Good morning, Chennai!
🎉 Happy New Year!
🌧️ Today’s weather: High: 26 ℃ | Low: 25 ℃ | Cloudy weather with the chance of some rain.
🧐 Did you know? An architect and engineer named Havilland conceptualised and built a 2-mile-long bulwark to protect Madras from rough seas in the pre-Marina Beach days.
🏢 Making Chennai a capacity centre hub
The state government is wooing companies to set up their Global Capacity Centres (GCCs) in the city and state.
What’s it about? The Tamil Nadu government is looking to make tier-2 and tier-3 cities into GCC hubs after Chennai. The city and state have highly skilled talent that’s at the intersection of industry domain and technology.
- Companies like Citigroup, Standard Chartered, American Express, Ford, and others have set up shop here over the past several decades. Recently, Hitachi Energy and UPS announced their largest technology centres in Chennai.
- GCCs accounted for over half of office transactions in the city last year. The commercial real estate market in Chennai showed the highest growth in percentage terms among the top 8 markets in India.
Why GCCs? GCCs are technology centres that used to be called captive centres. These generate high-end jobs, particularly for youngsters. The state and Chennai continue to be the most attractive location for GCCs.
📚 Book Fair gets a global flavour
Books from Singapore and Japan give the Chennai Book Fair a global feel.
What’s it about? Books from Singapore and Japan have their own stalls at the ongoing Chennai Book Fair, with titles across genres for different age groups. They become a form of cultural exchange.
- The Singapore National Arts Council sent a delegation. Its stall has over 1,000 books, ranging from children’s literature to essays to non-fiction.
- At the Japanese stall is a trove of Japanese literature. People can pick up a chit from a basket that contains an excerpt from a book in the stall.
Other countries: The Fair also has stalls from the American Center, Chennai and the British Council. The former has an exhibition on cartoonist Etta Hulme, a slam poetry contest for college students, and sessions on US higher education.
📖 Popularising Dravidian ideology
The publisher Dravidian Stock debuted at the Chennai Book Fair to popularise the ideology.
What’s it about? For Dravidian Stock founder T Gowtham, the publisher’s debut at the Book Fair comes after a decade-plus of him being a regular attendee. The publisher previously supplied titles to other publishers and agencies.
- The publishing house has writings from Periyar and former Chief Ministers CN Annadurai and Karunanidhi. They also have works from lesser-known authors like Thilai Villalan and Walaja Vallavan.
- The highest-selling title at the stall so far is “Pen Yaen Adimaiyaanal” (Why were women enslaved) by Thanthai Periyar.
What’s next? The publisher has plans to translate books and essays that propagate the Dravidian ideology into other languages. They’ve already begun with the release of Arignar Anna’s Arya Mayai’s translation in English.
💡 Smart solutions from students
Urban challenges garnered innovative solutions at the 2024 edition of IIT Madras’ Shaastra.
What’s it about? Over 500 students from across the country descended on IIT Madras to showcase their innovative solutions to urban challenges. IIT Madras’ Shaastra, the annual technology festival, is a platform for students to showcase their ideas to experts and others.
- The final round had 10 ideas. Their concepts were vetted by industry experts. Some students brought prototypes, and 97 were shortlisted for further development.
- There were also workshops led by experts in fields like robotics, machine learning, and AR/VR. They’re aimed at students and the faculty for skill development and real-world applications.
Some ideas showcased: The IIT Madras team had an automated aerobic tank where algae would be added to remove chemical pollutants to help filter water. Students from Coimbatore’s Karunya Institute of Technology and Sciences (KITS) proposed a special blend for relaying roads damaged by Cyclone Michaung.
📊 Today’s Poll
(Only subscribers can participate in the polls)
Have you been to previous editions of the Chennai Book Fair?
- I have been to the previous editions of the Chennai Book Fair.
- I haven’t been to the previous editions of the Chennai Book Fair.
❓ Today’s Question
(Only subscribers can submit their answers)
Name one thing that you want to achieve this year.
Reply to this email with your answers.
🗞️ In other news…
- Despite full reservoirs in Poondi and Chembarambakkam, Ambattur residents get little water supply.
- The Pallavaram-Thoraipakkam Radial road is hard on commuters as it gets engulfed with dust clouds.
- About 8,000 petitions on urban issues were received by the Chennai Corporation at the Makkaludan Mudhalvar camps.
- A modern film city in Poonamallee worth ₹540 crore was announced by MK Stalin.
- Qualcomm announced its expansion in Chennai with a new design centre facility.
That’s it for today. Have a great day!