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- “Class and Inequality in China and India” Talk by Prof. Vamsi Vakulabharanam June 18, 2025
The Department of Economics hosted a talk titled “Class and Inequality in China and India” by Prof. Vamsi Vakulabharanam, Associate Professor of Economics at the University of Massachusetts Amherst on June 17th. Prof. Vakulabharanam, a former faculty member at the University of Hyderabad and City University of New York, has been associated with research institutions such as the Institute for New Economic Thinking (INET) and the India China Institute. He is a renowned scholar in the field of political economy, inequality and development studies with a focus on India, global capitalism and class-caste dynamics.
In his talk, Prof. Vakulabharanam presented key ideas from his recent book Class and Inequality in India (1950–2010), offering a comparative political economy perspective on India and China. His lecture offered critical comparative insights into the evolution of class structures and inequalities in China and India, two of the world’s largest emerging economies.
Drawing on empirical evidence and theoretical perspectives, the speaker examined the socio- economic trajectories of both countries and highlighted the implications of rising disparities for long- term development and social stability. He traced two distinct phases in the post-independence period:1950–1980, marked by low economic growth but a decline in inequality (forming the lower part of a U-shape), and 1980–2010, characterised by rapid growth under neoliberal reforms and policies but a simultaneous rise in inequality.
The lecture highlighted three main contributions of the book:
- A class-based analysis of inequality, especially novel in the context of China.
- An exploration of how India and China have transformed the world economy post-1950, and how global economic dynamics have, in turn, reshaped these countries.
- A theoretical framework for understanding within-country inequality.
Prof. Vakulabharanam also engaged with frameworks such as varieties of capitalism, French regulation theory, and comparative urban inequality (e.g., urban Gini coefficient analysis in Beijing and Delhi), offering a nuanced critique on ideas from thinkers like Thomas Piketty and Simon Kuznets and of global inequality discourse.
Concluding his talk, Prof. Vakulabharanam emphasised, “If China and India genuinely want to add something novel to the world order, they have to break free from the European model and find their own way of addressing inequality, climate change, and technological innovation.”
The session witnessed active participation from faculty members and research scholars from the Easwari School. Followed by a lively Q&A session, engaging participants in discussions around development policy, economic reforms, and the political economy of inequality. This academic event marked a valuable opportunity for the university community to interact with an international expert and gain deeper understanding of comparative development challenges in Asia.
Continue reading → - Uniting Forces, Leveraging Synergy: SRM AP Join Hands with Vishnu Group June 17, 2025
Vishnu Group of Institutions, a prominent name in the educational society in the West Godavari District of Andhra Pradesh visited SRM University-AP, exploring for a collaboration across multiple domains.
The Vishnu Group of Institutions presently comprises nine constituent colleges, serving over 20,000 students across a diverse range of programs, including Engineering, Dental Studies, Pharmacy, BSc, MCA, Polytechnic, and K-12 education. The Group operates with a profound sense of purpose and unwavering commitment, dedicated to fostering engaging learning experiences in the rural regions of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
The event saw the presence of SRM University-AP‘s Vice Chancellor, Prof. Manoj K Arora; Pro-Vice Chancellor, Prof. Ch Satish Kumar; Dean-SEAS, Prof. C V Tomy; Dean -Research, Prof. Ranjit Thapa, among other members of the faculty and Staff, alongside the staff and faculty from Vishnu Group of Institutions.
On the occasion, Vice Chancellor Prof. Manoj K Arora outlined the university’s growth trajectory, stating that the faculty has been a key factor contributing to the varsity’s success. Our faculty has been hired from some of the most-premier institutions of the country and world, fostering a multi-cultural nucleus of learning. “We, as a university, place a lot of emphasis on faculty and their training.” He also stressed the need to advocate for knowledge dissemination.
Prof. Arora highlighted the incredible support that the SRM University Management exerts towards fortifying the research acumen, and the SEED Grant is one such instance. Speaking of the Research prowess of the varsity, Prof. Arora also stated that the research at the varsity is predominantly interdisciplinary in nature. He echoed the words of the Pro-Chancellor, who believes – “Think Big, Do Big” thereby emphasising the importance of learning over teaching.
Prof. Arora also mentioned the landmark collaboration with Carnegie Mellon University. “Our ambitions are high; we will continue to grow,” stated the Vice Chancellor. Speaking on the occasion, the Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Ch Satish Kumar, added, “At SRM University-AP, we don’t just encourage the faculty but also the students to focus on Research.” He also quoted the NEP, stating the emphasis the policy places on student-based research at all levels of learning.
Prof. Satish cited the old education system, which was based on the concepts of ‘Bhay’ and ‘Bhakti’ (fear and devotion) towards teachers. He stated, “today, the education system cannot run on this ideology. The present system requires us to mentor the students, eliminating the concepts of ‘Bhay’ (fear towards teachers) Mentoring is the key to our system of teaching and learning here at SRM University-AP.”
The event also witnessed Deans and Directors briefing the delegation from Vishnu Group of Institutions on the functioning of the various Departments and Directorates at SRM AP.
- Chetna 2.0: Awakening Mathematical Minds June 17, 2025
The Department of Mathematics at SRM University-AP, Amaravati, successfully conducted a three-day summer programme, Chetna 2.0: Awakening Mathematical Minds, from May 26th to May 28th, 2025. The programme aimed to inspire and deepen mathematical understanding among students nationwide. A total of 84 enthusiastic participants joined from various states, including Madhya Pradesh, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, and Andhra Pradesh.
The curriculum was thoughtfully designed to cover a broad spectrum of mathematical topics. Faculty members from the Department of Mathematics led sessions on various subjects, offering a rich and engaging learning experience that ignited a more profound passion for mathematics among the attendees.
Varadha from Kerala shared, “I was able to build on my knowledge from my BSc and learn entirely new concepts. Each faculty member brought their own unique teaching style, which helped boost our confidence, curiosity, and understanding.”
Dr Kalyan Banerjee, Assistant Professor in the Department of Mathematics, noted, “At SRM-AP, we have a thriving mathematics department. We hope that during this three-day programme, students will gain valuable insights from our faculty and be introduced to advanced concepts in higher mathematics such as geo-mathematics, applied mathematics, and data science—all trending areas in today’s mathematical landscape. We aim to highlight mathematics’s crucial role in science and technology.”
Speakers List
Prof. Kalyan Chakraborty
Dr Shilpa Garai
Dr Krishanu Roy
Dr Vijayakrishna Rowthu
Dr Animesh Bhandari
Dr Kalyan Banerjee
Dr Priyabrata Mandal
Dr Prakash Chandra
Dr Jayasree Subramanian
Conclusion:
Chetna 2.0: Awakening Mathematical Minds was a resounding success, offering students valuable knowledge and a deeper appreciation for mathematics. The blend of participants from diverse backgrounds and the expertise of the faculty created a dynamic and stimulating environment. The Department of Mathematics at SRM University-AP looks forward to hosting similar initiatives in the future to continue nurturing young mathematical talent across the nation. - Discover India: Keio University Delegates Explore Indian Culture June 17, 2025
The Directorate of International Relations & Higher Studies (IR&HS) welcomed the students and faculty from Keio University and Forum Engineering, Japan, for the “Discover India 2025” programme.
Inaugurated by the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Manoj K Arora in the presence of Dean – School of Engineering and Sciences, Prof. C V Tomy, alongside Dean – Easwari School of Liberal Arts, Prof. Vishnupad; Assistant Dean-Research, Dr Mahesh Kumar Ravva; and Assistant Professor-Department of Civil Engineering, Dr Pranav R T Peddinti, among others. “Discover India 2025” is a flagship initiative of the university to promote India’s cultural and knowledge traditions.
Mr Lakshmi Narasimhan, Director and Dr Sudeshna Saha, Assistant Director of International Relations and Higher Studies, received the international students at the grand inaugural ceremony. Students participated in various short courses on Research Area Introduction, Mechanical Engineering Labs and Centre Visits at Electronic Cooling & Gold Centre. Presentations on Robotics, Additive Manufacturing & Bio Printing Materials. Keio University professors and students interacted with PhD Research Scholars and faculty from the Deaprtment of Mechanical Engineering regarding their projects and other research works.
Talks on various mobility programmes, including Student and Faculty Exchange, Transfer Programmes, Joint Research initiatives, and opportunities for mutual collaboration between Keio University and SRM University AP were held. An interactive session was organised for Destination Japan students currently learning Japanese at SRM University-AP, supported by SRM Global. Professors Miki Norihisa & Prof. Hasegawa AI delivered an engaging presentation on Keio University, highlighting the job and internship opportunities in Japan. The session provided a platform for Destination Japan students to interact with peers learning Japanese. Over 52 students actively participated, making the event a resounding success.
As part of the 3-day “Discover India” programme, SRM University-AP organised an industrial visit to Tech Mahindra in Vijayawada, on March 20, 2025. A total of 15 participants, including professors, staff, and students from Keio University, Forum Engineering, and SRM University-AP, attended.
The Japanese delegation had an enriching experience, interacting with Tech Mahindra Operation team and the Head of Training and Recruitment team. Participants visited landmark locations such as the Dhyana Buddha statue, Amaravati Temple and the Kanaka Durga Temple in Vijayawada, deepening their appreciation of Indian culture.
Continue reading → - Teacher-Student Duo Research on Dark Matter Model June 16, 2025
As a significant contribution to science, Assistant Professor Dr Amit Chakroborty and his Doctoral Scholar, Arindam Basu, from the Department of Physics have published a groundbreaking paper titled, Viability of boosted light dark matter in a two-component scenario in the Physics Review D (Nature Index ) Journal. The research explores a two-component dark matter model and addresses the theoretical challenges in hopes of improving our understanding and painting a complete picture of dark matter.
Abstract
We study the boosted dark matter (BDM) scenario in a two-component model. We consider a neutrinophilic two-Higgs doublet model (ν2HDM), which consists of one extra Higgs doublet and a light right-handed neutrino. This model is extended with a light (∼ 10 MeV) singlet scalar DM ϕ3, which is stabilized under an extra dark ZDM symmetry and can only effectively annihilate through the CP even scalar H. Although the presence of a light scalar H modify the oblique parameters to put tight constraints on the model, the introduction of vectorlike leptons (VLL) can potentially salvage the issue. The vectorlike doublet N and singlet χ are also stabilized through dark ZDM symmetry. The lightest vectorlike mass eigenstate (χ1 ∼ 100 GeV) is the second DM component of the model. Individual scalar and fermionic DM candidates have Higgs/Z mediated annihilation, restricting the fermion DM in a narrow mass region while a somewhat broader mass region is allowed for the scalar DM. However, when two DM sectors are coupled, the annihilation channel χ1χ1 → ϕ3ϕ3 opens up. As a result, the fermionic relic density decreases, and paves way for broader fermionic DM mass region with under-abundant relic: a region of [30 − 65] GeV compared to a narrower [40 − 50] GeV window for the single component case. On the other hand, the light DM ϕ3 acquires significant boost from the annihilation of χ1, causing a dilution in the resonant annihilation of ϕ3. This in turn increases the scalar DM relic, allowing for a smaller mass region compared to the individual case. The exact and underabundant relic is achievable in a significant parameter space of the two-component model where the total DM relic is mainly dominated by the fermionic DM contribution. The scalar DM is found to be sub-dominant or equally dominant
Practical Implementation/ Social Implications of the Research:
This research explores a new idea in the search for dark matter, the invisible substance that makes up most of the matter in our universe. Instead of assuming dark matter is made of just one kind of particle, this study investigates a two-component model, where a heavier dark matter particle can decay or interact to produce a lighter, faster one. These “boosted” light dark matter particles could leave detectable traces in experiments here on Earth. The study carefully examines how this model fits with current cosmological observations and what conditions are needed for it to work.
While the work is theoretical, it has strong practical implications: it can guide ongoing and future experiments in detecting dark matter more effectively. Understanding dark matter is one of the most important unsolved problems in physics, and progress here could lead to understanding more about the picture of the universe. In the broader sense, such deep-space research inspires innovation, sharpens technology, and fuels curiosity-driven science that ultimately benefits society.
Collaborations:
This work has been done in collaboration with Mr Arindam Basu, PhD Scholar, the Department of Physics, SRM University-AP.
Future Research Plans:
- Study of the Dark Matter Direct Detection prospects.
- Study of the Dark Matter Indirect Detection prospects.
- Searching new physics at energy frontier.
- Understanding Adolescent Stress through Psychosocial Factors June 16, 2025
While the saying – ‘School time is the best time in a child’s life,’ would have been true years ago, it no longer reflects the current scenario among school-going adolescents. Today, children in school can be under just as much stress and burden as a fully grown adult. Though factors like academic pressure, social expectations, and family dynamics mattered even earlier, today these factors have developed a new-found intensity, and when topped with the hormonal changes, can adversely affect an adolescent, making their life challenging. Dr Sandra Roshni Monterio, Assistant Professor at the Department of Psychology, analyses the situation through her paper titled Psychosocial predictors of adolescent stress: insights from a school-going cohort.
Brief abstract
This study investigates the psychosocial factors influencing stress among 1,104 school-going adolescents in Telangana, India. Utilising the Adolescence Stress Scale and various psychosocial measures, hierarchical multiple regression and serial mediation analyses revealed that emotional instability, ill health experiences, conscientiousness, and psychosocial support significantly predict adolescent stress, explaining 6% of the variance. Serial mediation models highlighted family health and emotional efficacy as key mediators. The findings underscore the complex interplay of psychosocial factors in adolescent stress and suggest targeted interventions focusing on emotional regulation and family health to mitigate stress.
Explanation of the Research in Layperson’s Terms
Adolescence is a time of big changes, and while this is true globally, Indian school-going children may experience these changes differently because of our unique cultural and social expectations. This research looks at why teenagers feel stressed and what factors contribute to it. We studied over 1,100 students from schools in Telangana, India, to understand how things like their personality, family life, and social support affect their stress levels. We found that feeling emotionally unstable, having health problems, being overly responsible, and even the kind of support they get from others can increase stress. In fact, too much social support, especially when it’s uninvited or feels controlling, can make adolescents feel even more overwhelmed. This is particularly relevant in India, where family bonds are strong but can sometimes come with pressure, judgment, or expectations. Additionally, the turn to virtual dependency may be temporarily comforting but may not always translate to meaningful connection leading to greater feelings of isolation.
Together, these factors explain a small but important part of why teens feel stressed. We also discovered that a healthy family environment and the ability to manage emotions can help reduce stress. This means that helping teens cope with their emotions and supporting strong family relationships could make them feel less stressed.
Despite growing awareness about teen mental health, most Indian studies have focused only on academic stress or used Western tools that may not capture the emotional landscape of Indian adolescents. Our study fills this gap by using tools grounded in Indian cultural realities and examining the “how” and “why” behind stress, not just “how much” stress exists.
In short, Indian children face a mix of visible and invisible pressures. To truly support them, we need to look beyond grades, listen without judging, and create spaces, both online and offline, where they feel safe, heard, and understood.
Practical Implementation or Social Implications:
The findings from this study have practical implications for schools, families, and mental health professionals. By identifying emotional instability and ill health as key stress contributors, schools can implement programs teaching emotional regulation skills to help adolescents manage stress. The significant role of family health suggests that family-based interventions, like workshops promoting positive parent-child communication, could reduce teen stress. Additionally, the findings challenge the assumption that more social support is always better, suggesting the quality of support matters more than quantity, especially in cultures undergoing social transition. There is a need for tailored support that respects adolescents’ desire for independence. These insights can inform policies in educational and community settings to foster environments that reduce stress and promote mental well-being among teenagers, particularly in high-pressure cultural contexts like India.
Collaborations:
This study was a collaborative effort between SRM University-AP, GITAM University, Hyderabad Campus, and Centre for Health Psychology, University of Hyderabad
Future Research Plans:
Building on these findings, our future research will focus on practical and achievable steps to deepen our understanding of adolescent stress. We plan to develop culturally grounded interventions to improve family health and adolescent emotional efficacy, tailored to the Indian context. To address the modest explained variance, we will explore a limited set of additional factors, such as academic pressure and peer relationships.
Continue reading → - SRM University-AP Ranks No.1 as “The New-Age Emerging University” by IIRF 2025 June 16, 2025
Adding another prestigious accolade to its growing list of achievements, SRM University-AP, Amaravati, secured the top position in “The New-Age Emerging University” segment by the Indian Institutional Ranking Framework (IIRF) 2025 under the Private University category.
The IIRF evaluated leading educational institutions across the country based on comprehensive metrics, including Teaching-Learning Resources and Pedagogy, Research, Industry Income and Integration, Placement Strategies and Support, Future Orientation, External Perception and International Outlook. These parameters offer a balanced and holistic assessment, providing students, parents, and educators with an objective framework to evaluate institutional quality and performance.
SRM University-AP achieved top scores across these critical benchmarks and claimed the top spot, reaffirming its position as a university committed to academic excellence, impactful faculty research, and transformative student outcomes.
Dr P Sathyanarayana, Pro Chancellor, SRM University-AP, added, “The journey of SRM-AP has always been about pushing boundaries, whether in pedagogy, research, or student empowerment. Securing this top rank further validates our vision of creating a future-ready, student-centric learning ecosystem. We will continue to embrace innovation and strive for even greater heights.”
Prof. Manoj K Arora, Vice Chancellor of SRM University-AP, expressed his delight, stating, “This recognition by IIRF is a testament to the dedication and innovation of our faculty, students, and staff. At SRM-AP, we are not just building a University, we are nurturing future leaders who are ready to thrive in a dynamic world. Our focus on cutting-edge research, industry collaboration, and a global outlook continues to set us apart as a new-age university.”
The university’s holistic approach, marked by multi-disciplinary learning, international partnerships, and robust industry linkages, is paving the way for its students to become global achievers.
Continue reading → - A Groundbreaking System for Fog-Based Animal Intrusion Detection June 13, 2025
Dr Vemula Dinesh Reddy, Assistant Professor, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, has been granted a patent for his invention “A System And A Method for Fog-Based Animal Intrusion Detection” with the Application No: 202341026013, in the Indian Patent Official Journal. The invention acts as a groundbreaking fog computing-based system designed for real-time detection of animal intrusions in sensitive areas using smart sensors for instant alerts.
Abstract
This research introduces an intelligent system using fog computing to detect animal intrusions in sensitive or protected zones such as farmlands, highways, and forest borders. The system enables real-time data processing closer to the site of intrusion, offering faster detection and reduced dependency on centralised cloud systems. Furthermore, we proposed the Quantum-Inspired optimisation technique called Quantum Evolutionary Algorithm.
Practical Implementation/ Social Implications of the Research
Through this invention, we can:
- Prevent crop destruction and reduce human-wildlife conflict.
- Enhance safety on highways where animal crossings are common.
- Support forest conservation efforts by enabling non-intrusive monitoring.
- Reduce latency and bandwidth costs by processing data locally (via fog computing).
Future Research Plans
- Integrating AI-based species classification to identify specific animals.
- Creating a scalable mesh network for larger geographic coverage.
- Enhancing energy efficiency through solar-powered edge nodes.
- Extending the system to include drone-based visual surveillance.
- Quantum-Inspired Multimodal Summarizer: A Breakthrough for the Information Age June 13, 2025
The digital age is flooded with multimedia content ranging from articles and podcasts to videos and images, spanning multiple languages. The challenge isn’t just accessing information but understanding and summarising it efficiently. Addressing this need, a pioneering patent titled “A System and Method for Multimodal Multilingual Input Summarization Using Quantum Motivated Processors” (Application Number 202341005519) has been granted to Dr Ashu Abdul, Assistant Professor in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering, and Mr Phanidra Kumar S, PhD Scholar, as published in the Indian Patent Office Journal. This innovative system converts all kinds of media like text, images, audio, and video into descriptive text, then leverages quantum-inspired algorithms to extract and stitch together the most relevant sentences and visuals, thereby crafting a perfect summary.
Abstract
This research details a system and method for summarizing multimodal and multilingual input data by leveraging quantum-motivated processors. The system is designed to handle input documents comprising text, audio, image, and video data, potentially in multiple languages. A pre-processing engine extracts textual descriptions from all these modalities (using deep learning, CNN, VAF, Python), merging them into a unified text corpus. A quantum enabler module assigns initial probabilities and encodes sentences from this corpus into binary states (0s or 1s), reflecting a quantum measurement concept (using randint). A selection module, utilizing an objective/fitness function incorporating factors like term frequency, sentence length, pronoun presence, coverage (QCSS-based similarity), and title relevance (Sentence-to-Title QCSS), calculates a fitness score for each encoded sentence and shortlists relevant ones using a “radiant function”. This module also handles duplicate removal based on QCSS. A rearrangement module scores and reorders the shortlisted sentences based on metadata (like publishing date) and scores (like ROUGE). A summary generation module produces a textual summary. Concurrently, an image selector engine selects a relevant image from the input data, primarily based on the image’s textual description and the generated summary, often using QCSS (Quantum Cosine Similarity Score). Finally, an output engine merges the textual summary with the selected image to create a multioutput (MO) summary. The system may also include a machine translation engine to translate non-English extracted descriptions into English before summarization, if needed. The approach employs quantum measurement and adaptive quantum rotation gates within an evolutionary framework (suggesting a Quantum Genetic Algorithm approach, referred to as MSQMGA) to find optimal summary sentences, demonstrating improved performance and efficiency compared to traditional Genetic Algorithms.
Practical Implementation of the Research
The system’s design outlines a modular architecture suitable for software or hardware implementation, involving distinct processing engines (Input, Pre-processing, Quantum Enabler, Selection, Rearrangement, Summary Generation, Image Selector, Output, and potentially Machine Translation). Key technical details include:
- Pre-processing: Use of Python, deep learning models (VAF, CNN) for extracting textual descriptions from audio/video/image data.
- Quantum Enabler/Selection: Assignment of initial probability (1/√2), encoding via a randomized quantum measurement model (randint(0,1) <= alpha_i), fitness function incorporating multiple weighted factors (fs = [0.75 * ((w1) * C * + w2 * pn * Ts) + 0.25 * S1] * Tf), QCSS for similarity checks (summary-to-document, sentence-to-title, intra-sentence, image selection), shortlisting via a radiant function, duplicate removal via QCSS.
- Rearrangement: Sorting shortlisted sentences based on metadata like publishing date and ROUGE score.
- Image Selection: Deep learning models like QTL-based CNN-LSTM, thresholding (e.g., 0.85).
- Multilingual Handling: Explicit mention of a Machine Translation Engine (122) to translate non-English extracted text into English
- Performance: Claims of achieving ROUGE-1 scores (e.g., 0.78) and QCSS scores (e.g., 92% for image ID), and being “quite faster” compared to traditional GA approaches.
- Datasets: Evaluation conducted using DUC 2005, DUC 2007, Indian Express datasets for text summarization, and Flickr 8k, Flickr 30k, Indian Express datasets for image description (ID).
These specifics suggest practical implementation could involve developing software modules that utilize libraries for deep learning (e.g., TensorFlow, PyTorch with CNN, LSTM components), natural language processing (e.g., NLTK, spacy for tokenization, POS, lemmatization), and potentially frameworks for simulating or interfacing with quantum-inspired algorithms. The “real-time applications” aspect implies design considerations for efficiency and processing speed. Potential deployments include news aggregation platforms, content management systems, competitive intelligence dashboards, cross-cultural communication tools, or applications for analysing vast archives of mixed-media data.
Social Impact
Beyond basic information access, this technology has the potential to foster greater understanding and reduce bias by providing summarized content across linguistic and cultural divides. It could empower individuals and organisations to consume and analyse global information landscapes more effectively. For educators, it could facilitate the creation of multimodal learning materials from diverse sources. For researchers, it could accelerate literature review across different fields and languages. However, it also raises potential implications related to the source and neutrality of the summarisation models themselves – whose perspective is encoded, and how might summaries differ based on training data or algorithmic biases? Ethical considerations around information representation and potential manipulation of summaries would be important as such technologies become more widely adopted.
Future Research Plans
Although the patent doesn’t explicitly list a roadmap, the detailed description and stated advantages imply several potential future research directions and refinements based on the current work:
- Algorithmic Refinement: Further optimizing the “quantum-motivated” genetic algorithm (MSQMGA) framework, including the fitness function weights (w1, w2 are mentioned as trainable parameters), the “radiant function” for shortlisting, and the quantum measurement mapping.
- Modality Integration: Enhancing the pre-processing and integration of information from different modalities, potentially exploring more sophisticated methods for cross-modal semantic understanding beyond extracting textual descriptions.
- Cross-Lingual Capabilities: Improving the multilingual summarization accuracy, potentially integrating more advanced machine translation techniques directly within the summarization process or extending the quantum-motivated selection mechanism to handle multi-language sentence comparisons natively.
- Quantum Hardware Exploration: Investigating the feasibility and performance benefits of implementing parts of the system, particularly the quantum enabler and selection modules, on actual quantum computing hardware as it matures, moving beyond the current “quantum-motivated” (inspired/simulated) approach.
- Scalability and Real-time Performance: Further developing the system to handle even larger volumes of multimodal, multilingual data efficiently for true real-time applications.
- Evaluation and Benchmarking: Expanding testing on a wider range of diverse datasets and benchmarking against more varied state-of-the-art multimodal and multilingual summarization techniques.
- Summarization Quality: Focusing on subjective quality metrics of the generated summaries, such as coherence, readability, and conciseness, in addition to objective metrics like ROUGE
- Image Selection Enhancement: Refining the image selection process, potentially considering factors beyond just textual description and summary similarity, such as image quality, saliency, and contextual relevance within the broader multimodal input.
- HackVyuha’25 National-Level Hackathon – Where innovation meets impact June 10, 2025
HackVyuha’25, a three-day national-level hackathon, was organised by GeeksforGeeks Student Chapter on campus. The event provided a platform for students to explore real-world problem statements, apply emerging technologies, and transform ideas into tangible prototypes. The event was powered by Pillay R Group.
The Hackathon saw more than 230 student innovators from about 30 educational institutions across the country including Rajalakshmi Institute of Technology (Chennai), SR University (Warangal), RGUKT (Nuzvid), Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham (Coimbatore), SRM Institute of Science and Technology (Kattankulathur), and several other institutes from Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh.
The event was organised by the GeeksforGeeks Student Chapter at SRM University- AP, Amaravati, led by Mahesh Babu Chittem, a B.Tech 2nd year student, under the supervision of Dr Ashok Kumar Pradhan, Associate Professor from the Department of Computer Science Engineering and Faculty Advisor of the GfG SRM AP Chapter.
The HackVyuha’25 initiative began with an online Idea Submission Round. Over 200 innovative ideas were received from 30+ participating institutions across India, with 1,364 individual registrations. The top 50 teams were shortlisted for the offline prototype round held at SRM- AP, during the main event.
The event began with a grand Inaugural Session hosted by Mahesh Babu Chittem, Guests of Honour included Dr Ashok Kumar Pradhan, Associate Professor, CSE & Faculty Advisor of the GfG Chapter, Dr Murali Krishna Enduri, Head of the Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Dr Pankaj Belwariar, Director of Communications, SRMAP, Prof. C V Tomy, Dean of the School of Engineering and Sciences, SRMAP, Dr C Sree Rama Prabhu, Director of Research and Innovation at KMIT, and Dr Kumar Gautam, Founder & CEO of QRACE (Quantum Research and Centre of Excellence), New Delhi.
The hackathon witnessed 50+ shortlisted teams from across India settling into their workspaces in the APJ Abdul Kalam Auditorium on Day-2. A surprise visit by former Telangana Minister Mr Malla Reddy delighted the students, who toured the event floor and interacted with multiple teams. A panel of professionals reviewed initial prototypes, assessed team progress, and provided constructive feedback. The evaluators appreciated the diversity of ideas presented, especially those focused on social impact and climate tech.
On Day-3, all teams submitted their final working demos and documentation. Judges conducted an in-depth analysis of the usability, implementation, UI/UX, and relevance of each project. The top 5 teams were shortlisted and invited to pitch live before the grand jury in the X-Lab Auditorium. Each team was evaluated for scalability, presentation clarity, and innovation under pressure.
The Valedictory Ceremony was hosted by Mahesh Babu Chittem, where guest speakers Dr Ashok Kumar Pradhan, Prof. C V Tomy, and Mr Devadas Gorrela, Operations Manager, Pillay R Group, spoke on how hackathons mirror real business strategy, encouraging students to refine their ideas into startups.
The Team Tech Titans conferred first Prize with a cash prize of Rs. 25,000 while the second Prize was won by Team Tech Sparks with Rs 15,000 and Technites settled for third Prize with a Rs. 10,000 cash price, each team receiving a trophy and certificate. A special felicitation was conducted for all 25+ evaluators, who were honored with appreciation certificates and thanked on stage with a small present.
Continue reading →