Category Archives: Business & Economy

WORLD RECORD: ARTS & CRAFTS / FILM (movie) RECORD: This 1932 Hindi Bollywood Film ‘Indrasabha’ holds World Record for most Songs, had 72 of them, it’s not Hum Aapke Hain Koun, DDLJ, Taal, Devdas

This Bollywood film from before Independence, holds the world record for most songs with 72 musical numbers.

Song and dance is an integral part of Indian cinema. While the West has a separate genre called musicals, most Indian films are by default musicals. Whether it’s a thriller, murder mystery, romantic comedy, or family drama, songs find a place in most Indian films. Yet, some films go the extra mile when it comes to including songs with the sheer number setting records. In fact, it is an Indian film that holds the world record for including most songs with a jaw-dropping 72 musical numbers in its run. And its not one of the usual suspects.

Bollywood film with 72 songs

While Hum Aapke Hain Koun created a flutter with 14 songs back in 1994, there have been a few before it as well that included over a dozen songs. Even Hollywood musicals like Chicago and Moulin Rouge had as many songs. Yet, none of them compare with the 1932 Hindi film Indrasabha, based on the play Inder Sabha. The 3 and a half-hour film was conceptualised and shot almost entirely in verse, comprising of 72 songs in total with most characters, big or small, receiving their own entry song. The mythological drama was one of the first Indian talkies, released just a year after Alam Ara.

Indrasabha’s 72 songs

Indrasabha was an adaptation of a 19th century Urdu play called Inder Sabha, written by Agha Hasan Amanat. The play was first brought to screen in 1925 but as a silent film. When Alam Ara brought the talkie revolution in India, Madan Theatre decided to bring back the film but with sound. The 1932 release utilised almost all of the plays 31 ghazals, 9 thumris, 4 holis, 15 songs, and seven other musical numbers. The film added a few of its own as well, giving it 72 songs in total. The feat earned Indrasabha a place in several record books.

source/content: dnaindia.com (headline edited)

INTERNATIONAL: SCIENTISTS AWARDED: U.S. President Joe Biden Honours 2 Indian-American Scientists Ashok Gadgil and Subra Suresh with National Medal of Technology & Innovation and National Medal of Science respectively for Remarkable Medical Discoveries

Two Indian American scientists were awarded the National Medal of Technology and Innovation by US President Joe Biden at the White House on Tuesday.

The two Indian-Americans — Ashok Gadgil and Subra Suresh — were awarded the National Medal of Technology and Innovation and the National Medal of Science, respectively.

President Biden also honoured leading American scientists, technologists, and innovators at the award ceremony.

The scientists, who were honoured at the event, made discoveries enabling lifesaving medical treatments, helping fight the opioid epidemic, improving food security, advancing accessibility, and much more.

“Today, President Biden is awarding the National Medal of Science and the National Medal of Technology and Innovation to a number of Americans who have made exemplary achievements in science, technology, and innovation to strengthen our nation’s well-being, ” the White House said in a statement.

The National Medal of Science is the nation’s highest scientific honour, established by the US Congress in 1959 and administered by the US National Science Foundation. “It is bestowed by the President of the United States on individuals deserving of special recognition for their outstanding contributions in biology, computer sciences, education sciences, engineering, geosciences, mathematical and physical sciences, and social, behavioural, and economic sciences, in service to the Natio,” the statement added.

“Those who earn these awards embody the promise of America by pushing the boundaries of what is possible,” it added.

Further, according to the official statement, these trailblazers harnessed the power of science and technology to tackle challenging problems and deliver innovative solutions for Americans and communities worldwide.

The accomplishments made by the awardees have advanced American leadership in science, technology, and innovation and their work inspires the next generation of American minds, it added.

source/content: hindustantimes.com (headline edited)

INTERNATIONAL: LEGAL / LAW: Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud Receives Harvard Law School’s “Award for Global Leadership”

Referring to the legal aid clinics, DY Chandrachud stated that law students should be involved in clinical legal models, where they are actively involved in real-time cases in local areas.

Chief Justice Of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud was on Saturday felicitated with the “Award for Global Leadership” by the Harvard Law School.

The Chief Justice was announced as the recipient of the award in January this year in an online ceremony.

The CJI, who was present at the Harvard Law School with David Wilkins, Professor at Harvard Law School and Faculty Director, spoke about the initiatives taken by the Supreme Court during his first year of tenure, which included the use of technology in court processes, the launch of handbook on combating gender stereotypes and others.

He also emphasised the importance of interdisciplinary studies, adding that issues of medical science or technology are connected to the workings of law.

Referring to the legal aid clinics, he stated that law students should be involved in clinical legal models, where they are actively involved in real-time cases in local areas.

Asked whether the legal profession can be democratized, he referred to the new law clerks’ scheme implemented in his tenure, which provides equal access to all to apply for a clerkship at the Supreme Court. He also shared his concern about the mental health of lawyers.

He suggested that apart from senior lawyers and judges, the law schools should also develop a mechanism to train the students in handling stress and mental health.

The CJI, who had obtained an LLM degree and a Doctorate in Juridical Sciences (SJD) from the Harvard Law School, also interacted with the students and faculty members of various departments.

The felicitation comes at a time when the Harvard Law School is celebrating the 100th anniversary of its Graduate Law Program.

source/content: ndtv.com (headline edited)

INTERNATIONAL / REGIONAL: First Indian Diplomat Indra Mani Pandey named Secretary General of BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical & Economic Cooperation) becoming the First Indian Diplomat to hold the position

Indra Mani Pandey, an Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer of the 1990 batch, is currently the country’s permanent representative to the United Nations and other international organisations in Geneva.

Indra Mani Pandey will be the first Indian official to hold the post of secretary general of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC).

Pandey, an Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer of the 1990 batch, is currently the country’s permanent representative to the United Nations and other international organisations in Geneva.

A statement from the external affairs ministry on Friday said he will be the next secretary general of BIMSTEC.

“This is the first time that an Indian will hold the position of the secretary general of BIMSTEC,” the statement said.

Pandey will take up the assignment shortly.

BIMSTEC is a regional organisation established in June 1997. Its secretariat was established in the Bangladesh capital of Dhaka to provide an institutionalised framework for deepening and enhancing cooperation.

“India has attached a high importance to BIMSTEC with a view to expanding regional cooperation in the Bay of Bengal region. Having an Indian diplomat, with long experience in multilateral diplomacy, as secretary general of BIMSTEC will contribute to India’s endeavours in strengthening the grouping,” a person familiar with the matter said.]

Cooperation within BIMSTEC initially focused on six sectors – trade, technology, energy, transport, tourism and fisheries – and this was expanded in 2008 to incorporate agriculture, public health, poverty alleviation, counter-terrorism, environment, culture, people-to-people contacts, and climate change.

The member states of BIMSTEC are Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand.

source/content: hindustantimes.com (headline edited)

NATIONAL: MEDICAL RESEARCH : The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) completes Clinical Trials of World’s First Injectable Male Contraceptive; study claims it’s safe

The findings of the phase-III clinical trial, which involved 303 candidates aged 25-40 years, were published in the international open-access Andrology journal last month.

The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has completed the clinical trials of the world’s first injectable male contraceptive which showed that it is safe and highly efficacious without any serious side effects.

The findings of the phase-III clinical trial, which involved 303 candidates aged 25-40 years, were published in the international open-access Andrology journal last month.

The open-labeled and non-randomized, multi-centre hospital-based phase-III clinical trials were carried out at five different centres (New Delhi, Udhampur, Ludhiana, Jaipur and Kharagpur) and coordinated by the ICMR, New Delhi.

Permission to conduct phase-III clinical trial was granted by the Drugs Controller General India (DCGI) and approved by the institutional ethical committees of the respective centres.

As part of the study, 303 healthy, sexually active and married men and their healthy and sexually active wives who came to the family planning clinic and department of urology or surgery for vasectomy or No Scalpel Vasectomy (NSV) were identified.

The men were injected with 60 mg of Reversible Inhibition of Sperm under Guidance (RISUG).

“The overall efficacy of RISUG with respect to achieving azoospermia was 97.3 per cent and based on pregnancy prevention was 99.02 per cent without any serious side effect,” the study stated.

“In the history of contraceptive development, RISUG presents the highest effectiveness compared to all other contraceptives both male and female as they were at the threshold of induction into a mass contraception program,” it said.

According to the study, with an ever-increasing world population, there is an urgent need to develop modern methods of male contraception for population control.

Even though vasectomy is quite effective as a contraceptive measure, some major limitations of this method call for the development of improved techniques.

An ideal male contraceptive approach should have minimally invasive drug delivery system with a one-time injection, long-term effectiveness with negligible side-effects and the option of reversal.

“To achieve these goals, a novel male contraceptive approach of Reversible Inhibition of Sperm under Guidance (RISUG) has been developed, which has the potential to become for mass use as once injectable and reversible male contraceptive method. Significant features of this method include localized injection and no detectable interaction with other body parts unlike the hormonal injectable contraceptives,” the study said.

source/content: newindianexpress.com (headline edited)

NATIONAL: AGRICULTURE / VEGETABLES : ICAR-Indian Institute of Vegetable Research (IIVR) helps Grow Multiple Vegetables in One Plant

 Imagine planting one plant and getting multiple vegetables from it for your kitchen needs.

Scientists at ICAR-Indian Institute of Vegetable Research (IIVR), Varanasi are now working on a new single plant that will yield three vegetables simultaneously- brinjal, tomato and chilli.

The new plant is yet to be named.

The scientists had earlier developed ‘Pomato’ that yields potatoes and tomatoes on a single plant and ‘Brimato’ that yields brinjal and tomatoes together.

Using the grafting technique, the scientists at ICAR-IIVR, first developed ‘Pomato’.

Under the guidance of IIVR director Dr T.K. Behera, Dr Anant Bahadur, principal scientist (vegetable) and head division of crop production at ICAR-IIVR, Varanasi is now working on developing this unique single plant to yield three veggies.

“The grafting of chilli and tomato plants has been done on the brinjal rootstock and the plant is growing well. We are quite hopeful that it will start yielding chilli, brinjal and tomatoes by the end of January 2024,” said Dr Bahadur.

He said that he would analyse the feasibility of its cultivation.

Speaking about ‘Pomato’, Dr Bahadur said, “Potato tubers were germinated. Then grafting of tomato plants was done on the germinated potato tubers. As per the need, the plant was irrigated from time to time. It grew well and bore tomatoes above ground and potatoes below the ground.”

‘Pomato’, as a single plate, yielded around three kg of tomatoes and around 1.25 kg of potatoes, he added.

Thereafter, in 2019, Dr Anant Bahadur with his team grafted both the brinjal and tomato hybrids on the Brinjal root stock tolerant to waterlogging and salinity.

In 2019, his team succeeded in getting the desired result. He said the ‘Brimato’ is capable of surviving in waterlogged conditions for four days, whereas a normal plant wilts and gets destroyed in such conditions within 24 hours.

In October, the plant was transplanted, and brinjals and tomatoes were harvested till March.

A single plant yields around 3 kg of tomatoes and 2.5 kgs of brinjals, said Dr Bahadur.

Dr Bahadur said, “The special plant, ‘Brimato’, yields tomatoes and brinjals. It can be grown in kitchen gardens, backyards and also in small fields.”

source/content: daijiworld.com (headline edited)

NATIONAL : SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY / HEALTH & MEDICAL SERVICES: IIT Madras develops Steam-based method to Sterilise Medical Equipment

Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras have developed a solar-thermal steam-based system that can help sterilise medical equipment in remote and rural areas, where access to electricity and water could be an issue.

The project, funded by the Department of Science and Technology, uses portable steam cylinders charged by renewable energy-based stations (like solar energy) that are placed strategically in rural areas for power generation, steam generation and other uses.

The team also designed special sterilisation chambers to utilise such portably stored steam and effectively sterilise the tools.

“A portable steam storage canister can be a great contribution by facilitating minor medical interventions in the developing world by sterilising surgical instruments and combating infections in rural areas,” said Prof. Sathyan Subbiah, Department of Mechanical Engineering, IIT Madras, in a statement.

“The portable canister is developed with multi-layer insulation, which can retain useful heat of steam, generated via solar plants for longer duration thus making it a viable option to sterilise equipment in remote areas. The steam that is produced in the solar plant or any other means can be stored in the portable canister which can be transported to remote locations to carry out the sterilisation activities,” he added.

Safe sterilisation of surgical instruments and other medical tools are important aspects in the health care sector. It involves cleaning and disinfecting the previously-used contaminated surgical tools before subsequent use. Steam sterilisation is one of the best disinfecting methods.

Currently, doctors carry with them a set of sterilised tools, which limits the number of patients they can see at the camp.

The project was demonstrated during a medical camp at IIT Madras campus on October 14, and is all set for further trials, following which it is intended to be deployed in the field.

source/content: daijiworld.com (headline edited)

NATIONAL: DEFENCE & AVIATION: Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) hands over First LCA Tejas Twin Seater Aircraft to Indian Air Force (IAF)

HAL said the twin seater variant has all the capabilities to support the training requirements of the IAF and augments itself to the role of fighter as well in case of necessity.

The Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) handed over the first LCA Tejas twin seater to the Indian Air Force in the presence of Union Minister of State for Defence & Tourism Ajay Bhatt at a ceremony in Bengaluru on Wednesday, October 4.

The LCA Tejas Twin Seater is a lightweight, all-weather multi-role 4.5 generation aircraft. It is designed to support the training requirements of the IAF and augment itself to the role of a fighter in case of necessity.

It is a huge boost to self-reliance, said the minister in his address to the audience. “I am proud to be part of this historic occasion and salute the spirit of HAL which has been spearheading Swadeshi manufacturing in defence,” he said.

Mr. Bhatt unveiled the twin seater LCA. “In all, the development of LCA Tejas has also brought about a shift in our approach to defence procurement. It has demonstrated that India has the talent, knowledge and capability to design, develop and manufacture world-class fighters,” he added.

More LCAs to be procured

Speaking on the occasion, Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari said that IAF would be going ahead to procure 97 more LCAs, and with this it will have 220 LCAs in its inventory.

C.B. Ananthakrishnan, CMD (Addl. Charge), HAL said that the company is committed to deliver all the twin-seater aircraft pertaining to Initial Operational Configuration (IOC) and Final Operational Configuration (FOC) contract to IAF in the current financial year.

“With this, we are moving one step closer towards achieving self-sufficiency on the fixed wing segment. These trainers also ensure smooth transition for the pilots from trainer to fighter aircraft in this class,” he added.

Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari, HAL CMD (Addl. Charge) C.B. Ananthakrishnan, Director General, ADA, Girish S. Deodhare, A.P.V.S Prasad, CE (A), CEMILAC, officials from IAF, MoD, DGAQA, DRDO, HAL and production partners attended the event.

The Release to Service Document (RSD) and the Signalling out Certificate (SOC) were also handed over during the event.

Entering the elite club

The LCA Tejas twin seater boasts of technologies such as relaxed static-stability, quadraplex fly-by-wire flight control, carefree manoeuvring, advanced glass cockpit, integrated digital avionics systems and advanced composite materials for the airframe.

The production of the LCA twin seater variant adds India to the list of very few elite countries who have created such a capability and have them operational in their Defence Forces.

IAF had earlier placed orders for 20 IOC standard aircraft and 20 FOC standard aircraft, including eight twin seater trainers. Thirty two Mk-1 single seater aircrafts have already been inducted by the IAF.

In 2021, the Defence Ministry had signed a ₹48,000 crore deal with HAL to supply 83 LCA-Mk1A, a more capable fighter than the current LCA-MK1 in service.

As per contract, three LCA-MK1A are scheduled to be delivered to the IAF in February 2024 and 16 aircraft per year for the subsequent five years.

source/content: thehindu.com (headline edited)

NATIONAL: AMAZING INNOVATION IN AI: Indian engineering student builds AI model for real-time ASL sign language translation into English words

An Indian engineering student has developed an innovative AI model that can translate American Sign Language (ASL) into English words.

An Indian engineering student has developed an innovative AI model that can translate American Sign Language (ASL) into English words.

The model can recognize and translate six fundamental ASL signs like ‘Hello’, ‘I Love You’, ‘Thank You’, ‘Please’, ‘Yes’, and ‘No’.

The AI model, developed by Priyanjali Gupta, a student of Vellore Institute of Technology, was built using TensorFlow Object Detection API, utilizing transfer learning with the ssd_mobilenet model.

Gupta captured ASL gestures through a webcam that formed the basis for her AI model. In response to inquiries, Gupta acknowledged the complexity of building a dedicated deep learning model for sign detection. 

As part of a comment on a LinkedIn post, Gupta stated “You are absolutely right there’s a long long way to go to make a perfect model which can be implemented in real life. Hopefully this happens in our lifetime”.

Gupta’s AI model helps people communicate across barriers, providing a more accessible way to connect with the world. In her GitHub post, she has shared her project and code.

source/comments: thehindu.com (headline edited)

NATIONAL RECORDS: WORLD RECORD FOR AN INDIAN ARTIST: Amrita Sher-Gil’s ‘The Story Teller’ sets Record for Highest Price of Rs.61.8 crore, Achieved by an Indian Artist on September 16th, 2023 by-passing the Previous Record held by S H Raza’s ‘Gestation’ of Rs. 51.7 crore

Amrita Sher-Gil “sought inspiration in Pahari paintings” to paint The Story Teller.

Painted during an important period in her oeuvre, Amrita Sher-Gil’s 1937 canvas The Story Teller sold for a whopping Rs 61.8 crore ($7.44 million) on September 16, setting a world record for the highest price achieved by an Indian artist.

The iconic work led Saffronart’s Evening Sale: Modern Art, which featured more than 70 artworks from prominent artists, including significant works by modern masters V S Gaitonde and S H Raza, and early works by Tyeb Mehta, M F Husain, F N Souza, and Akbar Padamsee.

Before this sale, the most expensive Indian artwork sold at an auction was S H Raza’s Gestation, which had fetched ₹51.75 crore.

Describing the significance of the Sher-Gil artwork, a note released by Saffronart before the auction had pointed out it was executed “during an important formative period in the artist’s oeuvre that saw her European and Indian influences merge into a unique artistic language”.

In one of the “few works that she painted en plein air”, the release added, “The dominant subjects are women—who feature in many of her works—depicted as close-knit figures, crafting an inherent intimacy within the canvas. The work is an example of the artist’s most honest and expressive compositions, one that Sher-Gil herself was especially fond of as evidenced by the numerous mentions of this work in her letters.”

A note on The Story Teller on the Saffronart website quotes art connoisseur Karl Khandalavala suggesting that “it sought inspiration in Pahari paintings”. “The cows, the women folk, and the setting, though all far removed in technique from those of Basohli miniature, are pregnant with its lyricism and vivid colour,” states Khandalavala.

Born in 1913 in Budapest to an Indian Sikh aristocrat father and Hungarian-Jewish opera singer mother, Sher-Gil was eight when she moved to Shimla. Though she was already painting, her uncle Ervin Baktay encouraged her to develop her own vocabulary and pursue formal training.

source/content: indianexpress.com (headline edited)