Category Archives: Business & Economy

Dr. B.S. Ajaikumar: Man With A Mission

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On Sunday, after watching Kannada TV channels showing the burial of Kannada film world’s iconic matinee idol Puneeth Rajkumar, who had died of heart attack on Friday (Oct. 29), I came to office to get rid of that melancholic feeling. Very sad indeed. He bloomed as an actor rather early in life as a child artiste and withered too early at age 46.

In the office, I finished reading the book “Excellence Has     No Borders” by Dr. B.S. Ajaikumar with Hemanth Gorur. Which means the actual writing was done by the latter. Star of Mysore had already published a review of this book by Dr. Bhamy V. Shenoy of Mysore Grahakara Parishat (MGP) that appeared on Oct. 26, 2021.

Dr. Shenoy wanted to know why the book was titled “Excellence Has No Borders.” After  reading the book, I too thought likewise. Dr. Ajaikumar was looking beyond the Indian horizon and venturing to establish a brand of hospitals for cancer patients worldwide and call it as Health Care Global, acronym HCG. After reading the book, I thought it was a misnomer to call his venture HCG for it would be perceived as a hospital of general healthcare and not exclusively dedicated to cancer. Which was why some of his venture capitalist financiers, as detailed in the book, had difficulty in getting to know one real character of the venture they were contemplating to finance. I felt he should have christened his healthcare brand (Hospitals) as Cancer Health Care Global (CHCG) or simply Cancer Care Global (CCG).

Since Dr. Bhamy Shenoy has reviewed the book comprehensively touching on important human and business aspects, including sibling suspicions, I will not inflict on my readers a second dose of comments on the same episode.

However, there are many lessons for the professionals like doctors who aspire to become entrepreneurs in their given area of specialisation — like Dr. Ajaikumar, who is a qualified Oncologist.

No doubt higher the risk in any business, higher the profit. So also the loss. When one bites more than one can chew and swallow, he is bound to choke and die. We have many cases of people, nay adventurers, venturing to achieve success that is beyond their reach and committing suicide. With humility and modesty, I say, health and wealth are the personal responsibility of each individual. Probably, it is because of this axiom there is a wise saying ‘Each for himself and God for all.’ Reading this book, I realised the truism of this human experience.

All along his ambitious journey, it is Dr. Ajaikumar who was taking responsibility for planning, finance, negotiating to find the venture capitalists and more. Naturally, much travelling he had to do. It seemed, most of the time he was in the airports flying to America and India any number of times.

I salute him for his high ambition, high-octane energy and above all courage to take a chance and risk. Of course, the whole world loves the winner, failure is an orphan. Dr. Ajaikumar, for now, is a winner and being a Mysurean, we must feel proud of him. I should vouch for his humane healthcare service to Mysureans and to the cancer patients from around Mysuru by establishing his first designated cancer hospital, known as ‘Bharath Cancer Hospital’ in Hebbal. It was a Godsend those days. Even now it is the hospital of the first call for poor cancer patients.

The book reveals how difficult it was for Dr. Ajaikumar to get a piece of land to set up this hospital.

In 1987, he thought of starting a cancer hospital in India. He decided to have it either in Bengaluru or Mysuru being a Mysurean. He knew  the well-known Prof. A.K. Ramanujam of the University of Chicago and on his suggestion went with him to meet the Karnataka Chief Minister, who was in Chicago, on some Government work. Sadly his suggestion was “laughed off.” Dr. Ajaikumar writes, “I was told they already had Kidwai for that and that there was no need for anything else.”

These are our rulers! Dr. Ajaikumar did not give up, did not accept defeat. He identified a 15-acre land on Nanjangud Road and Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) allotted it in 1988. However, Mysuru City Corporation (MCC) took objection and media too suspected his intention. He writes, “As the saying goes, ‘No good deed goes unpunished.’ So a good deed is punished heavily by the city of Mysuru.” Reading this, I thought of proposed ‘Viveka Smaraka’ by Sri Ramakrishna Ashram which is mired in controversy. As Dr. Ajaikumar said in his book, once again a good deed is punished heavily by the city of Mysuru.

Reading Dr. Ajaikumar’s account of his trekking expedition to Kangchenjunga and his experience with his Sherpa-helper Aan Pasang who dies “suddenly” and the opinion about our life and death, I could not but remember our Kannada film actor Puneeth Rajkumar who passed away “suddenly” last Friday and how we felt devastated.

Dr. Ajaikumar and his wife Bhagya also go on a trip to rural and semi-rural areas across India. And from what he writes, it seems he got ‘enlightened’ like Buddha or Yudhisthira (Dharmaraya) in Mahabharata. He remembers the incident with Aan Pasang that had taught him the life lesson about how suddenly things could change and how one needed to be prepared. ‘One day you were here and the next day you were gone.’ He then recalls one of the many questions the Yaksha asks Yudhisthira in  Mahabharata known as ‘Yaksha Prashne’.

Question: What is most amazing in the world?

Answer: Every day people die, yet everyone thinks he will live for ever. What is more amazing than this?

Dr. Ajaikumar continues:

“Human life has a self-life. It derives meaning from accomplishments achieved during one’s lifetime. For this good health is crucial. For, anything can be bought or repaired with money, but there is only so much money can do when it comes to health.” What a profound observation!

Like a sting in the tail, the last paragraph of the last chapter of the book says, “There should be no difference in TREATMENT for the rich and the poor” and advises the (deaf, dumb and blind) government what it should do to reach this goal. It should not be like in our country ‘Bail for the rich and jail for the poor.’ Did you get me Steve?

May the tribe of service-minded professional entrepreneurs like Dr. Ajaikumar increase. After all, good of mankind is important and we need people like Dr. Ajaikumar to achieve this noble goal.

 e-mail: voice@starofmysore.com

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Columns> abracadabra by K B Ganapathy / November 02nd, 2021

This Florist Decorating Golden Howdah For 23 Years

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Mysuru :

Mysore/Mysuru:

The flower decoration to Golden Howdah will be complete by tomorrow evening. Speaking to Star of Mysore this morning, flower decorator N. Manjunath of Gayathri Flower Stall in Devaraja Market said that this was the 23rd year he was decorating the Golden Howdah.

Pointing out that Mysuru Mallige, which all these years were sourced from Tamil Nadu, is now being sourced from Mysuru itself, he said that 5-kg Jasmine, 10-kg  Blue Chrysanthemum (Neeli Sevanthige) sourced from Bengaluru, 5-kg Panneer Yele, 5-kg mixed  Roses and 1-kg Crossandra (Kanakambara) flowers will be used to decorate the Howdah.

Continuing, Manjunath, who is the son of former Corporator N. Narayanaswamy, said that 35 kgs of  Marigold and  Chrysanthemum will be used for decoration of Pushparchane platform. As far as Nandi Dhwaja Puja is concerned,  Jasmine (Mallige),  Rajanigandha (Sugandahraja) and Crossandra (Kanakambara) flowers  will be supplied in required quantities, he added.

Maintaining that all the required flowers will be sourced fresh by tomorrow morning, Manjunath said that the flower decoration  that  is carried out in accordance with the measurement of the Golden Howdah will be delivered to the Palace by 10 am on Oct.15 (Jumboo Savari day).

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> News / October 13th, 2021

TiE pitchfest held, start-up gets Rs 1 lakh prize

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GoI Startup India

Sapientury, a start-up, co-founded by S L Kushal and Komala Channa from Bengaluru-based RV College of Engineering, will receive a cash prize of Rs 1 lakh in May, during the TiE Global University Pitchfest, from the Mysuru chapter of The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE).

TiE Mysuru chapter president Ajith Pai said, “TiE University Pitchfest – 2021 was conducted for university students and more than 48 teams from 26 institutions across Karnataka participated. As part of the competition, the teams pitched their ideas to a panel of experts, that included successful entrepreneurs, academicians and professionals.”

He said, “K-tech Innovation Hub of IKP, partnered with TiE Mysuru, on this project, and offered three months free incubation and mentorship support to the top four finalists. A series of free workshops and mentoring sessions were organised by TiE for the benefit of the teams. All the teams were mentored and guided by TiE Mysuru chapter, its members and partners.”

Pai said, “TiE Mysuru strives to provide an enabling ecosystem to students, to nurture them into quality entrepreneurs. Mahesh Rao, charter member and head of TiE-University Mysuru and other members contributed for the success of the event.”

The four teams that made it to the final round are: Sapientury, Drona Automations, InfinityX Innovations and Broomstick.

Sapientury, co-founded by Kushal S L and Komala Channa, is an IIMB-incubated, EdTech start-up that has developed a DIY Kit, coupled with online micro-courses for engineering students, to become industry-ready, by learning beyond the syllabus.

Drona Automations, founded by Suraj Wodeyar from VIAT Muddenahalli, has developed an innovative Horizontal Sewer Pipes Cleaning Robot, to provide controlled cleaning of pipes.

InfinityX Innovations, founded by Satyam Raj of Cambridge Institute of Technology, is working on accelerating the adoption of electric vehicles in India, with their automatic battery swapping stations, through an innovative battery pack and swapping and cable setup.

Broomstick, a Mysuru-based startup, is developing an innovative device for commercial floor cleaning for the Indian market. Broomstick was co-founded by Mehul Jain and K G Yogindra from The National Institute of Engineering, Mysuru.

The panel of judges included Craig Abbott, managing partner, CWA Advisors, and board member, TiE New York, USA; Hemaltha Annamalai, former CEO and MD, Ampere Vehicles, and past president TiE Coimbatore chapter; and Viiveck Verma, founder of UpSurge Enterprise Solutions and board member, TiE Hyderabad chapter. They evaluated the pitches on parameters like, innovation, scalability, market opportunity, commercialisation and business model.

The cash prize of Rs 1 lakh of TiE Mysuru chapter includes Rs 50,000 sponsored by D Sudhanva, CEO of Excelsoft. All teams will receive $1,000 Amazon Web Service (AWS) credits along with one-year TiE Mysuru Student Membership and participation certificates.

source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> State> Karnataka Districts / by T R Sathish Kumar, Mysuru / April 29th, 2021

LCA Tejas adds 5th gen air-to-air missile to its weapons capability

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Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas. Courtesy: DRDO 

Test firing validated performance under extremely challenging scenarios, says DRDO

Indigenous Light Combat Aircraft (LAC) Tejas added the 5th generation Python-5 Air-to-Air Missile (AAM) to its air-to-air weapons capability after successful trials, the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) said on Wednesday.

“Trials were also aimed to validate enhanced capability of already integrated Derby Beyond Visual Range (BVR) AAM on Tejas. The test firing at Goa completed a series of missile trials to validate its performance under extremely challenging scenarios,” a DRDO statement said.

Derby missile achieved direct hit on a high speed manoeuvring aerial target and the Python missiles also achieved 100% hits, thereby validating their complete capability, it said. “The trials met all their planned objectives.”

Missile carriage flight tests

Prior to these trials, extensive missile carriage flight tests were conducted at Bengaluru to assess integration of the missile with aircraft systems on board the Tejas, like avionics, fire-control radar, missile weapon delivery system and the flight control system. At Goa, after successful separation trials, live launch of the missile was carried out on Tuesday.

“Python-5 missile live firing was conducted to validate target engagement from all aspects as well as beyond visual ranges. In all the live firings, missile hit the aerial target.” The missiles were fired from Tejas aircraft of the Aeronautical Development Agency flown by the IAF test pilots from the national flight test centre.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> National / by Special Correspondent / New Delhi – April 28th, 2021

DRDO to aid hospitals generate oxygen on site

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Technology developed by the Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) will help them generate oxygen on site, to be given to needy patients.

The Medical Oxygen Plant technology, developed by DRDO | Express

Bengaluru :

Hospitals may soon no longer have to wait for medical oxygen to be transported from long distances. Technology developed by the Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) will help them generate oxygen on site, to be given to needy patients.

The Medical Oxygen Plant (MOP) technology, developed by DRDO for on-board oxygen generation in the Light Combat Aircraft Tejas by DRDO’s Bengaluru-based Defence Bioengineering and Electromedical Laboratory (DEBEL), will now be employed in the fight against the current crisis of oxygen for Covid-19 patients. The same technology generates oxygen for fighter pilots flying the Tejas at high altitudes.

The oxygen plant is designed for a capacity of 1,000 litres per minute (LPM). It can cater to 190 patients at a flow rate of 5 LPM and refill 195 cylinders per day. The technology has already been transferred to Bengaluru-based Tata Advanced Systems Ltd and Coimbatore-based Trident Pneumatics Pvt. Ltd, which will be producing a total of 380 plants of 1,000 LPM capacity for installation across various hospitals in India.  Another 120 oxygen plants of 500 LPM capacity will be produced by industries working with Indian Institute of Petroleum, Dehradun, coming under the CSIR, according to a Ministry of Defence release.

With DRDO tech, hospitals can make O2 in cost-effective way

The MOP technology is capable of generating oxygen with 93±3 per cent concentration which can directly be supplied to hospital beds or used to fill medical oxygen cylinders. It utilizes Pressure Swing Adsorption (PSA) technique and Molecular Sieve (Zeolite) technology to generate oxygen directly from atmospheric air. With the plants at their disposal, hospitals will be able to generate on-site medical oxygen in a cost-effective manner, rather than depend on suppliers from other places.

Apart from the Light Combat Aairaft fighter pilots, this oxygen plant has already proven its worth in preventing adverse health effects among jawans and officers of the Indian Army due to scarcity of oxygen in high altitude regions where they are posted in inaccessible and remote areas in the northern region. The MOP has already been installed at some of the Army sites in the North-East and Leh- Ladakh regions.

The plant complies with international standards like ISO 1008, European, US and Indian Pharmacopeia. Site preparation for five plants to be installed in Delhi/NCR region has al ready be e n initiated. The Defence Research and Development Organisation has initiated fabrication of 380 medical oxygen plants with release of supply orders for 332 units to Tata Advanced Systems and 48 to Trident Pneumatics Pvt. with a target of producing 125 plants per month under PM-CARES Fund. Secretary, Department of Defence R&D & Chairman, Defence Research and Developpment Organisation, Dr G Satheesh Reddy, has assured the support of DRDO for use of the technology by hospitals and other health agencies.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Karnataka / by Express News Service / April 29th, 2021

Biocon Biologics, Viatris receive approval for cancer drug

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Synopsis

Abevmy is approved for treatment in metastatic colorectal carcinoma, metastatic breast cancer, non small-cell lung carcinoma, glioblastoma, ovarian, cervical and renal cancer as part of a specific regimen.

Biocon Biologics has received approval for its cancer drug Abevmy co-developed with Viatris.

Abevmy 100 & 400 mg, a biosimilar of Bevacizumab has received marketing authorization approval from the European Commission (EC) following the positive recommendation by the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) of the European Medicines Agency, said the company in a filing to the stock exchange.

Abevmy is approved for treatment in metastatic colorectal carcinoma, metastatic breast cancer, non small-cell lung carcinoma, glioblastoma, ovarian, cervical and renal cancer as part of a specific regimen.

The centralized marketing authorization granted by the EC is valid in all EU Member States as well as in the European Economic Area (EEA) countries Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway.

“The European Commission’s approval of our biosimilar Bevacizumab will enable us to offer this biologic therapy to cancer patients in the EU along with our partner Viatris. The addition of biosimilar Bevacizumab will strengthen our portfolio of biosimilars for cancer in the EU, which include biosimilar Trastuzumab and biosimilar Pegfilgrastim. This approval underlines our commitment to expand affordable access to life-saving biosimilars and make an enduring impact on global health,” said a company spokesperson.

source: http://www.economictimes.indiatimes.com / The Economic Times / Home> Business News> India> Healthcare> Biotech>Pharmaceuticals / ET Bureau / April 26th, 2021

‘Milking’ opportunities: Karnataka farmers collab with company to produce organic dairy products

Agriculture, Business & Economy, Inspiration/ Positive News and Features, Nature

Rangegowda and Nagaveni who live in Karnataka’s Tiptur village, were farmers inundated with debt. Making matters worse, the bank wasn’t waiving their agricultural loan.

Rangegowda’s dairy farm

To stave off hunger, Rangegowda had no option but to think of selling his cows—his primary means of sustenance. Just in time, he met officers from Karnataka-based Akshayakalpa, a rural entrepreneurship initiative, and an organic milk brand. That fortuitous encounter resulted in circumstances reversing for the better.

The farmer collaborated with the company to employ scientific dairy methods such as free-stalling, making soil chemical-free, machine milking, organic fodder cultivation and antibiotic and hormone-free milk production. Together, they share the common vision of empowering smallholder subsistence dairy farmers to become entrepreneurs.

Rangegowda’s activities at the farm start at five in the morning with close observation of all cows. He grows his fodder crops free of chemicals and makes silage, a type of fodder made from green foliage crops, available at all times, that provides balanced minerals and proteins.

Subsequently, the couple opened their own organic fodder production unit that cultivates Napier grass, excellent fodder for cows. The dung is collected in a slurry pool and is used to fertilise fodder crops. Such measures have helped him optimise farm costs. He was able to pay back his loan and expand his farm by investing the profit.

Such kind of exposure has led him and his fellow dairy farmers to use apps like Stellapps, a herd management solution through which he monitors his farm production closely through a component called ‘mooON’ that assists farmers track health records, including records of vaccination, deworming, artificial insemination, pregnancy detection and more.

So far, low farm and cattle productivity and lack of scientific management of farms have led to higher costs and lower profitability for Indian farmers. “Indian dairy farmers are predominantly smallholders with an average herd size of two cattle. Delivering services to a fragmented group of many smallholder farmers is a costly affair for banks, veterinarians, feed providers and others. The lack of access to credit further restrains the farmer from expanding their farm and investing in mechanisation,” says Shashi Kumar, CEO, Akshayakalpa.

Shashi Kumar

 Through Stellapps’ mooPay FinTech solutions, farmers can avail loans easily. Easy access to credit helps them invest and start new enterprises. “It helps that funds are directed to the farmer’s bank account. This helps them to buy cattle through partner banks,” says Ranjith Mukundan, CEO and Co-founder, Stellapps. Such wealth-creating initiatives enrich villages, agitations nothwithstanding. 

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Good News / by Bindu Gopal Rao, Express News Service / January 24th, 2021

New device measures rate of evaporation in minutes

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Can help farmers, weather stations and botanists, says IISc. team

In what is touted to be a more efficient and inexpensive alternative to existing methods, a team of scientists from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc.) has developed a device that can measure the rate of evaporation within a couple of minutes.

Apart from being an integral process in the water cycle, evaporation plays a major role in regulating water loss in plants through a process called transpiration, an IISc. release explained. “Being able to measure the evaporation rate is useful for farmers to gauge water requirements for their fields and in weather stations to characterise the local atmospheric conditions. It is also widely used by botanists to study the dynamics underlying transpiration by plants,” said IISc. in the release.

Currently, pan evaporimeters – resembling large pans that are filled with water – are the most commonly used devices to measure evaporation rates. The change in water level over a day gives the evaporation rate from that area for that day.

“The disadvantages are that the evaporation rates are for one whole day, and over a large area, one square metre. One needs an open ground to place the device. But we have a simple method of directly measuring evaporation from a small surface – at the order of a couple of centimetres, and over a short period of time. Our method allows you to get a much more realistic measure of transpiration from plants and evaporation from soil,” the release quoted Jaywant H. Arakeri, Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, IISc., and senior author of the study, which was recently published in the Journal of Hydrology, as saying.

The proposed device consists of a filter paper connected to a capillary tube that takes water from a reservoir to the filter paper, wetting it and mimicking an evaporating water surface. By measuring the distance travelled by the lower meniscus in the capillary tube over a couple of minutes, the evaporation rate is estimated. The innovation lies in being able to measure the very small amount (about 1 microlitre) of water that is lost in evaporation from the surface in a minute, the release explained.

As the evaporation rate is affected by a number of factors such as temperature, wind velocity and humidity, the device can show the evaporation rate within a niche environment. It would be useful to scientists studying the physiological process of transpiration in plants because of its ability to measure the evaporation rate over small areas over short periods of time.

The authors also suggest that it could be used in oceans to study changing evaporation patterns in the open sea and in weather stations to estimate evaporation rates in the atmosphere, an important parameter that is currently not measured.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Bengaluru / by Staff Reporter / December 05th, 2020

Ansr acquires Bengaluru-based AI firm FastNext

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Representative image/Credit: Pixabay Image

The US-based Ansr on Wednesday announced acquisition of Bengaluru-based artificial intelligence (AI) firm FastNext in a cash and stock deal.

However, the company didn’t disclose the acquisition cost.

Post the acquisition, FastNext employees will join Ansr and work closely with its product Talent500.

“The acquisition will enable Ansr empower global enterprises to build the best teams for their global capability centres (GCC) by using deep learning and AI-powered tools across talent acquisition and management, smart workspace management and management and business workflows,” Ansr said in a statement.

The first of the capabilities Ansr aims to build with FastNext is in AI driven talent acquisition and management that will augment existing consulting and technology capabilities. It will help clients in areas such as talent acquisition and management.

“Ansr’s Talent500 will play a pivotal role in this partnership for achieving comprehensive 360-degree candidate profiles,” the statement said.

source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> City> Top Bengaluru Stories / by PTI / November 05th, 2020

Field trials of Rajamudi rice to resume soon

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Cultivation of Rajamudi variety of rice is currently restricted to parts of south Karnataka region.  

This is a precursor to seeking GI status

The second set of field trials to prove the unique characteristic features of Rajamudi, Karnataka’s premium variety of rice, will be resumed in due course as a precursor to seeking Geographical Indication (GI) status for it.

The results of the first set of trials — which was said to be encouraging — was published some time ago in the international rice journal Oryza and scientists involved in the exercise are confident of securing the coveted GI tag for Rajamudi within the next two years.

The process is lengthy and entails scientifically proving that the characteristic features of Rajamudi cannot be replicated when cultivated in other areas.

“It is in this connection that we intend to take up its cultivation in different parts of Karnataka, including Shivamogga, Davangere, Bidar etc. this year,” said M.P. Rajanna, a research scientist at VC Farm in Mandya, who is involved in the project.

Once successful, it will be the first paddy variety of Karnataka to share the honours with Gobindobhog of Bengal, Kalanamak of Uttar Pradesh, and Ajara Ghansal of Maharashtra, which have received the GI tag.

The State government is keen to secure the GI tag for Rajamudi, which was the preferred rice variety of the Wadiyars of Mysuru who chose to receive it from the farmers of the region in lieu of tax. This was due to its unique taste and the perceived higher nutritional value which was proved scientifically in recent years, said Krishnaprasad of Sahaja Samruddha, an NGO spearheading the movement to save and popularize the indigenous variety of rice in the State.

He said cultivation of Rajamudi variety of rice is currently restricted to parts of Holenarsipur, Arkalgud, Channarayapatna, Hassan, and Mysuru taluks in south Karnataka region. However, the acreage or area under cultivation is only around 25,000 acres to 30,000 acres and was on a decline raising concern that it could be on the brink of extinction as it is being supplanted by hybrid variety.

Explaining the rationale for securing the GI status, Mr. Krishnaprasad said it will not only help conserve the paddy variety but will prevent other variety of rice cultivated elsewhere in the State from being foisted on consumers as the genuine Rajamudi product.

The initiative to secure GI tag for Rajamudi was announced almost two years ago by the Karnataka Agricultural Price Commission and the Department of Agriculture. Besides Rajamudi, there are plans to seek GI status for other varieties of rice, including Gandhasale and Ratnachudi.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Karnataka / by Special Correspondent / Mysuru – November 23rd, 2020