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J N Iyer's Home Page
Updated on September 20,2000 The media in the West hardly ever carry any news about India.The occasional items are about political turmoil, natural calamities,our backwardness and sensational items.Even the Online editions of Indian newspapers have not made any effort to highlight the brighter face of India.This page will carry news items about scientific and technological achievements, outstanding performances in the cultural and sports fields etc.Being an ex-Railwayman, I shall start with an item about Railway reservation system. 1.Railway reservation system: About 10 years back, Indian Railways introduced computerised reservation facilities, through stand-alone computers in some zonal railways.Later, terminals of other railway computers were provided in some important cities to enable return reservations etc.Now,with inhouse expertise, Indian Railways have networked all the zonal railway computers.With this reservation can be done for any train anywhere in the country from any terminal anywhere.Has this significant achievement been reported in any newspaper in the West or even Indian-owned newspapers and magazines? 2.Achievers in Tennis: Young Indian Tennis star, Mahesh Bhupathi, has been given the No 1 rank among men doubles players.He and Leander Paes, the Olympic bronze meal winer, have been ranked the No 2 pair. (Source;The Hindu dated April 25,99) 3.Achievements In Space: On April 5,the fifth satellite of the second generation Indian National Satellite series,INSAT2E, entirely designed and built by Indian Satellite Research Organisation(ISRO) was launched from Kourou by Arianspace, the French organisation.India is expected to be very soon self-sufficient in launch capabiity, with plans to take up launch for other countries also. Another recent success has been the test-firing of Agni II missile capable of carrying a payload of 1000kg for 2000 km.Though I do not support this step in weapons development, it is a technological achievement the country can be proud of.The military advantage has been already neutralised by similar success by Pakistan in a few days. 4.Another success in sports: On April 25,Narain Karthikeyan, won the fourth race in the British Formula 3 championship at Brand Hatch.He is the first Indian to win a race in this category. From The Hindu dated April 27, 99. 6.PARAM 10000,A supercomputing success: In 1988, when the US imposed restrictions on supply of supercomputers to India,India took up the challenge and the Centre for Advanced Computing(C-DAC) was set up at Pune.Over the years C-DAC has many achievements to its credit, the jewel in the crown being Param 10,000, a supercomputer, which can be custom- built from mega-flop to tetra-flop configurations and can be ordered with Application Packages for a variety of aplications-ranging from weather forecasting to launch vehicle design and bank automation.Already Param 10000 has found an export market.Very soon the IITs and IISc, Bangalore will have these supercomputers to expose our young scientists to the technology. Source:The New Indian Express dated 2/5/99 7.An extraordinary medical feat: Over the years Chennai city has acquired a well-deserved reputation for the excellence of some of its hospitals and the skill and dedication of some Chennai-based doctors.Dr B Ramamurti, neurologist, Dr K M Cherian and Dr Girinath,both cardio-suregeons,Dr S S Badrinath, eye-surgeon, have become legendary figures.Here is a heart-warming story of dedication and co-ordination culled from the newspapers on May 5,99: On May 2, Pothen Philip a 40-year-old was declared brain-dead on admission to the Appollo Hospital.Dr R K Hariharan swung into action immediately.The dead man's family consented to use of his organs for transplant to needy patients.The heart and lungs were used on a patient in Madras Medical Mission Hospital,the kidneys on two patients in Appollo Hospital itself, the eyes on two patients in Sankar Netralaya and the skin preserved for use on a burn victim. Such news makes one feel proud of our heritage, which our politicians are doing everything to damage! 9.Another Milestone in Space Technology On May,26 India registered another success in space technology by launching, with text-book precision, one indigenous and two foreign satellites using the indigenous Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle-PSLV-C2.India thus established its capability for commercial satellite launching. On the same day another technological achievement was the successful test-firing of the naval version of 'Trishul', the surface to air missile. 11.Cricket Records On May 26, India cruised to a 157-run victory over current World Cup champions, Sri Lanka, in a Pool A World Cup match.The total of 373 runs and the 318-run second wicket partnership between Saurav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid were also records.Ganguly's 183 surpassed Kapil Dev's 175 not out in the 1983 World Cup. 12.Indians At the Very TOP! On May 28,two Indians viz Sange Sherpa and Kushng Dorjee set a WORLD RECORD by becoming the first climbers to scale Mt Everest from three sides when they reached the summit from the eastern Kangshung face, the most difficult and least attempted route.A third climber, Amar Prakash, also reached the summit.Only four persons have climbed Everest via this route so far.The leader of the team was a woman,Santhosh Yadav,herself a world record holder, being the only woman to have reached the summit twice.Three cheers to these great Indians. 13.Electric Locomotive Production: Chittaranjan Locomotive Works(CLW) under the Ministry of Railways was set up in 1950 to produce steam locomotives, but later switched to manufacture of electric main- line and diesel shunter locos.CLW has now established manufacture of state-of-the art 3-phase 6000 horsepower locos at a cost much lower than international prices and is poised to enter the export market.The present capacity of 150 locos per year is to be stepped up to 170 per year. 14.Paes-Bhupathi write Tennis History: In the just concluded French Open Tennis tournament,Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi became the first Indians to win a Grand Slm title when they won the Mens' Doubles Crown.Bhupathi is already the top ranked mens' doubles player and Leander Paes an Olympic Bronze Medal winner.Well done, my countrymen! 15.Anand's Great Triumph: On Sunday, June 13, Viswanathan Anand, India's Chess Grandmaster, had his greatest triumph todate when he beat FIDE World Champion, Anatoly Karpov 5-1 in the Advanced Chess Match at Leon.For us it is a matter of special pride since Anand spent his childhood in the Ayanavaram Railway colony, where we were also staying.Anand's father was a senior colleague of mine. 16.Nilgiri Mountain Railway completes 100 years. The picturesque Nilgiri Mountain Railway completes a century today,June 15.It is an engineering feat and a great tourist attraction. Source:The NewIndian Express dated 31/5/99.
17.Achievement in Communication Technology: corDECT, the Wireless Local Loop technology jointly developed by TeNet(of the Indian Institute of Technology under the leadership of Prof Ashok Jhunjhunwala),Analog DevicesInc,USA and Midas Communication Technologies(P) Ltd provides cost effective, high quality voice and data connectivity in both urban and rural areas.It is designed for easy integration with the existing network. After successful field trials by the Department of Telecommunications in Chennai,India and its Brazilian counterpart the technology has been licensed to a few companies in India,Brazil, China and France for commercial manufacture.There are plans to install corDect lines in many Indian cities.Malaysia also has plans to deploy corDect soon on a large scale. For more details Go to http://www.tenet.res.in 18.Red Letter Day for Indian Tennis: July 4, 1999 was a Red Letter Day for Indian Tennis when Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupati, No 1 seeds, added the Wimbledon Doubles crown to their French Open crown.Well done boys! We are proud of you.Good Luck at US Open. Leander Paes also annexed the Mixed Doubles crown teaming with Lisa Raymond, beating Jonas Bjorkman and Anna Kournikova. 19. New Milestone in Medical Research In a historic event in the country's academic world, the University of Madras on July 14 signed agreements with an Indian and a British pharmaceutical firm allowing them to manufacture drugs based on discovery patented by it.One drug will be for treatment of Hepatitis B and will be derived from a formulation of "Phyllanthus amarus" commonly known as 'Kizhanelli' in the South.The University will get substantial financial benefits. The process for the drug's preparation was patented after 20 years of research by a team headed by Dr S P Thyagarajan. Source:The Hindu dated July 15 20. Indian Student develops world's tiniest web server: Hariharasubramoniam Shrikumar a Computer science student of the University of Massachusetts has developed what is believed to be the worl's tiniest web server, about the size of a match head.He built the web server in his spare time using parts purchased at an electronic store.The server is said to cost only $1 to assemble and has ben in service from July 14. Source:The New Indian Expres, Chennai dated 12/8/99. 21. Another achievement in medical research: Delhi University Chemistry Professor Amarnath Mitra,research scholars Sanjeeb Sahoo and Tapas K De,along with polymer chemist Prof P K Ghosh have developed the "smallest synthetic polymer particle that can courier drugs to just the right sites in the body"The particle can target the exact site without fail. After years of toil, their research has now paid off and has received a US patent.The newly patented drug delivery system has been licensed to leading Ayurvedic , manufacturer, Dabur India Ltd, who intend to use it in the new anti-cancer drug being develpoed by them. Source:The New Indian Express, Aug 26,99 22.Indian Phamaceutical Company's big achievement In a business deal worth over $60 million,the multi-national drug major, Bayer AG of Germany,has obtained exclusive development and worldwide marketing rights for a once-daily formulation of anti-biotic 'Ciprofloxacin' originally developed by Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd of India. Source:The Hindu Businessline dated Sept 9,1999 23.Good News for Internet Users: Those who complained that using the Internet kept the telephone line engaged for long hours and the bill for the latter spiralled, now have a way out: they can talk and browse on the same line simultaneously.And for that dual utility they need not even have a conventional telephone line. Indigenous technology that is sensitive to Indian reality:that is what the wireless system developed by the TelNet lab at the IIT, Chennai promises. It is soon to be on public display at Hyderabad where an Internet Service Provider is to use it..The London-based WorldTel also has shown interest in this technology for its Community Internet Project in Chennai. The system as demonstrated at IIT, Chennai allows one to browse at a steady,reliable speed of 35 kbps,which is higher than what is possible over conventional telephone lines.If one is not sharing the line for voice purposes,the speed could go upto 70 kbps.The subscriber does not need a modem and access is available round-the-clock. Source: The Hindu dated Sept 9,99 24.Indian Company zooms in Wall Street: A litttle-known high-tech Indian owned company,Amplidyne,zoomed from $3 to $10 per share in Wall Street trading on Sept 10,on the announcement that the Company has developed technolgy to provide Internet access about 35 times faster than with conventional dial-up telephone connections.The Company is owned by Devender Bains and family, who had migrated from UK. 25.Another Indian Company's spectacular debut on Wall Street 'Sycamore', a company co-founded one year back by an Indian, Gururaj Deshpande, and dealing with fibre optics technology, made its Initial Public Offering on Wall Street at $38 per share, which zoomed to $274 per share the same day and finally settled at $185, giving it a market capitalization of $14.2 billion in one day.Deshpande, who owns 16.3 million shares is now worth $3.3 billion(Rs14,000 crores).This makes him the richest Indian.The zoom in Wall Street by this Company is illustrative of the trust of investors in high-tech enterprises involving Indians Source:The New Indian Express dated Oct 28,99. 26.Paes-Bhupathi achievement: Though they were defeated in the US Open finals, Indian doubles players,Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi, have the distinction of appearing in all the four Grand Slam finals in 1999, winning the crown at Paris and Wimbledon.Bhupathi teamed up with Ms Al Sugiyamato to annex the mixed doubles crown at the US Open. 27. An Endurance Record in Swimming: 26 year- old Sundeep Kumar set an endurance record by swimming continuously for 30 hours on Sept 25-26 at the Velachery Indoor Swimming Pool, Chennai, thus staking a claim for entry into the Guiness Book of Records. Source:The New Indian Express dated Sept 30.99. 28.Aravind Eye Hospital, Madurai, a world-class Institution This account is being given on the basis of my first-hand experience when I accompanied a relative to the hospital for his cataract surgery. The moment one enters the outpatient department, one is struck by the orderliness and excellence of arrangements.Each patient is guided through the various stages from registration to the series of check-ups by a team of well-trained nurses.At the end of the tests, the patient receives advice on the treatment required and in the case of surgery, the date and time for reporting. The treatment at the hospital employs the most modern techniques for cataract and glaucoma surgery and other ailments.There is also an internationally recognised eye-bank.The charges are moderate.For a cataract surgery with modern photo-coagulation technique, medicines(including for six-week post-operative period)and two days of hospitalisation in an excellent pay ward,inclusive of food for the patient and his two relatives, the charges were less than Rs6,000- much less than what other private hospitals charge. Each day 120-150 surgeries are done. There are smaller branches at Coimbatore,Tirunelveli and Theni. To control costs, many items required regularly such as lenses,medicines etc are manufactured by associate organisations, thus eliminating the exhorbitant prices charged by multi-national companies.Some of these items are also exported. The hospital is also an excellent and recognised institution for training is post-graduate specialisations. Summing up it can be stated with confidence that this is a worl-class institution doing yeoman service to the needy, including the poor.The hospital is run with superb and near-perfect efficiency.It is organisations like this which make a country great.The usual exhorbitant charges and avarice associated with private hospitals is conspicuous by its absence here. The address is: Aravind Eye Hospital,1. Anna Nagar,Madurai 625020,Tamil Nadu, India.Phone:0452 532653,Fax 0452 530984 Source:First-hand experience from Nov 1 to 3, 1999. 29. A Day to Remember in Indian cricket The second one-day international against New Zealand at Hyderabad on Nov 8 was won by India by 174 runs, levelling the series.The Indian innings was memorable for the following records:
30.An Indian Woman Grandmaster On July 24,2000, 21 year old Vijayalakshmi Subbaraman of Chennai became the first Indian Woman Grandmaster in Chess.Showing prodigious talent from the age of 10, she was already the National Champion in Women's chess. Source:Indian newspapers of July 25. 31. A Heart-warming story of communal amity The New Indian Express,Chennai, dated September 18th reports This heart-warming story: "On Onam day K J Yesudas,the celebrated play-back singer opened a new hall in the Harihara Temple at Chinmaya Nagar,Chennai.Visiting temples is not new to Yesudas.But what deserves mention is that the hall was constructed free for the temple by M A Salim,Managing Director of Civil Engineering Enterprises.And E Sanam,daughter of E Habibur Rehman,and a student of the local Chinmaya Vidyalaya,rendered slokas from the Bhagavad Gita." 32.Malleswari creates history at Sydney Olympics
Kamam Malleswari created history at the Sydney Olympics on Sept 19 when she became the first Indian woman to win an Olympic medal.She won the bronze medal in the 69kg class in weight-lifting. Sourrce:The Times of India About myself & this site The Bright Face of India The Bright Face of India-II For A Clean Face Of India Preventable Train Accidents Consumer Problems Suggestions!Suggestions! A Citizen's Anguish Bharat Mail World Media Carnatic Music Site My Other Site
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