Author: News Desk

Varsya’s product portfolio includes eco-friendly notebooks made of recycled paper pulp, carry bags made out of vegetable starch, disposable plates from sugarcane waste and areca nut, and clay tableware. The uniqueness of the carry bags is that they can be melted in water and disposed of on the ground. Nitheesh Sundaresan and his wife Anu Nitheesh started Varsya Eco Solutions Private Limited in 2020. The startup has so far developed two technologies. The startup aims to draw people to eco-friendly living. Its name is derived from the Sanskrit word ‘varsham’ which means ‘rain.’ Varsya’s mission is to create a pollution-free…

India’s first indigenous Hydrogen-fueled electric vessel is likely to be delivered by March-April next year, said Chairman and Managing Director of Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) Madhu S Nair. He added that the fuel cell will be produced by a Pune-based company relying on Indian technology. The estimated figure for the ship lift-based shipyard at Wellington Island in Kochi is Rs 970 crore. The facility is expected to be commissioned by December 2023 Kochi will be a ship repair hub after it is commissioned. The project will provide employment opportunities to at least 3,000 people in the shipyard.

Distribution of E20 Petrol to begin from April 2023. Select petrol pumps will distribute it. The process will ramp up later. E20 Petrol contains 20 per cent ethanol. The mission is to reduce oil import dependence. It will also address environmental issues. A fifth of petrol will be made of ethanol by 2025.

Microsoft and the Indian government collaborate on a civil servants training programme. 250,000 civil servants will get trained in computer skills as part of the programme. Microsoft will teach them to use its digital tools like Word, Excel and PowerPoint. These tools have become an integral part of work life. The training will help the workforce to be more efficient. Civil servants can choose their time for training. The training will help officials serve the underprivileged sections.

The telecom department invited applications from enterprises willing to set up captive non-public networks. It will be for undertaking demand studies for direct assignment of spectrum to entities. Applications should be from Enterprises having net worth more than Rs 100 crore. And are willing to set up captive non-public networks by obtaining spectrum directly from the Department of Telecommunications(DoT). The government had issued the ‘guidelines for Captive Non-Public Network (CNPN) licence’ to establish the legal framework. DoT has now launched a module on the Saralsanchar portal for carrying out the demand studies.

CoinSwitch started Web3 Discovery Fund It is a $10 million venture capital fund. It would support early-stage startups and build blockchain solutions. Through this, CoinSwitch intends to realize the vision of #MadeinIndia. Web3 Entrepreneurs will get access to investors like Tiger Global, Ribbit Capital, Coinbase Ventures. CoinSwitch is an Indian crypto company Ashish Singhal, Govind Soni, and Vimal Sagar Tiwari started it in 2017.

Honda Power Pack Energy India Private (HEID) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL) started electric battery swap services at HPCL petrol stations. HEID will operate the battery swap services that will enable auto rickshaw drivers to stop at the nearest battery stations being set up. And swap discharged batteries with fully charged ones. It will significantly reduce drivers’ initial cost of purchasing an electric vehicle. HEID intends to create the largest battery swap network with more than 70 stations in Bengaluru. HEID and HPCL had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) and a commercial agreement. To collaborate for working in the…

US-based startup Autonomy set to order 23,000 EVs from 17 automakers. The purchase will be for an amount of $1.2 billion Tesla, GM, Volkswagen, and Ford are on the list. The order represents 1.2% of the projected US EV production. It’s unknown by when the fleet could be collected. Some deliveries won’t begin until early 2023. Autonomy offers EV subscription services to drivers. It now has 1,000 Tesla cars.

The Indian government is planning on restricting Chinese companies from the budget smartphone segment. To prevent them from selling devices under ₹12,000 in the country. Smartphones under ₹12,000 contributed to a third of India’s sales volume. for the quarter through June 2022 With Chinese companies accounting for up to 80% of those shipments. The move shouldn’t affect Apple Inc. or Samsung Electronics Co., which price their phones higher. Homegrown companies such as Lava and MicroMax comprised just under half of India’s smartphone sales.

SoftBank’s Masayoshi Son warns of a prolonged startup winter for unlisted companies. It is because some unicorn leaders won’t accept lower valuations in fresh funding. Across the globe, startups are facing a funding crunch. It’s because investors are cautious about the market conditions. SoftBank’s Vision Funds have supported over 470 startups in six years. However, it is now very selective in investment opportunities. In the quarter that ended in June, SoftBank invested $600 million. A year ago, during the same period, it was $20.6 billion. The company has also cut down the size of its check. Now, it takes only…