AGNI - V; A marvel on Engineers Day of India

On Sep 15, 2013 on which Engineers day is celebrated, India successfully test fired its inter-continental ballistic missile Agni - V (read as Agni 5) for the second time. Its maiden launch took place in April 2012. The following  are the major specifications of Agni V.

• Missile Type - Intercontinental surface- surface ballistic missile (ICBM)
• Strike Range - 5000 km ( 5000 Km - 8000 km)
• Nuclear Payload - over one ton
• Launching base - Wheelers Island, Orissa
• Dimensions - ( 17m * 2m)
• Launch Weight - around 50 ton

Agni V, developed by Defense Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) was tested on a predefined path of 5000 Km and it accurately hit the destination with expected precision. The missile is powered by three-stage solid rocket motors and has flawless auto mode launch. Gyro-based Inertial Navigation System (RINS) and Micro Navigation System (MINS) which are most advanced navigational systems used ensured its accuracy. The navigation systems are also aided by high speed onboard fault-tolerant software. Avinash Chander, Secretary of Dept of Defence R&D guided the launch while R K Gupta, project director guided the personnel of DRDO.

Missile Range of Agni Series (click to enlarge)

By this, India has joined the club of countries having long range weapons; America, China, Russia, France , Britain and Israel. On the Occasion, DRDO chief Avinash Chander said that India already has ability to produce 10000 Km missile but accuracy aspect has yet to be worked out. Trails will be run next year on INS Arihant, India's first indigenously developed Nuclear Submarine. Two years from now, the production of Agni V will be completed and will be supplied to Indian army. Behold! Entire china comes under its target range.

The success of Agni V is no doubt a great milestone in the long range weapons of  India

Made in Hyderabad by India for India

It's a proud moment for Hyderabadis since 90% of Agni V development took place in Hyderabad  based Research centers. Research Centre Imarat (RCI), Advanced System Labs (ASL), Defence Research Development Labs(DRDL) have contributed immensely towards missile development. Many small and significant jobs are outsourced to more than 100 private industries in and around the city.

Khairatabad Ganesh 2013

Happy Vinayaka Chavithi (Ganesha Chaturthi) to all :)

Here goes this year blueprint of Khairatabad Ganesh. 

Shri Go-Naga Chaturmukha Maha Ganapathi 

Khairatabad circle which occupies core place in Hyderabad, capital city of Andhra Pradesh is famous for its conduct of Ganesh Festival. Sri Ganesh Utsav Committee, Khairatabad organizes this sacred Hindu festival every year with a unique theme. This year vinayaka chavithi falls on 9th Sep. The Ganesh idol made under the supervision of this committee is usually the biggest and tallest in the state having an average height of 50 feet and above. This year idol is made 59 feet high as its been 59 years since the formation of this committee.

The concept of this year Ganesh idol is 'Sri Go-Naga Chaturmukha Maha Ganapathi'. Here, 'Gonaga' signifies animals Cow(Govu) and Cobra snake(with 5 heads), 'Chaturmukha' translates to having four faces which can be clearly seen in above picture. This theme is chosen in belief that, to protect cattle and to protects us from evil.

The foundation ceremony(Ankurarpana), the initial pooja for the Khairatabad Ganesh idol was performed on the 4th June'13. Since then nearly 120 workers have worked for 50-60 days to complete it. The chief sculptor of this project is 'Chinna Swamy Rajendran'. Total cost of making it is around Rs. 40 Lakh /-

Another interesting thing about Khairatabad Ganesh is its Maha Laddu prasadam, a traditional sweet in India. This year the Laddu is made in Tapeswaram near Kakinada by Suruchi foods which weighs over 4 ton. The festival is celebrated for 11 days and its attracts huge crowd of devotees throughout the period. At the end, the idol will be immersed in Hussain Sagar Lake.

Sri Ganesh Utsav Committee, Khairatabad, Hyderabad was founded in 1954 by Late Mr.S.Sankarayya, a freedom fighter. The idol is made taking support of Sankaraiah building which is 60 feet high.

Raghuram Rajan; Next RBI Governor

Raghuram Rajan

Duvvuri Subbarao, 22nd Governor of Reserve Bank of India (RBI), is going to complete his prescribed term on 04 September 2013. He assumed service as Governor on 05 SEP 2008 and was appointed for 3 years. In 2011, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh extended his service for 2 more years which comes to an end by this month. Raghuram G Rajan, Chief Economic Advisor, is soon going to replace D Subbarao as new Governor of RBI.

D Subbarao

D Subbarao preceded by Dr Y V Reddy(Yaga Venugopal Reddy), 21st Governor of RBI. Interestingly, both are Telugu's hailing from Andhra Pradesh. Together they held the post of RBI Governor for 10 consecutive years, a remarkable and prideful feat to achieve which should be embraced by all of us Telugu people. 

Few Remarkable Achievements of D Subbarao 

• B Sc Hons, IIT Karagpur, Gold Medal
• topped Civil services exam in 1972
• Joint Secretary of Department of Economic Affairs (1988-1993), Govt of India
• Lead Economist in world bank (1994-2004)
• Finance Secretary in 2007
• Governor of RBI since 2008

IDRBT - Banking Technology Excellence Awards 2012-13

** IDRBT - Institute for Development and Research in Banking Technology **

IDRBT, a banking research institute located at Hyderabad made a few important contributions to Indian Banking Sector in an event held on 02 August 2013. On this particular event, different technological frameworks that will immensely help Banking & Finance Sector have been formulated. BT Excellence Awards (Banking Technology) have also been awarded to recognize and honor the banks that put best use of IT enabled Banking Services.

Event Highlights

1. Center for Information Assurance and Management (CIAM) has been launched

With the advent and rapid expansion of cyber delivery channels, in form of Internet banking, Mobile banking , ATMs etc have made them prone to various risks such as identity theft, hacking attacks, security treats. In-order to focus and carryout R&D activities on above mentioned issues, CIAM has being set-up in collaboration with State University of New York, Buffalo, USA. Its functions also include cyber forensics, mentoring BFSI sector, Employee development programs etc.  

Dr. D. Subbarao, Governor of RBI and Visitor, IDRBT, formally launched CIAM on the ocacasion.

2. IDRBT Cloud Security Framework for Indian Banking Sector

IDRBT recognized that cloud computing technology has potential to help banks to cut time and resources in setting, deploying, configuring new systems. It also helps in efficient use of hardware resources and network bandwidth thereby improving quality and availability. Its direct implication is less capital upfront and reduced IT overheads. A framework has been made which essentially covers various topics on Cloud Security such as Cloud Security Management, Data and Information Security, Application and Process Security, IT Infrastructure Security, Physical and Logical Security.

Click here to view/download the Cloud Security Framework, released by Dr. D. Subbarao, Governor of RBI and Visitor, IDRBT.

Happy Friendship Day :)

Hi folks! Wish you a happy friendship day. People celebrate this day by exchanging wishes and friendship bracelets. With the advent of Social Networking and Digital greeting cards, the prominence of this day is felt all over the world. But only few people knew the origin of this culture. It always good to know something about a custom rather than following it blindly.

How it Started?

Tradition of celebrating a day in honor of friends began in 1935 in USA.  Actually its origin dates back to 1919. In 1930, Joy Hall, founder of Hallmark Cards intended to celebrate the day on 02 AUG as this day falls between the null created by western calender holidays.

Fall and Rise in Popularity

By 1940, the custom gradually died out in USA as it was considered as market gimmick to promote greeting card sales(which is obvious!). It failed to spread other parts of the world except Asia. Asia carried this custom and eventually helped to revitalize it. First World Friendship Day was proposed in 1958 by many south american countries especially Paraguay and celebrated on 30 July every year. It gained high popularity in countries like India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Southern America.

This day is celebrated on different dates by different countries. India celebrates it on every first Sunday of August, so this year it falls on 04 August.

Winnie the Pooh - World Ambassador of Friendship Day

In 1998, Nane Annan, wife of UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, named Winnie the Pooh as the world's Ambassador of Friendship in an event that was co-sponsored by the United Nations Department of Public Information and Disney Enterprises.