbit (LEO).

Agnibaan will be a two-stage Liquid Oxygen (LOX)/Kerosene rocket with a third baby stage, and will have a plug-and-play configuration for an air launch vehicle. Its first stage engine will utilise 7 identical engines, whose development will incorporate additive manufacturing -– each engine will carry a 3D-printed regenerative cooling system and an injector to mix the LOX and Kerosene

The company wants to position the launch vehicle Agnibaan as an affordable one for unmanned launches.

Founded in 2017, AngiKul is currently based out of the National Centre of Combustion R&D (NCCRD) in the Indian Institute of Technology- Madras (IIT-Madras).

R V Perumal, former Isro senior official is an Advisor for the company. Date: 14th November 2018 Publication: The Indian Express Edition: Online Journalist: Gargi Verma Headline: Mumbai: Artificial Intelligence centre for rural healthcare launched URL: https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/mumbai/mumbai-artificial-intelligence-centre-for-rural-healthcare-launched-5445104/

Mumbai: Artificial Intelligence centre for rural healthcare launched

This was after Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis signed a memorandum of understanding with NITI Aayog and Wadhwani AI for the same.

Artificial intelligence, ICTAI, NITI Ayog, Wadhwani, rural health care, Devendra Fadnavis, Maharashtra, Indian Express

Centre for Transformational Artificial Intelligence (ICTAI) focusing on the rural healthcare launched. (Representational)

Various NGOS, along with Wadhwani AI group and NITI Aayog, launched the International Centre for Transformational Artificial Intelligence (ICTAI) focusing on the rural healthcare on Tuesday.

This was after Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis signed a memorandum of understanding with NITI Aayog and Wadhwani AI for the same.

ICTAI members include Wadhwani AI group, IIT-Madras, Wish foundation, PATH organisation, Tata Trusts and Stanford Centre for Population Health Science.

“We are looking forward to understanding the issues that plague healthcare, especially rural, and implementing solutions derived out of the data research and AI,” said P Anandan from Wadhwani AI. Date: 14th November 2018 Publication: The Financial Express Edition: Delhi / Mumbai / Pune / Bangalore / Hyderabad / Chennai / Kochi / Ahmedabad / Chandigarh Page No: 13 Journalist: P. Sarvanan & Saghila Headline: How R&D creates value for the firm and ultimately the investor URL: https://www.financialexpress.com/money/how-rd-creates-value-for-the-firm-and-ultimately-the-investor/1381001/

Date: 14th November 2018 Publication: The Indian Express Edition: Mumbai Page No: 5 Journalist: NA Headline: AI centre for rural healthcare launched URL: https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/mumbai/mumbai-artificial-intelligence-centre-for-rural-healthcare-launched-5445104/

Date: 14th November 2018 Publication:The Times of India Edition: Chennai Page No: 2 Journalist: NA Headline: IIT-M to sign MoU with Japan co today

Date: 15th November 2018 Publication: English Matrubhumi Edition: Online Journalist: NA Headline: HSEE 2019: Apply from December 12...... URL: https://english.mathrubhumi.com/education/news/admissions/hsee-2019-apply-from-december-12-1.3308552

Date: 14th November 2018 Publication: Brainbuxa Edition: Online Journalist: NA Headline: GATE 2019 | Candidates can now make requests for a change in the exam center city URL: https://www.brainbuxa.com/education-news/gate-2019-candidates-can-now-make-requests-for-a-change-in-the-exam-center-city-8851

GATE 2019 | Candidates can now make requests for a change in the exam center city

IIT Madras is now accepting the requests for change a change in the exam center city. Candidates who wants to request for the same are required to visit the official website for the GATE 2019 -- gate.iitm.ac.in, log in to their accounts and make the necessary changes in the exam center according to their preferences. Candidates requesting for the change will be required to pay an extra fee for the same. The facility will close on November 16, 2018.

The exam will be conducted in two shifts on February 2, 3 and February 9 and 10, 2019. This year, the exam is being conducted by the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras. Every year the exam is held for admission of the candidates to masters degree programme in the IITs and others institutions across India.

GATE 2019 exam will have 24 subjects such as Aerospace Engineering, Agricultural Engineering, Architecture and Planning, Biotechnology, Civil Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Instrumentation Engineering, Mathematics and Mechanical Engineering among other subjects. A new paper on Statistics is added and a candidate is allowed to sit only in one paper in any one session. The result of the GATE exam is valid for three years from the date of declaration.

Date: 15th November 2018 Publication: Pioneer Edition: Delhi Page No: 14 Journalist: Ankita Saxena Headline: India, Australia ride high on education URL: https://www.dailypioneer.com/2018/vivacity/india--australia-ride-high-on-education.html

Date: 15th November 2018 Publication: Telangana Today Edition: online Journalist: Y V Phani Raj Headline: CyberEye developing solutions for defence URL: https://telanganatoday.com/cybereye-developing-solutions-for-defence

CyberEye developing solutions for defence

The company has forayed into internet of things (IoT) security and has built secured private network for defence establishments.

Cyber Eye Research Labs, part of the iB Hubs startup network, is also exploring solutions in smart cities and cyber security space. Hyderabad: Hyderabad-based cyber security solutions company, CyberEye Research Labs, part of the iB Hubs startup network, which has been created to bridge the skill gap in the sector and offering security solutions to defence wings, intelligence, internal security, and law enforcement agencies, is exploring new avenues such as smart cities specific solutions.

The company has forayed into internet of things (IoT) security and has built secured private network for defence establishments.

The company has been providing cyber security solutions, services and training for the government agencies. The company has provided training to personnel in ISRO, DRDO, CBI and National Investigation Agency (NIA).

CyberEye founder and CEO Ram Ganesh told Telangana Today, “We wanted to address two prime areas. We are keen to provide security to government sectors such as defence and create a strong technology community in the cyber security space by focusing on specialised training and skill development. We are developing custom-built solutions for the defence sector by consulting with the government.”

He added, “We realised government agencies are looking for solutions from companies that they can trust, having a team with relevant experience and provide capabilities in action. Bureaucrats are keen on problem-solving and are seeking solutions that can make social impacts. Government departments are gradually becoming more supportive and are recognising the capabilities of Indian technology startups in the cyber security space. There is a lot of transformation happening in terms of the mindset.”

Incorporated in 2015, CyberEye was created by a team that came from technology companies such as DRDO, HP Newtork Security Analytics, Qualcomm, Amazon and Nvidia with academics from IIIT Hyderabad and IIT Madras.

The company has deployed LoRaWAN at a defence establishment, a technology that enables the Internet of Things (IoT), whereby devices and services are all connected. It has been receiving end-to-end support from iB Hubs, a startup platform.

“Our core strengths are in cyber security, technology building, using internet of things and integration of port,” he added.

Emerging opportunities Ganesh says, CyberEye team is building several products. The company is emerging as a social enterprise to make major social impact. It is looking at smart cities focusing on safety, security and privacy.

“We have developed proof of concepts (POCs) for various solutions that cater to various use cases for both government and private establishments. We are looking at mass B2B segment. Smart cities will be a big opportunity in addition to defence. We have opened up revenues in this space as well,” he informed.

CyberEye is developing solutions across device categories which use different micro-processors. The company is developing solutions both at hardware and software level security. It also is looking for partnerships for this purpose for long-term projects.

The team is looking at opportunities in the private secured network as a package. The company is working with a mining company that wanted a private network. There is also scope to provide such networks for airports that are looking for smart solutions. Studies show that two-third of the low-power wide-area network (LPWAN) or IoT will be private network by 2025.

“Private networks will be an area of focus in the next 2-3 years. We will also be looking at new artificial intelligence based cyber security solutions in countering viruses. We are in the process of creating detection and response security solution. Very soon this product will be rolled out.

Testing is in progress. This Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) product will open up avenues both in the domestic market and overseas,” Ganesh informed.

He hinted his cash-positive company could be looking at fresh round of funding to meet its expansion plan somewhere in 2019.

Date: 15th November 2018 Publication: The Times of India Edition: Bangalore Page No: 16 Journalist: NA Alumni: Saket BSV Headline: Prime Venture Kalaari others invest in Perpule URL: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/perpule-garners-4-7-mn-from-prime-venture-kalaari-venture- highway/articleshow/66621294.cms

Date: 15th November 2018 Publication: The New Indian Express Edition: Chennai Page No: 5 Journalist: NA Headline: Encouraging entrepreneurship

Date: 16th November 2018 Publication: The Times of India Edition: Chennai Page No: 4 Journalist: A Selvaraj Professor: Prof Murugaiyan Amirthalingam Headline: Panchaloha idols theft: DSP arrested for hiding facts URL: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/panchaloha-idols-theft-dsp-arrested-for-hiding-facts/articleshow/66644760.cms

Date: 16th November 2018 Publication: News Today Edition: Chennai Page No: 3 Journalist: NA Headline: IIT-M students come up with tech for hosting varsity projects URL: https://newstodaynet.com/index.php/2018/11/15/iit-m-students-come-up-with-tech-for-hosting-varsity-projects/

Date: 16th November 2018 Publication: Matrubhumi Edition: Online Journalist: NA Headline: ഐ.ഐ. . : യ ...... (IIT Madras: Humanities and Social Sciences Entrance Exam) URL: https://www.mathrubhumi.com/education-malayalam/news/humanities-and-social-sciences-in-iit-madras-1.3311761 ഐ.ഐ. . : 12 . . ണ...

Date: 16th November 2018 Publication: Hindustan Times Edition: Online Journalist: Lavina Mulchandani Headline: Lesser-known universities find place in QS India rankings URL: https://www.hindustantimes.com/education/lesser-known-universities-find-place-in-qs-india-rankings/story-8Iuu6EsJz0xvG5iHkPyRXI.html

Lesser-known universities find place in QS India rankings

Separate rankings for Indian institutes mean you now have more options to choose from and institutes get a larger platform too. For the first time, global higher-education think-tank Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) has released separate rankings for Indian universities. Released last month, the rankings aim to offer a detailed analysis of the relative performance of Indian universities, within an Indian context.

“India is a rapidly expanding higher-education market. It is also a different ecosystem, so we wanted to highlight the performance of universities in this country of approximately 600 million people under the age of 25,” says Jack Moran, higher education trends analyst at QS.

The parameters used for this ranking are similar to those used for ranking universities in BRICS [Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa] nations. It has parameters like number of international students, staff with a PhD and Employer reputation which are not considered or given a lot of weightage in world rankings.

“The list features universities that you will not easily spot in the international rankings. This will give students more options to choose from,” says Moran.

The India rankings show that universities here have good standing with employers, Moran adds, but need to foster better associations with global institutes.

While the IITs predictably top the list (IIT-Bombay is #1; IIT-Madras #3; IISc-Bangalore #2), universities in prominent positions also include the Hyderabad University (#7), Alagappa University in Tamil Nadu (#20) and Savitribai Phule Pune University (#19). The Institute of Chemical Technology-Mumbai is ranked one for research impact.

Hall ticket to Europe: India is leading in targeted EU scholarships

Finally, varsities are addressing some of the hurdles to distance education “The rankings could help bring lesser-known Indian universities onto the world stage and eventually perhaps even into the world rankings,” says Ashok Wadia, principal of Mumbai’s Jai Hind College and a peer team member and assessor at the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC), which is an autonomous organisation that assesses and accredits higher education Institutions in India.

The QS rankings are also reflecting change on the ground, particularly since the rolling out of the central governments higher-education mission, the Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan or Rusa, in 2013.

Grants from the government are helping universities, especially those in non-metro areas develop and perform better in NAAC accreditation and international rankings. “Under the scheme, funds are being granted to the best universities, and also to the ones that have not been able to perform well in the NAAC accreditation cycles, but have a clear plan for how they plan to do better,” says Hemlata Bagla, principal at KC College, Churchgate. “These funds are helping universities develop curricula, facilitate research and improve faculty, thus boosting overall performance.”

On the list

Bagla says the national rankings also show how India’s universities are striving to fit better into the global education scenario. “We see a lot of potential in the University of Hyderabad, for instance. It recently launched an integrated Masters programme across streams,” says Moran. “You enroll straight after Class 12, get a Masters degree after five years; it’s effective and well-designed.”

Kavayitri Bahinabai Chaudhari North Maharashtra University, Jalgaon, is ranked between 57 and 60 (it’s put in this rankings group, some universities are put in groups) in the rankings. “We have world-class instruments such as a field emission scanning electron microscope in our research labs. We keep upgrading our science labs and recruiting teachers who are PhDs,” says vice-chancellor PP Patil. “While we may not be recognised in world rankings, being put high in the India rankings can help us get better students, motivate us to perform better in international rankings.”

Date: 16th November 2018 Publication: Indian Web Edition: Online Journalist: NA Headline: Meet the 6 New Indian Startups Selected for 4th Airbus Accelerator Programme ‘BizLab’ URL: https://www.indianweb2.com/2018/11/15/meet-6-new-indian-startups-selected-for-4th-airbus-accelerator-programme-bizlab/

Meet the 6 New Indian Startups Selected for 4th Airbus Accelerator Programme ‘BizLab’

Airbus has selected twenty-four new startups to join its BizLab for the launch of the fourth accelerator programme and out of this 24 startups, 6 are from India.

The selected startups will join a unique consolidated global network within the four sites of BizLab — Toulouse (France), Hamburg (Germany), Bangalore (India) and Madrid (Spain). The six Indian startups selected will join the BizLab’s Bangalore Campus.

During the six-month acceleration programme, the selected startups will receive support from an international team of experts from various fields and have access to dedicated coaching staff, networking opportunities and co-working spaces. Hailing from ten countries around the world, the new startups were selected out of 495 applications from 64 countries. One of the main criteria used in the selection process were the synergies between the startup projects and Airbus’ innovation strategy.

Founders of Indian Startups selected for Airbus BizLabs 4th Season The 6 Indian startups selected in the BizLab’s Bangalore campus are as follows:

Flutua: Founders – Krishnan Raman, Derick Jose and Srikanth Muralidhara Data solutions for process deviations and unplanned downtime for heavy machinery

Flutura is an Artificial Intelligence (AI) Solutions company focused on improving two core business objectives of “Asset Uptime” and “Operational Efficiency”. Its flagship product ‘Cerebra’ is an AI Platform tuned for Industrial Internet of Things (IIOT) that focuses on machine to machine and big data analytics serving clients from manufacturing, energy and engineering industries. Its main offices are located in Houston, Palo Alto, and Bengaluru, India.

Trapyz: Founders – Anil Kumar and Girish Vishwanath Audience insights platform for mapping real world customer journeys.

Bangalore-based Trapyz is a SaaS-based and AI driven platform that provides offline consumer insights to brands & digital marketers to map real- world journeys without infringing on consumer privacy. It provides last-mile indoor location intelligence on a ‘data-as-a-service’ model that can be leveraged to build various location-based services.

Gnani: Founders – Ganesh Gopalan and Ananth Nagaraj Custom AI models for enterprise applications, with a focus on speech recognition and NLP.

Based on AI and machine learning technologies, Gnani aims to empower businesses with the power of voice. It develops voice assistants and speech analytics products for multiple languages including Indic languages. It has ASRs (Automatic Speech Recognition) for 6 languages in India – English, Hindi, Gujarati, Tamil, Telugu and Kannada. Scapic:

Founders – Ajay Ponna Venkatesh and Sai Krishna V K AR/VR platform for customer experience.

Built entirely on the cloud, Scapic is an online platform with a drag-and-drop editor that makes it trivially simple to build immersive experiences from scratch in minutes and allowing people to build Virtual/Augmented/ Mixed Reality content easily. The startup had raised seed funding of $500,000 from Axilor Ventures and others, in January this year.

Agnikul Cosmos:

Designs, builds, tests and launches orbital launch systems.

Founder – Srinath Ravichandran Incubated at prestigious Indian Institute of Technology, Madras (IIT-Madras), Chennai-based AgniKul Cosmos in the process of developing its own small launch vehicles called ‘Agnibaan’, which is an orbital class nano-satellite launch vehicle that will be able to carry up to 100kg on a 700km Low Earth Orbit (LEO). Founded in 2017, AngiKul is currently based out of the National Centre of Combustion R&D (NCCRD) in IIT-Madras.

Custm NLP solution for improved human-computer interaction. Traxof Technologies is building cloud and mobile based products in the domain of Customized Process Automation using AI and NLP (Natural Language Processing) with an aim to improve human-computer interaction. It is building a platform which can be used to create, start and monitor customized workflows, using an easy-to-use drag-n-drop interface.

Besides above startups from India, UAE-based Hey Flyer will also be joining the Bangalore campus of Airbus BizLabs. Hey Flyer is a platform that consolidates airport information for travellers. Date: 16th November 2018 Publication: The Hindu Edition: Online Journalist: Peerzada Abrar Alumni: Mr. Ranganath Headline: Infosys announces Jayesh Sanghrajka as the interim CFO URL: https://www.thehindu.com/business/Industry/infosys-announces-jayesh-sanghrajka-as-the-interim-cfo/article25508775.ece

Infosys announces Jayesh Sanghrajka as the interim CFO

An employee of Infosys stands at the front desk of its headquarters in Bengaluru. An employee of Infosys stands at the front desk of its headquarters in Bengaluru. | Photo Credit: REUTERS

Current CFO, M.D. Ranganath will step down on November 16, 2018. Infosys on Thursday announced the appointment of Jayesh Sanghrajka as the interim chief financial officer (CFO) and key managerial personnel of the company with effect from November 17, 2018. The IT services firm said the current CFO, M.D. Ranganath will step down on November 16, 2018. The Board is in the process of selecting the next CFO, according to Infosys.

A chartered accountant, Mr. Sanghrajka has spent 13 years in Infosys over two stints and has performed various leadership roles in the finance function. He is currently executive vice president and deputy chief financial officer at Infosys.

New Blood

Experts such as Sanchit Vir Gogia, chief analyst and founder of Greyhound Research, said that the new Infosys CEO Salil Parekh comes with a fresh perspective towards IT services and the management has to be aligned with Mr. Parekh’s vision. “Infosys business is changing… it needs new blood in terms of financial management who works in tandem with Salil *Parekh+,” said Mr. Gogia. “The traditional CFO carries a certain amount of baggage in terms of adjusting to the new management,” said Mr. Gogia. He is of the view that this is “not a negative development for the Infosys business” and a step in the right direction.

Strategy execution

An alumnus of IIM-Ahmedabad and IIT-Madras, Mr. Ranganath has over 27 years of experience in information technology and financial services industries. He had held several leadership positions during a tenure of over 17 years with Infosys. He also played a key role in strategy execution and in the transformation journey of Infosys including mergers and acquisitions. Last year in July, Infosys had said that it would relocate its chief financial officer M.D. Ranganath to the U.S. — its largest market — and had also revised his compensation package. “When I started *off+, Ranga (M.D. Ranganath, CFO) used to run my office as well as our strategic operations and he was based in the U.S. When he became CFO, he moved back here (India),” former Infosys CEO Vishal Sikka had said. As Infosys aims to hire more in the U.S. in the next two years, it has to change the processes and is putting together new innovation centres, he had said. “So, there is a significant shift and transformation happening in the way we are working there. So, we need his help there,” Mr. Sikka had said.

Date: 16th November 2018 Publication: The Times of India Edition: Chennai Page No: 18 Journalist: Sindhu.Hariharan Headline: IIT-M incubated Agnikul now part of Airbus accelerator pgm

Date: 17th November 2018 Publication: India Today Edition: Online Journalist: NA Headline: GATE 2019: Process of exam city correction ends today @ gate.iitm.ac.in URL:https://www.indiatoday.in/education-today/notification/story/gate-2019-exam-city-correction-1389968-2018-11-16 GATE 2019: Process of exam city correction ends today @ gate.iitm.ac.in

GATE is conducted for admissions into post-graduate programmes in Indian institutes of higher education. November 16, 2018UPDATED: November 16, 2018 17:14 IST GATE 2019: Correction in the exam city ends today GATE 2019: Correction in the exam city ends today The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras is about to finish the process of changing the exam city in the application forms of the candidates.

Candidates who wish to correct their exam city must visit the official website of gate.iitm.ac.in as earliest as possible. The last date to apply for the same is November 16, 2018, i.e. today.

How to apply for the exam city correction? Log on to the official website gate.iitm.ac.in On the homepage, click on the link which says, 'https://appsgate.iitm.ac.in is the only official GATE 2019 online application portal.' You will be directed to a new webpage Login by filling an enrollment number and password if you have already registered Click on Submit Apply for exam city correction IIT Madras to conduct GATE 2019 The Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE) will be conducted in two shifts on February 2, 3 and February 9 and 10, 2019 .

IIT Madras will be conducting the exam based on 24 subjects, some of which are as follows:

Aerospace Engineering Agricultural Engineering Architecture and Planning Biotechnology Civil Engineering Chemical Engineering Instrumentation Engineering Mathematics Mechanical Engineering Read: GATE 2019: IIT Madras starts exam city correction process in application forms @ gate.iitm.ac.in

Admit card and Result Admit card: January 4, 2019 Result: March 16, 2019 About GATE The Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE) is an all India examination that primarily tests the comprehensive understanding of various undergraduate subjects in engineering and technology.

The exam is conducted for admissions into post-graduate programmes in Indian institutes of higher education.

Date: 17th November 2018 Publication: Business Today Edition: Online Journalist: NA Headline: Rebuilding an Icon URL: https://www.businesstoday.in/magazine/the-break-out-zone/rebuilding-an-icon/story/290835.html

Rebuilding an Icon How a young inheritor changed the face of a dwindling business group. Opportunities for India amid a US-China trade war RBI vs Govt: What to expect from the board meeting? MORE FROM THE AUTHOR Tough Times Ahead This Chinese tech unicorn is betting big on India What does one do when a 44-year-old family business is in deep trouble? In the case of TT Jagannathan, a gold medallist from IIT-Madras who was studying for a master's degree in Operations Research from Cornell University way back in 1972, it was a case of being summoned to his roots by his father TT Narasimhan, who was looking after the business till then.

The journey that followed has been well captured by Jagannathan and Sandhya Mendonca, the latter a journalist-turned-media entrepreneur, in Disrupt and Conquer, a classic turnaround story. The business was set up in 1928 by Jagannathan's legendary grandfather TT Krishnamachari or TTK, who went on to become a Union Minister. When Jagannathan was handed the reins, the business was in the doldrums, and he had no experience of helming a company. Although the peak debt of the group at Rs 14 crore was not anything to worry about by today's standards, he was determined to set things right and adopted a series of simple and logical steps. The writers tell us how it was done by shutting down loss-making divisions over time and innovating and diversifying beyond the flagship product line. Jagannathan, now Executive Chairman of the group, has tried-and-tested advice for young business persons. "The harder you work, the luckier you get. Luck comes your way if you work hard," he writes. Some of the issues he highlights are straight out of a case study. While looking for an acquisition abroad, he had stuck to four parameters. The company must be smaller, should be profitable, have its own brands and should not have a manufacturing unit. An overseas factory often gives rise to critical problems as the Tata group faced after Corus takeover and Lakshmi Niwas Mittal experienced after acquiring Arcelor. The narrative is peppered with interesting anecdotes that explain why certain decisions were taken. It also reveals the person that Jagannathan is. Considering that his biggest business is pressure cookers, it is not surprising that he is an accomplished cook. In fact, there is an entire chapter on Cooking Up Inventions and how his interest in culinary skills led to the creation of the Fryums brand. In case you don't know, he also sews.

Overall, it is an intriguing account of how a young inheritor of a sinking business held on and built a bigger and a stronger brand. The stalwart has done well in carrying forward his legacy. Date: 17th November 2018 Publication: Telangana Today Edition: Online Journalist: NA Headline: National library week celebrations held at KITSW URL: https://telanganatoday.com/national-library-week-celebrations-held-at-kitsw

National library week celebrations held at KITSW

Facebook Twitter Google+ LinkedIn Pinterest By AuthorTelanganaToday | Published: 16th Nov 2018 9:03 pm Warangal Urban: Kakatiya Institute of Technology & Science, Warangal (KITSW) Central Library organised a book exhibition to mark 51st National Library Week, which is celebrated from November 14 to 20.

Principal K Ashoka Reddy said the exhibition was inaugurated by chief guest for the programme,R Sammi Reddy (retired librarian, NIT Warangal).

Sammi Reddy said library was the mirror of an institute. Physical information in form of books as well as digital information were important to achieve success in this competitive world, he added.

“Library is an educational platform where students from various disciplines can share and learn latest knowledge. Students should make it a habit to go to library,” he said.

He appreciated that KITS-W library which has facilities such as NPTEL, which contains 1,100 web courses and video courses obtained from IIT Madras. It is furnished with a DLP projector and screen, and has a seating capacity for 80 students.

Librarian K Indrasena Reddy, Dean C Venkatesh, Professor KV Raghubabu, PRO D Prabhakara Chary and others were present.

Date: 17th November 2018 Publication: Bio Spectrum Edition: Online Journalist: NA Headline: Maharashtra Govt. launches AI Centre for rural healthcare URL: https://www.biospectrumindia.com/news/75/12041/maharashtra-govt-launches-ai-centre-for-rural-healthcare.html

Maharashtra Govt. launches AI Centre for rural healthcare

ICTAI is to focus on quality healthcare to accelerate research, diagnosis and treatment delivery of diseases like cancer, tuberculosis

The Government of Maharashtra signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the NITI Aayog and Wadhwani AI group to launch the International Centre for Transformational Artificial Intelligence (ICTAI) focusing on the rural healthcare. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said that this project was aimed at a greater collaboration in the healthcare sector.

ICTAI is to focus on quality healthcare to accelerate research, diagnosis and treatment delivery of diseases like cancer, tuberculosis. It also aims at capacity and capability enhancement of health workers and wellness centres in general.

P Anandan from Wadhwani AI said, “We are looking forward to understanding the issues that plague healthcare, especially rural, and implementing solutions derived out of the data research and AI,”

The key partners for projects are PATH, LEHS-WISH, IIT Madras, TATA Trust and the Stanford centre for population health sciences are the core partners in this project.

ICTAI launch can be regarded as one of the results of a discussion paper which addresses the national strategy on artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies in India. Here, the government think tank identified five sectors to focus its efforts towards the implementation of AI to serve societal needs. The five sectors are:

Healthcare: increased access and affordability of quality healthcare Agriculture: enhanced farmers’ income, increased farm productivity and reduction of wastage Education: improved access and quality of education Smart Cities and Infrastructure: efficient and connectivity for the burgeoning urban population Smart Mobility and Transportation: smarter and safer modes of transportation and better traffic and congestion problems

Date: 18th November 2018 Publication: The Hindu Edition: Online Journalist: NA Professor: Prof Ratna Kumar Annabathula Headline: An exchange spree URL: https://www.thehindu.com/education/an-exchange-spree/article25525337.ece

An exchange spree

Through the Erasmus Mundus programme, Sai Chandana had the opportunity to learn the best from not just one, but two universities Perfectly predicting defects of designs in manufacturing, construction, and various biological aspects with attractive colour maps has always fascinated me and made me curious to know how it is done. That is why I was interested in pursing computational mechanics.

I chose my undergraduate programme in Mechanical Engineering at SCSVMV, Kanchipuram, where things started to dawn upon me. Dr. Ratna Kumar Annabathula, Assistant Professor, IIT Madras, identified my interest towards Finite Elements as well as research. He encouraged me to pursue masters in computational mechanics through the programme called Erasmus Mundus.

An Erasmus Mundus Joint Master Degree, is an integrated, international study programme, jointly delivered by an international consortium of higher education institutions. Subsequently, I applied and got selected in the Erasmus Mundus MSc in computational mechanics programme with funding which was more than enough to cover my monthly living expenses.

The course is designed for students who wish to develop their knowledge in the field of computational mechanics with applications in solids, fluids, and other interdisciplinary fields. The programme also includes a component of entrepreneurship and innovation.

It provides the skills for the modelling, formulation, analysis, and implementation of simulation tools for advanced engineering problems, as well as skills for understanding these approaches in the broader context of business and innovation. Mostly students may take the Master’s as a professional terminal degree, or in preparation for a Ph.D.

This course is provided by international consortium of four leading European Universities in computational mechanics: Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC), Spain; Swansea University, the U.K.; Ecole Centrale Nantes (ECN), France; Universität Stuttgart, Germany.

One programme, two institutions

Usually, students study in two universities: the first year in Barcelona, Spain or Swansea, the U.K.. The remaining two semesters will be spent at any of the other three institutions which is different from that of the first year. I did my first year at Swansea University and second year at UPC. Swansea University is considered as the birthplace for finite element analysis and its computational engineering department is named Zienkiewicz Centre for Computational Engineering after Professor Olgierd Zienkiewicz, who is the father of finite element methods. It is now lead by Professor Perumal Nithiarasu, an Alumni of IIT Madras. Both universities have excellent on-going research works and amazing teaching faculties.

Swansea University, in particular, is very student-friendly. A faculty is appointed as a tutor who meets each student once in two weeks during which they can share all their personal and professional issues.

Also, being an exchange programme, students benefit from interacting with different groups of academics in an exciting international environment. It provides an amazing platform to understand different research collaborations happening in European universities.

Sai Chandana Divi is currently a doctoral student at Eindhoven University of Technology, Netherlands.

Date: 18th November 2018 Publication: The Financial Express Edition: Online Journalist: NA Alumni: Thomas Kurian Headline: Indian American Thomas Kurian is the new CEO of Google Cloud: Here’s what you need to know about him URL: https://www.financialexpress.com/industry/who-is-thomas-kurian-former-oracle-executive-set-to-take-charge-at-google-cloud/1384839/

Indian American Thomas Kurian is the new CEO of Google Cloud: Here’s what you need to know about him

Former Oracle Corporation executive Thomas Kurian has been named the new Chief Executive Officer of Google Cloud. Kurian, 63, hails from the southern state of Kerala. Who is Thomas Kurian? Former Oracle executive set to take charge at Google Cloud Former Oracle Corporation executive Thomas Kurian has been named the new Chief Executive Officer of Google Cloud. Kurian, 63, hails from the southern state of Kerala. He will succeed Diane Greene, who became head of Google’s Cloud three years ago. She will continue through January working with Kurian to ensure a smooth transition. She will, however, remain a Director on the board of Alphabet, Google’s parent company. According to a statement issued by Greene on Friday, Kurian will join Google Cloud on November 26.

“Kurian, a respected technologist and executive, will be joining Google Cloud on November 26 and transitioning into the Google Cloud leadership role in early 2019,” she said.

Also Read: Indian American Thomas Kurian is new Google Cloud chief

Speaking about his new stint, Kurian said he is excited to join the fantastic Google Cloud team at this important and promising time. The sexagenarian said that he is looking forward to building on the success of recent years as it enters its next phase of growth.

Stint with Oracle

Prior to this, Kurian had served as President of Product Development at Oracle Corporation between 1996 and 2018. Before this, Kurian had worked with McKinsey and Company as a consultant serving clients in the software, telecommunications, and financial services industries.

Kurian had worked with Oracle for 22 years. He stepped down from Oracle in September reportedly over disagreements with Executive Chairman and CTO Larry Ellison over the future of the company as Cloud business gets highly competitive.

With Kurian’s induction, Google is getting an executive who used to supervise cloud development at Oracle – world’s second-largest software maker. According to his Linkedin profile, Kurian was a member of Oracle’s Executive Committee for 13 years. He led 35,000-people software development team in 32 countries with an R&D budget of $4 billion. Besides, he also helped in the transformation of Oracle’s products with the introduction of leading suite of Cloud Services, led 60 software acquisitions and Oracle’s 45 Cloud data centres.

It was because of Kurian’s efforts that Oracle struggled to gain much traction against Amazon Web Services and Microsoft’s Azure.

According to people familiar with Kurian’s stint at Oracle, he adheres to a top-down model of management. He climbed through the ranks of the software maker by spearheading products that accelerated sales growth such as middleware.

Early life

Kurian comes from Pampady village of Kottayam district in Kerala. He and his twin brother George Kurian moved to the United States in 1986 to study at Princeton. Kurian was enrolled to IIT, Madras but after six months, he decided to quit and move to the US to pursue his bachelor’s education. He holds a BS in electrical engineering from Princeton University, where he graduated Summa Cum Laude (with the highest distinction). He has an MBA degree from Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business, where he was an Arjay Miller Scholar.

His brother George is CEO of California-based Hybrid Cloud data services and data management company NetApp and a member of the Board of Directors.

Date: 18th November 2018 Publication: India Today Edition: Magazine Page No: 82 Journalist: NA Headline: In Placement Performance

Date: 18th November 2018 Publication: India Today Edition: Magazine Page No: 110 Journalist: NA Headline: Celebrating the legacy of 50 years

Date: 19th November 2018 Publication: The New Indian Express Edition: Online Journalist: NA Headline: Second spill within two years; Over two tonnes of oil spill at Kamarajar port URL: http://www.newindianexpress.com/states/tamil-nadu/2018/nov/18/second-spill-within-two-years-over-two-tonnes-of-oil-spill-at- kamarajar-port-1899904.html

Second spill within two years; Over two tonnes of oil spill at Kamarajar port

The oil spilled at the berth side after the Motor Tanker Coral Stars hose suddenly ruptured and caused accidental spill into seawater at 4.03 am. Coast Guard officials inspecting the oil spill Marine Liquid Terminal on Sunday. (Photo | By special arrangement)By C Shivakumar & Sv Krishna ChaitanyaExpress News Service CHENNAI: Chennai is staring at another oil spill after more than two tonnes of thick furnace fuel oil (FFO) spilled when a flexible hose snapped while discharging the oil at the Marine Liquid Terminal-1 at the Kamarajar Port in the wee hours on Sunday.

The oil spilled at the berth side after the Motor Tanker Coral Stars hose suddenly ruptured and caused accidental spill into seawater at 4.03 am. Kamarajar Port chairman P Raveendran told Express that preliminary estimate showed two tonnes of oil spilled into the sea.

"The emergency response mechanism was immediately activated and all agencies including Coast Guard swung into action," he said and added the spillage was confined to the breakwaters as fence boom was immediately deployed around the vessel."

The port chairman said, "Ariel survey was also done by the Coast Guard with the seaside reconnaissance by the interceptor boat. The recovery of spilled oil immediately commenced with the help of skimmers and absorbent pads. The recovery process will be completed by tomorrow," he said.

Meanwhile, the Indian Coast Guard sources said they were ascertaining how much oil leaked. Two Coast Guard fast patrol vessels with pollution response equipment on board were deployed for combating the spill. Also, senior officials from the Coast Guard Pollution Response Team (East), Chennai were deputed to the Kamarajar Port for an onsite assessment and guidance for port authorities to use appropriate spill response strategy while actively coordinating pollution response operations through the day. "We have also asked our dedicated pollution control vessel ICGS Samudra Paheredar vessel in Visakhapatnam to reach the spot immediately," said a Coast Guard official. Director General of Shipping Dr Malini V Shankar told Express that a probe would be ordered. "The leak happened at the port side and it is being contained along the breakwaters. An investigation is on whether it is due to equipment failure or callousness of the ship," she said. D Sekar, member-secretary, Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB), said the board officials had visited the oil spill site.

"The furnace oil was received from Cochin for the BPCL, Chennai through the oil terminal firm Ennore Tank Terminal Private Limited (ETTPL). The spill is contained within 50 metres around the ship since the boom was deployed before the start of operation." K Satyagopal, Commissioner of Revenue Administration, Disaster Management and Mitigation, said the Tiruvallur Collector had been asked to visit and see if there was any spillage and effect on fishes.

Director of State Fisheries department G S Sameeran said though the Kamrajar Port had stated that the oil spill had been contained, the State Fisheries Department has collected samples from the nearby fishing hamlets.

"As of now, there are no reports of death of fishes," he added. State Oil Spill Disaster Contingency Plan yet to be okayed This is the second oil spill within two years. On January 28, 2017, LPG tanker BW Maple rammed into petroleum tanker MT Dawn Kancheepuram two nautical miles off the Kamarajar Port at Ennore resulting in massive oil spill that polluted close to 35-km coastline.

However, Tamil Nadu is yet to have State Oil Spill Disaster Contingency Plan (SOS-DCP) in place. All coastal States are mandated to prepare a contingency plan under the National Disaster Management Act, 2005 and the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and has an obligation to protect and preserve the marine environment.

It is to be consistent with the National Oil Spill Disaster Contingency Plan (NOS-DCP), which is the national plan for the response to an oil spill of any size. Unfortunately, Tamil Nadu, though highly prone to oil spills, doesn't have an approved SOS-DCP.

BR Subramanian, former advisor for Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) and senior scientific consultant for the National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management (NCSCM), headed a committee, drafted the plan in September 2016 and later, revised it post-Chennai oil spill.

When contacted, A Udhayan, director, Department of Environment, told Express that the final draft plan had been accepted by the State and forwarded to the Coast Guard, Delhi for approval. Putting in place such a plan is critical because it provides all details about preparedness required to meet oil spill eventualities and equips the State to combat the spills without loss of any time.

Meanwhile, IIT Madras has also prepared an independent oil spill contingency plan and submitted it to the TNPCB. S Mohan, associate professor in Environment and Water Resources, Department of Civil Engineering, said: "I have submitted the report to the TNPCB and do not know what action has been taken." Date: 19th November 2018 Publication: The Wire Edition: Online Journalist: Pushkar Headline: The Many Barriers to Internationalising India's Higher Education URL: https://www.thewire.in/education/the-many-barriers-to-internationalising-indias-higher-educatio

The Many Barriers to Internationalising India's Higher Education

For one, the IITs will struggle to offer competitive salaries to foreign faculty members, more so since the Indian rupee continues to lose ground to the US dollar.

The Many Barriers to Internationalising India's Higher Education In all, there are only 46,144 international students (2017-18) in India. Nearly five-times as many Indian students are at US universities alone. Moreover, only 40 foreign nationals teach across the 23 IITs, which less than 1% of all faculty members. While the number of foreign faculty is quite high at some private universities, the total number of foreigners teaching in India is overall very low. And the Government of India wants to change that.

None of India’s universities count among the top 200 in the world. The best ones – the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) and the IITs in Mumbai and Delhi, all of which were selected as Institutions of Eminence by the government – don’t make the cut in world rankings partly because of low levels of internationalisation. Such an international outlook is measured by the number of foreign faculty members and students and international research collaborations. It has been argued that greater internationalisation at India’s universities will improve their world rankings.

Earlier this year, the Indian government launched the ‘Study in India’ website to attract more foreign students to its universities. Now, it wants to foreign teachers to follow suit.

Last week, the Centre waived all prior security clearance requirements to hire foreign faculty members across all higher education institutions in India. Now, universities can directly hire foreigners without clearance from the Ministries of Home Affairs (MHA) and External Affairs (MEA). Knowing the ways of Indian bureaucracy, it is not hard to imagine why both institutions and interested faculty would lose interest if the clearance process took months. Mandatory clearance is now limited to foreigners from Prior Reference Category countries: Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq, Sudan, foreigners of Pakistani origin, stateless persons and those who wish to visit restricted areas.

Still, while long-term employment visas for foreigners will be issued for five years, with a provision to extend for another five, political clearance for such appointments will remain mandatory. However, the process is expected to be reduced to three or four days days. In addition, the government has also decided that Overseas Citizens of India, who hold foreign passports, can be appointed as permanent faculty members without institutions having to seek MHA or MEA clearance. Other than these initiatives, the IITs have also been taking steps to improve their internationalisation. In August, the IIT Council, the highest decision-making body for all IITs, made two important decisions. First, each IIT was free to set the fees for foreign students. The idea was to make the fees competitive for foreign people from low income countries so that many more of them would choose to study at the IITs. Second, the council will seek a relaxation to the Citizenship Act so that the IITs could hire foreigners as tenured faculty members. The Citizenship Act 1955 denies permanent jobs to foreigners at public institutions.

In early September, the Economic Times reported that the IITs would form a united front to tackle the challenge of hiring foreigners. Each well- established IIT was allocated one or more geographical areas it would try to recruit foreigners from, for itself and for other IITs. So, the ‘US market’ – considered the main ‘hunting ground’ for foreigners – was divided into three regions and allocated to IIT-Bombay (West Coast), IIT- Delhi (southern US) and IIT-Madras (East Coast). IIT-Hyderabad was made responsible for recruiting faculty members from Japan; IIT-Mandi from Scandinavia; and IIT-Ropar from Canada. While the merits of this strategy have been questioned, it does seem that the IITs are treating this matter seriously.

Finally, following up on the IIT Council’s decision in August, IIT-Delhi reduced tuition fees substantially for international students to make itself a more attractive destination for them, especially students from the neighbouring countries and from the Middle East and Africa.

Taken together, these initiatives may help the IITs attract more foreign students and teachers to their institutions. However, challenges remain, especially for hiring scientists and those in the technology sector, who have many good options to consider.

For example, the IITs will struggle to offer competitive salaries, more so since the Indian rupee continues to lose ground to the US dollar. Second, many IITs are located in far-flung places that don’t offer the comforts of larger cities and are thus not particularly attractive to foreigners. Third, even large cosmopolitan cities have their fair share of problems. For example, a recent report found that Delhi’s toxic air was forcing every third senior corporate executive to decline job offers in the national capital region. Finally, the nature of India’s current politics may also force both students and teachers to think twice before choosing India.

Date: 18th November 2018 Publication: The Hindu Edition: Delhi Page No: 3 Journalist: NA Professor: Prof Ratna Kumar Annabathula Headline: An exchange spree URL: https://www.thehindu.com/education/an-exchange-spree/article25525337.ece

Date: 19th November 2018 Publication: Asian Age Edition: Delhi Page No: 10 Journalist: NA Headline: Fund Drive for Varsities

Date: 19th November 2018 Publication: The New Indian Express Edition: Chennai Page No: 2 Journalist: NA Headline: Lessons learnt from 2015 floods helped disaster mgmt URL: http://www.newindianexpress.com/states/tamil-nadu/2018/nov/18/lessons-learnt-from-2015-floods-helped-disaster-management- 1899657.html

Cyclone Gaja: Lessons learnt from 2015 floods helped disaster management

Disaster management in Tamil Nadu has come a long way since the devastating December 2015 floods

A policeman announcing over a megaphone to clear the beach area in Pondicherry. (Photo | G Pattabiraman/EPS)By SV Krishna ChaitanyaExpress News Service

CHENNAI: Disaster management in Tamil Nadu has come a long way since the devastating December 2015 floods. Though Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) upgraded ‘Gaja’ from cyclone to severe cyclone, with wind speed of 120 kmph just hours before it was to hit the coastal districts in delta region, the authorities were able to tide over the crisis.

Tamil Nadu State Disaster Management Authority (TNSDMA), which is getting a lot of applause even from opposition parties, has completely revamped the rules of the game, adopting a multi-pronged approach towards disaster management.

Commissioner of Revenue Administration K Satyagopal, a hard taskmaster who stayed inside the State Emergency Operation Centre (SEOC) from Thursday morning until 5.30 am on Friday as Cyclone Gaja swept the hinterland, told Express that the turnaround came after the 2015 December floods. “We learnt lot of lessons. I took charge of this office in 2016 and an attempt was made to completely change the way we look at disaster management. Instructions were given to all the district Collectors to prepare a list of vulnerable areas based on legacy and inundation data. Accordingly, 4,399 vulnerable areas were identified, of which 572 are areas of very high vulnerability, 872 highly vulnerable, 1,200 moderate and about 1,700 low vulnerable areas. This ensured more focus was given to very high vulnerable areas,” he said.

Cyclone Gaja toll rises to 45 in Tamil Nadu, protests surface over relief efforts

Besides, every vulnerable area is mapped detailing escape routes, first responders, emergency number and nodal teams. “Lot of emphasis was given to preparedness. This has come in extremely handy during Gaja and within four hours before the cyclone made landfall, close to 82,000 people were evacuated,” he said. Also, the Tamil Nadu State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), with 1,275 trained personnel, was constituted. Besides, young police recruits of about 70 personnel in coastal districts and 50 in other districts were trained by SDRF and stationed locally. About 692 inter-departmental zonal teams, comprising deputy Collector, Tahasildar, police, fire service and PWD officials, were formed.

Besides, 30,759 first responders were identified from the public, including 9,500 women. And, 8,200 people were trained to exclusively rescue animals and livestock this year. Personnel from two NGOs — Satya Sai Trust and Red Cross personnel — who are trained in disaster response, were also roped-in. Satyagopal said all these measures have helped districts authorities to act swiftly. Date: 19th November 2018 Publication: The New Indian Express Edition: Chennai Page No: 3 Journalist: NA Headline: 13.79pgIm3

Date: 19th November 2018 Publication: The New Indian Express Edition: Chennai/Kochi Page No: 2 Journalist: Shirlene Grace Isaac Headline: Ready to be an entrance exam influencer

Date: 19th November 2018 Publication: The New Indian Express Edition: Chennai Page No: 2 Journalist: C Shivakumar & SV Krishna Chaitanya Headline: Chennai stares at marine pollution URL: http://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/chennai/2018/nov/19/chennai-stares-at-marine-pollution-1900143.html

Date: 19th November 2018 Publication: News Today Edition: Chennai Page No: 3 Journalist: Balasubramaniam Muniyandi Headline: United they stand

Date: 20th November 2018 Publication: The Economic Times Edition: Delhi/Mumbai/Bangalore/Hyderabad/Chennai/Kolkata Page No: 15 Journalist: Sreeradha D Basu and Prachi Verma, Professor: Prof Manu Santhanam Headline: Google resumes talent hunt at IITs after 2-year break URL: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/jobs/google-resumes-talent-hunt-at-iits-after-2-year-break/articleshow/66701855.cms

Date: 20th November 2018 Publication: The Economic Times Edition: Delhi/Mumbai/Hyderabad/Chennai/Kolkata Page No: 5 Journalist: Nilesh Christopher Headline: Mindtree places its bets on AI, subscription model URL: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/tech/mindtree-places-its-bets-on-ai-subscription-model/articleshow/66701325.cms

Date: 19th November 2018 Publication: Pioneer Edition: Online Journalist: NA Professor: Prof T Pradeep Headline: Huge scope in nanoparticles: Bhatnagar awardee Prof T Pradeep URL: https://www.dailypioneer.com/2018/state-editions/huge-scope-in-nanoparticles--bhatnagar-awardee-prof-t-pradeep.html Huge scope in nanoparticles: Bhatnagar awardee Prof T Pradeep

Bhatnagar Prize awardee and noted nanotechnologist Professor T Pradeep from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras delivered a popular lecture at the HNB Garhwal Central University in Srinagar on the weekend.

The lecture was on the subject of emerging trends in the atomically precise nanoparticles of noble metals.

The lecture was organised by professor Geeta Joshi of the university under the banner of National Academy of Sciences, India- Uttarakhandchapter. Speaking on the occasion Pradeep elaborated upon the formation, characterisation, reactions and tremendous future applications of the cluster nanoparticles based on the pioneering work being carried out by his group at IIT Madras.

He also informed the faculty members and students about the different directions in which useful research in this field may be carried out.

Faculty members and students of the university’s physics, chemistry and biochemistry departments from the Birla and Pauri campuses, and National Institute of Technology attended the lecture and also participated in the interactive session on the occasion.

Date: 19th November 2018 Publication: Express Computer Edition: Online Journalist: Salvi Mittal Headline: ‘Newer Opportunities Expected Out Of E-Governance Initiatives For Data Center Players’ URL: https://www.expresscomputer.in/data-center/newer-opportunities-expected-out-of-e-governance-initiatives-for-data-center- players/30225/

‘Newer Opportunities Expected Out Of E-Governance Initiatives For Data Center Players’

In an interview with Express Computer, Sanjay Motwani, Vice President, Asia Pacific, Raritan-a brand of Legrand, speaks about the initiatives to ensure security and safety of citizens' data. Further, he discusses about the scenario of the Indian data center landscape with data localisation. Could you highlight the newer opportunities due to the e-governance initiatives for the data center market? India has seen some of the most prominent e-governance initiatives this year like Aadhaar, DigiLocker, Digi Dhan, and apps like Umang that have paved the way for explosive growth in internet-enabled consumption. Besides, both national and various state governments have come forward and launched their unique schemes under NIC. Most recently, IIT-Madras announced that it will collaborate with Tamil Nadu e-Governance Agency (TNeGA) to enhance data-driven governance. All these e-governance or citizens initiatives are opening an array of opportunities for the Indian data center market to proliferate. With these initiatives, the aim is to simplify the government’s reach to its citizens via the digital services.

These platforms will generate huge amounts of data that has to be not just stored but accessed, transferred and analysed within the government departments from time to time. Therefore, this creates huge opportunities for the Indian data center market to provide an IT infrastructure model that can deliver reliable, innovative and cost-effective solutions to the business in time. Data centers will be integral to the digital transformation of a nation and hence the scalability, speed, as well as physical security of the nation’s IT infrastructure is of utmost importance.

Another contributing growth factor for data center players is the fact that India is the second largest smartphone user country who would definitely subscribe to these e-governance initiatives. Hence, there is a hybrid need for indigenous solutions that will need the integration of both cloud and physical solutions. Due to recent developments, security and optimisation at the rack level have gained much impetus. Both hardware and security solutions market at the data center side will experience a steady growth in India.

With data surge, comes security issues pertaining to the stored data and related threats. The current debate relating to the localisation of the citizens’ data will also result in the data center growth.

How can the security and safety of citizens’ data be ensured through these initiatives?

There are two aspects to be considered while ensuring the security of the data stored. First, the technology that you use on the network. Secondly, the equipment that is storing the data. It is quite obvious that data is travelling over networks and then stored and processed in data centers. Today the infrastructure (UPS, PDU, air-conditioning, etc.) in a DC is also connected on the network. In the past, the security aspect has been focused largely on networks and compute environment – and rightfully so. However, today there are more equipment (as mentioned above), which are connected on the network and security systems on these are not as strong as on compute or network side. Hence, these need to be monitored more closely – which means the behaviour of the equipments need to be closely examined. – e.g. if a devise is doing something (e.g. polling), when it is not supposed, then alarms should be raised.

On the home front, more and more devices are now connected as a part of the IOT revolution. We typically have a simple single step authentication but this is not sufficient, given the nature and amount of data which is now being stored and processed from home. The other major area are devices which are ‘Voice Activated’ (Alexa, Google, Siri, etc). Now all these devices are in “Listening Mode’ all the time. They only respond when they hear a keyword. However, this means that the devices are always listening even when there is no key word. Hence to be doubly safe one should turn these devices off when not in use.

What is the scenario of the Indian Data Center landscape with data localisation?

Data localisation coupled with the burgeoning digital economy will spiral up the data center market exponentially. The Indian data center market has been on a high growth trajectory. With huge investments planned for both on-premise as well as CoLo and Ccoud facilities, the industry will be well equipped to manage the additional storage and compute requirements post data localisation regulations. In addition, with options like Data Center as a Service, even the SMEs and startups would find flexible options keeping in mind their capex and opex limitations.

Data localisation has opened up avenues for data center solution providers, along with security solutions market as most of the data in banking, e-governance, digital businesses are citizen/customer-centric.

How does Raritan support these initiatives through its offerings?

To enable this digital transformation and e-governance initiatives, there is a need to create scalable, agile and secure data centers. We need to optimise the existing capacity in terms of space and more compute power which is more cost effective in the long run. Given the infinite data surge and the nature of this data, we need to create and expand space in the racks wherever possible. A crucial aspect of this expansion could be the choice of PDUs. Balance tilts in favour of PDUs that are capable of extending power distribution all the way to the individual rack and cabinets, without undertaking any major structural changes. We, at Raritan, encourage institutions to vertically expand their data centers by adopting 3 phase iPDUs. By bringing 3-phase power to the racks, power distribution is extended with more compute power reaching to the individual rack and cabinets, without undertaking any major structural changes in the data center. Once the data storage is taken care of, the next criterion is to secure the data which needs to be done at the rack level. In order to address the security concerns around data storage, the government institutions will need to consider implementing smart security solutions at the rack level.

Our SmartLock electronic door access system provides an easy to deploy, cost-effective, economically networked locking solution for data enclosures of all types. It is compatible with all proximity card systems and the seamless SmartLocks can fit into any existing racks. These door access systems also improve workflow management at the rack level and remain secure even during unprecedented power outages by seamlessly integrating with USB cameras, and asset management strips to control workflow.

An additional level of access control and security at the rack level is offered by the digital proximity sensors that detect motion around a cabinet. They can be configured to trigger an event such as taking a webcam picture when a cabinet door is opened, thus protecting your rack cabinets from unauthorised access. Further, they offer the flexibility of linking to third-party devices such as smoke detectors to alert you on fires.

With security, also comes the challenges of managing data on servers in remote locations. Raritan’s KVM over IP Switches offer web-based access to servers from anywhere on the network (LAN, WAN, Internet and dial-up), allowing administrators BIOS-level control to troubleshoot, reconfigure and reboot servers remotely. This can be especially helpful for remote accessing IT infrastructure in the emerging hybrid, distributed data center architecture.

e: 19th November 2018 Publication: Business World Edition: Online Journalist: Neeta Misra Alumni: G. Ananthapadmanabhan Headline: Private Sector Interventions In Malnutrition: What You Can Learn From The Azim Premji Philanthropic Initiative URL: http://www.businessworld.in/article/Private-Sector-Interventions-In-Malnutrition-What-You-Can-Learn-From-The-Azim-Premji- Philanthropic-Initiative-/19-11-2018-164329/

Private Sector Interventions In Malnutrition: What You Can Learn From The Azim Premji Philanthropic Initiative

G. Ananthapadmanabhan (Ananth) is the Chief Executive Officer of Azim Premji Philanthropic Initiatives (APPI), a grant making arm of Mr. Premji’s efforts to contribute to a just, equitable, sustainable and humane society. Ananth was earlier the Chief Executive of the Nobel Prize winning global Human Rights watchdog Amnesty International in India. Ananth graduated in 1988 from IIT Madras with a B Tech in Electrical Engineering.

BW Sustainability has developed a series on nutrition and malnutrition as part of its focus on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG's). Our Sustainability editor Neeta Misra interviews Ananth Padman the CEO of the Azim Premji Philanthropic Initiative (APPI) on this issue.

Why does India face such a persistent problem around malnutrition?

In recent times, there has been more focus in India on the economic aspects of development. However, malnutrition is a problem that goes beyond economics and poverty. Malnutrition is a complex problem which is a combination of social and biological factors like poor dietary habits, social norms that affect nutritional intake of food by women and girls, early marriage of girls, incorrect child rearing practices and lack of adequate knowledge on disease management among children. Hence, there needs to be a system’s approach to solve this problem.

Currently, the system is unable to tackle the malnutrition problem effectively since, what is a multi-faceted problem is sought to be tackled in silos by a few government departments.

Though there are existing systems like the ICDS to tackle malnutrition at the community level - there is a scope to improve their service delivery. For example, there is a need to reduce the huge burden on frontline functionaries of ICDS on not just delivering services but also reporting on them.

Finally, there is a tendency to locate malnutrition in a medical context rather than view it as a citizenship and rights issue that requires better access to entitlements through improved service delivery. How are different states responding to this issue?

Recognizing the multiple determinants of malnutrition, it is encouraging to see that many Indian states have now undertaken multi-sectoral responses to tackle this problem.

Kerala presents a perfect example of how improvement in wide range of social determinants like female education, age at marriage and WASH practices has led to reduction in malnutrition.

Maharashtra is another state which has been able to successfully implement multi-stakeholder response to the persistent problem of undernutrition by instituting Rajmata-Jijau Mother-Child Health and Nutrition Mission. Recent data and studies suggest that the state of Maharashtra was able to reduce child stunting at an accelerated pace majorly because of improvements across a wide range of determinants; and because of sustained action from the government and civil society over a period of more than 10 years.

On similar lines, State Nutrition Missions have also been recently set up in Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and Karnataka.

How is your (APPI) approach in Odisha different to what has been tried before and what do you hope to achieve by 2030?

APPI’s aim is to reduce stunting in Odisha so as to enhance the health of generations, present and future. We hope to strengthen better reach and coverage of Health, Nutrition, Water and Sanitation (HNWASH) services as also, Agriculture, Livelihoods, Animal Husbandry and Fisheries while empowering deprived communities to access their benefits and entitlements.

With an overall goal of supporting Odisha to achieve World Health Assembly targets related to undernutrition by 2025 and Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.

Convergence: As part of our efforts we have brought together various nutrition specific and nutrition sensitive government departments to commit to addressing malnutrition through the Odisha Multi-sectoral Nutrition Action Plan. Nutrition therefore has moved beyond being merely an agenda of the WCD and the Health Departments.

System Strengthening: Additionally, APPI is working closely with the Govt of Odisha to strengthen the existing systems – mainly the ICDS which is the key program that reaches out to mothers and children. Throughout our programming, we are focusing on the 1000 day window –that is from conception till the child is nearly two years old. This is a critical period which if not attended to can result in irreversible cognitive damage to the young child.

Mainstreaming: Besides, the above, we are also demonstrating innovative models through grants to NGOS that can be scaled up and mainstreamed through the government systems. Through all this we at APPI are trying to bring together government, NGOs and academic institutions together to solve for the problem of malnutrition.

What is the future of nutrition in India and the role of the private sector in achieving this?

In India – Malnutrition must be acknowledged as a multifaceted problem that requires a multi sectoral intervention. The National Nutrition Mission is a good example of a serious multi-sectoral effort taken by the government towards addressing it. Nutrition must remain the accountability of the state.

Private sector players and philanthropies can work closely with the government by forging long-term partnerships to support technological innovations, working closely with the government systems to improve the quality of service delivery, investing in infrastructure.

Date: 19th November 2018 Publication: Swarajya Edition: Online Journalist: NA Headline: Pipe Bursts At Kamarajar Port; Chennai Faces Its Second Oil Spill In Two Years URL: https://swarajyamag.com/insta/make-for-india-enhancements-only-for-the-country-will-be-incorporated-once-all-36-rafale-aircraft-are- duly-delivered

Pipe Bursts At Kamarajar Port; Chennai Faces Its Second Oil Spill In Two Years

Pipe Bursts At Kamarajar Port; Chennai Faces Its Second Oil Spill In Two Years Representative Image ( Picture Credits- Facebook/Ｔｕｒｑｕｏｉｓｅトルコ石) Chennai is witnessing its second oil spill in two years as more than two tonnes of thick furnace fuel oil (FFO) spilt when a hose snapped while dispensing oil at the Marine Liquid Terminal-1 located at the Kamarajar Port in the early hours of Sunday (November 18), reports The New Indian Express.

The oil spilt into seawater after the Motor Tanker Coral Stars hose suddenly ruptured at 4:03 am. P Raveendran, Chairman of Kamarajar Port, revealed that the preliminary assessment made showed two tonnes of oil spilt into the sea.

"The emergency response mechanism was immediately activated, and all agencies including Coast Guard swung into action, the spillage was confined to the breakwaters as the fence boom was immediately deployed around the vessel," he said.

The port chairman added saying that, "Ariel survey was also done by the Coast Guard with the seaside reconnaissance by the interceptor boat. The recovery of spilt oil immediately commenced with the help of skimmers and absorbent pads. The recovery process will be completed by tomorrow,"

The Indian Coast Guard, on the other hand, said that it was ascertaining the leakage to gauge the amount of oil lost and has deployed two fast patrol vessels equipped with pollution response equipment to contain the spill.

Meanwhile, Director of State Fisheries, G S Sameeran, said the oil spill had been contained and that his department had collected samples from the fishing community which lives nearby. He also added that there were no reports of fish dying due to the oil spill.

Despite it being the second spill in as many years, the Tamil Nadu government is yet to have a State Oil Spill Disaster Contingency Plan (SOS-DCP) to combat situations like these. IIT Madras has prepared an independent oil spill contingency plan and submitted it to the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board.

We Open ‘Not One But Many Roads’: President Kovind Takes On China’s One Belt One Road Initiative We Open ‘Not One But Many Roads’: President Kovind Takes On China’s One Belt One Road Initiative Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with President Ram Nath Kovind await Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang in New Delhi. (Raj K Raj/Hindustan Times via Getty Images) In what appeared to be a dig at China’s ‘One Belt, One Road’ Initiative (now renamed Belt and Road Initiative), President Ram Nath Kovind said during his visit to Vietnam that the cooperation with India opens “not one but many roads”.

Date: 20th November 2018 Publication: Deal street Asia Edition: Online Journalist: NA Alumni: Kaushik Anand Headline: CapitalG India head quits, to join VC fund floated by ex-Sequoia MDs URL: https://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/capitalg-head-vc-fund-sequoia-111433/

CapitalG India head quits, to join VC fund floated by ex-Sequoia MDs Kaushik Anand, India head, CapitalG Pramugdha Mamgain November 20, 2018 Kaushik Anand, the India head of investment firm CapitalG floated by Google parent Alphabet, is leaving the firm to join A91 Partners, an investment firm set up by three ex-Sequoia Capital managing directors. He is expected to join A91 Partners as a partner early next year, The Economic Times reported. Sequoia Capital’s two former managing directors, VT Bharadwaj and Gautam Mago, launched A91 Partners in July to invest in emerging companies across the consumer, healthcare, financial services and technology sectors. Prior to CapitalG, Kaushik worked at Sequoia Capital between 2012-14, during which he was involved with investments in Cardekho, Idea Device (acquired by Nutanix), Stovekraft, Octro and Moonfrog Labs. He worked with McKinsey & Company before joining Sequoia. He had also started four companies in the US and India in energy and internet including the travel search site, Cleverlayover, according to CapitalG website. One of his US ventures, Kreyada, is no longer active, according to his LinkedIn profile. Kaushik Anand graduated with an engineering degree from IIT Madras, and earned an MBA from Harvard Business School. CapitalG, which was formerly known as Google Capital, started investing in India in 2014 and has backed companies like Aye Finance, Cuemath, CarDekho, Freshworks and Practo. In the US, CapitalG is an investor in companies like Lyft. Stripe, Credit Karma, Airbnb, Snap, Survey Monkey, Glassdoor, Cloudflare among others

Read more at: https://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/capitalg-head-vc-fund-sequoia-111433/

Date: 20th November 2018 Publication: Asian Tribune Edition: Online Journalist: NA Headline: Silicon Valley based GTEN organizing conference in Chennai in January URL: http://www.asiantribune.com/node/92306

Silicon Valley based GTEN organizing conference in Chennai in January

From Gopal Ethiraj in Chennai Chennai, 20 November 2018 (Asiantribune.com): :The Silicon Valley based Global Tamil Entrepreneurs Network (GTEN) is organizing a conference in Chennai in January, called GTENChennai. The conference will be held in conjunction with the GIM (Global Investors Meet) being organized by the Tamil Nadu government. It will be held on January 25.

GTENChennai (gtenchennai.com) will bring together the world Tamil entrepreneurs, investors, industry influencers and thought leaders and innovators. GTEN will create partnerships and offers great value for learning, sharing innovations and ideas by the community.

Narasimhan Kasthurirangan, one of the conveners of GTENChennai, based in California, says: The event will be packed with key notes, panel discussions and mentor connect sessions from among the successful community entrepreneurs. There will be a panel on Cross border innovation with experts from Tamil Nadu and the US and other countries discussing about the startup climate in the State.

There will be a pitching session by startups and networking party in a fun and informal setting. Mentor sessions will offer learning opportunities. GTEN is free for those who are attending GIM from other places. Various TiE chapters are helping in making it a great success. Around 500 delegates are expected to attend it. GTEN itself was formed at TiECon Silicon Valley by volunteers of TiESV.

GTENSV is being held every year since 2017 during TiECon Silicon Valley. The meet provided networking opportunity for Tamil entrepreneurs from all over the world who attended TIECon last year. GTEN will be held in other countries where Tamils are living. Various universities alumni associations like BITS, IITMadras, NIT and other engineering colleges will be involved in the exercise, said Paddu Govindaraj, one of the co- founders of GTEN.

The idea of GTENChennai was discussed with the Tamil Nadu IT minister, Manikandan, last month and the industry minister, M C Sampath, recently at the GIM roadshow in Silicon Valley.

Chennai is touted as SaaS capital of India with close to 50 startups in SaaS area, the focus will be on IT startups.

But there will be sessions on connected vehicles and electric vehicles, AI and other technology areas. Already, a startup in electric bikes, SVM Bikes, is keen to be participate. The conference will be produced by the local chapter.

Dorai Thodla, well known in startup circle, is leading the pack. The focus of GTEN is to connect youth, women and emerging entrepreneurs of our community in the US with India and other parts of the world for better business collaborations. GTENs will be held during TiEcons in different parts of the world and will be a regular feature, Narasimhan Kasturi said.

Tamils living in other parts of the world interested to host GTEN or sponsor can contact Narasimhan (Narsi) Kasturi at [email protected].

Date: 20th November 2018 Publication: The New Indian Express Edition: Kochi Page No: 4 Journalist: NA Headline: State mulls coastal information system stations URL: http://www.newindianexpress.com/states/kerala/2018/nov/20/kerala-mulls-coastal-information-system-stations-1900531.html

Date: 21st November 2018 Publication: Mint Edition: Delhi / Pune / Bangalore / Hyderabad / Chennai / Ahmedabad / Chandigarh/Mumbai/Kolkata Page No: 2 Journalist: Prasannata Patwa Headline: Robotics start-up DeTect raises $3.3 run in funding round led by SAIF Partners URL: https://www.livemint.com/Companies/Ld8H3fxid6m9MNy0LXHxaI/DeTect-Technologies-raises-33-millio

Date: 21st November 2018 Publication: Gadgets Now Edition: Online Journalist: Sreeradha D Basu and Prachi Verma Headline: Google returns to IITs after 2-year break URL: https://www.gadgetsnow.com/tech-news/google-returns-to-iits-after-2-year-break/articleshow/66704347.cms

Date: 21st November 2018 Publication: Your Story Edition: Online Journalist: Sindhu Kashyap Alumni: Tarun Mishra, Daniel Raj David, Harikrishnan AS, Karthik R Professor: Prof Krishnan Balasubramanian Headline: Chennai-based DeTect Technologies raises $3.3M Series A funding led by SAIF Partners URL: https://yourstory.com/2018/11/chennai-based-detect-technologies-raises-3-3-m-series-funding-led-saif-partners-global-expansion/

Chennai-based DeTect Technologies raises $3.3M Series A funding led by SAIF Partners

Sindhu Kashyap posted 9 hours ago IoT startup DeTect Technologies, which creates intelligent asset monitoring and inspection solutions, will use new funds to build manufacturing capabilities and expand in international markets.

Headquartered in Chennai, internet-of-things (IoT) startup DeTect Technologies has raised $3.3 million in Series A funding, led by SAIF Partners. The round also saw participation from the Keiretsu Forum, BlueHill Capital, Axilor Ventures, and Bharath Innovation Fund.

The funds will be used for international expansion, and to build the manufacturing capabilities needed for mass production of the startup's patented technology products, NOCTUA and GUMPS. The two products aim to boost the productivity of industries by focusing on increasing efficiency and reducing opportunities for manual error. DeTect is also looking to double its employee count this year.

The startup was founded in 2013 in the IIT-Madras incubator by alumni Tarun Mishra, Daniel Raj David, Harikrishnan AS, Karthik R, and Professor Krishnan Balasubramanian. It began with the idea of becoming a global leader in asset integrity and monitoring solutions.

“The focus is on risk analysis across different industries, but predominately in the Oil and Gas sector,” Daniel said. He added, “By developing sensor technology, drone technology, image processing, and machine learning algorithms in India, our products focus on improving operational efficiencies for industries at large by helping them enhance monitoring, and increasing safety and accuracy.”

The fund raise will supplement the core R&D focus of the company, which currently has operations in Chennai, Bengaluru, Jamnagar, and UK.

DeTect Technologies founding team picture The Founders of DeTect Technologies: Tarun Mishra, Daniel Raj David, Harikrishnan AS, Karthik R, and Professor Krishnan Balasubramanian. What do the products do? Speakaing about product development, Daniel said, “We built close to 15-20 different technological solutions, but realised that we wanted to focus on a product that would solve a core problem that could revolutionalise the sector. This got us to think of two problems - pipeline leakage and corrosion, and inspection of large volume assets.”

Speakaing about pipeline leakage and corrosion, Daniel said leakage not only causes productivity damage amounting to $1-2 million, but also has lasting environmental impact. “Many people lose their life due to pipeline explosions. Our research showed that there was no technology that could monitor pipeline integrity in real time and in temperatures beyond 100 degrees Celsius. Refineries have pipelines with temperatures that go over 200 degrees Celsius,” he added.

This leads to shutdowns; often, pipeline thickness needs to be checked at multiple points. This is an expensive and operationally intensive proposition.

Daniel said GUMPS is the first sensor that can monitor pipeline thickness change in real time with the help of machine learning algorithms. This, in turn, increases the efficiency of the inspection process. “A unique feature of the product is that it can operate at temperatures of up to 300 degrees Celsius. We can scan the whole structure and give exact data and updates,” Daniel said.

Focusing on patented technology NOCTUA, on the other hand, is an industrial drone, which is tailor-made for process industry inspections. It conducts automated visual and thermal inspections of industrial infrastructureand significantly reduces maintenance and inspection efforts, including scaffoldings, etc.

Mridul Arora, Managing Director, SAIF Partners, in a press statement said, “We are very excited to partner with the DeTect team as they bring a rare combination of deep domain expertise, global market opportunity, and high entrepreneurial energy. Global oil and gas majors have flocked to DeTect to take advantage of their asset monitoring and inspection solutions, and we’re confident that the team will continue to expand its global footprint.”

Daniel explained that while they got the patent in 2013, they spent the last five years ensuring that the technology was robust and industrially ready. “We also got certifications to introduce it to a global market,” he said.

The startup aims to leverage high-end engineering talent, build deep technology, design cutting-edge infrastructure and create high-end patented solutions for asset risk monitoring and to estimate life predictions. They currently have orders within India and are also working with companies in the US, the UK, Portugal, and Singapore.

Date: 21st November 2018 Publication: Bangalore Mirror Edition: Bangalore Page No: 4 Journalist: Kumaran P Headline: HSc resurrects QUASI to support LGBTQIA+ URL: https://bangaloremirror.indiatimes.com/bangalore/others/indian-institute-of-science-resurrects-quasi-to-support- lgbtqia/articleshow/66715912.cms

Date: 21st November 2018 Publication: The Economic Times Edition: Pune /Bangalore/Hyderabad/ Ahmedabad Page No: 11 Journalist: Mugdha Varlyar Alumni: Tarun Mishra, Daniel Raj David, Harikrishnan AS, Karthik R Professor: Prof Krishnan Balasubramanian Headline: SAIF Partners Invests $3.3 m in Chennai Startup Detect URL: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/small-biz/startups/newsbuzz/saif-partners-pumps-3-3-million-into-chennai-firm-detect- technologies/articleshow/66728701.cms

Date: 22nd November 2018 Publication: The Times of India Edition: Chennai /Ahmedabad Page No: 15 Journalist: NA Headline: loT startup DeTect Technologies raises $3.3m

Date: 21st November 2018 Publication: Your Story Edition: Online Journalist: Venkatesh Krishnamoorthy Alumni: Deekshit Vara Prasad, Yasa Pavan Reddy and Vanam Sravan Krishna Headline: Three former IIT-Madras students launch India’s first indigenous smart air purifier URL: https://yourstory.com/2018/11/airok-iit-madras-indigenous-air-purifier/

Three former IIT-Madras students launch India’s first indigenous smart air purifier

Incubated at IIT-Madras, AirOK has developed Vistar 550, a smart air purifier that uses patent-pending technology and has found application in the healthcare, real estate, hospitality, and IT sectors.

AirOK Founders AirOK Founders (L-R, in front) Yasa Pavan Reddy, Deekshit Vara Prasad, and Vanam Sravan Krishna with team members. Air pollution is a silent killer claiming one percent of the world’s population every year. A report by The Lancet Commission ranked India - with 2.51 million deaths – number 1 in pollution-related deaths, in 2015. And it isn’t just the national capital where the situation is alarming. Of the 10 most polluted cities in the world, six are in India.

Enter AirOK, an IIT-Madras incubated startup that has launched an indigenously developed smart air purifier, Vistar 550. Launched by three former IIT-Madras students – Deekshit Vara Prasad, Yasa Pavan Reddy and Vanam Sravan Krishna – the startup manufactures air purifiers that use a patent-pending technology to filter out major pollutants and gaseous substances.

The first-of-its-kind technology is completely indigenous and has seen wide uptake by businesses. Presently, AirOK supplies air purifiers to healthcare, real estate, hospitality, and IT sectors. Some units have also been delivered to homes in Delhi as well.

The case for AirOK purifiers AirOK launched Vistar 550, a smart air purifier for the B2B segment, in July 2018. Using efficient granular absorbent particulate arrester (EGAPA), the purifier can filter out particulate matter, microbes, fungus, and gaseous substances (carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, sulphur dioxide). The founders claim this is the only purifier at present capable of filtering this combination of pollutants.

Vistar 550 covers an area of 550 square feet, but AirOK also provides customised solutions for larger spaces. Vistar has a clean air delivery rate (CADR) of 480 m3 per hour, which is 10 percent more than the air purifiers available in the market. The filter can last for one year as opposed to commercial purifiers where HEPA filters have to be replaced twice a year.

A pilot test of this purifier was done at Child Trust Hospital in Nungambakkam. “It was very efficient in removing air-borne bacteria in the paediatric intensive care unit,” the hospital confirmed. After testing the product with Shriram Institute for Industrial Research, Bengaluru, the product was ready for launch. Just before launch, AirOK was approached by Doordarshan Kendra, Chennai, to help tackle pollution in the server room. Now, AirOK's air purifier has repeat orders from Doordarshan.

“We have sold 120 units till now,” Deekshit says. Vistar 550 is also available online.

“We are also testing the air purifier with an automaker,” he says. Cars manufactured by the automaker will have an air purifier integrated into them. AirOK, which is focusing on cleaning up the air quality in kitchens, is also eyeing large public spaces where the ambient atmosphere is polluted.

“Our hotspot is Delhi,” says Pavan, who also heads AirOK’s marketing efforts. The response has been tremendous in the many expos and events that AirOK has participated in Delhi. Post-launch, sales are brisk in Delhi as well. The SAR group, which invests in clean technology and offers the Livpure brand, invested $2 million (Rs 12 crore) in AirOK in November 2017.

A home-grown startup The Environmental Engineering Department at IIT-Madras was the ideation ground for the three founders. The trio was working on different projects, all related to air pollution. “When looking at solutions for air pollution control technologies, we wanted to develop one technology to counter all pollutants,” Deekshit says.

Sravan’s master’s project was developed into a prototype, which was approved by the IIT-Madras Incubation Cell for development as a product.

The founders developed three prototypes in 18 months and the IIT-Madras incubation cell invested Rs 5 lakh as seed fund and assessed the progress made. When the trio was able to develop a prototype using the seed money, the incubation cell helped the startup get a loan of Rs 30 lakh at a low rate of interest from the IIT-M Alumni Fund. Deekshit, Pavan and Sravan developed commercial prototypes using that money. “Fabrication of the design was the biggest challenge,” Deekshit says.

Sravan, who leads R&D efforts, came up with a unique sensor-based design to assess pollution levels on the go. The sensor switches the device on or off, depending upon the pollution level. The purifier has a circular shape, enabling 360-degree coverage.

Work on the startup began in April 2015 with an audacious dream: making the world’s air free from toxins and pollutants. Deekshit initiated work on the startup after working in an Indo-German project on air pollution technologies. He says, “I joined the project after my BTech. I didn’t want to follow the crowd, I wanted to do something different. I told my parents to give me two years to try something.”

The market and future A report by market research firm ReportLinker states that rising disposable income, improving lifestyle, and worsening air pollution are driving market growth for air purifiers. “Growing affordability, rising hygiene concerns, the aspiration to lead a healthy lifestyle, and rapid decline in prices of air purifiers will further boost the growth of the market,” the report says.

According to a TechSci Research report, India Air Purifiers Market By Filter Type, By End User Sector, By Region & By Company Forecast and Opportunities, 2011-2021, the market for air purifiers in India is forecast to reach $209 million by 2021, due to rising awareness about the impact of indoor and outdoor pollution on human health and growing consumer awareness. Air purifier sales are expected to grow at 24 percent between 2018 and 2024, according to Bluewave Consulting. Amazon India started delivering air purifiers online in 2015. Brands operating in the Indian market include Honeywell, Philips, Kent, LG, Sharp, Hindustan Unilever, Havells, Mi, and Usha Shriram. Home-grown brands include Crusaders, Dyson, and Purita. However, all of them use HEPA filters in contrast to AirOK.

As of now, different products to tackle air pollution are being tested in the AirOK laboratory. The startup aims to become the one-stop solution for all air pollution-related products developed indigenously, and the co-founders are working towards their grand vision of placing a giant air purifier in public spaces in India – something already in place in China. “Our mission is to help people counter air pollution and lead a pollution- free life,” Deekshit says.

Date: 22nd November 2018 Publication: The Times of India Edition: Mumbai Page No: 2 Journalist: Yogita Rao Headline: Only 15 IITians opt out of career race for studies, 1 to start venture URL: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/only-15-iitians-opt-out-of-career-race-for-studies-1-to-start- venture/articleshow/66740617.cms

Date: 21st November 2018 Publication: The Economic Times Edition: Online Journalist: Mugdha Variyar Alumni: Daniel Raj David Headline: SAIF Partners pumps $3.3 million into Chennai firm Detect Technologies URL: tps://economictimes.indiatimes.com/small-biz/startups/newsbuzz/saif-partners-pumps-3-3-million-into-chennai-firm-detect- technologies/articleshow/66728701.cms

Date: 21st November 2018 Publication: The Hindu Edition: Page No: Journalist: NA Headline: Entertainment on the high seas on the cards URL: https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Visakhapatnam/entertainment-on-the-high-seas-on-the-cards/article25554569.ece Entertainment on the high seas on the cards Santosh Patnaik VISAKHAPATNAM, NOVEMBER 21, 2018 09:44 IST UPDATED: NOVEMBER 21, 2018 09:44 IST SHARE ARTICLE 5 0 PRINT A A A

A view of the sea in Visakhapatnam where international cruise terminal is proposed. A view of the sea in Visakhapatnam where international cruise terminal is proposed.

Visakhapatnam Port Trust plans to build international cruise terminal in the city Visakhapatnam known for its unique spoon-shaped topography surrounded by hill ranges on three sides and Bay of Bengal on the other, the picturesque beachfront area in North Andhra will soon become a hub for leisure tourists with the Visakhapatnam Port Trust finalising a blueprint to construct an international cruise terminal.

While Central Water and Power Research Station, Pune, has submitted favourable reports on shoreline and navigational studies, IIT-Madras will submit its final report by month-end.

In the draft report, the IIT experts found the proposal viable.

The international cruise terminal with ability to receive 300-metre length overall (LOA) vessels carrying 1,500 passengers will be developed between Visakha Container Terminal and entry channel without affecting the bulk storage area. It is not yet decided whether to develop a calling on cruise, where the luxury ships reach early in the day and leave late in the evening or hub port like the one in Singapore where cruise liners have the facility for halt for a few days.

Tie-up with APTDC “We want to develop the terminal, the first of its kind in the east coast, at a cost of ₹80 crore out of which half will be mobilised from our internal accruals,” VPT Chairman M.T. Krishna Babu has told The Hindu. The Ministry of Tourism has decided in principle to sanction the remaining ₹40 crore. Required draft for the terminal is available in both inner and outer harbours.

VPT has plans to tie up with AP Tourism Development Corporation to facilitate the passengers to visit Buddhist circuit or enjoy spiritual tourism, adventure or nature tourism or wellness tourism.

The port developed slipway jetty near the Fishing Harbour during International Fleet Review in 2016 to allow landing of various ships at a cost of ₹5 crore. The 102-m facility was also used for the Vizag Yachting Festival held in March.

At present, India has international terminals in Mumbai, Kochi, Goa, Chennai and New Mangalore.

Mumbai is constructing a high-end terminal qualified to be called airport terminal at a cost of ₹300 crore. The funds are being released under Sagarmala and Ministry of Tourism, according to sources.

Date: 22nd November 2018 Publication: Factor Daily Edition: Online Journalist: Sunny Sen & Anand Murali Professor : Prof B Ravindran Headline: Amazon has an AI vision and Rajeev Rastogi is shaping it URL: https://factordaily.com/amazon-has-an-ai-vision-and-rajeev-rastogi-is-shaping-it/

Amazon has an AI vision and Rajeev Rastogi is shaping it

When Rajeev Rastogi returned to India from the US in 2004, his day job was set for him: boot up Bell Labs’ India operations. For a person interested in data and its myriad uses, setting up a networking business wasn’t the most exciting thing to do. “I was told that if I have to stay in the company, I had to do something with networking,” he recalls.

Data may have been early on the hype cycle but Rastogi had no doubts about its future. Still, he was working with a networking company – Bell Labs was a unit of Lucent Technologies, the networking spin-off from US telecom major AT&T.

The Indian telecom scene was chaotic then. Reliance Industries had put the mobile at the centre of mobile communications with a connection and a handset coming at as low as Rs 500 a month in two years earlier. Networks were patchy and equipment vendors scrambled to meet the demands of ever-hungry telecom operators.

At the core of a telecom network is a lot about data: signal strength, call drops, subscriber density, black spots, call handover success, the overlap of cells, and several other parameters. “A lot of alarms get generated when a connection drops… We had to cluster all the alarms (and data generated) and find out where the problem really is,” Rastogi says of an instance.

Rastogi had been dabbli ng with data even earlier – he holds a PhD in computer science from the University of Austin at Texas and more than 50 patents – and Bell Labs India was the springboard into a career of solving problems using data. Yahoo! Labs came after the Bell Labs gig before Amazon convinced to switch over.

Rastogi is the director of machine learning at Amazon India and has been ranked among one of the top 10 data scientists in India. The e- commerce giant is looking at putting artificial intelligence and ML at the heart of everything it does. According to Rastogi, the problems that AI and ML need to spar within India are very different from the Amazon universe in the rest of the world, especially because the data available is not of high quality.

Work done by Rastogi, who holds a Ph.D in computer science from University of Austin at Texas, is classroom material today in AI and data sciences classes. He has more than 50 patents to his name. Work done by Rastogi, who holds a Ph.D in computer science from University of Austin at Texas, is classroom material today in AI and data sciences classes. He has more than 50 patents to his name. Amazon is not the only company that is focussing on AI and ML, to be sure. Google, Microsoft and Apple, too, are heavily focussing on the frontier technology. That makes Rastogi’s work even more challenging.

Balaraman Ravindran, an IIT Madras professor who is widely considered to be India’s foremost reinforcement learning expert, points out that some of Rastogi’s algorithms have now become a staple in classrooms. “He is by far the most well known, well-cited data science and machine learning people working in India even though most of his high impact work was done earlier outside. Several of his algorithms we teach in textbooks and now have become standard parts of books that people teach,” says Ravindran, adding that having an expert like Rastogi in India is good for the field in the country.

The Amazon crawl Rastogi started his career at AT&T Bell Labs in 1993 before the internet entered the public consciousness. “Life is all about being at the right place at the right time. Data mining became an important area in the mid-to-late 90s,” he says.

But, few believed that ML would make it big. AT&T, in fact, shut down its machine learning division in the mid-1990s and got it back up and running in 2000. Rastogi still remembers the early movers in the space. “There was an algorithm, Apiary, that came out of IBM Research in 1998 in data mining,” he recalls of one of the early attempts of trying to find the truth hidden in data.

That is where a lot of excitement came around finding patterns. Apiary could find patterns and pair products that got sold at retail counters. It may seem not unusual today because Amazon does a lot of that today. One example, that got a lot of media attention was how companies can sell more diapers and beer together.

Ravindran calls Rastogi a data mining pioneer. “He has done a lot to move away from statistics and other methods to something called data mining where you deal with analysing data at really really large scale,” says the professor.

According to him, the success of e-commerce businesses is not only because they cater to the bulk of the market but also because they cater to the very very long tail. “And when you also cater to the long tail, it becomes a matter of making the tail aware that what they want is available, and even making the tail aware what is it that they want also sometimes,” says Ravindran. “The better your tools are, the better your recommendation systems are, the better served are your customers.”

At Bell Labs, Rastogi’s role was to build algorithms that would scale, work with large quantities of data. Bell Labs, he remembers, had a very good statistics department. Its focus was mostly on pitting models to data that they had and find solutions in the networking space. Where machine learning came in was when they took a lot of the statistical approaches and finding parameters, to do analysis on huge amounts of data.

“I went into databases, and then went into data mining in 1998-99. How do you run the algorithm on a billion records… At that time companies didn’t think much about big data,” says Rastogi. These were complex algorithms that few companies would want to invest their time and money in.

It was only when Rastogi joined Yahoo in 2008, things started changing for him. Yahoo was trying to predict clicks on the ads. It did a lot of information extraction from web pages. “We were crawling billions of pages, and the page structures keep changing. So, you have to constantly learn and use that to get the pricing. We had to cluster pages (which) was not easy at a billion page level,” remembers Rastogi.

He worked on it for two-three years. At that time Yahoo even crawled Amazon’s website and looked for prices of products and when someone would search on the product, Yahoo would show them up in their search results.

Building a shopping guide In 1998, Rastogi wrote his first paper in clustering. Clustering is typically grouping. “Those days people were not looking at large data sets,” he said. Since then Rastogi has made a lot of contributions to large-scale data analysis and management, published over 100 papers in international conferences, and 33 papers in international journals. His research has over 12,500 citations.

All that has come together at Amazon, a pioneer in collaborative filtering algorithms that essentially figures out which pair of products that are bought together. With its own learnings and the advancement of technology, Amazon now tries to predict buying patterns better.

If someone has bought a set of five products, what should be that person’s next buy? For example, if you have bought a mattress, bed sheets, and pillows on Amazon, it suggests you buy a mattress protector. Or, if you have bought baby diapers, your Amazon app will compile and present special offers of baby products: for instance, it would show offers on the newborn baby store with discounts on wipes, baby cream, powder and other products. Rastogi points that these predictions are not personalised and is based on sifting through large data sets

Then, a change in the technology landscape triggered an even bigger change in data sciences in 2012 — when image recognition really took off. Rastogi and his teams started finding more problems to solve. “That is when ML really took off,” he says.

At Amazon, it was deep and brute applications of ML. Amazon started using AI and ML to a broad set of problems, from the ranking of deals to improving address quality, from building a better catalogue by finding missing descriptions in titles (that don’t have brands and colour) to finding out defective images.

“In India, in general, the data quality is very low,” says Rastogi. That is also because e-commerce is new in India, so people are not used to it. Rastogi wants more people to prepay orders, which isn’t the case today. A lot of people use cash-on-delivery or they buy offline. ML can help solve that problem if Rastogi is able to reduce the margin of error in building a more wholesome catalogue.

Next, Amazon has a lot of user-generated content in terms of reviews and search data. All this data that it has needs to get analysed, to figure out what customers really expect, and how certain or all products can be of better quality.

There is a virtuous cycle at work driving such work. How? By helping Amazon design and sell products where supply lags demand but it is not immediately obvious to producers. Welcome to Amazon’s private label business – a business largely fuelled by learnings from its algorithms. Globally, its private labels contributed $450 million in sales in 2017. In India, Amazon is targeting 25% of its revenue from private labels. It already offers a wide selection of clothes, electronics, home items, among others.

How does it work? For example, in a cell phone Amazon would look for the features that people really want, and to do that by mining data at its disposal and gain product design insights. “Leverage those insights to come out with products that customers will like… That is an interesting effort that we are starting to work on,” says Rastogi.

Figuring out where a customer is on her relationship with Amazon is a key goal. “Customers are on a journey here on Amazon, and over a period they are going to buy a lot of different things,” he adds. Reinforcement learning, for instance, has many such applications. One of its application, he says, is to figure out where the customer is in her purchase cycle, guide her, and take her close to buying the right products. Reinforcement learning is a type of ML or a type of application of AI. The process involves a system performs a function and assesses its results iteratively until the required result is reached. Think of it as learning to ride a bicycle. Each time after you lose balance, the body will adjust itself the next time so that the same mistake does not happen and after several falls and balance fixes, you learn to ride the bicycle in a stable fashion.

Solving for the future In the Indian context, Rastogi thinks once the first 100 million users are crossed, Amazon will have to target a different set of customers, people who are not versed with English and are not comfortable with the internet for purchases. That is when he thinks voice will play a critical role.

“There are people who are not internet savvy and there are people who don’t even know how to type,” he says. “There are people who prefer voice interfaces. Having people in tier-II and tier-III towns shopping and interacting through voice interfaces is one big challenge.”

Voice is one challenge that deep learning has helped tremendously, but there are still issues with different accents and dialects. Google is also trying to solve the voice problem – especially when it comes to search and watch videos – but it is more difficult in India. If ML can enable shopping on mobile with voice-assisted technologies just like you would shop while interacting with a shopkeeper in the physical world, Amazon would have scored. Alexa is one step forward in that direction. Rastogi is quick at giving an example. Old people are not very internet savvy, but then by using Alexa they can use the internet. They can perhaps get the same experience as in a shop. Technology is advancing where it can answer questions like ‘Will the colour of this saree fade’ or ‘Will this cloth shrink’. That kind of interactions, he says, have started happening but it is far from being perfect.

The other area where Rastogi’s team is doing significant work is on listings. The catalogue should be informative, accurate, and keep out listings that go against Amazon’s listing policy. For example, Amazon has something called the obscene content category, where certain products and pictures need to be removed from the website or app. It uses ML to weed out all of that. Certain types of colour mean there is more skin show in the photographs. “We have algorithms to tell when the image is defective. Once your catalogue is of better quality, the machine learns from the catalogue,” says Rastogi.

In a catalogue, if any information is missing, the algorithm tries to fill it. For example, if a particular product is blue in colour, and the listing doesn’t have it in its description, the code will add the information to the product description. If a brand name is there but the name of the company is missing, Amazon’s ML algorithm tries to add that.

“In India, we are working on forecasting for sellers. We will tell them if there is a demand for a particular item, we will tell them how much he should be (stocking),” says Rastogi, adding this project is work in progress. His teams in India are working on as many as 20 different AI and ML projects.

For now, we don’t have general intelligence, explains Rastogi. “We have problem specific intelligence… The challenge in India is again is that the quality of the data is not as good, so the algorithms won’t learn as good.”

Rastogi started his time with Amazon in 2012. His first work was classifying items in Amazon’s 20,000 leaf-node product taxonomy. “Classify the product into the appropriate leaf. We worked on that problem for two years. The first set of models took six months, and then we continue to improve that,” he says.

The holy grail of ML for Rastogi? It will be when “I should automatically generate a Wikipedia page or generate a summary”. He goes a step ahead: “Show a movie to a machine and the machine should be able to generate a review.”

Date: 23rd November 2018 Publication: The Times of India Edition: Chennai Page No: 3 Journalist: NA Headline: Chennai airport terminal roof turns leaky again URL: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/chennai-airport-terminal-roof-turns-leaky-again/articleshow/66757923.cms

Date: 23rd November 2018 Publication : Factor Daily Edition: Online Journalist: Pankaj Mishra Alumni: Tarun Mehta Headline: Outliers 79: Tarun Mehta on the importance of keeping to your core vision URL: https://factordaily.com/outliers-79-tarun-mehta-on-the-importance-of-keeping-to-your-core-vision/ Outliers 79: Tarun Mehta on the importance of keeping to your core vision Pankaj Mishra November 23, 2018 39 min

Entrepreneurship is hard. No matter what you’re building. It becomes even harder when you’re building something that’s not understood by many, and even worse if the product is clearly ahead of its time.

But founders are crazy. They see opportunities when no one sees them. They also get blinded sometimes by it and fail.

When Tarun Mehta started building Ather Energy, India’s first electric two-wheelers, his startup was being written off even before the pre- orders started.

After getting his pitch rejected by 80 investors ( is that a magic number? Even Kabeer of Dunzo had a similar number of rejections before getting funded), Tarun finally met Sachin Bansal.

“What should I change in this pitch deck?”

“Don’t change anything. This is how you’ll build this.”

Perhaps only a fellow entrepreneur can empathize with another founder’s dogged optimism. So here’s to the entrepreneurial mafia being led by Sachin Bansal and several others.

Hat-tip to Kanika Berry who helped transcribe the conversation, which is produced lightly edited below:

Pankaj: So, welcome to Outliers. This is a podcast with Outliers and some Outliers take long to have a sit-down, some don’t take so long. But you know, I am really excited today to sit down with Tarun Mehta, who is the co-founder of Ather Energy. Tarun, welcome to the podcast.

Tarun: Hi Pankaj. Thanks for inviting me.

Pankaj: So why do I think you are Outlier? I think that would be a fair question for me to answer before I ask you questions.

Tarun: Yes, please do answer that.

Pankaj: I think the first time, around that time we were launching FactorDaily… I think it was…

Tarun: I think it was early 2016.

Pankaj: Yes, very early. And of course your name came up in some conversations and I said you are going to be building two-wheelers and that itself was an Outlier act because we are so used to, especially when it comes to entrepreneurship in India, listening to the next e-commerce startup and you know, this really stood out. So I will be honest, that’s when the mindshare happened and since then, of course, I have been tracking, thanks to my colleague Anand (Murali), who keeps a tab on what you do and how.

Tarun: He has been a follower, a supporter.

Pankaj: He has been a supporter and he keeps it tight. I think why we enter into these conversations with entrepreneurs like you because our belief is that the journeys that you go through have tremendous lessons to offer to others who are either in the journey or about to start a journey. And, if we catch you in the middle of such a journey, there is an opportunity to you know, unlock some great lessons. That’s the idea.

So, let us start from the start, Tarun. Tell me where do you come from? Who you are and then we can get into why you are doing whatever you are doing.

Tarun: Right. So I am originally from Rajasthan, born and brought up in Ahmedabad, did my schooling there, and then went to (college) in Chennai: IIT Madras. And dad has a small software business, distribution mostly, mom is a homemaker and also an LIC agent. So I am a Marwari originally but it’s not one of those classic Marwari family where everybody’s in business. So we have a mix, some folks are in business, some are in service but mostly in Gujarat and Rajasthan, most folks. It’s only, I think in the last few years that people have started moving out. So that’s the basic background.

I met my co-founder Swapnil Jain in college, we were in the same department, same year, same hostel and we spent five years together and sometime around our second year, he was very excited about energy as a sector. I don’t know how to even describe it, such an underlying, basic thing to the economy. He had an idea to build an engine called Sterling Engine. It was a very fascinating concept as young engineers. He was building a prototype and he was calling himself Ather Energy back then. Actually, my memory is not very clear. I am not sure if he was already calling himself Ather Energy or by the time I joined him and then later he came up with Ather Energy but either way he came up with a name.

So, he had a lot of clarity about that. Around the second year, the end is when I got fascinated and I joined him in the side project that he was running called Sterling Engines. We spent the next few years trying to commercially build these engines while still at college. Ours was a five-year course.

Sterling Engines… they can technically run it at Carnot efficiencies. I am talking about 60%, 70%, 80%… efficiencies and something that can (run) around any fuel source. So our idea was that we will build an engine that people in rural markets can buy at low enough costs and they can burn farm waste below the engine and that will start the engine and will generate electricity on which they can run their houses. Instead of burning of the farms as they do it in Haryana which does not yield much, they would actually just burn it below the engine which will at least give them electricity. So, now there is a commercial application for it, in their house itself.

We built a lot of them, we built I think, four or five of those prototypes over three years, spent a lot of time, spent some money, we kept raising small amounts of money via college not as a company but as a project… (but) couldn’t commercially make it viable. I think we did a fairly bad job of engineering, probably a good job as a young engineer but not a good job as far as commercialisation goes.

We also did a whole bunch of other stuff while we were still at college, we had built a lot of stuff outside of coursework and this was just one of them. There were like 2-3 other projects. By the time we were graduating out, what had happened was, we were pretty clear that we want to do something together, we want to build stuff, we want to create value by building products, and we want to build something in the energy sector. We didn’t have an idea that at that time of graduation, so like you know what, let’s just take up jobs, let’s just stay in engineering and we will have an idea someday. Whenever that idea is right, we will come back to this. So, we gave ourselves a few years time, just to sort of mull over stuff, give ourselves some time because five years is a long time, we had tried enough stuff. We took up different jobs and after that is when Ather… the current story starts from there. So do you want me to talk about that?

Pankaj: Yes, why don’t we jump to it? But before that, a lot of people I have been talking to, I think over a decade and all, when it comes to engineering in India, they say that somewhere engineers got into this coding thing and they forgot that engineering is actually to build things, right? So when you are talking about this stuff that you were building, I am just trying to understand because you were in one of those campuses itself, what happens, I mean, what is missing? Why don’t we have enough people who are trying to build stuff like really build stuff? I mean, where do things get lost?

Tarun: First, I would not look down upon coding. I think you can build a lot of phenomenal stuff in software, actually, that’s where the bulk of the creation today is happening. It is just that in our environment very few people actually end up building products, most people end building services of some sort, so hence we don’t feel what a good software can do.

But that aside, because anyways, we didn’t go down in that direction. I think, primarily, both of us, (a) the department we were in, we were in engineering design and engineering design is a mash-up between multiple departments but a lot of it is in mechanical engineering. My specialisation was largely in robotics, so mostly I spent my time doing mathematics, linear algebra and Swapnil’s specialisation was in thermal dynamics, more or less. So, you get the angle, right? We were in that discipline there.

The second thing that happened was, I think you are just in the right place because our department was very, very new. We were the third batch of that department, so it was the youngest department that IIT Madras had and the faculty was super pumped up and excited which is… to be honest, no offence but a rare thing to find in most departments because faculty has been burned down over several decades of nobody actually doing anything exciting. …our faculty was absolutely pumped up that, yes, we are a new department, we are going to build stuff.

There was that sort of a feeling. I remember how the labs were built up, we actually helped transport some stuff from one department here to another because the department building is coming up in front of us, so there was a lot of this community feeling that you know, we are in this together and the professors, one of the guiding principles was, ‘you got to build stuff’. So the concept of engineering design was to build a product end-to-end. We actually had courses right in our first year on product thinking, on management, on what is the business plan, what does the customer want, how do you think of those things.

We also had our courses in mechanical design, we had a lot of courses on just prototyping. I remember there was this course for six months long and the entire point of that course was no classes, you will just pick up a concept and you will build it over six months, you will just prototype it over six months and the department will actually give you some money – Rs 20,000, Rs 50,000, Rs 60,000… just form small teams and build it and then prepare reports, justify why this is financially viable, justify the bill of materials, build up a business case, go do some customer research. So, we would actually go and do customer research, we would from these quality functional deployments – QFDs, justify that this feature in this spec makes sense. Honestly, very little of that is taught to a regular engineer in almost any college.

Pankaj: Yes, I am really surprised. I actually didn’t know any of this.

Tarun: (Smiles) So, that’s also my part-time job which is praising our department and sort of getting in more students in the future. But honestly, I think the timing was right. We had two courses like four, five months long where you would just strip down stuff. We don’t get taught like that in other departments these days. I think that played a huge role.

In IIT Madras, around that time period, there were two centres which were trying to come up. One was the Centre for Innovation which was one of the first of its sort of efforts, at least at IIT Madras, where alumni came together and I think funded a large space… like, 20,000-30,000 square feet of space. And they just funded that space and they gave a whole bunch of equipment. It’s called the Centre for Innovation (CFI). The idea was just go tinker, just sort of build anything, aise hee (just like that). There is no coursework, nothing, just make a good proposal, like ‘I want to build drones’. ‘Great! Build up a good proposal and come, we will give you money, here are all the tools and facilities that you need, outside of your department, go crazy building’.

I wasn’t super involved but Swapnil was super involved in it. He was the one involved and when that place itself was coming up which is how the first Formula SAE car projects also started really taking shape and he got involved there. So that was an exciting moment because the whole bunch of people especially from our department, from aerospace, got involved in just pure building… like it is very rare to find that which is uncorrupted because give it few years, politics kicks in, people want to take up more space, more money… initial years everybody is like you know got this sense of ‘we got to build it’.

And there was a second thing happening which was sea tides, basically, the entrepreneurship cell and I got involved there in my first year and some of the people behind the E-Cell back then were real purists. They didn’t actually care about having a massive community and organising large events, though eventually, it all went there. But the initial people were really, really focused on what is entrepreneurship, there is a spirit of entrepreneurship, of actually building something. So I think that is the message that a lot of us picked up at the Entrepreneurship Cell, just this sheer love for creating value. Pair that with this love of just purely building stuff with love for creating value, for building value, you get very, very, very fertile land there. And I think we were at the right time because we were there at that point and both of us co-founders were in two different parts.

Pankaj: Very complimentary.

Tarun: Very complimentary coming together in our second year to sort of you know, build a product. So that product that we are trying to build, we start bringing these things together. You know what, we have access to CFIs so we can build the product there, we have this entire understanding from the entrepreneurship cell, we are sort of watching all these videos. I got a chance to go to Stanford as part of my E-Cell in my second year, it was mind-blowing, it was absolutely mind-blowing. I know it sounds too cliché but holy shit, going to Stanford in my second year which is the first time I had gone outside the country from IIT Madras, it was like wow! Everybody that you meet there, every student, is talking about starting up. They would take you to Palo Alto and every single café is just full of what Bangalore now looks like, it was already like that in 2009, maybe better. And I just came back blown away. I don’t think I’d still comprehended building a company but actually build stuff yourself, you don’t actually need like a large company to sort of taking on the job of building something. Individuals can build something. I think that was a big turning point, at least for me personally. So, that’s how we got started.

Pankaj: I think that’s what I meant to ask, I mean, not coding versus this. This thing about building something and I think you answered it very well. And now I understand the whole intersection that happened and how Ather came about, it’s very clear.

Let’s now jump to Ather. From outside and it applies to every company, it looks like, every year you are having a near death experience or someone either writes you in or someone writes you off and I think we media are equally to be blamed for, you know, trying to derive conclusions on a monthly or annual basis but take me through the journey through your lens, take us through the important milestones or tipping points that you feel gave you the best learnings.

Tarun: We came together to form Ather. In fact, I remember calling up Swapnil because that time Swapnil was still not part of it and I was still on a job and I was just thinking that this concept of building batteries for the electric scooters could be very exciting. So I wanted to start a company on it and I called him up to one day to ask, ‘Would you mind if I use the word Ather Energy for something I have been thinking of starting up?’ and I explained to him of what I was thinking of starting up and he said, ‘Yes, sure, go ahead’, like, ‘Sure, good, be my guest’. I started calling myself Ather Energy, he was in Bangalore and I was in Chennai and I was making trips every month. I would go, stay with him for the weekend and try to convince him that you should totally come join this. It wasn’t a team, it was just me. He came over. The idea quickly pivoted. Initially we wanted to just build batteries and I think the one good thing with it was actually going out and meet a whole bunch of customers very early, something that many people may not realise but many people might think that given how you have launched a product that we have waited a long time to discover product-market fit.

Pankaj: That’s how it looks like.

Tarun: In fact, that’s actually a common worry that I have heard from investors in the past. Now that we have launched, it’s a different situation but in the past, a big worry. ‘Well, you know guys, you are making this classic mistake of investing everything and building this huge edifice before you have discovered the product market fit’ and I don’t think I have done a phenomenal job in convincing people but to us it has never been a big worry because before we ever built anything, one of the first things we did was spend a solid six months. We didn’t even start Ather.

Like the first thing that we did, we just left our jobs and we went back to IIT and we managed to convince one of our professors to give us a complete room and just sort of, some money every month as a project money, inside the department and we started spending time going and meeting the customers – people who had bought electric vehicles. I think we had met about 50+ people, 50 customers in Chennai, maybe a few in Bangalore also; Swapnil went to customers in Bangalore. So, we actually met a whole bunch of people and different cohorts. People who had bought electric scooters, people who had bought electric cars, people who had bought multiple electric scooters, people who were running dealerships for electric scooters, people who were employees in electric scooter companies once upon a time, people who led those companies, we really met a whole bunch of people and that told us a lot about what the market is thinking like.

So I think six months went here and then when you figure out that you know what, so this actually gave us one learning. We originally wanted to build a battery pack for a scooter and we spoke with so many customers, all of them said, ‘yes, a battery would solve the problem’ but it was a trick question because the real question to ask them was, would you buy it? And turns out, nobody wants to buy it. We were like, why wouldn’t you buy it, you say it’s a problem, we are saying we will build it, we will build it at the right cost point, why won’t you buy it? And they wouldn’t give a clear answer, it was very evident that they wouldn’t buy it and turns out that they hated the vehicle itself, they hated their current electric vehicle and this would solve the problem but there are so many other problems with this vehicle, I don’t like the looks, I don’t like the comfort, I don’t like the economics, I don’t like the performance, I don’t like the ride quality, I am little embarrassed to tell people that I ride this.

Your battery solves problems but how will you solve all those problems. So that’s when we woke up, you know; it wasn’t a pivot as much as it was a realisation… big learning. If we are building a B2C company and we wanted to build a B2C company, you got to build first a very, very exciting story. OnePlus did it, Apple has been a master of it, obviously, Royal Enfield has done that. You never sell a spec, you never sell a feature, what you ultimately sell, if you are building a strong brand which will actually command those 30% – 40% gross margin, you are not building a commodity, you are first and foremost building a story and you are getting enough people to believe in that story and you are getting a whole bunch of people who aspire to be those storytellers or listeners. That’s the only thing that you are doing at the start and if you get that right, everything else can follow but if you don’t get that right, you will very quickly, basically become a manufacturing company, you will basically become a commodity builder and there is not enough value in building commodities, right!

So, that was the biggest learning and we could see it so clearly, it was so visible in their eyes. You tell them batteries, ‘yeah, well, others can also build batteries but I don’t really want to buy batteries’ and now you are looking at a very hard sell. So we changed the pitch. Actually, the first thing we did after we convinced ourselves about this, we went and engaged a designer and we told them, ‘this is a sort of scooter we want, it should go like this, this should be the performance’. His name is Shantanu, he is still with us. He came up with a sketch about what the scooter looks like. He gave us three different sketches, different, different perspectives. We are like, ‘yes, this looks beautiful and you know what, I think we are competent enough engineers, we will figure out how to fit the entire vehicle inside this concept’.

We took that and we rode on a whole bunch of specs and then we went to the customers, asking them, ‘you know what, you really hate the fact that your vehicle does 25 kilometres/hour, right, and that it takes eight hours to charge up? What if I built you a vehicle that does 75 kilometres/hour that charges up in like one hour that has a battery that will last you for not six months but like five years? What does it sound like?’ And man, you could see it in their eyes, ‘Yes, obviously, like that’s what I would have always bought. Yes, please build it’. I have never heard that sort of response, five years we have done this engineering, we have gone out for so many products, it was always, you know, us trying to convince people. This is the first time, I have just thrown a spec at these guys and they are completely going bonkers, like zero people I met who were cold to it. Everybody was hot, everybody was like, ‘Beautiful, please build it, I will buy it. Will you be more than an electric scooter?’ Obviously, I will pay more than an electric scooter, like money was never really the reason I bought this electric scooter.’

Very beautiful. So first thing, sell them a very, very compelling story and how you sell that story also mattered and I could feel it, as I kept meeting more and more people, my pitch kept improving and I could see that their excitement about what we are talking kept increasing. Initially, I would just talk about 75 kilometres top speed, one-hour charging, that’s nice, that’s great but you keep ratcheting up the pitch. You actually walk them through a situation of you know, how they would ride this vehicle, it will have a beautiful dashboard, you would go, park it next to an Activa in front of a Starbucks and you know, the screen would flash white lights and it will close and it will give you a ring and they are imagining and they are like going crazy, ‘yes, yes, yes’. So that was the biggest learning at the start.

Pankaj: Is there something that didn’t work?

Tarun: I think with the 450 (Ather 450 Electric Scooter), we definitely have an over-engineered work. And I think it is an over-engineered product because we couldn’t optimise to a point where this is enough for the customer to pay.

Pankaj: I wanted to ask you this when you were describing the way you went to customers and you know and your pitch kept improving. This was in my mind actually, over-engineering.

Tarun: I can see it we over-engineered it. I think we couldn’t do all steps of this journey perfectly, we got some steps right but some steps, we just weren’t sure and we over-indexed on having it versus while not having it, a simple index, right! Abraham just keeps talking about it really well. He talks about how he crafted this really awesome journey for his customers but then given his product, he could actually spend a lot of time in fine-tuning exactly the sort of things that you need. Now again, in their experience, they can actually do it and they can do it multiple numbers of times before they figure it out. We didn’t have that luxury, you got to build a complete product before you realise, ‘This feature that we put so much effort to build looks like people are ok without it like they don’t despise it but would you pay Rs 10,000 extra for it? Yeah, no! They will spend Rs 500 on it’.

The problem with our product is and it is so visible, even the prototype that we showed in 2016 was nowhere close to what we have launched, so getting this sort of finish and the quality was actually a key qualifier before the consumer can truly respond to your product. So, I think, we had the richness of the input was limited in that sense, which is why I would say, half of the things that we built were not essential. In the 80-20 rule, we clearly did 100 and the last 20 things, I think took like half of our time and energy. So, we could have cut them off but we did not know which is the half we could cut-off.

Pankaj: But now that you have the benefit of hindsight.

Tarun: But now you have the media advantage, right!

Pankaj: So how would you actually avoid something like this or is it possible or is it just part of the business?

Tarun: I want to say you can avoid it but deep down I know, I think it’s very hard. And it’s not as objective as I described because there is also a huge people’s angle and let me explain what I mean. You are an entrepreneur, you are selling and you are selling that dream to not just yourself and your investors but your incoming team also. In our case what is the dream that we are selling, we are selling a version of, one or the other version of, ‘you will get to build really cool stuff’, ‘you will get to build a product that you would love to use’. Now, for different people, it might mean different things and not everybody has a 100% exact clarity on what exact thing will work.

So sometimes to get that sort of really creative and crazy bunch together, to build something, you have to actually let them be crazy for a while. If you put in too many restrictions on day 1, ‘no, no, no, I already know this one wouldn’t work’. That’s not the reality, you don’t, so you are also guessing and to be honest being a founder is not like a superpower. Yes, you don’t know much better than what those guys know. So you are sort of, you could optimise but I think you will miss out on a lot of that spark if people in your over optimise the people on Day 1 and more importantly, you will miss out on some learnings.

See, you should also remember, as a startup, you got this really beautiful time in the starting phase where you can take one year more, you can take 18 months more, you can raise a little bit more money and you would only need to raise another 10 million dollars. Again, in our business, I think, that’s a fine amount of money to spend because the amount you can learn for that, what you can learn by building the 450 today, you are learning at the cost of let’s say, 10,000, 15,000, 20,000 vehicles. That learning is impossibly expensive when you are trying to learn that at a scale of let’s say, 100,000 vehicles or one million vehicles because the cost of that additional sensor over a million vehicles is probably 10 million dollars. You will have a massive, complicated business case to justify it. Today, it’s like, you know what, 100,000 thousand dollars, yes, let’s try that experiment now rather than later.

Pankaj: So, the other question which is an Outlier question again is that the kind of product that you built or you are building, you know, is not a classic product and what I mean is this startup ecosystem is not used to this kind of product, right? And it’s not just the domain expertise, it is also their familiarity with other digital products. So how did you cope with criticism?

Tarun: So, the first fundraise was probably the biggest learning because I think I had probably already pitched to somewhere in the range of 70- 80 people, without a single yes and that was a painful time because initially we had one investor and we had 25 lakhs plus 15 lakhs of debt, back then, so 40 lakhs total and we had run the company with about 10 people, one year and three prototypes which is 40 lakhs. So we’d already exhausted ourselves and I was just going through the list, I don’t remember the exact number but I think it was 70 or 80 people that we had pitched since then for literally investments for 25 lakhs more and near continuous rejections until I realised one day that ultimately I just need one person to say yes. … it really hit me that I need just one person to say yes. I think it was Paul Graham’s one of those essays or maybe Peter Thiel that if everybody agrees with what you are saying, likely what you are building is going to be very low differentiation and very low defensibility.

Pankaj: Is it ‘How to do startup’ or ‘Do things that don’t scale’? One of them?

Tarun: I am not sure, I am not even sure it’s Paul Graham or Peter Thiel but one of those, sure. And I took solace in the fact, you know, the fact that nobody agrees to this means that nobody else will do it. This is brilliant, the minute I convince one person, beautiful, we will be the only ones building this, nobody else will agree to it anyways, it’s good. So I think we got over that disappointment that way. And yes, we have obviously had a lot of people tell us and with honestly very good reasons, not arrogant reasons, very good reasons that hardware is hard, that scaling up is hard, manufacturing is hard, Indian ecosystem is hard, for all of this and fundraising this is going to be crazy hard. I remember one person telling me that, you know what you should stop building the vehicle and take the software that you will put in the dashboard and spin yourselves into an IoT company and reasonably certain that would have been a good outcome for many other people and I considered for like five seconds until I realised that you know what, that’s not the real thing.

We are going to build B2C, we want to build something in the energy sector, vehicles for us is our starting point, we want to build a lot more after this. So clearly I can’t become an IoT company, that takes us nowhere. So, a little bit of a stubbornness that we have got a vision, we won’t change our vision for anything and the vision for us was there was a larger energy vision and for vehicles the vision was very clear: everything is going to be electric and if everything becomes electric, every single technology inside our vehicles is changing. Only startups can build groundbreaking new technologies. It’s a no-brainer. Only a startup is going to win this battle. So, if it is not us, it is going to be another startup, it is only going to be a startup and if we can see it with our limited experience and background, surely there will be another bunch of investors who will also see this. So you just got to keep on at it, not change your pitch for anybody.

In fact, I remember, Sachin (Bansal) was one of those people who sort of, probably saved us and not just with this money, his and Binny (Bansal)’s money but also with his statement. We had reached out to Sachin back in 2014 when we were in the midst of these 70-80 rejections and at that point, Sachin wasn’t a known angel investor, not that I know that the entrepreneur could invest. I literally reached out to him because after the whole bunch of rejections on the pitch deck, I reached out to him, ‘I need some feedback on this pitch deck because something doesn’t seem to be working’ and he gave me a meeting and that was my only question in the meeting. ‘Let me just take you through the pitch deck, let me tell you what exactly I believe in, what I have been telling people. You tell me what should I change.’. He heard all of it and his only thing was ‘Don’t change anything in this, this is the only way you can build this business’. I was like, ‘you just raised a billion dollars. I am sure you know what you are saying. Sorted. I will not change anything’. So I think that was a big support. We refused to pivot after we had clarity about our end vision. We refused to pivot into a different business altogether. And I think, luckily we were lucky, to sort of find investors at the right time.

Pankaj: Couple of final questions. One of the things is, there is this entrepreneurial optimism, you said, stubbornness or someone would say doggedness, you know, I will not pivot, not change. I am just trying to understand in your mind, what is your decision-making framework? Like, what is your source of faith, I mean, maybe it is a philosophical question. What I am trying to understand is, why do you keep at it?

Tarun: I have thought a lot about it because you have to check yourselves, if it is foolishness or if it is based on something real. We actually thought enough about it that we made in one of our five value systems at Ather. In fact the first value system, it is called, ‘Know your true North.’

Pankaj: Come Again.

Tarun: Know your true North. What it means, what we want to capture by that is, there are certain fundamental truths in any business. Now you can build a business on the back of a lot of stuff. You can build a business because it’s in fashion right now. Something’s fashion and if you build a business on top of that fashion right now, you know you can create a lot of value in two years. It may not remain a fashion four years later but you have already created value and that’s fine, nothing wrong with it. Or you can build a business because there is a short-term opportunity and not just a fashion, it’s literally an opportunity. Like some law is changing and in the interim, there is a lot of confusion and you are creating a BPO firm that will capture Y2K business. So you can do that but these things are not fundamental truths in a business.

Fundamental truths are the sort of what at least Jeff Bezos claims, at least Amazon was built on which is that, I know that forever and ever, I will never have a situation where a customer will come to me and say, ‘You know what, Jeff, it would be so much better if only you delivered this little slower or only if you sold this a little bit more expensive’. So a lot of stuff can change, we can go into communism tomorrow, you know we could have a world war breakout tomorrow but this fundamental truth that people want to build stuff, buy stuff that is cheaper and buy it faster, that is such a fundamental, obvious truism that I can build a business on this belief and I am true.

Now, the problem with these fundamental truths is usually that they are very, very, very, very broad but that’s what you need to keep in mind. Your vision and that true rock, true North is broad and you are building a business on that which means a lot of your approach might change but that thing you will never pivot it down. You will never pivot down to suddenly saying, ‘You know what, this selling thing is very hard, so let me get into the business of maybe making some stuff’, right? Or, ‘I will start making clothes because I think selling clothes is very hard. Somebody else will sell, I will make them, right?’. No, no, no, just stick to it. Just stick to this core mission of selling stuff better, faster, cheaper, right! You will create a massively valuable business and if you make that your core value prop, you will create massive defenstivity. That’s how we have thought about it.

Our true North here has been, vehicles are going electric, actually not even electric. Eventually, all vehicles will be run on sustainable energy. It’s a guaranteed thing, how else, we will run out of fuels, right? It’s obvious, it is a truism. Ultimately vehicles will have to run on a fuel source which is infinite, effectively. If that’s the world we are headed to, then that’s the business we will build because that’s true. So we will build a business to build these new vehicles which are not fossil fuel dependent. Literally, that’s end. Everything after that is debatable, that point is not debatable.

So if you come and tell me, spin your company into an IoT company, you know what, that does not make sense to us. But if you come and tell me, ‘You know what, Tarun, I think you should look at hydrogen fuels and vehicles’, I will think about it. I am not married to electric, we are not married to Lithium-Ion. If you come and tell me, ‘look at this new crazy battery technology that will come up’, yes, we should look at it. ‘Do you know electric is a dying technology, don’t look at motors, look at this air run vehicle’, I don’t care, I will talk about it as long as it is based on this fundamental truth that vehicles are going to run on an infinite source of energy.

Now today, to us it looks like that electric is the only medium that will work, nothing else, for the next 10 years but even that is debatable to us. The only thing that is not debatable, is those vehicles will be built and only a new company will be able to build them. If I am questioning that, that does not make sense. If you are questioning anything else, yes, I will let you convince me. If you are trying to convince me ‘You know what, Tarun, I don’t think you should build vehicles, I think you should just design vehicles’, ‘hmmm…, no!’ We will build the full vehicle and we will be B2C company because you know, that’ll make sense, right! If you come and tell me, ‘Tarun, you should maybe just sell software’, no, that’s not the real opportunity, the opportunity is there and I am going to stick to it and I am going to stay at it for the next 50 years until that becomes such a massive mode because we have stayed on to one single source of truth, we don’t change that. So, almost a value system now, not almost, it is now a value system at Ather.

Pankaj: I think that explains your journey as well. We know why you are doing this. Have you encountered fatigue or what founders also go through, I don’t know, see I am a rookie founder of 2-2.5 years.

Tarun: That’s long enough.

Pankaj: Yeah!

Tarun: That’s long enough now.

Pankaj: But when it comes to fatigue or being at this battle, doggedly, for long, these journeys are long and painful, right, clearly. So what would be your reasons to not do it, if at all, ever?

Tarun: Very simple answer. If the source of truth that you have built everything on if that changes. If that changes or you realise that you built it on a wrong source of truth, that’s not actually a source of truth, some reason, petrol is not going to be available infinite forever, then this is wrong and you should change and if not, then there is no reason for you to give it up because very few businesses, by the way, are based on such fundamental truths and I have noticed that. Most businesses are actually built on some opportunity. In fact, I have often pitched Ather as something that is built because we had an opportunity and not because it was based on this. But that’s the reality. Very few businesses are based on such true things and if they are, they will yield such a massive outcome that it is definitely worth your entire life’s effort. You are not building something that is a low value that is low impact. Any segment you can pick up if it is a fundamental source, (a) the segment won’t be small, the opportunity won’t be small and the output, should you succeed, is going to be massive. And I very strongly believe that the only reason you will not succeed is if you give up. Like there is always a way. There is always some way you can make it work. So, yes.

Pankaj: Final question. The kind of journey that you are talking about – long and massive opportunity clearly, absolutely no doubt about it, the teams that build such companies, the whole Founder’s Mentality kind of thing and all that, it’s almost like, after every life stage you have to take a new birth as a leader because everything changes. How do you learn, like, it is a simple question but what I mean to understand from you is, how do you keep leading what you are building? Would you be open to someday of getting someone else to do it?

Tarun: Sure. So the second question first, would you be open? I think one should be open because I think the role of a founder in a company is not to be a CEO, CTO, CPO, COO or any of those. The role of a founder in a company always is to push the company on to the next stage, next stage of growth, next stage of value creation. The minute the company gets there, the rest of the stage can be run by really seasoned executives. Now it might also happen that you might have to play that role for a variety of reasons but the primary role of a founder in any company is to keep pushing it to completely unchartered territories. That is very hard for a manager to do because they just don’t have the mandate, only founders have that mandate and that’s just there.

To your first question – personally, how I learn, my medium which by no means is something that works for everybody – is having a few advisors around me. There are sometimes formal advisors and we literally bring them on board and give them equity and all that. Sometimes, there is a bunch of informal advisors that you sort of do dipsticks with every six months and they teach you a lot. So advisors to sort of to get a third person perspective. I have at least 2-3 people that I spend about 6-8 hours, every month, usually on weekends. They just sort of, you know, walk them through what’s happening and they are almost, always, without fail, even point this out to me, that ‘You know what Tarun, your key problem right now is, you just don’t have a good head of HR, that is why you don’t have an org structure, that’s why you don’t have a process, that’s why your people are going crazy, that’s why you don’t have a performance management system. I can throw all these words at you but you don’t even understand it because you don’t have any work experience. Why don’t you focus on first bringing a phenomenal head of HR and that person will just push your company to the next level’. That’s a phenomenal insight to have but it’s very contextual insight. I can read about it, HR is important but it doesn’t help. But somebody who is in my journey and I am updating on a monthly basis, he looks at my system, meets my people, looks at their problems, spends some time with me, is able to point out. Or it could be a founder. A founder who has gone through his journey. People like Sachin, people like Raghu (Raghunandan G) of Taxi4sure, Binny… all these guys. They are often able to give you these nuggets of insights. So I think, for me personally, having great advisors or mentors, is something that works brilliantly. I always try to keep them close.

Pankaj: Sure. Thanks, Tarun. Please stay this way. Really good talking to you. Have fun.

Tarun: Great, Pankaj. Thank you.

Date: 23rd November 2018 Publication: The News Minute Edition: Online Journalist: M Devan Headline: DeTect Technologies raises $3.3 mn in Series A funding from SAIF partners others URL: https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/detect-technologies-raises-33-mn-series-funding-saif-partners-others-92016 DeTect Technologies raises $3.3 mn in Series A funding from SAIF Partners, others This latest infusion of growth capital will be used for international expansion, to supplement the core R&D focus of the company. M Devan Thursday, November 22, 2018 - 13:20 Share @Facebook Share @twitter Share @Email Share @google+ Share @reddit

DeTect Technologies, a Chennai based startup that is into manufacturing niche products in the IoT space, has raised Series A funding of $3.3 million. The investors in this round are SAIF Partners, Bharat Innovation Fund, Axilor Ventures, BlueHill Capital Pvt Ltd and a few angels from the Keiretsu Forum.

The company has an employee strength of 80, with 50 of them being permanent and the company has operations in Chennai, Bengaluru, Jamnagar and the UK (London and Aberdeen). DeTect wants to hire almost an identical number of hands going forward and expand the market beyond the current geography. The possible locations are the USA, the UK, Portugal and Singapore. The funds now raised will be deployed in these areas.

Daniel Raj David, CEO and Co-Founder, DeTect Technologies said, “ Our goal here at DeTect Technologies is to leverage high end engineering talent, build deep technology, design cutting edge infrastructure and create high end patented solutions for asset risk monitoring and also estimating their life predictions. By developing sensor technology, drone technology, image processing and machine learning algorithms here in India, our technologies are focused on improving operational efficiencies for industries at large by helping them enhance monitoring and increase safety and accuracy.”

DeTect holds patented technology for two distinct products, GUMPS and NOCTUA. Both these will basically fall under the process instrumentation and productivity enhancement categories largely used in the manufacturing sector but with advanced machine learning technologies.

GUMPS can monitor pipeline thickness change in real time and is capable of withstanding very high temperatures. NOCTUA, on the other hand is also used for inspections but it is in the form of a drone that can be effective in making inspection in areas inaccessible to humans. Oil & Gas sector has found these products very useful in their operations. Workplace safety and reducing risks involved in routine operations are some of the objectives that DeTect pursues and is prepared to work on researching further in developing patented technologies in this field. They have global ambitions and are working towards that.

Announcing the investment Mridul Arora, Managing Director, SAIF Partners said, “We are very excited to partner with the DeTect team as they bring a rare combination of deep domain expertise, global market opportunity and high entrepreneurial energy. Global oil and gas majors have flocked to DeTect to take advantage of DeTect’s asset monitoring and inspection solutions and we’re confident that the team will continue to expand its global footprint. The SAIF team is proud to support the ambitions of deep tech Indian startups such as DeTect. ”

The founders of this startup have a common IIT Madras background and have received several awards for their path-breaking work on related fields of technology.

The investors have also expressed their faith and confidence in the future of DeTect and its ability to produce world class products and serve the best corporations globally in the Oil & Gas business.

Date: 23rd November 2018 Publication: The Hindu Edition: Online Journalist: Jacob Koshy Headline: Water release from dams didn’t lead to Kerala floods: IIT-M-Purdue University study URL: https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/kerala/water-release-from-dams-didnt-lead-to-kerala-floods-iit-m-purdue-university- study/article25570143.ece Water release from dams didn’t lead to Kerala floods: IIT-M-Purdue University study Jacob Koshy NEW DELHI, NOVEMBER 22, 2018 22:15 IST UPDATED: NOVEMBER 23, 2018 01:13 IST SHARE ARTICLE 2.49K 11 PRINT A A A

Flood-affected areas of Chengannur in Kerala’s Alappuzha district are seen from a Navy helicopter on August 19, 2018. Flood-affected areas of Chengannur in Kerala’s Alappuzha district are seen from a Navy helicopter on August 19, 2018. | Photo Credit: PTI

MORE-IN Kerala rains 2018 Odds of Kerala floods were 0.06%: study The devastation wrought by the Kerala floods of August could not be attributed to the release of water from dams, says a computer-simulation of flood storage and flow patterns by a team of researchers.

Scientists from the Indian Institute of Technology-Madras and the Purdue University, United States, say that the odds of such floods were “0.06%” and no reservoir management could have considered such scenarios.

Previous analyses of the Kerala floods had not incorporated a simulation of water flows and relied only on measurements of water levels at dam sites, according to the authors of the study.

Kerala has 39 major dams. and they are maintained by the Kerala State Electricity Board and the Water Resources Department.

All 39 dams in the State had reached their full reservoir level by July-end, and were incapable of absorbing the torrential volumes in August leaving dam-managers with no choice but to release them. The scientists analysed different scenarios with combinations of reservoir storages (85%, 75%, 150% and 25%) at different time periods (end of June and end of July), along with different soil moisture conditions, which has a bearing on river flows.

What they found was that in the hypothetical scenario that there were no dams in the Pamba River Basin (PRB) — there are 17 dams and barrages — the “peak discharge” at locations downstream of the Idukki reservoir would have been “reduced by 31%.” This, however, wasn’t a reduction enough to have prevented the inundation, according to the researchers.

“The major share of the total flood flow was by Perinjankutty (3,500 m3/s), which is a near uncontrolled tributary, while the 14 controlled releases from Idukki had contributed only 1, 860 m3/s… the results indicated that the role of releases from the major reservoirs in the PRB to cause the flood havoc was less,” the authors say in the study to be published in a forthcoming issue of the peer-reviewed Current Science.

A simulation of the section of the Periyar river at Neeleswaram showed that even if reservoirs were emptied out to their dead-storage levels of 25%, it still would have meant flows far in excess of the maximum capacity that could have been contained with the river banks. “Most dams are designed to store as much water as possible to the full reservoir level for hydropower planning,” said K.P. Sudheer, Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, IIT-M. “So, maintaining 25% storage beats the point of having a dam in the first place.”

For future planning, authorities must put in place an “integrated flow management” system, that is, view dams as critical to managing floods and not merely a fount for producing electricity. Additionally, weather forecasting agencies ought to be giving more quantitative forecasts — of the likelihood of water volumes rather than descriptions of ‘extreme events’ — regarding expected water levels during possible floods, Mr. Sudheer added.

Date: 23rd November 2018 Publication: The Hindu Edition: Delhi / Mumbai / Bangalore / Kochi/Chennai/Kolkata Page No: 7 Journalist: NA Headline: Release from dams did not lead to deluge

Date: 23rd November 2018 Publication: The Internet to fall things Edition: Online Journalist: NA Headline: Indian startup ‘DeTect’ gets series A funding URL: https://www.theinternetofallthings.com/indian-startup-detect-gets-series-a-funding-11212018/

Indian startup ‘DeTect’ gets series A funding

Chennai, India-located robotics company ‘DeTect Technologies’ has raised US $3.3 million in a Series A funding round from a group of investors led by SAIF Partners. The funds will be used by the startup to expand in the UK and Europe.

Existing investors Bharath Innovation Fund, Axilor Ventures and BlueHill Capital Pvt. Ltd also took part in the latest round, DeTect said in a statement.

The company currently has around 50 full-time employees.

DeTect previously raised a seed round from Indian Institute of Technology(IIT), Madras where it was incubated in 2016. The company is in talks with clients from Singapore, Malaysia, the US, and Canada.

Date: 23rd November 2018 Publication: Deccan Chrronicle Edition: Online Journalist: NA Headline: Chennai: IIT students conduct river Cooum research URL: https://www.deccanchronicle.com/nation/current-affairs/221118/iit-students-conduct-river-cooum-research.html

Chennai: IIT students conduct river Cooum research DECCAN CHRONICLE. Based on the recorded data, river swelling, flooding and other such details can be forecast, Balaji said. Students of IIT Madras measure water flow in the Cooum river. (Photo: DC) Students of IIT Madras measure water flow in the Cooum river. (Photo: DC) Chennai: Students of the Hydrology and Water Resources Department, Indian Institute of Technology, on Wednesday conducted a measurement of water flow in river Cooum in light of recent rains.

Speaking to Deccan Chronicle, Balaji D, one of the students, who led the measurement said that the department conducted it as a commissioned exercise which was done to determine the increase in water levels of the river. “Right now we measured the amount of water flowing in the river, if or if it has not increased because of the recent rains,” he said.

Four teams, each consisting of four people, research associates and MTech students conducted the measurement with the help of associate professor Balaji Narasimhan.

Based on the recorded data, river swelling, flooding and other such details can be forecast, Balaji said. Since the rainfall isn’t heavy right now, there isn’t much difference, he added.

A similar exercise was also conducted in 2017, Balaji said, adding that the swelling of the river and thereby moving of encroachments along the Cooum were conducted.

Date: 24th November 2018 Publication: News Today Edition: Online Journalist: Balasubramani Muniyandi Headline: Restoration of Sembakkam Lake in Chennai begins URL: https://newstodaynet.com/index.php/2018/11/24/restoration-of-sembakkam-lake-in-chennai-begins/

Restoration of Sembakkam Lake in Chennai begins Posted on November 24, 2018 by Balasubramani Muniyandi The restoration work of Sembakkam Lake at Tambaram by the Care Earth Trust and experts from IIT Madras began recently with a formal pooja.

Residents, Sriperumbudur M P K N Ramachandran, Tambaram MLA S R Raja, former M P Chitlapakkam C Rajendran and Sembakkam Municipality Commissioner M R Vasanthy took part. Speaking to Tambaram Talk, Care Earth Trust managing trustee Jayashree Vencatesan said the work has commenced now after the approval of the PWD officials. “The restoration work will be carried out based on the research carried out by Care Earth Trust and IIT Madras. As a first step, weeds are being removed. A floating barge is being used to remove the water hyacinths,” she said.

Jayashree further said at present the pollution level in the waterbody is very high. “There is historical pollution, as well as sewage that is being let into the lake even till now. This will take sometime to bring back the waterbody to its original glory,” she said.

She said all the unwanted plants from the waterbody will be removed first after which the water will be cleansed using bio remediation. “We will try to plug in all the sewage outlets or atleast try to treat them before they are let into the waterbody. Once this process is over, the bunds will be strengthened as per the regulations of the PWD,” she added.

Jayashree further said the weirs will be regulated and the paths will be cleared for the water to flow freely.

“At the end of the work, a green barrier will be constructed to ensure that the lake is free from pollution in the future,” she added. Jayashree said that the works are expected to be completed within a year and the support from the local administration and the people has been excellent.

Sri Saravamangala Nagar Residents Welfare Association secretary M Ravi said they are happy about the way in which the work is progressing. “We are elated that despite the differences among the parties all of them came together and are supporting this work. We will try to extend our full support as much as possible,” he said. Date: 24th November 2018 Publication: The Hindu Edition: Chennai Page No: 4 Journalist: NA Headline: Cooum river’s flow studied for better flood management URL: https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/chennai/cooum-rivers-flow-studied-for-better-flood-management/article25581746.ece

Date: 24th November 2018 Publication: The New Indian Express Edition: Chennai Page No: 3 Journalist: NA Headline: High levels of phosphates caused frothing: Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board URL: http://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/chennai/2018/nov/24/high-levels-of-phosphates-caused-frothing-tamil-nadu-pollution-control- board-1902494.html

Date: 24th November 2018 Publication: The Wire Edition: Online Journalist: NA Student: Aditya Chande Headline: Research Scholars Forced to Leave Labs and Hit the Streets Again for Funds URL: https://thewire.in/the-sciences/research-scholars-forced-to-leave-labs-and-hit-the-streets-again-for-funds Research Scholars Forced to Leave Labs and Hit the Streets Again for Funds The Prime Minister's Research Fellowship pays a high stipend of Rs 70,000 – proof that the government knows better research requires better pay. So why doesn't it increase the stipend across the board instead of for a few scholars?

Research Scholars Forced to Leave Labs and Hit the Streets Again for Funds Credit: pixabay

T.V. Padma T.V. Padma 1.4K interactions EDUCATIONGOVERNMENTTHE SCIENCES 23/NOV/2018 New Delhi: Research scholars across the country have been protesting to have their fellowship stipends revised. It seems India’s niggling problem of adequate fellowship support and its regular disbursal simply refuses to go away.

On November 20, the scholars submitted a petition to K. VijayRaghavan, the principal scientific adviser to the Government of India, for an immediate upward revision of their fellowship money, among other requests.

Their concerns were exacerbated by the Centre’s introduction of the Prime Minister Research Fellowship (PMRF) in 2018. The PMRF is for for B.Tech students who wish to pursue a PhD in an IIT or at an Indian Institute of Science, Education and Research (IISER), with a higher stipend of Rs 70,000 per month. The amount stands in stark contrast to the present senior research fellowship of Rs 28,000 per month and junior research fellowship of Rs 25,000.

The petition requests the government to consider including PhD scholars under the ‘government employees’ category. This would allow their stipends to be hiked together with every revision of the pay commission.

VijayRaghavan said the Department of Science and Technology (DST) had initiated the process before the scholars had started their campaign. He said he expects it will be “completed in December”.

Also read: Rising Discontent Among Science Students as Government Dials Back on Scholarships

“I have told them not to worry. These things are a process and was and is on track,” he told The Wire. “Their (legitimate) fretting will not speed up or slow this ongoing process, in a situation where all involved want to get it done and where everyone is working hard.” He added that he had also recommended a periodic review.

The petition stresses that the economic development of a country is strongly correlated with its research and developmental efforts. The latter, in turn, requires more scientists. “To increase manpower in research, the stipends given to students should be attractive, but the salary of researchers has not been considered for regular revision as is the case in other top-ranked universities,” it reads.

It also cites World Bank data, according to which India had 215 researchers per million people in 2015, up from 152 in 1996 (42% rise ). In comparison, China’s number of researchers per million rose from 438 in 1996 to 1,176 in 2015 (168% rise).

A hike in research stipends is expected to make research careers more attractive and improve India’s research output and global standings as well.

The petitioners have addressed a slew of government agencies responsible for designing and allocating research emoluments. They include the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD), the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and the University Grants Commission (UGC). The demands are:

That junior research fellowships be pushed to Rs 50,000 per month and senior research fellowships, to Rs 56,000 per month as an interim measure That hikes be implemented according to the seventh pay commission That fellowships be hiked once every four years, and That all funding agencies disburse fellowships to students in a timely manner According to Nikhil Gupta, national representative of Research Scholars of India, an association leading the petition, the MHRD had promised regular revisions in 2015. Gupta is a research scholar at the Centre for Biomedical Research, Lucknow.

At the same time, stipend hikes have been uneven. They were Rs 5,000 in 1999, Rs 8000-10,000 in 2006 (60% rise), Rs 12,000-14,000 in 2007 (50%), Rs 16,000 to Rs 18,000 in 2010 (33%), and Rs 25,000-28,000 in 2014 (56%).

“The government should consider a hike on its own, as it does for government employees,” Aarti Sharma, a PhD scholar at the Institute of Himalayan Biotechnology, Palampur. “We should not be left with no option but to come out on the streets, demanding a hike, before action is taken.”

Aditya Chandel, a PhD student at IIT Madras, agreed. “The current emoluments make it very difficult for us to survive in big metropolitan cities. Some researchers get their stipends after every three or six months. How are we to pay for their tuition every semester, and complete their projects, besides taking care of their living expenses?”

Inflation alone – if not other forces – is driving up tuition fees, hostel charges, mess charges and travel expenses. Students are also expected to bear the costs of attending conferences out of their pockets, Gupta and other scholars have said.

“It is a known fact that with inflation, salary is revised for employees at all levels on a regular basis by the government. The request for an increase in stipend may prove to be more appropriate as most PhD scholars are in the age group 26-34,” the petition states.

It concludes that not taking this matter seriously will only lead to a drop in morale. Given that studies have also shown how scientists are often more productive when they are younger, issues affecting this demographic could also hamper the quality of the national research output.

The matter of irregular disbursal only makes things worse. “In some cases, we get our entire consolidated stipend once a year,” says Sharma. “But we are expected to pay our bills for electricity and internet use, and a license fee for the lab furniture and equipment, at the end of every month promptly, even if we do not get our monthly stipend.”

In 2016, the government asked that CSIR and UGC fellowships be linked to scholars’ Aadhaar numbers. This way, the scholarships could be effected via direct benefit transfer and on time. However, the scheme backfired in places like the IISc and Delhi University, prompting one student to tell The Wire, “I will never recommend anyone pursue their PhD in India.”

In this mess, the PMRF has created a two-tier structure in fellowships and an unnecessary hierarchy.

“Two students may be researching on the same topic, in the same institute, but the one who has the PMRF fellowship gets a higher amount. This has created an inequality in research, which is highly demoralising,” Chandel says.

Just the fact that the PMRF stipend is higher goes to show the need for good pay to motivate

Date: 24th November 2018 Publication: The Indian Express Edition: Online Journalist: NA Student: Ashish Kumar Sen Headline: Meet the winners of Swarnajayanti fellowship URL: https://indianexpress.com/article/education/meet-the-winners-of-swarnajayanti-fellowship-5461190/

Meet the winners of Swarnajayanti fellowship Fellowship recognises young scientists and grants them support and assistance for five years to enhance their research

After a slump, IIT-B witnesses 8 per cent hike in patent application ‘Sexual abuse’ at IIT-Bombay surfaces on social media swarnajayanti fellowship, scientist, PhD, fellowship. 14 scientists awarded the fellowships (Represntational Image, Picture Courtesy: Pixabay) A total of 14 academicians will be awarded the Swarnajayanti Fellowships 2017-18. The fellowship, instituted on the 50th Independence day of India, recognises young scientists with a proven track record. The selected candidates get special assistance and support from the government to enable them to pursue basic research in frontier areas of science and technology. The award comprises financial support to peruse research for a period of five years, and additionally, the scientists are also provided grants for equipment and other facilities. The winners of this year include: Sripada S V Rama Sastry form Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), Mohali and Sebastian C Peter from the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR), Bengaluru in the Chemical Sciences discipline. KG Arun from Chennai Mathematical Institute, Chennai and GV Pavan Kumar from IISER, Pune in Physical Science. From Life Sciences discipline Girdhari Lal from National Centre for Cell Science, Pune; Chandrima Das from Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics, Kolkata and Arun Kumar Shukla from Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur.

Mayank Vatsa from Indraprastha Institute of Information Technology (IIIT), Delhi, Yogesh Singh Chauhan from IIT Kanpur and Ashish Kumar Sen from IIT Madras won the fellowship in the category of Engineering Sciences. From Mathematical Sciences Saket Saurabh from Indian Institute of Mathematical Sciences, Chennai and Parthanil Roy from Indian Statistical Institute, Bengaluru were shortlisted.

The only scientist to be selected from the discipline of earth and atmospheric sciences for this year was Ramananda Chakrabarti from Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru.

Date: 25th November 2018 Publication: The Times of India Edition: Online Journalist: Pushpa Narayan Headline: Artificial blood creation goes into cold storage URL: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/artificial-blood-creation-goes-into-cold-storage/articleshow/66790066.cms

Date: 25th November 2018 Publication: The Times of India Edition: Chennai Page No: 5 Professor: Dr S. Soma Guhathakurta (Visiting faculty), Prof. Venkatesh Balasubramanian Journalist: Pushpa Narayan Headline: Artificial blood creation goes into cold storage URL: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/artificial-blood-creation-goes-into-cold-storage/articleshow/66790066.cms

Date: 25th November 2018 Publication: Tamil Samayam Edition: Online Professor: Prof Soma Guhathakurta (Visiting faculty) Journalist: NA Headline: ஐஐ ? (Is IIT Madras medical group dropping attempt to create artificial blood?) URL: https://tamil.samayam.com/lifestyle/health/artificial-blood-creation-goes-into-cold-storage/articleshow/66796183.cms

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, , . 5 . - . Date: 26th November 2018 Publication: The Economic Times Edition: Delhi/Mumbai/Pune/Bangalore/Hyderabad/Chennai/Kolkata/Kochi Page No: 16 Journalist: Authored Article by Mr. Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITIAayog Headline: In an innovation nation URL: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/blogs/et-commentary/in-an-innovation-nation/

Date: 26th November 2018 Publication: The Economic Times Edition: Delhi/Mumbai/Pune/Hyderabad/Chennai/Kochi/Ahemdabad Page No: 8 Journalist: Prachi Verma Professor: Prof Manu Santhanam Headline: Recruiters at premier engineering schools look for niche tech talent URL: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/jobs/recruiters-at-premier-engineering-schools-look-for-niche-tech- talent/articleshow/66799715.cms

Date: 26th November 2018 Publication: Your Story Edition: Online Journalist: NA Headline: [Monday Wrap] Failure isn't the opposite of success; it's a part of it: your startup fix to start the week URL: https://yourstory.com/2018/11/failure-part-success-startup-fix-daily-capsule/\

[Monday Wrap] Failure isn't the opposite of success; it's a part of it: your startup fix to start the week

So, last week sucked. And Monday morning has you feeling like the worst kind of failure. What do you do? We suggest you get back on your feet and kick this week into shape

Lend an ear to Arianna Huffington, author, businesswoman, and founder of The Huffington Post. The bestselling author was rejected multiple times – her second book was famously turned down by 36 publishers. But she continued to get up and keep going. “We need to accept that we won’t always make the right decisions, that we’ll screw up royally sometimes – understand that failure is not the opposite of success; it’s a part of success,” she says.

Hmm...now that sounds like something to keep in mind, all the time! Now that you're thinking positive, we proffer a basket of startup stories as inspiration to get back on your feet

Air pollution is a silent killer, and in a bid to tackle this three former IIT-Madras students have launched India’s first indigenous smart air purifier. AirOK, an IIT-Madras incubated startup, manufactures air purifiers that use a patent-pending technology to filter out major pollutants and gaseous substances.

AirOK Founders (L-R, in front) Yasa Pavan Reddy, Deekshit Vara Prasad, and Vanam Sravan Krishna with team members.

We've all heard of airbags for cars, but airbags for bikes? A Delhi-based bike enthusiast has designed safety accessories for two-wheelers with Grandpitstop. Founded by IIT-Delhi graduate Nitin GR in September 2016, the startup has seven patents registered in the US for its easy-to-use motorcycle accessories. Date: 26th November 2018 Publication: The Times of India Edition: Online Journalist: Rohit E David Headline: Schools on the move ensure Gurugram slum kids don't miss out on education URL: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/gurgaon/schools-on-the-move-ensure-slum-kids-dont-miss-out-on- education/articleshow/66801080.cms

Date: 25th November 2018 Publication: The Hindu Edition: Online Journalist: NA Headline: Students present projects on palliative care URL: https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/kerala/students-present-projects-on-palliative-care/article25592458.ece

Students present projects on palliative care

Experts offer guidance to students at a workshop Students have come up with innovative plans to improve the lives of the elderly and those with chronic illness. The three-day workshop on generating and promoting innovative ideas and prototypes in palliative and elderly care, organised by Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM) and Creativiti Council, concluded here on Saturday, with experts helping students shape up their ideas. Improving lives The workshop, ‘Creative I –Makeathon’, focused on improving life through innovations in palliative care, with emphasis on more than 20 pressing needs , including transfer and mobility. These issues were identified and documented from various districts of Kerala. Students presented models and prototypes with the support and guidance of innovators and experts.

Experts helped students to mould their ideas of a motorised backrest for beds in hospitals, movable toilet seat and a system to drink water and read newspapers for the elderly. The products will be followed up with patent search, economic viability and business plans.

Jippu Jacob, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Amaljyothi College of Engineering, Kanjirappally, Kottayam, and inventor of coconut de- husker ‘Keramitra’ and Augustine Thompson, entrepreneur and national award-winning innovator, mentored the participants.

Jose Babu , Medical Director , Alpha Pain and Palliative Care Centre; Unnikrishnan, Muthoot Engineering College, Kozhenchery; Bobby Issac , Co- founder Creativiti Council ; James T.J., Senior Fellow, KSUM; Arun S Chandran , Technical Manager, Creativiti Council; Tom Thomas, Project Director, KSUM; and Sandhya Seetharaman, Project Officer, RuTAG-IIT Madras; also guided the team.

The workshop was inaugurated by Saji Gopinath, CEO, Kerala Startup Mission.

Entrepreneurship The KSUM and RuTAG-IIT Madras will facilitate support for select projects to set up their startups while Creativiti Council will offer mentoring support. A non-profit organisation, Creativiti Council is a community partner with the KSUM. The KSUM is the nodal agency of Government of Kerala for entrepreneurship development and incubation activities in the State. Date: 26th November 2018 Publication: The Hindu Edition: Delhi/Bangalore/Chennai/Kochi Page No: 1 Alumni: H. Arjun Journalist: Archana Subramaniyam Headline: Changing Track

Date: 26th November 2018 Publication: The Hindu Edition: Delhi Page No: 9 Journalist: Jacob Koshy Headline: Centre looks abroad for ideas URL: https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/energy-and-environment/centre-looks-abroad-for-ideas-to-manage-ganga-basin/article25587770.ece

Date: 27th November 2018 Publication: The Times of India Edition: Online Journalist: Sudha Nambudiri Headline: Flood caused by excessive rainfall: IIT-Madras URL: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kochi/flood-caused-by-excessive-rainfall-iit-madras/articleshow/66808949.cms

Date: 27th November 2018 Publication: India Times Edition: Online Journalist: Sarthak Dogra Alumni: Abhishek Naik Headline: IIT Graduates Create One Of The Most Advanced Autonomous Driving Simulator That Is Free To Use! URL: https://www.indiatimes.com/technology/news/two-iit-graduates-create-world-s-first-multi-agent-autonomous-driving-simulator-keep-it- open-source-357411.html

IIT Graduates Create One Of The Most Advanced Autonomous Driving Simulator That Is Free To Use!

Autonomous driving is still a distant dream for Indian roads, taking into account the bustling traffic and the blatant disregard for lane driving on most of the routes. However, this has not stopped two IIT graduates from working towards the dream and with their efforts, the duo has come up with a simulator named MADRaS, which is supposed to act as a catalyst to achieve this goal.

MADRaS, an acronym for Multi-Agent Driving Simulator, is capable of testing autonomous driving algorithms of multiple cars simultaneously in several traffic conditions. During testing, the simulation can assign a real-world traffic scenario to any of the vehicle as a customised challenge.

Madras, Autonomous Driving Research

In its most basic sense, the simulator is a multi-vehicle extension of Torcs, a simulator used for autonomous driving research. That makes MADRaS the only open source multi-agent simulator at present, as per the developers - Abhishek Naik (IIT-Madras) and Anirban Santara (IIT- Kharagpur).

In fact, all the other present simulators for autonomous driving research, including Carla, Deepdrive and AirSim, work for only one vehicle, wherein the researchers can control the behaviour of one particular car while the others follow a pre-specified behaviour. MADRaS eliminates this restriction.

Date: 27th November 2018 Publication: The Hindu Business Line Edition: Online Journalist: Priyanka Pani Headline: To boost data management, YES Bank shortlists 200 scientists for Datathon URL: https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/money-and-banking/to-boost-data-management-yes-bank-shortlists-200-scientists-for- datathon/article25599801.ece

To boost data management, YES Bank shortlists 200 scientists for Datathon

Private sector lender YES Bank has significantly ramped up its focus on data management and analytics.

The bank has shortlisted top 200 data-science professionals to form a core part of YES Datathon, the bank’s initiative to crowdsource data-driven solutions from some of the leading data scientists and analysts across the world.

These candidates include students from top technology institutes – IIT Bombay, Chennai, Kharagpur and ISI Kolkata – and also more than 150 professionals from organisations such as IBM, Walmart Labs, Siemens, Amazon Development Centre, Capillary Technologies, TCS, Accenture, Amdocs and Infosys, among others, who will take on the challenge beyond their professional duties.

Talking to BusinessLine, Amit Shah, Chief Fintech Officer, YES Bank, said: “With emerging technologies playing a massive role in redefining businesses, there is a clear need to not only invest in these technologies but also in reskilling and upskilling current and future workforces.”

Datathon aims to provide a hands-on learning platform for students and data professionals to augment their skills on real challenges, he said, adding that it has also onboarded a pool of more than 30 data-science experts and leaders across industries to support the data-science teams and help the bank identify and share use cases. Experts from data-driven companies such as Cloudera and Amazon Web Services, among others, will work on an ongoing basis with this team.

“The financial services industry is fairly unique in terms of use cases and problem statements that data analytics professionals face. For us, Datathon is a first-of-its-kind opportunity, where we are working almost as an extension of the bank’s data analytics team, creating live data models on practical use cases and data stacks; we are really kicked about building go-live ready data models over the next 30 days,” said a team from Capillary Technologies.

YES Bank’s Datathon will also host AI/ML challenges and data engineering workshops at IIT Bombay’s Techfest and several other technology institutes to deepen practical and technical know-how of future technology leaders and to widen the data-science ecosystem.

Date: 28th November 2018 Publication: DNA Edition: Delhi / Mumbai / Ahmedabad Page No: 3 Journalist: NA Headline: Samsung to hire over 1000 engineering grads URL: https://www.dnaindia.com/business/report-gear-up-engineers-samsung-coming-to-hire-1000-grads-from-engineering-colleges-in-india- 2689976

Date: 28th November 2018 Publication: Financial Chronicle Edition: Delhi / Bangalore / Hyderabad / Chennai Page No: 1 Journalist: NA Headline: Samsung to hire over 1,000 graduates from top engineering colleges in India

Date: 28th November 2018 Publication: The Financial Express Edition: Delhi / Mumbai / Pune / Bangalore / Hyderabad / Chennai / Kochi / Ahmedabad / Chandigarh / Kolkata Page No: 7 Journalist: NA Headline: Samsung to hire over 1,000 engg grads in India URL: https://www.financialexpress.com/jobs/samsung-to-hire-300-engineers-from-iits/1395569/

Date: 28th November 2018 Publication: The Statesman Edition: Delhi Page No: 11 Journalist: NA Headline: Samsung hiring plans

Date: 28th November 2018 Publication: Millennium Post Edition: Delhi / Kolkata Page No: 12 Journalist: NA Headline: Samsung to hire over 1,000graduates from top engineering colleges of India

Date: 28th November 2018 Publication: The Times of India Edition: Bangalore Page No: 19 Journalist: NA Headline: Samsung plans to hire over 1K grads from top engg colleges URL: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/education/news/samsung-to-hire-over-1000-grads-from-top-engineering-colleges-in- india/articleshow/66838057.cms

Date: 28th November 2018 Publication: Andhra Jyothi Edition: Hyderabad Page No: 11 Journalist: NA Headline: Samsung plans to hire over 1,000 grads from top engg colleges

Date: 28th November 2018 Publication: The Hans India Edition: Hyderabad Page No: 7 Journalist: NA Headline: Samsung to hire over 1,000 engineers across India

Date: 28th November 2018 Publication: Telangana Today Edition: Hyderabad Page No: 11 Journalist: NA Headline: Telangana Today - Samsung to hire 300 engineers from IITs

Date: 28th November 2018 Publication: DT Next Edition: Chennai Page No: 12 Journalist: NA Headline: Samsung to hire over 300 engineers from IITs

Date: 28th November 2018 Publication: Your Story Edition: Online Journalist: Alok Soni Alumni: Arvind Nithrakashyap Headline: Bitten by wanderlust, driven by technology - Arvind Nithrakashyap's journey to Rubrik URL: https://yourstory.com/2018/11/techie-tuesdays-arvind-nithrakashyap/

Bitten by wanderlust, driven by technology - Arvind Nithrakashyap's journey to Rubrik

This week, we feature Arvind Nithrakashyap, co-founder and CTO of Rubrik, one of the world’s fastest-growing data management companies in the world.

Arvind Nithrakashyap has been in love with databases for a long time – two decades to be precise. Building a number of core Oracle database technologies, Arvind also co-founded the Exadata product line while at Oracle.

And while he loves his tech, Arvind not just a boring techie. His passion for travel has had him taking off to travel the world for six months.

For the most of his life, Arvind was pretty much like other geeks - busy building the next big technology, understanding customers and iterating products to suit their needs. What differentiates him, though, is his vision and the ability to build in a scalable and sustainable fashion.

But this was just a lead up – to something bigger and more beautiful – to Rubrik, one of the fastest growing data management companies in the world. This, and more, in today’s column.

Arvind-Nithrakashyap

Entrepreneurial instincts in the family Arvind’s father was born in a village in Mayiladuthurai in Tamil Nadu and moved to Hyderabad to study and later work. His mother was from Coimbatore and both his parents worked in banks. His father moved to Chennai and Arvind was born in Coimbatore in 1973. He was raised in Chennai and with both his parents at work, his grandmother was a big influence on him.

In 1979-80, Arvind’s father started his own business. “He was a huge risk taker, to an extent bigger than I am. He first got into the supply chain of gas cylinders, then he pivoted to the envelope business, which went quite far.” Arvind says he is an introvert and as a child was never physically very active, preferring books over the sports field. A product of Sishya School in Chennai, Arvind recalls, “It was a very different school. Unlike other schools then, the emphasis on extra-curricular activities was very high with students from diverse backgrounds. It was like a startup of schools.” Opting for Maths-Science was natural for Arvind, and he also took Brilliant Tutorials’ correspondence course to prepare for IIT-JEE. In his entire class of 30 students, he was the only one preparing for JEE. With an All-India 65 rank, Arvind joined IIT Madras.

Computer Science over Electrical Engineering IIT-Madras was a no-brainer and Arvind opted for Computer Science over Electrical Engineering, which was then a trend. His only exposure to computers was with Atari Games or ZX Spectrum Games and a few classes in basic programming at Computer Point.

Arvind decided to stay in the hostel, and this allowed him to interact with his college mates and forge many close friendships. “In the Computer Science department, we had eight PCs of which only three would work. We had Sun 360s workstations and not even SPARKstations.”

Peer to peer learning > classroom learning At IIT Madras, Arvind says he learnt more from his peers than his professors. He learnt PASCAL, C and Assembly Language programming in college and built a compiler, a GUI programme, and worked on distributed systems.

In his final year, his Computer Architecture professor Kalyana Krishnan was his advisor and was working on building local language support. While students from earlier batches had built a library that would take inputs based on phonetics, Arvind built an editor where one could type and save.

Related read - She took on a man's world and conquered it - ThoughtWorks CTO Rebecca Parsons' tryst with tech

Database – where it all starts In his final year, Arvind got a job offer from Infosys but instead, he chose to study further an went to University of Massachusetts’ Amherst College, which was pretty big on artificial intelligence.

“During grad school I realised I wasn't exactly cut out for this - writing papers, going for conferences didn't interest me much. Two years into it, I decided to move out.” In grad school, Arvind worked in the software engineering lab understanding the synthesis between software engineering practices and databases. He worked on C, Ada and a bit of C++. Java was just beginning get popular then.

Oracle and databases Arvind joined Oracle as a part of the university recruiting programme. “To me, it was very interesting because Oracle was working on the heart of the database system. I started working on some core projects around building support for 8K and 16K block size data warehouses. I wrote C code at Oracle for the next decade.”

Arvind was by far the junior-most engineer and his team was responsible for building a database cache. “Oracle allocates memory in database cache and when you query to read a block, you would actually pull the block, store it in the cache, pin it and try to keep the block as long as it remains hot. The algorithm would then track references to it every time there was a hit on the cache. I worked on optimising how we efficiently you write the data out, and manage LRU cache.”

One of his biggest learnings was that the things we take for granted – such as performance, and scale - are the toughest to build and achieve.

By 1998-1999, there were many things going on in Arvind’s head - whether to quit and start up or continue or get a green card.

His father then advised him to finish his work at hand at Oracle, go someplace else and start up after a year or so.

Looking back, Arvind says this advice saved him from being part of the dot-com bubble. Around the same time, a cousins convinced him to sell some of his Oracle stock, which crashed as well.

Date: 28th November 2018 Publication: The Financial Express Edition: Online Journalist: Huma Siddiqui Headline: Another feat for ISRO! For the first time, India to launch Colombian satellite from PSLV-C43 on November 29 URL: https://www.financialexpress.com/defence/another-feat-for-isro-for-the-first-time-india-to-launch-colombian-satellite-from-pslv-c43-on- november-29/1395320/

Another feat for ISRO! For the first time, India to launch Colombian satellite from PSLV-C43 on November 29

The workhorse of ISRO will be carrying India’s earth observation satellite HysIS and 30 satellites from other countries out of which almost 23 belong to the US. As reported earlier by FE, countries including Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, Ecuador, Chile, Peru, Venezuela, Bolivia and Nicaragua are reaching out to the space agency for launching or developing satellites. For the first time ever, a Colombian satellite will be launched from Sriharikota by Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) along with other countries onboard PSLV-C43 on Nov 29.

The workhorse of ISRO will be carrying India’s earth observation satellite HysIS and 30 satellites from other countries out of which almost 23 belong to the US.

Sources confirmed to FE that “Colombia has chosen to get its satellite launched by ISRO for the first time. This launch has been commercially contracted through Antrix Corporation Ltd, the commercial arm of ISRO. ”

Earlier this year, FE was the first to break the news of South American nation Colombia being in touch with ISRO to launch the nano-satellite belonging to Colombian air force, ‘Facsat1’, which is 30 cm long and 10 metres high, and will be used for that country’s national security, as well as monitor the effects of climate change and prevent emergencies.

According to ISRO, PSLV’s 45th flight will be launched from the First Launch Pad (FLP) of Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) SHAR, Sriharikota and the satellite will be placed in 636 km polar sun synchronous orbit (SSO) with an inclination of 97.957 deg. The mission life of the satellite is 5 years.

Also Read: Vanteru Pratap Reddy attempts immolation over search at house, bid foiled

The main aim of India’s HysIS is to study the earth’s surface in visible, near infrared and shortwave infrared regions of the electromagnetic spectrum.

The other satellites which will be onboard are micro and nano satellites from other countries including the US, Australia, Canada, Colombia, Finland, Malaysia, Netherlands and Spain, will be put in a 504 km orbit by the work horse.

It was after India’s successful Mars mission some years ago that which was proved that ISRO has the capability of achieving inter-planetary missions in a cost-effective manner, that several countries from across the globe have started looking at the agency for launching their satellites.

As reported earlier by FE, countries including Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, Ecuador, Chile, Peru, Venezuela, Bolivia and Nicaragua are reaching out to the space agency for launching or developing satellites.

In 2017, for launching its first homemade palm-sized satellite, the University of Chile got a ride onboard the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) C38 rocket. The faculty of the university is already working with professors at IIT-Madras for doing joint missions.

Launch, of SUCHAI, the nano-satellite of the University of Chile, was successfully accomplished by ISRO at the end of June 2017. The SUCHAI project was a standardised satellite of Cubesat type of 1 litre of volume and 1 kg of weight. Also, it was the first ever satellite built in Chile by students at the university.

The Brazilian Space Agency (AEB), which already has long-standing space cooperation with China, has been in touch with ISRO and the ground stations in Brazil (Alcantara and Cuiaba) which have been providing tracking support for Indian satellites (Chandrayaan-I, Megha Tropiques, MOM, and ASTROSAT) on a commercial basis.

Even Bolivian Space Agency (ABE) has concluded a MoU on space cooperation with ISRO, which will help to conduct preliminary studies of establishing a ground station in Bolivia for supporting India’s space agency’ s space operations.

Date: 28th November 2018 Publication: Greater Kashmir Edition: Online Journalist: Dr. Aasif Shah Headline: An Odyssey of a Cancer Survivor URL: https://www.greaterkashmir.com/news/opinion/an-odyssey-of-a-cancer-survivor/304331.html

An Odyssey of a Cancer Survivor

The story is based on real facts of a young man, namely Manzoor Ahmad Shah from Papachan. Bandipora

It is a painful tale of a young, enthusiastic and handsome man that begins with an unusual fever on 13th August 2016 when he was working in his office; and when the entire valley was under the grip of curfew. Without sharing his agony to anyone at home, he went straightaway to a Srinagar based private hospital for consultation where he was diagnosed with chronic intestinal inflammation and oncological related issues by a local doctor based on USG and colonoscopy reports. He called his family who were shocked to see him admitted in the hospital. On the same day, the doctor recommended an instant surgery and operated on him the following day without a second thought. Later, it appeared that the doctor has scratched and caused a terrible wound in his large intestines. Without noticing the same, he stitched and left him in ICU where it was observed that something scary was leaking out of his abdomen and which got worse with the days passing. When the young man woke up from surgery, he was frightened to see an ileostomy bag attached to his body. Out of fear and discomposure, the doctor repeated his surgery through different tactics including the use of ‘Human Albumin’ but failed to fix the injury that caused the leakage. Human albumin is a concentrated solution that is believed to have greater potential of wound healing. However, surprisingly the doctor found it allergic to patient.

Subsequently, he advised his family members to fly to the reputed Max Hospital at the national capital for further and immediate consultation. It was 27th August 2016 when the patient was introduced to Max hospital. As soon as the team of doctors from the Oncology Department scrutinized the medical reports of the patient, they seemed shocked and startled at the surgical blunder from the Srinagar based doctor. It looked as if the case had turned out to be dark and gloomy for them. With little hopes, the patient was made to undergo surgery but to no avail. Based on the medical records of the Srinagar based doctor that human albumin was allergic to the patient, they did not use it at all. During 30 odd days at Max fighting at the ventilator, the doctors did different experimentations, but they could see no hope. The doctors finally discharged him by giving a heart-breaking news to his family members that no recovery was observed from the patient. After three major surgeries at Max, his body weight reduced to 38 from 80 kgs. The family paid a hefty amount of 36 lakes as medical bill to the Max Hospital after selling some tangible assets; this in a state of hopelessness and devastation. The doctors suggested his family to shift the patient to the local institute of the valley without incurring an additional cost. The family fled back to Srinagar and moved to SKIMS straightaway. After going through the reports of the patient from local to Max hospital, the doctors did not even dare to touch his skinny body. They advised his family that the patient had less than 5% survival chances and that there was nothing doctors could do for him; there was no surgery either that can be of any help. Meanwhile, the Srinagar based local doctor called his family and said that he had a dream in which he had performed a successful balloon experiment on ailing patient and he wanted to repeat the same experiment in real. The family that was in search of hope agreed to his request. He performed the balloon experiment that turned out to be barren, ineffective and fruitless. With dashed hopes, the family returned home. Everyone from adult to old tried their best to uplift his hope while visiting him. They used to offer prayers for him in faith but sadly things worsened with each passing day. With uncontrollable shivering, fever, and severe body pain, he had left all hopes for his survival. He had a sad inclination that he would go to sleep and not wake up the next hour. It was the same local doctor again who approached his family members and suggested them for some experimental treatment through stunts. For this, he told them to fly to New Delhi yet again at ‘Fortis Escorts Hospital’ and assured them that he himself was going to fly with them. (Probably, the doctor realized that the patient was messed up because of his huge blunder). The suggestion was something that held the promise of hope. The patient was brought to New Delhi for the second time but unfortunately the doctors denied operating on him as his weight had dropped drastically. With no option at hand, they returned home in despair once again. Everybody started counting days for his death. After spending few days at home, he was taken to SKIMS hospital again as it is very unusual for any family to bear the pain of their son, daughter, mother or an ailing father. When he was lying on a bed screaming out loud, he was visited by an unknown doctor (who later turned out to be Dr. Fazal Qadir Parray). He, after going through the history of the patient from the day one, realized that the patient was too close to his death, but he showed his desire to operate upon him for the final time. After a few days, he with his team, operated on him for nearly 10 hours and they used same ‘Human Albumin’ to heal the wound. Just before the operation, Dr. Fazal asked his patient that the final attempt of operating on him would be just an experiment where he has only 5 to 10% survival chances. So, fed up with his life, the patient put his request to doctor, 'That if he comes across something dangerous and lose hope while performing the final surgery his life should be ended in the operation theatre as it would be very difficult for his family to carry the burden with nothing in their hands.' Once the doctors were done with their surgery, Dr. Fazal had a good and unbelievable news for his family that the surgery went extremely well. The patient, almost on the deathbed, exhibited significant recovery from a complicated wound. He even started digesting properly. Besides, he started to gain weight. He was discharged from the hospital on Ist July 2017. No one could believe that he had improved from this dreadful disease. Almighty Allah had mercy on him and today let me tell you that after undergoing six major surgeries, he joined back office in the last week of August 2017 to resume his work. The survivor is very thankful to Almighty Allah and very gratefully acknowledges the efforts, cooperation and humble attitude of Dr. Fazal Qadir Parray and his associates including the gracious Dr. Asif Mehraj. Few days back, he called me over phone and said that when a doctor makes a mistake, the news goes viral and many people start losing their trust on doctors but when he is doing something extra-ordinary for a patient, the event is not being celebrated and the contribution of the doctor is not acknowledged. He believes that we are good at criticizing others but very poor at recognizing when it comes to their good work. He added that ‘let people give it a serious thought’. The story is based on real facts of a young man, namely Manzoor Ahmad Shah from Papachan. Bandipora. He is a cousin of the author, who is Postdoc Fellow from IIT Madras and currently working as Assistant Professor at GDC Bandipora. The name of the Srinagar based ‘Private Hospital’ and the ‘Doctor’ has been intentionally kept anonymous to avoid any conflict of interest.

Date: 28th November 2018 Publication: The Hans India Edition: Online Journalist: VLSyamsundar Alumni: Guntur Nageswara Rao Headline: Guntur Nageswara Rao appointed as Atomic Energy Regulatory Board chairman URL: https://www.thehansindia.com/posts/index/Latest-News/2018-11-27/Guntur-Nageswara-Rao-appointed-as-Atomic-Energy-Regulatory- Board-chairman/448755

Guntur Nageswara Rao appointed as Atomic Energy Regulatory Board chairman

- He hailed from Chiluvuru in Guntur district

- He bagged several awards in recognition of his services

Guntur: Renowned scientist Guntur Nageswara Rao has been appointed as Atomic Energy Regulatory Board chairman. He will continue in the post three yeThe government of India issued a notification to this effect. He hailed from Chiluvuru in Guntur district.At present he is working chairman, Project Design Safety Committee, Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor in Kalpakkam.

He studied up to 8th class in the Chiluvuru government school.Later,he joined in the ZPHS in Revendrapadu. He completed PUC in Andhra Loyola College in Vijayawada. After completing Electrical Engineering in Anantapuram,joined M.Tech in IIT ,Chennai. While studying, M.Tech, he got job in the Atomic Energy Department in Bombay.Whereever he posted, he improved performance of Nuclear Power Corporation Projects.

Date: 28th November 2018 Publication: First Post Edition: Online Journalist: NA Headline: Samsung plans to hire over 1,000 graduates from top engineering colleges in India URL: https://www.firstpost.com/business/samsung-plans-to-hire-over-1000-graduates-from-top-engineering-colleges-in-india-5626541.html

Samsung plans to hire over 1,000 graduates from top engineering colleges in India Business Press Trust of India Nov 27, 2018 18:44:17 IST Tweet New Delhi: Samsung India plans to hire over 1,000 graduates from top engineering colleges across the country with over 300 of them coming in from various IITs, a top company official Tuesday said.

Samsung India Head (Human Resources) Sameer Wadhawan said Samsung will visit IITs in Delhi, Kanpur, Bombay, Madras, Kharagpur, Guwahati, BHU and Roorkie, starting 1 December for hiring.

He added that overall, more than 1,000 students will be hired from premium engineering colleges from across the country.

Hiring process will also include the newer IITs in Hyderabad, Dhanbad, Ropar, Indore, Gandhinagar, Patna, Bhubaneswar, Mandi and Jodhpur as well as other premium engineering colleges like BITS Pilani, IIITs, NITs, Delhi Technological University (DTU), Manipal Institute of Technology, and IISc Bengaluru.

Representational image. Reuters.Representational image. Reuters. Wadhawan said most of the new hires will work in cutting-edge domains of artificial intelligence, machine learning, IoT, natural language processing, camera technology and 5G networks.

Samsung had said last year that it will hire a total of 2,500 engineers for its R&D operations over the next three years.

In 2017, Samsung spent over $15 billion on R&D globally. In August this year, the company had announced that it will invest $22 billion globally on four emerging technologies – artificial intelligence, 5G, automotive electronics components and biopharmaceuticals – over the next three years.

In India, Samsung has three R&D centres in Delhi, Noida and Bengaluru. These units contribute to Samsung's global products portfolio as well as work on developing India-specific innovations.

The company's R&D centres have filed over 2,900 patents in the country so far. The Bengaluru R&D centre, which was the company's first R&D centre in India set up in 1996, has a specialised in-house team that conducts company-wide systematic patent creation training.

In all, Samsung has offered 350 pre-placement offers (PPOs) to students at the IITs this year. "There's a tactical shift that we have made to spot talent early and offer PPOs. This year, we had a slightly longer internship period so that students can spend more time in the company, giving them opportunity to interact with the leaders and managers. This helps us spot a bright talent amongst them,” Wadhawan said.

He added that the company will continue to add engineers for R&D in cutting-edge technologies, developing innovations for the Indian market as well as for the globe.

"R&D for us has become a key differentiator and we continue to leverage India's intellectual capital and rapidly grow our reputation as the most innovative company in the areas which we operate," he said.

Date: 28th November 2018 Publication: Zee Business Edition: Online Journalist: NA Headline: Jobs 2018: Samsung to hire over 1,000 grads from top engineering colleges in India URL: https://www.zeebiz.com/india/news-jobs-2018-samsung-to-hire-over-1000-grads-from-top-engineering-colleges-in-india-73315

Jobs 2018: Samsung to hire over 1,000 grads from top engineering colleges in India

Samsung India plans to hire over 1,000 graduates from top engineering colleges across the country with over 300 of them coming in from various IITs, a top company official Tuesday said. Samsung to hire over 1,000 grads from top engineering colleges in India Samsung India Head (Human Resources) Sameer Wadhawan said Samsung will visit IITs in Delhi, Kanpur, Bombay, Madras, Kharagpur, Guwahati, BHU and Roorkie, starting December 1 for hiring. Image source: MobiKwik partners Samsung Pay for select devices MobiKwik partners Samsung Pay for select devices Samsung India plans to hire over 1,000 graduates from top engineering colleges across the country with over 300 of them coming in from various IITs, a top company official Tuesday said. Speaking to PTI, Samsung India Head (Human Resources) Sameer Wadhawan said Samsung will visit IITs in Delhi, Kanpur, Bombay, Madras, Kharagpur, Guwahati, BHU and Roorkie, starting December 1 for hiring.

He added that overall, more than 1,000 students will be hired from premium engineering colleges from across the country. Hiring process will also include the newer IITs in Hyderabad, Dhanbad, Ropar, Indore, Gandhinagar, Patna, Bhubaneswar, Mandi and Jodhpur as well as other premium engineering colleges like BITS Pilani, IIITs, NITs, Delhi Technological University (DTU), Manipal Institute of Technology, and IISc Bengaluru.

Wadhawan said most of the new hires will work in cutting-edge domains of artificial intelligence, machine learning, IoT, natural language processing, camera technology and 5G networks. Samsung had said last year that it will hire a total of 2,500 engineers for its R&D operations over the next three years.

In India, Samsung has three R&D centres in Delhi, Noida and Bengaluru. These units contribute to Samsung's global products portfolio as well as work on developing India-specific innovations. The company's R&D centres have filed over 2,900 patents in the country so far. The Bengaluru R&D centre, which was the company's first R&D centre in India set up in 1996, has a specialised in-house team that conducts company-wide systematic patent creation training.

He added that the company will continue to add engineers for R&D in cutting-edge technologies, developing innovations for the Indian market as well as for the globe. "R&D for us has become a key differentiator and we continue to leverage India's intellectual capital and rapidly grow our reputation as the most innovative company in the areas which we operate," he said.

Date: 28th November 2018 Publication: The News Minute Edition: Online Journalist: NA Headline: Samsung to hire 300 engineers from IITs to strengthen its R&D operations in India URL: https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/samsung-hire-300-engineers-iits-strengthen-its-rd-operations-india-92305

Samsung to hire 300 engineers from IITs to strengthen its R&D operations in India

Samsung has offered over 200 Pre-Placement Offers (PPOs) to students at the IITs this year.

Samsung India is planning to hire over 300 engineers from the Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT) this placement season to strengthen its Research and Development (R&D) operations in the country, a company spokesperson said on Tuesday.

Company officials from three R&D centres located in Bengaluru, Delhi and Noida, will visit the IITs at Delhi, Kanpur, Mumbai, Chennai, Kharagpur, Guwahati, Varanasi and Roorkie starting December 1.

The R&D centres will also hire engineers from the newer IITs at Hyderabad, Dhanbad, Ropar, Indore, Gandhinagar, Patna, Bhubaneswar, Mandi and Jodhpur.

"Our R&D centres are focusing on cutting edge technologies, developing innovations for the Indian market as well as for the globe. We will continue to add engineers for research and development in these areas and further our commitment to making a strong research base in India," said Sameer Wadhawan, Head, Human Resources, Samsung India.

Samsung has offered over 200 Pre-Placement Offers (PPOs) to students at the IITs this year.

"There's a tactical shift that we have made to spot talent early and offer PPOs. This year, we had a slightly longer internship period so that students can spend more time in the company, giving them opportunity to interact with the leaders and managers.

"This helps us select bright talents amongst them," said Wadhawan.

Apart from the IITs, Samsung will also be hiring from other top engineering colleges such as BITS Pilani, IIITs, NITs, Delhi Technological University, Manipal Institute of Technology and IISc Bangalore.

Between the IITs and other engineering colleges, Samsung will hire close to 1,000 engineers. In all it has offered 350 PPOs this year.

Samsung India is also planning to conduct a two-year research called the MyDream project, to find out how to enhance learning outcomes for middle school students in India and how their stress levels can be reduced, the company said on Monday. The study is in collaboration with UNESCO MGIEP (Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Education for Peace and Sustainable Development) and Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti. Date: 28th November 2018 Publication: Odisha TV Edition: Online Journalist: NA Headline: Samsung To Hire 300 Engineers; Details Here URL: https://odishatv.in/business_economy/samsung-to-hire-300-engineers-details-here-336153 Odishatv

Samsung To Hire 300 Engineers; Details Here

Gurugram: Samsung India is planning to hire over 300 engineers from the Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT) this placement season to strengthen its Research and Development (R&D) operations in the country, a company spokesperson said on Tuesday.

Company officials from three R&D centres located in Bengaluru, Delhi and Noida, will visit the IITs at Delhi, Kanpur, Mumbai, Chennai, Kharagpur, Guwahati, Varanasi and Roorkie starting December 1.

The R&D centres will also hire engineers from the newer IITs at Hyderabad, Dhanbad, Ropar, Indore, Gandhinagar, Patna, Bhubaneswar, Mandi and Jodhpur.

“Our R&D centres are focusing on cutting edge technologies, developing innovations for the Indian market as well as for the globe. We will continue to add engineers for research and development in these areas and further our commitment to making a strong research base in India,” said Sameer Wadhawan, Head, Human Resources, Samsung India.

Samsung has offered over 200 Pre-Placement Offers (PPOs) to students at the IITs this year.

“There’s a tactical shift that we have made to spot talent early and offer PPOs. This year, we had a slightly longer internship period so that students can spend more time in the company, giving them opportunity to interact with the leaders and managers.

Date: 28th November 2018 Publication: The Hindu Business Line Edition: Online Journalist: NA Headline: Samsung to hire over 1,000 engineering graduates from top colleges URL: https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/info-tech/samsung-to-hire-over-1000-engineering-graduates-from-top- colleges/article25606614.ece

Samsung to hire over 1,000 engineering graduates from top colleges

Samsung India plans to hire over 1,000 graduates from top engineering colleges across the country, with over 300 of them coming in from various IITs, a top company official said on Tuesday.

Samsung India Head (Human Resources) Sameer Wadhawan said Samsung would visit IITs in Delhi, Kanpur, Mumbai, Chennai, Kharagpur, Guwahati, BHU and Roorkie, starting December 1 for hiring.

He added that overall, more than 1,000 students would be hired from premium engineering colleges from across the country. The hiring process will also include the newer IITs in Hyderabad, Dhanbad, Ropar, Indore, Gandhinagar, Patna, Bhubaneswar, Mandi and Jodhpur, as well as other premium engineering colleges such as BITS Pilani, IIITs, NITs, Delhi Technological University (DTU), Manipal Institute of Technology, and IISc Bengaluru.

Wadhawan said most of the new hires would work in cutting-edge domains of artificial intelligence, machine learning, IoT, natural language processing, camera technology and 5G networks. Samsung had said last year that it would hire a total of 2,500 engineers for its R&D operations over the next three years.

In 2017, Samsung spent over $15 billion on R&D globally. In August this year, the company had announced that it would invest $22 billion globally on four emerging technologies — artificial intelligence, 5G, automotive electronics components and biopharmaceuticals — over the next three years.

In India, Samsung has three R&D centres in Delhi, Noida and Bengaluru. These units contribute to Samsung’s global products portfolio as well as work on developing India-specific innovations.

The company’s R&D centres have filed over 2,900 patents in the country so far. The Bengaluru R&D centre, which was the company’s first R&D centre in India set up in 1996, has a specialised in-house team that conducts company-wide systematic patent creation training. In all, Samsung has offered 350 pre-placement offers (PPOs) to students at the IITs this year.

“There’s a tactical shift that we have made to spot talent early and offer PPOs. This year, we had a slightly longer internship period so that students could spend more time in the company, giving them an opportunity to interact with the leaders and managers. This helps us spot a bright talent amongst them, Wadhawan said.

He added that the company would continue to add engineers for R&D in cutting-edge technologies, developing innovations for the Indian market as well as for the globe.

“R&D for us has become a key differentiator and we continue to leverage India’s intellectual capital and rapidly grow our reputation as the most innovative company in the areas which we operate,” he said.

Date: 29th November 2018 Publication: Swarajya Edition: Online Journalist: NA Headline: Tamil Nadu Government Teams Up With IIT Madras To Use AI, Blockchain, Drones In Public Service Delivery URL: https://swarajyamag.com/insta/tamil-nadu-government-teams-up-with-iit-madras-to-use-ai-blockchain-drones-in-public-service-delivery

Tamil Nadu Government Teams Up With IIT Madras To Use AI, Blockchain, Drones In Public Service Delivery

Tamil Nadu e-Governance Agency (TNeGA) has partnered with Robert Bosch Centre for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence (AI) of IIT Madras to support its data science and Information and Communications Technology (ICT)-related challenges of Tamil Nadu Government. The collaborating entities include education, healthcare and agriculture, as reported by Financial Express.

The move comes after Tamil Nadu government released its new e-governance policy aiming to offer all services online by 2023.

The collaboration will take up five channels of engagement. The first step is to support research related to data science for the government and e-governance. Secondly, through projects, the collaborators will develop products which will have decision support systems and provide insights for governance.

The capacity building for data science and communications technology will be focused on the government of Tamil Nadu. The collaboration will also conduct periodic data science and ICT related Hackathons and workshops for students. Finally, registered entities will be created to collaborate with external IT vendors to scale up the projects.

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) TNeGA, Santhosh K Misra, said, “Today, governance needs to move from demand mode of service delivery to predictive mode of service delivery. Governments need to tap the power of AI, Internet of Things (IoT), Blockchain and drones in addressing the needs of their citizens. Tamil Nadu government is the first state government to collaborate with a premier research institute such as IIT-M for harnessing the power of AI and Blockchain in areas of health, education and agriculture.”

IIT Madras established the Robert Bosch Centre for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence (RBC-DSAI) to undertake foundational research in many areas of AI and data science, such as deep learning, reinforcement learning, network analytics, interpretable machine learning, and domain aware AI.

Date: 29th November 2018 Publication: Chennai Matters Edition: Online Journalist: V Sriram Headline: Will shoddy design prove a dampener for Chennai’s Metro pride? URL: http://chennai.citizenmatters.in/chennai-metro-design-lapse-cmrl-7819

Will shoddy design prove a dampener for Chennai’s Metro pride?

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Let us make it quite clear at the outset – we are delighted that the city has a metro rail service in operation, albeit a mere fraction of what ought to have been running by now. Those who use the facility profess to be quite happy with it – it saves time, the stations are clean and Chennai Metro Rail Limited has also organised some kind of last-mile connectivity by pressing into service local auto-rickshaws and taxicabs. But what is of worry, apart from the high fares, is the shoddy workmanship of the stations and the numerous technical glitches that the actual operation itself suffers from.

True, the latter can be teething troubles, but not the former. There is really no excuse for poor quality construction.

A correspondent who specialises in civil projects has actually taken the pains to go around the stations and photographically document some of what has gone wrong. These range from major to minor lapses. Among the former you would include unfinished concrete cladding, thereby exposing mild-steel handrails.

Also in this category would be water-logging due to improper finishing of the surfaces of the stations. The ceilings are already disfigured even though the monsoon has not arrived. Exposed metal bars that form the actual skeleton of the station structures pose a bigger threat in the long term – these can corrode, thereby weakening the buildings themselves.

Of more immediate concern are the falling roof tiles and cracking window panes, both of which have become routine occurrences. These have injured a few commuters as well. No less an authority than IIT Madras has been moved to comment that all of these are indications of poor workmanship.

CMRL responded with patchwork – removing fifty tiles that were identified as likely to fall and covering all the exposed spaces with cement and paint. The idea of replacing with new tiles was given up. If that be the case, why was tiling done in the first place at an added expense? There are several minor issues as well – improperly finished junction boxes and switches, crooked signboards and gaping holes in station display panels. Not many are likely to notice these, but those who do are left unimpressed.

There have been operation glitches as well. The signalling systems failed three days running in one week of October, resulting in trains being delayed. Irate commuters had no choice but to take to bus transport, thereby negating the very purpose of the Metro. The level of air- conditioning has also come in for complaint. The stations are invariably hot, leaving commuters enervated. As for the staff, who have to spend the whole day underground, their plight can only be imagined.

CMRL has responded to this complaint by stating that the air-conditioning system is only partially operational. Many of its units are turned off to save power as the commuter traffic still remains low. The question then arises that if this be the quality of cooling with low patronage, how will it be when the Metro runs to full capacity?

A second reason for the warmth in the stations once again points to shoddy design – the hot air in the tunnels apparently seeps through gaps in the station doors, thereby heating up the public areas. In a hot city like Chennai, surely this ought to have been thought through even at the design stage? It is too late now to do anything about it.

CMRL has to seriously do some rethinking and set right lapses at least in the forthcoming stations. We really do not need yet another poorly designed public facility.

Date: 29th November 2018 Publication: The New Indian Express Edition: Chennai Page No: 4 Journalist: B Anbuselvan Headline: Faulty flyover pours Rs 6 crore down the drain; contractor taken to task URL: http://www.newindianexpress.com/states/tamil-nadu/2018/nov/29/action-against-7-officials-for-faulty-highways-bridge-in-pudukai- 1904753.html

Date: 29th November 2018 Publication: Business Wire Edition: Online Journalist: NA Headline: Uniphore Software Systems Hosted Conversational AI Leadership Summit 2018 URL: https://businesswireindia.com/news/fulldetails/uniphore-software-systems-hosted-conversational-ai-leadership-summit-2018/60973

Uniphore Software Systems Hosted Conversational AI Leadership Summit 2018

The 1st of its kind event had John Chambers as its keynote speaker with Umesh Sachdev CEOs of leading enterprises participated in the panel discussions on the impact of conversational AI in delivering superior Customer Service Uniphore Software Systems, a global conversational AI company, organised its first ever flagship event ‘Conversational AI Leadership Summit 2018’ recently in New Delhi. First of its kind in the country, the summit had industry leaders, CEOs and technology journalists under the same roof engaging actively in conversations about AI, machine learning and speech recognition technology. The industry captains spoke about how enterprises are leveraging disruptive technologies in delivering superior Customer Service and developing a seamless customer experience system for the enterprises to bank on.

Speaking during the fireside chat, Umesh Sachdev, Co-founder and CEO, Uniphore Software Systems, said “We are beginning to see enterprises realise voice is the next interface. As the leaders in the space of conversational AI, we are thinking about what is going to be the best adaptation of this across different markets and user groups. Five years from now, we want to completely disrupt and dominate the new customer service experience that any industry or any consumer might want.

“Conversational AI is at an inflection point with speech analytics, AI technologies, real time processing capabilities, automation through conversational bots, and voice biometrics all coming together to deliver superior customer experience and drive business outcomes,” he added.

John Chambers, former CEO and Executive Chairman of Cisco and CEO of JC2 Ventures said, “I believe that Uniphore has the potential to lead the customer experience sector and emerge as a role model in the enterprise segment. Voice is going to be the dominant user interface of the future and when you integrate it with AI, you have a combination that can completely change not only the customer experience, but a market at-large.”

The event started with a keynote fireside chat between John Chambers and Umesh Sachdev, moderated by Sukumar Ranganathan, national editor of Hindustan Times. The summit also had two panel discussions. The first one was on ‘Impact of Conversational AI on Enterprises’ moderated by Leslie D’Monte, National Technology Editor of Mint, and panelists included Kalidas Ghose - CEO, FE Credit, Tarun Chugh - MD & CEO, Bajaj Allianz Life, Ashish Srivastava - CEO, PNB MetLife, Ernest Leung - Head of Sales Management- WM, BNP Paribas. The second panel discussion was on ‘CX Impact through Conversational AI’ moderated by Manoj Menon, Senior Business Partner, Frost & Sullivan, where the panelists were Shankar Mummaneni, Vice President & Practice Leader - Genpact, Harsh Vinayak - SVP, NTT Data, Pranay Anand - Director, Customer Experience, Dimension Data Asia Pacific Pvt Ltd, Ravi Saraogi, Co-founder & APAC President, Uniphore.

The total available market for Conversational AI and analytics is estimated to be around 20 billion US Dollars. Conversational analytics, which is AI solving an unsolved problem, is a $5-6 billion opportunity globally. The conversational assistant, which is the automation opportunity, is much larger, at $30 billion.

About Uniphore

Uniphore Software Systems is a global Conversational AI technology company that builds transformational customer engagement solutions for businesses. Uniphore offers software for Conversational Analytics, Conversational Assistant and Conversational Security. Uniphore has served over 100 enterprise clients and 4 million end users. It has offices worldwide including in USA, Singapore and India.

Uniphore was founded in 2008 at IIT Madras, India. The company was recognized as a Technology Fast 500 company in Asia Pacific by Deloitte in 2014 and ranked 10th in Deloitte’s Fast 50 in 2015. Uniphore’s Co-founder & CEO, Umesh Sachdev, was named in 2016 as one of the ’10 Millennials Changing the World’ by TIME Magazine, and ‘Innovators Under 35′ by MIT Technology Review. Uniphore’s investors include John Chambers, IDG Ventures India, IIFL, Kris Gopalakrishnan, Ray Stata, YourNest Angel Fund and India Angel Network.

Date: 28th November 2018 Publication: Live Mint Edition: Online Journalist: NA Headline: Samsung to hire over 1,000 engineering graduates URL: https://www.livemint.com/Companies/bhcrMk4JknNt91DLeuIByL/Samsung-jobs-hiring-engineering-graduates-iit.html

Samsung to hire over 1,000 engineering graduates

Samsung’s hiring process will also include the newer IITs in Hyderabad, Dhanbad, Ropar, Indore, Gandhinagar, Patna, Bhubaneswar, Mandi and Jodhpur as well as other premium engineering colleges like BITS Pilani, IIITs, NITs, Delhi Technological University (DTU), Manipal Institute of Technology, and IISc Bengaluru. Samsung had said last year that it will hire a total of 2,500 engineers for its R&D operations over the next three years. Photo: Mint Samsung had said last year that it will hire a total of 2,500 engineers for its R&D operations over the next three years. Photo: Mint New Delhi: Samsung India plans to hire over 1,000 graduates from top engineering colleges across the country with over 300 of them coming in from various IITs, a top company official Tuesday said.

Speaking to PTI, Samsung India Head (Human Resources) Sameer Wadhawan said Samsung will visit IITs in Delhi, Kanpur, Bombay, Madras, Kharagpur, Guwahati, BHU and Roorkie, starting December 1 for hiring.

He added that overall, more than 1,000 students will be hired from premium engineering colleges from across the country.

Wadhawan said most of the new hires will work in cutting-edge domains of artificial intelligence, machine learning, IoT, natural language processing, camera technology and 5G networks.

Samsung had said last year that it will hire a total of 2,500 engineers for its R&D operations over the next three years.

In 2017, Samsung spent over USD 15 billion on R&D globally. In August this year, the company had announced that it will invest USD 22 billion globally on four emerging technologies – artificial intelligence, 5G, automotive electronics components and biopharmaceuticals – over the next three years. In India, Samsung has three R&D centres in Delhi, Noida and Bengaluru. These units contribute to Samsung’s global products portfolio as well as work on developing India-specific innovations.

In all, Samsung has offered 350 pre-placement offers (PPOs) to students at the IITs this year.

He added that the company will continue to add engineers for R&D in cutting-edge technologies, developing innovations for the Indian market as well as for the globe.

Date: 29th November 2018 Publication: Microbiz India Edition: Online Journalist: NA Headline: “Digital Marketing Bringing Revolution in the Pharmaceutical Sector" URL: http://www.microbiozindia.com/magazine/digital-marketing-bringing-revolution-in-the-pharmaceutical-sector.htm#sthash.2l7zXnRc.dpbs

“Digital Marketing Bringing Revolution in the Pharmaceutical Sector"

Digital Marketing Bringing Revolution in the Pharmaceutical Sector Dear friends and readers, I hope you would have enjoyed reading our previous issue. Once again, I am delighted to bring for you the new edition of your favourite magazine Microbioz India. It is a “Laboratory Edition” supported by the cover story titled Digital Marketing- Bringing Revolution in the Pharmaceutical Sector by covered by our editorial team.

The Pharmaceutical companies operate in a regulated environment which poses constraints in the nature of promotional and marketing activities they can pursue. It has been observed that mostly the pharmaceutical promotional initiatives consist of below – the-Line (BTL) activities with an objective to engage their customer segment with the healthcare professionals with a positive brand experience.

The current edition has also brought for you a featured article on “10 year - Zero Replacement Gaskets! Guarantee Long Life Gasket/ Sealing Solutions! ” from Unispares™ by Arihant Jain CEO-Director, (IIT-Madras) National Rubber Industries, includes with advancements in Seal Engineering and access to best technology platforms from across the globe; Unispares™ now have developed break through sealing solutions for complex Industrial applications.

Date: 29th November 2018 Publication: Enbulletin Edition: Online Journalist: NA Headline: US offers at IITs may dwindle further this year URL: https://enbulletin.com/2018/11/28/us-offers-at-iits-may-dwindle-further-this-year/

US offers at IITs may dwindle further this year

MUMBAI: While US offers at are dwindling every year, this year it is likely to get worse. Most US-based visiting have domestic placements on offer, barring one or two so far. Placements across IITs will commence from December 1.

In forms (JAFs) filled by companies, detailing the offer, pay package, allowances, place of posting and other bonuses, only Microsoft has announced a definitive posting at its headquarters at Redmond, US. With H1B visa-related hassles, most firms have kept conditions vague. A student from the campus said many US-based firms are offering domestic profiles but will relocate candidates within a year or two. Last year, US offers came from Microsoft, Uber International, Indeed and first-time recruiter, Rubrik. Microsoft is likely to offer the highest pay package on the campus, students said. Last year, the firm offered a package of Rs 1.39 crore. This year, it has one profile in US and two in India on offer.

Chinese smartphone manufacturer OnePlus will be make its debut at IIT-B this placement season. The firm has held pre-placement talks at the premier campus and students are looking forward to it. The fast-growing premium smartphone brand in India will recruit students for its research set-up in South India, said a student. Its US counterpart, Apple, had visited the Powai campus for placements for the first time last year. Apple is visiting IIT-B this year too for domestic profiles.

Officially, IITs do not confirm names of firms visiting before the last week of November. A representative of a placement cell from one of the older IITs, said the nothing can be finalised before companies visit the campus. An official from IIT-Madras said since past students approach placement cells only when they have complaints, there may not have been serious problem with US offers. Firms are transparent about job conditions and students knowingly accept offers, he added.

Of international jobs, most on offer are from Japan. Singapore and European firms too are recruiting from IIT-B but are fewer compared to Japan. The package on offer by e-commerce giant Mercari, headquartered in Japan, is the highest so far among Japanese firms. Soft Bank and Yahoo Japan too are visiting the campus. In domestic profiles, higher salaries are on offer from consulting firms like Graviton and Blackstone.

While many seek to pursue higher studies, exposure offered by international firms even for a year or two is something students look forward to, said a student. Date: 29th November 2018 Publication: The New Indian Express Edition: Online Journalist: NA Headline: In the world of Hogworts URL: http://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/chennai/2018/nov/29/in-the-world-of-hogworts-1904656.html

In the world of Hogworts

At 5 am, seven students of the Indian Institute of Technology-Madras (IIT-M) walk onto a porch connected to one of their dormitories, holding mugs of coffee.

Published: 29th November 2018 09:06 AM | Last Updated: 29th November 2018 09:06 AM | A+A A- The team will take part in the Red Bull Basement University Global Meeting, which will be held in BerlinBy Rochana MohanExpress News Service CHENNAI: At 5 am, seven students of the Indian Institute of Technology-Madras (IIT-M) walk onto a porch connected to one of their dormitories, holding mugs of coffee. The dorm, where they work, has been repurposed into a small office for the team to work on Hogworts, a web-based platform for hosting university projects to help students.

“The name Hogworts came to be because I wanted to refer to a place that had innovation in every corner. I wanted to refer to a place where magic happens, and so we settled on the name of the school from JK Rowling’s Harry Potter books, except a little different,” explained Chaitya Patel, a 21-year-old final year student in Engineering Physics.

For the last two months, his dorm room at the IIT-M campus has been the office for Satwik Gupta, Rohit Gavirni, Aakarsh Chopra, Nirmalraj Roy, Dipam Shah and Zenith Sugo, all from different engineering streams like Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering and Chemical Engineering.

The team won the Red Bull Basement University challenge nationals, a hunt for the best ideas from around the world that aim to bring about positive change on their college campuses, with their web-based platform, Hogworts. Drawing from the success of companies originating from college projects like Google, Facebook and Microsoft, the platform hopes to bring together students, faculty and alumni. “These are all facilities that impact people’s lives. We found that what separated the successful bunch from the not-so-successful was the presence of a strong community at an early stage. Hogworts will help provide a community of experts for students. This kind of critique and feedback is important for college projects, and this offers students an incentive-based system,” said Chaitya.

Alumni and faculty members can also offer solutions for specific problems for certain projects and aid in the growth of the project. The team noted that most college projects followed a similar trajectory and often made similar mistakes, which they hope to avoid with their platform.

Hogworts came to fruition after Chaitya and Nirmal attempted, in their second year, to begin their own start-up, which eventually failed, according to Chaitya. He recalled visiting various start-ups in Bengaluru for advice. After going to Stanford University in California for an entrepreneurship programme in April this year, Chaitya felt that he has returned with a better understanding of the start-up ecosystem, and this led to the formative idea around Hogworts.

“They always say you have to be a little crazy to do something big. If you always look at the practical aspect, you’re never going to do it. Something I want to tell students like myself is that you can always find a job. I’d ask them not to waste four years looking for or preparing for a job. I’d ask them to create something. Anything!,” said Chaitya.

The team will take part in the Red Bull Basement University Global Meeting, which will be held in Berlin from today to December 2

Date: 29th November 2018 Publication: India Today Edition: Online Journalist: NA Headline: Good news! Samsung India to hire over 300 engineering graduates from IITs URL: https://www.indiatoday.in/education-today/news/story/good-news-samsung-india-to-hire-over-300-engineering-graduates-from-iits- 1397953-2018-11-28

Good news! Samsung India to hire over 300 engineering graduates from IITs

Most of the new hires will work in cutting-edge domains of artificial intelligence, machine learning, IoT, natural language processing, camera technology and 5G networks, said Sameer Wadhawan, Samsung India Head (Human Resources). Over 1,000 graduates from top engineering colleges across the country with over 300 of them coming in from various IITs will soon be hired by Samsung India.

As per reports, Samsung will visit IITs in Delhi, Kanpur, Bombay, Madras, Kharagpur, Guwahati, BHU and Roorkie, starting December 1 for hiring.

More than 1,000 students will be hired from premium engineering colleges from across the country, Sameer Wadhawan, Samsung India Head (Human Resources) said in a recent PTI report.

Samsung India campus placement: The hiring process will also include the newer IITs in Hyderabad, Dhanbad, Ropar, Indore, Gandhinagar, Patna, and Bhubaneswar, Mandi and Jodhpur as well as other premium engineering colleges like BITS Pilani, IIITs, NITs, Delhi Technological University (DTU), Manipal Institute of Technology, and IISc Bengaluru.

Moreover, Wadhawan said most of the new hires will work in cutting-edge domains of artificial intelligence, machine learning, IoT, natural language processing, camera technology and 5G networks.

More on the report: Samsung had said last year that it will hire a total of 2,500 engineers for its R and D operations over the next three years In 2017, Samsung spent over USD 15 billion on R and D globally In August this year, the company had announced that it will invest USD 22 billion globally on four emerging technologies - artificial intelligence, 5G, automotive electronics components and biopharmaceuticals - over the next three years. R&D centres: In India, Samsung has three R&D centres in Delhi, Noida and Bengaluru These units contribute to Samsung's global products portfolio as well as work on developing India-specific innovations The company's R&D centres have filed over 2,900 patents in the country so far The Bengaluru R&D centre, which was the company's first R&D centre in India set up in 1996, has a specialised in-house team that conducts company-wide systematic patent creation training. This year, Samsung has offered 350 pre-placement offers (PPOs) to students at the IITs.

Change in hiring process: "There's a tactical shift that we have made to spot talent early and offer PPOs. This year, we had a slightly longer internship period so that students can spend more time in the company, giving them opportunity to interact with the leaders and managers. This helps us spot a bright talent amongst them," Wadhawan said. The company will continue to add engineers for R&D in cutting-edge technologies, developing innovations for the Indian market as well as for the globe, he said.

Date: 29th November 2018 Publication: The Economic Times Edition: Delhi/Mumbai/Bangalore Page No: 1 Journalist: Neha Shende Alumni: George Kurian Headline: Spearheading the cloud

Date: 30th November 2018 Publication: The Economic Times Edition:Delhi/Mumbai/Kokkata Page No: 1 Journalist: Prachi Verma and Sreeradha D Basu Headline: IITians offered Rs 1.5 crore to join MS Office URL: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/jobs/iitians-offered-rs-1-5-crore-to-join-ms-office/articleshow/66874607.cms

Date: 29th November 2018 Publication: The Economic Times Edition: Online Journalist: Nehal Chaliawala, Headline: How to crack campus recruitment URL: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/jobs/how-to-crack-campus-recruitment/articleshow/66861040.cms

Date: 29th November 2018 Publication: Statetimes Edition: Online Journalist: NA Headline: 7 students of BCET clear NPTEL test URL: http://news.statetimes.in/7-students-of-bcet-clear-nptel-test/ 7 students of BCET clear NPTEL test

SAMBA: Under the National on Technology Enhanced Learning (NPTEL) Ministry of Human Resources and Development, Government of India, NPTEL local Chapter Bhargava College of Engineering and Technology, Samba is promoting the activities of NPTEL among the faculty and student of various disciplines. BCET facilitates the usage of NPTEL resources and enrolment of faculty and students in various course related to their streams and interest. In the current run of NPTEL online certification, seven students of BCET Samba have successfully cleared the NPTEL examination in various course by IIT Bombay and IIT Madras.

The students who qualified the test are Saqib Ramzan Ganai (Electrical Branch ), Saqib Muneer Masoodi (Electrical Brach) Nandini Vaid (Electronics and Communication Brach), Ishma Wazir (Electronics and Communication Branch ) and Ankush Sharma (Electronics and Communication Branch) and Mamoon Rashid (Mechanical Branch ) and Manik Khajuria (Mechanical Branch) under the guidance of faculty of various department . On this achievement, Director BCET appreciated the students for their efforts to qualify this much acclaimed programme recognized by AICTE/UGC and MHRD across India and abroad as well. He also apprised that BCET is one of the members among 2019 institute in India and abroad.

Date: 30th November 2018 Publication: Indulge Edition: Online Journalist: NA Headline: Lema Labs hosts robotic bootcamp in Coimbatore URL: http://www.indulgexpress.com/events/coimbatore/2018/nov/30/boot-yourselves-up-to-learn-more-about-robots-11350.html

Lema Labs hosts robotic bootcamp in Coimbatore

Lema Labs is hosting the Kaizen Robotics Programme—an intensive 40-hour crash course on robotics and embedded systems. Students will be guided in making 10 robots, which includes circuit-based, remote controlled, Cartesian and mobile robots. A guidance programme will also be conducted for four months post the training and will be supported by the IIT Madras Research Park. Rs 9,500. At Forge Accelerator, KCT Tech Park. From December 3 to 8. 9 am to 4.30 pm. Details: 80566-03335.

Date: 30th November 2018 Publication: Deccan Chronicle Edition: Online Journalist: NA Headline: Telugu Desam, YSRC corporators clash at civic meeting URL: https://www.deccanchronicle.com/nation/current-affairs/301118/telugu-desam-ysrc-corporators-clash-at-civic-meeting.html

Telugu Desam, YSRC corporators clash at civic meeting

Council session discusses construction of multiplex. This was followed by allegations and counter allegations between the TD and YSR Congress corporators on the issue, The mayor then adjourned the session for some time. When the discussion resumed, BJP MLA Dr Akula Satyanarayana admonished corporators from both the parties and asked them not to behave like school students. This was followed by allegations and counter allegations between the TD and YSR Congress corporators on the issue, The mayor then adjourned the session for some time. When the discussion resumed, BJP MLA Dr Akula Satyanarayana admonished corporators from both the parties and asked them not to behave like school students. Rajahmundry: Municipal corporation council session on Thursday witnessed uproarious scenes with the ruling Telugu Desam and opposition YSR Congress corporators levelling charges against one another on the ongoing construction of a multiplex. The work has been going on without the mandatory building plan approval being obtained by the builders.

Soon after the session began with mayor P. Rajani Sesha Sai on the chair, YSR Congress floor leader M. Sharmila Reddy asked the ruling TD corporators who had given permission to construct the multiplex and who was its owner. Reacting to this, the deputy mayor Vasireddy Rambabu and TD floor leader Varre Srinivasa Rao asked the YSR Congress floor leader whether the eatery owned by her family had all requisite permissions. They were informed that the eatery was in possession of all the necessary permissions from the town planning authorities.

This was followed by allegations and counter allegations between the TD and YSR Congress corporators on the issue, The mayor then adjourned the session for some time. When the discussion resumed, BJP MLA Dr Akula Satyanarayana admonished corporators from both the parties and asked them not to behave like school students.

He stressed that they welcome the construction of malls and multiplex as part of developmental works but underlined the need to find out lapses in the construction activity and take measures to avoid any damage to property and loss of life.

TD MLA Gorantla Buchaiah Choudhary said he has taken stock of the developments of the multiplex through his relations living close by and raised objection to the involvement of the Rajahmundry MP M. Murali Mohan in the issue. He said that experts from JNTUK and IIT, Madras, have inspected the damaged multi-storied building. Based on their report, he added, they would fix responsibility on the builder and take the officials responsible for the lapse to task.

Reacting to the statement of the TD MLA, YSR Congress corporators demanded an inquiry into the multiplex issue with vigilance authorities.

Responding to this, Mt Choudhary asked the corporators if they were ready for a similar inquiry into the Venkateswara General Market owned by YSR Congress leader. This resulted in another exchange of heated arguments between TD and YSR Congress corporators and leaders. The session witnessed pandemonium for some more time forcing the Mayor to adjourn the session for a brief time.

When the session resumed, YSR Congress corporators reached the podium and staged dharna alleging that the mayor was not showing respect to its members and raised slogans against her. As the YSR Congress corporators were not allowing the session to conduct its proceedings, the mayor called the marshals to evict the male corporators while female corporators were lifted by She Team personnel from the council hall. Later, the evicted YSR Congress corporators staged dharna in front of the municipal corporation office and asked the ruling TD members as to how much bribe they had taken to allow construction of multiplex.

Date: 30th November 2018 Publication: Mint Edition: Delhi / Pune / Bangalore / Hyderabad / Chennai / Ahmedabad / Chandigarh Page No: 1 Journalist: Malyaban Ghosh and Tanya Thomas Headline: Subhash Chandra’s next bet: Lithium ion batteries for electric cars URL: https://www.livemint.com/Auto/1gNNhXYoLzCYftQtiSuyfP/Subhash-Chandra-Lithium-ion-batteries-for-electric-cars.html

Date: 30th November 2018 Publication: Trinity Mirror Edition: Chennai Page No: 6 Journalist: NA Headline: Russian scientists sheds light on water management at meet in Karunya College