PM Modi gives awards to winning teams of first India-Singapore Hackathon
Singapore, Nov 15 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday felicitated the six winning teams, including three from India, of the first India-Singapore Hackathon, a platform for the youth of the two countries to harness and showcase their innovations.
The top six teams, three each from India and Singapore, participated in a 36-hour long Hackathon Grande Finale here.
"PM Narendra Modi met and felicitated the winning teams of India Singapore Hackathon, agreed to during the visit of PM to Singapore in June 2018," Ministry of External Affairs spokesman Raveesh Kumar tweeted.
"Happy to have met innovators who won prizes in the first ever Singapore-India Hackathon. They talked about their extensive work. I was impressed by their passion and commitment towards solving problems our world faces," Modi said.
Prime Minister Modi presented the awards to the winning teams at an awards ceremony which was also attended by Education Minister of Singapore Ong Ye Kung.
The teams were chosen after a final pitching session. First prize of SGD 10000, second prize of SGD 6000 and third prize of SGD 4000 was announced for each of the three winners from India and Singapore.
The winning teams from India were IIT Kharagpur, NIT, Trichy and MIT College of Engineering, Pune, the Indian High Commission in Singapore said.
The winning teams from Singapore comprised Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD), it said in a statement.
"Platforms like the Singapore-India Hackathon serve as excellent opportunities for our youngsters to showcase their work. They also serve as forums to learn about pioneering innovations by youngsters from other nations and institutes. A win-win for our students!" Modi said in a tweet.
During his official visit to Singapore in June, Modi proposed to his Singaporean counterpart Lee Hsien Loong that India and Singapore should organise a joint Hackathon to harness and showcase the innovation potential of their youth.
The proposal was welcomed by Prime Minister Lee.
The Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in Singapore and the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) conducted the hackathon that included solving eight problem statements.
Twenty teams, each from both the countries comprising university and college students selected on nationwide basis, participated in the event to harness and showcase the innovation potential of the youth. Each of these teams had three students and one mentor.
From India, an 83-member delegation comprising 60 students, 20 mentors and three officials of the AICTE visited Singapore for the event which Modi said is a "boost to technology, innovation and youth power".
The eight 'Problems Statements' presented to the participants were in the areas of mapping, synchronised output of diverse social media, shared digital identity verification, effective number estimate, space management and allotment, effective learning and personal security.
Prime Minister Modi also met the National Cadet Corps (NCC) cadets Thursday who were in Singapore as a part of a cadet exchange programme.
"Spent time with NCC cadets, who got the opportunity to come to Singapore as a part of a cadet exchange programme. They shared their memorable learnings and experiences with me," he said.
Prime Minister Modi is in Singapore for the two-day visit to the country. He began his visit on Wednesday by delivering his keynote address at the prestigious Fintech Festival.
He also held separate bilateral meetings with the premiers of Singapore, Australia and Thailand and discussed ways to further strengthen ties, including in areas of trade, defence and security.
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Virudhunagar firecracker unit blast: Toll climbs to 25, Rs 5.5 lakh ex gratia announced
Virudhunagar (Tamil Nadu) (PTI): With most bodies charred beyond recognition, identification remains difficult, police said on Monday, as the toll in the massive explosion at a fireworks unit near Kattanarpatti here rose to 25.
The Virudhunagar district administration has announced Rs 5.5 lakh ex gratia to the kin of deceased.
The accident is one of the deadliest industrial disasters in the region in recent years.
"Bodies were so badly charred that we were able to identify mostly with jewellery that the victims were wearing," a police official told PTI.
He said that the families have not yet claimed the bodies due to the uncertainly in the identities.
The factory owner is absconding, he added.
The accident occurred at the Vanaja firecracker unit, owned by one Muthumanickam, which functions under the Vachakarapatti police station limits.
The unit is reportedly licensed by the Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation (PESO), Nagpur.
Post-mortem reports have established that the 25 victims, include 22 women and three men, the police official added.
Eight workers, mostly women, are critically injured with 60 per cent burn injuries. Twelve others, including eight policemen, were injured in a second blast on Sunday evening while rescue operations were underway.
Rescue operations were severely hampered for hours, as unexploded materials continued to detonate.
A second blast at 7.20 pm, triggered as an earthmover was clearing debris, caused chaos and injured several responders, including a revenue official.
Meanwhile, sources said about 1,000 people, including the families of the victims and residents of nearby villages, are threatening a road roko, demanding the arrest of the owner of the factory.
Local eyewitnesses, including Ranganathan from the nearby Seervaikarampatti village, described hearing a massive blast that sent "thick black smoke" into the sky.
"Nothing was recognisable. We saw bodies being loaded four at a time into vehicles," he told PTI Videos.
Many of the deceased were from Seervaikarampatti village, with residents claiming that at least 20 victims belonged to their village.
Among those killed was 46-year-old Indrani, a veteran worker of 25 years.
"My mother was the sole breadwinner. My father is disabled and stays home. I have an MSc degree, but I’m working at a petrol bunk to help out, and we haven't even paid my brother's school fees yet," said Madhubala, Indrani’s daughter, while pleading for government employment assistance.
Virudhunagar Collector N O Sukhaputra confirmed that the unit was operating without permission on a rest day.
Preliminary findings suggest the blast originated in a chemical mixing shed, where nearly 40 workers were busy making crackers, a violation of safety norms that typically limit occupancy to four workers per shed.
"Had these workers followed primary safety norms, the casualties could have been minimal," a senior official stated.
Chief Minister M K Stalin has ordered a high-level probe and directed ministers to oversee relief efforts.
The tragedy follows a similar accident in Vembakottai just days earlier, which claimed four lives, intensifying calls for stricter enforcement of safety regulations in the district’s firecracker hub.
The explosion occurred at approximately 3.15 pm on Sunday. Although the fireworks industry is officially shut on Sundays, over 100 workers were reportedly engaged in production.
Later in the day, Sukhaputra said Rs 5.5 lakh ex gratia each has been finalised for the families of 25 persons killed in the explosion.
Speaking to PTI Videos, he said the ex gratia cheques are ready for immediate distribution to the legal heirs.
"Out of 25 deaths, we have finished conducting post-mortems on 22 bodies. Already we have cheques (that) are ready,” Sukhaputra said.
The announcement followed intense demands from grieving relatives for financial security and government employment.
