Good morning, Chennai!
☀️ Today’s weather: High: 30 ℃ | Low: 21 ℃ | Clear skies for the day.
🧐 Did you know? Rajaji Hall was built by the British East India Company to be used for social functions and to commemorate the company’s takeover of the Mysore kingdom.
💡 Startup competition
IIT Madras unveiled its flagship national startup competition, Elevate 8.0.
What’s it about? The Entrepreneurship Cell of IIT Madras unveiled the 8th edition of its national startup competition to foster and nurture groundbreaking ideas and entrepreneurship. The competition has emerged as a platform for startups looking to make a mark. Previous winners include Hesa Technologies and UR Advanced Tech.
- Elevate 8.0 has two specialised fields. The Tech track is dedicated to tech-driven startups, and the sector-agnostic track is open to startups across other industries.
- Winners can unlock investment opportunities from the university’s network, a ₹3 lakh cash prize, travel perks, opportunities to pitch their products and incentives from platforms and co-working spaces.
Mentorship: Participants will get mentorship and guidance from seasoned entrepreneurs, industry leaders, and angel investors. The judging panel will include people from companies like Antler VC, Kalaari Capital, and Titan Capital.
🇯🇵 Reading Japanese culture and spirituality
The Happy Science stall at the Chennai Book Fair highlights Japanese culture and spirituality.
What’s it about? Of the 900 stalls at this year’s Chennai Book Fair, stall number 179, Happy Science, stands out for its love of Japanese culture. Ryuho Okawa, the founder of Happy Science Organisation, wants to highlight what Indian and Japanese cultures have in common through books.
- The Laws of the Sun is a book on Japanese culture. The 250-page book is about the meaning of life and attempts to answer life’s biggest questions.
- Another book in the series is The Laws of Eternity. It was originally published in 1997 and translated into English this year, with plans to translate it into Tamil.
Encouraging reading of Japanese: To encourage Chennaiites to read Japanese, Okawa Books India – Happy Science Publishing set up an outlet in Adyar in September last year. They’ve been holding regular book seminars and Japanese language classes.
🍽️ Reviving Amma canteens
The Chennai Corporation will begin developmental works at nearly 300 Amma canteens across Chennai.
What’s it about? The Amma canteens were launched in 2011 under the AIADMK government and quickly became a hit for its affordable food. Inspections conducted last year found that many outlets were in bad shape.
- Over the years, some outlets were closed for safety reasons since they operated in old buildings. Following the inspections in other locations, the Corporation decided to replace the old utensils.
- The Corporation’s private contractors will develop hundreds of outlets across several areas, including Royapuram, Anna Nagar, Madhavaram, Teynampet, and Kodambakkam.
History: Following the popularity of the canteens shortly after launch, the number of outlets increased to over 400. Currently, there are Amma canteens at 388 locations across the city.
🌧️ Rain soon?
The IMD has predicted rain in the coming days as Chennai records lowest nighttime temperatures this year.
What’s it about? The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecasted the possibility of rain this weekend as the city recorded a nighttime temperature of 20.3 degrees Celsius on Wednesday at the Meenambakkam observatory.
- On January 6, the Meenambakkam observatory recorded a minimum temperature of 20.7 degrees Celsius. The Nungambakkam observatory that covers Central Chennai recorded 21 degrees Celsius.
- The IMD has predicted rains from January 11 that are expected to continue till January 14 and possibly extend further. The minimum temperature will be between 22 and 23 degrees Celsius.
Temperature record: The average minimum temperature of Chennai in January is 21.5 degrees Celsius. The lowest temperature recorded at the Meenambakkam monitoring station was 15.7 degrees Celsius in 1969.
✨ Things to do…
Here are some fun and interesting things to do in the city over the weekend!
- Have an electrifying experience at the IIT Madras’ Saarang EDM Night this Saturday.
- Attention BTS fans, don’t miss the BTS Concert screening this Sunday.
- Step into the wizarding world and catch a special screening of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets this Saturday.
- Take in sights and sounds at the Tamil Nadu International Balloon Festival this Saturday.
- Catch Pammal Sammandha Mudaliar’s musical comedy Sangeetha Payithiyam this Saturday.
🛋️ Local Lounge
Yesterday’s Poll Results:
- I have filed a complaint for potential cybercrime: 25.0%
- I haven’t filed a complaint for potential cybercrime: 75.0% 🏆
Answers to Yesterday’s Question:
Which city in India have you visited the most?
Suchi: “Bangalore”
That’s it for today. Have a great weekend!