Kerala man wins Rs 28 cr lottery in Abu Dhabi
Dubai, Jan 3: An Indian expatriate on Thursday won 15 million dirhams in the Big Ticket raffle at the Abu Dhabi airport.
Sarath Purushothaman, who is based in Dubai, was among the eight Indians, out of 10 winners of the Big Ticket raffle draw, the Khaleej Times reported.
Purushothaman was announced as the winner of a bumper prize of 15 million dirhams, it said, adding that it was the highest prize ever given away by Big Ticket.
According to the report, Purushothaman was contacted on the phone after the winning ticket was announced, but he thought it to be a prank.
The organisers had to call him one again to confirm that the announcement was legitimate, it said.
The second price of 100,000 dirhams was won by another Indian expat Jinachandran Vazhoor Narayanan.
Among the 10 winners, eight were Indians at the Thursday's draw, while the other two winners were from Pakistan and Fiji.
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Karnataka approves AI Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru's Electronics City
Bengaluru (PTI): The Karnataka government has approved the establishment of a CoE for AI in Biotechnology at IBAB in Electronics City (Phase 1), here.
The decision, taken by the state Cabinet on Thursday night, marks a significant step towards strengthening Karnataka’s leadership in emerging technologies, IT and biotechnology, Karnataka Minister Priyank Kharge said on Friday.
The centre will be established over four years with a total outlay of Rs 20 crore, in partnership with the Institute of Bioinformatics and Applied Biotechnology and the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Platforms (C-CAMP), according to a statement from the minister’s office.
"Karnataka has consistently been at the forefront of technological innovation. As we enter the decade of deep tech, our focus is on building future-ready capabilities at the intersection of artificial intelligence and biotechnology," Minister for IT and Biotechnology said.
"This Centre of Excellence will strengthen our research ecosystem, accelerate innovation and enable Karnataka to lead in high-impact next-generation technologies," he added.
Priyank added that the state government, through the Departments of Electronics, IT, Biotechnology, and Science & Technology, is actively investing in emerging technologies and taking steps to strengthen Karnataka’s AI and deep-tech ecosystem.
The minister said the Cabinet has also approved the transfer of a 51 per cent stake in the Karnataka Technology & Innovation Museum Foundation (KTIMF) to the Unboxing BLR Foundation.
KTIMF was established by the Government of Karnataka as a not-for-profit organisation to promote innovation, technological awareness, startup culture and public engagement in science and technology, aligned with the state’s vision of building a robust innovation ecosystem, he said.
The Technology & Innovation Museum will be developed at the NGEF campus in Baiyappanahalli, Bengaluru, under a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model, with a total project cost of Rs 100 crore. Of this, Rs 49 crore will be contributed by the state government and Rs 51 crore by the private partner, he said.
