Skyroot Aerospace targets Vikram launch in a year, raises $11m

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Skyroot Aerospace targets Vikram launch in a year, raises $11m

Private sector rocket maker Skyroot Aerospace has raised $11 million recently from a clutch of investors and is targeting a launch to orbit for its Vikram-1 rocket in 12 months, said a top company official.

“We are aggressively targeting a launch to orbit in 12 months. Other than unavoidable delays due to the lockdowns, most of our development is on track,” Pawan Kumar Chandana, Co-Founder and CEO, says

“Our third stage (simply put rocket’s third engine) is nearing completion and other two stages are in various phases of manufacturing. We plan to go for full stage level testing soon,” Chandana added.

The full scale solid fuel stage will be tested at ISRO’s rocket port in Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh, Chandana had told earlier.

Skyroot has signed an agreement with Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to use the latter’s facilities in its rocket development, testing and qualifying the rocket.

The ‘Vikram-1’ rocket has three solid fuel-powered stages each with a burn time ranging between 80 and 100 seconds.

According to Chandana, the company is managing the Covid-19 lockdown situation by establishing trusted vendor base who give preference and are committed to Skyroot.

“Also, we are using the extra time on making several design improvements which are yielding us time and cost benefits,” he said.

“Supply chain has slowed down and a lot of raw materials and manufacturing got stuck. This has put us back by a couple of quarters. However, we are taking more precautions and optimising processes in other ways to meet our schedules,” Chandana said on lockdown impact.

Meanwhile, the company beefed up its finances raising $11 million from investors led by Greenko Group founders Anil Chalamalasetty and Mahesh Kolli, public listed entity Solar Industries, former-WhatsApp CBO Neeraj Arora, existing investor Mukesh Bansal (founder of Myntra & CureFit), Worldquant Ventures, Graph Ventures, Sutton Capital, Vedanshu Investments, and few angels.

“This round adds more fuel to our rocket program and will support in completing development and testing of all subsystems of our first launch vehicle Vikram-1 and strengthening our world class team,” Naga Bharath Daka, Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer, Skyroot said.

“We started bookings for launches starting from mid next year and are actively engaging global customers. We intend to raise $40 million more to fund our aggressive growth plans over the next few years,” Daka added.

Govinda on judging ‘Dance Bangla Dance’: Dance to me is more than just art

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Govinda on judging ‘Dance Bangla Dance’: Dance to me is more than just art

The 11th season of the popular Bangla dance reality show “Dance Bangla Dance” will feature Bollywood star Govinda as a judge alongside Bengali stars Jeet and Subhashree. The show premiered on May 22.

Govinda says he was drawn to the assignment owing to the energy level one gets to see among contestants of the show.

“Dance to me is more than just art. It is improvisation and creativity. It is a gift that brings people together with joy and unity. I am excited to be back on a new stage in a new avatar with Zee Bangla’s Dance Bangla Dance. The energy level of DBD gets me excited and I love it when my work gets me to groove. The new season of DBD will bring to you some incredible talent from all age groups and will surely make you twirl to their rhythm. We are looking forward to your audience as we begin this new journey,” the veteran actor says.

The show is hosted by Bengali actors Ankush and Vikram Chatterjee. The participants will be put under the tutelage of gurus Om Sahani, Devlina Kumar, Rimjhim Mitra and Soumili Biswas. “Dance Bangla Dance 11” will air on Zee Bangla.

Sports ministry approves aid for Covid-stricken kabaddi player

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Sports ministry approves aid for Covid-stricken kabaddi player

The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports (MYAS) on Friday approved financial assistance of Rs 2 lakh for Tejaswini Bai, Asian Games champion in kabaddi, and an Arjuna Awardee.

“Many former international players face financial problems. But it is good to get support from sports ministry,” said Tejaswini.

Tejaswini was member of Indian women’s kabaddi team that won gold medals in the 2010 Asian Games and 2014 Asian Games.

In 2011, she was a recipient of the prestigious Arjuna Award.

Sports Authority of India (SAI), in coordination with sports ministry and Indian Olympic Association (IOA), had recently taken an initiative to support former international athletes and coaches amid ongoing Covid-19 crises.

The money will be provided from Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya National Welfare Fund, SAI said in a statement.

Tejaswini and her husband had contracted coronavirus on May 1. While she is recovering at home, her husband Naveen, 30, succumbed to the virus on May 11.

“The financial support from the government will be a big help as I have to take care of my five-month-old child,” she added.

PR Sreejesh re-elected to FIH Athletes Committee

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PR Sreejesh re-elected to FIH Athletes Committee

India men’s hockey team goalkeeper, PR Sreejesh, has been re-elected to the international hockey federation’s (FIH) Athletes Committee for a second term.

Sreejesh, who has played more than 200 games for India and has been a part of several victories for the national side, first joined the FIH Athletes Committee in 2017.

The FIH Athletes Committee consists of current and former players who make recommendations to the FIH executive board, FIH committees, advisory panels and other bodies on behalf of athletes for the development and promotion of various resources and initiatives required for the growth of players and the sport of hockey.

In a statement on Friday, Sreejesh said: “I have had the honour of being part of the FIH Athletes Committee since 2017. Over these past four years, I have grown not only individually as a player but the opportunity with the FIH Athletes Committee provided me with a unique chance to understand, observe and express the views of my fellow hockey players.

“With regular tournaments in Asia such as the Asian Games, Asian Champions Trophy, the Sultan Azlan Shah tournament, I get to interact with players from this region and it provides me a chance to understand their concerns and further discuss the same with the FIH Athletes Committee,” said Sreejesh.

Xiaomi Redmi Note series reaches 20 mn sales

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Xiaomi Redmi Note series reaches 20 mn sales

 Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi has announced that it has sold 200 million Redmi Note phones across the world.

The series has been the maker’s bestseller since the arrival of the first Redmi Note in March 2014 and has been the driving force that pushed Xiaomi up to third place in the world, GSMArena reported on Thursday.

The company also announced China will finally get the Note 10 series on May 26, and the country might get a new device as well, according to an official poster on Weibo.

The upcoming smartphone might feature three cameras, lined up vertically.

While it might look like the regular Redmi Note 10 5G, the dual-LED flash is positioned slightly higher, suggesting a different internal design and likely more changes. We’ll just have to wait until next week to hear more details, the report said.

While Redmi is preparing for the local launch of the Note 10, its CEO revealed another milestone — 45.2 million Note 9 phones were sold all over the globe, which is over 20 per cent of the total amount of 200 million sold since 2014.

In the first half of May, Redmi India has unveiled Redmi Note 10S along with its first-ever Redmi Watch in the Indian market.

The smartphone comes in two storage variants — 6GB+64GB and 6GB+128GB — at Rs 14,999 and Rs 15,999, respectively.

PR Sreejesh re-elected to FIH Athletes Committee

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PR Sreejesh re-elected to FIH Athletes Committee

India men’s hockey team goalkeeper, PR Sreejesh, has been re-elected to the international hockey federation’s (FIH) Athletes Committee for a second term.

Sreejesh, who has played more than 200 games for India and has been a part of several victories for the national side, first joined the FIH Athletes Committee in 2017.

The FIH Athletes Committee consists of current and former players who make recommendations to the FIH executive board, FIH committees, advisory panels, and other bodies on behalf of athletes for the development and promotion of various resources and initiatives required for the growth of players and the sport of hockey.

In a statement on Friday, Sreejesh said: “I have had the honor of being part of the FIH Athletes Committee since 2017. Over these past four years, I have grown not only individually as a player but the opportunity with the FIH Athletes Committee provided me with a unique chance to understand, observe and express the views of my fellow hockey players.

“With regular tournaments in Asia such as the Asian Games, Asian Champions Trophy, the Sultan Azlan Shah tournament, I get to interact with players from this region and it provides me a chance to understand their concerns and further discuss the same with the FIH Athletes Committee,” said Sreejesh.

Indian workers waste 5 business hrs per week from home: Survey

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Indian workers waste 5 business hrs per week from home: Survey

Indian office workers feel stagnant in their roles and waste five business hours per week on mundane tasks, according to a survey by enterprise automation software firm UiPath.

The 2021 Office Worker Survey showed that 63 per cent of office workers in India believe they can’t efficiently help customers as they are faced with too many time-consuming tasks to complete. Emails (66 per cent), scheduling calls and meetings (62 per cent) and inputting data/creating datasets (56 per cent) were the top tasks Indian workers prefer to be automated.

More than two-third (67 per cent) office workers globally feel they are constantly doing the same tasks over and over again. About 68 per cent people surveyed said they wish they had more time to explore how to incorporate new responsibilities into their day-to-day routines; and 58 per cent believe their jobs don’t allow them to be as creative as they’d like to be, the survey found.

“It’s no surprise that employees are looking for ways to feel more engaged at work. Automation unlocks workers’ productivity, and, more importantly, frees them to focus on meaningful work that is creative, collaborative, and strategic,” UiPath’s Senior Vice President of Learning, Tom Clancy, said in a statement.

“It’s critical that companies provide training for and access to automation and other digital technologies to create more fulfilled and energised employees,” he added.

The UiPath survey assessed the views of office workers working from home due to the Covid-19 pandemic about how their roles have changed over the past year and how they see their roles evolving in the future.

The survey also found that automation is being more widely adopted by organisations. India and Singapore had the highest rates of companies scaling their existing automation software, totaling 51 per cent and 44 per cent, respectively.

In India, 65 per cent said they received automation training and 94 per cent credit it with a boost in job performance.

Further, the survey showed that digital transformation is changing the future of work. About 65 per cent of all respondents believe it is possible their jobs will evolve in the next 10 years and thus upskilling is key to keeping pace with digital transformation.

Most workers used their remote work period to enhance their skill sets. Employees also believe their employers should offer training on digital technologies.

The 2021 Office Worker Survey, which polled 4,500 office workers across the US, UK, France, Germany, India, and Singapore, was conducted in March 2021.

1,405 ventilators given to Telangana, says Kishan Reddy

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1,405 ventilators given to Telangana, says Kishan Reddy

Union Minister of State for Home Affairs G. Kishan Reddy on Friday said that the Centre has provided 1,405 ventilators to Telangana under the PM CARES Fund.

Reddy said these ventilators were dispatched to various government hospitals in the state.

Those hospitals which did not have even a single ventilator have also been provided with ventilators during this Covid pandemic, the Minister said.

He released a break-up of the ventilators provided to Telangana.

According to the list, the ventilators were made available to 46 hospitals in the state.

The highest number of ventilators (295) were provided to Gandhi Hospital in Hyderabad. Another 190 ventilators were given to Telangana Institute of Medical Sciences (TIMS) in Hyderabad. RIMS in Adilabad and MGM in Warangal were provided 100 ventilators each.

Referring to reports that many ventilators were lying unused in hospitals, Kishan Reddy demanded that staff with required skills to operate these ventilators should be recruited.

“It is a known fact that the government of Telangana is getting all sorts of aid and cooperation from government of India in order to control and contain the Covid pandemic through provision of oxygen cylinders, establishment of PSA oxygen plants, ventilators, vaccines, PPE kits, N-95 masks and free ration to the needy,” the Minister said.

“In our country, since Independence until the past 8 months, we had only 1900 ventilators. They were also imported from different countries. But today through the initiative of Make in India, the government hospitals across the country have been provided with 51,000 ventilators from PM CARES funds,” he added.

He pointed out the fault of the Telangana government in stopping Covid vaccination in the state.

“Vaccination was stopped a week ago and those due for a second dose are facing severe hardships.”

He demanded that the Telangana government should not look into the issue from a political angle and vaccinate those due for their second dose.

Reddy on Friday flagged off a packaged food delivery service to Covid-19 patients and the needy in Hyderabad under the ‘Seva hi Sangathan’ programme of the BJP.

DRDO develops Covid-19 antibody detection kit

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DRDO develops Covid-19 antibody detection kit

The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has developed an antibody detection kit known as Dipcovan, which is expected to be available at Rs 75 per test in the market from June first week onwards.

The kit has been developed by the Defence Institute of Physiology and Allied Sciences (DIPAS) of DRDO.

“The antibody detection-based kit Dipcovan is the DIPAS-VDx Covid-19 IgG Antibody Microwell ELISA for sero-surveillance,” the institution said.

The kit can detect both spike as well as nucleocapsid (S&N) proteins of SARS-CoV-2 virus with a high sensitivity of 97 per cent and specificity of 99 per cent.

The kit has been developed in association with Vanguard Diagnostics Pvt Ltd, a development and manufacturing diagnostics company based in New Delhi.

The kit has been developed indigenously by the scientists, followed by extensive validation on more than 1,000 patient samples at various Covid designated hospitals in Delhi.

Three batches of the product were validated during last one year. The antibody detection kit was approved by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) in April this year.

In May 2021, the product received regulatory approval from the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI), CDSCO, and Ministry of Health and Family Welfare to manufacture for sales and distribution.

Dipcovan is intended for the qualitative detection of IgG antibodies in human serum or plasma, targeting SARS-CoV-2 related antigens.

It offers a significantly faster turn-around-time as it requires just 75 minutes to conduct the test without any cross reactivity with other diseases. The kit has a shelf life of 18 months.

Industry partner Vanguard Diagnostics will commercially launch the product in the first week of June.

“Readily available stock at the time of launch will be 100 kits (approx 10,000 tests) with a production capacity of 500 kits/month after the launch. It is expected to be available at about Rs 75 per test,” the DRDO said.

The kit will be useful for understanding the Covid-19 epidemiology and assessing an individual’s previous SARSaCoVa2 exposure.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has appreciated the efforts of the DRDO and the industry in developing the kit at this time of need.

Pak ‘chaiwala’ to open cafe in London

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Pak ‘chaiwala’ to open cafe in London

A 23-year-old Pakistani tea vendor, whose photo pouring a cup of tea while looking into the camera with his striking blue eyes went viral on social media, announced that he was opening a cafe in London this year.

In a Facebook post, Arshad Khan wrote: “Strength and growth come only through continuous effort. Cafe Chaiwala will Insha Allah open its first cafe outlet in London end of this year.”

The former tea-seller from Islamabad recently opened a rooftop cafe in the Pakistani capital and named the venture ‘Cafe Chai Wala’, The Express Tribune reported on Friday.

Regarding the name of his outlet, Khan told Urdu News: “Many people told me to change the current name and instead name it Arshad Khan, but I refused because ‘chai wala’ is my identity.”

Khan’s cafe boasts traditional and cultural elements, from truck art on the walls, straw tables, and chairs, Urdu script.

Besides tea, the menu currently has 15-20 dishes.

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