A New Life Sciences Hub In Attibele, Bengaluru To Support Expansion Of Scale-Ups

Attibele in south Bengaluru will soon be a destination for innovation with city’s first organized life sciences cluster. Bengaluru Lifesciences Research (BLR) District, planned as a 52-acre campus with a total development of 2.5 million square feet, is poised to be an integrated, self-sustained cluster with state-of-the-art infrastructure for R&D and manufacturing. 

BLR District complements the growth in existing hubs of Electronic City, Jigani and Bommasandra by enabling expansion as well as consolidation of research and manufacturing operations. Ideally located to tap into the high-quality scientific talent, the cluster will create thousands of new jobs in the region and contribute to the growth of the local economy. It will also foster collaboration between industry, academia, and government, with the aim of driving innovation in the life sciences sector.

Spanning across five districts, the project comprises of lab space modules and built-to-suit Flexi Factories catering to Biopharma, Medtech, Agriscience, Nutraceutical and allied sectors. BLR District is ideal for start-ups, scale-ups and established organizations. The first phase of about 200,000 square feet is ready for fit-outs offering multi-tenanted wet laboratories, incubation facilities, and associated office spaces.

This project is a part of the portfolio of Rx Propellant, India’s leading life sciences infrastructure platform and is being developed by Roach Lifescapes (formerly known as RBD Shelters), a renowned name in residential/commercial real estate and hospitality in the city.

Commenting on BLR District, Dr. C.N. Ashwath Narayan, Honourable Minister for Higher Education, IT, BT and S&T, Skill Development, Entrepreneurship and Livelihood, Government of Karnataka said, “Bengaluru has been on the forefront of biotech industry with a thriving network of reputed universities, research institutes, well-established companies and fast-growing start-ups. The city is a hub for start-ups offering top-notch talent and a vibrant ecosystem for innovation. The new life sciences cluster in Attibele is expected to accelerate this growth further by attracting investment upwards of INR 2500 crores and creating 15,000+ skilled and semi-skilled jobs. This first-of-its kind dedicated life sciences destination will be at par with international clusters and will strengthen the region’s position globally”.

Dr. E.V. Ramana Reddy, Additional Chief Secretary to Government-cum-Development Commissioner & ACS, Department of Electronics, IT, BT and S&T, said, “The biotechnology industry has emerged as one of the fastest-growing industries in recent years, with a significant impact on healthcare, agriculture, and the environment. Bengaluru has one of the highest numbers of biotechnology start-ups in the country which is a matter of immense pride. BLR District, with its size and scale, can house companies at different stages in the innovation value chain from concept to commercialization. It is an ideal destination for the best talent in the industry to ideate, collaborate and bring new products to the market.”

Austin Roach, MD, Roach Lifescapes (formerly RBD Shelters) said, “Leveraging our deep expertise in real estate of commercial and residential spaces as well as hospitality, we are excited to foray into life sciences infrastructure domain with Rx Propellant. BLR District in Attibele has a distinct advantage of good connectivity to existing hubs and social infrastructure with housing, schools and hospitals in the vicinity. This life science cluster is poised to be the next big hub for research and innovation”.

Vishal Goel, MD, Rx Propellant said, “After successfully developing labspaces in Genome Valley, Hyderabad, we are thrilled about the expansion of our life sciences infrastructure footprint to Bengaluru in partnership with Roach Lifescapes. BLR District is conceptualized as an integrated campus with well-defined districts for start-ups and scale-ups, contract development and manufacturing hubs, specialized environments and clean manufacturing. The idea is to enable organizations to grow synergistically with innovation-driven companies, service providers and lab equipment suppliers within the same premises”.

Mr. G.S. Krishnan, President, Association of Biotechnology Led Enterprises (ABLE) added, “Bengaluru has several incubators and accelerators that provide critical support for early-stage start-ups such as Centre for Cellular and Molecular Platforms (C-CAMP) and the Bangalore Bioinnovation Centre (BBC). It is encouraging to witness private players develop a cluster like BLR District which offers fitted-out space for young companies to grow and succeed, thereby augmenting the vibrant start-up culture”.

Dr. Anand Anandkumar, MD, Bugworks Research & Vice President, ABLE commented, “In the recent past, many early-stage companies in Bengaluru have raised sizeable funds to scale up their operations, however they are challenged by availability of space for expansion. BLR District offers an opportunity to such fast-growing companies to scale up in an agile, asset-light model so that their financial resources can be channelized towards core R&D rather than on setting up infrastructure”.

About Rx Propellant:

Rx Propellant is a life sciences infrastructure platform in India that aims to establish and grow clusters through development of labspaces and flexi factories. Rx Propellant is a part of Actis portfolio and focuses on building cohesive ecosystems by complementing infrastructure development with initiatives for talent skilling and scientific networking. Rx Propellant has a footprint across Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Mumbai with a total planned development of 6.5 million square feet. The project in Bengaluru called BLR District (www.blrdistrict.in) is being developed in partnership with Roach Lifescapes and is planned as an expansive campus for integrated R&D and manufacturing for diverse life sciences organizations.

W: www.rxpropellant.com

Godrej’s Dark Edition Refrigerators To Blend Excellence And Elegance Into Kitchen Interiors

Godrej Appliances presents its range of Dark Edition Refrigerators featuring 19 SKUs in colours like matt black, glass black, onyx black, ice black and fossil steel. The range has sleek design features, bold dark-coloured exteriors with classic premium finish that add sophisticated glamour to the modern kitchen, along with carefully designed interiors to optimise space and are equipped with advanced cooling technologies.

Black depicts elegance, gives a modern look to the room and is being considered the ‘new cool’ for shoppers. Across several regions in India, there has been a growing demand for home appliances in dark colours and these also stand out at the shopfloor. Understanding this trend, Godrej Appliances developed a wide range of dark facia refrigerators like Eon Velvet, NXW Aura, Eon Valor Convertible, Eon Vibe Convertible, Eon Valor, Eon Crystal, Edge Jazz.  Along with great looks, these refrigerators are loaded with several advanced cooling technologies like 4-in-1 Fully convertible modes, Nano Shield technology (Patent Applied) offering 95%+ Food surface disinfection, upto 30 days farm freshness, Cool Balance technology for precise cooling, Turbo cooling technology for faster bottle and ice cooling.

Commenting on this offering, Anup Bhargava, Product Group Head- Refrigerators, Godrej Appliances said, “The range is inspired by consumer trends across sectors and products, with people embracing blacks in all its shades. We have observed a higher growth of over 44% for dark facia refrigerators in shades of black. For consumers renovating their kitchen space or simply looking at adding a touch of timeless sophistication to its interiors, this range of Godrej Dark Edition Refrigerators with several features and advanced technologies is a perfect choice to consider.”

These refrigerators are available for purchase in stores as well as online at price range between Rs. 24,000– Rs 90,000 with capacities between 192L- 564L in single door, double door, bottom mount and side- by side refrigerators.

To know more visit- https://www.godrej.com/appliances/dark-edition-refrigerators

Brakes India Launches Specially Designed Brake Pads For Electric Vehicles

* Advanced friction technology ensures corrosion protection and quiet braking.

Leading the trend and adapting to growing market needs of the automotive sector, TVS Apache, a brand of Brakes India, launched ZAP brake pads with advanced friction technology for electric vehicles. Boasting of enhanced corrosion protection and quiet braking, ZAP is specifically designed and formulated to suit the requirements of electric vehicle customers.

As a renowned Tier-1 supplier to Indian and global OEMs for over six decades, Brakes India has a strong focus on design, development, quality and superior customer centricity. Considering the need for superior brake pads to further strengthen its dominance in the growing electric car segment, ZAP has been introduced with advanced friction technology.

“TVS Apache is a leading player in passenger car friction in the domestic market. The market for electric vehicles is growing exponentially. Tapping this opportunity and understanding the customer needs, we have launched ZAP for a few leading electric vehicles, which will soon be expanded across other EV models. Leveraging our R&D expertise, ZAP brake pads are designed for quiet braking, consistent stopping power, low brake dust and enhanced corrosion protection and they adhere to the highest possible standards for Environmental safety and sustainability,” said S Sujit Nayak, Vice President and Head, Aftermarket Business, Brakes India. 

About Brakes India: 

Brakes India was founded in 1962 and is a leading supplier of braking systems in the Indian market and a global supplier of ferrous castings, for passenger vehicles, light commercial vehicles, heavy commercial vehicles & tractors. Promoted by the TSF Group, whose heritage dates to 1936, the company has a strong in-house R&D capability that includes state of the art test facilities and a high-speed test track built to international standards. Brakes India has world-class manufacturing operations with a reputation of providing high quality products and an expansive supply chain, serving marquee OEMs across the globe. The world-renowned iron foundry produces over 180,000 tons of safety critical castings from India and Oman. Its trusted brands TVS-Girling, TVS-Apache and TVS-Sprinter are leading names in the spare parts segment. With revenues in excess of INR 5,000 crore, the company wears numerous feathers in its hat such as National Awards for Energy conservation; Leadership and Excellence Award in Safety, Health & Environment, TPM Excellence Award and the prestigious Deming Application Prize to name a few. 

ICICI Bank Offers Ecosystem Banking For Indian Startups

ICICI Bank today announced that it offers a comprehensive bouquet of digital and physical solutions to cater to all banking needs of startups across their various life stages. The Bank provides innovative solutions through its domestic and international network, and branch at GIFT City, the Gujarat-based emerging global financial and IT services hub.

The ‘Startup Ecosystem Banking’ proposition of the Bank offers treasury and transaction banking solutions, lending solutions, digital integrations, handling FDI and regulatory compliances, personal banking services for employees and founders.

ICICI Bank provides comprehensive solutions through its domestic network and international presence at New York, Toronto, London, Dubai, Singapore and Hong Kong. The ecosystem banking is further enhanced by the Bank’s presence at GIFT City.

Mr. Rajesh Rai, Business Head- West & South, Branch Banking, ICICI Bank said, “India has emerged as the third largest startup ecosystem in the world, underlining the country’s vibrant and innovative startup culture. At ICICI Bank, we offer improved convenience to these new-age businesses through agile and technology led solutions across their life stages. Through our comprehensive ‘Startup Ecosystem Banking’, we support the emerging requirement of Indian startups and aim to become the preferred bank of choice in their growth journey.” 

As part of the ‘Startup Ecosystem Banking’ the Bank has put in place a dedicated team for startups that serves them through an extensive network of branches.

At the GIFT City branch, the Bank offers digital opening of Global Foreign Currency Current Account (GFCCA) for overseas holding companies and subsidiaries of Indian startups. This can be done seamlessly within one working day of submission of required documents, which is significantly lower than the industry practise of at least five days.  

The Ecosystem Banking further helps startups to open Special Non-Resident Rupee (SNRR) account as well as create deposits in both US Dollar and in Indian Rupee. The startups can also avail escrow, custody services and forex solutions for seamless and efficient capital flows.

The Bank also offers state-of-the-art digital channels namely Corporate Internet Banking (CIB), InstaBIZ mobile application, Trade Online for trade related transactions, Integrated Payment System platform to facilitate vendor and tax payments, and solutions for e-collections and e-mandates.

Further, the Bank offers an ‘API Developer Portal’, with over 250 APIs, enabling startups to co- create innovative customer solutions in a frictionless manner. It takes fraction of the time usually needed for digital collaboration, thereby significantly increasing productivity of startups.

To know more, startups can contact their Relationship Manager or write to startupecosystem@icicibank.com

To read more on the Bank’s offerings at its branch in GIFT City, visit www.giftcity.icicibank.com

For news and updates, visit www.icicibank.com and follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/ICICIBank

About ICICI Bank: ICICI Bank Ltd (BSE: ICICIBANK, NSE: ICICIBANK and NYSE:IBN) is a leading private sector bank in India. The Bank’s consolidated total assets stood at ? 15,21,748 crore at December 31, 2022.

Manipal Centre of Biotherapeutics Research Inaugurated A 3D Bioprinting Facility

Manipal Centre for Biotherapeutics Research (MCBR), Mangalore, a constituent unit of Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE), inaugurated the 3D Bioprinting and Tissue Culture Facility which was unveiled by Lt. Gen. (Dr) M. D. Venkatesh, Vice Chancellor, MAHE, Dr Sharath K. Rao, Pro Vice-Chancellor (Health Sciences), MAHE,  Mrs Nirali Vora, CSR Head of Genesis Packaging, along with Mr Kaushal Vora, Director, Genesis Packaging. Dual nozzle 3D bioprinter (Anga Pro, Alfatek Systems) was procured from the CSR funds contributed by Genesis Packaging Pvt. Ltd., Udupi. 

While inaugurating the facility Lt. General ( Dr) M.D. Venkatesh, Vice-Chancellor, MAHE said “3D Bioprinting is the promising area of research where significant progress is being made in printing human tissues and organs. I am glad to inaugurate the 3D Bioprinting and Tissue Culture facility at MCBR and I look forward to seeing pathbreaking research to emerge from this facility ultimately benefitting healthcare at large”.

Mrs. Nirali Vora, CSR Head of Genesis Packaging said “I am honoured and humbled to be felicitated by MAHE leadership. MCBR is a world-class research facility, and we are extremely happy to contribute CSR funding to procure the 3D Bioprinter. We wish MCBR and MAHE researchers all the best in their research using the Bioprinter”. MAHE and Alfatek signed an agreement to collaborate on skill development and innovative research in the area of 3D Bioprinting.”

Mr Sumant Bhutoria, CEO of Alfatek Systems Pvt. Ltd., Kolkata, “spoke about the progress on 3D Bioprinting in India and the promises it holds.”

The event was presided by Dr Raviraja N S, Professor and Coordinator of MCBR welcomed the gathering and shared the vision of MCBR. Dr Kirthanashri SV, Associate Professor, and Team Leader 3D Bioprinting, MCBR, presented the research highlights in the area of 3D bioprinting at MCBR. Air Vice Marshal Dr DC Agarwal, Dr B S Satish Rao, Dr Sathish B Pai, Dr Sajan D George, and others were present. Ms Prachi Agarwal anchored the program and Ms. Vidhi Mathur proposed the vote of thanks.

Dvara KGFS Wins Award For Risk & Analytics – Best Analytics-Driven Project

~ The Location Analytics system helps wealth managers to take the optimal route for collections ~ 

Dvara Kshetriya Gramin Financial Services Private Limited (Dvara KGFS), a leading NBFC operating in remote rural parts of India, has won the Risk & Analytics – Best Analytics-Driven project award under the subcategory of Micro Finance Company. The award was presented by Quantic India, an internationally recognised Business Media Company, at the 2nd Annual NBFC and FinTech Excellence Awards Mumbai – in the month of March 2023. 

Dvara KGFS was recognised for their Location Analytics system, which helps wealth managers take the optimal route for collections. The system uses advanced technologies like Python, Java, Angular JS, ML clustering (K means algorithm), customized Dijkstra Algorithm, and Geo Analytics to extract insights and make decisions based on geographical data. 

The Location Analytics system uses latitude and longitude to cluster data and provide optimised routes for each branch, while also ensuring appropriate dates and times for centre collections. The system improves efficiency, increases productivity, enhances customer experience, aids in real-time adjustments, saves cost and helps in hyper monitoring. 

Mr Bragadeesh, Chief Data Science Officer, Dvara KGFS, received the award on behalf of the company and expressed gratitude towards Quantic India for recognising their work. He also mentioned that this recognition will inspire Dvara KGFS to invest more time and effort in Data and Analytics in different areas of work for achieving better results and increased efficiencies. 

Quantic India is a prestigious group with over 10 years of experience managing BFSI, Supply chain, FMCG and B2B Summits. Dvara KGFS is privileged to have received the award from them and will continue to work towards providing a secure platform for customers in remote areas of India. 

Shoppers Stop Appoints- Kavindra Mishra As Chief Commercial Officer For External Brands And CEO Of Home Stop

Shoppers Stop, India’s leading premier fashion and beauty omnichannel destination has announced the appointment of Mr. Kavindra Mishra as ‘Chief Commercial Officer for External Brands and CEO of Home Stop.’

Kavindra has more than 20 years of retail experience and comes from the House of Anita Dongre where he worked as Managing Director. An IIM-Bangalore alumnus, Kavindra had earlier stints with leading retail companies like Pepe, ABFRL, Benetton and Arvind among others in leadership positions.   

Commenting on the appointment, Mr. Venu Nair, Customer Care Associate MD and CEO at Shoppers Stop Ltd said, “Kavindra brings a wealth of retail experience, that will provide strategic leadership to our External Brands and planning. He will further bring in special focus to our home business, as the CEO of Home Stop, where we see significant opportunity for growth.  We are confident Kavindra’s appointment will add significant value to the organizing and drive business to the next level.” 

Commenting on his appointment Mr. Kavindra Mishra, Chief Commercial Officer for External Brands and CEO – Home Stop, Shoppers Stop said, “It has always been my desire to continuously learn and upgrade my skill sets to contribute to the organization and teams of which I am a part. In this journey, I am delighted to work with India’s foremost retailer Shoppers Stop and deliver an unmatched consumer experience across formats”.