Latest news with #Pall
Time of India
6 days ago
- Health
- Time of India
E S'bhum readies isolation wards to tackle Covid cases
1 2 Jamshedpur: Anticipating a surge in Covid 19 cases which might require hospitalisation, the East Singhbhum health department has begun readying dedicated wards in two govt owned hospitals in the city. Officials here on Saturday said a 10-bed Covid 19 ward has been set up at Jamshedpur sadar hospital. That apart, another 16 beds have been reserved as a Covid 19 isolation ward in Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Medical College and Hospital (MGMMCH). "The 16 bedded ward is being readied at the old building in Sakchi, where beds are equipped with oxygen. The oxygen plant at our facility is also working," Dr Diwakar Hansda, principal of MGMMCH, said. "That apart, mock drill to check the readiness of pressure swing absorption (PSA) oxygen plants across govt hospitals across the district, including sadar hospital, MGMMCH, Ghatshila sub-divisional hospital and Chakulia govt hospital, were carried out on Saturday," East Singhbhum civil surgeon Dr said. Pall said drill was part of the exercise to put the system and the officials on the ready mode. "We have identified some lacking in the response system which would be addressed shortly," he said, but did not divulge further details. Pall said private hospitals were asked to keep a ward ready for the Covid patients and make sure that all necessary facilities for the treatment are in place. The hospitals have been asked to immediately report to the district integrated disease surveillance cell about suspected cases so that tests could be done without delays. The department has also asked the healthcare centres to put up posters at the OPDs to create awareness. Meanwhile, a Kadma based couple, who tested positive in RAT test earlier, tested negative in the RT-PCR test, which was done at MGMMCH on Saturday, Pall said.
Indian Express
17-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Indian Express
What led Chandigarh-based author Khushwant Singh to turn his book ‘Maharaja in Denims' into ‘India's first AI feature film'
When author and former state information commissioner of Punjab, Khushwant Singh, wrote Maharaja in Denims, it immediately caught Bollywood's attention. Iconic villain Ranjeet was the first to bid for its rights around 2016, presumably to launch his son. Soon after, producer Guneet Monga showed interest. And why not? Maharaja in Denims has all the makings of a larger-than-life feature film — a work of fiction that follows the journey of a young boy who believes he is the reincarnation of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, founder of the Sikh Empire. Through regression therapy, he finds himself transported into key moments in history, including the Partition of 1947, the anti-Sikh riots of 1984, and eventually the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks. But when no deal materialised and the book was no longer tied up in any rights agreements, Singh's cousin — tech guru Gurdeep Singh Pall — offered an alternative. Pall, known for his long tenure at Microsoft, most recently as corporate vice-president overseeing business AI projects, suggested they stop pitching the book and instead spend two years turning it into India's first full-length AI-generated feature film. 'It's a period drama. The biggest hurdle was the budget — it would have required hundreds of crores. And post-pandemic, it has become increasingly difficult to draw enough people to theatres to justify such an expense,' Singh, who is based in Chandigarh, told The Indian Express during his visit to Mumbai for the debut edition of the World Audio Visual Entertainment (WAVES) Summit. 'Gurdeep suggested we make it as an AI film, which meant we no longer needed to spend crores on elaborate sets or casting an A-lister as the lead.' In 2023, Pall and Singh co-founded Intelliflicks and set up a team in Chandigarh. 'There are seven of us, including Balpreet Kaur, who translated the novel into a script and is also leading the screenplay and direction. The rest are experts in software engineering and AI,' said Singh. Using tools such as Runway, Midjourney, and Clink, the team generated the visuals and video content through a combination of prompts and software. Singh played us nearly 10 minutes of footage — the environments and characters, barring a few inconsistencies, looked surprisingly lifelike. He says the film is close to completion. 'We have already stitched together about 30 minutes of footage. We are targeting a total runtime of around 100 minutes,' he said. Initial challenges, he noted, were lip-syncing and continuity. 'We had dubbing artists lend their voices, but cutting-edge lip-sync technology was not publicly available until after the US elections — likely due to concerns over deepfake manipulation. Continuity was also tricky because the same prompt can yield different results each time. But we have figured out ways to manage that, and when the film releases, you will see how the visuals are hyper-realistic.' Now, the team is focusing on marketing — an area outside their expertise. Another challenge, Singh admitted, is knowing when to stop. 'Technology evolves so fast that every week brings new improvements. At some point, we have to accept that the film is done.' They are aiming for a release by August or September this year. Is Singh worried, given that he has invested his own money? He quoted his cousin Pall: 'Even if it's not the most entertaining or gripping film, it will still be a breakthrough — India's first AI feature.' He added, 'Someday, if the Cannes Film Festival introduces a category for AI films, we want India to have a nomination in it.'
Time of India
25-04-2025
- Health
- Time of India
Soaring mercury triggers rise in ailments
Jamshedpur: The rising mercury levels in East Singhbhum district have triggered a significant increase in heat-related ailments , prompting health authorities to implement preventive measures. Between April 20 and April 24, the district recorded multiple cases of such illnesses, with symptoms including headache, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, weak pulse, and heavy sweating. Four patients required hospitalisation for indoor treatment, according to health officials. The cases of hospitalisation were reported from Jamshedpur Sadar Hospital, CHC Chakulia, private-run Mercy Hospital in Baridih, and a nursing home in Chota Govindpur. District civil surgeon Dr Sahir Pall confirmed that no heat stroke-related deaths have been reported this year. However, he expressed concern over hospitals' non-compliance with reporting protocols. "Despite repeated directives to both govt and private hospitals to share heat-related case details on the Integrated Health Information Platform (IHIP), regular updates are not being maintained," Pall said. "We issued fresh directions to hospitals on Friday to ensure IHIP compliance." The health department has implemented several preventive measures, including restricting patient discharges during peak heat hours (12 pm to 4 pm). Hospitals have been instructed to establish five-bed makeshift wards specifically for heat-related cases and maintain dedicated rest rooms. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Trade Bitcoin & Ethereum – No Wallet Needed! IC Markets Start Now Undo Pall also highlighted the increased risk of malaria and diarrhoea during this period, emphasising the need for vigilant monitoring and reporting to the health department. The district health department plans to conduct random inspections next week to evaluate the implementation of heat action plans at various healthcare facilities. All hospitals, including community health centres (CHCs) and primary health centres (PHCs), have been mandated to establish ORS corners at their facilities. The state meteorological centre reported concerning temperature readings, with Jamshedpur recording 42.9 degrees Celsius on Friday, while Baharagora registered 38.2 degrees Celsius. These figures show a slight variation from Thursday's readings, when Jamshedpur recorded 43.1 degrees Celsius and Baharagora noted 37.7 degrees Celsius. The situation continues to be monitored closely by health authorities as they work to prevent and manage heat-related health emergencies across the district.
Fox News
21-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Fox News
The Chainsmokers surprise frat party performance leads to police shut down
Music duo The Chainsmokers crashed a college fraternity party over the weekend, leading to a police shutdown of the event. The DJ group shared a video of the moment on Instagram, writing, "We crashed a frat in Arizona and …" After only 13 minutes, the police showed up and attempted to get the possibly underage crowd to disperse. "Listen up, if you are under the age of 21, I'm gonna tell you to leave right now, or I'm gonna start writing tickets and start arresting folks," an officer said in the recorded video. At the time, Andrew Taggart and Alex Pall had only played 45 seconds of a song. "We got shut down by the cops already, but we're paying the fine," Pall said in the video. "We're gonna get another 15 minutes." The video was captioned, "Will happily pay the fine." After securing more time at the party, Taggart and Pall "decided to play all of the classics." Songs performed included "Closer" and "Roses." The duo also added in some new remixes, including a version of Gracie Abrams' "That's So True." Taggart and Pall first broke into the music scene by releasing remixes of other artists' songs, but landed their first original breakthrough with "#Selfie" in 2014. By 2016, the DJ duo had achieved a higher level of notoriety with the release of "Closer." The song, which featured pop star Halsey, stayed at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart for 12 weeks. That same year, Taggart and Pall released "Roses" and "Don't Let Me Down," which debuted in Billboard's top 10. The Chainsmokers took a break from the online personas they had created in 2020 in order to take some time and "create our next chapter in music." Taggart and Pall announced their music comeback in 2022 and released their fourth studio album, "So Far So Good." Ahead of its release, the two sat down with Billboard and spoke about the heat they faced before their hiatus. Taggart recalled the 2016 Billboard cover story about how the two "rage every night." "I remember reading that and thinking, 'I can't believe this is what people are going to think of us,' and 'Do we come off this way?' I don't want to be this person, you know?" he told Billboard in 2022. "That was the biggest thing. The guys we read about there, I was like, 'I don't like these guys.'" Pall added: "Sure, I would have loved that article not to turn out like that. That's the hard part, being like, 'God, that is just not accurate of who I am, but I didn't do myself any favors to show that person a different side.'"
