Film-maker Kunal Kohli and civil rights activist Teesta Setalvad during an event at KIIT University, Bhubaneswar. Telegraph picture

Chief minister Naveen Patnaik said the state government has launched several initiatives to make Bhubaneswar the most favoured IT destination among Tier-II cities in the country. IT exports from the state were pegged at over Rs 1,410 crore during 2011-12, thereby achieving national prominence in the country’s IT map.

“The IT sector is at the top of the government’s agenda and Odisha has always been at the forefront of the IT revolution,” Naveen said, inaugurating an event at Institute of Technical Education and Research, Bhubaneswar.

“We have witnessed a remarkable growth in large, small and medium IT industries in Bhubaneswar in the past six to seven years. All the four major IT player — Infosys, TCS, Wipro and Mahindra Satyam — have established their development centres here,” he said.

The government has also established two IT special economic zones at Infocity and Infovalley in the state capital.

He said Bhubaneswar had emerged as a major education hub of the eastern region in recent years, with institutions of national and international repute, including IIT, NISER and IIIT, running their academic centres in the city.

Silver screen & beyond

Siksha ‘O’ Anusandhan University vice-chancellor Prof R.P. Mohanty felicitates chief minister Naveen Patnaik. Telegraph picture

Film-maker Kunal Kohli was in Bhubaneswar last week to deliver a talk on “The Power of Inspiration” at KIIT University. He said that despite a burning desire among youngsters to do their bit for their country, there were hardly any avenues for them to prove their worth. “Youths should concentrate on their goal and not depend on others’ views,” he advised a large gathering of students.

In an interactive session, Kohli took on some questions from the audience and also offered tips on filmmaking. He said a sound academic background was necessary for one to understand the nitty-gritty of movie making.

This was followed by a speech by civil rights activist Teesta Setalvad. In her talk titled “Why I Fight: The Journey of a Lone Warrior”, she said that though we had the system of electoral democracy, we lacked democratic value.

Excursion

Delegates at a workshop on low carbon construction at Piloo Mody College of Architecture, Bhubaneswar. (Above) Participants of a faculty development workshop in Bhubaneswar. Telegraph pictures

A team of postgraduate students from the Odisha University of Agriculture Technology, Bhubaneswar, visited three seed industries of the country in Hyderabad as part of an exposure trip.

The students of seed science and technology, plant breeding and genetics, and plant physiology were accompanied by their professor, S.K. Mohanty and scientist D. Lenka to get a firsthand knowledge in hybrid seed production of field crops, seed quality assurance and storage.

They were advised to utilise their technical skills for quality seed production to boost the agriculture scenario of Odisha.

University officials said such study tours would be held annually for students of various disciplines.

Cancer’s answer

A drug may soon be developed to fight and prevent cancer cell growth, said microbiologist A.M. Chakrabarty, who is currently working on cancer regression and arresting cell cycle progression. The expert from University of Illinois, USA, was addressing an international conference on biotechnology advances at the Siksha ‘O’ Anusandhan University, Bhubaneswar.

He predicted that a breakthrough could be on the horizon in another five to seven years and that attempts were on to develop bacterial proteins to prevent invasion by cancers, viruses and parasites in the human body.

Current anti-cancer drugs were either small molecules or monoclonal antibodies that targeted and inhibited a key important step in cancer progression pathway, thereby significantly inhibiting their proliferation. No effective drug or vaccine existed to prevent cancer initiation and drug resistance and toxicity were major problems in cancer chemotherapy, he said.

The three-day conference was inaugurated on December 20 by Asis Datta from the National Institute of Plant Genome Research, New Delhi.

Go eco-friendly

Microbiologist A.M. Chakrabarty at the conference on breakthroughs in cancer prevention at SoA University. Telegraph picture

The Piloo Mody College of Architecture, Cuttack, hosted a two-day workshop on low carbon construction in collaboration with Development Alternatives Group, New Delhi, and the Climate and Development Knowledge Network, UK. The workshop aimed at orienting building professionals towards using low carbon construction concepts while designing buildings in coastal spaces.

College officials said the construction sector had extensive direct and indirect impact on the environment. Hence, design and construction of buildings need to ensure climate resilience to resist extreme temperatures, high velocity winds and intense precipitation. An increased tendency of extreme climatic events places additional demands of durability and performance on buildings.

The practices in the construction sector that aggravate climate change need to curb their impact on the local environment. This can be ensured by reducing ecologically detrimental methods of sourcing building materials, using more energy efficient construction technologies and minimum amounts of energy used in the operation of buildings constructed, they said.

The workshop attempted to influence policies and building practices in response to imminent climate change trends and need for low carbon construction.

Road to research

A two-day workshop focusing on cultivating a culture of quality research in the state was held at the International Management Institute, Bhubaneswar, on December 22 and 23.

Students from various colleges in the capital including Utkal University, IIT, Xavier Institute of Management, Srusti Academy, Asian College of Business Management and SoA University attended the event. The speakers emphasised on various statistical tools and their application in research work. Professor from IIT-Kharagpur, Damodar Suar and IMRB-Mumbai director Susmita Somjit were the resource persons.