Research is the backbone of Universities: Faizal Kottikollon
KEF Holdings establishes R&D Centre at MIT, Manipal
Manipal, Dec 15: “India is growing and the platform for nation building is a university. And, for the universities to move forward, the backbone is research,” said Mr Faizal E. Kottikollon, Founder and Chairman, KEF Holdings, UAE after inaugurating the MIT-KEF R&D Centre at Manipal Institute of Technology here on Saturday.
The Centre is the brainchild of Mr Faizal an alumnus of MIT.
It was in 2012 that when he came to attend a alumni reunion , he shared the idea of starting a research centre for pre-fabricated building material with Manipal Academy of Higher Education. That idea took birth today with the inauguration of the first phase.
The Centre is a joint venture between MAHE and KEF Holdings, UAE, a multinational company that specializes in innovative offsite construction technology. The total investment for the Centre is worth Rs.16 crores with equal contributions from both partners.
The R&D Centre has been established under the aegis of Faizal and Shabana Foundation.
Later, at the valedictory of the two-day 3rd Global Alumni meet of Manipal Academy of Higher Education at KMC Greens, Mr Faizal and his wife, Ms Shabana were felicitated.
The concept of “manufacturing buildings” was brought to India by KEF in 2014. They established office in Bangalore and have since designed several buildings. All Indira Canteens in Karnataka have been designed and built by KEF.
“The idea is to design and then manufacture the components in a factory environment. We introduce robotics into this industry. And in the last three years we have grown by million dollars. For me it is a great opportunity to involve my team and your professors here and bring this concept to reality. If we can manufacture aircraft and cars, why not buildings,” Mr Faizal reasoned.
It takes years to make building, but this concept is much faster. For example he said, “This building is of 50,000 square feet and after designing and manufacturing, it can be built in about two months,” he said.
The Centre aims at providing a cutting-edge research and development facility to upcoming Civil Engineering and Architecture students. It will be equipped with state-of-the-art prestressing lab along with material testing lab.
Director MIT, Dr Srikanth Rao welcomed the gathering and said, “We look forward for the research work to start and for the results of research to benefit students and faculty. Present on the occasion were Mrs Vasanti R Pai, Trustee MAHE Trust and wife of Chancellor, Dr Ramdas M Pai, Dr Ranjan Pai, Chairman, MEMG, Bengaluru, Pro Chancellor, Dr H.S. Ballal, Vice Chancellor, Dr H Vinod Bhat Shabana Faizal, Co Founder and Vice Chairperson of KEF Holdings and other officials of the MAHE and KEF Holdings including the CEO of KEF, Mr Richard Pattle.
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Power tariffs under BESCOM to rise from May 1
Bengaluru (PTI): Power bills for consumers under the Bangalore Electricity Supply Company Limited (BESCOM) will go up from May 1, following an order issued by the Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission (KERC) on Friday.
The hike comes after KERC allowed the BESCOM to recover a revenue deficit of Rs 2,068 crore incurred in 2024-25, from the consumers.
As a result, for every unit of electricity consumed in 2024-25, the customers will be charged an additional 56 paise, it said.
"BESCOM shall calculate, for each of the active consumers of FY2024-25 the amount to be recovered based on their actual energy consumption during FY2024-25. Such amount shall be recovered during FY 2026-27 in equal monthly instalments, to be called as 'FY25 True up Charges', commencing from the first meter reading date falling on or after 1 May 2026 and concluding with the reading date ending on 30 April 2027," the order said.
"It is further ordered that BESCOM shall maintain a separate head of account, allocated for the purpose, to record the adjustment of the said amount to ensure full recovery of the deficit," it added.
Similarly Chamundeshwari Electricity Supply Corporation Limited (CESC) has also recorded a revenue deficit of Rs 121.71 crore and can collect an additional 15 paisa per unit for consumption in 2024-25, official sources said.
