Daily Archives: February 28, 2019

Five major IT projects launched

Business & Economy, Records, All, Science & Technology, World Opinion

STADE with three companies on board set in motion

Thiruvananthapuram :

The State government on Wednesday set the ball rolling for five major IT projects, including the ambitious Space Technology Application Development Ecosystem (STADE) and the 2.5 million sq ft World Trade Centre (WTC) project of the Brigade Group.

STADE, a project of the Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM) supported by ISRO’s Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, was launched with three companies on board.

Occupancy certificates

At a function chaired by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, IT secretary M. Sivasankar handed over occupancy certificates to Indian companies SatSure, Bellatrix Aerospace and Agnikul.

STADE is aimed at promoting companies and start-ups that are into space data analytics and development of space-tech components.

According to the government, Airbus has agreed on an ‘ecosystem partnership’ with it for the STADE project. Talks are on with French space agency CNES and the European Space Agency (ESA) for establishing similar partnerships, the government said.

Technopark has signed an MoU with the Brigade Group for establishing the WTC, the second one in Kerala, in Technocity. Technopark CEO Hrishikesh Nair and M.R. Jaishankar, CMD, Brigade Group, signed the MoU.

The first WTC in Kerala was established at Infopark. Technopark has allotted 12 acres to build the 2.5 million sq ft WTC. The project is expected to generate employment for 15,000 people.

The government has inked an MoU with US-based Lumium for establishing a Design Innovation Centre here. KSUM CEO Saji Gopinath exchanged the MoU with Sreeni Sreenivasan, chairman and CEO of the design product firm.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan inaugurated the industry-backed, technology-enabled Skills Delivery Platform Kerala (SDPK). SDPK aims to bridge employability gaps and produce skilled workforce for the industry. Connecting 150 hi-tech classrooms in engineering colleges, SDPK will provide skills training to 40,000 students every year.

Swatantra launched

The Chief Minister also launched ‘Swatantra,’ billed as the world’s largest integrated free and open source facility in a government sector at the research and innovation centre of the International Centre for Free and Open Source Software (ICFOSS).

Tourism Minister Kadakampally Surendran presided over the function. IT secretary and Jayasankar Prasad, director, ICFOSS, also were present.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Kerala / by Special Correspondent / Thiruvananthapuram / February 27th, 2019

G V Raja Awards for 2017 for Jinson Johnson and Neena V

Records, All, Sports

The Olympian Suresh Babu Memorial Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to badminton coach S Muraleedharan.

Thiruvananthapuram :

The State’s highest sporting honour G V Raja Award for 2017 was awarded to the athletes Jinson Johnson and Neena V by the Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan at a function organized at Jimmy George Indoor Stadium, on Wednesday.

The Olympian Suresh Babu Memorial Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to badminton coach S Muraleedharan. Sports Minister E P Jayarajan said to nurture the sporting talents in the state the government is spearheading various efforts including construction of stadiums with synthetic tracks apart from indoor stadiums.

“164 sportspersons, who have won national and international medals, were awarded government jobs while 248 others will also be appointed soon,” said Jayarajan at the event.

Other winners

Volleyball player Jinsy Johnson (college-level)

Athlete Ms Abigeyil Arogyanathan (school-level) for the best sportspersons in the academies under the State Sports Council.

Sports Council volleyball coach S Manoj won the best coach award. Mathews Jacob, Mar Athanasius College, Kothamangalam won the best college sports teacher award.

Assumption College, Changanassery, was awarded the best college for remarkable sports achievements.


Awards were also distributed to the winners of the 2016-17 national and international competitions, including Asian Games.

Kerala volleyball team that had won the 66th national volleyball championship and participants of the Special Olympics 2015 held in Los Angeles were also awarded.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Kerala / by Express News Service / February 28th, 2019

Ernakulam bags National Water Award

Agriculture, Business & Economy, Green Initiatives & Environment, Nature, Records, All

The district emerged second in the category of best performing districts in the southern region for rejuvenation/creation of water bodies such as lakes and ponds.

Kochi :

 Ernakulam district has received the prestigious National Water Awards 2018 instituted by the Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation at a function held in New Delhi.

District co-ordinator of Haritha Keralam Mission, Sujith Karun, received the award from  Central Water Resources Minister Nitin Gadkari, on behalf of District Collector Muhammed Y Safirulla.

The district emerged second in the category of best performing districts in the southern region for rejuvenation/creation of water bodies such as lakes and ponds.

National Water awards were launched in the year 2007 to encourage all stakeholders to manage their water resources. The Minister of state for Water Resources Arjun Ram Mehwal and Secretary, Ministry of Water Resource U P Singh were also present on the occasion. 

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express/ Home> States> Kerala / by Express News Service / February 27th, 2019