Latest news with #IIA
The Hindu
9 hours ago
- Science
- The Hindu
IIA researchers use commercial dish TV antennas to measure Sun's magnetic field
A team of scientists and engineers from the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA) radio astronomy group has used a novel technique to measure the Sun's magnetic field using commercial dish TV antennas. The technique involves measuring the magnetic field in the solar chromosphere, the region between the Sun's photosphere and corona, using the commercial dish TV antennas. The team demonstrated the technique recently. According to the team, the antennas operate at a frequency of 11.2 GHz, which is in the radio astronomy band of the electromagnetic spectrum. They said that this novel and unique effort has paved the way for regular measurement of the Sun's magnetic field from its surface to the outer layers of its atmosphere. 'Measurement of the magnetic field in the solar chromosphere is a key link to establish the connection between the Sun's surface and its corona from where the space weather disturbances originate. We are glad to have established a comparatively low-cost facility in the institute's Radio Astronomy Field Station in Gauribidanur for this purpose,' R. Ramesh, senior IIA professor and in charge of the Gauribidanur radio astronomy field station, told The Hindu. Spurring other experiments Prof. Ramesh said that the affordable set-up is expected to spur the educational institutions in the country to establish a similar facility on their campus, thereby paving the way for affordable astronomy that can provide valuable scientific quality data in addition to being a test bed to develop new technology within the country. Students from BMS College of Engineering, Bengaluru, and Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetam, Bengaluru Campus, were involved in the set-up in Gauribidanur as part of their academic project work. He said the set-up will cost ₹20 lakh. 'This is a paltry sum compared to the budget required to establish a similar facility for measuring the Sun's magnetic field via conventional optical astronomy techniques, either from ground or space platforms,' he added.
Time of India
a day ago
- Health
- Time of India
Free health camp held on MSME Day
A free health check-up camp was organised on MSME Day at the AMA Herbal premises on Talkatora Road for employees of AMA Herbal and the Indian Industries Association (IIA). Conducted by Apollomedics Hospital, the camp benefited over 100 employees and included general consultations, eye exams, blood sugar and blood pressure checks, ECGs, as well as diet and physiotherapy advice. AMA Herbal co-founder Yawar Ali Shah emphasised the importance of preventive care for employee well-being. Apollomedics CEO Mayank Suman said the camp also aimed to raise awareness about healthy lifestyle practices, including proper diet, regular exercise, and stress management.
Forbes
7 days ago
- Business
- Forbes
AI, The Customer, And The Worker
Abstract image of businessman walking in VR environment. 3D generated image. How do we measure the changes that AI brings? There are many facets from which to view the disruption. Some, of course, are focusing on the customer, and what it means to sell in the AI age. A panel at IIA showed us some of these insights, as notable participants came together to talk about strategic AI outcomes. 'I think we all know that AI is disrupting traditional customer relationships and really the experiences of how people interact engage with brands, products and services,' said Lindsay Ellerby, in opening the panel, which included Chris McKay, CEO of Imaginative, Joanna Pena Bickley, CEO of and Eric Feige, Managing Director of Strategy at VShift. In exploring some of the ways that LLMs work and what that brings to business, McKay talked about trust, using the example of early spell check tools evolving into autocorrect, and suggesting that businesses should build up to more extreme disruptions. 'You can't introduce a device and expect somebody to trust it immediately. There has to be that ramp up of you educating them as to why you're doing it. You have to establish trust to know that the data that you're using in your models are reputable and ethically sourced. You have to establish trust in knowing that the content that you're generating has a certain level of accuracy that they can depend on.' McKay also suggested that originality is key. Not every product, he said, needs to have a chatbot, and being able to bring a new utility or idea helps. it's important to ensure you're bringing your designers to the table now more than ever. Don't just think you need to adopt the latest, most capable model, throw it at a product, and you're going to have a global increase.' 'Marrying up the business objectives that formerly might have been conversions or hard dollar metrics and extending it to the human value, the wellness and the condition of that constituent, (is) critically important for the data scientist, as well as the designer, as well as the product owner, to work in harmony together,' Feige added. In other introspection on our shared experience, the panel considered the importance of new and different interface designs. That's something that we have been hearing a lot about as we note that our interfaces have been fairly static over a couple of decades. 'I think that over the last 15 years, we kind of really only focused on the visual input, and visual input has actually led to significant cognitive overload,' Bickley said. 'It actually, when you get down into the science of it, is an enormous contributor in why we have an epidemic of loneliness in our country and in the world right now. So the importance of multimodality is super important today.' Noting a kind of 'space race' in customer interactions right now, the panel went over some ideas about how to innovate and avoid 'echo chambers,' things that may end up being immensely helpful to our MIT students, for example. They talked about expectations, and disruptive tech, and how people don't wake up in the morning thinking about what they need, specifically, but with a more vague sense of intent. What I heard coming out of this panel was a thoughtful look at where we are and where we're going, in these halcyon days of AI disruption. We keep hearing more from experts and people in the know, people with a front-row seat to the change. Speaking of which, the panel also talked quite a bit about smaller, agile teams, which begs the question: where are all of these jobless people going? It's a serious question, and from people like my friend Jeremy Wertheimer, to others in public administration or showbiz, for example, we're attentive to the concerns of people who need work. But from a business standpoint, this also illuminated how an enterprise can view the customer in the context of AI capabilities.
Hindustan Times
18-06-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Sitharaman visits project site for infra-red observatory in Ladakh
Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, on Tuesday, visited the project site for national large solar telescope (NLST) near strategic Pangong Lake in Meral area of Ladakh. The finance minister also took to X and related the information. 'Smt @nsitharaman visits the project site for National Large Solar Telescope (NLST), located near the Pangong lake in Merak, Ladakh at an altitude of around 4200m', she wrote on X. NLST is a proposed ground based 2-m class optical and near infra-red (IR) observational facility and the site provides significant periods of coronagraphic skies (high transparency), it read further Dr Annapurni Subramaniam, Director of Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA) was also present. On Sunday, Sitharaman had laid the foundation stone for a mini planetarium and Astro Globe at the Hanle Dark Sky Reserve in the Changthang region of the strategic region. The initiative, sanctioned under the special development package comes at an estimated cost of ₹276.65 lakh and aims to promote scientific education, astro-tourism, stargazing, night sky programs, and generate local employment, said an official spokesperson. At the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre's Major Atmospheric Cherenkov Experiment (MACE) Telescope facility in Hanle, Prof Annapurni Subramaniam, Director of the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA), and Dr K.K. Yadav from the Astrophysical Sciences Division, BARC presented the telescope's current achievements and future plans. Applauding the efforts of IIA and the local community, Sitharaman remarked, 'This project symbolizes a collaborative spirit between the scientific and public community, a true matter of national pride.' She urged the development of programs tailored for the common public to spark interest in astrophysics through hands-on learning and proactively putting out content generated through these scientific centres. During her visit to Hanle, Sitharaman engaged with delegations of anganwadi workers, contractor associations, and BJP members from Nyoma, attentively listening to their concerns. At Rongo, she visited an animal husbandry site where she met with mostly female pashmina goat and yak herders. She distributed goat-shearing machines to support their livelihood. As part of the Dharti Aaba Janbhagidari Abhiyan, Sitharaman interacted with campaign beneficiaries. She also presented a ₹50 lakh cheque to Nyoma nomads under SBI's Corporate Social Responsibility initiative. The departments of sheep and animal husbandry hosted a live demonstration of the nomadic lifestyle. The department of social and tribal welfare showcased a mobile Anganwadi centre for nomadic children and displayed millet-based dishes prepared within the centre.
New Indian Express
11-06-2025
- Business
- New Indian Express
Changes sought in ODA rules to ease building plan approval
BHUBANESWAR: The Indian Institute of Architects (IIA), Odisha Chapter has sought amendments in the Odisha Development Authorities (Planning and Building Standards) Rules to simplify plan approval process for low-risk buildings and make construction regulations more people-centric. IIA Odisha chapter chairperson Swopnadutta Mohanty said the draft Odisha Development Authorities (Planning & Building Standards) Rules, 2025 was submitted to Housing and Urban Development secretary Usha Padhee, on Monday. 'The proposed rules seek to ease procedural hurdles faced by the public during plan approval. Rather than burdening citizens with multiple layers of restrictive regulations, the draft rules aim to empower them through simplified and accessible procedures which will encourage them to comply with the building plan norms during construction,' Mohanty said. Under the draft planning and building standard rules, the department has been proposed to allow plan approval of plots up to 5,500 sq ft in size and buildings up to three-storey by registered architect in single-window service, Mohanty said. Currently, the empanelled architects are allowed to give plan approval for plots up to 3,000 sq ft.
