National Award for Excellence in Water Management

CII – Godrej GBC is organizing the “National Award for Excellence in Water Management” on 29 & 30 November 2007 at Chennai.The objective of the Award Scheme is to recognize and Award “Excellence” in Water Management in industries ‘within the fence and beyond fence’ and facilitate sharing of information by excellent water efficient companies.

Contact:

sukanya.sundar@ciionline.org
Confederation of Indian Industry
CII- Sohrabji Godrej Green Business Centre
Survey No 64, Kothaguda Cross Roads R R Dist, Hyderabad-500032,
Ph: 040-23112971-73 Extn 226 Fax: 040-23112837

Theodore Von Karman award

The International Academy of Astronautics (IAA) has selected Rajya Sabha member and former Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chairman K. Kasturirangan for the prestigious Theodore Von Karman award for this year.The award will be presented to Kasturirangan, one of the country's top scientists, here Monday on the first-day of the 58th International Astronautical Congress.The Theodore Von Karman award is the highest distinction of the IAA given annually to recognise outstanding lifetime achievements in any branch of science.The award, instituted in 1987 in the memory of the legendary Theodore Von Karman, aerospace scientist and founder-president of IAA, is being given to Kasturirangan for his contribution to the Indian space programme, including the development of launch vehicles and satellite technology, applications in remote-sensing, communications and education that have benefited the society.

source:IndiaPRwire

Bhatnagar prize 2007

The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) on Wednesday announced the winners of the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar prizes for outstanding contributions in various disciplines of science. The 11 scientists selected are : Narayanaswamy Srinivasan and Pundi Narasimhan Rangarajan of the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore; Rama Govindarajan of Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research, Bangalore; B.V. Rajarama Bhat of Indian Statistical Institute, Bangalore; Budaraju Srinivasa Murthy of IIT, Chennai; A. Ajayaghosh of National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology, Thiruvananthapuram; Anil Bhardwaj of Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, Thiruvananthapuram; Upinder Singh Bhalla of National Centre for Biological Sciences, Kanpur; Amalendu Chandra of IIT, Kanpur; Yashwant Gupta of National Centre for Radio Astrophysics, Pune; and Pinaki Majumdar of Harish Chandra Research Institute, Allahabad.
source:Hindu

4th International Conference on Environmental Education

The Fourth International Conference (Tbilsiplus30) on Environmental Education co-sponsored by UNESCO and UNEP is being organized by the Government of India. Centre for Environment Education is the nodal agency for the conference and is going to be held from 26^th to 28^th November, 2007. There will be around 30 working sessions in this conference and 2 of them i.e. “Innovations and Technology” and “Sustainable Waste Management” will be organized by Waste & Resource Management Group of CEE. The details of the conference could be found at http://www.tbilisiplus30.org/

Avesthagen's horde of agri-biotech patents

Avestha Gengraine Technologies Pvt. Ltd. (Avesthagen), one of India’s leading biotechnology companies based in Bangalore, announced that the Australian Patent Office has granted a patent to the company on "A process for generating cytoplasmic male sterile line in rice and other crops by RNA editing'. This patent will revolutionize the agricultural industry and bring succor to the sector. This invention promises to open up opportunities in developing hybrids in crops where conventional male sterility is not available or feasible. This technology would allow hybrid seed programs to be developed without narrowing the diversity of germplasm. Avesthagen assists farmers by creating innovative solutions that will benefit their production.Over the years Avesthagen has made numerous inventions and now it has a significant portfolio of 137 patent applications of which 61 relate to Agri-Biotech domain.

6th Gradere student Arjun Mehta's Game Startup Gets Venture Backing

Santa Clara-based Playspan has raised venture funding even thought its founder, Arjun Mehta, is in the 6th grade.

PlaySpan works with games publishers to integrate eCommerce functionality so that they can sell merchandise as well as provide financial rewards for game play. It has also built community features. The company claims to have won 7 licensing deals with large game publishers in the MMOG category.

PlaySpan started in Arjun's garage San Jose in 2006. Seed funding came from Arjun's game challenge winnings at the 5th grade at Challenger School in San Jose. Today Arjun's company announced that it has raised $6.5M in Series A funding led by Easton Capital land was joined by Menlo Ventures, STIC International out of South Korea and Novel TMT Ventures in Hong Kong.

Source: Alarmclock

Eureka 2007

Eureka 2007 is organised by E Cell of IIT Mumbai.

The Entrepreneurship Cell, IIT Bombay is a student body that seeks to foster the spirit of entrepreneurship amongst the student community. They have been conducting Business Plan Competition called Eureka!, now in its ninth edition, which is Business Plan Competition in India and one of the Top Five inthe Asia-Oceanic region in terms of participation, prizes and resources. Registration open till end of September.

Google offers $10 million for best ideas

Google.org launched its RechargeIT Initiative to accelerate the adoption of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and vehicle-to-grid technology through technical demonstrations, grant-making, advocacy and investments. As part of this initiative, we are issuing a $10 million request for investment proposals (RFP). We plan to invest amounts ranging from $500,000 to $2,000,000 in selected for-profit companies whose innovative approach, team and technologies will enable widespread commercialization of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, electric vehicles and/or vehicle-to-grid solutions. This RFP is global in scope, and we encourage responses from companies anywhere in the world.

Google.org is seeking companies with technologies, products and services that will accelerate widespread commercialization in the following fields:

• Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs)
• Electric vehicles (EVs)
• Vehicle-to-grid solutions (V2G)

Proposals should be submitted to www.google.org/recharge/rfpform no later than October 22, 2007.

Create the Future design contest

Create the Future design contest rewards the best ideas for new products, and celebrates breakthrough thinking about problems of all kinds, large and small.

Contest deadline: 15 October 2007. Open for entries now!

Lockheed Martin India Innovation Growth Program 2008

FICCI, jointly with the Lockheed Martin Corporation and IC2 Institute, University of Texas at Austin, USA announces the Lockheed Martin India Innovation Growth Program 2008, which is in continuum with the Lockheed Martin India Innovation Growth Program 2007. The aim of this program is to accelerate innovative new Indian technologies into global markets. The India Innovation Growth Program is the only program of its kind, because of its focus on teaching and using world-class commercialization strategies. The Program is wholly funded by Lockheed Martin Corporation, and developed with the assistance of the IC2 Institute at the University of Texas at Austin and FICCI. Best of all, there is no cost to participate.

Program is open to technologies from a wide range of fields including Aeronautics, Agriculture, Biotechnology, Chemistry, Communications, Computing, Defense, Electronics, Environmental, IT, Manufacturing, Marine, Materials, Medical / Life Sciences, Nanotech, Petrochemical, Semiconductors and Transportation. Applicants who are selected to participate in the program can look forward to the following benefits:

Training in technology commercialization strategies and entrepreneurship

Analysis of commercial potential of their technology

Participation in a technology competition judged by an international panel of experts

Program finalists will receive these additional benefits:

Professional business development assistance

Access to US and global markets

Other details are mentioned on the program website www.indiainnovates.in. For any further information, please contact my colleague Ms. Eittee Gupta, Research Analyst, Ph: 011-23325158, email: lm@ficci.com, eittee.gupta@ficci.com

Kavli Prizes for scientists

The Kavli Prize is a partnership between the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters, the Norwegian Ministry of Education and the Kavli Foundation. The Kavli Prizes will be presented in 2008 for "outstanding contributions" to the fields of astrophysics, nanoscience and neuroscience. Mr Kavli was born in Norway but later moved to the US to set up the Kavlico Corporation, which became one of the world's biggest suppliers of sensors for the aeronautic and automotive industries.

the necklace with fishes

Innovator Arshad Mohsin claims that aquatic necklace shown on star news( 10 to 11 PMon 4-9-2007) ( the necklace with fishes ) is actually his invention and had been applied for patent in the year 1996. See picture on left.

Biopesticide for cotton bullworm

They are caterpillars that devour crop plants and cause extensive loss to farmers. Helicoverpa armigera, also known as the cotton bollworm or legume pod borer, has been estimated to cause annual crop damage of up to US$ 2 billion globally with an additional cost of US$ 500 million on insecticides for its management.Farmers in villages in India and Nepal have been traditionally shaking crop plants to dislodge Helicoverpa larvae. Using these larvae for the multiplication of the Nucleo Polyhedrosis Virus (NPV), a biopesticide that kills Helicoverpa , is the modern twist that ICRISAT provided.
For details contact:Dr GV Ranga Rao at g.rangarao@cgiar.org

Workshop on Special Economic Zones (SEZ)

Princeton Academy, Mumbai is organising 2 workshops on SEZ at Chennai (13/9/07) and Mumbai(28/9/07/.Sudhakar Kasture, well known consultant and visiting faculty at SPJIMR is the resource person.

Meningitis vaccine from Bharat Biotech

Vaccination against Meningitis, commonly called brain fever is now more affordable with one more Indian firm Bharat Biotech lanching BioHib.

Bajaj-TVS patent battle

Pharmacy & Drugs people are long in the know on patents and patent infringements. Now this dispute between Bajaj and TVS will bring it home for engineering community. Some basics on patenting- there can be no patent on any product like Motorbike, there can be no patent on any technology like DTS-i or CC-VTi. Patents are given for innovation and monopoly rights (for a limited period) are valid in the nation in which the patent rights are granted for the claims of the accepted patent. What is protected from infringement are only the claims. See Bajaj claims as given in the PCT application.What if Bajaj loses patent as disputed by TVS that it is part of prior- art, i.e, known to the public by the time Bajaj first applied for protection India. If there is no patent infringement Bajaj can continue to manufacture and sell the product. What if Bajaj wins the case-TVS will be forced to discontinue production/ marketing or take license from Bajaj. Important lesson is-patenting is not an end of pipeline activity. NPD (New Product Development) begins with identification of patent spaces. Interested -read Capturing value with IPR (free) from
http://www.indianinnovatorsforum.org/e-learning.htm

INDEX awards 2007

On August 24, 2007 the winning designs in the five INDEX: categories received the world's biggest design award of 100 000 € each.

A life-saving device called the Tongue Sucker, a low-cost prosthetic foot and a high-speed Tesla Roadster electric sports car were among the winners of the prestigious INDEX awards, a 100,000-euro prize for design ideas. The aptly named Tongue Sucker is an inexpensive first-aid device designed to save lives that lets even untrained bystanders at the scene of an accident quickly re-open airways of unconscious victims before professional help arrives. The idea sprang from the fact that critical minutes are sometimes lost before medics arrive. Four young designers from Imperial College and the Royal College of Art in London devised the Tongue Sucker after the 2005 London suicide bombing attacks. If you dont open the airway before the paramedics arrive there is no point in them arriving anyway, Graeme Davies, one of the inventors, told Reuters after winning the award under patronage of the crown prince of Denmark. The device is a disposable small plastic chamber with a red rubber bulb-like air reservoir squeezed onto the tongue of the victim and then released. The suction draws the tongue off the back of the throat, creating a small but vital gap to allow the person to breathe. It is inexpensive to manufacture.
INDEX prizes, the worlds most lucrative design awards, are picked every two years for five categories: body, home, work, play and community. Each winner gets 100,000 euros

Technolohy summits by Redherring

Red Herring hosts 10 events in 2007 around the globe - from Beijing to Budapest to Kyoto to Monterey, CA to Cannes.The geography of innovation has expanded and new nations in the Baltic and South East Asia have now emerged with a trained and talented crop of engineers and ambitious entrepreneurs.ETRE 2007 is planned at Budapest from October 7 to 10. This will be followed by ATRE 07 at Mumbai from November 4to7.

workshop on carbon credits

INSWARB is organising ‘Capacity Building Workshops on CDM’ at Hyderabad (30-31 August 2007) and Bhubaneswar (4 September 2007). The organisation received first tranche of carbon credits from the World Bank to their FaL-G:CDM Project. They desire that the fruits of carbon revenue should reach to as many industries as possible. In order to disseminate the knowledge on the opportunities for carbon credits in India they are organising these workshops.
Contact: Dr N Bhanumathidas, 0891-2516411/ 9848191453

E-Book:Technology Management for globalizing firms

Indian Innovators Association has uploaded the E-Book, `Technology Management for globalizing firms'. The book containing 8 chapters can be downloaded (PDF files) free without even a registration or password.

outsourcing software product development

For software product start-ups planning to outsource product development, Persistent systems offers services ranging from research, usability engineering,prototyping to porting. In India, services are offered in Pune, Nagpur, Goa and Bangalore.

RED HERRING 100 ASIA

Some of the Indian firms that made to the list are:
Adiance Technologies Pvt Ltd, Automotive Exchange Private Limited,
CashTech Solutions India Ltd, Cat Computer Services Pvt Ltd
Communicate 2, CorEdge Networks India Pvt Ltd
Cosmic Circuits, Cross-Tab Marketing Services Pvt Ltd
FXLabs Studios Pvt Ltd, Gameshastra Solutions P Ltd
GI Terminal i-Tech Pte Ltd, Gisil Designs Pvt Ltd
GlobalLogic India Pvt Ltd, Hurix Systems Pvt Ltd
Bharat Biotech International Limited, iXiGO.com
iYogi Technical Services Pvt Ltd, Manthan Systems
MeritTrac Services Private Limited, Metrica Systems Pvt Ltd
Mindlogicx Infotech Ltd, Mistral Software Pvt Ltd
NetAlter Software Limited, OnMobile Asia Pacific Pvt Ltd
Paladion Networks Pvt Ltd, PayMate India Pvt. Ltd
pepper square software services pvt ltd, plaNETsurf Creations Pvt Ltd
Proteans Software, Regalix, SatNav Technologies Pvt. Ltd
Skenzo.com (Monetization Software Pvt Ltd, SM Onyomo Infotech Pvt Ltd
Telibrahma Convergent Communications Pvt Ltd, VJIVE Networks
WeP Peripherals Ltd, Worldviewer Dot Com India Private Ltd
Zycus

CII's National Innovation Grid

CII is developing a National Innovation Grid. It has several grids and nodes. The grid is being filled and interested parties can find their slot in the grid.

Innovative Technologies for manufacturing Expo ,Mumbai

All India Association of Industries and World Trade Centre, Mumbai are organising the `Innovative Technologies for Manufacturing expo' from 7-10 Feb 2008 at Expo Centre, WTC, Mumbai. ITM Expo will be covering several arenas of technology with a focus on the following broad sectors:

• Automation & Engineering.
Precision Tools, tools, mould making, auto components, transport technologies, material handling technology, printing & processing technologies machinery manufacturers for constructions, building material and infrastructure technology.
• Agro technology, food processing and packaging technology.
• Electrical and electrical engineering and related sectors.
• Environmental Technologies, measuring systems and quality management systems.

Bangalore Tech Expo

FICCI jointly with the Lockheed martin Corporation and IC sqaure Institute, University of Texas is organising a Technology Expo on August 23rd 2007 at Hotel Taj west End , Bangalore. The Bangalore Tech Expo will showcase some of the commercialization deals signed by the winners of Lockheed Martin Innovator's competition held in July.

Investor Forum 2007-green investments

Investor Forum is important green investment platform, wherein the selected entrepreneurs are given an opportunity to present their business plans to a panel of qualified professionals from the Indian financial community. It is an event for Investor's and SMEs to interact for buying and selling of green business ideas.New Ventures India is organizing its second annual Investor Forum at Hotel Taj Lands End, Mumbai on 16 & 17 November 2007. Interested innovators can contact :
Anil Kumar Gade, anilkumar.gade@ciionline.org. Web links:
http://www.newventuresindia.org/nvi/Content/forum2007.jsp?eventid=1430

wanted: TECHNOLOGY ANGELS

Tehnopreneur Promotion Programme (TePP) of Government of India , managing India's biggest network for mentoring and funding independent innovators of India is looking for Technology Angels. Capable and committed technology experts , both working and retired, are invited to offer their services. See TePP advt `wanted 200 innovators........' .

Google invests in in Ventureast TeNet Fund II

Ventureast TeNet Fund is managed by Ventureast Fund Advisors India Ltd. The fund began with a corpus of $15 million with a mandate to finance start-ups in the telecom and IT industries. Ray Stata, Chairman and co-founder of Analog Devices of the US, had invested $10 million alone in Fund I. The TeNet group of IIT, Chennai, is the technology advisor, while Sarath Naru of APIDC is one of the co-founders of the fund. It typically will invest $2.5 million $10 million in an early stage venture.Now, Google acquired 30 per cent in Fund II for $3.75 million.
TeNet, Analog devices and Google make a formidable combination.
Source: VC Circle

Global Indus Technovators Award 2007

Indian Business Club @ MIT is hosting a yearly award ceremony - Global Indus technovators award, with the objective to felicitate young innovators (under the age of 40) of indus origin. The nominations for the same are open until 16 August 2007. Details can be found at

http://technovators.mit.edu.

Contact: 
Karthik Venkataraman,
Co-director,
Indian Business Club, MIT
vkarthik@MIT.EDU

Cosmos Ignite Innovations Pvt. Ltd

Cosmos Ignite Innovations Pvt. Ltd is an Indo-US Joint Venture . Building on the work of Stanford University, LUTW Foundation , Cosmos Ignite Innovations commenced as a collaboration between Cosmos Energy, India & Ignite Innovations Inc. USA. Amit Chugh, Co-Founder & CEO, is an MBA and Economics graduate with experience in Renewable Energy and Consumer Marketing. He returned to India to found and run an entrepreneurial venture in the energy space ranging from Hydro to Solar and founded Cosmos Ignite Innovations. He is based in New Delhi, India. Mighty lamp, their LED based solar operated lamp with solar panel costs about Rs 2,500/-

ASIAN INNOVATION AWARDS 2007

The Wall Street Journal Asia, announced that it was now accepting entries for the prestigious “Asian Innovation Awards 2007". The deadline for entries is September 5, 2007.

In 2006, the Asian Innovation Awards attracted more than 224 entries from 14 countries and territories in the Asia-Pacific region and short-listed 12 finalists. The winner of the Gold Award was Veredus Laboratories Pte. Ltd. of Singapore, for bird-flu diagnostic kits and tests that quickly identify different types of flu. The Silver Award went to the State Government of Gujarat, India, for Chiranjeevi Yojana, a maternity-care program that reduces maternal and infant deaths among its poorer communities. Dunwell Engineering Co., of Hong Kong won the Bronze Award for developing a lubricant-recycling process – called vibrating membrane technology – that saves energy and does not cause air pollution.

Applicants can either apply online at www.wsj-asia.com/aia or request application forms by emailing asianinnovation@dowjones.com

2007 International SmartGear Competition

WWF and its partners created the SmartGear Competition to inspire innovative, practical, cost-effective ideas that allow fishermen to "fish smarter" – to better target their intended catch while reducing bycatch. The competition awards cash prizes for the best idea to reduce bycatch, which is the leading threat to many marine mammals, sea turtles, seabirds, and certain fish species. The 2007 International SmartGear Competition will award a $30,000 Grand Prize and two $10,000 Runner-Up Prizes.

Entry Deadline: July 31, 2007

The competition is open to all – fishermen, gear manufacturers, teachers, students, engineers, scientists, and backyard inventors. Visit www.smartgear.org for entry materials and to learn about the winning ideas from the first two competitions.

iPod charger

"ion", the company, was founded by Vikram V Chadaga, Niara Ahmed and Swaroop C H. It all started one fine day when Vikram wanted to charge his iPod but didn't want to keep the computer on overnight just for that (it's a waste of electricity, and there might be powercuts too). So he went looking for the official Apple iPod charger but found it to be rather expensive. The other chargers in the market at that time were not good enough, especially keeping in mind the safety of the expensive iPod, and many of them were unbranded which made them even more risky to use. Being an electronics geek, he took one of the circuits which he had made previously to power some instruments in his home (the circuit was in live use in his home for nearly 5 years) and then use it to create a charger with a USB port. He put in a regulator to make sure his iPod is safe from power surges.He got excited and showed it to his friends and mentioned a crazy idea of producing more of these and selling them. Fortunately or unfortunately, Niara took him seriously and over a period of many months, encouraged him to really follow that idea. Together, they turned the idea to execution (investment and costing, sourcing of raw materials, finding an assembler, etc), and then Swaroop joined them to help them out with the marketing, the design and the website. The rest, as they say, is history.

Open Access to Electronic thesis and dessertations

Information accessible to researchers is often not available to innovators. The current trend to provide open access shows promise. For those interested in state of affairs in India on this subject my read this article by Das, Dutta and Sen.

The TiE – ISB Connect 07

The TiE – ISB Connect 07, is scheduled at the ISB during November 14, 15, 16 2007. There will be discussion tracks on diverse sectors including The Mobile Convergence, Life sciences and Health Care , Security and Biometrics, Retail Industry ,Real Estate and Infrastructure & New Media and Entertainment. Each track will have a keynote address by a successful entrepreneur, a review of global trends in the sector by an analyst, and a panel discussion by venture capitalists and successful entrepreneurs on sector opportunities. Entrepreneurs seeking opportunities in these sectors may attend the event as delegates. The entrepreneur community can also benefit from two specific opportunities:

· Investor Pitch – Presenting your project to potential investors.

· Jumpstart your venture – Workshop preparing the aspiring entrepreneur for an exciting journey

Entrepreneurs intending to participate in the investor pitch may please send in a five page summary of business plan (Executive Summary), to

TiE-ISBConnect07@isb.edu before July 31, 2007. Please visit www.tie-isbconnect.com for further details of the event.

EETimes list of emerging start-ups

EETimes list of emerging start-ups includes none from India- an indication of our relative strengths in this sector. Few like semiindia are focussed in India. Our start-ups are quick to track entrepreneurial opportunities but low in resources & commitment to generate/ capture/deliver value. See article `value proposition in knowledge economy'.

Relisys Medical Devices

A firm promoted by Dr Krishan Reddy manufacturing Stents, Catheters etc crossed a major mile stone with receipt of FDA approval. This is the dream project of Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, H.E. The President of India who was responsible for inventing the first indigenous Coronary Stent "Kalam-Raju Stent", India's first indigenously developed stent in the year 1998. This first Coil stent was marketed by Relisys Medical Devices Ltd. This was the first indigenously developed Stent by DRDO and CARE Group.The product was withdrawn in 2001 as coil stents were phased out world wide. Advanced version of the company's Drug-Eluting Stent (DES) has been designed to eliminate the existing drawbacks of the currently available polymer coated Drug-Eluting Stent. Relisys' new DES consists of a Cobalt-Chromium Stent, coated with a porous carbon/carbon composite nano-structured matrix containing the active drug. The coating was developed and provided by Blue Membranes, the Germany based company in material and surface engineering. The coating eliminates the use of polymers thus completely reducing tissue inflammation and reaction.The animal trials for this version of advanced DES were recently completed at the Cardiovascular Research Institute, Washington D.C.Clinical trial were carried out at All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, Cardio-Thoracic Centre, Military Hospital, Pune, and CARE Hospitals, Hyderabad.

National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS)

The National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS) Bangalore is part of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research and is located in Bangalore. The mandate of NCBS is basic research in the frontier areas of biology and in the interface between biology and the physical sciences.

The founder of Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Homi Bhabha, looked upon the Institute not merely as a place for doing good physics but as an instrument for growing science and scientific culture in India. TIFR’s research activities in physics, mathematics, biology and other areas are well known. Somewhat less known is the fact that it has helped to create a number of other institutions. In the last 15 years alone,TIFR has directly or indirectly catalyzed the formation of six other institutions, the National Centre for Software Technology (NCST, Mumbai and Bangalore), the Society for Applied Microwave Engineering and Electronic Research (SAMEER, Mumbai and Chennai), the Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (Pune), the Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education (Mumbai), the National Centre for Radio Astrophysics (Pune) and the National Centre for Biological Sciences (Bangalore). The last three in the above list have been set up directly under the umbrella of TIFR and are governed by its Council of Management.

Bala Krishnamurthy-Robotics expert

The robotic industry’s premier honor, the Engelberger Robotics Awards, were presented to four leaders at the 38th International Symposium on Robotics, June 13, during the International Robots & Vision Show in Rosemont (Chicago), Illinois. One of the awardees is Bala Krishnamurthy and she is the first female recipient of an Engelberger Robotics Award.For over 25 years, Bala Krishnamurthy has been designing and developing a wide range of software in programming languages, networked systems, and related technologies which have contributed to the growth of robotics. In 1997 Krishnamurthy founded Aeolean Inc., a company specializing in the design of custom software solutions for high-tech applications, and serves the company as CEO.

Advinus Therapeutics

Tata's wanted to reenter pharma and their first major investment was in Advinus Therapeutics Pvt. ltd, a start-up with focus on drug discovery. The brain behind the venture is Rashmi Barbhaiya. Developing novel therapies for neglected diseases such as Leshmaniasis, dengue fever, tuberculosis, leprosy and malaria is one of its priority area. As big drug companies shut down some research facilities in the U.S. and other rich countries, labs in India and China are increasingly picking up the slack. Eli Lilly & Co., Wyeth and GlaxoSmithKline PLC all have outsourced chemistry work to Indian firms.

CSI news letter with Innovation as theme

Anuradha, working at Infosys, running innovation management program sent me link to CSI news letter with several interesting articles on Innovation. Useful insights from IT community on Innovation:
http://www.csi-pune.org/c/document_library/get_file?folderId=8&name=June-July+2007+Newsletter.pdf

CHOIS gets the first licensee

Sky n Land, the first Licensee company for CHOIS (Converged Home and Office Interactive Services) Technology, has appointed its first CHOIS Franchisee in Mangalore city. The Franchisee, Access Online, will be responsible for providing each home with a 100 Mb Ethernet fibre connection. The CHOIS Franchisee will also be providing comprehensive services for CHOISpad and CHOISpc at each home, through a CHOIS Head-end. Sky n Land is currently in process of appointing additional Franchisees in different regions in India and Abroad. This will trigger off the era for the Next Generation Video Internet and Smart Homes. CHOIS Technology is an end-to-end technology for enabling Next Generation Video Internet Services. This pioneering technology has been invented by Innomedia Technologies, Bangalore, a technology innovation company of the Reliance Communications, Mumbai. Sky n Land, Mumbai, a company promoted by pan-IITians, was appointed as the first Licensee in May 2007.

Interested -contact "Mohan Tambe"

Milagrow Business and Knowledge Solutions

Rajeev Karwal's Milagrow offers, Milagrow Business and Knowledge Solutions, which essentially hand-hold small businesses by offering them professional management services, and if needed, take up sweat equity or strategic stakes in some of the ventures. Rajeev earlier worked LG, Philips, Electrolux, and Reliance. SMEs planning going global can contact him ; rk@milagrow.in

Sewage treatment plant at Worli, Mumbai

Sewage treatment is a difficult urban problem, is expensive and often unsatisfactorily delivered especially in India. Effective but simple technology has been developed by IITB (Prof.HSShankar, ChE Dept along with his students) that uses the ‘green’ Soil Bio-Technology (SBT). The Soil bio-Technology uses a carefully prepared and maintained soil bed as a highly aerated reactor containing bio-organisms for (i) filtering the suspended matter and its bioconversion to odourless bio-fertilizer, (ii) converting dissolved organics by adsorptionand oxidation/bioconversion, and (iii) oxidizing the dissolved inorganic substances leading to precipitation and bioconversion. The basic control apparently is to manage the soil chemistry with appropriate mineral based additives to maintain a near neutral pH andto keep it highly porous for good aeration. The root systems of the plants on the bed helpin keeping the soil porous and have a biotic relationship with the organisms.

m-cam.com

David E. Martin, is the founding CEO of M·CAM, Inc., dealing with intellectual property-based financial risk management. M·CAM developed the Technology and Vendor Qualification Programs™ to assist professionals involved in procurement efforts to acquire specific technologies for their organizations. The products provide critical assessment information on the validity of the proposed technology to be procured vis-á-vis the state-of-the-art within a specific technology sector. M·CAM Vendor Verification Certifications™ provide clients with an ability to verify whether or not a vendor/supplier of a technology actually has the legal right to the technology being procured.M·TRACE™ services consist of proprietary research analyses developed by M·CAM to illuminate knowledge-asset proliferation threats posed by proposed, current, or former employees of a client company. And several more path breaking services in IP- read on.

Fab Lab

Fablab is basically a collection of set of computerized high-tech tools, which can be used to fabricate instruments of any utility and configuration. A place that empowers innovators to make almost anything. Fablabs have been developed by Centre of Bits and Atoms of Masssachusetts Institute of Technology, (MIT), USA. One such a lab exists at Vigyan Ashram, Pune finded by MIT at a cost of $200,000/-. VA trains school drop outs to use FABLAB equipments. The students undergo a diploma course of one year where they work in different streams of engineering and get trained in various fields. Engineers at the Ashram train these students. R&D takes place at the Fablab where the students are asked to work on a project of their choice using the Fablab equipments. Interested- read on:

Here are background links on fab labs:

articles:

http://www.nature.com/news/2006/060821/full/442862a.html

(copy at http://cba.mit.edu/~neilg/dist/nature.pdf) http://www.economist.com/science/displayStory.cfm?story_id=3786368 http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/techinnovations/2005-11-06-fab-lab_x.htm interviews:

http://www.sciencefriday.com/pages/2005/Nov/hour1_111105.html http://audio.theworld.org/wma/2005/09207.wma

book:

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/05_18/b3931027_mz005.htm

talks and presentations:

http://www.ted.com/tedtalks/tedtalksplayer.cfm?key=n_gershenfeld http://cba.mit.edu/events/06.06.ZA/symposium.html http://cba.mit.edu/~neilg/dist/fab.pdf

CBA:

http://cba.mit.edu/events/06.10.review/

http://cba.mit.edu/docs/06.09.NSF/

demos:

http://cba.mit.edu/~neilg/demos

hardware:

http://fab.cba.mit.edu/about/fab/inv.html

software:

http://fab.cba.mit.edu/about/fab/

videoconference:

http://fab.cba.mit.edu/content/processes/video/index.html

First Internation Inventions Fair of the Middle East‎

Kuwait Science Club, under the patronage of International Exhibition of Inventions, New Techniques and Products of Geneva, is organizing the First International Invention Fair of the Middle East (IIFME) from the 23rd to the 26th of October 2007, In Kuwait City. Contact person:

Eyad J. Al-Kharafi

Chairman of Directors

Head of High Organizing Committee

Kuwait Science Club*

P.O. Box 23259 SAFAT*

13093 Kuwait*

Tel.: +965- 539 65 61/2/4/8*

Fax: +965-5396567*

Http://www.iifme.com

E-mail: er@iifme.com

President speaks at Maruti

Hon.Presidents speech at Maruti is one of the most logically structured talk I have come across. Maruti is no 2 in productivity and road map to become no 1 includes a heavy dose of investment in R&D. And Maruti is not short of cash, as the Hon.President pointed out - they had Rs1500 crore profit in 2006-7. Will they bite the bullet and be known as innovators in automobiles. It probably depends on the strategic intent of owners as exhibited by Hyundai a decade back with much smaller base of market and resources.

Assocham conference on Automation and Robotics

Assocham conference on Automation and Robotics held on 26th May brought together several experts working in this field. Systemantics based in Bangalore is one of the few Indian firms in this field, offering Pick and Place robots, Dr Jagannath Raju is Director of this firm. Rajesh Ananthakrishnan of IITB promoted Reflex Technologies Pvt Ltd ,Mumbai offering custom based automation and robotics projects. Much more activity is evident on research front with Prof Amarnath from IIT Mumbai, Prof Susmit Sen from IIT Kanpur, Dr SK Saha from IIT Delhi and Prof K Madhava Krishna from IIIT Hyderabad grooming several young students in this discipline. Anuj Sehgal is man behind India's only NGO in this field `Intelligent Unmanned Robotics Society'. Defence is a major player with CAIR doing pioneering work.

Motilal Oswal Venture Capital Advisors Private Limited (MOVCAPL)

Motilal Oswal Venture Capital Advisors Private Limited (MOVCAPL) , a subsidiary of Mumbai-based Motilal Oswal Financial Services, is investing in existing SMES. This private equity fund recently raised $42 million of a proposed $100 million. The deal size will be around $5 million . Read the interview at India Knowledge Wharton.

2007 Taipei International Invention Show and Technomart

Invitation received from Thomas Chang, Director,Taipei World Tradee Centre, Mumabai, inviting participation by Indian Innovators in the 2007 Taipei International Invention Show and Technomart to be held from September 27 to September 30 2007.

Inventors from across the world will use this venue to show their latest and most exciting breakthroughs for the innovation and research in the potential industries like technology, High Technology, Fiber Optics, Machinery, Construction, Safety Equipment, Environmental Protection, Pharmaceuticals and Healthcare, Transport and Communications, Household Electronic Appliances, Hardware, Agriculture, Food, Textiles, and Optoelectronics, Precision Machinery, Materials and Chemical Engineering, Biomedical Technology and much more.
Innovators interested in participation can contact me or call TWTC at 022- 22163074-77.

School in a Box

`School in a Box' is a software product developed by start-up, Pefect future, New delhi, promoted by Microsoft engr Tarun Anad. At Rs 15/- this may find wide acceptance among schools- another innovation for Bottom Of the Pyramid market from Inda. New york times carrys a story on the start-up.

Matsushita Buys India's Anchor

Forbes reports that Matsushita Electric Works, a subsidiary of Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. had bought 80% of leading Indian electrical equipment maker Anchor from the Mumbai-based Shah family for $480 million. The deal is important for several reasons:

1. Anchor manufactures simple products like electric switches, though Matsushita markets electrical wiring and related items in Japan, how it fares in India selling such a low unit products remain to be seen.

2. The products Anchor makes in India were once reserved for small scale industries and Anchor is credited with creating brands in an otherwise commodity market.

3. Will Matsushita ever be able to sell these low unit price products under its own name? Despite its name and resources , success in India eluded this Japanese top of the mind recall brand owner. National and Panasonic once dominated Indian grey market which disappeared with liberalisation and globalisation.

4. The deal is indicative of strengths of small scale industries that focused on design innovations and may be despair of Japanese firms who lost the race to Koreans in India .

Sunil Shaunak

Fortune's list of 24 top innovators include Sunil Shaunak , Professor of infectious diseases, London University's Imperial College, developing medicines for a fraction of what Big Pharma spends. His small biotech, PolyTherics, created a new hepatitis C medicine, which will undergo final testing this year. License was granted to Shanta biotechnics, a price warrior credited to bringing down prices of vaccines to a fraction in India.

Diaonics Automation

Diaonics Automation is a small unit promoted by design engineer Prashant. It has successfully developed wireless fire alarm, smoke/ heat detector etc. Detector has a monitoring LED that operates about every 16 seconds per cycle (flash) during stand-by status. When there is smoke, detector will issue fire signal after 16 consecutive times of confirmation on every 0.3 seconds. If any dust causes flashing or in consecutive signal, it will back to normal status after 32 confirmations.

Boron Rubbers Ltd

Boron Rubber is effective for shielding thermal neutrons and to get over the restrictions on supply, BARC supported a project to develop neutron shielding material for the neutron beam guide and other instruments. The project was assigned to Prof. R.V. Mehta and Prof. R.V. Upadhyay and Dr. G.M. Sutaria of the Department of Physics, Bhavnagar University. Successful development led industrialist Deepak Doshi to start this venture.

Succession of standards

I have referred to standards in my previous posts of December 6th, August 25th & August 15th 2006. Ken Krechmer in his paper `The Entrepreneur and Standards' which recd 2nd prize at IEC Centenary challenge , gives a historic account of standards and a peep into the future, `adaptable systems'. Adaptable systems occur when autonomous elements of a network can identify, negotiate and select among different capabilities to implement the most desired compatibility.

Orizon Technologies

Another successful start-up in RFID space. Incubated at NirmaLabs, a private incubator, based in Ahmedabad, mentored by Venkat Rajendran ex CDOT & co-founder of Deccanet Designs Pvt Ltd, promoted by two young graduates from NIT, Trichy Prashant and Palaniappan.

Multipurpose National Identity Cards (MNIC)

One of the major initiatives of government that created opportunities for local manufacturing is MNIC proposal.The main purpose of this project is to provide a credible individual identification system and simultaneous use for several multifarious socio-economic benefits and transactions within and outside the Government. This would form the basis of more efficient e-Governance. The system envisages preparation of a computerized National Register of Indian Citizens (NRIC), providing a unique National Identity Number (NIN) to each citizen of the country and issue of identity cards. The NRIC would be continuously updated by linking it to the registration of births and deaths carried out under the Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 1969.
The Government has decided to conduct a pilot for the MNIC Project in selected areas of 13 districts in thirteen states/union territories in the country. ECIL is setting up a dedicated facility to manufacture MNIC at Tirupath.

MIC Electronics goes public

Mic Electronics ltd was promoted by Ramana rao, who had his engg graduation from Andhra Univerity, ME from PSG and PhD from JNU. Starting as a lecturer he started his entrepreneurial activties by developing moving display boards for railway stations, bus stands and became leader with LED display boards. A pioneering effort by a technocrat. For the financial year ended June 2006, the company reported revenues of 104.41 crore and a net profit of Rs 15.59 crore.

MIC Electronics Ltd is tapping the capital markets with a public issue for 51,00,000 shares at a price band of Rs 129 to Rs 150, to raise between Rs 65.79 crore and Rs 76.50 crore.

End of nuisance patents

Granting patents liberally in US created a situation that every successful product invites demands for royalty payments or threat of infringement from the patent owners. See paper on `covering patent infringement risks in technology transfer'. The statistics are revealing- in 2004, 150,000 patents were granted but lawsuits filed exceeded 300,000. Based on recent Supreme Court Judgment ` KSR INT’L CO. v. TELEFLEX INC'. Economic Times gives out the hope that many such patent claims would hence forth be considered obvious and not granted. (source: Economic Times)

The next 4 billion BOP market

Report on `The Next 4 Billion: Market Size and Business Strategy at the Base of the Pyramid' was released on 26th April at CII-WRI function with presentation by author Allen L. Hammond. As per the report Indian BOP market size is in Trillions. There are discussions and debates on this BOP concept. One thing is clear, this market demands not only price & delivery innovations but also product innovations. TePP supported nearly 200 innovations for Bottom of Pyramid market. Interested?

Researh paper by school children

A research paper `Theoretical optimisation of constitution of alloys by decoding their densities' was published in `Materials letters' 61, 2007(2956-2960). What is remarkable about it- authors are students- not IIT - from S.S. Children’s Academy, Moradabad (Ms. Pratibha, student of Class XII and Ms. Bharati, Student of Class X). They have overcome several hurdles, skepticism is the main one, but perseverance of their mentor Dr BC Rathore paid off in the end. Source of inspiration for the school children- Hon.President of India, he made BIS to consider it as a test method.
The proposed Model successfully generates two different series of probable compositions for a given density of alloys. The model may be employed to optimise constitution of multi-component alloy even without the prior knowledge of constituent metal.

China’s 15 Year Science and Technology Plan

China’s “National Medium- and Long-Term Program for Scientific and Technological Development” (2006-2020) is more commonly known as the 15 Year Plan for Science and Technology. President Hu Jintao, supported by scientific leaders in the Chinese government, introduced the plan in January 2006. Its ultimate goal is to make China a preeminent power in science and technology by expanding its capacity to create “indigenous innovation.” Annual investment - over $100 billion. “indigenous innovation" means “independent, self-reliant, and indigenous” and combining three distinct elements: yuanshi (original, or genuinely new); jicheng (integrated, or combining existing technologies in new ways); and yinjin (assimilated, or making improvements to imported technologies). Americans are concerned and American Electronics Association has come with this report.

Any concern in our country?

Onio Design Pvt. Ltd,Pune

Onio Design was founded by alumnus of IIT Bombay and NID, Manoj Kothari,Prakash Khanzode, Anil Chowhan.Onio Design is focused on integrated design service on Product Design. Onio's work spans Design Research, Brand Design, Product Design, Design Engineering and Communication Design for SMEs to large multinationals. Apart from large firms like Godrej , it also works with small start-ups.

ISA- VSI Technovation Awards

ISA, in association with the VLSI Society of India (VSI) invites proposal for Technovation Awards:
ISA TechnoVisionary: Life time achievement award given to a global Indian or Person of Indian Origin (PIO) for their outstanding contributions in the field of semiconductors.
ISA-VSI TechnoMentor of the year award is given to an academic professional working in India for their mentoring and research.
ISA-VSI TechnoShield is a rolling shield for the best academic Institution in India for its remarkable work in semiconductor space.
See details.

ISA-VSI TechnoInventor of the year award given to young investigators recognizing outstanding Doctorate or Master research from Indian universities.

South Korea's mobile RFID technology

EE Times bring the news that the South Korean proprietary mobile radio-frequency ID technology, known here as Object Identifier (OID), has been adopted as an international standard by the Geneva-based International Organization for Standardization (ISO). This is another landmark achievement by the farsighted Koreans. They established beach head applications in port/ airport logistics with RFID, resisted the attempts of Americans to impose their (Savi) technology while accepting partner status in defense logistics. For all the efforts , they now are in a commanding position, they get patent fees and other first mover advantage. We are far behind, in passive tag era.

PCT patents from India on decline

A record 145,300 international patent applications were filed under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) in 2006, an increase of 6.4 percent over the previous year. Philips topped the list with 2,495. India is not among the top 15 , China is at 8 with patent applications raising from 1018 in year 2002 to 3,910 in year 2006. India on the other hand has seen a steady decline from a high of 764 applications in 2003 to 627 in year 2006.

India on the raise???

The 2007 World Cup of Computer Implemented Inventions Semifinal

The 2007 World Cup of Computer Implemented Inventions Semifinal (CII 2007 SEMIFINAL) for Asia, Australia & Africa is scheduled in September 27-30, 2007at Taipei, Taiwan ,Organized by: International Federation of Inventor’s Associations (IFIA), Hosted by: National United University (NUU) &Taiwan Invention Products Promotion Association (TIPPA). CII 2007 SEMIFINAL is a worldwide competition and exhibition event organized by the International Federation of Inventors’ Associations (IFIA).
Indian Innovators Association has been invited to select 5 nominations from India. Interested parties can write me.For details see: http://www.invention-ifia.ch/cii/cii.htm

eInfochips

eInfochips was promoted by Pratul Shroff. He holds a BS in Electronics Engineering from BITS - 1976, and a MS in Computer Engineering from Cornell - 1977. He has worked for 9 years at Intel and Daisy Systems. At Intel, he was one of the designers of the 80186 chip, fountainhead of the PC era. Pratul was one of the founders of Daisy. He founded eInfochips in 1995 with just one engineer, working out of his home. IPNetCam is their new offering, a Smart Surveillance Camera Reference Design based on TIDaVinci TM (TMS320DM6446 TM) technology with features like Object Detection, Classification & Tracking.

DC College of Automotive studies

For all those aspiring to design real cars, here is the opportunity. Designer Chhabria is opening a new school in pune. Read the article in Business Week.

Blow switch

Researcher Jayashree Santosh was covered in the stories `Sixty in sixty' brought out by Mint. Blow switch is the innovation of this researcher from IITD. This and many more technologies are available for transfer from FITT. Any takers?

Nano material based water filter

The efforts of Prof CNR Rao to bring Nano technology to market seems to be paying off sooner than expected. Business line broke the news of IITM developing nano material based water filter and bringing it to Indian houses thro Eureka Forbes. Read the research paper on coating of silver nano particles on PU foams - the science behind the technology.

Creativity Institute in India

Do U feel there is a need for an exclusive institute to work on creativity? Lot of churning is going on this topic right now. Join the community and post yr comments at http://icreative.wordpress.com/2007/

Satellite Imaging For Rail Navigation (SIMRAN)

SIMRAN, a GPS based Railway Network Mapping and Train Tracking system is joint project of IIT Kanpur, e-Logistis , Chennai and RDSO, Licknow. Trial are conducted between Allahabad-Kanpur, Kanpur–Lucknow and between Chennai – Bangalore sections.

Gemini Traze RFID Pvt ltd

India's first high volume automated RFID tag facility opened near Chennai. TRAZE products represent the most comprehensive range of RFID products and technology, from transponders and smart labels to readers, antennas, software and application support. The Company’s series of products comprises of

aLow frequency (134.2 kHz)

aHigh frequency (13.56 MHz)

aVery High Frequency (433 MHz) and

aUltra High Frequency (860-960 MHz) range.

exhibition of IP service firms

World IP day and 150th year of Indian Patent System will be celebrated on 25th & 26th April and IPO, Chennai is offering stalls free of cost to organisations offering IP services. Interested parties can contact Rengasamy, Asst.Controller of Patens & Designs on 044-22322824.

BioAsia Innovation Award for Young Scientists

BioAsia Innovation Award was introduced for the first time in BioAsia 2007 through Federation of Asian Biotech Associations (FABA) to promote Innovation among the young Scientists below the age of 35. The “BioAsia Innovation Award for Young Scientists (2007)”, was awarded to Dr. Madhusudan Reddy Nandineni’s proposal on “A Microbial Process for L-Arginine Production”.

Four Soft Limited (4S)

Srikanth Palem Reddy, CEO & MD, Four Soft, explains challenges faced by product developing IT firms in India, an island in a ocean of code writers. source: express computer.

2007 EE Times ACE Awards Winners

2007 EE Times ACE Awards Winners announced. Start-up of the year award goes to Ruckus wireless for pioneering broadcast quality multimedia to homes over Wi-Fi . Innovators of the year is Wan-Thai Hsu of Discera. Dr. Hsu is one of the pioneer researchers and inventors in the area of silicon and metal resonators. Part of his doctoral work led to the birth of Discera Inc. in 2001.

BestYoung Entrepreneurs from Business Week

Business week selected 14 best and brightest tech young entrepreneurs. See the slide show. Surprise in store for those that think Indians rule silicon valley- there are none in this list.

Regional Reserach Labs renamed

The name of all the five RRLs in Bhubaneswar, Jammu, Bhopal, Johrhat and Trivendrum have been changed.

• RRL Bhubaneswar’s name has been changed to Institute of Minerals and Materials Technology (IMMT).
• RRL Bhopal’s name has been changed to Advanced Materials and Processes Research Institute (AMPRI), Bhopal.
• RRL Jammu’s name has been changed to Indian Institute of Integrated medicine (IIIM).
• RRL Trivendrum’s name has been changed to National Institute of Interdisciplinary Science and Technology (NIST).
• RRL Johrhat’s name has been changed to North East Institute of Science and Technology.

Sensors Technology Private Limited

Sensors Technology Private Limited is promoted by Dr. Shyam Sunder Tiwari, research scientist from DAE, specializing in Sensors Technology products like Precision Delay Timers, Ion Beam Charge Amplifiers, water level meters, LPG/CNG leak arams.

Ten promising startt-ups from Business Today

Business Today (April 2007 edition) carried profiles ten start-ups.
24X7 Learning solutions - e-learning, -funding KITVEN and Anil Garg(angel investor-ex CTO, Sony)
Adventity -KPO, funding NVP
Drishtee Development & Communication Limited- ICT in rural India-Funding Acumen
Guruji.com- search engine-funding Sequoia
JiGrahak-M Commerce-funding Hellion Ventures
Asia Cryo-Cell - card blood-funding PS Pai(angel Wipro)
Nautanki.TV-online TV
Onyomo-P2A-funding Shailesh Mehta
Seventymm-movie rental-DFJ
UFO Moviez-digital cinema-3i

cost of patent litigation

Though it is well known patent litigation, specially for short life products benefits no one other than patent attorneys, there is little reporting on facts. This news item from EE Times gives clear picture of costs and lost opportunities. Read Magma Vs Synopsys case.

Creative future 2007 awards

Priya Patil , a fashion/accessory designer from Mumbai was announced Winner and India's Creative Future 2007. Aparna Rao, proprietor and senior designer of Applied Fiction, an interaction design studio based in Bangalore was awarded for the most Pioneering Vision and Sheetal Sudhir, Broadcast Designer and currently Head of on-air-promotions of Channel [V], Star India Pvt. Ltd was awarded for Outstanding Entrepreneurship.Creative Future is a joint program of Creative Future School at the Indian Institute of Management in Bangalore and British Council. Further details at:

http://creativefuture.britishcouncil.org.in/home.htm

UK India Education and Research Initiative (UKIERI)

UK India Education and Research Initiative (UKIERI) was announced by the Prime Minister Tony Blair during his visit to India in September 2005, and launched by him in April 2006. Under the initiative, United Kingdom has pledged ₤12 million through contributions by DfES, FCO, DTI and the British Council and the private sector has added ₤4 million through the 4 corporate champions BAE, BP, GSK and Shell to this fund. Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India has pledged matching funding for science related collaboration under the initiative.Under UKIERI upto 10 Scholarships will be available over the period 2007-2008 for Indians who have excellent academic background to carry out doctoral research leading to PhD, DPhil degrees in UK institutions. Closing date: 15 May 2007.

Erasmic Venture Fund

Most VC funds are too big for start-ups. Filling the gap for small fund is Erasmic Venture fund. Small Device Technologies is one such supported start-up. More information on Indian entrepreneurial eco system is available in article on Sai Gundavelli in Business Week.

Proto-in

For technology startups to showcase their products / technologies and attract VC capital Proto-in is emerging as an important event. The next gathering is scheduled on July 21st & 22nd at Chennai. For details see http://www.proto.in/.

Annual research awards from Ranbaxy Science Foundation

Ranbaxy Science Foundation, a non-profit organization established by Ranbaxy Laboratories Limited, today announced its Annual Research Awards for the year 2005 to 6 scientists as listed below:
Dr. Sankar Ghosh, Professor, Section of Immunology and Department of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry, Yale University School of Medicine, USA, received the award in Basic Research for his several ground-breaking discoveries in the broad field of cell signaling in immunology.

Dr. Nirbhay Kumar, Professor, Molecular Microbiology & Immunology, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, USA, and Dr. B.C. Das, Director of Institute of Cytology and Preventive Oncology (ICPO), India, jointly shared the award in the field of Medical Research.Dr. Nirbhay Kumar also received the award for his outstanding research in malaria that have led to novel approaches to the prevention of transmission of this important human infection.

Dr. B.C. Das was selected for the award for his original contributions in the early detection and control of cervical cancer which is a major cancer among Indian women and a public health problem.

Dr. Inderjit Singh Anand, Professor of Medicine, Cardiovascular Division, University of Minnesota, and Dr. Surendra K. Sharma, Professor & Head, Chief, Division of Pulmonary & Critical Care Medicine, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India, were jointly conferred with the award in the field of Clinical Research.

Dr. Anand got the award for his contributions in the field of High Altitude Medicine and Biology and Dr. Sharma will receive the award for his outstanding contributions in the field of tuberculosis, HIV and interstitial lung disease.

Dr. Ahmed Kamal, Scientist, Biotransformation Laboratory, Division of Organic Chemistry, Indian Institute of Chemical Technology, Hyderabad, India, received the award in the field of Pharmaceutical Sciences for his innovative contribution in designing the new molecules based on the receptor-fit mechanism particularly for DNA minor groove binding and DNA topoisomerase II inhibition.

American innovation proclamation

U.S. business and higher education leaders unveiled "The American Innovation Proclamation," urging Congress to move forward on critical legislation that promotes U.S. competitiveness and sustains U.S. innovation leadership. The proclamation is signed by more than 270 business and higher education leaders. Rep. Bart Gordon (D-TN), Chairman, House Science and Technology Committee and a Bipartisan Group of House and Senate Members received the proclamation at a well attended press event March 13 in the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington DC.
(source: Calesteous Juma)

Maketics Technologies

Maketics Technologies is a start-up , converting data into information, promoted by Sreenivasan Ramakrishnan, a product of SPJIMR. Read the fascinating story covered in rediffnews.

Torque Technology Solution

Torque a pioneering technology incubated business venture started by aspiring entrepreneurs came into existence on 3 August, 2005. The first technology incubated company at Technopark, Thiruvananthapuram, a vibrant startup by engineering students and a complete student initiative, Torque has forayed and made its presence felt in the wireless sphere as a complete solutions provider - integrating innovative technologies into the corporate sector, the end user market and the community at large. Established its role as a mobile content aggregator and provider, provided short-code back-end solutions (SMS gateways) to interactive television campaigns, a community initiative reiterating our commitment to the society, hosted star portals and successfully forayed into the realm of M-Commerce.

The greatest innovations of all times

Business Week carries Greatest Innovations of all times nominated by Larry Keeley of Doblin Inc. Very interesting perspective. Take a look.

Small car from Lokesh Machines

Before Indica, all cars were of imported design. Tata Motors built on years of learning accrued from truck manufacturing. MLR motors promoted by Lokesh Machines does not fit in any accepted business model. He is a successful machine tool designer, who left HMT and started his own for the better in 1983. His machine tools are exported to many countries and most automobile firms are his users. He will have savings in capital costs with in-house supply and marketing front is covered by B V R Subbu (former president of Hyundai Motors India). What about the design? Tie-up with design houses is not revealed nor he exhibited any concept model. Success of his diesel Teja 3 wheeler can be an indication of functional, low cost car in offing.

Faculty innovations from IIT Mumbai

Path breaker Prof Jhunjhunwala gets international coverage. Read the article in Seattle Post Intelligencer .

Impact of budget on innovations

The budget anounced on 28th evoked mixed responses from the innovator community.
Extending fiscal incentives for 5 years: Biotech,Pharma and automobile are beneficiaries. This facilities investment on long term basis.
Clinical reserach: gets a boost with service tax ecemption for testing of new drugs, including vaccines and herbal remedies as well as on human trials.
Incubators: They get recognition for the first time with service tax exemptions. See CNN video for SINE views.
VCs: Indian VCs are unhappy with passthrough benefits restricted to selected few sectors. They feel it is unwarranted as passthrough is not an incentive.
ITI: Skill set gets a boost with ITIs getting investment to update their facilities. This is probably the best news but least covered. Any reason?

Neubauplan Machine Design Studio

Neubauplan Machine Design Studio was founded on 17th August 1981 in Pune, India, by Mr. Harshwardhan Gupta, a Bachelor of Technology in Mechanical Engineering in First Class from the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology, Mumbai, from the 1976 Batch. He has been designing intricate machines since 1975.
Web resources:
www.neubauplan.com
http://www.neubauplan.com/Achievements.htm
http://www.linkedin.com/in/harshwardhangupta

Dr Dilip Mahalanabis

The medical Journal The Lancet has called ORT as “the 20th century’s most important medical discovery”.Late last year four medical professionals - three Americans and one Indian – got the Prince Mahidol Award 2006 for doing work that led to the use of ORT (Oral Rehydration Therapy) – “an inexpensive but effective treatment of severe diarrhoea.” These four men are Dr Dilip Mahalanabis, who is a director of a non-governmental research organisation in Calcutta, Dr David R Nalin, former director at Merck & Co’s Vaccine Division in Pennsylvania, Dr Richard A Cash, senior lecturer at the Harvard University School of Public Health in Boston.These four pioneers were chosen from among 59 nominees in 29 countries.

Read more at: http://nitawriter.wordpress.com/2007/02/17/an-indian-doctor-gets-recognition/#comment-3843

LG wins bid for low-cost 3G phone

The GSM Association selected a low-cost 3G handset developed by LG Electronics in a project aimed at accelerating the adoption of 3G services worldwide.LG competed against eight other handset providers that offered up a total of 18 phones. The phone, known as the LG-KU250/U250,powered by Qualcomm's MSM 6425 chip set is based on common specifications and criteria drafted by 12 operators for a GSMA program called "3G For All." The criteria included functionality, usability, logistics, market acceptance, target price, service and support, strategic commitment and form factor.

The need for such a phone was discussed in the GSM association meeting held in Delhi.
It can be expected that with onset of 3G phones, 2G phone manufacturing will shift to countries like India.