Posts Tagged ‘Joseph’

Two killed in church blast

Sunday, May 24th, 2009

LALITPUR: Two persons were killed and more than 10 injured in the first known attack on the Christian community in the country here this morning.

A lady breathed her last while undergoing treatment in Patan Hospital and a tenth grader died on the spot when a bomb went off at The Assumption Church in Bhanimandal, Lalitpur. About 250 people had assembled for the prayer service when the bomb went off at around 9:10 am.

Celestina Joseph (15) of Shantinagar, Kathmandu, and Deepa Patrick (30) of Patna were killed in the blast. Joseph was a student of St Mary’s School, Jawalakhel.

According to family sources, Patrick, who was married just around three months ago, was on a trip to Nepal and was to leave for Patna this evening.

ASI Yagya Bahadur Budhathoki, deputed at Patan Hospital, said the condition of five of the injured was critical.

Those injured include Rabi Shrestha, 10, Sweety Singh, 16, Mona Singh, 21, Binayak Kunwar, 18, Buddha Laxmi Joseph, 21, Shyam Kumar Rai, 30, Rina Tamang, 15, Manisha Shakya, 19, Brother Rakesh, 28, Annie Amatya, 16, Sun Maya Tamang, 45.

Nepal Defence Army, a little-known armed outfit, has owned up the heinous cri-me. The outfit had also killed Father John at a church in Sirsiya near Biratnagar some 10 months ago. Pamplets of the outfit, reading ‘Hindu Movement Why?’, were found scattered at the site.

Quoting eyewitnesses, the police said a woman in her 20s had left a handbag in the middle of the hall before heading for the restroom. “The bomb went off some five minutes after the woman left the hall,” a police officer said. The police, however, are clueless about the incident.

The police suspect a pressure cooker was used in the blast.

Meanwhile, several associations have condemned the incident. Issuing a press release Keshav Prasad Chaulagain, secretary of Inter-Religions Council Nepal, condemned the attack. “People of all the religions are shocked by this attack. Such incidents will never hamper the centuries-old religious harmony in Nepal,” the release stated. The ICN had urged the government to take action against the culprits and ensure that such incidents did not recur.

National Council of Churches of Nepal has also deplored the incident and urged the government to compensate the victims. Christian Community, issuing another statement, has warned of social disharmony and religious intolerance if terrorist attacks continued.

Media officer of the Assumption Church Chirendra Satyal said the church was frequented by diplomats. Satyal said the Christian Community is preparing to organise a prayer meeting at the Church on Sunday.

Comments

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Posted on: 2009-05-24 08:45:43

This country has been known for its religious harmony for centuries and botherhood of peace. We have been tolerant of all religions and celebrated our differences rather than fight over it.It is no suprise that this has happened with the declining security each day kept in mind.I can’t understand why some so called politicans are inciting people to fight for secularism when what we should understand is that each person living in this country is 1st recognised for being a nepali and then of being from individual communities.we should keep in mind that our duty and patriatism towards our nation cannot be undermined and that it is above the judement of some illitrate MP. we should remember prosperity only prevails where there is peace. wish to extend this message to all the readers of this column and to all other nepali bothers and sisters. May the souls of those who have departed R.I.P. and condolences to the families who have had to gone through this immense loss.

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Blast aimed at disrupting social fabric: Nepal

Sunday, May 24th, 2009

KATHMANDU: Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal today inspected the Assumption Church and also visited the injured – in yesterday’s explosion – at Alka Hospital.

He promised probe and punishment for the guilty.

He urged religious minorities – the Christians and Muslims – to be vigilant in the face of such heinous attacks.

Condemning the incident, he maintained that the blast was intended to disrupt the social fabric. He told media persons that stern action would be taken against those, who would try to destabilise social harmony.

Two people, including a school girl, were killed and a dozen others were injured in the explosion, reportedly engineered by Nepal Defence Army- a little-known outfit of the Hindu fundamentalists.

Meanwhile, regular prayers started at the church from 9 this morning.

According to Chirendra Satyal, media officer of the church, both the Catholic and Protestant priests were present during the prayer held at the church this afternoon.

Politicians KP Oli, Pampha Bhusal, Krishna Bahadur Mahara, Dina Nath Sharma and member of National Human Rights Commission Dr KB Rokka also attended the service. Muslim leaders, too, visited the church this evening.

Security has been beefed up at the church.

“We have become alert. The condition of two critical patients Buddha Laxmi Joseph and Sun Maya Tamang is stable,” said Satyal.

The body of Deepa Patrick – one of the victims – will be taken to Patna.

While, Celestina Joseph’s funeral would depend on her mother’s condition, who is still believed to be critical.

Of the injured, four are undergoing treatment at Alka Hospital and five are being treated at Patan Hospital.

A joint meeting of the churches has urged the government to strengthen security and extend help to the injured. The Committee to Suggest the Constituent Assembly on Christian Issues will organise an all faith peace rally across the nation at 7 am next Sunday.

Several organisations working for the welfare of children today condemned yesterday’s blast in Assumption Church at Bhanimandal, Lalitpur.

Child Workers in Nepal Concerned Centre claimed that the attack on the church was targetted to break the religious tolerance between different religious communities of the country. CWIN argued that the attack was not only on religion but also on the rights of the children.

Issuing a press statement on Sunday, CWIN claimed that the blast was pre-planned by criminal groups.

Child NGO Federation-Nepal said attacks in civilian areas is against Geneva Convention and is also against the human rights declaration.

The NGOs have demanded strong action against the culprits and thorough investigation into the incident.

They also urged the government to be more alert to avoid such attacks.

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Church blast kills 2, injures 14, Nepal Defense Army owns up

Sunday, May 24th, 2009

: At least two persons were killed and 14 others injured Saturday morning when a pressure-cooker bomb went off inside a Catholic church at Dhobighat, Lalitpur, according to police.

A little-known Hindu fundamentalist group, Nepal Defense Army, has owned up responsibility for the gory incident at the sacred site.

Eyewitnesses said the explosion at the Church of the Assumption occurred when a congregation of over 300 was about to start Saturday mass, and just a few minutes after an unidentified woman exited the prayer hall at about 9:15 a.m, leaving behind a bag.

Prabin Tandukar, who was inside the prayer hall at the time of the explosion, said there were two big bangs. “Initially, we thought the electric lights had gone off,” he said recalling the harrowing incident. “But we realized that it was a bomb when we saw a number of people maimed or injured.”

The deceased in the incident have been identified as Celeste Joseph, 15, and Deepa Patrick, in her early 20´s. Both of them were from Patna, India and had been living at Dhalku, Kathmandu. Joseph was a Grade X student at St Mary´s School, Jawalakhel. The husband of Deepa, the other slain in the blast, also sustained injuries, according to police.

Joseph died on the way to the hospital. Likewise, Patrick died while undergoing treatment at Patan Hospital.

Doctors fear that many of the injured may have lost their hearing or eyesight.

While eight of the injured are undergoing treatment at Patan Hospital, five others are at Alka Hospital, Jawalakhel. Likewise, one 10-year-old child has been referred to Bir Hospital from Patan for further treatment. Six of the injured are in critical condition, a hospital source said. Three of the injured have been discharged from hospital after treatment.

The explosion shattered reinforced glass on the roof of the church, besides causing minor physical damage inside the prayer hall.

The Church of the Assumption is the first and the biggest Catholic Church in Nepal. A large number of expatriates visit the church every Sunday.

Nepal Police chief Ramesh Chand Thakuri, other senior police officials and various religious leaders visited the church following the incident. Police have seized bomb remnants and a some pamphlets of the Nepal Defense Army (NDA) left at the incident site, for necessary investigations. Investigation officials said the pressure-cooker bomb was found to have contained metal splinters and iron nails.

Metropolitan Police Crime Division, Hanumandhoka has started investigations into the incident under the supervision of Police Headquarters.

Father Bogati of the Assumption Church said they had not received any apparent threats from any party lately. However, an unidentified group had warned the church over the phone some six month ago against conducting church activities.

Bogati said the NDA, which claimed responsibility for the bomb blast, was also behind the killing of Father John Prakash at Don Bosco School in Sirsiya, Morang, on July 1, 2008.

Meanwhile, police have beefed up security around mosques and churches in the Valley.

What is NDA?

One Ram Prasad Mainali of Sarlahi district formed the NDA after the first sitting of the Constituent Assembly last year declared Nepal a secular state and abolished the 240-year-old institution of monarchy. The armed outfit claims that it is fighting for the re-establishment of a Hindu kingdom in Nepal.

The group detonated bombs at a mosque and a church in Biratnagar, besides carrying out bomb explosions in various parts of the capital. Police in Sarlahi and Kathmandu had initiated separate legal cases against Mainali for illegal possession of arms and ammunition. He walked out of prison after serving jail terms and paying fines.

Religious leaders urge restraint

Leaders of the Hindu, Muslim and Christian communities have urged everyone to exercise restraint over the incident.

The appeal comes in the wake of fears that the incident would pose a threat to the religious harmony that has obtained for so long in the country.

Chairman of World Hindu Federation Nepal chapter, Damodar Guatam, has denounced the attack. “I urge all to exercise restraint and not to be involved in activities that affect the sentiments of people belonging to other religions”.

Nazarul Hassan, President of Islamic Association, Nepal, claimed that the incident was aimed at disturbing religious harmony in the country. He urged the government to take necessary measures not to let similar incidents occur in future.

Those killed in the incident

1. Deepa Patrick, 22, of Patna, India, recently residing in Dhalku, Kathmandu

2. Celeste Joseph, 15, also of Patna and recently residing in Dhalku

List of injured

1. Father Rakesh, 28, of Patna, India

2. Annie Amatya, 13, Patandhoka, Lalitpur

3. Manisha Shakya, 19, Pulchowk, Lalitpur

4. Kanchhi Tamang, 45, Patandhoka, Laliptur

5. Renuka Thakuri, 50, Dhobighat, Lalitpur (already discharged)

6. Rabi Shrestha,10, Morang, currently residing at Gwarko, Lalitpur (later referred to Bir Hospital)

7. Sweety Singh,17, Patna, India, currently residing in Dhalku, Kathmandu

8. Munna Singh,21, of Patna, India, currently residing in Dhalku

9. Binaya Patrick,21, Patna, India, currently residing in Dhalku

10. Buddha Laxmi Joseph, 21, Patna, India, currently residing in Dhalku,

11. Shyam Kumar Rai, 30, Morang, currently residing in Pulchowk, Lalitpur

12. Reena Tamang,15, Thapathali, Kathmandu (already discharged)

13. Roji Singh,15, Patna, India, currently residing in Dhalku, Kathmandu (already discharged)

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Sister Alphonsa is first Indian Catholic nun to be made saint

Monday, October 13th, 2008

Irish Sun

Sunday 12th October, 2008  

(IANS)

‘She suffered herself to heal the suffering of others,’ is how Pope Benedict XVI poignantly described Kerala nun Sister Alphonsa while declaring her a saint at a canonisation ceremony at St. Peter’s Square here Sunday. Saint Alphonsa became the first Indian Catholic woman to be so anointed.

Around 25,000 people of Indian origin as well as a large delegation from India watched the ceremony, which began at 12 p.m. (Indian time) and culminated at 2.40 p.

Alphonsa is the first woman saint of the Indian church, which claims 2,000 years of history.

The final ceremony for the canonisation began with the holy relics of Alphonsa being presented to the Pope by Sister Celia, mother general of the Franciscan Clarist congregation – the congregation that Sister Alphonsa belonged to. Celia was accompanied by Vice Postulator Father Francis Vadakkel and former Kerala minister K.

Speaking in English, the Pope declared Sister Alphonsa a saint, after reading excerpts from the Holy Bible.

Reading from the Bible in Latin, the Pope said: ‘He will swallow up death for ever, and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces’ (Is 25:8).

‘These words of the prophet Isaiah contain the promise, which sustained Alphonsa of the Immaculate Conception through a life of extreme physical and spiritual suffering. This exceptional woman, who today is offered to the people of India as their first canonized saint, was convinced that her cross was the very means of reaching the heavenly banquet prepared for her by the Father. By accepting the invitation to the wedding feast, and by adorning herself with the garment of God’s grace through prayer and penance, she conformed her life to Christ’s and now delights in the ‘rich fare and choice wines’ of the heavenly kingdom (cf. Is 25:6). She wrote, ‘I consider a day without suffering as a day lost’. May we imitate her in shouldering our own crosses so as to join her one-day in paradise,’ the Pope said.

The Pope himself read out the biography of Alphonsa after the ceremony.

The rituals began at 12 noon (Indian time) Sunday. At least 25,000 Indian origin people, a majority from Kerala, where Saint Alphonsa belongs, gathered at St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican to attend the historic moment. Many were waving the Indian flag during the ceremony.

A 15-member official Indian delegation, led by Labour Minister Oscar Fernandes, attended the ceremony. A Catholic delegation from India also attended the event.

Sister Alphonsa was third in the number of four saints canonized Sunday. Gaetano Errico, born Oct 19, 1791, in Italy was canonized first. The second was Mary Bernard, born in Switzerland May 28, 1848. The third was Sister Alphonsa.

Narcisa De Jesus Martillo Moran, born in 1832 in Ecuador, was the fourth to be canonised.

Thousands of devotees from across the world attended the ceremony.

The programme started with a prayer in Latin language. A booklet of the procedures was distributed among the devotees. The chapter regarding Sister Alphonsa was also written in her mother tongue, Malayalam.

Pope Benedict had cleared Sister Alphonsa’s name for canonisation on June 1, 2007, a process that was started 55 years ago. She was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1986 in Kottayam, 40 years after her death, in recognition of the numerous miracles associated with her.

Alphonsa was born in Kudamaloor, a village near Kottayam, to Joseph and Mary Aug 19, 1910, and after facing several health problems she died July 28, 1946, in Bharnanganam.

She is the second saint from India to be canonised.

In the 19th century, Saint Gonsalo Garcia, born in Vasai near Mumbai to an Indian mother and Portuguese father in 1556, was declared a saint.

(K.V. Thomas is a Kerala legislator and a retired university professor. He is a member of the Indian delegation led by Union Minister Oscar Fernandes.

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Michael Jackson – a musical life mired in controversy

Saturday, August 30th, 2008

(IANS)

Michael Jackson, the self proclaimed ‘King Of Pop’, turned 50 and almost no one seemed to care. Fans don’t know if the day should be celebrated or if they should pity the man.

Jackson had been in the spotlight ever since he was 11. In his late teens he blossomed. In is 20s he peaked as a performer, songwriter and singer. But starting from his late 30s, he has been dogged by scandal and now as he hit 50 Friday, he is a limp example of a fallen star.

There is no denying that Jackson is one of the strangest celebrities ever. It would have been fine for Jackson if he was just considered strange. After all, he is also one of the most successful artistes of all time. But when allegations of molesting boys surfaced, all the notions of his eccentricities combined with the possible validity of the allegations, presented us with a very complicated picture.

As a child, Jackson was a part of the Jackson 5 that comprised his siblings and even then it was clear that he was destined for superstardom. That he was able to make the all difficult transition to adult performer is a testament to his genius. He peaked with the release of ‘Thriller’ in 1982 and ‘Bad’ in 1988. He had a string of hits in the 80s like ‘Beat It’, ‘Thriller’, ‘Bad’ and ‘Man In the Mirror’. Jackson holds quite a few Guinness records and has won a staggering 13 Grammy awards. The video for ‘Thriller’ is regarded as one of the best ever.

Throughout his career, Jackson blurred and transcended the lines between artiste, icon, and sadly even celebrity ridicule. Things really started going bad for him in 1993. That’s when the first allegations of sexual abuse surfaced. It was settled quietly out of court but these allegations continued to dog him. It all reached a climax in 2005 when he was cleared of a few charges. Since then, Jackson has been in self-imposed exile.

Though there are rumours that he is plotting a comeback with an album, it remains uncertain if he will ever be able to redeem himself. Jackson finds himself in the unenviable position of having to start from scratch. Everyone loves a underdog, but Jackson is too far off the deep end to endear himself to fans anymore.

His earliest entry into the infamous tabloid world was when he was filming an advertisement for Pepsi and his hair caught fire. He had to get some corrective surgeries but many believe it did not just stop there. He is rumoured to have injected himself with female hormones to maintain his falsetto voice.

A few of the extreme speculations of his fans were dispelled when he agreed to be interviewed by Oprah Winfrey 1993. Winfrey didn’t probe too much and Jackson revealed bits of personal information like suffering from vitiligo, a disease he maintained discoloured his skin, and that he was a victim of abuse at the hands of his father, Joseph.

Though he had managed to maintain a tight veneer of privacy on his personal life, Jackson now has opened himself up to a large amount of very unflattering probes and speculations. In the end, the only redeeming quality of the man might be his work. And for that, Jackson has a lot to be proud of. It’s in his art that Jackson has managed to mean most to his fans. Let’s at least celebrate that.

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Know more about Saif Ali Khan

Sunday, August 17th, 2008

Take a quick look at the Profile of Saif Ali Khan aka Chote Nawab of Bollywood. The actor\’s birthday falls on August 16.

Full Name: Saif Ali Khan

Birthday: August 16th, 1970

Nationality: Indian

Birth place: New Delhi

Zodiac sign: Leo

Height: 5’ 8”

Saif Ali Khan’s bio: He is the son of the famous couple Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi, former captain of Indian cricket team, and Bollywood actress Sharmila Tagore. He studied in Lawrence School and attended Lockers Park Prep School. Later, he followed his father\’s footsteps by attending Winchester College, a famous independent school for boys in UK.

He made his debut in 1993 in ‘Aashik Awara’ and gave another average movie ‘Parampara’. The very next year he starred in the hit ‘Main Khiladi Tu Anari’. After this, his career graph remained unnoticed until the very popular ‘Dil Chahta Hai’, where he was lauded for his role. Since then he has gone on to prove himself as an excellent actor.

Best known for: His role as ‘Langda Tyagi’, the villain in ‘Omkara’.

Relationship status of Saif Ali Khan: Married Amrita Singh in 1991 and divorced in 2004. Since then, has been linked with Rosa Catalano, but is presently dating Kareena Kapoor.

Awards:·Filmfare Best Debut for ‘Ashiq Awara’ (1993)·Filmfare Best Comedian for ‘Dil Chahta H’ (2001) ·Best Supporting Actor for ‘Kal Ho Na Ho’ (2003)·Motorola Look of the Year (2003) ·National Film Award for Best Actor for ‘Hum Tum’ (2004)·Filmfare Best Comedian for the same ·Best Villian Award for ‘Omkara’ (2005)·National Film Award for Best Actor in the same.

Cool facts: He hails from the family of the Nawabs of Pataudi. His grandfather, Iftikhar Ali Khan Pataudi, was the Nawab of Pataudi and also an accomplished cricketer, who played for England and then for India as the captain. His paternal grandmother was Sajida Sultan, Begum of Bhopal and his great-uncle was Pakistani general Nawabzada Sher Ali Khan Pataudi. His mother is the head of the Indian film censorship board and a relative of the Nobel laureate – Rabindranath Tagore, and also distant relative of the late Nafisa Joseph.

Saif Ali Khan in controversies: Charged with blackbuck poaching in 1998, he is recently seen flaunting his relationship with Kareena Kapoor, which is being seen as a publicity stunt.

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Rushdie, Ghosh named in 2008 Booker longlist

Wednesday, July 30th, 2008

The latest novels of Indian-born writers Salman Rushdie and Amitav Ghosh have been named in a longlist of 13 books for the 2008 Man Booker Prize for Fiction announced Tuesday.Rushdie has been entered for 'The Enchantress of Florence', described by some critics as his best since the much-decorated 'Midnight's Children', whereas Ghosh won an entry for his acclaimed 'Sea of Poppies'.The longlist, often referred to as the Man Booker Dozen, was chosen from 112 entries.The titles are: 'The White Tiger' by Aravind Adiga; 'Girl in a Blue Dress' by Gaynor Arnold; 'The Secret Scripture' by Sebastian Barry; 'From A to X' by John Berger; 'The Lost Dog' by Michelle de Kretser; 'Sea of Poppies' by Amitav Ghosh; 'The Clothes on Their Backs' by Linda Grant; 'A Case of Exploding Mangoes' by Mohammed Hanif; 'The Northern Clemency' by Philip Hensher; 'Netherland' by Joseph O'Neill; 'The Enchantress of Florence' by Salman Rushdie; 'Child 44' by Tom Rob Smith; and 'A Fraction of the Whole' by Steve Toltz.Chair of judges, former British minister Michael Portillo, commented: 'The judges are pleased with the geographical balance of the longlist with writers from Pakistan, India, Australia, Ireland and the UK.'We also are happy with the interesting mix of books, five first novels and two novels by former winners. The list covers an extraordinary variety of writing. Still two qualities emerge this year: large scale narrative and the striking use of humour.The judging panel for the 2008 Man Booker Prize for Fiction is: Michael Portillo (chair), former MP and cabinet minister, Alex Clark, editor of Granta; Louise Doughty, novelist; James Heneage, founder of Ottakar's bookshops, and Hardeep Singh Kohli, TV and radio broadcaster.The 2008 shortlist will be unveiled Sep 9 and the winner will be announced Oct 14.Rushdie, Ghosh named in 2008 Booker longlist Rushdie. A man who gets my respect. A man who see’s life as it is. Good luck.

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B”wood stars, Thai models to walk the ramp at IIFA

Tuesday, May 27th, 2008

Mumbai: Leading Bollywood stars are set to walk the ramp alongside Thai models on June 7 at the IIFA fashion extravanganza in Bangkok, where prominent Indian and Thai designers will present their latest fashion lines.Sabbas Joseph, Director of Wizcraft, the company which organises the International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) weekend, said the fashion event will be hosted by filmmaker Karan Johar and will showcase designs by Thai brands Alta Moda, Mufti and Indian designers Sabyasachi, Rohit Bal, Manish
Malhotra and Vikram Phadnis.He said the show will be choreographed by Lubna Adams.Vidya Balan will add elegance to Sabyasachi”s line while Kareena Kapoor will up the glam quotient for Manish Malhotra”s designs.The cast of forthcoming film De Tali — Aftab Shivdasani, Riteish Deshmukh, Ayesha Takia will walk the ramp for Vikram Phadnis while the Love Story 2050 couple Priyanka Chopra and Harman Baweja will be the show stoppers for Rohit Bal.Also, Mission Istanbul cast Zayed Khan, Vivek Oberoi, Shriya Saran, Shabbir Ahluwalia, Nikitin Dheer, Shweta Bharadwaj as well as the Acid Factory cast of Dia Mirza, Fardeen Khan, Dino Morea, Aftab Shivdasani will
showcase the first look of their respective movies by walking the ramp, Sabbas said.Proceeds of the extravaganza will go to the IIFA foundation, a charity set up by the academy to support families of the film industry workers who have been adversely affected during the production of a film.

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Happy Mother's Day: Woman pregnant with 18th child

Wednesday, May 14th, 2008

It’s a happy Mother’s Day for an Arkansas woman – she’s pregnant with her 18th child. Michelle Duggar, 41, is due on New Year’s Day, and the latest addition will join seven sisters and 10 brothers. There are two sets of twins."We’ve had three in January, three in December. Those two months are a busy time for us," she said, laughing.

The Duggars’ oldest child, Josh, is 20, and the youngest, Jennifer, is nine months old.

The fast-growing family lives in Tontitown in northwest Arkansas in a 7,000-square-foot home. All the children – whose names start with the letter J – are home-schooled.

Duggar has been been pregnant for more than 11 years of her life, and the family is in the process of filming another series for Discovery Health.

The new show looks at life inside the Duggar home, where chores – or "jurisdictions" – are assigned to each child. One episode of the new show involves a "jurisdiction swap," where the boys do chores traditionally assigned to the girls, and vice versa, Duggar said.

"The girls swapped jurisdictions, changing tires, working in the garages, mowing the grass," she said. "The boys got to cook supper from start to finish, clean the bathrooms," among other chores.

Duggar said she’s six weeks along and the pregnancy is going well. She and her husband, Jim Bob Duggar, said they’ll keep having children as long as God wills it.

"The success in a family is first off, a love for God, and secondly, treating each other like you want to be treated," Jim Bob Duggar said. "Our goal is for each one of our children to be best friends, and everybody working together to serve each other makes that happen."

The other Duggar children, in between Joshua and Jennifer, are Jana, 18; John-David, 18; Jill, 16; Jessa, 15; Jinger, 14; Joseph, 13; Josiah, 11; Joy-Anna, 10; Jeremiah, 9; Jedidiah, 9; Jason, 7; James, 6; Justin, 5; Jackson, 3; and Johannah, 2.

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Indian at MIT, associates develop ultra-low-voltage chip

Tuesday, February 5th, 2008

Washington: A scientist of Indian origin from MIT, along with colleagues and researchers from Texas Instruments (TI), has developed an energy-efficient microchip for portable electronics, which could lead to longer-lasting, self-charging cellphones and can be used on devices as varied as medical implants to sensors that detect enemy tanks..

The project was carried out by Anantha Chandrakasan, the Joseph F and Nancy P Keithley Professor of Electrical Engineering MIT; Joyce Kwong, a graduate student in MITs Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS), and colleagues from MIT and Texas Instruments.

This newly-developed chip design for portable electronics would be up to 10 times more energy-efficient than present technology. In fact, the design could lead to cell phones, implantable medical devices and sensors that last far longer when running from a battery.

The team demonstrated the ultra-low-power design techniques on TI’s MSP430, a widely used microcontroller. The work was conducted at the MIT Microsystems Technology Laboratories, which Chandrakasan directs.

The key to the improvement in energy efficiency was to find ways of making the circuits on the chip work at a voltage level much lower than usual, explained Chandrakasan.

"If semiconductor companies can overcome production obstacles, such a chip could be ready for commercial use in five years," he said.

While most current chips operate at around one volt, the new design works at just 0.3 volts. One key to the new design, was to build a high-efficiency DC-to-DC converter-which reduces the voltage to the lower level-right on the same chip, reducing the number of separate components, said Chandrakasan.

The redesigned memory and logic, along with the DC-to-DC converter, are all integrated to realise a complete system-on-a-chip solution, he added.

Chandrakasan says the researchers had to design new memory and logic circuits, and new computer tools will be needed to finish the job.

At lower power, imperfections in the silicon used to make chips become more noticeable, posing another hurdle to production. The researchers were scheduled to discuss their work Tuesday at a semiconductor conference in San Francisco.According to Chandrakasan, commercial applications for this new microchip could become available in five years, maybe even sooner, in a number of exciting areas. For example, portable and implantable medical devices, portable communications devices and networking devices could be based on such chips, and thus have greatly increased operating times.

There may also be a variety of military applications in the production of tiny, self-contained sensor networks that could be dispersed in a battlefield. In addition, the technology could be suitable for body area networks or wirelessly enabled body sensor networks.

The research was funded by the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. The Pentagon’s research arm, known by the acronym DARPA, gave MIT about $700,000 over the past two years to conduct the research — and more will be awarded soon — said Barry S Perlman, an Army technology executive.

Perlman said power consumption is a key issue with battlefield sensor networks and the MIT work offers ’significant potential’ to operate more sophisticated systems or run them longer.

"The future Army is very robotic," Perlman said. "The soldier controls what goes on, but (with sensors) he doesn’t have to put himself in harm’s way. It saves lives."

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