Academic

Ms. B. Sai Latha, a 1st-year B.Sc. student from the Department of Food and Nutritional Sciences, secured the 3rd position in the prestigious essay writing competition at the World Food Day 2023 and 9th IFCoN 2023 Curtain Raiser Program held on 16th October 2023, at CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Technology Tarnaka, Hyderabad.

Her essay titled “Apamahabhuta” (meaning: Water is a great element) was chosen as one of the three best essays among 80 other entries made by students from the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Miss B. Sai Latha received a Certificate of appreciation and a cash prize. The theme of the competition was “Water is Food & Water is Life: Leave No One Behind”.

The competition was organized by the Association of Food Scientists & Technologists (India) – AFSTI (Hyderabad Chapter), in collaboration with CSIR-Central Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI) Resource Centre, Hyderabad and Oil Technologists’ Association of India (Southern Zone).

The Vice-Chancellor, Prof. B Raghavendra Prasad, Sri R J Rathnakar, Managing Trustee, Sri Sathya Sai Central Trust (SSSCT), along with Trustees, Sri S S Naganand and Sri Manohar Shetty had the pleasure of meeting the Hon’ble President of India Smt. Droupadi Murmu at the Rashtrapathi Bhavan, New Delhi on the evening of 25 October 2023.

The President was briefed about the activities of the Sri Sathya Sai Central Trust (SSSCT) and Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning (SSSIHL).

Acknowledging the services rendered by both SSSCT and SSSIHL, the Hon’ble President expressed her desire to visit Prasanthi Nilayam at the earliest opportunity.

The Lit-Treat Edition IV, International Seminar on ‘Earthy Echoes in English Literature’ was conducted by the Department of Languages and Literature (English), Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning, Anantapur campus, on 29^th and 30^th September 2023.

As a lead-up to this event, on 26^th September 2023, a Literary Poster Competition on the theme of ‘Ecocriticism’ was held at the campus for all the students. A total of 13 pairs of students presented their posters out of which one was selected for the award of the best poster. A Photo Caption competition was also held for the research scholars and the faculty members of the campus. 17 spectacular photos of picturesque nature spots around the Anantapur campus with apt captions were received. One of them was selected for the award of the best photo caption.

On 29^th September 2023, day 1 of the event began with invocatory Vedam chants, followed by the ceremonial lighting of the lamp by the dignitaries. The audience both onsite and online was warmly welcomed by Dr. Mrs. Maitali Khanna, Associate Head in charge, of the Department of Languages and Literature (English). Dr. Rani. P.L., Former Head of the English Department set the context for the event.

The guest speaker for the day, Prof. Krishnaprabha V.P., Former Head, of the PG Department of English, and currently an Adjunct Faculty at Kristu Jayanti College, Bengaluru, delivered the inaugural address titled “Women and Indigenous Knowledge: A Holistic Paradigm”. She spoke about the wisdom, resilience, and holistic knowledge of the indigenous women in her inaugural address. The event proceeded with the first plenary talk by Prof. Swarnalatha Rangarajan, Department of Humanities, IIT Madras. The talk titled “Greening of Literature: Articulating an Earth-Based Relational Identity in the Anthropocene” explored the ecocritical streams of thought in detail.

The next plenary talk for the day was delivered by Ms. Niveditha Subramaniam, writer, illustrator, and independent researcher from Rotterdam, Netherlands. Her talk titled “Seeding Ideas: Children’s Literature in Ecoconsciousness” was interactive, looking into the various aspects of empowering children with ecoconsciousness through literature for children. With this, the forenoon session came to a close.

The afternoon session comprised of paper presentations by the undergraduate and postgraduate students of the department. A total of 8 research papers were presented, followed by special presentations given by Mrs. Aarthi R.M., an Asst. Prof., and Ms. Pratiksha Pradhan, a Research scholar, from the Department of Languages and Literature (English). The students and the faculty then went through the display of the posters and photos and appreciated the novel thoughts that inspired them.

The 2^nd day of the Lit-Treat Edition IV, International Seminar on ‘Earthy Echoes in English Literature’ began at 9 a.m. with a plenary talk that was delivered by Prof. Pramod K. Nayar, Professor in the Department of English, The University of Hyderabad. The talk titled “Reading Environment, Writing Disaster: The Literature of Climate Crisis” explored the ethical imagining of the future and a change in crisis stories on a global scale. This talk was insightful and full of wit. It was followed by another plenary talk titled “The Dance between the Imaginal and the Ecological; A Writer’s Perspective on Eco writing” by Dr. Shivani Sivagurunathan, University of Nottingham Malaysia. The talk conveyed her perspectives on the place of imagination in the development of ecoconsciousness. With this, the forenoon session of day 2 came to an end.

The distribution of prizes to the winners was held during the Valedictory Ceremony in the afternoon. Prof. B. Raghavendra Prasad, Vice-Chancellor, of SSSIHL, presided over the ceremony. Prof. V.V.N. Rajendra Prasad, Distinguished Visiting Faculty, Central University of Andhra Pradesh, delivered the Valedictory address. The event concluded with a drama titled “Egocentrism to Ecocentrism: Ecological Wisdom for our Times” by the students of the Department of Languages and Literature (English).

The students expressed their joy and fulfillment at the end of the 2-day seminar, which has now left them looking forward to the next edition.

View Recording:

Day 1 (29 September): https://www.youtube.com/live/BxBSZ_IrO6g?si=jOyImrw9lvJact-5

Day 2 (30 September): https://www.youtube.com/live/PQqL5TBuGE0?si=5v2_iQpcxLfAlTL-

View Photos

MILAN 91-93, the 38th MBA Day at SSSIHL, marked a special occasion where alumni from the 1993 batch of MBA students reunited to share their insights and experiences with the current MBA students. The two-day event featured various activities and discussions.

On the first day, alumni mentored MBA students in exploring case studies covering topics like market analysis, funding pitches, technological adaptation, and leadership challenges. This hands-on experience provided students with practical skills and knowledge.

The second day included speeches from distinguished speakers. Dr. Sayee Manohar K, Head, Department of Management and Commerce welcomed the audience, Prof. B. Sai Giridhar, Registrar, SSSIHL gave the Inaugural Address, followed by talks by the Chief Guest Shri R J Ratnakar, Managing Trustee, SSSCT, the Vice-Chancellor of SSSIHL Prof. B. Raghavendra Prasad, and the CEO of Barclays India Sri Ram Gopal. They emphasized the importance of aligning education with industry needs, workplace ethics, and ongoing competence development. The event aimed to prepare students effectively for their future careers.

The celebration concluded with a video presentation and a heartfelt discourse by Sri Sathya Sai Baba, leaving everyone nostalgic and emotional.

View Detailed Report

View Recording: https://bit.ly/SSSIHLEvent-38thMBADAY-MILAN

Program Schedule

Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning (SSSIHL) has been celebrating National Science Day for the last five years. This year, SSSIHL has jointly organized and celebrated National Science Day 2023 (NSD – 2023) in collaboration with Dr. K. V. Rao Scientific Society (KVRSS), Sri Sathya Sai Seva Organizations (SSSO), India, and Nexus Consulting, Bangalore at the Prasanthi Nilayam campus.

As part of NSD 2023 celebrations, different competitions were organized for both school and college students, namely Essay, Painting, and Quiz were organized for schools across India to participate.

The registrations for these three different competitions were held between January 16 -February 7, 2023. Each of these competitions witnessed over 300 registrations from over 19 States in India.

On National Science Day, 28 February 2023, the Finalists of all the competitions convened at the Prasanthi Nilayam Campus, of SSSIHL and participated in the grand finale.

The winners were all felicitated during the Valedictory ceremony by the Honorable Chancellor, SSSIHL, Sri K Chakaravarthi, the Managing Trustee of Sri Sathya Sai Central Trust Sri R J Ratnakar and the Vice-Chancellor (Acting) Prof B. Sai Giridhar. Further, the members and guests of Dr. K. Rao Scientific Society too were felicitated by the dignitaries.

A detailed report with photographs from the Finale event is enclosed here.

View Report

View Recording:

Quiz Finals: https://www.youtube.com/live/27LW-00-Yls?si=apSdirI4y0xYXXep

https://www.youtube.com/live/35b_ZbFmT7M?si=2zx0Y68Z-k8rq9y8

https://www.youtube.com/live/FWalNznu35Q?si=JVMUn8jv9pBXT6Fi

View Schedule

The Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning’s Department of Humanities and Social Sciences conducted a National Workshop on “Macro Stabilisation Policies for India in the post-pandemic era” on August 26, 2023, at Prasanthi Nilayam Campus. The event featured lectures, presentations, and discussions, uniting experts, academicians, policymakers, and students to tackle the complex economic challenges faced by India during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.

The workshop commenced with traditional rituals, including Vedam chanting and lamp lighting. Dr. G Raghavender Raju, Head, Dept. of Humanities and Social Sciences, welcomed attendees and expressed gratitude to the distinguished speakers. Vice-Chancellor Prof. B Raghavendra Prasad highlighted the pandemic’s impact on India’s economy and praised the government’s focus on preserving lives and livelihoods, aligning with India’s values.

Prof. N R Bhanumurthy Vice-Chancellor, Dr. B R Ambedkar School of Economics University stressed the need for an active fiscal policy coupled with an accommodative monetary stance and urged reconsideration of the public debt-to-GDP ratio in his talk.

Dr. Deba Prasad Rath Principal Adviser, Department of Economic and Policy Research at Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Mumbai, emphasized the importance of cohesive fiscal and monetary policies.

Dr. Nadhavael GV, Director of the Division of Reports and Knowledge, Dissemination at the Department of Economic and Policy Research, RBI Central Office, Mumbai policies should enhance productivity, harness technology, and manage human capital strategically.

Prof. Ashima Goyal, Member of the Monetary Policy Committee of RBI, and Emeritus Professor at IGIDR Mumbai emphasized the significance of credible inflation targeting, timely structural reforms, and clear communication in policy implementation.

The workshop also featured student presentations on topics like interest reference rate changes, de-dollarization, central bank digital currency, and non-basmati rice bans, fostering engaging discussions.

Overall, the workshop successfully merged academic knowledge with practical insights, garnering positive feedback.

View Detailed Report

View Event Pics

View Event Brochure

View Recording

Session 1.: https://youtube.com/live/SkIjau6Izsk

Session 2.: https://youtube.com/live/IeopuTCJjYk

CSIR-IMMT, Bhubaneswar in association with the Department of Management and Commerce, SSSIHL, organized a Workshop on Intellectual Property Rights on 28 July 2023 at the Anantapur Campus. The workshop was held as part of the month-long National Intellectual Property Festival promoted by the DSIR-DPIIT, Government of India from 1-31 July 2023.

The Resource persons who addressed the participants were:

• Mrs. Saipriya Balasubramanian, Senior Business Intelligence and IP Analyst with Rapid Alpha. Topic: “Role of IP in Business Strategy”
• Dr. Vijayalakshmi Asthana, Principal Scientist, CSIR – Traditional Knowledge Digital Library Unit. Topic: “Intellectual Property Rights- An Overview”
• Dr. Viswajanani Sattigeri, Head, CSIR – Traditional Knowledge Digital Library Unit. Topic: “Traditional Knowledge: IP and People’s Rights.”

Participants gained valuable knowledge about the significance of intellectual property protection, its legal framework, and ethical considerations. The event fostered a culture of respect for creators’ rights and encouraged innovation while upholding responsible practices in handling intellectual property.

Faculty Members, Research Scholars from various departments of the campus, and 110 students participated in the Workshop that was held in hybrid mode.

Dr. G. Padmavathy, Associate Head of the Department, Dr. (Mrs.) Swetha Thiruchanuru, Asst. Professor, and Dr. C. Jayashree, Assistant Professor, all from the Department of Management & Commerce, SSSIHL, Anantapur campus, coordinated the event.

View Detailed Report

The “National Conference on Recent Trends in Mathematical Biology – Theory, Methods, and Applications” was organized by the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science (DMACS) of Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning (SSSIHL), A. P. India from July 20-22, 2023 at the Prasanthi Nilayam Campus, and was supported by DST SERB, India.

The conference saw scientists, researchers, academicians, and students from over 70 institutions across India, from diverse disciplines, converge and exchange cutting-edge insights, advancements, and applications in the rapidly evolving field of mathematical biology. The conference emphasized interdisciplinary collaboration and the integration of mathematical modeling with biological sciences to address real-world challenges in healthcare, environmental sustainability, and biological systems understanding. Attendees explored innovative theoretical frameworks and methodologies, fostering new research opportunities at the intersection of mathematics and biology.

We are grateful to all the guest speakers for making the conference a great success:

1. Prof. Arni S R Srinivasa Rao, Professor and Director of the Laboratory for Theory and Mathematical Modelling, Medical College of Georgia, USA
2. Prof. B V Ratish Kumar, Professor, Department of Mathematics and Statistics, IIT Kanpur
3. Dr. Prashant Kumar Srivastava, Associate Professor and Head, the Department of Mathematics, IIT Patna
4. Dr. Ritesh Kumar Dubey, Research Associate Professor Department of Mathematics, SRMIST, Chennai
5. Dr. S RV Prasad Bhuvanagiri, Associate Professor, Department of Mathematics, School of Advanced Sciences, VIT Vellore
6. Dr. Nitu Kumari, an Associate Professor of Applied Mathematics, IIT Mandi
7. Dr. Jai Prakash Tripathi, Assistant Professor, Department of Mathematics, Central University of Rajasthan
8. Dr. Bapan Ghosh, Assistant Professor, IIT lndore
9. Dr. P. Muthu, Associate Professor, Department of Mathematics, NIT Warangal
10. Prof. Mini Ghosh, Professor at the School of Advanced Sciences at the Vellore Institute of Technology, Chennai Campus
11. Prof. Sandip Banerjee, Professor, Department of Mathematics, IIT Roorkee
12. Dr. Mohit Kumar Jolly, Assistant Professor from Centre for BioSystems Science and Engineering (BSSE), IISc Bangalore

Best Research Paper Awards: The conference also saw several participants presenting their research papers. The selection was based on the problem’s relevance in the current world scenario, delivery efficiency of the person, clarity of thoughts on their topic, presentation skills, and overall audience appeal. The jury consisted of Dr. P Muthu (NIT Warangal), Dr. B S R V Prasad (VIT Vellore), and Dr. BVK Bhardwaj (SSSIHL). The following were the winners of this competition:

• 1^st prize -Mr. Ritwik Chandra Pandey, SSSIHL
• 2^nd prize- Mr. Viney Kumar, Shiv Nadar Institute of Eminence
• 3^rd prize – Ms. Priyanka N C, NIT, Tiruchirappalli

The event helped harness the power of mathematics and its applications in biology, furthering our understanding of living systems and opening new horizons for addressing critical societal challenges.

View Detailed Report.

View Photos.

View Book of Abstracts: https://www.sssihl.edu.in/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/NCRTMBTMA-Book-of-Abstracts.pdf

View Schedule https://www.sssihl.edu.in/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/NCRTMBTMA-Schedule-Final.pdf

View Recording:

Day 1- Morning: https://www.youtube.com/live/aAgZCY-mzk0?si=YS4NuADP-jR4wqvc

Day 1- Afternoon: https://www.youtube.com/live/T4b7qpd2HV4?si=mLZgTHptkkPYfmtd

Day 2- Morning: https://www.youtube.com/live/C31Q2di3G5w?si=8Mx3xoGM71k_iSte

Day 2- Afternoon: https://www.youtube.com/live/WKAIM9JXi1c?si=4hX1dgG6HP9oUIq4

Day 3: https://www.youtube.com/live/fuwXPX8k7BE?si=gDPpW7WKJaFO7xLe

Identifying the Issue

An effort to study the relationship between cycloalkanone ring size and the observed NLO properties of bischalcones

Objective of the Research

To explore the effect of the cycloalkanone ring size on the NLO properties of bischalcones

Who should read this?

Faculty, Research scholars, and Students of Optics and Organic Chemistry

Solution

With the objective of establishing the effect of cycloalkanone ring size on the NLO properties of bischalcones para-substituted diarylideneacetone and substituted diarylidenecycloalkanone derivatives were synthesized by the Claisen–Schmidt condensation reaction and characterized by using UV-vis, FT-IR, ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR and mass spectrometry. The second harmonic generation (SHG) efficiencies and third-order nonlinear optical (NLO) properties of the synthesized compounds were studied. Among all the synthesized compounds, 2,6-bis-(4-methoxybenzylidene) acetone showed the highest SHG efficiency (12.96 times that of urea) and 2, 6-bis–(4-methylthiobenzylidene) cyclopentanone showed the highest third order NLO property with χ ⁽³⁾ value of 2.650 ± 0.02310^-13. Among the diarylidenecycloalkanones SHG efficiency decreased with an increase in the cycloalkanone ring size. Diarylidenecyclopentanone series showed the best third-order NLO activity followed by diarylideneacetone, diarylidenecycloheptanone, and diarylidenecyclohexanone series. The results indicate that the cycloalkanone ring size as well as the presence of substituent on the aryl ring affect the  NLO properties.

Key Features and Benefits

The results of the study help in the design of bischalcones with potential NLO properties
 

Impact

Enriches the knowledge of preparing organic compounds with good NLO properties

Team

• Nitesh Taman, Bishnu Prasad Joshi, Swayamsiddha Kar, and Nageswara Rao Golakoti, from the Department of Chemistry, SSSIHL
• Prajal Chettri, Vaibhav Mahendrakar, and Shailesh Srivastava from the Department of Physics, SSSIHL.

Title of paper: Effect of cycloalkanone ring size on second and third order nonlinear optical properties of Bischalcones

Read Paper Here: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.optmat.2023.113825

Identifying the Issue

• Spread of multi-drug resistance in the malaria parasite
• Lack of novel therapies and drugs

Objective of the Research

• Development of a novel drug-like candidate with rapid kill kinetics against the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum.
• Non-haemolytic and non-toxic to animals.

Who should read this?

Research community working in the Antiplasmodial drug development, medicinal chemists, and pharmaceutical industry.

Solution

Development of nontoxic small molecules with high therapeutic effect and selectivity.

Key Features and Benefits

• Development of small molecules with rapid kill kinetics for plasmodium trophozoite stage
• Non-toxic to mammalian cells and mice
• Non-haemolytic drug-like molecules
• Effective at low micromolar concentrations

Impact

• Oral uptake of the drug for effective therapy
• Minimizing the development of multi-drug resistance in malaria parasites when combined with other therapies
• Effective against drug-resistant parasitic strains

Team

• Hariharan Moorthy, Nitesh Taman, Sai Kiran Mavileti, and Nageswara Rao Golakoti, from the Department of Chemistry, SSSIHL
• Mamta Yadav & Dinkar Sahal, from Malaria Drug Discovery Laboratory, International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB), New Delhi
• Labhini Singla & Angshuman Roy Choudhury, Department of Chemical Sciences, from the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Mohali

Title of paper: Antiplasmodial and Antimalarial Activity of 3,5-Diarylidenetetrahydro-2H-pyran-4(3H)-ones via Inhibition of Plasmodium falciparum Pyridoxal Synthase

Read Paper Here: https://doi.org/10.1002/cmdc.202200411