Good morning, Chennai!
☀️ Today’s weather: High: 31 ℃ | Low: 21 ℃ | Foggy in the morning with sunny skies for the day.
🧐 Did you know? Poonamallee gets its name from the Tamil term Poo Virunda Malli, or Arabian Jasmine, alluding to the cultivation of the flower in the region.
🎒 Cancer no bar for education
The state government extended affiliation to a school for kids undergoing cancer treatment.
What’s it about? For kids undergoing cancer treatment, getting a proper school education can be challenging. For the first time in India, the Tamil Nadu government has extended affiliation to a school that’s dedicated to kids undergoing cancer treatment.
- The CanKids KidsCan’s CanShala in T Nagar is affiliated with the government model school in Nandanam. Students can pursue their education here while undergoing treatment.
- The school has 24 students at the facility in addition to day scholars. The kids will get personalised timetables tailored to their medical schedules.
Beyond education: Apart from subjects, students and parents will be educated on the side effects of cancer treatment. The kids will also be regularly followed up post-discharge.
🎓 Including sports for holistic development
IIT Madras announced a sports rank list for its UG programme.
What’s it about? The separate sports rank list will come into effect from the 2024-25 academic season onwards. It’ll be based on a student’s achievements under the Sports Excellence Admission programme.
- Those eligible will be students who’ve cleared JEE and won gold, silver, or bronze medals in 13 sporting disciplines like chess, football, hockey, athletics, etc. The medals should’ve been won in 9 recognised events like the National Games or Senior Nationals.
- IIT Madras has also introduced eight sports electives. Sports students can opt for only 60% of the fixed electives and are free to choose the remaining.
New facility: IIT Madras will also set up a Centre of Excellence in Sports Science and Analytics to offer state-of-the-art training to athletes. The goal is to provide world-class facilities so that Indian athletes don’t need to travel abroad for training.
🏢 Zifo’s expansion
The AI-based services company expanded its Chennai operations.
What’s it about? The company added 50,000 square feet of new office space in the city. It already has existing operations at the DLF IT Park. It’s part of the company’s growth and expansion plans to accelerate R&D across several sectors.
- The company has 2,300 employees globally, and about 1,800 work from Chennai. The company plans to hire another 1,000 this year.
- The company plans to be 5,000 members strong by 2025 and wants most of them to operate out of Chennai. About 99% of the company’s business is outside India.
About Zifo: The company, which began in 2008, has adopted Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning-based services in R&D. It caters to different sectors like pharmaceutical, FMCG, and food & beverage. It operates in 11 countries and serves clients in 21 countries.
🚇 Production of driverless trains
The CMRL will begin production of the first set of driverless trains for phase 2.
What’s it about? The driverless trains for phase 2 will be produced at the Sri City facility. The completed train is expected to arrive in a few months.
- The upcoming phase 2 will feature three-coach driverless trains and is expected to debut late next year with the opening of the Poonamallee-Porur stretch.
- The blue colour scheme will continue and have new features. The new trains will have charging points and digital dynamic route maps. There’ll also be cameras, fire detectors, and obstacle detection for safety.
Testing: The trains will undergo 8-10 months of testing to cover aspects like braking and traction.
📊 Today’s Poll
(Only subscribers can participate in the polls)
Do you prefer reading fiction or biographies and memoirs?
- I prefer reading fiction.
- I prefer reading biographies and memoirs.
❓ Today’s Question
(Only subscribers can submit their answers)
How often do you go out for a meal?
Reply to this email with your answers.
🗞️ In other news…
- The multi-level parking facility in T Nagar has become defunct.
- Muralist Kowshiga Rajendran captures humanitarian issues through her wall paintings.
- Ahead of National Pizza Day, here are the best places in Chennai for pizza.
- Ennore residents staged a protest demanding the permanent closure of a fertiliser unit.
- The state government distributed social welfare assistance worth ₹5.63 crore to over 700 women.
🛋️ Local Lounge
Yesterday’s Poll:
- I can play a musical instrument: 25.0%
- I can’t play a musical instrument: 75.0% 🏆
Answers to Yesterday’s Question:
What’s the ideal amount you’d spend to buy a smartphone?
Suchi: “Not more than 20k”
Shiva: “10 to 20k”
That’s it for today. Have a great day!