Latest news with #Makwana
Time of India
3 days ago
- Science
- Time of India
Uttarakhand@25: Surveyor general Makwana maps India's future on geospatial tech revolution
Surveyor general Makwana maps India's future on geospatial tech revolution In a special episode of Uttarakhand@25, a series by The Times of India celebrating 25 years of the state's journey, IAS officer Hitesh Kumar S Makwana, the surveyor general of India, sheds light on how geospatial technology is shaping India's present and future, with Uttarakhand playing a central role in that mission. Makwana, a 1995-batch IAS officer with an academic background in Civil Engineering, Economics, and Public Policy, brings over three decades of experience across urban governance, disaster management, border security, and housing. He currently heads the Survey of India, the country's national mapping agency. Dehradun's historic role in India's mapping legacy Makwana explained that while the Survey of India was initially established by the British in Kolkata in 1767, the headquarters eventually moved to Dehradun in 1951. The city's climate proved ideal for archiving sensitive mapping materials, and its proximity to institutions like IIT Roorkee provided skilled manpower. "Dehradun's role in the evolution of Indian cartography is immense. Even the original copies of the Constitution of India were printed in our Dehradun press,' he shared. The presence of more than 3,000 Survey of India employees in Dehradun during its peak also made the organisation one of the major employment generators in the region. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like How Much Does a Bali Vacation Really Cost? Liseer Learn More Undo From traditional maps to real-time data Tracing the evolution of the Survey of India, Makwana described the shift from using manual tools like theodolites and chains to modern technologies such as remote sensing, LiDAR, and drones. Where earlier it took 70–80 years to complete a national map, now, with advanced geospatial tools, large-scale maps can be created in under a decade. These high-resolution maps — from a scale of 1:250,000 down to 1:2,000 — are transforming not just planning but also disaster management and urban development. Makwana highlighted the newly announced National Geospatial Mission, which aims to bring all of this data infrastructure together in a unified system, with Survey of India playing a leading role. Uttarakhand-specific projects: From Char Dham to land reforms When asked about Uttarakhand-specific work, Makwana emphasised several projects. The Survey of India had developed trekking maps of the Char Dham route as far back as the 1950s. In recent times, it has carried out aerial surveys of the Ganga basin for flood modelling under the National Hydrology Project and created comprehensive land-use maps for the National Mission for Clean Ganga. Additionally, under the Swamitva scheme, a drone-based survey was conducted in 7,000 villages of Uttarakhand to help residents receive digital land ownership records. This work is being extended to urban areas through the NAXA project, where four towns in the state have been selected for detailed geospatial surveys. Supporting urban planning and disaster preparedness Makwana explained how Survey of India data supports vital decision-making for roads, flood prevention, satellite launches, and more. 'Even ISRO needs to come to us to determine true north before launching a satellite,' he noted. The same data is now being used to predict landslides, monitor land subsidence, and address urban flooding by identifying vulnerable low-lying zones. This allows planners to design better drainage and locate green spaces strategically. Training the next generation To build future capacity, the Survey of India is training Uttarakhand's government staff, while collaborating with institutes like the Indian Institute of Remote Sensing in Dehradun. A certification programme for private citizens is also in the pipeline. Makwana stressed that the role of AI and Machine Learning in analysing massive geospatial datasets is set to expand — but the real challenge lies in training personnel to use these tools effectively. Message to the youth of Uttarakhand Speaking directly to Uttarakhand's youth, Makwana said, 'Sky is the limit. Geospatial technology is a booming sector. With Dehradun being the headquarters of Survey of India, local youth have a golden opportunity to lead the country in this space.' He closed with a call to action: 'Just as India has become a global leader in software, it is now time for us to become global leaders in geospatial technology — and Uttarakhand can be at the heart of that journey.'
Time of India
19-07-2025
- Sport
- Time of India
Checkmate! here, blind master teaches chess to sighted students
Slug: International Chess Day Ahmedabad: For 40-year-old Ashwin Makwana, a resident of Vadodara and a gold and bronze medallist in the Asian Para Games in Guangzhou, China in 2023, the 64 squares of a chessboard are like his second home. The FIDE-ranked international player with visual impairment and winner of several national tournaments is, however, on another mission these days. Makwana is preparing sighted chess players to follow in his footsteps. "The chessboard for the blind is slightly different, with elevated squares and a small dot on the chessmen for differentiation. But apart from that, it is one of the rare sports that can be enjoyed by both blind and sighted – in fact, there are several such tournaments now where both can play against each other," said Makwana. "For teaching purposes, I use both online and in-person methods. I pick up a few games and nuances and explain them to students. My impairment does not come in the way – technology is also an enabler as I can replay games and guide the students through online platforms." You Can Also Check: Ahmedabad AQI | Weather in Ahmedabad | Bank Holidays in Ahmedabad | Public Holidays in Ahmedabad As July 20 is celebrated as International Chess Day, city-based experts said that for the past few years, the trend is picking up where highly ranked blind chess players are coaching sighted players. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 5 Books Warren Buffett Wants You to Read In 2025 Blinkist: Warren Buffett's Reading List Undo One of the reasons, said Paritosh Dave, a city-based blind chess coordinator who has worked with several of the ranked players over the past two decades, is the 'blindfold technique.' "The technique requires the players to visualise the chessboard where one does not have to touch the chessmen but make moves mentally. While it happens for all high-ranked chess players, this visualisation technique is especially helpful for budding players in their formative years," he said. State-based experts said that Gujarat boasts 62 FIDE-ranked blind Chess players, among the highest numbers for Indian states. The primary reason for this phenomenon is blind school-based clubs and tournaments. Dave said that on average, the state is hosting one tournament every month, giving a platform to established players and new talents. Darpan Inani, the highest-ranked blind chess player in India currently, is from Gujarat. In fact, it was Inani and Makwana, along with Himanshi Rathi, a woman blind chess player from the state, who made the country proud with their winning games at the Asian Para Games in China in 2023.
Time of India
18-07-2025
- Business
- Time of India
SaaS startups tailor new green solutions for fashion industry
Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Frequent returns, oversupply and environmental concerns are among the challenges the fashion industry has been facing for a long time, and it is no surprise that the UN has said that the fast fashion industry accounts for about 10% of the total global greenhouse gas emissions. As consumption of fashion rises, artificial intelligence (AI) is stepping in to reduce the ecological (SaaS) firms like GreenStitch and Stylumia are helping brands and manufacturers automate climate compliance, track carbon emissions with precision, and make more sustainable operational choices across their supply startups are using their AI-driven platforms to help brands with audit-grade carbon accounting across Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions, manage inventory, reduce wastage and move beyond fragmented, manual processes of compliance. Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions are three categories of greenhouse gas emissions to help organisations understand and manage their carbon footprint is key: platforms collect huge datasets from the brands and manufacturers to help them become sustainable. For instance, the AI-backed data platform of Bengaluru-based startup GreenStitch gathers millions of unstructured data points from brands and manufacturers. This includes product-level details such as energy and fuel types, material purchases and water intake and sources. It is then used to identify and fill knowledge gaps within a brand's environmental also produces reports with actionable insights for the companies. 'Brands first need to understand where they stand in terms of sustainability, before modelling a plan forward,' founder and CEO Narendra Makwana told traditionally used consultancies to understand their sustainability and then to scale it across products. Greenstitch automates these processes in order to prevent companies from seeing sustainability compliance as a burden. About 40% of their reporting workflows are already AI-powered.'Let's suppose a company wants to shift from normal cotton to the more sustainable BCI (better cotton initiative) cotton. How would this decision help in terms of their entire emissions? If they want to move from coal to biomass, what sorts of emission savings are they doing? How would that impact costs and returns on investment (ROI)? That's what we attempt to answer,' Makwana told is another concern for the fashion industry. The traditional fashion supply chain struggles with inefficiencies in production and a tendency to overproduce, according to experts. Platforms such as B2B clothing manufacturing platform Zyod and trend forecasting solutions company Stylumia address this which has Reliance Industries Limited, Aditya Birla Group, Van Huesen, NEXT and Firstcry, among its clients, uses AI to streamline its manufacturing process. It also aims to cut waste by optimising resource allocation and production schedules. By analysing data from previous collections and current market trends, the company forecasts demand, ensuring that only necessary quantities of materials are used.'If we take a simple example of fabric planning. Maximum loss – which is about 50% – is incurred from material. Using nesting software, which optimises the fabric usage and demand supply planning, one can have at least a saving of 8-12% of fabric,' said cofounder Ankit Gurgaon-based startup, set up in 2023, uses AI to also address labour efficiency. Using AI, the platform expects to help brands achieve labour efficiency of 90-95%, up from 50-60% claims that current expert-led wastage control mechanisms are broken, noting that waste generated is in the order of over 70 billion garments a year and growing at 6% per annum. It uses its proprietary AI platform, Demand Sensing, along with machine learning algorithms to read consumer demand was set up by former Myntra chief operating officer Ganesh Subramanian in 2015 to help fashion and lifestyle businesses take decisions based on data mined from user behaviour and social media activity, among other brands and online retailer giants are going beyond the AI assistant feature on their platform and using data and AI to predict instance, new-age fashion brand Newme is among enterprises prioritising sustainability through tech and data solutions, with a team of about 30 members dedicated to the task. It also uses AI for supply chain management.'AI has been deeply embedded in our supply chain – from design creation to demand planning. We are also exploring AI now in trend prediction and finding ways to identify hero styles based on past data and browsing behaviour of customers,' cofounder Sumit Jasoria efficient supply chain management, brands reduce oversupply and wastage. 'We have inventory write-offs in very low single-digit percentage points and it is at least 10 times lower than the industry average,' said online retailers like Myntra and Flipkart are using website data and AI to identify emerging trends for forecasting demand.'Our AI-powered trend tech stack synthesises internal data such as search, browse and purchase behaviour, with external signals from creator content, brand intelligence and specialised research agencies to codify both macro and micro fashion trends,' said Lakshminarayan Swaminathan, vice president for product management & design at at Flipkart, senior vice president Pranav Kumar Tiwari said, 'Our AI models identify emerging trends across the internet, from across the social media channels, and map those trends to its catalogue in real-time.'India is estimated to generate 7,800 kilotonnes of textile waste annually, according to a 2022 report by Fashion for Good, a global platform to support innovation in the fashion industry.
Hans India
15-07-2025
- Health
- Hans India
MP Police launch statewide anti-drug campaign with slogan 'Nashe Se Doori, Hai Jaroori'
Bhopal: In a step to curb rising menace of drug abuse ruining lives of youths in Madhya Pradesh, State Director General of Police (DGP) Kailash Makwana launched a campaign 'Nashe Se Doori, Hai Jaroori' on Tuesday. The campaign began with DGP Makwana unveiling a poster and message from Chief Minister Mohan Yadav, emphasising the state government's commitment to make the people drug-free. The large-scale campaign launched at police headquarters in Bhopal will continue till July 30. The campaign, which is aimed at creating awareness among the citizens, will involve each police station across Madhya Pradesh. "Drug addiction kills our youths and destroy families. With this campaign, the police along with several other institutions and NGOs, will create an awareness and convince people to stay away from drug and alcohol," Makwana said while addressing the press. Makwana told that several departments of the state governments, including school education, health, rural development and sports and youth welfare, etc, will be organising awareness programmes. The Narcotics wing of the Madhya Pradesh Police will lead the campaign. The large-scale campaign will involve programmes highlighting drug prevention, counselling, and rehabilitation, aiming to tackle the issue of substance abuse through a community-oriented approach, the DGP said. Additional Director General (Narcotics) K.P. Venkateshwar Rao, who was accompanied to Makwana during the press briefing, said that the campaign specifically targets adolescents and youth, educating them on the harmful effects of drug use. "This campaign is not just about deterrence -- it's about compassion and support," Rao said, adding that, "We want to create awareness while offering real help to those who need it." The campaign is expected to witness active participation from multiple sectors, including government agencies, NGOs, religious leaders, social workers, elected representatives, and both village and urban safety committees. Their collective efforts aim to spread the message of drug prevention across all the sections of society. Awareness activities will be held at schools, colleges, public places, and online platforms. Through educational programs and community engagement, the campaign aims to empower individuals -- especially the youth -- with the knowledge and resilience to say no to drugs.
Time of India
06-07-2025
- Time of India
Video of 21-year-old suicide victim surfaces, A'bad police probing case
Ahmedabad: A video of a 21-year-old woman from Chandkheda has gone viral days after she allegedly committed suicide by jumping off the 14th floor of a high-rise in Jagatpur. In the video, she is seen speaking about leaping from a lower floor instead of a higher one. A complaint of abetment to suicide was registered against her boyfriend M Makwana and his friend H Rabari. Makwana was arrested on Saturday. The video is now part of the probe. In the video, the woman is seen standing on the terrace of a high-rise, looking down, and saying, "I won't jump from the 14th floor. I'll jump from the second floor. If I jump from here, nothing will be left of me." The video was reportedly recorded by her friend Jayrajsinh, who is absconding. Inspector Nikunj Solanki said, "We are trying to determine when it was shot and under what circumstances." The woman was reportedly distressed after a nude video of her and her boyfriend was leaked and circulated. She learned that the video was allegedly transferred from Makwana's phone by Rabari, whom they met during a trip to Kalol. Rabari allegedly used the video to blackmail her. You Can Also Check: Ahmedabad AQI | Weather in Ahmedabad | Bank Holidays in Ahmedabad | Public Holidays in Ahmedabad The complainant, a friend of the victim, told cops that Rabari once called the victim, claiming to have seen the video. Later. Makwana demanded Rs 2,500 from her but refused to delete the video. Though he later deleted the clip at the police station in her presence, the psychological impact of the episode remained.
