Marking the Earth Day on April 22, the Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM) and US-based Singularity University (SU) have joined hands to launch Global Impact Challenge (GIC) in India, inspiring startups to find solutions to address global challenges in Learning and Environment.
Singularity University (SU) is a global community using exponential technologies to tackle the world’s biggest challenges.
The aim of the GIC is to foster moonshot innovations and startups that positively impact the lives of people, with an ability to scale and impact a billion people worldwide in 10 years.
Titled the “India Global Impact Challenge”, this aims to inspire solutions that address Learning and Environmental challenges. For Learning in particular, ideas that address skill shortage in emerging technologies and adoption of 21st century skill sets among the youth are invited. For Environment, ideas related to solid waste management in urban and rural areas, air and water pollution in cities are required.
“GIC gives a unique platform for innovators to come out with solutions to problems in two key sectors namely environment and education using modern technologies,” said Dr Sji Gopinath, CEO, KSUM.
Applicants can submit ideas to solve these problems being faced by India and other developing countries.
The winner will be awarded the prize to attend the 10-week transformational SU Ventures Incubator Programme, starting in September, 2018. The 10-week program will be fully sponsored and hosted in Silicon Valley. The goal for the program is to develop startups with a potential of making positive impact globally.
“It will provide an exciting platform for innovators across the nation to use their innovative skills to address these challenges in our society,” said Dr Saji Gopinath.
“One of the unique capabilities of industry 4.0 is that they could find affordable solutions to largescale social problems. These exponential technologies could be effectively used to address the key problems of our society like pollution, water scarcity, food safety illiteracy etc”, he added.
The GIC finals will be a week-long event where startups and innovators across the country come forward with their innovative ideas and projects on exponential technology to make a global impact. It is expected to have more than 3000 ideas and participants from across the country. Industries which wish to be a part of GIC can contact at
Deadline for application is May 31, 2018. Shortlist of startups will be announced on June 8, 2018 and a bootcamp for finalists will be held from July 2 to 6, 2018. The winners will be announced on July 7.
Is the main duty of Kerala water authority to bring water to every home through pipe line or in plastic bottles?
Has the packages drinking water project has been really been dropped?
According to the recent order by the authority, the project was stalled by the higher officials. This was actually revealed by malayalam manorama in their metro edition on 20th of April 2018.
The project launched in the year 2016 was aimed at providing low-cost packaged drinking water.
In a Consumer state like Kerala the packaged drinking water project was hugely welcomed by the public and it is expected to become an in demand product just like Milma.
After 2 years of initial work in to building the plant and implementing other final works for launching the project and when efforts were on for selecting a name for the brand, further works has been halted by the higher authorities .
The reason cited by the authority is that the main objective of the organisation is to bring clean water to the masses using traditional methods and maintaining hygeine.
Is this new order been issued in favour of companies which are on the sale and distribution of packages drinking water?
This is definitely a common doubt that comes in the mind of any individual.
But it is a fact that government has not withdrawn from this project and it hasn’t got hijacked in any manner.
The Hon. Minister himself Mathew T Thomas has told that the project is not yet dropped and it has been delayed due to the fufillment of some other immediate priorities in the authority. Moreover he has also informed that the project will be commissioned this year itself
The packaged drinking water project will definitely be a major source of income for the water authority, a government department reeling on the shortage of funds.
What do you think about t this developmen?. Do you smell any foul play?
Forwarded Whatsapp Messages has triggered the recent hartal which has turned violent.
A week of relentless job by the intelligence department of Kerala and diligent efforts by the Kerala cyber police has culminated with the arrests of those who were actually behind the social media hartal declaration on last Monday.
It has came to the limelight that 5 young men who got expelled previously from BJP and RSS has turned out to be the culprits.
Amarnath Biju, an individual from ottakkal railway station in Thenmala, Kollam was the person behind the Hartal declaration.
Police has told that the accused was an active member of BJP, RSS, ABVP and for the past several months he was not affiliated in any manner with the organisation.
The message for conducting a Hartal and asking whatsapp group members to create violence in the name of a Asifa incident was first appeared on whatsapp groups named voice of youth and justice for sisters.
According to police, once Amarnath Biju for expelled from RSS he was using social media to tarnish the image of the outfit by creating and sharing posts against them in the digital media.
It was during this time the Kathuva incident occurred. He has seen a political mileage in the incident against RSS and started posting based on the incident in the groups.
When it seemed that these type of posts are getting support from the larger public he created 2 groups the voice of the youth and justice for sisters.
Moreover he has added another 4 as the admins of the group and started creating local groups in all districts of Kerala using the same name.
As the groups got more followers and active participation from the members there were suggestion from the members to involve directly in the Society by organising protests like hartals and thus it got declared which affected the normal life in Kerala.
It has also been found that many voice clips were also shared in the groups after the hartal to turn violent and disrupt the law and order situation in the state.
An investigation following an active whatsapp group in the same name from Malappuram district of Kerala has led to the arrest of those in Trivandrum and Kollam who were the mastermind behind all the whatsapp operations.
Director of intelligence in Kerala.
The director of intelligence is in Kerala to assess the situation after the intelligence report that some extremists groups has tried to create havoc in Kerala by delacring hartal on last Monday.
Rajiv Jain the director of intelligence will be meeting with loknath behra to discuss the situation.
What came to limelight? Is Kerala becoming a a fertile home ground for religious extremists When the major political parties blames modi and his political outfit, illegal yet unlawful activities undertaken by people on the otherside of the society is getting ignored. This is actually acting as a catalyst for the emergence and flourishing of these outfits
Mainstream political parties has to play a major role.
Earlier about a decade back, major political parties like the Communist party of India and the Indian Nation Congress had a strong grip over the society especially among youths.
But now a days those political parties have little or no control over the youth who are being dragged on to these kind of extremist groups in Kerala.
These political parties which were active in the renaissance period of Kerala should be playing a major role in the state to bring in youths for the upliftment of the society who are divided in the name od religion and caste in this digital world.
The youth in kerala is also looking forward for a remarkable positive move from these political parties as well.
Whatsapp Groups getting deleted in kerala and the admins are on the run
Are you running a whatsapp group which talks violence, shows rigorous political affinity and religious extremism or a member of a group in which you don’t know the members personally then there is chance of you getting a call from the near by police station enquiring on the whereabouts of your participation in the group or the members of the group
Immediately exit from that group or ask your group members not to shareposts of extremist nature and that urges for violence.
Last week has seen an unexpected clean drive among the whatsapp users in Kerala.
Many groups which were created in past couple of years got deleted and the admins are on the flee.
In the wake of recent hartal which was declared via whatsapp that hit the normal life in let and which has tuneed violent in many parts of Kerala especially in the Malabar region, the intelligence department of Kerala has ordered a special investigation to find the culprit behind whole incidents.
Even though the criminals behind the Hartal declaration was arrested and charged, many whatsapp groups admins were contacted and asked to report in nearby police stations as part of the investigation.
This has led to massive deletion of whatsapp groups which were spreading religious extremism and violent political views.
The news of police enquiry with regard to the social media hartal declaration has spread like wildstomrm among whatsapp users and many groups especially many alumni groups of various colleges and schools also got deleted.
Hartal affected normal life
The unintimated and undeclared hartal organised via social media has on 16th of April 2018 has affected the normal life in about 8 Districts in Kerala.
According to North Zone DGP of Kerala, Some organisations have deliberately tried to create havoc in some parts of the state in the name of showing solidarity towards the Kathua and Unno Victims by declaring a Hartal via Social Media.
People who were behind organizing the Hartal were aiming at creating communal violence in the state, DGP Rajesh Dewan has said.
Earlier there were intelligence reports that there is a chance of creating communal violence in Districts like Kasargod, Kannur, Kozhikode, Wayanad, Malappuram and Palakkad.
According to DGP the people who were involved in Hartal were pre-planned to target the vehicles and shops of a particular community.
About 500 people have been arrested as part of the Hartal from various parts of Kerala out of which 300 are from Northern Part of Kerala.
By and large, those who got arrested were the members of SDPI, Popular Front and Welfare Party and it is expected that more arrests will be registered in the coming days.
The home department of Kerala has already declared that those who were arrested as part of these untoward incidents will not be provided Police Clearance Certificate.
The DGP of Kerala has also told that several precautions have been taken by the police department to be more vigilant in these type of unexpected situations.
The police department has come to a conclusion that some organisations inimical to the communal harmony of Kerala and individuals having an affinity towards banned outfits have tried to marginalise and turn violent against a particular section of the society.
DGP has also said that these type of activities will put a strain on the secular credentials of the society and the names of those who were arrested as part of Hartal will be shared with all police stations in the state.
Rajesh Dewan, the DGP has also revealed, when hartal was declared, police has contacted the leaders of major political parties to know whether there is any support from their side and all the political parties have rejected their support and have disowned it.
State Police Chief Loknath Behera has entrusted the investigation to a team comprising intelligence officials and technical experts to further probe the Hartal declaration and the incidents which occurred in the aftermath.
Forwarded Whatsapp Messages has triggered the recent hartal which has turned violent.