India’s first indigenous manufacturer of timepieces, the state-owned HMT Watches, will soon wind down, its nostalgic appeal swamped by mounting losses and fierce competition.

At its peak, in the 1960s and 1970s, HMT — Hindustan Machine Tools — made eight or nine out of every 10 watches sold in India. In total, according to one estimate, HMT has made more than 100 million watches. Its unfussy designs and robust mechanical innards made for practical and lasting gifts: to a young college graduate, or to a retiring employee, or to newly married couples.

Nagpur: An innovative project by two Std IX students of Narayana Vidyalayam won the 'best project' award at the national level CBSE Science Exhibition 2013-14. Aditya Bhopale and Kartikeya Rehpade designed a device that helps visually impaired people not only read text but also identifies obstacles around them to aid in walking.

-It has been noted that visually impaired students fail to understand geography chapters based on astronomy in schools.So Dr Kalpana Kharade, associate professor and Hema Peese, assistant professor of KJ Somaiya Comprehensive College of Education Training and Research (KJSCCETR) researched on teaching astronomy to these kids with the help of Technology Based Inquiry Learning.

Going to the cinema is for most people an easy-going form of entertainment.  For the visually impaired community however, it has long been simply more hassle than it's worth.

 
The London borough of Kingston has established a Visual Impairment (VI) Parliament which aims to provide blind and partially sighted people with the opportunity to represent the wider visually impaired community in the area.
Created in partnership with the Thomas Pocklington Trust, the initiative is the first of its kind in the UK and will see blind and partially sighted people in the borough selected as ‘MPs’. They will discuss issues such as health, transport and education, helping to empower people with sight loss to influence and improve access to services.

The government would work to encourage children to develop a positive attitude towards organ donation, particularly for eye donation, union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan has said.
The minister said he would request the human resource development ministry to include passages in school books to develop in children a positive attitude towards organ donation in general and eye donation in particular, an official statement here said Sunday.

 
India's eye donation fortnight ends on Monday, and in a bid to raise awareness about it, a series of 'Blind Walks' was organized in Bangalore during which sighted people could briefly experience what it is not to be able to see.
For a short while sighted people were asked to tie blindfolds and walk with the help of a visually impaired guide.
Though blindfolds can be removed anytime, the struggle is for those leading them. And for them, eye donation can be a life-changer.