Indian-origin man drives solar auto-rickshaw from India to UK

September 14, 2016

London, Sep 14: Indian-origin engineer Naveen Rabelli drove for 10,000-km on a solar-powered auto-rickshaw from India to London to create awareness of alternative mobility solutions for passenger vehicles in Asian and European countries using renewable energy.

solar

The auto, also known as 'tuk-tuk' in some parts of the world, had set off from Bengaluru in February.

Rabelli, 35, arrived at Dover ferry crossing in the UK yesterday, five days later than expected because he was robbed during a toilet break last week as he approached the ferry crossing from France.

The diesel-powered autorickshaw cost him USD 1,500 to buy, on which he spent an additional USD 11,500 to get it ready for the zero-emission adventure, entitled 'Tejas'.

"The purpose of this journey is to create awareness of alternative mobility solutions for passenger vehicles in Asian and European countries using renewable energy – mix of solar and electricity," explains Rabelli, who refused to let the robbery in France get him down.

"My passport and wallet were stolen when I parked to go to the toilet at a fast food restaurant at Sarcelles, about 45 km west of Paris.

I reported it to the police, where there were some language issues but after a few hours they found an officer who could speak English.

They are very helpful and sorry when they heard that I was about to finish my trip," he said.

India-born Rabelli, who now holds an Australian passport, was able to acquire an emergency travel document and complete his journey.

He plans to drive up to Buckingham Palace in London this week and also attend the Low Carbon Vehicle Event 2016 in Millbrook, Bedfordshire, tomorrow and Thursday.

"The aim was to highlight an entirely Indian solution to the world and show the benefits of using a prototype that is reliable, feasible and affordable," said Rabelli.

The specially-modified autorickshaw, which is equipped with a bed, food cupboard and solar-powered cooker, was shipped from India to Bandar Abbas in Iran from where he kick-started the overland mission to drive through Iran, Turkey, Bulgaria, Serbia, Austria, Switzerland, Germany and France before arriving in the UK.

His website solartuktuk.com offers people the chance to track his journey and donate to his cause of promoting green transport.

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Agencies
January 26,2020

New Delhi, Jan 26: Google on Sunday marked India's 71st Republic Day by dedicating a doodle illustrating the country's rich cultural heritage that permeates and unites the diverse nation.

From its world-famous landmarks like the Taj Mahal and India Gate, to the wide array of fauna such as its national bird (the Indian peafowl), to classical arts, textiles, and dances, the doodle, designed by Singapore-based artist Meroo Seth, brings together the rich cultural heritage of the country.

Republic Day marks the completion of India's transition towards becoming an independent republic after its constitution came into effect. The governing document had taken nearly three years of careful deliberation to finalise, and its eventual enactment was joyfully celebrated across the country.

While the Constitution was adopted by the Indian Constituent Assembly on 26 November 1949, it came into effect on January 26 -- a day when Declaration of Indian Independence (Purna Swaraj) was proclaimed by the Indian National Congress back in 1929, as opposed to the Dominion status offered by the British Regime.

Festivities embody the essence of diversity found in one of the world's most populous nations, celebrated over a three-day period with cultural events displaying national pride.

Last year's doodle on Republic Day, designed by artist Reshidev RK, had featured Rashtrapati Bhavan in the background along with a display of the country's iconic monuments and heritage.

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Agencies
July 18,2020

New Delhi, Jul 18: India's national cybersecurity agency CERT-in, has warned people of credit card skimming spreading across the world through e-commerce platforms.

Attackers are typically targeting e-commerce sites because of their wide presence, popularity and the environment LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySQL, and PHP), the Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) said in a notice on Thursday.

Recently, attackers targeted sites which were hosted on Microsoft's IIS server running with the ASP.NET web application framework, it said.

Some of the sites affected by the attack were found to be running ASP.NET version 4.0.30319, which is no longer officially supported by Microsoft and may contain multiple vulnerabilities, CERT-In said.

The notice also included a list of best practices for website developers including the use of the latest version of ASP.NET web framework, IIS web server and database server.

The advisory is based on research by Malwarebytes which found that this skimming campaign likely began sometime in April this year.

Credit card skimming has become a popular activity for cybercriminals over the past few years, and the increase in online shopping during the pandemic means additional business for them, too, Malwarebytes said in a blog post, adding that attackers do not need to limit themselves to the most popular e-commerce platforms.

Researchers from global cybersecurity and anti-virus brand Kaspersky had warned in December last year that more cybercriminal groups will target online payment processing systems in 2020. 

It said that over the past couple of years, so-called JS-skimming (the method of stealing of payment card data from online stores), has gained immense popularity among attackers. 

Kaspersky researchers in their report said they are currently aware of at least 10 different actors involved in these type of attacks.

Their number will continue to grow during the next year, the report said, adding that the most dangerous attacks will be on companies that provide services such as e-commerce as-a-service, which will lead to the compromise of thousands of companies.

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News Network
March 13,2020

Bengaluru, Mar 13: In the wake of fresh cases of Covid-19 reported in Karnataka, Infosys Foundation chairperson Sudha Murty has urged the Karnataka government to take steps to shut malls and theatres, saying the coronavirus multiplies in air-conditioned areas.

In a letter to the government, she said preventive measures should be taken to control the spread of coronovirus before it gets worse.

Murty, who also leads the State government-constituted Karnataka Tourism Task Force, said she has discussed the current situation with Chairman and Executive Director of Narayana Health, Devi Prasad Shetty.

She suggested closure of all schools and colleges with immediate effect, malls, theatres and “all air-conditioned areas where the virus multiplies”, and allow only essential services like pharmacy, grocery and petrol bunks.

“It is not scientifically proven that the virus dies in high temperature,” she said pointing to spread of the virus -- despite heat -- in peak summer in Australia and Singapore, which have “summer all 12 months”.

“I request you to vacate one government hospital with at least 500 - 700 beds for this purpose (to deal with coronavirus cases), which requires oxygen lines and pipes,” she said.

“Infosys Foundation, the philanthropic and CSR arm of software major Infosys, would do the civil work and Devi Shetty has agreed to share resources like medical equipment,” she added.

“We would like to work with the government proactively so that we can prevent this as early as possible,” Sudha Murty said.

The total number of confirmed coronavirus positive cases in Karnataka is five, including the 76-year old man from Kalaburagi who died on Tuesday night.

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