INDIA RECORDS: GLOBAL PARTICIPATION :‘Vakeel Babu’ Selected for New York Indian Film Festival 2022

The film Vakeel Babu, produced by Civic Studios and co-produced by TrainTripper Films, has landed a place at the 22nd edition of the New York Indian Film Festival (NYIFF) 2022, taking place virtually from May 7th to 13th 2022.

The film will be participating in the Shorts (Narrative) category and has also been nominated in the Best Short (Narrative) category.

source/category : thehindu.com (edited)

The Indian Leg of the Great Backyard Bird Count, the 10th edition of Bird-O-Thon Records an Impressive 1,017 Species

A pair of bright yellow eyes stared right back at Angeline Mano, a 23-year-old birder, as she zoomed in with her binoculars. Angeline was at Stanley Reservoir in Salem, one of the largest fishing reservoirs in South India, documenting birds for the recently-concluded, annual Global Backyard Bird Count (GBCC). The bulky bird with a finely streaked breast, was a brown fish owl, perched on a branch just 10 metres away.

The India leg of the four-day event, coordinated by Bird Count India, allowed participants to count birds for as little as 15 minutes from a particular location. They upload their sightings online, on eBird (www.ebird.org/india), the world’s largest biodiversity-related citizen science platform.

source/content: thehindu.com (edited)

INDIA RECORDS : SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY : MEDICENE : First Surgery of Budd-Chiari Syndrome, a serious condition of Liver Disorder done by IMS-BHU Doctors

For the first time a team of doctors from the Institute of Medical Science, Banaras Hindu University (IMS-BHU) performed a surgical procedure to cure a patient suffering from Budd-Chiari Syndrome, a serious condition of the liver.

The doctors from the interventional radiology unit of the department of radio diagnosis and imaging performed the surgery.

The syndrome is a medical condition in which the hepatic veins (veins that drain the liver) are blocked or narrowed by a clot (mass of blood cells). This blockage causes blood to back up into the liver, and as a result, the liver grows larger.

Prof. Ashish Verma, head of the department of radiodiagnosis and imaging, who led the team, said, “It is for the first time that the trans-jugular intrahepatic Porto systemic shunt procedure has been done on a patient. The procedure has been performed on a young woman suffering from a condition called the Budd-Chiari Syndrome.”

source/content: daijiworld.com (edited)

INDIA RECORDS: SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY : GREEN : Thiruvananthapuram Scientist Dr C A Jayaprakash, Principal Scientist, CTCRI and his Team Generates Electricity from Tapioca Leaves

Tapioca is in vogue in Kerala. First, the government created a buzz with its idea to make spirits from tapioca. Now, a scientist based in Thiruvananthapuram has developed a technique to produce electricity from its leaves.  The concept of clean energy from cassava leaves — ‘Cassa Dipah’ — was a by-product of the biopesticide manufacturing process, said Dr C A Jayaprakas, principal scientist at the ICAR- Central Tuber Crops Research Institute (CTCRI) here.

The CTCRI has been engaged in biopesticide production from tapioca leaves for several years. With patented technology, the centre has developed three brands of biopesticides — ‘Nanma’, ‘Menma’ and ‘Shreya’.

source/content: newindianexpress.com (edited)

GLOBAL RECORDS : ARTS & CULTURE : Regional Cinema: Unesco Glory for ‘Dostojee’, North American Awards for ‘Once Upon a Time in Calcutta’

Dostojee, set in rural Bengal, has won the children’s award CIFEJ Prize while OUATIC, a slice of urban Bengal, was awarded the Grand Jury Award at IFFLA, Los Angeles, and the Circle Award at Filmfest DC, Washington DC.

Jeete khub-i bhalo laagchhe, eta amar bachchader jonno Eid er gift (We are overjoyed with the win; this win is Eid’s gift for the child protagonists of my film)… now we are looking for theatrical distribution partners in India,” says Prasun Chatterjee, whose debut feature Dostojee (Two Friends), set in an early-’90s remote, resplendent rural Bengal along the border, is a tender tale of childhood innocence, a friendship unmarred by the pulls of religious antagonism.

It won the prestigious CIFEJ Prize, recognised and accredited by UNESCO, and picked up the Best Director award in the International Competition section of the 2022 SIFFCY (Smile International Film Festival for Children and Youth).

source/content: indianexpress.com (edited)

INDIA RECORDS : 2 PATENTS : Arunachal Scientist Dr. Sanjeeb Kalita Bags Two Indian Patents for Diabetes Treatments

Dr. Sanjeeb Kalita has been granted two Indian patents for developing ‘Polyherbal formulation for the treatment of painful ‘Diabetic Neuropathy’ and ‘hybrid cotton patch’ and a method for its fabrication.

A scientist from the Centre of Excellence (CoE) for Bio-resources and Sustainable Development at Kimin in Papumpare district of Arunachal Pradesh has been granted two Indian patents for developing ‘Polyherbal formulation for the treatment of painful Diabetic Neuropathy’ and ‘hybrid cotton patch and a method for its fabrication’.

Dr. Sanjeeb Kalita, the scientist of the centre under the Arunachal Pradesh State Council for Science and Technology (APSCS&T) carried out fundamental research and development for both the inventions at Guwahati-based Institute of Advanced Studies in Science and Technology, official sources said on Friday.

source/content: thehindu.com (edited)

GLOBAL PARTICIPATION : UN PEACEKEEPING (UNMISS) : More Than 1,000 Indian Peacekeepers Serving with UN Mission in South Sudan Awarded Medals for Outstanding Work

The work includes protecting civilians, performing engineering assignments and providing health services to humans and animals, a news report posted on the UNMISS website said.

More than 1,100 Indian peacekeepers serving with the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) were awarded UN medals, honouring them for their exceptional service in the strife-torn East African country.

The UNMISS “peacekeepers don’t ‘just’ protect civilians. Some 1,160 troops from #India in #SouthSudan also rehabilitate roads, build the capacity of local communities and give medical treatment to humans & animals. For that they deserve @UN medals,” the UNMISS said in a tweet on Thursday.

The 1,160 Indian peacekeepers currently serving in Upper Nile State were honoured with UN medals “for their outstanding and multifaceted work”, including protecting civilians, performing engineering assignments and providing health services to humans and animals, a news report posted on the UNMISS website said.

source/content: thehindu.com (edited)

INDIA RECORDS : PATENT FOR PHARMACEUTICALS : CET Obtains Patent for Compound with Anti-Cancer Properties

The compound has been derived from the medicinal plant Koduveli.

The College of Engineering Thiruvananthapuram (CET) has bagged a patent for inventing a pharmaceutical agent that is expected to have immense potential in cancer treatment.

The newly synthesised compound, 3-([4-Chloro-3(Trifluoromethyl) Phenyl] Amino)-5-Hydroxy-2-Methyl-1,4-Dihydronapthalene-1,4-Dione, was the result of the five-year long research jointly undertaken by Shyni P. Laila and Arunkumar B.

The researchers were guided by Annette Fernandez, the former head of the Department of Chemistry at CET who had retired as Principal of the Government College of Arts and Science, Pathirippala, in Palakkad few years ago.

They pointed out the pharmaceutical agent is a fluoro derivative (a derivate compound obtained by reaction with a fluoro-compound) which was derived by structural modification of a hydroxyquinone, Plumbagin, that was isolated from the roots of Plumbago zeylanica, a medicinal plant known as Koduveli in local parlance.

source/content: thehindu.com (edited)

INDIA RECORDS : BUSINESS & ECONOMY : Reliance Industries Becomes FIRST Indian Firm to hit Rs 19 lakh crore Market Valuation Mark

In March this year, the company’s market valuation had gone past Rs 18 lakh crore. Last year on October 13, the company’s market valuation went past Rs 17 lakh crore mark.

The market heavyweight stock jumped 1.85 per cent to its record high of Rs 2,827.10 on the BSE. Following the gain in the share price, the company’s market valuation jumped to Rs 19,12,814 crore in morning trade on the BSE.

source/content: newindianexpress.com (edited)

GLOBAL CONTRACTS – INDIA TO THE WORLD: ASIA : MEDICINE & SCIENCE : Biocon Biologics Bags $90-mn Contract from Malaysian Government to Supply Human Insulin

Biocon Biologics Insugen formulations will be available to all Ministry of Health hospitals, district health offices, and health clinics.

Biocon Biologics Limited (BBL), a subsidiary of Biocon on Tuesday said it has bagged a three-year contract valued at $90 million from the Malaysian government for the supply of recombinant human insulin brand Insugen.

Biocon Sdn Bhd., a subsidiary of Biocon Biologics, will manufacture and supply its range of insulins to its partner Duopharma Marketing Sdn. Bhd. (DMktg), a subsidiary of Duopharma Biotech, a pharma & biotech firm in Malaysia.

Biocon Biologics’ Insugen formulations will be available to patients at all Ministry of Health hospitals, district health offices, and health clinics, as per an official statement.

 

source/content: thehindu.com (edited)