Month: July 2021

** NFAI gets rare 450 glass slides of early Telugu cinema

In a major acquisition, the National Film Archive of India (NFAI) has acquired over 450 glass slides of early Telugu cinema to add to its existing collection, it was announced on Friday.

These slides – made by pressing a film positive between two thin square glasses – were used to publicise new films before release or during intervals in cinemas, NFAI Director Prakash Magdum said.

“The film positives used to prepare the glass slide were actually miniatures of the film poster or publicity material for newspapers and magazines. They represent the pictorial history of early Telugu cinema from the late 1930s to the mid-1950s and feature lovely frames tracing the gravitas of Telugu films during the early decades of Indian talkie,” he added.

** Biden nominates Indian-American to be first Muslim envoy for religious freedom

President Joe Biden has nominated an Indian-American, Rashad Hussain, as the Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom, and if approved by the Senate he will be the first Muslim to head US diplomacy for advancing religious liberties.

** Gulf Medical University Hosts first-ever ‘White Coat Fashion Show’ by healthcare heroes

Gulf Medical University along with DCOM designs, Root Square, and the Paint Brush Art Community, Dubai organized the first-ever fashion show in the region by Healthcare heroes. The event, called Walking Art, is a tribute by the artistic community of the United Arab Emirates towards our frontline heroes.

The program was attended by Prof Hossam Hamdy, chancellor of Gulf Medical University- the chief guest of the function, along with Dr Bu Abdullah, chairman of BU Abdullah group and Uttam Chand, consul of Visa and community affairs, consulate of India, who were the guests of honor.

The fashion show was started with an opening act by Gulf Medical University Alumni led by Dr Ramita, and comprising of participants Dr Afrah, Dr Kajal and Dr Sandra.

** From Mysuru To Mumbai: Railway Porter Badge No. 16 Takes Her To ‘Indian Idol’ Stage

Rizwana Banu’s story breaks free from dogmas of male-dominated profession

Wearing Porter Badge No. 16, Rizwana has appeared on the stage of the country’s biggest singing TV reality show ‘Indian Idol’ in Mumbai on July 6 and this has made her the talk of the town. But the celebrity status has not got into her head and she still lifts passenger luggage, smiling. Her amiable approach gets her a few rupees more than the normal remuneration.

** Awarding Australian Alumni

13 recipients were awarded with over AUD 150,000 during the event.

The 13 recipients shared their projects from various fields, including environment, technology, agriculture, communication, gender, clean energy and more. Of the selected, four represented Chennai-based teams – Madhavi Shankar for communication app SpaceBasic, Venkateswaran Palat Krishnan for STEM Challenge Pilot, Ashok Jalagam for an Automated Millet Finder, and Lakshmi Venugopal for an Indo-Australian Platform on Environmental Education and Research (IA-PEER). The remaining recipients were posted in Kolkata, Mumbai, and New Delhi.

** UAE is top destination for Indian job-seekers, says minister

The UAE is the most popular destination for Indians seeking work abroad, the Indian Parliament was told yesterday citing statistics for the last five years from the government’s Bureau of Immigration. No detailed statistics were provided.

V Muraleedharan, the Minister of State for External Affairs, told Lok Sabha, the lower House of Parliament, that the GCC region made up four of the five top destinations for overseas work among both Indian professionals and blue collar workers.

The US is the only non-Gulf country among the top five, Muraleedharan told Lok Sabha member Dr. Manoj Rajoria, who sought to know “country-wise, where the maximum number of India’s youth travel abroad for jobs”.

** Leopards up from 7,910 to 12,852 in India’s tiger range landscapes

An estimated 12,852 leopards were counted in the tiger range landscape in 2018, a significant increase from 2014 when the figure stood at 7,910 in forested habitats of 18 tiger-bearing states of the country.

A maximum of these leopards are found in Madhya Pradesh (3,421) followed by Karnataka (1,783), and Maharashtra (1,690), according to the ‘Status of Leopards, Co-Predators and Megha-herbivores in India 2018’ report released by Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav at an event to mark the Global Tiger Day on Thursday