Andhra Pradesh English August 2017

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OUR 14TH PRESIDENT: RAM NATH KOVIND CM Chandrababu Naidu with the new President during the swearing in ceremony.

Veteran BJP leader Ram Nath Kovind has taken the oath as India’s 14th President at a grand ceremony in New Delhi on July 25. The former Bihar Governor had garnered massive support from various parties and allies across the country winning by a clear margin of 65.6 percent votes translating into 702,044 electoral college votes, while Congress party candidate Meira Kumar managed to get 34.35 per cent - 367,314 votes.

Ram Nath Kovind will be India's second Dalit President after KR Narayanan. Hailing from a modest family in Uttar Pradesh, Ram Nath Kovind was the youngest among three brothers. Born on October 1, 1945, in Kanpur Dehat, Ram Nath Kovind graduated in law from a Kanpur college. After failing to clear the Indian Administrative Services twice, he made it in the third attempt but as he was selected for the allied services, Kovind started practising the law. He married Savita

Kovind on 30th May, 1974, and has a son Prashant Kumar, and a daughter, Swati. “My election as President of India is to represent all such Kovinds toiling away to make a living,” the new President of India recalled the day he was elected.

Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu was one of the first leaders in the country to welcome Ram Nath Kovind’s candidacy. He was also one of the signatories of the nomination papers. The Chief Minister hosted the presidential candidate during the campaign in Andhra Pradesh. After the swearing in, the CM congratulated the President and said, “His tenure as guardian of our democracy will be inspirational”.

The new President humbly said, “I enter this office with all humility”. He said we must combine tradition and technology, the wisdom of an age-old Bharat and the science of a contemporary India. v

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CONTENTS SRM varsity debuts in Amaravati

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State to develop sports infra in a big way

SRM, the first private university to come up in Amaravati post bifurcation, boasts of international standards in both infrastructure and academic standards.

Unemployment dole on the cards

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Industry growth outlook positive, says Yanamala CM’s Social Network

The revival of Telugu pride in Malaysia

Happening Andhra

Final design for Assembly, High Court approved AP's e-governance initiatives receive acclaim

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Citizen Centric RTA State’s Great Leap Forward with SAS

AP first to exhaust rural BPO quota

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Various developments across the state of Andhra Pradesh.

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Literary reminiscences Of Gurazada Apparao Pantulu

Mana Amaravati Order Of The Day

IT Industry in AP set on firm footing

28 Andhra Pradesh Handicrafts and Handlooms

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Tollywood Stars Make A Big Splash On Small Screen

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ANDHRA PRADESH

Published Monthly In English & Telugu August 2017 Volume:12 Issue:2 Salivahana Era 1939

Commissioner S Venkateswar IIS Editor Ramesh Babu Kandula Executive Editor Naresh Nunna

Cover Page CM with the new President

Second Cover New President Ram Nath Kovind Third Cover Month in pics

Fourth Cover APIIC Advt on Sunrise State

Published by: Information & Public Relations Department Government of Andhra Pradesh Hyderabad - 500 028 Ph: 040-23300258

Views expressed by various authors in this issue reflect their personal opinions.

Design Karthik Beesu

Photos: T.Srinivasa Reddy, Vijayawada Printed at Caxton Offset Pvt. Ltd. Hyderabad Each Issue : Rs 20/Annual Subscription : Rs 220/-

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ITs AP, Sooner than Later

n the undivided Andhra Pradesh, the growth of IT industry under the dynamic leadership of N Chandrababu Naidu has been an inspiring story of the power of dreams. If Hyderabad has firmly established itself as an IT hub of international repute, it is entirely due to the consistent efforts made by the then visionary Chief Minister in the late 1990s.

Andhra Pradesh after bifurcation has been left with pretty little presence of IT industry. But not one to give up even in the face of dire adversity, the CM took it upon himself to build infrastructure for technology from the scratch. The e-initiatives in governance have already made headlines on national and international forums.

Focussing on hardware, electronics and new technologies, the State has made significant progress in the last three years. The CM put forth his plans to develop Vizag as a national and global hub for fintech and sought to create the eco-system for the new revolution to thrive.

Envisioning the development of the electronics industry as an important growth engine for Andhra Pradesh, the Government aims to attract $5 billion worth of investment in electronics systems design and manufacturing (ESDM) by 2020, and generate employment for 400,000 people. Tirupati, Anantapur and Sri City have already become home for several electronic manufacturing companies such as Foxconn and Celkon.

As a confident IT Minister Lokesh said, two out of ten mobile phones manufactured in India are coming out of AP, and the Government is making efforts to improve this scenario to ensure five out of ten phones have Andhra origin.

In fact, after the youthful Minister took over the IT and Communications Department, there has been a visible dynamism in pursuing investments in the sector. A slew of IT and data analytics companies have been launched in the state recently. The focus on new technologies such as Artificial Intelligence and Cloud besides Internet of Things will sooner than later will bolster the sector in the State.

The day may not be far off when AP emerges as a centre for emerging and cutting-edge technologies in IT and electronics in the country, if not in the world.

Ramesh Babu Kandula Editor

www.andhrapradeshmagazine.org Email: apchiefeditor@gmail.com www.ipr.ap.nic.in

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EDITORIAL

Printed and Published by Ramesh Babu Kandula on behalf of Director/Commissioner, Information and Public Relations Dept.; Printed at M/s Caxton Offset Pvt. Ltd., 11.5.416/3, Red Hills, Hyderabad - 500 004; Published at Office of Director/Commissioner , I&PR Dept, Govt of Andhra Pradesh, Samachar Bhavan, AC Guards, Hyderabad - 500028. Editor: Ramesh Babu Kandula.

Ph: 040-23300258.

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SRM VARSITY debuts in AMARAVATI six lakh sft of area, will have each half for academic needs and administration and accommodation needs.

Drawing inspiration from the SRM University, all the universities in Amaravati will be developed as ‘open universities’, with no gates and compound walls.

“Public can visit the universities anytime and access libraries and gain knowledge,” he added.

SRM

University has become the first institution to start functioning in the capital region, creating in the process a milestone for transforming Amaravati into a knowledge hub. Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu inaugurated the SRMU campus in July in the presence of its Founder-Chancellor TR Pachamuthu, president P Satyanarayanan and Pro-Vice-Chancellor D Narayana Rao at Neerukonda village in Mangalagiri Mandal of Guntur ditrict.

SRM, the first private university to come up in Amaravati post bifurcation, boasts of international standards in both infrastructure and academic standards.

With an investment of Rs 3,000 crore, the university has been established on the 200 acres of land allotted by the State Government. Speaking on the occasion, the CM said he was committed to developing the State into a knowledge hub and described the commencement of the SRM University (SRMU) as the first step in that direction. Together with the VIT (Vellore Institute of Technology) University, getting ready for inauguration in August, and the Amrita University, Amaravati, the State was going to evolve into an educational centre of global standards, he asserted.

The SRM campus has been designed by the famous Perkins and Will architecture firm which designed MIT, Stanford, and other top universities in the world. The campus, with

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A Central University and a Tribal University are pending clearance by the Central government in fulfilment of the promise made in the A.P. Reorganisation Act to setup institutes of national importance, he said.

The CM praised Pachamuthu for quickly grabbing the opportunity to establish the Amaravati campus after interested parties were invited to set up their branches in the capital city. Chandrababu Naidu said with the induction of 226 students in its maiden year, the SRMU Amaravati campus made a humble beginning and exuded confidence that its student strength would cross 10,000 in the coming years. Union Minister of Urban Development and Poverty Alleviation M. Venkaiah Naidu said the SRMU had built brand equity of its own and it was going to give a fillip to education in the State. “The capital city is a part of the Make–in–India campaign led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Modi-Babu pair is a winning combination for AP, to which the Central government is extending a helping hand in the form of funds and logistical facilities after bifurcation,” he said.

Sandeep Tiwari, former Dean at Cornell University, will be the Vice Chancellor and Gunasekharan will be Registrar in Amaravati campus of SRM University. University pro-vice chancellor Narayan Rao said that engineering courses in the CSE, ECE, EEE and Mechanical streams were offered at present. In 2018, MTech and PhD courses will be started and later courses such as Journalism and Mass Communication will be introduced. Phase two will see the birth of a medical college. The University President Satyanarayanan said that as part of collaboration with Massachusetts Institute of Technology, U.S., the faculty from this university will be involved with MIT’s Office of Digital Learning and students will be given access to MOOCs and MIT courses.

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FINAL DESIGN for ASSEMBLY, HIGH COURT APPROVED tentment like justice does. “People will feel happy if they get justice.

Everyone should feel that they will get justice after entering the High Court building, which will be a replica of stupa,” he said.

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arking a major step, Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu has approved the designs of the Legislative Assembly and High Court buildings to come up in the Government Administrative Complex in the capital region of Amaravati. Representatives from the British architecture firm Foster+Partners, which has been appointed as the master architect for Amaravati, presented detailed designs for the new Assembly building, the high court and the city infrastructure plan, after having worked on inputs provided by the Capital Region Development Authority.

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As per the designs submitted, the High Court building is diamondshaped and the Assembly Secretariat (located at the centre of the administrative capital) like a Buddhist stupa.

However, the Chief Minister opined that it was the Assembly which

should bear resemblance to a diamond, saying the plan should be “a reflection of the historic Kohinoor, which was born in this very land”.

“We have lost the Kohinoor, but people should feel happy with the diamond-shaped Assembly,” he said.

Stating that the stupa signifies happiness, he said nothing spreads con-

In choosing the designs for the Assembly and the High Court, the CM conveyed historical and cultural import of the architecture, which is more than just a concrete building.

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Announcing that the Justice City, which will be a part of nine cities of Amaravati, would be equal to Hong Kong and London, he said the government would invite famous institutions like National Academy of Legal Studies and Research (NALSAR) and ivy league law agencies from across the world to develop the city into one of the best in the world.

Expressing his excitement over reaching the final stage, the CM said that people all over the world have high expectations of this city. “No one has ever built a city of this scale from scratch,” the Chief Minister said. He instructed Foster and Partners to plan the city square in such a way that it would be a special attraction.

Construction to begin on Dasara

The Assembly block design will be finalised by August 15 and the construction will begin from September 30, on the occasion of Vijayadasami. Meanwhile, the plans for the High Court and the Secretariat will be finalised on August 30, and the construction work will begin later in September.

The permanent Secretariat will have 10 floors, the Minister for Municipal Adminstration P Narayana said.The Heads of Department offices and Secretariat would be built in a single campus, which will be on an extent of 40 lakh sqft.

Tenders would be called for the construction of Assembly, Secretariat AUGUST 2017

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and high court in three phases, Dr Narayana said and added that separate tenders would be called for the laying of foundation, construction, final designs and interiors. The works will be completed within a span of one and half years. Narayana said that statues of NT Rama Rao and Dr BR Ambedkar would be installed in the capital city. There will also be a 500 m tall tower constructed, which will give a view of the entire city.

PwC to help fund-raising by CRDA

Meanwhile, according to a report in The Hindu, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) may play a role in securing funds for Amaravati. In a significant step towards helping Andhra Pradesh in mobilising financial resources for the construction of Amaravati, the British Government has engaged PwC to facilitate the issuance of rupee-denominated ‘Masala bonds’ by AP-Capital Region Development Authority (CRDA) on the London Stock Exchange (LSE).

PwC has already submitted its report on the proposed fund-raising to the British Government and it is being discussed by the British and AP Governments. However, the quantum of borrowing has not yet been finalised, according to CRDA Commissioner Cherukuri Sreedhar.

The construction of Amaravati, according to officials, had been broadly estimated to cost Rs. 42,000 crore and loans amounting to $715 million ($300 million from the World Bank, $200 million from the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and $215 million equity contribution by the AP Government had been firmed up. Besides, there is a line of credit amounting to Rs. 7,500 crore from the Hudco.

Further, some innovative project financing programmes like the Collective Investment Schemes and AUGUST 2017

funding by real estate investment trusts are under examination. A feasibility of private placement of Rs. 2,000 crore worth Amaravati Development Bonds with institutions like the Life Insurance Corporation of India and Employees’ Provident

Innovative project financing programmes like the Collective Investment Schemes and funding by real estate investment trusts are under examination for mobilising funds for the capital city.

Fund Organisation is also being looked into.

It is expecting four or five players like the ICRA, Crisil and Brickwork Ratings to bid for the project.

Regional Park in Amaravati

A nature park and entertainment hub will come up in Amaravati.

Lakshmi Parthasarathi, the Managing Director of Amaravathi Development Corporation (ADC), along with a representative from HCP Design, Planning & Management Pvt. Ltd., presented the detailed master plan for the park to the Chief Minister.

The Chief Minister asked the officials to name the park after Mahatma Gandhi.

The Regional Park is designed for people from all walks of life, as it includes activities for children and family outings, nature lovers, the health-conscious, the culturally rooted and intellectually inclined. It will include entertainment spots, carnivals and spaces for events, gatherings and more.

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The proposal further elaborated that this park will be divided into four zones, all of which will be connected to a reservoir in the middle.

Zone 1, of 85 acres in all, will include an amusement park spread across 34 acres. It will have spaces for laser shows, musical fountains, an amphitheater, craft bazaar and traditional haat (plaza) and a 3-star resort with lake-view cottages and forest cottages. The Chief Minister asked the committee to spend time on research, to bring the world’s best amusement and water rides to Andhra Pradesh.

The master-plan for Zone 2 is dedicated to children. The 34 acre zone will have a play area, adventure activities for small age groups, entertainment units, a separate area for pets and animal lovers, boating facility at the edge of the reservoir, zip lines, trampolines and a water-play area with a shallow pool.

Zone 3 of the park will be a quiet space across 49 acres, more dedicated to containing wilderness for nature lovers. The green areas will be filled with indigenous biodiversity, a flower garden, walking trails, camping spots, yoga and meditation areas, a naturalistic experience at the edge of the reservoir and a duck pond for aquatic bird nesting.

The design for zone 4 will have a unique attraction, the sculpture park or Ambedkar park. This 73 acre zone will also have a 5-star resort, a culture museum, vast grounds for events and fairs, sports and community fitness spaces, athletic centres and an indoor clubhouse.

Officially, HCP will be the “Green Consultant” for this project, for ecological inputs and planting palettes.

The Chief Minister insistently instructed them to immediately start working on research and development with nurseries, to finalise on the biodiversity in the park.

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CM’s CORE Dashboard attracts appreciation roads, high-speed internet in every village, literacy, and coverage of Individual Household Latrines. Saturation-mode development is the State’s strategy to ensure that no one is left behind.

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ndhra Pradesh has been in the forefront in e-governance initiatives to realise sustainable developmental goals. Its preeminent position in this regard has once again received recognition from tan international forum. The meeting of the High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) on Sustainable Development, 2017, convened under the auspices of the United Nations Economic and Social Council,

sion Management Unit, Planning Department represented Andhra Pradesh and made a detailed presentation addressing the excellencies and distinguished audience. The presentation included the state’s Sustainable Development Goals which focused on the “achieved” and “to-be achieved” by 2019 goals.

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The quick take-aways from the presentation are on Saturation, Assurances, Awareness, and e-Governance.

initiatives receive acclaim

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saw a participation from 44 countries that volunteered to present their national reviews. The event was held in New York for 8 days from July 10 to July 19. The primary theme for discussion is “Eradicating poverty and promoting prosperity in a changing world”. Andhra Pradesh is the only State from India to take part in this High-Level Political Forum (HLPF). Alen John Samuel C from Vi-

Alen John Samuel proudly claimed in his presentation that Andhra Pradesh has achieved saturation in providing electricity, social protection through pensions, clean and safe cooking fuel and affordable food through Public Distribution System.

The saturation target for 2019 includes goals such as adequate water for all, connectivity using all-weather ANDHRAPRADESHMAGAZINE.ORG

The assurances provided in the state include elementary education for all children, 100 days of wage employment per year under MGNREGS (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme), free health care coverage for Below Poverty Line families, safe and adequate water for all, affordable health care coverage for Above Poverty Line families, Kutumba Vikasam (Family Welfare), Maha Sankalpam (Pledge for state- building).

The awareness programmes in the state such as Badi Pilustondi (school is calling), Polam Pilustondi (Agriculture Development), Swachh Andhra (Clean and Hygienic Andhra Pradesh), Janma Bhoomi (for grievance redressal), Neeru Pragathi (Water Management), Vanammanam (Forest Conservation) are conducted for seeking people’s participation in achieving key goals.

The e-governance initiatives in the state are e-Pragathi enterprise architecture, Mee-Seva online and mobile app (online government services), CORE Dashboard, Single Desk portal, People First (an online grievance redressal system). The presentation also included economic development initiatives like the Coastal Economic and Employment Zones, industrial corridors, MSME Development Corporation, Economic Cities, retail parks, and promotion of small manufacturers and retailers. The e-governance initiatives of AP highlighted by Dr Panagariya received immense appreciation, notably, the Chief Minister’s Office Real-Time Executive Dashboard (CORE Dashboard).

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INDuSTRy gRowTh ouTLook PoSITIvE, SAyS yANAMALA The tentative revenue loss to AP would be around Rs 2,900 crore owing to implementation of the new tax regime, which would be compensated by the Centre.

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he State Government estimates that the growth rate in the industrial sector will be between 11 percent and 12 percent due to various programmes taken up. The Government is expecting a significant growth rate in the construction industry this year. Housing and developmental programmes being taken up by the government, and increase in housing activity in the private sector are likely to propel the growth. This is the overview at the review meeting on ‘Industries and allied sectors, Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP)’ held at the Secretariat by the Finance Minister Yanamala Ramakrishnudu.

Ramakrishnudu said rural housing programmes have also picked up.

During last three months, the 52,000 houses had been completed. Though industry sector was facing downward trend across the globe, the scenario was optimistic in Andhra Pradesh.

Investments were flowing into A.P, due to the government policies and investor meets organised in the State, he said, adding, the industrial growth would be 11 percent to percent.

New mining policy

The government was contemplating preparation of new policy for mines and minerals. It would boost the production in those sectors. Also, the incentives being given to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) would contribute to the development AUGUST 2017

of the MSME sector, he said.

Ramakrishnudu said that the government policy was that locals should be employed in the textiles sector. The industries that employ more than 100 people were also started in good number. While there were 729 in 2016-17, it is 836 industries now. The garment industry generated employment to 11,000 people this year, he added.

gST beneficial in the long run

The Goods and Services Tax (GST), introduced from July 1 will result in short-term pain but bring long-term gains, Ramakrishnudu said.

Addressing an awareness meet on the GST organised by the Commercial Taxes Department, he said GST was the most desirable tax reform doing away with multiple taxation and cascading effect. There was consensus among tax experts worldwide on GST as it would promote ease of doing business, the Finance Minister asserted. Ramakrishnudu said the tentative revenue loss to Andhra Pradesh would be around Rs 2,900 crore owing to implementation of the new tax regime, and said it would be compensated by the Centre.

In another meeting, the Minister reminded that 84 per cent of the tax revenues is being spent on salaries and pensions, hence officials should not act in a negligent manner.

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State mountaineers scale Mount Elbrus in Russia

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wo young mountaineers from Andhra Pradesh created a record of sorts by scaling Mount Elbrus in Russia, which is the highest peak in Europe, and displaying a 50-ft Indian tricolour atop the summit at 5,640 metres. The team consisting of Satya Rao of Bagarampalem (Visakhapatnam), Raghunadh Reddy of Tadepalli (Guntur), Poorna Malavath, Varsha Rahul of Pune and Vidya of Telangana set this record. Incidentally, Poorna Malavath is a world record holder and the youngest woman to climb Mount Everest.

According to Adventure Sports Director R Reddy, the duo from Andhra Pradesh reached the summit of Mt. Elbrus on July 27 (7.30 a.m. Moscow time) and displayed a flag along with a picture of AP Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu.

Mount Elbrus is situated between the Black sea and Caspian sea on a territory of the Russian Federation, 20 km from the Georgian border.

The team was inspired by the late mountaineer Malli Masthan Babu and the encouragement shown by the Youth Services Department of Andhra Pradesh for the recent Mount Everest expedition, and for the arduous Mt. Elbrus expedition.

The Mt. Elbrus team underwent a fitness regimen under the watchful eyes of weightlifting coach of the Sports Authority of Andhra Pradesh (SAAP) VN Rajasekhar.

Raghunath Reddy, who worked as the trekking guide for the recently concluded Mt Everest expedition, offered his guidance.

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IT Industry in AP set on FIRM FOOTING

State focussing on new technologies in IT & Electronics

Chief Minister at the inauguration of Pi Amaravati Data Centre.

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he nascent Information Technology industry in Andhra Pradesh is looking up, thanks to the tireless efforts being put in by Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and IT Minister Nara Lokesh.

From a paltry Rs 379 crore in 2014 when the new state was born, the IT exports have witnessed substantial IT industry is in its increase to more than Rs infancy in the state. 1500 crore in 2017. This, of But the leadership course, is a small amount, but given the fact that the IT of the experienced industry has almost no presCM and the futuristic ence in the state three years initiatives of the back, the way ahead is dynamic IT Minister encouraging.

are already making a difference.

Despite the adverse conditions, the youthful and dynamic IT Minister Nara Lokesh has been pro-active in his approach, which is already showing results. In the

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backdrop of IT industry globally trying to reinvent itself, the Minister too has been focussing on new technologies and new areas of IT for future growth in the state.

The State Government is focussing mainly on Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Big Data Analytics, Cloud Management, Cyber Security areas and it is inviting IT companies which are coming forward to start research in innovative advanced models.

Vizag is already home to big companies including Tech Mahindra, Wipro, IBM, Concentrix and WNS . IT companies such as Digipub Apex Covantage AP Pvt Ltd, Venture Offshore, ID Analytics Automation Pvt Ltd, Insurance Inbox, Avya Inventrax, Manuh GlobalTechnologies, Virutal Guard, Amzur Infotech Pvt Ltd, Vismaya Premedia Services are starting their activities very soon.

Major IT company Accenture India Chairman Rekha Menon, along with other representatives, had met the Chief Minister and the IT Minister recently and expressed their interest to work with the AP Government. The CM invited Accenture to be part in International Institute of Digital Technologies, Centre for Excellence for IOT, Block

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30 Companies in 90 Days

Chain Technologies, Big Data Analytics.

from Mangalagiri. In e-Health Sector, Transcode Solutions, Medesun Healthcare Solutions are starting training.

The IT Minister inaugurated the office spaces of seven IT companies dealing with consultancy, e-learning and IT/ITES services set up by AP non-resident Telugus (APNRT) in collaboration with Andhra Pradesh Electronics & IT Agencies (APEITA) at K Business Space at Autonagar in Vijayawada in July. Speaking on the occasion, he said that there was a boom in Information and Technology (IT) sector in the state with more than 30 companies having set their foot over the past 90 days.

In the first 90 days after being appointed as IT Minister, Lokesh introduced two new policies - Global In-house Centre (GIC) Policy which helps development of infrastructure, commercial space, hotels, companies and others and Designated Technology Park (DTP) Policy which encourages developers by offering 50% subsidy on rents if they fail to get at least 70% occupancy in the first year.

IT companies like Ealearn, Empower, Supreme Netsoft, MBM Info Serve, Dr. Computer, Inspire Labs, Pixentia are already started activities in a New IT Building started in Auto Nagar, Vijayawada. IT training centres Gana, GCS, Code Network, Sun Surya Technologies, Kelly Technologies, Z-Axis, Signum, Vyasa Valmiki, SR Soft Solutions, Techno Trainers 24/7, Rampro Solutions Pvt Ltd, Vivilex Technologies Put. Ltd, Vervenest Technologies Put. Ltd, Tenet Tech are all set to start their activity

The inauguration of Pi Data Centre in IT Park in Mangalagiri on July 28 by the CM and IT Minister is another milestone in the development of the sector. Asia’s Largest Uptime Institute Tier IV Certified Data Center is being set up with Rs 600 crore. One of the most advanced data centers in the world, Pi Amaravati is the first Software Defined Strategic Data Center (SDDC) in the world and uses open stack virtualization framework to deliver the best-in-class computing, storage, and networking experience. Speaking on the occaison, Lokesh said Mangalagiri IT park would be developed as the Cloud Hub and 20,000 jobs would be provided in five years.

vizag IT Lay-out

Meanwhile, nearly two years after the proposal to develop an IT layout was mooted by the state government, development work on the first-of-its-kind IT layout in the state has started at Kapuluppada.

“In 1995-96, people laughed at the idea of transforming the present Cyberabad into an IT hub. Today, it is the most sought-after destination for IT companies in India. AP will soon replicate this experience and emerge as a hub for cutting edge technologies.

Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (APIIC) sources said the first phase of the project comprising an area of around 250 acres has been taken up for development at Kapuluppada. While the overall area earmarked for the IT cluster is around 1,350 acres, APIIC will initially focus on - Lokesh, IT Minister laying approach roads, installing streetlights and marking the plots for the integrated IT layout in order to attract tech firms to set up shops in the port city. "We are developing the Kapuluppada IT layout in a phased manner. We have started work on phase one on 250 acres.

We will be laying the approach road and internal roads

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drone manufacturing company came forward to establish drone manufacturing, research and skill development centre in Visakhapatnam. The proposed drone manufacturing, research and skill development centre will have international standards.

The IT department is focussing on developing Cloud Computing Policy to promote Visakhapatnam as the IT hub across South Asia, he said.

HCL Technologies was gearing up to provide 7,000 jobs in IT sector across the state. The state government had provided 15 acres land to it at Gannavaram. “Electronic waste has become a big problem for the state and we are trying to find a solution with assistance from Singapore,” Lokesh said.

Cloud hub, AI policy on the anvil

along with the streetlights and drains. The estimated cost is around Rs 20 crore," an APIIC official said. He said the total plotted area is around 150 acres and the remaining 100 acres will be a common green area for layout.

APIIC sources said the size of the plots will vary from one acre to five acres. Also, an area is being earmarked for commercial activities to cater to the IT layout. The IT layout is being developed as part of the state government's plans to attract IT and ITeS companies to the port city.

According to officials, there is already a demand for office space for IT and ITeS for which some space in the core city area was identified. In addition to this, the Government wants to develop the IT layout so that more companies look at expanding their operations in Vizag”.

State to generate 2L jobs in IT, electronics

Andhra Pradesh will generate around two lakh jobs in electronics manufacturing and IT sector within two years, Lokesh announced. The IT minister said, "To meet the target, apart from manufacturing of mobile phones and consumer durables, focus will be also on manufacturing of medical devices." He had recently met Union Information Technology Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad and sought his assistance for a variety of IT projects which are in the pipeline and have the potential to generate jobs.

vizag to have drone making facility soon

The IT Minister sought the support of Carnegie Mellon University for establishing Drone Centre of Excellence in Visakhapatnam. He met Prof. Raji Reddy of the varsity, and held discussions. He disclosed that Omnipresent - a

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A policy on Cloud Hub and Artificial Intelligence (AI) is on the anvil to facilitate the entry of IT companies specialising in these domains. During the inauguration of PhyCare Services India Pvt. Ltd. (PSIPL), a leading BPO in health care, at the AP Industrial Infrastructure Corporation’s (APIIC) 22-acre IT cluster in Mangalagiri, the IT Minister said an investment of Rs. 220 crore had already been made and 200 acres allotted to IT companies in Amaravati.

“In 1995-96, people laughed at the idea of transforming the present Cyberabad into an IT hub. Today, it is the most sought-after destination for IT companies in India. Similarly, the Mangalagiri IT cluster may not be a big thing now, but I am sure it will grow into a vibrant IT ecosystem over the years,” Lokesh observed. While launching the new model of Celkon, which is a make in Andhra project, he said two out of every 10 cellular phones made in India were from Sri City, which was giving a tough competition to the Gurgaon-Noida industrial belt.

“HCL, which sought 15 acres earlier, is now seeking additional 15 acres and also promised to increase the intake of professionals to 7,000 and they will be launching in November,” said Lokesh.

About other upcoming projects, Lokesh said Karbonn and Big Cell were coming up in September in Rayalaseema and talks were on with Singapore firms regarding electronic waste management projects.

Meanwhile, IT Adviser to the Chief Minister JA Chowdary said the State Government was keen on developing Visakhapatnam as a hub for blockchain technology. Referring to the Government’s efforts at promoting Vizag as a Fintech Valley, he said the Government would organise a $1 billion blockchain challenge contest in the city sometime in October, to bring companies specialising in blockchain and the selected best would be extended assistance to start their operations.

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UNEMPLOYMENT dole on the cards

The State Government is actively considering unemployment allowance and is working out modalities. development training programmes.

The Unemployment Allowance, only to be availed by white ration cardholders, is a cash transfer made by the state to persons registered as unemployed and actively seeking employment.

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he Andhra Pradesh Government is mulling over providing monthly monetary help to unemployed youth in the state. The scheme is to be part of the AP State Youth Policy which aims to make the youth employable and addresses the overall welfare of socially and economically disadvantaged youth.

In a recent meeting, Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu asked the officials to collect the data of unemployed youth in the State for providing unemployment relief.

During a review meeting with Ministers and officials at the Secretariat, he discussed in-depth the modalities to be adopted for providing unemployment relief for the jobless youth.

The meeting discussed the age limit, time limit, educational qualifications and other grounds for implementing the scheme. Naidu said that a final decision on modalities will be taken after collecting the complete data about the youth in the State.

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The Ministers opined that there should be accountability during the implementation of the scheme as hundreds of crores of rupees are to be spent. They said that the rules should be framed under the scheme where the beneficiaries should work for the welfare of the society in return.

While asking the officials to prepare a concrete plan on unemployment relief which should be a model scheme for other States, the CM said it is for the first time in the country where the scheme will be implemented on a large-scale.

He asked them to collect information from employment exchanges, smart pulse survey, Skill Development Corporation and various universities and prepare a detailed data of unemployed youth in the State.

There are approximately 12 lakh unemployed people in the state but an age-wise break-up is not available.

The CM said that it needs to be seen if they have skills or not, and also, whether or not they are registered with the employment exchanges and bureaus. After collecting the data, we will be in a better position to frame a policy and decide how much amount each person should be given as unemployment benefit per month, the Ministers said.

He directed the officials to prepare separate lists on the beneficiaries of various government schemes, those who took skill training through government funding and those who are pursuing higher studies abroad.

The assistance may be extended for 2-3 years and first preference would be given to those who are registered with employment exchanges and bureaus for last five years. Only one unemployed person in a family would receive the benefit.

He suggested conducting a study on the modalities being implemented in other countries for the welfare of unemployed youth. He said that the scheme should not be confined only to providing financial relief but also the youth should get assistance for taking up self-employment and skill

It was also suggested that while giving benefits to unemployed people, they should also be asked if they would volunteer to do any community work in lieu of the dole. The Government may request beneficiaries to participate in community development projects in villages.

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CITIZEN CENTRIC RTA State’s Great Leap Forward with SAS

Digital Transformation of Road Transport System to improve the accessibility and effectiveness of RTA services to citizen and businesses with Citizen centric RTA services, has put Andhra Pradesh on the pioneering pedestal.

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S

AS’s analytics software can scan abundant amounts of data to forewarn organisations on graft and inadequacy. Thus, thanks to the Techno-savvy Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu’s encouragement, the Commissioner, N Bala Subramanyam, the Road Transport Authority of Andhra Pradesh (APRTA), has taken the cue from the CM and successfully adapted it.

Implementing the ingenious idea, the RTA authorities attempted an Analytics Dashboard for the Transport Department using SAS Framework. Now, it has been included in CORE (Chief Minister Office Real-time Executive) dashboard (http://core.ap.gov.in/CMDashBoard/Us erInterface/APTransport/APRTAForm.a spx).

The home page of the Analytics Dashboard provides an updated data on district-wise vehicle registrations. As on 31st July, 2017, among 6,66,976 total applications received for registrations of ANDHRAPRADESHMAGAZINE.COM

vehicles from all 13 districts, 6,65,517 applications were approved. What way it is unique and new, as there are umpteen numbers of departments that show the similar statistics with decimal accuracy?

According to the higher officials in RTA, a few features like- at which desk an application is pending, the average time taken to process the TR to PR, Processing trends, the Analysis of rejection, QoS of the Dealers, QoS of the Employee etc., have been included in the site.

“We are also building the Accident Analysis and plan to link the Facebook to it and get the crowd sentiment analysis etc.,” they said.

what is SAS?

Generally, SAS provides data analysis software tools that spot prototypes and irregularities, and recommend action to be taken. These can be used for a range of functions—tackling fraud, monitoring employee efficiency or progress of projAUGUST 2017

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ects, and sounding an alert when they sniff suspicious activity. RTA could able to leverage the power of SAS tools with the help of OTSI (Object Technology solutions India Pvt Ltd), one of leading System integrators in the eGovernance sector with core area of expertise in to Data and Analytics. OTSI got engaged with RTA to bring the actionable insights and perform the advanced analytics using the SAS tool. Performance Management, Controlling Revenue leakages, Improving Road safety and Traffic Pattern & Incident Management.... are a few features that the department envisioned for.

Consequently, in the process of adapting the SAS tools, RTA was able to integrate Performance Management Dashboards in the CORE RTA is also building dashboard for the citithe Accident Analy- zen of AP to understand sis and plan to link the performance and get the Facebook to it the transparency for the performance manageand get the crowd ment.

sentiment analysis.

‘Controlling Revenue Leakages’, ‘Improving Road safety’ and ‘Traffic Pattern & Incident Management’ are the objectives that would be get implemented in future scope of the endeavour, the RTA authorities added.

For Controlling Revenue leakages, the SAS solution will provide capabilities for effective revenue management for the department in terms of understanding its revenue streams through registration fees and taxes, as well as identifying areas of leakage for the department. When it comes to the improvement of Road Safety measures, SAS would help the department by focusing and understanding the main factors driving Accidents and Road fatalities arising out of such accidents. By applying analytics to data housed in the state crash database, the solution can identify trends and model the impacts of various transportation planning scenarios across multiple years to inform highway safety plans. In dealing with 'Traffic Pattern & Incident Management', the solution could extract better insights from accidents and traffic data. Once the solutions is able to get the pattern out of it and able to predict the incident duration , the RTA officials can deploy appropriate measures around the incident location and provide citizen of AP (Travelers) with traffic information to reduce incident-related traffic congestion.

A Precursor Attempt

Digital Transformation of Road Transport System to improve the accessibility and effectiveness of RTA servAUGUST 2017

ices to citizen and businesses with Citizen centric RTA services, has put Andhra Pradesh on the pioneering pedestal in the context of the country. However, SAS solution is not going to confine to RTA wing, but to spread to all government departments. As e-Pragati is a holistic and coherent framework and a forerunner in the country to have state-wide enterprise architecture initiative, the Chief Minister, N Chandrababu Naidu desired to use Fraud Framework of SAS solution to crunch data based on performance indicators drawn from various departments of AP. The Transport Commissioner, N Bala Subramanyam, who is also the first CEO of CM's dream-project e-Pragati, is about to implement all the departments and the successful initiative in RTA has been the precursor.

Future Perfect!

The new tool to be incorporated in e- Pragati will help the Government make departments aware of their deficiencies and find solutions. e- Pragati would get equipped with detecting and dealing with frauds, not only being committed willfully, resulting from the abuse of power, but also the frauds that may arise from non-compliance.

Generally, the organisations might choose one of the two components in the SAS framework- one is of software for data tracking, analysis, and visualisation (that sniffs the points where data show deviations from patterns), and predictive analytics (to prevent anomalies). RTA chose the full suite to achieve both the objectives and so as the case would be with e-Pragati. The project could also help to capture how the Sunrise state – Andhra Pradesh would be placed in a few years.

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AP FIRST to EXHAUST RURAL BPO QUOTA

State's response to IBPO scheme helps boost up Digital India Programme.

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he India BPO Promotion Scheme (IBPS), envisaged under Digital India Programme, has evoked very good response from Andhra Pradesh, which emerged to be the first state in the country to exhaust all the seats allocated to it. In spite of the stringent terms and conditions for availing benefits under the IBPS scheme, the companies came forward for setting up of business process outsourcing (BPO) units in rural areas.

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Primarily, AP was allotted 2,200 seats under the scheme. Consequent to the rising demand from companies to create more seats, an additional 850 have been allocated. Of the total 48,300 BPO seats planned to be created under the scheme, only 13,850 were allocated across the country, marking achievement of a little over 28 per cent of the target.

Initially, an allocation of 8,800 seats was proposed to Uttar Pradesh. But, only 2,730 seats, i.e., 31 per cent of the proposed were allotted to bidders under the scheme. UP was followed by Andhra Pradesh with the allocation of 2,250 seats, Tamil Nadu (1,900 seats), Bihar (1,810 seats),

Maharashtra ( 1,760 seats).

According to the authorities of Software Technology Parks of India (STPI), the nodal agency for implementing the scheme, AP’s response was quite good. The initial seats fixed to Andhra Pradesh were filled up quickly and there has been a provision for over allocation in the scheme, they added.

The officials still target 48,300 BPO seats under the scheme. The creation of the huge number of BPO seats across states and Union Territories (UTs) based on population percentage according to Census 2011. Metro cities such as National Capital Region (NCR), Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Pune, along with their urban agglomeration were excluded. Of the total seats to be created, 18,160 allocations have been made in the country, according to the project’s official website.

Under the flagship programme of Digital India, the Union government approved IBPS to create 150,000 employment opportunities. With an outlay of Rs 493 crore, the centre was also keen on promoting

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BPO/ITes operations across the country to secure balanced regional growth of the industry.

The scheme provides capital support along with special incentives up to Rs 1 lakh in the form of viability gap funding (VGF). About 15 companies have proposed to set up BPO centres in Andhra Pradesh, including Karvy Data Management Services and Omega Healthcare.

Apart from Andhra Pradesh, the response in Tamil Nadu has also been satisfactory. Against 2,800 seats earmarked for Tamil Nadu, only 100 seats were left to be allocated, added the official. In the UT category, Chandigarh and Puducherry have exhausted all seats allotted to them.

Chandigarh and Puducherry were given 100 seats each.

The response in states such as Jharkhand, Gujarat, and West Bengal has been very poor. Similarly, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu, Lakshadweep, Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Goa are yet to open their account. Recently, IT major Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) started a 1,000-seater BPO centre under IBPS at Patna.

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LOGISTICS UNIVERSITY all set for launch

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ecognising the potential for the logistics trade along the coastal Andhra and and its employment opportunities, the Andhra Pradesh State Government has come out with a major academic project.

‘Andhra Pradesh Logistics University’ is all set to commence its functioning from September this year. The newly born university is going to offer a three-year bachelor’s degree and three-year The idea is to supply master’s degree in business manmanpower to the agement with logistics as specialisation, for which a detailed logistics trade in notification will be issued in a Kakinada and few weeks. The Government earVisakhapatnam marked Rs 350 crore for the where positions are project.

available with an initial pay of Rs. 15,000 to Rs. 20,000 per month.

Ideal Institute of Technology at Vidyuth Nagar in Kakinada is going to host the first year’s courses that include classrooms and laboratories, while Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University Kakinada (JNTUK) will oversee the administration such as appointment of faculty and fixing of timetable. The new academic institution, however, is going to relocate to its own premises to

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be built in an extent of 80 acres at Vakalapudi by the end of next year. A team of academicians headed by the advisor to the State government on logistics, S.S. Mantha, finalised the modalities for the commencement of classes after a series of brainstorming sessions. The idea is to supply manpower to the logistics trade in Kakinada and Visakhapatnam where positions are available with an initial pay of Rs. 15,000 to Rs. 20,000 per month.

“Andhra Pradesh Logistics University is an independent educational institution, where training will be provided to the enthusiasts in jobs related to the logistics. In addition to the BBM and MBA, plans are afoot to introduce some short-term courses as well for those who are already working in the industry and wish to hone their skills,” V.S.S. Kumar, Vice-Chancellor of JNTUK, said.

Though the initial plan is to conduct classes on JNTUK premises itself, the venue had been shifted to the Ideal Institute of Technology with the university officials expressing helplessness to accommodate the new batches of students in their classrooms and laboratories as well.

“We are very happy to accommodate the new university classes during its initial days. We are going to allot one complete block of our premises to the Logistics University, dedicate our state of the art laboratory,” says P Chiranjeevini Kumari, correspondent of Ideal group of educational institutions.

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andhra pradesh handicrafts

Name of gI Registered Product

: Shadow Puppets of Andhra Pradesh

Certificate date

: 9/9/2008

State(s)

Applicant Name & Address

SHADOW PUPPETS OF ANDHRA PRADESH

: Andhra Pradesh

: Andhra Pradesh handicrafts Development Corporation Ltd., ‘hasthkala Bhavan’, Musheerabad, hyderabad.

This art goes back to more than 100 years. w

w w

A rigorous spring-cleaning of the leather is undertaken, the stuff being soaked in a pit of lime water for 10-15 days. When the top portion becomes a bit smooth, it is scrapped clean with a knife. Then follows another round of water soaking this time alone with kadaka powder, a local vegetable dye for another ten days.

The leather now assumes its natural colour of light brown and is ready for the designs to be drawn on it.

Even on the lamp shades, deities hold sway along with animals and floral designs. For drawing the contours, an outlining hand brush is used and thereafter the colours are filled in with vegetables dyes – brilliant reds, greens, whites, yellows, browns and orange ruling the roost.

The creator of these puppets have discovered lampshades on leather to be the best medium to not only keep their traditions and art alive but also to serve as a source of their livelihood. Though the medium of expression has changed, the form continues to be the same. The beautiful and colourful spectrum of lampshades depicting episodes from folklore, Ramayana, Mahabharata, Krishna leela and a host of other characters continue to a narrative form.

andhra pradesh handicrafts

Name of gI Registered Product

State(s)

Certificate date

Applicant Name & Address

: Budithi Bella and Brass Craft AP.

BUDITHI BELLA AND BRASS CRAFT

: Andhra Pradesh

: 9/9/2008

: Sri vijayadurga kanchu Ithadi panivarala Sangham Society, Budhithi village, Saravakota Mandal, Srikakulam District, Andhra pradesh – 532 427

Specification of Bindelu

Bindelu is made from brass metal, which is an alloy of cooper and zinc.

Description

This brass vessel is made particularly only in Budithi. It is a two piece vessel which is made by beating two different sheets of brass till the required shape is achieved.

The two pieces are welded and then finished from the inside. The mouth of the vessel is made by welding a casted ring to the finished sphere. It is then finished by scraping out the outer surface of the vessel and polishing it, which imparts lustre.

Bell cast from bell metal is used in temples. It is one of the oldest and famous crafts of Budithi. This product is normally in high demand through out the year. It is highly resonate and which provides a longer lasting sound than general.

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andhra pradesh handicrafts

Name of gI Registered Product

: Bobbili veena

Certificate date

: 6/1/2012

State(s)

Applicant Name & Address

BOBBILI VEENA

: Andhra Pradesh

: Sarada veena workers Cottage Industrial Cooperative Society, gollapalli village, Bobbili Municipality & Mandal, vizianagaram District, AP.

Bobbili Veena is a traditional musical instrument which is also known as Saraswathi Veena. It has great importance and significance in the evolution of music and in particular Carnatic music in our country. The Bobbili Veenas are made up of seasoned jackfruit woods and is an integral part of Carnatic music. Vibrant designs and colours are used in order to give the veenas a designer look. Designs of flowers and leaves are inlayed on the main plastic sheet.

The Veena is mostly made up of a single piece of jackfruit wood called as Ekandi Veena. In some cases. One joint near the dandi and alley is used.

There are 4-5 varieties of Bobbili veenas 1. Ekandi – Made out of single log wood.

2. Kamalam – Lotus.

andhra pradesh handlooms

Name of Product

State(s)

Certificate date

Registration holder Name

3. Nemali – Peacock.

4. Swarna Mandal – Peacock shaped only for showcase purpose.

The veenas weight around 18-20 kilos. The gift veenas, which are used as show piece or decorative items, measure 9-23 inch in total length and the base measurement is 3-4 inch in diameter. These veenas weigh around 250-300gms.

DHARMAVARAM HANDLOOM PATTU SAREES AND PAVADAS

: Dharmavaram Pattu Sarees and Paavadas

: Andhra Pradesh

: 31/03/2014

: Dharmavaram handloom Pattu Sarees Apex Society Ltd., D.No.10-2-5, Behind Jayalakshmi Theatre, Dharmavaram Town & Mandal, Anantapur District, Andhra Pardesh.

Dharmavaram is famous throughout the country for its elegant silk sarees. Its silk weaving industry has made the city renowned in India.

Evidence of origin of Dharmavaram sarees can also be found in the roof wall paintings of Lepakshi temple near Hindupur. Mulberry silk in to ply for both warp and weft is used in weaving of Dharmavaram silk saree. Zari is extensively used in borders, pallow and body for ornamentation of the saree.

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MANA AMARAVATI APP FOR CAPITAL FARMERS

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yneni Girija is an ordinary farmer in the capital region. Like many others here, she is aware of the meddlesome role of the middle men in land deals in rural Andhra. But she has now a powerful tool to take control of her land issues. Her mobile, which she was using to keep in touch with her American kith and kin, is now handy for dealing with her land transactions. She can now even strike a deal with NRIs on her plot. Thanks to Mana Amaravati app, inaugurated by the Chief Minister, Nara Chandrababu Naidu, she is able to reach

out to potential buyers and investors in any part of the world. Girija is one among thousands of farmers who handed over their lands to the upcoming capital of residual Andhra Pradesh under land pooling and who in turn got plots from Andhra Pradesh Capital Region Development Authority (APCRDA).

The CM, during the launch of Mana Amaravati app, rightly said that the app was aimed to bridge the gap between the government and citizens.

It has been integrated with 29 villages and linked directly to the CRDA Server. In practice, it is being realised that the app is preventing sell-

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ing and buying of the lands. People of these villages are gradually downloading the app and rest assured their lands are safe! This app would come in handy for them if they intend to lease, sell or jointly develop land packets, as it would assist them in reaching out to the investors in any part of the globe. Reviewing the features of the app, market Gurus of Technology said: ‘This is how Naidu (the Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu) stands apart from the crowd with his distinctive forward thinking.

Certainly, Andhra Pradesh will lead the race and set up benchmark!’ The application Mana Amravati, which has already got a good rating and astronomical increase of number of downloads, was developed by Ajna Networks along with APCRDA. By using the app, the plot owners can publish informative ads to get the best deals on their plots, be it for sale or lease. The app guarantees a better deal for closing sale, purchase, lease etc for the development of land and infrastructure. As it was referred earlier, the app bridges the gap with the government reaches out directly to the citizens and facilitates land AUGUST 2017

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App also comprises of a grievance redressal system which can be used by the citizens to get in touch with various departments and address any problems that they might have. sale and development.

Beneficial to Investors Too

The app is not only beneficial for the plot owners but also for the investors as they would be able to analyze all the available options and thereby make a decision that would help them get value for money.

“At present, 20 services have been integrated in the “Mana Amaravathi” app. The buying and selling module of the app is a pay back of sorts for the farmers who willingly gave away their lands for developing the new capital city,” the Commissioner of AP CRDA, Sreedhar Cherukuri said in an official statement.

According to the statement, the app has been launched with an aim to bring the citizens closer to the state government while also assisting them to secure better deals on their allotted plots by associating with investors from across the world. The parties looking to invest can now have a wholesome idea regarding the multiple options available and compare to find their money’s worth. The app is aimed at the global Andhra citizen and to make his/ her investment worAUGUST 2017

thy and easy.

As all roads from various corners of the world are leading to Amaravati, the scope of development and infrastructure for Andhra Pradesh is huge.

know your plot code

‘Know your plot code’ is an important feature of this app, which not only helped Myneni Girija and Poturaju Srinivasa Rao of Ainavolu village, but also the farmers, Bellamkonda Narasimharao, Anumolu Sathyannarayana, Damineni Srinivasa Rao of Venkatapalem, Nallamotula Ramanjeneyulu, Paruchuri Narayana, Pamulapadu, Ayinampudi Chalapati Rao, Kommineni Adilakshmi of Nelapadu etc., to name a few, to get all the details of the allotted plots by just entering their respective Aadhaar Numbers. The app can also be used for accessing the physical location of the plot.

It also comprises of a grievance redressal system which can be used by the citizens to get in touch with various departments and address any problems that they might have. All they need to do is register their complaints and the concerned professional will contact them within the shortest interval of time and also resolve the issue within a stipulated period. The users can also give suggestions by using the feedback form that is present in the app.

With the dramatic shift in the way the farmers of the region are engaging themselves with the omnipresent tool of Smartphone, Amaravati is where their future is. They understood it's the time to get a slice of heaven, as Mana Amaravati app is emerging to be the order of the day!

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Music College to be opened in honour of Balamuralikrishna

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he State Government has plans to set up a music college as a tribute to legendary singer Mangalampalli Balamuralikrishna at his birthplace— Sankaraguptam village in East Godavari district. The Government has also plans to construct a memorial and set up a museum after him. Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu made these announcements participating in the 87th birth anniversary celebrations of the legendary vocalist in Vijayawada. A statue of the singer was unveiled on the occasion.

“If the family members of Balamuralikrishna hand over the awards received by the singer, the Government will preserve them in a museum,” said Chief Minister said.

The CM said that a three-member committee comprising singer’s son Abhiram, Government Advisor (Communications) Parakala Prabhakar, and ghazal singer Srinivas would be constituted to take forward the museum proposal. The singer’s birthplace should be an inspiration for budding singers and musicians. The music students should dream to go to Sankaraguptam and pursue music courses.

The Government would felicitate a musician every year during Balamuralikrishna’s birth anniversary celebrations, which would be organised as a State festival. A cash award of Rs. 10 lakh would be given to the musician, he said. Prabhakar said it was a matter of pride that he was a Telugu and hailed from this region. Annavarapu Ramaswamy, a violinist and companion of Balamuralikrishna, urged the Chief Minister to introduce music at elementary schools in the State.

Naidu felicitated the doyen’s disciple D.V. Mohana Krishna, Vasireddi Amarnath who donated the statue of Balamuralikrishna and others. The statue was unveiled on the premises of Tummalapalli Kalakshsetram.

He also launched the Balamuralikirshna Trust. v

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STATE TO DEVELOP

SPORTS INFRA IN A BIG WAY I

Badminton player k Srikanth with CM

n an effort to create the right eco-system for enhancing sportsmanship in the state, the Government has come up with many initiatives. As part of this exercise, six indoor and outdoor academies in Visakhapatnam, Kakinada, Gudivada, Narasaraopeta, Nellore and Anantapur and four water sports schools in Vijayawada, Nagavankala, Jangareddygudem and Thadipudi will be launched on August 15. These academies will have 80 expert sportspersons training students. The six academies will be maintained at the cost of Rs 20 crore per year.

The Sports Authority of Andhra Pradesh (SAAP) has been seeking guidance from the Centre for designing and maintenance of the academies. Out of RS 29.5 crore sanctioned by the Centre for infrastructure projects for sports, the state has spent Rs 8.7 crore in multiple facilities across the state. Every municipal area will also be involved in local tournaments, organised by SAAP. In collaboration with Director of Municipal Administration, SAAP has identified 535 Municipal schemes and various other stadiums, playfields for the advancement of sports through private participation.

During a review meeting on the progress of SAAP and AP State Skill Development Corporation at the Secretariat, the Chief Minister presented his vision of engaging at least 60 percent of the state’s population in sports by the year 2029.

The total number of playfields across all 13 districts is 3,036, with a total outlay of Rs 151.8 crore. By the end of August, all of them will be customised according to the locally preferred school sports and activities.

Sports Development Centres across the state, called Kreeda Vikas Kendras, are indoor and outdoor facilities for sports and recreation. Thirty of them will be completed in 2016-17 and 62 of them will completed by 2017-18. SAAP also presented the progress on Academies under Professional Management, for which a national tender was issued earlier. A number of interested organisations from Gujarat, Maharashtra and Karnataka are currently bidding, and the successful bidders are expected to provide the academy with trained coaches,

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nutrition training, accommodation and boarding, equipment and international exposure, among others.

The authority has also invited many sports management companies and investors from around India, and many private investors have evinced interest in developing sports in AP. Across AP, continuously held events, tournaments and activities will lead up to higher platforms, where players and interested teams will compete and train in the state level. Every activity will be recorded in a state-wide database connected to the CM’s dashboard. “All the details of participants and activities in the state must be recorded in the portal, so that we can measure the outcome”, said the Chief Minister.

The officials proposed that intra and inter university competitions of all 13 universities will compete for an award, which will be called as the CM’s cup. This will encourage physical activity along with academics.

The Chief Minister also instructed the officials to start maintaining a sports events calendar, and include all games and athletic activities. “Trekking, water sports and other adventure sports must be our new focus areas”, said the Chief Minister. Vizag, Amaravathi and Tirupati will be developed as Sports Cities, with the best quality of sports facilities.

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PAWAN KALYAN thanks the CM

CM TAkES STEPS to hELP uDDANAM PATIENTS and polluted drinking water.

The Chief Minister announced that safe drinking water will be provided to the Uddanam area through clusterbased (Hub & Spoke model) RO Plants. Two RO plants will be inaugurated next week.

Dr Joseph Bonventre, who led the team of doctors from Harvard recommended the set up of a dedicated institute. The CM immediately agreed and said, “The state cabinet has already approved the set up of a research institute in Srikakulam at the cost Rs15 crore. The state will spare no efforts, to find a solution and work towards preventive measures.”

I

n a pro-active initiative, Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu made several announcements to allieviate the chronic kidney problem being faced by residents of Uddanam in Srikakulam district. A dedicated institute of research to find a permenant solution to the problem would be set up, and measures for provision of safe drinking water and dialysis centres would be taken, besides extending Rs 2500 per month to every resident afflicted with the disease, the CM announced.

cording to any standard, said Poonam Malakondaiah, Principal Secretary (Health, Medical and Family Welfare).

She also reported that 46% of the patients are female and 54% male. She said that each case is recorded and tracked electronically, so that the government can provide the required medical care and attention. 3 additional dialysis centres were opened in Uddanam in a span of 30 days, as soon as a shortage was identified. The region now has the highest density of dialysis centres in the continent.

The Chief Minister on July 31 met with Pavan Kalyan and the research team from Harvard and reviewed the report on Chronic Kidney Disease.

The Cabinet also approved a Government order for sanction of pension Rs 2,500 per month to all affected patients in the state having CKD stage III, IV & V and those undergoing dialysis in government hospitals.

Action taken by the government

A screening was conducted from January to April 2017, in which 15 CKD Mobile Medical teams screened a total of 101593 people, the total population above 30 years of age in 176 villages across 8 mandals.

These screenings resulted in learning that the prevalence rate of the disease is 13%, which is extremely high acAUGUST 2017

Some of the main causes of CKD were reportedly to do with the presence of excess amount of silica, strontium and gallium in drinking water and food items. Especially in mining areas, the inhaling of toxic elements and dust from quarries can also lead to CKD. Other speculations revealed other possible causes like excessive use of painkillers, analgesics, dehydration ANDHRAPRADESHMAGAZINE.ORG

The institute will be supported by ICMR, and 50% of the expenditure will be incurred by the state government. The institute will be dedicated to kidney research and nephrology and include bio-banking, surveillance, DNA sequencing, patient care infrastructure, academic training and public education.

The unanimous statement among most doctors and researchers in the meeting was that, “the scientific community has never witnessed so much of involvement and support from any Chief Minister.”

The Chief Minister emphasized that, “Money is not a problem for us. We will invest as much as needed to eradicate Uddanam Nephropathy. ICMR (Indian Council for Medical Research) is also willing to join us as a partner, and we look forward to Public-Private-Partnerships with teams from Harvard.”

Pavan kalyan thanks CM

After thanking the Chief Minister for responding so efficiently and quickly to his appeal, Pawan praised the initiatives of the government for safe drinking water and medical research.

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THE REVIVAL OF

TELUGU PRIDE IN MALAYSIA W hereever Telugus live, they make evey attempt to preserve their language and culture. But not every Telugu group living across the world has not been able to nurture their sweet language, rich heritage, ancient customs and hoary traditions.

While the Telugu diaspora has made a name for itself across the globe in the recent decades, there are certain South East Asian nations where their existence goes beyond a century. Malaysia is one such country where the Telugus have not only been living for over 200 years, but have also made their presence strongly felt in the recent times.

When the British wanted to develop coconut, rubber and spices plantations in Malaysia, they took thousands of labourers from India, which was also under the British rule. Several families from the coastal Andhra districts right from Srikakulam to Nellore were the first pick, as the sea route, which was the only option then, opened up straight to the southeast. In fact, most families were shifted forcefully and against their will. The Telugu people feared that they would lose contact with their families and relatives and also permanently lose their roots if they migrated to an unknown nation.

Though they almost lost their identity for generations, the efforts taken up by Telugu Association of Malaysia (TAM) in the recent years have revived the hope of the Telugu people becoming a numerically-strong ethnic group, after the Malays, Chinese and Tamils.

Knowing the perils of losing their identity once the language is not passed on to posterity, the Telugu community started teaching the language to the next generation way back in the early 1950s. The government facilitated linguistic minorities to learn their language and the Telugu Teacher Preparatory Examination was conducted in the 90 Telugu schools present in Malaysia at that time. However, after the country got independence in 1957, a lot of development took place which made the Telugu teaching youth migrate to the nearby cities, leaving no one to teach the language to the children, that ultimately resulted in the closure of the schools.

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It was the efforts of TAM that gave a ray of hope among Telugus. The Malaysian government allowed the minority children to study their native language for two hours a week, for which the government gave a special pay to the teachers. Like the Chinese and Tamils, the Telugu

A sojourn to motherland: Appalanaidu Akiah in Tirupati.

children also got an opportunity, which revived the hope of making the future generation Telugus read and write in their mother tongue. Since 2010, 5000 Telugu students have learnt to read and write in their mother tongue.

Appalanaidu Akiah, the former Deputy President of Telugu Association of Malaysia (TAM), who now monitors the academic activities, strongly believes that the key to the survival of an ethnic group and its culture is through the language. As there were no buildings for many schools, the TAM approached the Malaysian Prime Minister, who sanctioned funds for construction of a fivestoried building called 'Telugu Academy'. All academic, cultural and literary activities in Telugu will be conducted in the building.

TAM is also considering taking their mission to Thailand, Myanmar and Sri Lanka. There is a strange twist here. For example, in Brunei and Bali, many Telugus can not speak the language, but read the script well. Similarly, in Mauritius and other southern African countries, there are Telugu people, but not the language. In the forthcoming days, TAM plans in a big way to propagate Telugu language and unite the Telugus in these countries.

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- Bhava Sudha

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SNAPShoT

AP HIKES IRRIGATION SPEND

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time-bound programme had been developed to complete the irrigation projects in the State.

The Chief Minister said more than Rs 30,000 crore had been spent so far and this year another Rs. 10,000 crore would be spent on various projects.

The Chief Minister has been regularly following up the Polavaram, which will transform the face of AP. The CM is determined to complete the Polavaram project as per schedule despite the several hurdles being created at all levels. The Government would provide water security to farmers of all the regions.The Neeru-Pragati

AUGUST 2017

programme was being taken up in a big way to complete four lakh farm ponds. Farmers should conserve rain water in their village tanks by keeping them clean.

Pattiseema, which linked Godavari with Krishna, is a major achievement. The Chief Minister said the State Government was able to release water to the Krishna delta in June itself because of the Pattiseema scheme.

All the 24 pumps had been working and 8,500 cusecs of Godavari water was being lifted to the Polavaram right main canal.

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Literary reminiscences Of

GURAZADA APPARAO PANTULU k k k

- Ongole Munisubrahmanyam An ardent admirer and beloved follower of Gurazada, Ongole Munisubrahmanyam was a pleader at Ongole. His acclaimed contribution to Telongole ugu literature is preMunisubrahmanyam serving invaluable (1886-1969) letters of Gurazada addressed to him during 1909-11, which unfold the vision and world View of Gurazada. Munisubrahmanyam came into contact with Gurajada in 1905 "just by accident". Reminiscing his early association with Gurazada, he said: "I was then a poor student of the Maharaja's College at Vizianagaram seeking his help to carry on my college studies. Slowly, I found myself, quite unconsciously, both morning and evening, at his desk or in his library, dabbling in all kinds of literary work that he was doing. When, in 1909, I graduated from that College and left Vizianagaram and settled down as teacher in my native district of Nellore, and afterwards as Tutor in P.R. College, Cocanada, the literary work that was being carried on was disturbed and the same had to be done by correspondence for one or two years. It was during that period that Apparao Pantulu wrote to me a number of letters, rather lengthy, some of them which are pieces of fine literature in English and treatises on several aspects of literature, science and arts".

Evidently there must be more number of letters than that are available. As part of the ongoing series of ‘Literary Reminiscences of Gurazada Apparao’ by O. Munisubrahmanyam, on these columns, we are pleased to publish a few of the important letters by legendry Gurazada to Ongole.

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Fort, Vizianagaram, 14th March, 1909 My dear Munisubrahmanyam, I was sincerely glad of your success. Your illness in Madras frightened me. Examinations are such a strain and so much misery that a young man feels infinite relief when he passes. I hate examinations. I thank you very much for the things you have said of me. If contact with me inspired your enthusiasm in literature, I am sure your acquaintance made me think better of the coming generations and get interested in them.

Through you I recovered my better self. You will be glad to learn that I am keeping decent health and that I am keeping Durbar politics at arm's length. I have considerably altered Kanyasulkam . It has gained considerably in humour. I had to

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change my conceptions of some of the characters after three Acts had gone to the press. When you go to Madras kindly call at G. Ramaswamy Chetti and ask them to push on the work. There has been great delay in printing. 1 asked my nephew Narasimham to exert himself, but I have not heard from him. I have actually begun the Telugu grammar. I want a grammar of the Nellore spoken dialect. Can you prepare a short note on verbal substantive and inflexions chiefly?

Please get for me copies of issues of the Amudrita Grandha Chintamani with Tikkana Somayaji and ungrammaticals of Mahabharata.

Yours sincerely, P.S. The late Poondia Ramakrishnaiah garu was a friend of mine. He wrote about the descendants of Tikkana, the village of Kottaruvu etc. More in my next.

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HAPPY DAYS ARE HERE AGAIN FOR HSL

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ith the arrival of NS Sindhuvir, an EKM class Submarine, mid-July, the fortunes of HIndustan Shipyard Ltd. (HSL) are bound to take the upswing to bring back the past glory of the country’s premier shipbuilding company.

The submarine arrived at HSL for a normal refit, estimated to cost over Rs.500 crore and the duration of the refit will be 27 months. HSL Chairman and Managing Director Rear Admiral L.V.Sarat Babu said HSL was proud it was given the opportunity and stated that the yard is all prepared for conduct of the refit, as HSL is the only yard in the country other than Naval Dockyards having expertise in undertaking up to Medium Refits of Submarines. In the past HSL undertook refits of Egyptian Navy Submarines and Medium Refits of two Indian Navy Submarines successfully. HSL which was buzzing with activity till early 1980s, suddenly found itself in the red and was ailing for nearly three decades until the Government of India decided to take the public sector undertaking into the fold of the Defence ministry a few years back, to be precise, in 2010.

The shipyard has submarine repair facility developed at a cost of Rs.50 crore and also the expertise to build next generation submarines.

HSL has also accepted a proposal of the Andhra Pradesh Econmic Development Board for mutual cooperation with the United Shipbuilding Corporation of Russia. The latThe Ministry of ter is keen on placing orders to the tune of Rs.20,000 crore Defence gave HSL a to meet its own reuirments. contract on nomi- The proposal will be sent to nation basis for the Ministry of Defence for construction of five clearance, according to the CEO of APEDB Mr. Krishna fleet support ships Kishore.

and HSL is now busy working on modalities

The Ministry had already accorded clearance for HSL to have a tieup with Hyundai Heavy Industrie, the South Korean shipbuilding major.

In a major turn of events, the Ministry of Defence gave HSL a contract on nomination basis for construction of five fleet support ships and HSL is now busy working on modalities HSL recorded a pleasing turnover of Rs.625 crore last year and also achieved operation profit of Rs.15 crore for the first time in over three decades. Now, the new steps taken will boost the company’s fortunes and bring back AUGUST 2017

kursura Submarine Museum

the past glory to HSL, it is hoped.

India’s biggest atomic power plant

Another development in North Andhra in July was the decision of AP Government to officially transfer 2,200 acres of land to Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd. (NPCIL) by October this year for construction of the country’s biggest atomic power plant in Kovvada village of Ranasthalam mandal in Srikakulam district. The Revenue officials will handover 500 acres of this by August 15 and the rest in a phased manner.

Most of the villagers who face displacement have agreed to accept a compensation of Rs.18 lakh per acre offered under the Land Acquisition Act, 2013 and the acquisition process is going on smoothly. The compensation amount was being finalized for structures, trees and other properties. The NPCIL has deposited Rs.384 crore with the district administration towards payment of compensation and some villagers have already received the amount, officials said.

Museum complex on vizag beach

There is now a proposal for establishing an integrated tourist museum complex on beach road in Visakhapatnam. The museum will comprise the Kursura Submarine museum, Victory-at-Sea memorial and Rajiv Smruti Bhavan. Tourists may visit the three spots with a single ticket and it may take about half-a-day for the visit. An audio-visual show on the Kursura submarine and TU-142 fighter aircraft museum which is coming up in the vicinity, will show the life on them and how they worked, officials say.

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- B Prabhakara Sarma

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TOLLYWOOD STARS MAKE A BIG SPLASH ON SMALL SCREEN

A slew of Telugu film actors are making foray into Television as hosts and judges of reality shows.

And the popularity of such shows has blurred the lines between TV and film industry.

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n July 16 when NTR Jr made his debut as a TV host of Bigg Boss, the biggest reality show on television right now, it was a landmark moment for Star Maa, the TV channel which pulled off a coup by roping in one of the biggest stars in the industry for a hosting gig. Prior to this, Star Maa had worked with Nagarjuna and Megastar Chiranjeevi, who hosted four seasons of Meelo Evaru Koteeswarudu. After the first two seasons, the show couldn’t hold the interest of the viewers and there was a growing concern among TV industry experts that perhaps, having a known face as a host on TV might not be the best approach to run a show. However, NTR Jr’s hosting gig is rewriting all those misconceptions.

The first episode of Bigg Boss went on to garner a recordshattering TRP of 16.18, which is a new record for any reality show in the history of Telugu television. NTR Jr’s popularity ensured that the show will grab plenty of eyeballs; however, the record-breaking numbers have come as a huge surprise to everyone. Meanwhile, Rana Daggubati, who recently turned a host for an interview series - No.1 Yaari With Rana too is flying high in his new avatar. The show has already been termed as a huge success and Rana’s off-screen equation with the celebrities on the show has turned into a big boon for the show.

NTR Jr and Rana are just two of the actors who have made a big splash on small screen. Elsewhere, Ali’s interview series Ali Tho Saradaga - which is aired on ETV is turning out to be

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a trip down the memory lane for the viewers. Having been in the industry for more than 30 years, Ali shares a great rapport with both the young and the older generation, and his jovial nature is a treat to watch.

It’s not just reality shows and interview series, several celebrities are turning judges on reality shows, which has given plenty of actors and actresses another shot at reaching out to their fan base. Recently, Meena made her debut as a judge on Veera, a dance reality show, and the latest celebrity to join this list is Priyamani, who’ll be judging Dhee season 10. On the other hand, Naga Babu and Roja are laughing their way to glory as judges on the hugely popular Jabardasth, a comedy show.

While the TV industry has opened its doors to film celebrities like never before, it has also opened up new doors for celebrities as both a steady revenue source, and also as a medium to reach out to a wider section of the audience. It’s an open secret that the film industry lost substantial chunk of its footfalls with the rise of cable television right from mid 2000s, and the divide between the two had been growing ever since. The popularity of Tv serials took away the family audience from theatres and only a select few films attracted crowds from all age groups.

And the film industry is quite aware of the reach which television enjoys today. With the introduction of digital media, TV-related content has reached out to a wider audience than films have managed to in recent years.

And stars from the film industry are more than happy to be part of this boom. Thanks to all this, the divide between the two giant industry is slowly blurring with one feeding into the others’ need.

In the end, it’s the viewers who are the biggest benefactors because of all these changes. One of the most common comments heard after NTR appeared on Bigg Boss show was AUGUST 2017

“From now onwards, every weekend, we’ll get to see NTR on TV.” Instead of waiting for nearly six months to a year to see their favourite actors appear on big screen, the TV industry is bringing them closer to the confines of your homes, more than ever before.

To quote NTR, who said, “I’ve always wanted to give back something to all those lakhs of people who have showered me with love and affection over the years. And I thank Bigg Boss for giving me this opportunity to present myself on television every week. The only thing that has changed now is the size of the screen, but not the bond that I share with the audience.”

It couldn’t be truer.

On a different note, there’s no guarantee that all these shows, that are going ANDHRAPRADESHMAGAZINE.ORG

to be hosted or judged by film actors, will ensure huge TRPs on a weekly basis. The popular television serials, which rule the prime-time slots, will continue to have their loyal audience.

However, with the introduction of stars like NTR and Rana on small screen, TV industry is hoping to reach out to the young audiences, who probably don’t watch TV shows as much.

In either case, it’s a win-win situation for everyone.

Celebrities might have a larger-thanlife image when they act in films, but when it comes to TV, they have a rare chance to be themselves and present a more humane side of their persona.

Amen.

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AMAZING ANDHRA PRADESH

Koneti Rayala Swamy temple

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D

oes one want to sway away from mundane realism to spiritual surrealism? Koneti Rayala Swamy temple of Lord Venkateswara in the village of Keelapatla, Chittor district Andhra Pradesh is the right choice. Merely 115 KM from Tirupati, the celestial abode of Lord Venkateswara atop of Seven Hills of Tirupati, Koneti Rayala Swamy temple constantly mesmerises and amazes, as if an immediate successor of Tirumala temple, in terms of magnanimity.

It just happens to be one of those places, reachable and charming enough to make for a perfect weekend getaway. At a distance of 47 km from Chittor, the district headquarters, Koneti Rayala Swamy temple could be reached via Palamneru (7 km from there). It offers more than just spiritual illumination; nature and landscapes come along in bold packages, as Keelapatla is in forest area with fertile lands, full of bamboo bushes and honey.

The temple of Lord Venkateswara is popular among the travellers and devotees. The pinnacle of the temple (main Gopuram) is its exclusive part and a watershed in temple architecture. The Gopuram is indistinguishable to that of the great Gopuram of Tirumala Venkateswara Swamy temple.

The Lord of Keelapatla is Kalpatharu (a heavenly tree that grants boons), Chintamani (celestial power) and the holy Kamadhenu (heavenly cow that gives material and spiritual wealth).

Legend of Temple

It is believed that Saint Bhrugu came to earth, after kicking on the Lord Vishnu’s chest and forgiveness by Lord about saint’s sin. Bhrugu was advised

by Saint Kashyapa to establish the lord idols in 7 different places with similar features of the Lord. Koneti Rayala Swamy is believed to be one of those seven idols. Since Lord Venkateswara idol was not in existence then, all these temples were believed to be established before the arrival of Lord venkateshwara to the earth. So,

AUGUST 2017

Bhrugu had hidden these temples with his magical powers. After Lord’s arrival to earth, Bhrugu removed his powers and thus the common people came to know about these idols(vigraham) under the trees and the kings came forward to build temples.

It is also believed that Lord Venkateshwara placed his foot first at Keelapatla and then reached Tirumala. Poet- saint composer Thallapaka Annamacharya of 15th century praised Lord Venkateswara with different names; 'Konetirayadu' was one of them.

Features and Facts

Koneti Rayudu resembles Sri Venkateswara in the sanctum of the temple. Huge and mighty Jaya Vijayas, Chennakesava idol with Sridevi and Bhudevi on either side, the five famous Alwars, Bhoovaraha Moorthy, Garudalwar and the Anjaneya Swamy statue form the main attractions.

According to history, the great

rulers, Pallavas in the timeline of 9th Century AD, built the Rayala Swamy Temple. This temple in Thondu Mandal speaks of the styles of Pallava and Chola culture.

Vijayanagara Rulers and British officials later on, allocated many acres of land that is in and around Keelapatla village towards performing day to day worship and ceremonial festivals like Brahmotsavams, Sankranthi Parveta, Radhasaptami, Ugadi and the mystical Vaikunta Ekadasi.

Temple in Tirumala and the Koneti temple in Keelapatla also share other similarities, such as pathways to the main shrine. The forest areas that exist between both the places have rest Mandapas, indicating some sort of connect.

The Koneti Temple has four security posts, also known as Buruzulu on four sides of the temple and an Ashwasala (horse shelter), Gajasala (Elephant shelter) and an Agadtha (trench) around the temple.

how to reach: This place can be accessed by all the available means of transportations.

By Rail Chittor is also well connected with all major trains across the country. Palamaner is also the nearest railway station as the temple is located at 7 kilometers from the station.

By Road A sound and dense road network is available in Chittor. Various link roads within the city and also in outskirts of the city are in good condition. Private tour operators and APSRTC also run their bus services with full amenities to this place on reasonable charges.

accommodation

Being district head-quarters, Chittor has good number of hotels for accommodation.

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HAPPENING AP By-election for Nandyal Assembly seat

The Election Commission announced that by-elections to fill four vancancies in Andhra Pradesh, Goa and Delhi legislative assemblies will be held on August 23. The counting of votes will be held on August 28. The four assembly seats are Nandyal in Andhra Pradesh, Valpoi and Panaji in Goa and Bawana in Delhi. The last date of nomination is August 5, scrutiny of nomination will be done on August 7 and last date of withdrawal of candidates is August 9.

ultraTech Cement sets foot in AP

UltraTech Cement, which has acquired Jaypee Cement’s plants recently, has set foot in Andhra Pradesh with an aim to become the market leader in Coastal Andhra region. UltraTech Cement Ltd. Managing Director K K Maheshwari said, “Andhra Pradesh is a strategic market with huge potential for growth. With this, we will further strengthen our presence in the southern region”. The market sale of cement in coastal Andhra Pradesh is about 10 million tonnes every month.

LuLu group to build convention centre

Middle East-based LuLu Group International will build a world-class international convention centre, a five-star hotel and multiplex at beach-facing APIIC grounds, Harbour Park in Visakhapatnam, on the model of Hyderabad International Trade Expositions (Hitex). In addition to the convention centre, the Vizag’s prestigious project will also have an ultra modern shopping mall. the LuLu Group, which has diversified business activity, including imports, exports, shipping and a hypermarket chain, would complete the project in phases with a total investment of over Rs. 700 crore in 36 months.

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heli-tourism comes to State

Rs 3,600 cr to modernise power sector

Andhra Pradesh is spending Rs 3,600 crore, obtained from the World Bank as a loan, on modernisation of the power sector, according to Power Minister K Kala Venkata Rao. He said a sum of Rs 1,042 crore had been allocated for works under the purview of the APEPDCL, covering Srikakulam, Vizianagaram, Visakhapatnam and the two Godavari districts. The Minister said APEPDCL, with only 4.9 per cent transmission and distribution losses, stood first in the country and efforts were under way to further reduce the losses. Venkata Rao said the State Government had taken up a project to replace 15 lakh inefficient farm pump sets in the state with more efficient ones and also to give solar power pump sets to farmers at a nominal cost. Each solar pump set costs ₹4.5 lakh. He said the state government was also supplying to consumers LED bulbs, LED tubelights and energy-efficient fans at subsidised prices.

green highways in Andhra Pradesh

The National Highways Authority of India has received two proposals from Andhra Pradesh Government for development of greenery along the sides of National Highways. The details of the proposals include Plantation and beautification along National Highways through AP Urban Greening and Beautification Corporation Ltd. and Plantation and maintenance along NH – 44 (Hyderabad – Bangalore section) through Forest Department, Andhra Pradesh. The proposals for plantation and maintenance of 40 km length along NH 7 (Anantpur bypass to Chenekothapalli), 27 km length along NH 16 (Divancheruvu to Gundugolanu) and 60 km along NH 44 (Hyderabad – Bangalore section) have been approved

by NHAI.

Excellence award for tourism stall

The Andhra Pradesh Tourism Department has signed an MoU with Mak Aero Space and Aviation Pvt. Ltd, Delhi, to promote heli-tourism. The initial services will be introduced in Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam and Tirupati.

The helicopter transport services will include joy rides, packages, heli-taxi services, packaging with wedding plans in Tirupati, aerial reconnaissance and disaster management. Initially, a six-seater helicopter (Bell 206 L4 / Bell 407) will be introduced and gradually the number of seats will be increased to realise the full potential of heli-tourism and air-connectivity. The Tourism Department will provide all infrastructural support, including helipads in the areas of operation, passengerholding area, control room and security/screening

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facility to the Mak Aero Space and Aviation to carry out the activities.

Andhra Pradesh Tourism has won Excellence Award for the ‘Best stall decoration’ in the recent Business Luxury Travel Mart (BLTM) + Travel Tourism Fair (TTF). The event was held on July 14 and 15 at Hyderabad International Convention Centre. The AP Tourism, through a stall acquired there, showcased its growth prospects to stakeholders, visitors and delegates. Several stakeholders and delegates interacted and exchanged information on Andhra Pradesh Tourism policy and investment opportunities. The department is aggressively promoting investments into the State offering an attractive and investor-friendly tourism policy.

grand ‘Jala harathi’ programmes in August

Special pujas will be conducted at every water body as

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CM handing over letter of appointment to P V Sindhu

Pv Sindhu appointed group-I officer

Olympic silver medallist P V Sindhu has been appointed a GroupI officer in Andhra Pradesh. Chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu handed over the government order to the Rio Olympics silver winning shuttler recently. Presenting the offer letter, Naidu said he was hopeful that Sindhu would bring more medals to the country in future. He had promised a Group-I post to Sindhu when she won the silver medal in Olympics. Accordingly, she was appointed the deputy collector. The State Government has issued orders in this regard.

part of the “Jala Harathi” programme in August, announced Minister for Water Resources Devineni Umamaheswara Rao. ‘Jala Harathi’ would be conducted in all villages and mandals to celebrate the success of the water conservation and management programmes of the State Andhra Pradesh Government. The Chief Minister would also participate in the programme, he said. The groundwater reserves in the State were getting recharged rapidly because of the foresight of Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, who, he said, campaigned for the excavation of farms ponds and other water conservation measures.

Petroleum institute in Andhra Pradesh

A bill providing for setting up of the Indian Institute of Petroleum and Energy in Andhra Pradesh was introduced in the Lok Sabha. The institute would be established in Visakhapatnam district in pursuance of the central government’s commitment for setting up a petroleum university under the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014. The Indian Institute of Petroleum and Energy Bill, 2017 was introduced by Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan. To be declared as an institution of national importance, the institute would provide high quality education and conduct advance research in all aspects relating to the conventional hydrocarbons.

‘vajrapath’ launched

Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu launched Vajrapath app developed by ISRO to alert people on thunder and lightning. The people using the app can get alerts on location of lightning, on their mobiles. The app alerts people through three circles in red, orange and yellow colours. The red circle indicates danger zone with the possibility of lightning strikes within 8 kms, orange circle indicates the possibility of lightning in 8 to 1 5 km radius and the yellow circle indicates the possibility of lightning in 15 to 30 km radius. The BSNL came forward to

AUGUST 2017

alert people through messages in English and Telugu during natural calamities.

Corporation heads appointed

The State government has appointed chairmen for different corporations in the State. Vijayawada (West) MLA Jaleel Khan (Krishna district) has been appointed Chairman of the AP Wakf Board, while Dr. S. Md. Nouman (Kurnool) is the Chairman of the A.P. Urdu Academy. J.R. Pushaparaj (Guntur) has been made Chairman of the State Food Commission and Ambika Krishna (West Godavari) the Chairman of the AP Film, Television and Theatre Development Corporation.

Somisetti Venkateswarlu (Kurnool) is the Chairman of the Kurnool Urban Development Authority and G. Narasimha Yadav (Chittoor), the Chairman of the Tirupati Urban Development Authority. G. Erickson Babu (Prakasam) has been appointed Chairman of Lidcap and P. Prakasam Naidu (Anantapur) the Chairman of the Meat Development Corporation.

AP’s best practices recognised

Among the Good Governance Initiatives listed by the Centre, 3 best practices from AP have made it to the list of 20 initiatives. These are i. Loan charge creation module under Excellence in Govenrment process Reengineering ii. Aadhaar-enabled PDS under Outstanding Performance in Citizen-centric Service Delivery and iii. Gyan Era Online learning mgmt system under Innovative Use of ICT. “We'll continue working to become best state,” IT Minister N Lokesh tweeted.

Tenali gets first auditorium

Andhra Paris, the town known for its artistic temperament,, has now got an indoor auditorium. ‘Tenali Ramakrishna Kavi Kalakshetram’, with 450 seats, is a multi-purpose hall with facilities for staging plays and cultural programmes in Tenali. Inaugurating the auditorium built at a cost of Rs. 7 crore, AP Assembly Speaker Kodela Siva Prasada Rao said arts should be given proper priority as v

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chief minister’s

social network

CM Chandrababu Naidu is an active social media user. Many of you have been actively following his activities with admiration. Here are a few snapshots from his Twitter account and those on him.

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IN PICS

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Pic 1: Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu seeking blessings from His Holiness DalaiLama on the latter’s 82nd birthday.

Pic 2: The CM felicitated well-known film director K Viswanath on the occasion of his being awarded Dada Saheb Phalke Award for his contribution to cinema.

Pic 3: CM and IT Minister Nara Lokesh with Accenture India Chairman, Rekha M Menon where they discussed the e-Governance as well as digital initiatives being undertaken by RTG.

Pic 4: Chief Minister inaugurated the Command Control Room & held an interactive session with Community Police Officers at Kuppam.

Pic 5: The CM at a function organised during the installation of the statue of classical music maestro Mangalampalli Balamuralikrishna on the latter’s 87th birth anniversary in Vijayawada.

Pic 6: Naidu discussing sports development in Andhra Pradesh with Pullela Gopichand, the chief national coach for Badminton.

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AP Eng Aug 2017_Layout 1 01-08-2017 16:30 Page 36

Regd. No. H-HD-1082/2016-18 Published on: 01/08/2017

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