Piramel Prize

The Piramal Prize was established by the Ajay G. Piramal Foundation in 2007 to encourage and support bold entrepreneurial ideas which have a profound impact on access to higher standards of health for India’s rural and marginalized urban communities. The award recognizes high-impact, scalable business models that propose innovative solutions which directly or indirectly address India’s healthcare crisis. Entries may include, but are not limited to, innovations in service delivery, technology applications, health-related products, or mechanisms to address public health necessities such as potable water.

KAIHAN KRIPPENDORFF

KAIHAN KRIPPENDORFF, author and trainer on `Innovation & Strategy' will be in India in February for management workshops organised by Knowledge capital.The 1 Day Strategy & Innovation Workshop is based on Kaihan’s book The Art of the Advantage.

For more information please visit www.kcapital-us.com/kaihan

Biofuels

Indian organizations are active working on biofuels like Jatropha, Sugar beet, fungus. Check summery of 26 sources as Biofuels compiled by Adena DeMonte.

IBM predictions for 2008

New year is round the corner and for Geeks who do not believe in astrology IBM can be a better choice for what is in store for them in 2008- the predictions for 2008. The five predictions are:

1. smart energy technologies to manage personal carbon footprint
2. intelligent traffic systems
3.tracking food source from farm to market
4.compressed 3D imaging on mobile
5.super senses for diagnostics.

There are many Indian start-ups working on all these areas. One of them is Vikas sarma ready with an alpha version for capturing all information a consumer wants to know - of the farm which has grown his fruits, type of pesticides used, packaging system etc.

Samsung tops design patents in 2007

In 2007, Samsung Electronics received over 550 design patents - the most ever issued to a single company in one year. Sony holds the most design patents, and is followed closely by Nike.... read

open source for drug discovery

Open source movement gets a boost with Prof Samir K Brahmachari, DG, CSIR announcing open source revolution in drug discovery and biotechnology. The report says "The government has begun discussions with Sun Microsystems to set up web-management tools for an ‘open source’ drug discovery project, which works similar to a popular online encyclopaedia formed by articles contributed and edited by the brightest minds worldwide. The first project would be to develop medicines for tuberculosis and later extend to other diseases like malaria and AIDS".

QuarkRank

Start-up Quark Rank is in the news with their point-of-sale search engine. Customers can get this comparative data on competitive products without elaborate online search.

3D Solid Compression

3D Solid Compression (P) Ltd (3DSoC) is a spin-off from Indian Institute of Science and Stanford University. The start-up has developed and patented a technology called VIS, a very concise and lightweight 3D representation, comprising of geometry, text, sound, animation, textures and interaction.VIS will find applications in the 3D Publishing and Visualisation space across industries such as Automotive, Aerospace, Heavy Equipment Manufacturing, Marine & Offshore Drilling and Healthcare to create electronic catalogues, manuals and digital mockups. It can also used in the Education, Media & Entertainment industry to create content in the Gaming/Animation space both for recreation and training.

Prof B Gurumoorthy who was teaching product design at IISc teamed with Dr Krishnan Ramaswami and Prof Fritz PrintZ of Stanford university to start this technology venture.

Branded coffee from tribals

INDIA’S first tribal growers’ organic coffee brand was launched in the Araku Valley by Union minister of state for commerce Jairam Ramesh. The Araku Emerald brand was derived from the only coffee in India to be grown by a tribal co-operative and to have received both an international and a Fair Trade certification. Some 4,000 tribals were present at the launch..read

Bioremediation patent for Prof. K.M. Elizabeth

Prof. K.M. Elizabeth of the Department of Microbiology in Gitam University has succeeded in ammonia removal from industrial effluents through a bio-remediation method and has obtained a patent for the method, which will be of use in steel industry in particular. The inventor claims ' the bacterium identified by him can remove 100 per cent ammonia within 24 hours, according to Nessler’s method, and 75 per cent according to the Russian method of Nesselerisation'. This is an indication of quality research work done in lesser known universities.

vision chip from X Cyton

Bangalore-based XCyton Diagnostics has launched the DNA macro chip, a molecular diagnostic kit, for identifying a range of pathogens causing eye diseases in the country recently. Promotor of this technology start-up, Dr. Ravi Kumar served as a scientist at AstraZeneca Research Foundation from 1986 to 1993 after which he went on to set up XCyton Diagnostics Limited.Scientists from the Centre for Cellular & Molecular Biology (CCMB) along with clinicians at the L V Prasad Eye Institute, both in Hyderabad; from Sankara Nethralaya, Chennai, and the RP Centre, New Delhi, have under the New Millennium Indian Technology Leadership Initiative (NMITLI) programme of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), developed the DNA based diagnostic chip.

Novatiums thin client PC $50

Thin Client computers, MIT's $100 low cost PC are in the news at regular intervals. In Delhi, it is a now a reality. Novatium in association with MTNL is offering NET PC at Rs 1999/- exclusive of Monitor. Three visionaries have made it possible, Ray Stata (Analogue devices), Rajesh Jain (serial innovator) and celebrity mentor Prof Ashok Jhunjhunwala.

Head Start 2008

HeadStart conference is aimed at showcasing the state-of-the-art products and technologies developed in India. Next event is from the 18th -20th of January 2008, at JN Tata Auditorium, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. The focus areas are:
consumer services (web and mobile), Mobility & Communications, Enterprise applications and Development tools, and Silicon and Consumer devices.

proto-January

proto showcasing Indian start-ups is having its next show in January 18-19th at Asiana Hotel, Chennai. Registration is now open. Vijay Anand reports participation of VCs Mentor Partners, Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Ventureast, Lightspeed Ventures, Helion Ventures, Nexus India Capital, Silicon Valley Bank. Writing about status of 40 odd start-ups that participated in 2007, the organizers cited several successes like Tenmiles Corportaion, Vyasya, Sloka telecom, Inasra, Lxigo.

Garuda-nationwide computer grid

Nation wide computing grid, brainchild of Ramky, DG, CDAC seems ready for take-off. Seema in MINT reports "the 100 megabits per second grid is currently up and running with 500 processors connected to it and C-DAC intends to upgrade the network to operational speeds of 10 gigabits per second within a year.".

Natco gets Thomson Sceintific innovation award

CNN reports that Natco Research Centre reeived Thomson Scientific Innovation award for the year 2007.The award, presented for the first time at the InfoVision 2007 conference in Mumbai, India, went to Natco Research Center for their achievements through patented technology as recorded in Thomson Scientific patent information services. The report says that Natco was determined to be the most efficient innovator by ranking the number of inventions per R&D spend.

100 IT Innovators 2007

NASSCOM announced list of 100 IT Innovators, a handbook giving details will be released during NaSSCOM2008 Leadership Forum meeting scheduled from 13th to 15th February at Mumbai. Registration is now open.

Innovation Predictions 2008 BW

Innovation Predictions 2008 by BW includes the Indian favorite `mobile application' besides charting larger territory for Innovation consultancy from BD (Business Design) curriculum for B-schools to IM (Innovation Management) for Executive Training. May be enterprising Innovation Consultants can begin training CEO's at the retreat designed by Mumbai Architects, winner of Design for Asia awards.

Fund for Accelerating Start-ups in Technology (FAST)

There has been much discussion on the need for an early stage fund. DSIR has now come up with this FAST program. Interested start-ups can write to asraoatnicdotin. Or post comments at
http://myangelfund.wordpress.com/

VCs fund new building system

Do VCs fund innovations in civil engg?
ConXtech, a start-up in USA, receives VC fund for its business model based on innovative way of constructing multi storied building.

During the field assembly process, ConXBeams are lowered and locked into place between ConXColumns from the top down. The ends of beam connectors immediately and easily lock into place resulting in an instant stable connection…

After the structure is assembled, high-strength bolts and custom washers filled with fluorescent orange silicon gel that squirts when the pre-load reaches the desired tension are inserted diagonally into the four corners of the adjoining outer-collar plates on all SMRSF connections. A hydraulic torque wrench is then used to tighten the bolts…

source: Venture Beat

World Food prize 2008

Nominations are now being taken for the $250,000 World Food Prize. Any individual is eligible whose breakthrough innovations in science, policy, or leadership have significantly improved the quality, quantity, or availability of food globally. The deadline is April 1, 2008.
URL: http://www.worldfoodprize.org/nominate/nominate.htm

International Honor for Young Indian Scientists

Scopus® announced the Second Young Indian Scientist Awards which were awarded at an event held at “Le Meridian” in New Delhi on December 7. The award instituted by the parent company Elsevier has selected nine recipients from areas such as Biological Sciences, Chemistry, Environment and Engineering in order to cover both basic and applied disciplines.
The winners are:
Dr. Bakhtisaran Raman - Biological Sciences
Dr. Anil Kumar - Chemistry
Dr. S K Satheesh - Earth Sciences
Dr. Sanjay Mittal - Engineering Sciences
Dr. Dinesh Mohan - Environmental Sciences
Dr. Upadrastha Ramamurthy - Material Sciences
Dr. Nimish A Shah - Mathematics
Dr. Sushil Kumar Jha- Medicine
Dr. Vinod Kumar Aswal - Physics

TiE entrepreneurial summit

This is coming up as a major event from 11th to 13th December, Taj Palace Hotel , New Delhi. Dataquest awards are planned on 11th at 1915 hrs. Building India is the theme. An unique opportunity for entrepreneurs to meet VCs and network.

Setting up and Managing a Business Incubator in an academic environment

SINE (Society for Innovation and Entrepreneurship) , the incubator at IIT Mumbai is organizing this workshop on 21/12/2007 at IIT. There is no registration fee.

The workshop aims to share the experiences of IIT Bombay for setting up & managing a business incubator in an academic environment.
Contact:

Poyni Bhatt
Chief Administrative Officer
Society for Innovation and Entrepreneurship
IIT Bombay
Powai, Mumbai - 400 076
Tel.: +91 22 25767072, 25767016
Fax: +91 22 25721220
www.sineiitb.org

Discoveries to Dividends: Leveraging India's Cost-Effective Innovation Resources

Discoveries to Dividends was prepared by experienced and influential R&D professionals led by the Chairman and CEO of Sarasijam Technologies, Dr. T.S.R. Prasada Rao. Dr. Rao has 40 years of R&D experience and was the chief executive of two national laboratories, the Indian Institute of Petroleum and the Central Building Research Institute. Recognized globally with 17 awards,
Dr. Rao has developed and commercialized more than 10 technologies and published 150 papers, 50 patents, and 3 books. After founding Sarasijam in 1999, Dr. Rao has led the firm to service clients such as BP, Shell, GTC, BASF, Johns-Manville, Air Products, and Dow.

The Discoveries to Dividends study includes:
A comprehensive 100+ page report, 2 hard copies, one soft copy, PPT plus Five days of Sarasijam’s consulting over 3-6 months.

Contact:

T.S.R. Prasada Rao, Ph.D.
Chairman & CEO
Sarasijam Technologies
DDA HIG Flats, Flat No. 600
Sector 13, Pocket B
Dwarka
New Delhi 110045, India

+91 981 033 8091
sarasijam.tech@gmail.com
http://www.sarasijam.com

International conference on Advances in Energy research ,Dec 12-14

International conference on Advances in Energy research is planned at IIT Mumbai from 12th to 14th December 2007.
URL: http://www.ese.iitb.ac.in/~icaer2007/
Contact person: Rangan Banerjee

IDG Ventures India

IDG Ventures India is an early-stage venture capital firm investing in technology and technology-enabled companies, promoted by Sudhir Sethi. The fund has invested $ 2.5 million in iViZ, a network security startup in the security and vulnerability management market with an automated and on demand penetration testing product. This start-up was promoted by Bikash Barai, a double B.Tech from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kharagpur in 'Computer Science' (Hons) and 'Architecture'; Masters in 'Computer Science and Information Technology' from IIT Kharagpur

IDG is scouting investment opportunities in four areas:

• Software products and services with a focus on business intelligence, security and 3D technology
• Engineering, electronics and life sciences with a focus on aero space, automotive
• Medical electronics and renewable energy,
• Digital consumer with a focus on Internet, mobile VAS and games and Telecom, semi conductor and wireless.

Source:Network computing

Award winning Business Plan from James Poss

James Poss of Sea Horse gives useful tips to entrepreneurs about writing business plan. His business plan made in 2004 got him award, the company making solar powered trash compactors did take-off and reflecting back on his plan, he offers useful advise on how the reality could be different from even an award winning business plan. Download the annotated business plan from Business week.

India-UK Advanced Technology Centre (IU-ATC)

Techtree reports that British Telecom (BT) is leading a consortium of 22 industry- and academic- partners such as the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) to launch the India-UK Advanced Technology Centre (IU-ATC). IU-ATC, a virtual graduate research school, will support collaborative- PhD and Post Doctorate projects and research programs, and technology transfer between the UK and India. Professor Ashok Jhunjhunwala of IIT believes that the global connectivity of this virtual consortium will ensure rapid transfer of ideas and technology with the aim of creating breakthrough next generation network (NGN) and ICT research.

CTRI gets patent for Solansole

Central Tobacco Research Institute (CTRI) based in Guntur in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh has bagged the patent rights for for ‘solansole’ (a medicine extracted from tobacco for use in the manufacture of cancer and cardiac drugs). As per MedIndia news Chinese producer Nanjing Huaguan Development Of Biotechnology Co is the major global supplier.

E-Charka

Everyone in India is familiar with charka, the yarn spinning wheel. Innovator Rajsekhar applied for a patent for his E-Charka.The invention here is about producing electricity from the same charaka along with production of yarn. The manual motive power used for operating the charaka is connected to a desired phased electrical generator. The generated electricity is then stored in a storage battery. This stored electrical energy is used for operating Light using a LED.
contact: RAJSHEKAR SHANKARAYYA HIREMATH , NO. 1674, 27TH MAIN, SECTOR 2, HSR LAYOUT, BANGALORE -560034.

Technology Pioneers 2008

World Economic Forums's `Technology Pioneers 2008' list includes one Indian start-up; Neurosynaptic Communications Pvt Ltd in Biotechnology/health sector and another Indian promoted US venture Nanosteller In Energy/Environment sector.

Neurosynaptic Communications is a telemedicine solutions company which has developed a remote low cost diagnostic kit to measure four primary parameters, viz temperature, blood pressure, ECG and heartbeat (stethescope) for teleconsultation.The ReMeDi™ (Remote Medical Diagnostics) range of products and comprehensive telemedicine solution developed byNeurosynaptic in collaboration with the TeNeT group of the IIT Madras, allows transmission of various vital parameters about the patient to a doctor for preliminary diagnosis, either in real-time or in a store-and-forward mode.
Pankaj Dhingra's Nanosteller is a clean technology company. Its Rational Catalyst Design methodology unites two disciplines – computational nano-science and advanced synthetic chemistry – to speed the pace of development for nanoscaled catalytic materials for diesel emissions control.