Neeraj Kumar

Top Hyderabad :The approval of the Adilabad Airport is not just a milestone for one district but a major opportunity for the integrated development of north Telangana, BJP MLA Payal Shankar said on Monday.

The state government's policy and city infrastructure are making Hyderabad more competitive.

Steady monsoon rains have revived Telangana's iconic waterfalls, drawing tourists to Kuntala, Pochera and Tumpelli.

Steady rainfall over the past 48 hours has accelerated sowing and transplantation across Telangana, with kharif cultivation surpassing last year's acreage.

Bacterial cellulose (BC) is an important biopolymer recognized for its high purity, crystallinity, mechanical strength and biocompatibility. However, its commercial-scale production is limited by low productivity and high production costs. In this study, BC production by Komagataeibacter diospyri RSA4 was optimized through a two-step approach, followed by functional enhancement through chitosan (CS) incorporation. Initially, key physicochemical parameters including, pH, inoculum size, incubation period, temperature and media-to-flask ratio, were individually optimized using one-factor-at-a-time (OFAT) method. Subsequently, most significant variables were statistically optimized using Central Composite Design (CCD) under Response Surface Methodology (RSM). Optimized conditions (pH 4.0, 30 °C, 15 days), resulted in a 1.75-fold increase in BC yield (2.28 g/L) compared to unoptimized conditions (1.3 g/L), with model predictions showing 97% accuracy. To enhance functional performance, CS was incorporated into BC via solvent casting to form BC-CS composite films. Among the formulations, BC-CS2 film exhibited high antimicrobial efficacy, with inhibition zones up to 8.5 mm against, E. coli, B. subtilis, S. aureus and C. albicans, confirming role of CS in imparting bioactivity. Characterization by FTIR, XRD, SEM, UV–Vis, and EDS confirmed successful integration of CS and improved material properties, highlighting the potential of BC-CS composites for antimicrobial packaging application. Overall, this work integrates strain-specific optimization with subsequent functional material development.

Telangana has secured only one approved project each under the Centre's PLI schemes for large-scale electronics manufacturing and IT hardware, trailing several other states.

Historians trace Bonalu to Kakatiya and Vijayanagara eras, predating the Lashkar legend

An expert committee has urged a revamp of India's fragmented energy data systems, recommending a unified, real-time framework to strengthen climate policy and energy planning.

Top Hyderabad: Telangana remains outside the list of beneficiaries of the Centre's Solar Parks Scheme (SPS) even as India expands its solar

Singareni Collieries has secured three new coal blocks in Telangana and Odisha, strengthening its long-term production capacity, safeguarding jobs and offsetting output losses from mines set to close by 2027–28.