Applications invited for National Youth Awards

NAGAPATTINAM: Applications are invited for National Youth Awards for 2010.

The award instituted to commemorate the birthday of Swami Vivekananda on January 12, recognises acts of social service and contributions to development, by both individuals and voluntary organizations.

According to a press release, work done from April 1, 2009 to March 31, 2010 would be taken into consideration for the award.

Voluntary service without monetary motives of persons between the age group of 13 to 35 years of age would be recognized. Those not in the services of central or state government or universities are eligible to apply.

Those conferred in the previous years will not be considered. Individual awards entail a case award of Rs.20,000 along with a medallion. NGOs may apply with photographic evidence of social service and news reports. They will be awarded a cash prize of Rs.1 lakh and a shield.

Duly filled-in applications procured from the District Sports Office must be submitted by July 31.

Reference Link
http://www.hindu.com/2010/07/20/stories/2010072054490300.htm

Courtesy
The Hindu

Cash award for Villupuram farmers

VILLUPURAM: A cash award of Rs. 10,000 was given to S. Jayaram, a farmer belonging to Pandamangalam near here, for having produced second highest yield of horsegram per acre in the State.

Collector in-charge N. Venkatachalam gave away a cheque at the farmers’ grievance day meeting held here on Friday.

A paddy farmer and a groundnut grower bagged the first and second prizes of Rs. 15,000 and Rs. 10,000, Mr. Venkatachalam said, urging all farmers to emulate the prize winners.

Farmers put forth demands such as uninterrupted power supply, replacement of faulty transformers, repairing damaged roads and removal of encroachments from waterbodies.

Mr. Venkatachalam promised action on their grievances. Joint Director of Agriculture K. Ramalingam highlighted the advantages of soil testing prior to crop cultivation. He said that testing could be done for a nominal fee of Rs. 5 either at agricultural extension centres or mobile soil testing centres.

Mr. Ramalingam said that soil samples obtained from 10 places in an acre could be mixed and, from the heap, half-a-kg of soil could be collected and sent for testing.

Depending upon crop selection, the soil samples should be collected from various depths as follows: for paddy and groundnut – up to 15 cm, for cotton, sugar cane, chillies, banana and tapioca – 22.5 cm, for coconut, mango and other horticultural crops—30 cm, 60 cm, and 90 cm, respectively.

In case of saline and high-chloride content soils, samples should be collected at the intervals of one foot each for a total depth of three feet. Mr. Ramalingam noted that depending upon the testing, the soil could be enriched to make it suitable for a particular crop.

Reference Link
http://www.hindu.com/2010/05/23/stories/2010052352530300.htm

Courtesy
The Hindu

USA honours Tiruvarur emigrant with award

For contribution to global economy

BOOST:Congressman Rush Holt presenting the ‘Export Achievement Certificate’ to Sivakumar Balasubramanian, president, Anbakam Metals.

TIRUCHI: Anbakam Metals, started in 2002 at East Brunswick, New Jersey, USA, by Sivakumar Balasubramanian, an emigrant from Tiruvarur in Tamil Nadu, has bagged the prestigious USA Government’s ‘Export Achievement Award’ for contribution to global economy.

Congressman Rush Holt recently visited the Head Office of Anbakam Metals at Tices Lane to present the award to its 36-years-old president Mr. Sivakumar, in recognition of the large impact the company could make on the global scrap industry in 2009 despite the world-wide economic crisis.

The Export Achievement Certificate was created to recognise small and midsize enterprises that have successfully entered the international marketplace for then first time or have successfully entered a new market. The achievement of Anbakam Metals was illustrated in Home News Tribune and Sentinel.

The award stresses the importance of exports in the national economy and illustrates the contributions made by exporters to their local communities, the Sentinel reported. “Anbakam’s niche markets have been focussed on the Indian subcontinent region and the Far East. The firm has helped to create a demand for containerized shipments of metal scrap while supplying jobs amid a gloomy job market.

It has used the Department of Commerce’s Gold Key Program to create business opportunities and sales in the Vietnam market,” the report said.

While working as a business software developer for JP Morgan Chase Mr. Sivakumar started the company by customising containers for easy loading of scrap metal for export from trucks to ships at the Northeast region of United States.

The company moved 10,000 tonnes of scrap metal to overseas market last year using the small volumes approach that had been vogue for years in California and Florida.

Exports by the company accounted for one per cent of the 14 million tonnes of ferrous exports from the US in 2009, according to the report published by Home News Tribune. A press release issued by the company’s Liaison Office, Tiruchi, said that the award designed by the US Government to recognise export businesses illustrates the contributions made by exporters to their local communities and companies which have successfully entered into international markets and had great success with the help of US Government agencies.

Anbakam Metals is now looking to extend its services to newer, untouched markets, the release said.

Mr. Sivakumar, who started his career as a 22-year-old with Pershing Corp, which specialised in business intelligence technology, and subsequently worked for BMW and JP Morgan, before venturing into the metal scrap business, said of Anbakam’s future plans: “In next three to six months, we will be breaking ground for a power plant in South India and also venturing into renewable energy sector in the USA. By providing countries with these raw materials and our services, we become an essential part to the infrastructural growth in these markets.”

Reference Link
http://www.hindu.com/2010/05/06/stories/2010050655940200.htm

Courtesy
The Hindu

Award for Akshaya Patra

SANGAREDDY: The Akshaya Patra Foundation, an NGO, feeding nearly 1.2 million children everyday across India including Medak district, has been awarded by the Indian Urban Space Foundation as the Best Innovative Project for the Innovations in Services for Urban Poor.

Selja Kumari, the Union Minister for Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation (MoHUPA), Government of India, presented the award at an awards ceremony in New Delhi, according to a press release issued here on Friday.

Reference Link
http://www.hindu.com/2010/05/01/stories/2010050159400200.htm

Courtesy
The Hindu

Adilabad Municipality awarded

ADILABAD: Adilabad Municipal Commissioner R. Rambabu on Monday pledged to make Adilabad a green city by planting more trees.

He said this was a logical thing to do after the Municipality achieved an award for keeping the town clean.

Mr. Rambabu was speaking at the felicitation for his effort to keep the town clean which fetched the Municipality the Green Leaf Award 2010 in the category of best door to door garbage collection .

Reference Link
http://www.hindu.com/2010/04/27/stories/2010042755010300.htm

Courtesy
The Hindu

Five panchayats bag award for maintaining total sanitation

Special training programme for panchayat presidents inaugurated

---

Award is for successfully implementing total sanitation preventing defecation in open places

All panchayats should take efforts to implement total sanitation and win this award: Collector

---

THENI: Five panchayats in the district won the Nirmal Gram Purashkar Award for 2008-09 for successful implementation of total sanitation programme, according to Collector P. Muthuveeran.

He was inaugurating a special training programme for panchayat presidents on total sanitation here on Monday.

Bodidasanpatti panchayat in Andipatti union, Mudalakkampatti panchayat in Periyakulam, Erasakkanaickanur panchayat in Chinnamanur, T. Meenakshipuram panchayat in Uthamapalayam and Karunakkamuthanpatti panchayat in Cumbum unions were selected for this prestigious award.

This recognition was accorded to the awardees for having successfully implemented the 100 per cent total sanitation programme at the villages preventing defecation in open places.

The award included a certificate, memento and cash award on the basis of size of the population of the panchayat, he added.

Incentive

Incentive of Rs.50,000 will be given to the selected panchayat with a population of below 1,000, Rs.1 lakh to villages with a population of 1,000 to 1,999, Rs.2 lakh for villages with a population of 2,000 to 4,999, Rs.4 lakh for villages with a population of 5,000 upto 9,999 and Rs.5 lakh for a village with a population of more than 10,000.

To win this award, the panchayat had to follow the central government guidelines. Toilet facilities should be created in all houses, anganwadis and schools in the panchayat.

Moreover, defecation in public places should be completely eliminated.

Surroundings of the entire village panchayat should be kept clean, he added.

The government has been offering a grant of Rs.2,200 to BPL beneficiaries for the construction of individual toilets. It also offered Rs.20,000 grant for construction of toilets in schools and Rs.5,000 in anganwadis.

A total of 21 village panchayats had won the award since 2005.

All panchayats should take efforts to implement total sanitation and win this award, Mr. Muthuveeran advised.

Reference Link
http://www.hindu.com/2010/04/27/stories/2010042759620300.htm

Courtesy
The Hindu

Felicitation to five journalists

Mysore: Awards instituted by journalist K.V. Srinivasan were presented to five journalists at a function at Patrakarthara Bhavan here on Sunday.

Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Award was presented to Prajavani reporter Sachit, Janakamma-Venkatappa Award to Andolana reporter K. Shashi Kumar, K.V. Srinivasan Award to Andolana reporter M. Venkatesh, Jayaparakash Narayana Youth Award to Prajavani reporter K.J. Mariyappa and Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Award to Kannada Prabha reporter Dharmapura Narayana.

The former Minister M.S. Gurupadaswamy presented the awards. Journalists K.V. Srinivasan and Rajshekar Koti were present. Marathon runner Thippavva Sannakki was felicitated by the MDJA.

Reference Link
http://www.hindu.com/2010/04/26/stories/2010042656250300.htm

Courtesy
The Hindu

State bags award for panchayat empowerment award

Jagadish Shettar receives the award from Manmohan Singh

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh presenting the first prize in the Panchayat Empowerment and Accountability Incentive Scheme in New Delhi on Saturday to Jagadish Shettar, Karnataka Minister for Rural Development and Panchayat Raj.

Bangalore, India: Karnataka along with Kerala has bagged the first prize in Panchayat Empowerment and Accountability Incentive Scheme (PEAIS) of the Centre for 2009-10.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh presented the award to Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister Jagadish Shettar in New Delhi on Saturday.

The award comprises a cash prize of Rs. 2.5 crore and a citation. Presidents and vice-presidents of several zilla panchayats of the State were present.

Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa expressed happiness over the selection of the State for the award constituted by the Centre and said the Government would delegate more power to local bodies to empower them and make them financially strong.

Work stopped

He said work on the proposed Dandavati irrigation project in Shimoga district would be temporarily halted following objections from the tribunal appointed to adjudicate surplus Krishna waters. “I am confident that after the tribunal pronounces its verdict, we can continue it,” he said. The tribunal headed by Brajesh Kumar at its sitting in New Delhi on Friday had expressed displeasure over Karnataka taking up the project without bringing it to its notice and for not securing its permission.

The State accorded approval about three months ago for the project to provide irrigation in parts of Shimoga district by utilising 1.8 tmcft of water.

Mr. Yeddyurappa alleged that the former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda and the former Chief Minister S. Bangarappa had influenced the tribunal by opposing the project and said their action would only help Andhra Pradesh.

Reference Link
http://www.hindu.com/2010/04/25/stories/2010042553680400.htm

Courtesy
The Hindu

Awards for 10 craftspersons

HYDERABAD, India: The Andhra Pradesh Handicrafts Development Corporation Ltd. on Friday announced State awards for ten craftspersons. The first three prize winners are — Dalavai China Narayana, Nimmalakunta village, Anantapur district (Rs.10,000, a shawl and a certificate for leather puppet ‘Sampurna Ramayanam’), B. Raju, Vidyanagar, Hyderabad (Rs. 7,000 for Nirmal paintings ‘Taj Mahal & ‘Lord Balaji, and Velayudam Sreenivasulu Reddy, B.R. Agraharam, Srikalahasti (Rs.5,000 for Kalamkari hand painting of ‘Sri Garukmanthuni Puranam’).

Others are — D. Padma (Warangal district), P. Mohan (Anantapur), V.S.M. Manjula (Chittoor), N. Srinivasa Rao (Krishna). M. Srinivasa Rao (Visakhapatnam), K. Raja Gopal (Chittoor), S. Srinivas of Balamrai, Secunderabad.

The awards will be presented by Minister for Handlooms and Textiles B. Srinivasa Reddy on April 30 at S.K.V.B.R. Botanical Gardens, Chirec Public School Road, Kothaguda Crossroads.

Reference Link
http://www.hindu.com/2010/04/24/stories/2010042461780200.htm

Courtesy
The Hindu

19 theatre artistes presented awards

Honour:Theatre personalities along with the awards given to them by the Karnataka Nataka Academy in Mysore.

MYSORE, India: The Karnataka Nataka Academy (KNA) conferred its annual awards upon 19 theatre personalities at a function at Jaganmohan Palace auditorium here on Saturday evening.

Nadoja Prof. D. Javare Gowda, Chairman of the KNA D.V. Rajaram, and Secretary, Department of Kannada and Culture, B.R. Jayaramaraje Urs, presented the awards.

Noted theatre personality N. Rathna released the Academy’s award-winning work, Ranga Brindavana, and Mr. Urs distributed grants for theatre organisations that supplied sceneries and costumes to rural theatre.

Ranga Meravanige — a colourful procession of theatre personalities accompanied by folk troupes, was flagged off by Mayor Purushottam at Town Hall, and it concluded near Jaganmohan Palace.

Programme on culture

A 60-minute programme that presented the rich tradition, history and culture of theatre was the main attraction for those assembled. It provided a brief glimpse into theatre in Karnataka so far.

A Lifetime Achievement Award was conferred upon theatre personality S.R. Shankar Rao. Lakshman Rao Muttagi was given the K. Hiranniah Award.

Y.M. Puttannaiah of Mysore, H. Pandurangappa (Bellary), Lingaraju Palled (Koppal), Hanumanthu (Hassan), Manjunath Belakere (Mysore), N. Ravindra (Bangalore), Jayamma Kallur (Bijapur), Jayaprakash Mavinakuli (Udupi), Shanthabayi Diggi (Gulbarga), Rangashree R. Rangaswamy (Bangalore), Prakash (Mandya), Husenappa Pulameshwara Dinni (Raichur), T.V. Kabadi (Haveri), Prakashrao Payyar (Dubai), and S.M. Nagarajachar of Tumkur were given annual awards.

Ranga Mukhagalu, a work by Rajashekara Kadamba of Mysore and Rangabhoomi Diggaja Natashekara Pandita Basavaraja Mansoor Jeevana Saadhane of Martandappa M. Katti of Hirebasuru Haveri got the awards for the best works on theatre.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Urs said it had been decided to increase the annual income limit fixed for paying monthly pension to artistes from the present Rs. 3,000 to Rs. 12,000. Similarly, pension which was being given to dependents of artistes in case of death, would be increased from Rs. 300 to Rs. 500.

Presently, over 3,600 theatre artistes were getting pension of Rs. 1,000, another 400 artistes would be given pension this year based on a report submitted by a committee headed by Hampa Nagarajaiah. The Government was not interfering in the work of Academies and were in fact encouraging them to work independently by earmarking Rs. 160 crore for the Department of Kannada and Culture. “No other government in the country has earmarked this huge amount for language and culture,” he said.

Expressing his gratitude to the Government for increasing grants, Dr. Rajaram said that while the previous governments were providing grant of Rs. 15 lakh, the present government had increased it to Rs. 40 lakh. “However, there is a need to increase the grants to facilitate Academies to expand their activities,” he said.

Recalling the contribution of theatre to society, Prof. Javare Gowda underlined the need to stage plays that highlighted social concerns. He urged the Government to construct auditoriums in all taluks in the State to promote theatre.

Reference Link
http://www.hindu.com/2010/04/19/stories/2010041950590200.htm

Courtesy
The Hindu