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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Woman in labour dies while being transported in ambulance lacking oxygen support
Palghar (PTI): A 26-year-old pregnant woman from Maharashtra's Palghar district died while being taken to hospital in an ambulance which was not equipped with oxygen and other necessary facilities, authorities said on Wednesday.
Palghar's Civil Surgeon Dr Ramdas Marad said the health department has repeatedly raised concerns with authorities about the lack of specialised ambulances in the region.
The woman, who was in labour pain, was brought to a rural hospital here in a critical state on Tuesday evening.
"If she had come earlier, we could have saved her," the health official said.
Palghar Lok Sabha member Dr Hemant Savara said the health department should take necessary action into the matter and ambulance services should have adequate facilities.
Pinki Dongarkar, resident of Sarni village, went into labour on Tuesday evening.
Her family immediately rushed her to Kasa rural hospital, but due to the critical nature of her condition, the staff there referred her to neighbouring Silvassa city (in the Union territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu) for further medical attention.
However, despite frantic attempts by her family to secure an ambulance equipped with oxygen and necessary medical facilities through the '108' emergency service, their requests went unanswered, a health official said.
They were eventually provided with a regular ambulance by the Kasa rural hospital.
While en route to Silvassa, the woman succumbed to complications and the foetus also did not survive, health officials confirmed.
Dr Marad said the woman was brought to the Kasa rural hospital in a critical state.
According to him, the woman suffered from a condition called Intrauterine Fetal Death (IUFD), where the foetus died in the womb. The exact time of the foetal death could not be determined.
Upon arrival at the hospital, the woman was semi-conscious and showed signs of severe infection.
On issues with the 108 emergency ambulance services, which are privately operated, Dr Marad said the ambulance might have been unavailable due to high demand.
The health department has repeatedly raised concerns with authorities about the lack of specialised ambulances in the region, he said.
Talking to PTI, Palghar BJP MP Savara said, "This is a very sad incident. The health department should take necessary action in this connection. Also, such an incident should not happen in future for this reason."
"The ambulance services should have adequate oxygen and cardiac support facilities. Also, a doctor is required to accompany the patient. I will follow it up with the government," he said.
CPI (M) leader Vinod Nikole, the newly-elected assembly member from Dahanu in Palghar, said he had raised the issue in the House during his last term, but no action was taken.
He criticised the government over "indifference" towards improving healthcare facilities, particularly in tribal areas, and accused the state of prioritising other programmes, such as the Ladki Bahin Yojana, over the urgent needs of healthcare in rural regions.
