Good morning, Chennai!
🌤️ Today’s weather: High: 38 ℃ | Low: 26 ℃ | Some cloudy skies for the day.
🧐 Did you know? The Chennai Corporation had a music band. The Western wing dates back to the late 19th century, and the Carnatic wing was founded in 1926.
📽️ Convergence of anime enthusiasts
The Chennai Anime Club hosted a screening of the recently released film Haikyuu!!: The Dumpster Battle with anime clubs from other cities.
What’s it about? Playing to a packed theatre, the Chennai Anime Club’s screening of Haikyuu!!: The Dumpster Battle was a hit, and the crowd roared as the lights turned on. The rise in the popularity of anime in the city is a testament to its community and the power of its storytelling.
- The club also hosted a screening of The Blue Giant, a love letter to jazz. Tickets for both sold out quickly and catered to the varied tastes among anime fans.
- Many members attended the screening dressed as some of the characters, including black and orange jerseys of the Karasuno High volleyball team.
The club’s journey: The Chennai Anime Club began in 2018 with just five to ten members. It now has over 1,000. It’s a testament to the popularity and impact of anime.
📈 Startup rankings
Chennai has ranked in the top 20 in the Asian startup ecosystem according to a new report.
What’s it about? The 2024 Global Startup Ecosystem Report released by startup intelligence organisation Startup Genome showed Chennai ranked 18th in the Asia startup ecosystem.
- Chennai ranked in the top 25 globally and top 10 in Asia for affordable talent and top 15 in Asia for performance and measuring technology startup value from exits and funding.
- On funding, Chennai is in the top 20 in Asia and is among the top 25 Asian ecosystems for talent and experience.
Tamil Nadu’s startup push: Thanks to StartupTN, the state has generated over $27 billion in ecosystem value since July 2021. In 2022, the state was deemed the best performer in rankings by Startup India.
🦠 IIT-M helps NASA study microbes
A study by NASA and IIT Madras found that microbes on the International Space Station mutate faster.
What’s it about? Researchers from IIT Madras and NASA studied drug-resistant pathogens. The focus was on Enterobacter bugandensis found on the surfaces within the Space Station. The results could help develop methods to contain microbial contamination in hospitals.
- NASA studied samples collected from the Space Station and IIT-Madras worked on genome sequencing and modelling. They mapped the prevalence and distribution of Enterobacter bugandensis over time.
- Researchers at IIT-Madras got 211 assembled genomes from the National Center for Biotechnology Information’s (NCBI) GenBank sequence database. 12 of these were isolated from three locations aboard the Space Station.
Practical applications: The findings can help control contaminations in controlled settings on Earth, including ICUs and surgical theatres.
🌆 Expanding the city’s limits
Discussions are underway for the state government to increase the number of wards under the Chennai Corporation.
What’s it about? According to Mayor R Priya, the state government has plans to increase the number of wards in the Greater Chennai Corporation. Currently, discussions are focused on areas to be included from Tambaram onwards.
- The expansion process began in 2011 with the inclusion of 9 municipalities, 8 town panchayats, and 25 village panchayats, including Alandur and Madhavaram.
- However, four wards in the city still don’t have elected members as councillors. The Mayor said the Election Commission has been asked to conduct elections in all four wards simultaneously.
What do the rules say? Election Commission norms say an election should be held only six months after a ward member dies. However, the polls for these four wards have been delayed.
📊 Today’s Poll
(Only subscribers can participate in the polls)
Have you ever played a prank on someone?
- I have played a prank on someone.
- I haven’t played a prank on someone.
❓ Today’s Question
(Only subscribers can submit their answers)
Who’s someone you would swap a day in the life with?
Reply to this email with your answers.
🗞️ In other news…
- Constant illegal parking on the main roads between Mount Road and Alwarpet has inconvenienced commuters.
- The Chennai Corporation has teamed up with World Veterinary Services (WVS) to conduct a city-wide dog census.
- Stalled civic works are expected to resume as the model code of conduct ends.
- Staff members and alumni highlight the importance of Anna University.
- IIT Madras has introduced new curriculum and academic features to help reduce pressure on students.
🛋️ Local Lounge
Yesterday’s Poll:
- I have travelled in an Electric Vehicle (EV): 57.1% 🏆
- I haven’t travelled in an Electric Vehicle (EV): 42.9%
Answers to Yesterday’s Question:
What’s your favourite way to spend a lazy Sunday afternoon?
Krishna: “Waking up after a good night’s sleep, without any alarm, with an enticing aromatic brew of coffee and heading straight to the salon for a heavenly head & body massage. Followed by mouthwatering biriyani for lunch. And cozying up on the sofa for the rest of day with a good old book.”
Suchi: “Watching a good movie.”
Shiva: “Movie”
That’s it for today. Have a great day!