Daily Archives: February 20, 2019

Malabar gets a Startup Incubation Centre

Business & Economy, Records, All, World Opinion

Launch of ₹5-crore project at Mangattuparamba tomorrow

The Malabar Startup Incubation Centre (MSIC), the first such venture being started in Malabar, will be inaugurated at the Kerala Clays and Ceramic Products Ltd.’s (KCCPL) unit at Mangattuparamba here on February 22.

Announcing this at a press conference here on Wednesday, local MLA T.V. Rajesh and KCCPL chairman T.K. Govindan said the MSIC was being started as part of the launch of the diversification programme by the public sector company under the Industries Department.

The incubation centre would be inaugurated by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan at Mangattuparamba here at 6 p.m. Industries Minister E.P. Jayarajan and MPs P. Karunakaran and P.K. Sreemathy would participate in the function.

Mr. Rajesh said the State government had granted ₹5 crore for the MSIC project being started in collaboration with the Kerala Startup Mission.

There is no start-up incubation centre in parts of the State north of Ernakulam district. The State government has granted preliminary sanction for the ₹9.5-crore proposal submitted by the KCCPL for starting a dairy farm and coconut processing unit as part of the company’s diversification programme. Mr. Govindan said the diversification of the company into other areas was being considered in view of the shortage of raw material as two clay mining units of the company had been closed due to environmental issues.

The KCCPL and the Kerala Startup Mission envisage exploration of business opportunities and development by introducing achievements in the IT sector to start-up entrepreneurs.

In the first phase, 305 seats were arranged in 23,000 sq ft area for starting 50 start-up companies, he added.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Kerala / by Special Correspondent / Kannur – February 20th, 2019

A historical canvas at Kannur station

Arts,Culture & Entertainment, Historical Links, Pre-Independence, Records, All, Travel, World Opinion

Artists with their relief mural works at the Kannur railway station on Tuesday. S.K. MOHAN   | Photo Credit: S K Mohan N

Payyannur-based organisation offers a glimpse of Railways’ history

Railway passengers can now experience the local history of Kannur and railway history now etched on the parapets of the entry and exit approaches of the Kannur railway station’s main concourse under a beautification project initiated by a Payyannur-based organisation promoting cultural conservation.

The relief murals sculpted on the parapet walls by a group of 14 artists, headed by K.R. Babu and curated by V. Jayaraj of Folkland, an organisation promoting conservation, reflect the tradition of the region and offer a glimpse of the history of Railways as expressed artistically.

Art works

The art works done by the artists occupy an area of 5,000 square feet depicting cultural landmarks, village life, activities inside the railway station and evolution of trains.

“This artistic and cultural initiative is meant to serve as an art gallery that can be a cultural experience to people reaching the railway station,” Mr. Jayaraj told The Hindu. The work depicting the heritage was done in collaboration with the corporate social responsibility fund of the Mumbai-based Dorf Ketal company, he added.

The cultural history visually narrated by the relief murals captures the Theyyam, Kalaripayattu, circus and bakery traditions of the district, as also art forms such as Oppana and Margamkali.

The works that deck the walls also include rural activities such as weaving, pottery, oil expeller work, goldsmiths and blacksmiths at work, among others. Railway vendors and porters, railway platforms, steam engines, diesel engines and electric engines are among the mural relief images done on the walls of the entry approach to the station.

Work in six stages

“The relief mural works have been done in six stages, the first stage being drawing on paper the ideas prepared by artist K.K. Marar, Mr. Jayaraj and myself,” said Mr. Babu, who had also done relief mural works in the Kannur international airport.

Golden paint

Those drawings were converted into 3D forms on the walls using cement and they were finally coated with golden paint, he said.

The relief murals, completed in less than two months, were opened to the public by Southern Railway General Manager R.K. Kulshrestha during his visit to the Kannur railway station on Tuesday.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Kerala / by Mohamed Nazeer / Kannur – February 19th, 2019

Mrinal which powered space dreams turns 50 today

Records, All, Science & Technology, World Opinion

VSSC to felicitate surviving members of Propellant Engineering Division team

February 21 marks the 50th anniversary of a landmark development in the history of the Indian space programme.

It was on this day in 1969 that the first composite solid rocket propellant developed by the fledgling Indian space establishment was flight-tested from Thumba, near here. An interesting element in what was otherwise a purely scientific enterprise was this: The propellant was christened ‘Mrinal’, reportedly after Mrinalini Sarabhai, the noted classical dancer and wife of Vikram Sarabhai, the father of the Indian space programme.

Mrinal was developed by a team at the Propellant Engineering Division (PED) of the Space Science and Technology Centre (SSTC), a precursor to the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC). At the time, the PED was headed by Vasant Gowarikar.

The VSSC plans to felicitate the surviving members of the PED team at a function on February 27.

Mrinal was significant in that it marked the space agency’s first major step in developing solid propellants, which are still used today in ISRO launch vehicles.

On February 21, 1969 the propellant was used to fly a Rohini series RH-75 sounding rocket, which was the designated Dynamic Test Vehicle (DTV), from Thumba.

Former members of the PED team which developed Mrinal such as K.N. Ninan and V.N. Krishnamoorthi remember that the February 21, 1969 test was a huge success.

“’It’s significance is that composite propellants form a class of propellants that are ideal for space launch vehicles. Mrinal was the first totally indigenous composite propellant manufactured using locally available raw materials,” Mr. Ninan, who retired as Deputy Director, VSSC, said. What was till then available were mostly double-base propellants suitable for missiles, Mr. Krishnamoorthi said.

Altogether, the DTV was test-flown thrice, but no records are available as to whether subsequent tests were carried out. Anyhow, the propellant itself was short-lived.

Mrinal did not find extensive use with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) in later years due to scaling-up issues.

ISRO chairman K. Sivan is also scheduled to attend the February 27 function.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Kerala / by Tiki Rajwi / Thiruvananthapuram – February 20th, 2019