Bangalore, November 7. Infosys Science Foundation (ISF) announced winners of the Infosys Prize 2019 in six categories — engineering and computer sciences, humanities, life sciences, mathematical sciences, physical sciences and social sciences. The prize for each category awardee is a pure gold medal, a citation and a prize purse of US$100,000 (Rs.72 lakh) this year. A panel of accomplished jurors comprising renowned scholars and professors selected the winners of Infosys Prize 2019 from 196 nominations from around the world. Winners of the Infosys Prize 2019 in the six categories are: Sunita Sarawagi of IIT-Bombay for engineering and computer science; Manu V. Devadevan, assistant professor, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology, Mandi for humanities; Manjula Reddy, chief scientist, Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Hyderabad for life sciences; Siddhartha Mishra, professor, department of mathematics, ETH Zürich for mathematical sciences; G. Mugesh, professor, department of inorganic and physical chemistry, Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore for physical science; and Prof. Anand Pandian of the Krieger School of Arts & Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, USA, for social sciences. Band-It Season 3 winners Mumbai, November 19. The G-Minor band of the Gopalan International School, Bangalore, was adjudged the winner of Band-It Season 3 music festival grand finale of the Furtados School of Music held on November 16 in Mumbai. Unsatisfied Musicians (Oberoi International School, Mumbai) was adjudged runner up. The festival received a record number of entries across categories including band competition, solo vocals, solo instrumental, choir/group singing and beatboxing from across the country. The grand finale was judged by a jury comprising India’s original boy band, A Band of Boys. “Music is regaining popularity in India, not just as a profession but also for its positive impact on mental health. More and more schools are adding music to their curriculum to give students a chance to unleash their creativity,” said Dharini Upadhyaya, co-founder of the Mumbai-based Furtados School of Music (estb.2011). Added Tanuja Gomes, co-founder and CEO: “Our objective is to promote music education and the talent of our young population. We pride ourselves on the talent we discover every year.” Manipal-SFL agreement Mumbai, November 26. The Manipal Global Academy of BFSI (banking & financial services and insurance), a division of Manipal Global Education Services Pvt. Ltd (MaGE), signed an agreement with the Chennai-based Sundaram Finance Ltd (SFL) to jointly conduct a 12-month learning programme to develop the skills of SFL employees. The programme, commencing in February next year, will train over 100 SFL professionals to strengthen their functional knowledge and negotiation skills, and improve productivity. “This tie-up with SFL will enable us to bridge the skills gap of SFL professionals engaged in mutual funds, housing finance, general insurance, IT, BPO and retail distribution businesses of the company. Our programme has been fine tuned to suit their niche requirements,” said Robin Bhowmik, chief business officer, Manipal Global Academy of BFSI. Firstcry.com acquires Oi Playschools Hyderabad, November 26. Hyderabad’s LoEstro Advisors (LLP), exclusive financial advisor to Oi Playschools (Oi Ps),…
