World’s first integrated solar power tile launched in Kerala
Published March 6, 2012 | 
Kerala has become the launch pad of the world’s first integrated solar power storage tile, made using super capacitor. An innovative team of Amrita Centre for Nanosciences is behind this path breaking invention that is likely to hit the market in a couple of years. Named ‘Amrita Smart‘, this product was launched a fortnight ago at the International Conference, NANOSOLAR 2012, organised by the Amrita Centre for Nanosciences at the Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences in Kochi.
The product developed by a team of 40 researchers headed by Shanti Nair and Vinod Gopal, is a combo of a solar cell and a battery that can be used to power devices even at night. Amrita smart uses special electronic techniques to integrate the solar cell with the storage device. It can be used to charge mobile phone or lap tops without depending on the expensive battery systems. When exposed to sunlight for just 4 hours, this device will be able to store power for over a week.
Weighing only 200 gms, this handy device will be a convenient option in places reeling under power cuts and for those who travel a lot. The development of the solar storage tile is feted as a milestone in nano solar aided research and in the field of renewable energy sector.
Has Gandhism become just T Shirt slogans in Kerala
Published March 2, 2012 | 
It’s paradoxical to note that Keralites, who have blatantly shunned Gandhiji’s policies of prohibition, have wholeheartedly endorsed Gandhism in the form of T shirt slogans! Kerala might hold the dubious distinction of having the highest per capita alcohol consumption, but it has not deterred the youth form sporting Gandhiji T shirts. A current fashion rage, these T shirts on the lines of the revolutionary Che Guevara T-shirts have become an indispensable item in the wardrobes of the Gen-X in cities like Cochin.
Foreign tourists too make it a point to pick up these T shirts on their trip to Kerala. Priced around Rs, 400, these T shirts have become runaway hits among the stylish youth of the city. Curiously these T shirts with the image of our father of nation is being supplied by a company in Thailand! The T-shirts have the snapshot of Gandhiji on the front and his famous quotes imprinted on the back. The Kerala youth set an example by popularizing the principles of Gandhi who guided India to freedom through nonviolent protests. However, abstaining from liquor would have been a more meaningful tribute to the father of the nation, who advocated prohibition as a public policy way back in the 1930s. From the earlier trend of featuring of football icons, sports personalities and music bands including Metalica and Guns & Rose among others, the fashion trends have come a full circle by portraying Gandhji as the fashion icon among the youth.
Get ready to flag down the Chinese autos on Kochi roads
Published February 24, 2012 | After petrol, diesel and CNG autorickshaws, it is the turn of the Chinese electric autos to hit Kerala roads for the first time. The Chinese Romai Electric Vehicles based in Shanghai, China has test driven tricycles that are well suited for Kerala roads. The launch of products in Cochin, the maiden market for this range of products is expected to be within two months. As electric bicycles are already available in Kerala, the company plans to concentrate on the tri cycle segment according to the International Trade Department official of the Romai Electric Vehicle.
The biggest attraction of the electric tricycles will be its low price tag at the range of Rs. 40,000 to Rs.50,000. The electric tricycle gives a mileage of 80 km once charged and the tricycles are available in 60 volt–1000 watts for carrying passengers. The tricycles can be altered with roof to be operated like auto rickshaws. The company has plans to launch vehicles of 200 watts and more in the state. The necessary spare parts will also be made available for the customers.
Auto rickshaw, fondly called tuk tuk, is not only a rage among tourists but also among the local travelers as a handy and cheap travel option over short distances. A handy transportation for daily errands, autos are way cheaper than taxis and a great option to navigate through the narrow and crowded streets of Cochin. So, for all those in Kerala who are accustomed to the noisy and polluting vehicles of conventional autos, these sleeks and silent vehicles will be a pleasant change for sure!
Monkeys to don the role of coconut pluckers in Kerala
Published February 21, 2012 | You can soon see monkeys plucking coconuts in Kerala as they do in Sri Lanka or South East Asia. This innovative proposal will be presented to the government by Agriculture deputy director K. R. Vijayakumar and principal agriculture officer V.K. Raju . Though the coconut development board had initiated many novel ideals like mechanised coconut climbing and collective workforce to ensure the timely harvest of coconuts, the severe dearth of pluckers still remains a cause of concern for the coconut farmers all over the state. Measures like the introduction of mechanised climbing equipments including robots for plucking coconuts and setting up a college for training coconut climbers have not been of much effect in solving the manpower shortage.
In the recent past, many exceptional crops of Kerala like coconut and paddy have declined drastically mainly due to escalating costs of cultivation and the shortage of farm hands, which prompted the farmers to turn to less labour intensive crops like banana and rubber.
As the state continues to reel under severe shortage of coconut tree climbers, only innovative plans like these can help the farmers in the profitable cultivation of coconut. As per this proposal monkeys will be trained to carry out the task of plucking coconuts. There is also a proposal to set up a training centre for monkeys where these smart animals will be trained by trainers from Indonesia and Thailand.
The training will make the monkeys competent enough in plucking the ripe ones and collecting these from the ground and loading them to the trucks thus eliminating the need of manual intervention. A trained monkey can climb up to 500 coconut trees a day, while a human can do no more than 40-50, which makes it a better option. So from now on to get the coconuts plucked on time , all you need to do is to call in these smart monkeys for whom tree climbing is just part of monkey business!
Savour homely food in 5 star hotel menus
Published February 15, 2012 | 
It might sound paradoxical that home cooked menu is drawing huge crowds in five star hotels although most of the diners go to hotels to sample something different from the ordinary homely meals! Grandma’s recipes and some of the traditional delicacies that were on the verge of extinction are making a glorious comeback through these star hotel menu books.
Home cooked food have become a big trend these days among health watchers as these are low in fat, free from additives and artificial colors and above all are easy to cook . Many star hotels like the ITC group of hotels have included home-cooked food in their signature ‘Welcome Meal’ menu where the guests can choose from dal, rotis, rice, salad, vegetarian or vegetarian curry, salad and dessert.
Homemakers who are experts in cooking are on the payroll of many star hotels like the Taj Gateway Hotels. They are recruited on a monthly contract and work for 4-5 hours a day and would contribute 6-8 varieties of home-cooked dishes, which are included into a special menu known as Home-Style Regional Food. The menu that keeps changing every month has already turned out to be a big hit. The home style menu is more in demand during dinner and hence homemakers work on a late afternoon to evening shift.
In Taj Gateway, Ernakulam, Kerala there are three homemakers who cook every day including an exclusive cook to handle the breakfast menu. These homemakers are not familiar with the state of the art cooking technologies and gadgets and hence are provided regular utensils that are in use in any ordinary home kitchen. Home cooked menu is particularly preferred by high-paying guests at 5-star hotels who want to try out the simple and lip smacking flavors and the goodness of home cooked menu. On the other hand, homemakers prefer 5-star gourmet food at home and to cater to their needs, the Taj Group of hotels also plan to start a 10-week cooking and baking course for homemakers who fancy a star hotel fare at home. So, pamper your taste buds with the natural goodness of these home cooked delicacies and you will surely complement the ladies at your home, whose efforts were never recognized all these days!
‘Thattukadas’ to get a green and hygienic makeover
Published February 10, 2012 | 
Thattukadas in cities like Cochin have always been the favorite eateries of not only budget diners or bachelors who live far way from their homes but also for those who love to savour the exceptional delicacies of Kerala. Families in cars and mobikes, back from work stop by for take aways or find a cozy corner near these make shift eateries to savour the piping hot food.
These nondescript ‘thattukadas’ in ramshackle sheds offer a lip smacking menu including fried beef, chicken and some of the local delicacies like paruppu vada and paratta. Anyone who has sampled the freshly-made thattu dosa or chiratta puttu with the fiery meat curry, well complemented by a cup of frothy, piping hot tea, would vouch for its lingering taste and easy prices. These food joints perched long the dusty roads or leaking drains often compromise on hygiene, triggering health concerns.
However, thattukadas are all set to have a stylish makeover in a few months time as Kochi corporation is planning to distribute over 100 modern thattukadas to the food vendors. Each food joint will cost around 70,000 rupees and will have solar heaters, purified water, stoves for cooking, and stainless steel platform. These neat and gleaming tattukadas will be a welcome change for the residents who can now enjoy their favorite food items without having to be put off by the stink, filth and dirt around!
This project is being carried out as part of an elaborate scheme to rehabilitate street food vendors with financial assistance from Kerala Sustainable Urban Development Project. So the die hard fans of the Kerals’s own eateries of thattukadas can continue to satiate their palates with local flavors of Kerala, cooked and served in a hygienic setting.
Indian missionaries head to the West
Published February 7, 2012 | 
Christianity came to the Indian shores due to the missionary activities of the Europeans. Many decades down the line, now India sees itself on the other side of the table and is sending the largest contingent of Catholic nuns and priests to the West to carry out missionary activities there.
India, which has been traditionally considered as a country which received missionaries from the West, is now sending the largest number of missionaries abroad,” said Fr Mani Mekkunnel of CRI.This interesting information came up at the recently held National Consultation on Indian missionaries to other countries, which was organised by Catholic Bishops Council of India and Conference of Religious India.
At present Indian clergy is active in around 166 nations as the rest of the world copes with a severe shortage of missionaries. There are over 6,543 religious sisters, 226 diocesan priests, 1,940 religious priests and 159 religious brothers from different parts of the country including Kerala working in various foreign countries. Apart from missionary activities, they serve as priests in local churches while others run charitable institutions and hospitals.
Kerala to get a high speed railway corridor
Published February 3, 2012 | 
Kerala is well poised to get India’s first high-speed railway corridor project, which will extend all through the length of the State linking the capital city of Thiruvananthapuram in the south to Kasargode in the North extending right up to Mangalore in the neighbouring state of Karnataka.
The proposed project is being taken up with the Central government financial aid with Japanese funding. The high speed rail corridor spanning a distance of 580 km will reduce the running time by over 3 hours. The proposed project that is expected to cost Rs. One lakh crore will be a boon for tourists and business travelers by being a convenient interstate transit option.
The green signal to this ambitious high speed rail project that has come soon after the Metro rail has indeed brought cheers to the State of Kerala as it will have a positive impact in the state economy and infrastructure .
Kerala to be the home of BrahMos, India’s supersonic cruise missile
Published January 31, 2012 | 
The Kerala state capital of Thiruvananathapuram is all set to be one of the most prestigious addresses in Indian defense sector in the days ahead, when it becomes the home for India’s supersonic-stealth cruise missile, BrahMos. The BrahMos Aerospace Thiruvananthapuram Ltd (BATL) in Chakkai, near Thiruvananthapuram International Airport will roll out BrahMos, one of the fastest cruise missiles in the world, which can be launched from submarines, ships, aircraft or land. The name BrahMos is derived from the names of two rivers in India and Russia – the Brahmaputra and the Moskva respectively. The missile that travels at speeds of Mach 2.8 to 3.0 is three times faster than the USA’s subsonic Harpoon cruise missile and Tomahawk missile. An Air launched missile is also expected to come out in 2012, which will make India the only country with supersonic missiles in all the defence forces.
BATL is a joint venture between Republic of India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Russian Federation’s NPO Mashinostroeyenia. This much anticipated project will give an impetus in the space research programmes in Kerala and will make it a focus for many defense projects in the near future.
A low key bhoomi puja was conducted last week, which was attended by many key officials of BATL including the BrahMos Aerospace CEO, A Sivathanu Pillai. BATL has acquired the Air Force Complex land for this massive project and Vishal Infrastructure Ltd that has carried out many mega projects including Thiruvananthapuram airport will be carrying out the work. The basic infrastructure of the Missile Integration Complex (MIC) will be ready in one year and the project, which will have a total outlay of 20,000 sq ft area, will be completed in BATL Phase-II expansion plans.
Image source: MSN News
Kochi Airport to have Visa-on-Arrival facility
Published January 24, 2012 | 
The Kochi International Airport is going to be one of the four airports in India that would have the Visa-on-Arrival facility working in a year’s time.
The decision to extend the Visa-on-Arrival facility, provided to tourists from some countries, like Japan, Singapore, Finland, Luxemburg, New Zealand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Philippines etc, to four airports has been taken by the Government of India. That the Kochi airport is one among these is a matter of happiness for the people of Kerala, especially since people not just from European countries, but from places like Japan and Singapore too visit India, especially Kerala. This could prove a boost for the tourism sector and do good to Kerala.
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