chakravarthy

SHE is another shining example of triumph over adversity! For 15-year-old Bhavani Kedia, life has been a struggle ever since she was born a premature baby, weighing just 700 grams. On incubator for 40 days, she even battled for life. But thanks to her mother Madhu's untiring efforts, Bhavani is on her feet and playing the game she loves the most. And after six years into tennis training under the tutelage of Praveen Bhargava at Ace Tennis Academy, Bhavani is on cloud nine after making it to the World Deaf Team Tennis Championship to be held in Antalya (Turkey) this September. The youngster earned this privilege by finishing second in the national selection trials held in Chennai recently. Bhavani defeated Parul Gupta of Punjab, Kirit Lata of Haryana and then lost to Shaikh Jafreen from Kurnool, in the top four league of the trials. Bhavani, a first year Intermediate student at DB Girls College, is grateful to Ravichandran, Bhaskar Reddy, Naidu and Amit Kumar among for their sup...

Particulate matter that exists as fine dust in the air can lead to an increased risk of diabetes, particularly in low-income countries such as India. Analysis of the burden of pollution-linked diabetes (in the journal, Lancet Planetary Health ) estimates that in 2016, air pollution resulted in as many as 3.2 million new cases of diabetes. This is 14% of all new diabetes cases for that year, and India's share was 20% of new cases. Annually, the researchers estimated that pollution-linked diabetes caused more than 2 lakh deaths in 2016. Even though previous studies had shown a significant impact of air pollution on diabetes, the burden of the disease had yet to be quantified. After studying over 17 lakh American veterans for around 9 years, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine and VA St. Louis Health Care System in the U.S., showed that the risk of incident diabetes increased with rising concentrations of PM2.5 (fine dust less than 2.5 microns in diameter), even ...

This refers to a seismic law which states that there is a constant empirical relationship between the frequency of earthquakes in a region and their magnitudes. According to Danish physicist Per Bak who explained the law in his 1996 book, How Nature Works ; for every 1,000 earthquakes of magnitude 4, for instance, there are 100 earthquakes of magnitude 5, 10 earthquakes of magnitude 6 and so on. The law has been used to argue that seemingly unpredictable events actually follow a simple pattern. It was formulated by American seismologists Charles Francis Richter and Beno Gutenberg in their 1956 paper, "Magnitude and energy of earthquakes". -- Challapalli Srinivas Chakravarthy -- ---------------------------------------------------------------  

[ Based on an article written by Patralekha Chatterjee, who focuses on development issues in India and emerging economies. The article was published in Deccan Chronicle dated 18th October, 2018 (Thursday) ]. Migrant dreams and nightmares fuel India's development story. The malls, the factories, the highways, the bridges, the luxury condominiums - the markers of the country's stunning economic transformation over the past few decades - over the past few decades - would not have come up without the sweat of migrant labourers. But those who migrate from one part of the country to another in search of a livelihood, continue to be problematised. This has no change. Currently, Gujarat is on the radar. There are reports of renewed tension in the state, recently scarred by anti-migrant sentiments. Earlier in October 2018, a three-year-old girl was raped and killed in Surat. The suspect is a migrant labourer from North India. There area also reports of assaults on construction worke...

[ Based on an article written by Mahir Ali, published in Deccan Chronicle dated 18th October, 2018 (Thursday) ].  The authorities were still washing the bloodstains off Tlatelolco Plaza when the Olympic athletes began arriving in Mexico City. It was 1968, the tumultuous year during which a variety of rebellions, mainly led by students, erupted across so many parts of the world. Mexico had witnessed its share, and on 02nd October, 2018, just ten days before the Olympics were due to be inaugurated, the government effectively sanctioned the year's worst atrocities outside a war zone. In the intervening half-century, the precise death toll has never been determined. It runs into hundreds at the very least, far beyond the official figures, and the events of that year still resonate in Mexico. Its capital city's arguably most iconic moment that autumn, however, was utterly non-violent. Just four days into the Olympics, a pair of African-Americans were placed first and third in th...

Winds blowing across dunes on Antarctica's Ross Ice Shelf cause the massive ice slab's surface to vibrate, producing a near-constant set of seismic 'tones' which could be used to monitor changes in the ice from afar, according to a study. The Ross Ice Shelf is Antarctica's largest ice shelf, a Texas-sized plate of glacial ice fed from the icy continent's interior that floats atop the Southern Ocean, said researchers at Colorado State University in the US. The ice shelf buttresses adjacent ice sheets on Antarctica's mainland, impeding ice flow from land into water, like a cork in a bottle, according to the study published in the journal 'Geophysical Research Letters'. When the researchers started analysing seismic data on the Ross Ice Shelf, they notice something odd: Its fur coat was constantly vibrating. "It's kind of like you are blowing a flute, constantly, on the ice shelf", said Julien Chaput, a geophysicist at Colorado State U...

Children who spend more than hour-an-hour a day on internet are almost twice as likely to ask for junk food, according to a study published on 17th October, 2018 (Wednesday). The study, which examines the associations between diet and advertising of junk food on TV and Internet, questioned children and their parents. Researchers from University of Liverpool and Cancer Research UK asked almost 2,500 seven to eleven-year-olds and their parents about their eating habits and how much screen time they had. The results show that primary school children who spent more than three hours on web were more than four times more likely to spend their pocket money on junk food than their peers who browsed for less than 30 minutes. These children were also 79% more likely to be overweight while those who were online between 30 minutes and three hours a day were 53% more likely to be carrying excess weight than those who were online for less. "Parents are familiar with being nagged for sweets an...

[ Based on article written by Ritesh Kumar Singh, business economist, published in The Times of India dated 18th October, 2018 (Thursday) ]. We Indians love to compare ourselves with China. However, when it comes to textiles and clothing. India's export of $40 billion lags far behind China's $269 billion despite its long history and obvious advantage in raw material and labour. Forget China, India is now behind Bangladesh and Vietnam. Between 2000 and 2010 China doubled its global export share in apparels from 18.2% to 36.4%, but India's share inched up from 3% to 3.2%. Again, between 2010 and 2016 China was able to retain its global market share at 36%, Bangladesh could increase it from 4.2% to 6.4%, Vietnam almost doubled it from 3.2% to 4%. Many argue that industrial wages in China have been rising, so its time for India to move decisively and seize the global opportunity of $284 billion of textiles and another $443 billion of clothing that's knocking on its door...

(1). What is the meaning and origin of 'go against the grain' ? (1). This expression was in existence long before Shakespeare started writing his plays. According to scholars, however, it was the dramatist who popularised the use of the idiom. He first used it in his play Coriolanus . When you tell someone that he is 'going against the grain', you mean that he is doing the exact opposite of what he normally does. He is not doing what is expected of him. "Shwetha doesn't like asking people for help. It goes against the grain". "He is going against the grain by trying to be an honest politician". According to one theory, the expression comes from the world of carpentry. The fine lines that you find on a piece of wood are called 'grain'. If you wish to smoothen wood, for best results, you should run the tool you are using 'along' the grain, and not 'against' it. (2). Why is a woman sometimes referred to as 'black wi...

Two male penguins who paired up as a 'same-sex couple' have successfully incubated a baby chick and are 'doting' on their tiny off-spring, an Australian aquarium announced on 26th October, 2018 (Friday). Gentoo penguins Sphen and Magic are happily 'taking turns caring for their baby chick', born on 19th October, 2018 weighing 91 gms, said Tish Hannan of the Sea Life Sydney Aquarium. Sphen and Magic had caught the attention of aquarium workers when they were constantly seen waddling around and going for swims together. They then began to build a collective nest of pebbles, prompting the aquarium to provide a dummy egg for them to look after and, when they proved up to the task, a real egg. The pair have bonded, Hannan, Sea Life's penguin department supervisor, said. "They recognise each other's signature calls and songs. Only bonded penguins will be able to successfully find their partner using their calls when they are separated. Unlike many mam...

[ Based on article written by Padma Rao Sunderji, fomer South Asia Bureay Chief of Der Spiegel and a senior Global Affairs Analyst. The article was published in Deccan Chronicle dated 25th June, 2018 (Monday) ]. Delhi woke to some good news in June 2018. The city's stately, two-storeyed Town Hall of 1863 vintage was dying a slow death, due to callous use by municipal officials from Independence up to 2009. Its museum and library too must be in their last throes, if rodents, seepage, white ants and pigeons have left any book or artifact intact at all. Still, and after nine more years of dithering, it's final - the august building will soon be leased out to bidders for  a heritage hotel. One dismaying thought persists. What if the government 'does an Air India' on the Town Hall by retaining a stranglehold through the hobby interior designer-wife of an official or someone else it wants to ;favour' with a paid consultancy? Instead of leaving it to professional archi...

It is a common notion that historically Kashmir Valley has been isolated. Shonaleeka Kaul, a historian and Associate Professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) who works with Sanskrit text, talked to aarti Tikoo Singh on how Rajataranginini, the Sankrit chronicle of Kashmiri kings, proves otherwise. The interview was published in The Times of India dated 14th February, 2018 (Wednesday), p. 14.  --Not many among youth of India seem to be inclined towards Sanskrit. Why? Sanskrit has come to be rather misunderstood as merely a language of ritual and scipture, which is why it is regarded   

[ Based on an article written by Baijayant 'Jay' Panda, a Lok Sabha MP, published in The Times of India dated 14th February, 2018 (Wednesday), p. 14 ]. As far as election year Budgets go, this last full fledged one of the Modi government's first term belied predictions of populist excess. The buzz had been building that in anticipation of uphill electoral battles, the Prime Minister would throw caution to the winds and dole out freebies to all and sundry. That did not happen. In fact, privately many opposition politicians are breathing a sigh of relief, believing they have more of a fighting chance in the elections in the absence of widespread governmental largesse. Time will tell if they are right or wrong, but the point to be noted is that such relief represents conventional wisdom. That is not to say this Budget lacks ambitious social and political goals. It is worth examining the unconventional approach it takes for that, namely the healthcare plan targeting nearly ...

Observing that the charge of abetment to suicide is not attracted against an accused if the victim survives the attempt, a sessions court has granted bail to three men booked for allegedly harassing and driving a transgender to hang herself in October 2017. "There is no dispute that the complainant has survived and has been discharged from the hospital. Therefore, it appears that the offence punishable under Section.306 (abetment of suicide) of the Indian Penal Code is not attracted", the Court said. Police had said that Anita Wadekar, the 33-year-old survivor, was harnessed and abused by the accused on a WhatsApp group forcing her to take the step on 22nd October 2017. The trio - Suresh Mastud (33), Kisan Vaje (23) and Nadeem Shaikh (20) - was arrested on 25th October.  - Challapalli Srinivas Chakravarthy - -----------------------------------------------------------------

Soon as you fix your examination, you will be asked 'what are your future plans?' It may be the end of your school years, but the beginning of your adult life. You will be repeatedly told 'what you decide now will be the ultimate choice for the rest of your life, so be wise and be smart'. This is the old school of thought. When I was young, if you were good at mathematics, physics and computer science, you would have had to become a computer engineer and that is what you would do for the rest of your life - write codes! Times have changed: when you study for a course, not only do you prepare the curriculum subjects, but you also develop transferable skills. These skills are a great way to show that your learning is not simply rote-learning for the purpose of tests, but a real engagement with new knowledge; a diverse and exciting process that makes you feel you can take on anything. These skills can be adapted to any role, regardless of the profession that you chose to...

While the full moon cannot turn people into werewolves, some people do accuse it of causing a bad night's sleep or creating physical and mental alterations. But is there any science behind these myths? To establish if lunar phases somehow do affect humans, an international group of researchers studied children to see if their sleeping patterns changed or if there were any differences in their daily activities. The results were published in " Frontiers in Pediatrics ". "We considered that performing this research on children would be particularly more relevant because they are more amenable to behaviour changes than adults and their sleep needs are greater than adults", said Dr. Jean-Philippe Chaput, from the Eastern Ontario Research Institute. The study was completed on a total of 5,812 children from five continents. The children came from a wide range of economic and socio-cultural levels, and variables such as age, sex, highest parental education, day of m...

A sample of microscopic worms that were suspended in a deep freeze in Siberia for 42,000 years have come back to life after being defrosted, scientists say. The findings published in the journal 'Dok-lady Biological Sciences', represent the first evidence of multi-cellular organisms returning to life after spending a long period in Arctic permafrost. Nematodes are tiny worms that typically measure about one millimetre in length. Researchers from Moscow State University in Russia and Princeton University in the US analysed 300 samples of Arctic permafrost deposits and found two that held several well-preserved nematodes. One sample was collected from a fossil squirrel burrow near Alazeya River in the north-eastern part of Yakutia, Russia, from deposits estimated to be about 32,000 years old, the 'Live Science' reported. The other permafrost came from Kolyma River in Siberia, and the age of nearby deposits was around 42,000 years old, scientists said. - Challapalli Sr...

The concept of human dignity was defined more by Supreme Court through some of its authoritative pronouncements than by the Constitution, said Justice A.K. Sikri of Supreme Court, who delivered Justice M.R.A. Ansari memorial lecture in Hyderabad on 18th August, 2018 (Saturday). Recalling some decisions of Justice Ansari, who struck down several preventive detention orders of Delhi police during Emergency, Justice Sikri said judges of eight High Courts displayed remarkable courage, but the Supreme Court failed in its duties at that time. But judgments given by Justice Ansari in matters of preventive detention anticipated rules of law which Supreme Court would later lay down as law, he said quoting P.N. Lekhi, President of Delhi High Court Bar Association, who too was detained under PD Act. Lekhi contested as Bar President and won from jail during the Emergency. "Later, Supreme Court through various judgments expanded the scope of Articles. 14, 19 and 21 that deal with equality, r...

Most stock investors have earned handsome returns in the past 2-3 years. But over-confidence in your stock picking ability can be ruinous. Here are five ways how investors become their worst enemies. Fear of missing out : The fear of missing out (FoMo) factor comes into play when you see everybody and his uncle making big money in stocks. Gripped by the regret of staying away and pushed by the desire to catch some piece of the action, fence sitters and newbies jump headlong into the market. Suddenly every stock  looks worth buying. However, even a good scrip is a bad investment at a high price. Just keep in mind that you won't miss an opportunity of a lifetime by not investing now.  Too much dopamine : Over-confidence is dangerous in the stock market. Investors who are less confident make fewer mistakes than those who are brash. Human biology plays its own tricks here. When a trade goes right and an investor makes money, the brain releases dopamine in the body, which mak...

Like an iceberg, the impact of the Capital Gains Tax will be far more than the 10% that is visible on the surface, with the lack of indexation sinking the real returns for savers. You might resent this tax, or you may console yourself with the fact that it is a lot lower than the 30% income tax slab you are on. If it's the latter, you may be getting ahead of yourself. This tax will cost you a lot more than 10% of your returns. You could actually lose 30-40 or even more, depending on how you invest. Over long periods, you will lose a lot more money because no equity investor is going to hold the exact same investments for such long periods. At some point, you will sell some of your holdings and buy something else. Given the structure of tax laws, capital gains would be taxed on each such switch, leading to less capital being available for compounding subsequently. The eventual impact would be quiet large, but would differ for each investor depending on their buying and selling pat...

When the equity markets make front page news, especially the highs of the indices and the millions of gains in market cap, investors begin to take notice. However, new investors in equity, especially ones drawn in by the gains made by people around them, run the risk of making costly mistakes. Here are the mistakes you should avoid in a bull market. Do not be taken in by the new highs. Once the past peak of an index has been crossed, every new level is a new high and there is nothing extraordinary about it. These are journeys of an index which will go up as the market prices of stocks go up. They are not urgent reminders that tell you about lost opportunities. Do not treat them like immediate calls for action. Do not check the index everyday, and do not make generalisations based on the index. Explanations about why the market is up or down are equally useless. Discount them. How you will do is a function of what you are buying, holding and selling. Stay focused on that micro reality...

Let's face it. There can be nothing more frustrating than trying to surf the Internet using Wi-Fi that is agonisingly slow. While there are several companies that make claims of super-fast speed, there is no dearth of complaints from users about slow internet speed. It is important to remember that Wi-Fi waves are radio waves that travel small distances and are picked up by smart-phones. Unfortunately, if anything comes in the way of these waves, they get blocked causing slow internet speed. Here's what you need to keep in mind when it comes to your Wi-Fi router... -- Never place the router on the floor : Home routers are designed in such a way that they emit signals downward. So, when you place your router on the floor, the signal goes towards the floor instead of your smart-phone/laptop. Wi-Fi waves need no obstruction whatsoever in order to function well. -- Don't place the router in an enclosed space : While you want to protect your precious router from dust, wate...

Maharaja Ranjit Singh's grand-daughter, Princess Sophia Duleep Singh, has been honoured with a Royal Mail stamp for her rights activism. A photograph showing Sophia, daughter of Bamba Mueller and Maharaja Duleep Singh, the last ruler  of the Sikh empire, selling copies of the Suffragette mewspaper in 1913 outside Hampton Court Palace has been used for a stamp to commemorate this heroine of the British movement to get equal voting rights for women. The 1.57 Pound stamp is one of eight issued by Royal Mail on Tuesday to 'mark the centenary of the Representation of the People Act (in the UK) where for the first time women won the right to vote in parliamentary elections'. The stamps will be released for public use on 15th February, 2018. This is the first time a person of Sikh background has been featured on a Royal Mail stamp.  Sophia was the youngest of Maharaja Duleep Singh's five surviving children. Born in the UK in 1876 during her father's lifelong exile, she...

In a welcome move, the Supreme Court has declared that no one has the right to interfere in a marriage between two consenting adults. It sternly told Khap Panchayats not to assume the role of conscience keepers of society. The Apex Court's statement is extremely pertinent in a climate where personal relationships are targeted by self-proclaimed guardians of tradition. From Khap Panchayats that oppose intra-gotra marriages to the love jihad obsession of right-wing Hindu groups, falling in love and choosing one's partner has become risky business. Consider the recent discovery of a Facebook post that called for violence against inter-faith couples, listing names and profiles of 102 couples. This is a serious security matter that should have been followed by arrests of those responsible on charges of incitement to violence, if governments were at all serious about protecting citizens and preserving Rule of Law. Alas, that was not to be - even though the failure of the law to pro...