STPI Selects 40 Indian startups For US Exposure Under Their “Building The Next Unicorn” Initiative

·        A report “Start-Up Ecosystem Beyond Tier 1 cities”, prepared by STPI, was launched by hon’ble Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.

Ashwini Vaishnaw, Hon'ble Minister of Railways, Communications, Electronics and IT, Government of India today inaugurated the National Conclave of "Building The Next Unicorn", a joint start-up initiative of Software Technology Parks of India (STPI) and Electronics and Computer Software Export Promotion Council (ESC) here. Under this program, 40 startups were selected for “Mission to USA”, where they will be provided with an opportunity to visit the USA, coinciding with a leading Tech Event, for exposure to the world’s largest market for tech-based products and services. 

The selected startups will also get an opportunity to interact with investors and venture capitalists in and around San Francisco, USA. The ESC-STPI initiative aims to not only support Indian tech startups but also enable them to compete on the global stage with the crème de la crème of international startup firms. 

Speaking on the occasion Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw, Hon'ble Minister of Railways, Communications, Electronics and IT, Government of India, inspired the attendees of the event with his visionary thought leadership and said, “With various government initiatives and support, the start-up culture in India is witnessing a paradigm shift. Indian start-up ecosystem has now become a technology consumer to a technology producer. Change in momentum has been witnessed in various sectors in our country. There is a manufacturing growth across sectors and job creation in the digital economy is seeing an upward trend.”

He also highlighted that “55 lakh direct jobs have been created in IT/ITES sector, 30 lakh in electronics manufacturing & 8 lakh in start-ups. By 2024, the government is planning to provide 1 crore job opportunities.”

STPI Director General, Shri Arvind Kumar, said, “The agility with which government and STPI are working to break the silos and creating an institutional mechanism to support startups pan India through its CoEs and NGIS schemes is commendable. The next great story will be written in these non-metropolitan cities, and it is our solemn duty to provide promising entrepreneurs with the tools and skillsets to excel and achieve their greatest potential. STPI is transforming the start-up ecosystem in the country with its 63 centres, out of which, 53 centres are in tier 2 & tier 3 cities for nurturing ideas and providing technical support.”

The event also witnessed the launch of a special report “Start-Up Ecosystem Beyond Tier 1 cities”.  The report is a part of the STPI Knowledge-Up Series and will be an apparatus for transforming India into a new hub for innovation and entrepreneurship. 

Shri Gurmeet Singh, Executive Director, of the Electronics and Computer Software Export Promotion Council, in his welcome address said, “We aim to identify and empower promising start-ups from the tech space in India and connect them to the best industries so that they can reach global markets. Our journey started with support from the Ministry of Commerce and Industry and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology. This helped us build a three-tier model comprising State conclaves, National conclaves and Internationals conclaves. We endeavoured to go beyond metropolitan cities and cover the length and breadth of the country to identify 700 start-ups. After due diligence, 300 start-ups were selected for the State conclave, while 115 start-ups would be selected for National conclave and 40 start-ups will be selected for global markets exposure in the US and further empowered with American investors and technologies.”

Matt Fitzpatrick Wins The Hero Shot Championship 2022 At Albany

Matt Fitzpatrick earned the Hero Shot at Albany championship, to kick off the 2022 Hero World Challenge. Fitzpatrick defeated Tom Kim in the final round, walking off with the championship thanks to a bullseye hit on the tricky, 87-yard shot into the wind.

Fitzpatrick defeated a star-studded field competing in the Hero Shot at Albany which also featured tournament host Tiger Woods, Justin Thomas, Max Homa, Tommy Fleetwood, Billy Horschel and Kim. The players took their best shots at a floating target in the pond between the ninth and 18th greens at Albany.

The first round of the Hero Shot featured each player taking six shots at the target, with balls landing in an outer ring worth 250 points, those coming to rest in the inner circle worth 500 and any ball splashing down in the two-foot-diameter cup worth 1,000. The sixth ball in each round – the “Hero ball” – was worth double points.

Hero World Challenge tournament rounds will be held Thursday, December 1 – Sunday, December 4, 2022 at Albany.

Hyundai Motor India Foundation Announces The Winners For The Second Edition Of “Art For Hope 2023”

* Aims to empower and support 25 artists and 10 art collectives throughout India

* A grant of Rs 40 Lakh set aside to support the winning entries

* Aims to unearth undiscovered creative talent across artistic domains

Hyundai Motor India Foundation (HMIF), the CSR arm of Hyundai Motor India Ltd, (HMIL) today announced the names of 25 artists and 10 art collectives who have been selected for the grant, in the second edition of its one-of-a-kind CSR initiative ‘Art for Hope 2023’. These grantees pan diverse fields of Visual, Digital , Performance & Folk and Traditional Art& Craft.

The second edition received over 200 entries from across 87 cities and 25 states in India. Out of these, 50 artists were shortlisted after a stringent evaluation process. Adhering to an equitable evaluation criterion, the jury arrived at the final list of 25 individual artists and 10 art collectives. Total grant of Rs. 40 Lakh will be disbursed amongst the grantees.

Commenting on the announcement of the grant, Mr. Puneet Anand, AVP & Group Head, Corporate Affairs, Hyundai Motor India Ltd. said, "Art is an integral part of India’s tradition and folklore. Guided by our global vision of ‘Progress for Humanity’, this industry first initiative ‘Art for Hope’ is a step towards empowering the artist fraternity from across the country. Patronage of art is limited and is considered a privilege of only a few. We wanted to unshackle these beliefs and make it accessible for all ; at the same time providing a  platform to little known talents and proponents of dying art forms. This program opened many doors for our last years grantees and brought in new and unconventional audiences.  I am sure this year will be no different. I wish our grantees good luck and am quite confident that this exposure will become a stepping stone in their career.”

The entries were judged by an eminent jury panel  of Mr. Aditya Arya, an acclaimed photographer, curator and the founder of Museo Camera, Centre of Photographic Arts (Gurugram), the largest photography museum in Southeast Asia, Mr. Jagannath Panda, a popular visual artist, curator and the founder of Utsha Foundation for Contemporary Art (Bhubaneshwar), and Dr. Rathi Jafer, Director of InKo Centre, Mr. Gautam Mukherjee, Group Head, Channel Strategy, HMIL, and Mr Mukundan M.S., Unit Head, Production Support, HMIL. The jury members will also mentor and train the grantees in areas of promotion, financial management, communication etc.

Two exhibitions will be held to display the artwork and provide a stage for the performances . The first will be in Delhi towards the end of Feb/ Early march and the other will be held in Chennai towards the end of March / Early April, which will be open to the public.

About HMIF

Hyundai Motor India Foundation (HMIF) was formed in the year 2006 with the purpose of 'giving back' to society and to initiate Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities in the areas of Community Development, Health Care, Educational and Vocational Training, Environment, Road Safety, Art, Science, Technology, etc. The Hyundai Motor India Foundation operates to care for the underprivileged and has undertaken many welfare projects under the aegis of Hyundai Motor India to encourage sustainable development and promote inclusive growth in the country.

Under the global philosophy ‘Progress for Humanity’, Hyundai has been at the forefront in introducing numerous community development projects such as Sparsh Sanjeevani, bringing healthcare at Doorstep in rural hinterlands), Saksham-enabling India’s youth towards employment, #BeTheBetterGuy Road Safety campaign, Art for Hope, H-Social Creator, support to Central and State Govt. during COVID times, setting up of oxygen plants, ventilator production, mask distribution, aiding COVID Warrior children with education by distribution of tablets, renovation of schools, distribution of consumables to underprivileged during the COVID times nationally and around the plant.

Happiest Minds Is Among India's Top 25 Best Workplaces In IT & IT-BPM 2022

Happiest Minds Technologies Limited (NSE: HAPPSTMNDS), a ‘Born Digital . Born Agile’, Mindful IT Company, today announced that it is recognized by Great Place To Work® India among the Top 25 India's Best Workplaces™ in IT & IT-BPM 2022, for the second consecutive year. 

In its 8th edition this year for India, based on a rigorous evaluation methodology, 455 organizations in the IT & IT-BPM sector undertook this assessment of which the Top 100 India's Best Workplaces™ in IT & IT-BPM 2022 have been recognized.

As a global authority on workplace culture, Great Place To Work® has been studying employee experience and people practices across organizations for over three decades. Every year, more than 10,000 organizations from over 60 countries partner with Great Place To Work for assessment, benchmarking, and planning of actions to strengthen their workplace culture. In India, the Institute partners with more than 1100+ organizations annually, across over 22 industries, to help them build High-Trust, High-Performance Cultures designed to deliver sustained business results.

Joseph Anantharaju, Executive Vice Chairman, Happiest Minds Technologies said, “At Happiest Minds, we have put a mindful people practice framework in place that supports our people and maximizes their potential. This recognition reinforces the strategic importance and strength of our culture and fosters a sense of joy & pride in us. We are grateful and certain that this esteemed recognition will further encourage us to continue focusing and prioritizing our People as a strategic differentiator.”

Sachin Khurana, Chief People Officer, Happiest Minds Technologies said, “Being in the Top 25 - India's Best Workplaces™ in IT & IT-BPM 2022 for the second consecutive year is a stellar recognition for Happiest Minds, the testimony of a people-centric mission, vision, and values that inspires our unique philosophy of happiness and mindfulness. I take this opportunity to thank our 4500+ Happiest Minds and other stakeholders who have contributed to making this coveted achievement a reality year after year.”

Earlier this year, Happiest Minds has been recognized among Top 50 India’s Best Workplaces™ for Women 2022, Top 100 Best Workplaces in Asia™ 2022, and India’s Top 50 Best Companies to Work™ 2022 by the Great Place to Work® Institute.

About Happiest Minds Technologies:

Happiest Minds’ Technologies Limited (NSE: HAPPSTMNDS), a Mindful IT Company, enables digital transformation for enterprises and technology providers by delivering seamless customer experiences, business efficiency and actionable insights. We do this by leveraging a spectrum of disruptive technologies such as artificial intelligence, blockchain, cloud, digital process automation, internet of things, robotics/drones, security, virtual/augmented reality, and more. Positioned as ‘Born Digital. Born Agile’, our capabilities span digital solutions, infrastructure, product engineering and security. We deliver these services across industry sectors such as automotive, BFSI, consumer packaged goods, e-commerce, edutech, engineering R&D, hi-tech, manufacturing, retail, and travel/transportation/hospitality.

A Great Place to Work-Certified™ company, Happiest Minds is headquartered in Bangalore, India, with operations in the U.S., UK, Canada, Australia, and the Middle East.

WNS Expands Presence In Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh With New Delivery Center

WNS (Holdings) Limited (NYSE: WNS), a leading provider of global Business Process Management (BPM) solutions, today announced the launch of its newest delivery center in Visakhapatnam (Vizag), Andhra Pradesh. This center will further strengthen WNS’ existing capabilities in delivering digital-first industry-specific solutions for diverse industries, including Shipping and Logistics, Healthcare, Banking and Financial Services, Insurance and High-Tech and Professional Services.

On the occasion of the center’s inauguration, WNS’ CEO, Keshav R. Murugesh, said, “WNS’ new delivery center in Visakhapatnam marks our targeted expansion in this vibrant city.  Starting with less than 50 employees in 2012, today we have grown our presence to more than 3,300 employees with over 2,000 employees added in the last two years alone. In addition to building a robust talent hub, WNS has also expanded the depth of services offered to clients globally from the Visakhapatnam center. The city offers the right talent mix with in-demand skill-sets including Cloud, Data Analytics, Artificial Intelligence and Cybersecurity. The availability of talent and the Andhra Pradesh government’s steadfast support for the IT-BPM industry are catalyzing the city’s rapid growth as an IT-BPM destination of choice.”

WNS’ new center is located at Vizag IT Park Ltd. VUDA Compound at the Siripuram Junction. WNS’ other facility is at the Tech Hub, Old Resapuvanipalem in Visakhapatnam.

About WNS

WNS (Holdings) Limited (NYSE: WNS) is a leading Business Process Management (BPM) company. WNS combines deep industry knowledge with technology, analytics, and process expertise to co-create innovative, digitally led transformational solutions with over 400 clients across various industries. WNS delivers an entire spectrum of BPM solutions including industry-specific offerings, customer experience services, finance and accounting, human resources, procurement, and research and analytics to re-imagine the digital future of businesses. As of September 30, 2022, WNS had 57,503 professionals across 60 delivery centers worldwide including facilities in Canada, China, Costa Rica, India, the Philippines, Poland, Romania, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

For more information, visit www.wns.com or follow us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram.

Singapore Airlines And Tata Sons Will Merge Air India And Vistara With SIA

Singapore Airlines (SIA) and Tata Sons (Tata) have agreed to merge Air India and Vistara, with SIA also investing INR 20,585 million (S$360 million, US$250 million) in Air India as part of the transaction. This would give SIA a 25.1% stake in an enlarged Air India group with a significant presence in all key market segments[1]. SIA and Tata aim to complete the merger by March 2024, subject to regulatory approvals. 

SIA intends to fully fund this investment with its internal cash resources, which stood at S$17.5 billion as of 30 September 2022[2]. 

SIA and Tata have also agreed to participate in additional capital injections, if required, to fund the growth and operations of the enlarged Air India in FY2022/23 and FY2023/24. Based on SIA’s 25.1% stake post-completion, its share of any additional capital injection could be up to INR 50,200 million (S$880 million, US$615 million), payable only after the completion of the merger. 

The actual amount will depend on factors including the progress of the enlarged Air India’s business plan, and its access to other funding options. SIA intends to fully fund any additional capital injections with its internal cash resources. 

Through this transaction, SIA will reinforce its partnership with Tata and immediately acquire a strategic stake in an entity that is four to five times larger in scale compared to Vistara. The merger would bolster SIA’s presence in India, strengthen its multi-hub strategy, and allow it to continue participating directly in a large and fast-growing aviation market. 

Mr Goh Choon Phong, Chief Executive Officer, Singapore Airlines, said: “Tata Sons is one of the most established and respected names in India. Our collaboration to set up Vistara in 2013 resulted in a market-leading full-service carrier, which has won many global accolades in a short time. 

“With this merger, we have an opportunity to deepen our relationship with Tata and participate directly in an exciting new growth phase in India’s aviation market. We will work together to support Air India’s transformation programme, unlock its significant potential, and restore it to its position as a leading airline on the global stage.” 

Mr Natarajan Chandrasekaran, Chairman, Tata Sons, said: “The merger of Vistara and Air India is an important milestone in our journey to make Air India a truly world-class airline. We are transforming Air India, with the aim of providing great customer experience, every time, for every customer. As part of the transformation, Air India is focusing on growing both its network and fleet, revamping its customer proposition, enhancing safety, reliability, and on-time performance. 

“We are excited with the opportunity of creating a strong Air India which would offer both full-service and low-cost services across domestic and international routes. We would like to thank Singapore Airlines for their continued partnership.” 

India is the fastest growing global economy, and is projected to become the third largest in the world by 2027[3].  It is also the world’s third largest aviation market. Demand for air travel is surging with passenger traffic expected to more than double over the next 10 years, supported by rising income levels and ongoing investments in its aviation infrastructure. However, India also remains underserved with low international seats per capita, signifying significant growth potential[4]. 

Following its acquisition by Tata in January 2022, Air India unveiled a wide-ranging transformation programme to strengthen its foundations and revamp its operations, setting it on the road to recovery and positioning it for growth[5]. 

The combination of Air India and Vistara would bring significant synergies. Air India has valuable slots and air traffic rights at domestic and international airports that are not available to Vistara. With Vistara widely recognised as India’s leading full-service carrier, Air India will benefit from its operational capabilities, customer base, and a strong focus on customer service and product excellence. 

Today, Air India (including Air India Express and AirAsia India) and Vistara have a total of 218 widebody and narrowbody aircraft, serving 38 international and 52 domestic destinations. With the integration, Air India will be the only Indian airline group to operate both full-service and low-cost passenger services. It can optimise its route network and resource utilisation, be flexible and agile in capturing demand across market segments, and tap on a larger consumer base to strengthen its loyalty programme. 

This would reinforce its position as India’s largest international carrier and second largest domestic carrier, allow it to offer more options and connectivity for business and leisure customers, and enable it to compete as a leading global airline. 

Early HIV Detection For Better Care: Bridging The Gap With Advanced 4th Gen Rapid Tests

In India, of the approximately 2.35 million people living with HIV (PLHIV), only 1.78 million know their status.[i],[ii] Important gains made in HIV testing nationwide have also been threatened over recent years, with people facing obstacles to accessing diagnostics during the pandemic. Bridging India’s testing gap is essential to strengthen the nation’s infection response and help meet the UNAIDS’ first goal – to diagnose 95% of all HIV-positive patients, which can lead to effective treatment for those diagnosed, prompting viral suppression and an end to new HIV infections by 2030.[iii]

Early and accurate detection of HIV positive patients is important to simplify the patient journey to access the needed care as quickly as possible. More so, it prevents future HIV transmissions, with individuals who are unaware of their infection 3.5 times more likely to transmit the virus to someone else. It also reduces the risk of patient morbidity and mortality.

Dr. Ishwar Gilada, Consultant in HIV in Infectious Diseases, Unison Medicare and Research Centre Mumbai and President of AIDs Society of India, said, “Across India, the HIV burden is significant. Yet, only 79.4% of the total estimated people living with HIV nationwide have been diagnosed positive. There remains a clear need to bridge the availability of diagnostic solutions so more people can have access to testing services. By using simple and scalable HIV testing offerings like rapid point-of-care tests under robust regulatory processes, we can plug such gaps in testing. Early testing and detection of infection, especially in acute cases where individuals have higher risk of transmission owing to high viral load, is critical. This facilitates timely treatment which can support better patient outcomes, while also curbing the spread of infection.”

Innovations like point-of-care testing, which refers to rapid HIV screening performed in clinical settings by professionals, are crucial to ensure timely infection detection. It also improves access to diagnostics, empowering people to easily know their infection status with accurate results in just 20 minutes. Rapid point-of-care solutions are especially critical in a nation like India, where access to diagnostics is limited in remote or rural areas of the country, and voluntary testing is also low.[iv]

Today, point-of-care testing standards continue to evolve, with the introduction of evidence-backed 4th generation technology-based rapid tests, surpassing the previous era of 2nd and 3rd generation tests.[v] These new tests are simple-to-use and identify 28% of infections missed by current 3rd generation rapid tests, ensuring a larger segment of the population is aware of their infection status so they can swiftly access quality healthcare to manage their conditions.[vi] The test assists early detection, capable of identifying both HIV antibodies and the antigen, which can appear even 15-25 days after infection. Thus, it is more accurate in a shorter period of time. This is also crucial in blood bank screenings, where the window period of HIV detection can be almost halved.

Sunil Mehra, General Manager for Abbott’s Rapid Diagnostics business in India, commented, “Abbott is committed to scaling access of HIV diagnostic solutions to individuals at the point of care, ensuring fast and accurate results at critical points of infection. We believe that the 4th generation of point-of-care testing reflects a new standard of testing, which supports earlier detection of HIV-positive cases, even when viral load is lesser, making way for new possibilities in patient care. In India, we are supporting private and government hospitals and diagnostic centres with these next-generation tools to help address the country’s HIV burden.” 

4th generation testing, equipped with high sensitivity and specificity,[vii] detects more acute infections, which account for 5 to 20% of all HIV infections among people seeking testing, compared to the previous generation of tests. This helps close the window period of detection earlier, within as early as 12 days of living with the HIV infection, as compared to a typical 20 days or later time period of detection seen by 3rd generation tests.[viii]

Thus, HIV-positive patients can be quickly identified and linked to care. The chain of transmission can also be broken, which is especially important as acute infections are associated with higher viral load and risk of transmission.

Innovation in testing is the key to supporting India’s efforts to reduce the national HIV burden, eliminate stigma, and enhance patient outcomes through access to early and appropriate treatment.