Tag: Dr. Omkar Rai

Business

Startup Odisha Witnesses Triumph of Success, Felicitations, and Strategic Alliances

Feb 1, 2024 by Sujata Muguda 0 Comments #Dr. Omkar Rai, #MSME Department, #Pratap Keshari Deb, #STARTUP UTSAVV 2024

Bhubaneswar, 1st February 2024 – Startup Odisha, an initiative by the MSME Department, Government of Odisha, today organized STARTUP UTSAVV 2024. The event, dedicated to celebrating the spirit of innovation and entrepreneurship, witnessed a convergence of industry leaders, government officials, startups, incubators, academic institutions, mentors and other stakeholders of the ecosystem.

Startup Odisha 1

The event was graced by eminent dignitaries including Shri Pratap Keshari Deb, Hon’ble Minister, Dept. of Industry, Energy, and MSME; Shri Subroto Bagchi, Chief Advisor Govt. Odisha (Institutional Capacity Building); Dr. Omkar Rai, Executive Chairman, Startup Odisha and other prominent names from the world of startup and entrepreneurship. Besides, the top 10 student innovators from Startup Yatra & Xpress each, Women entrepreneurs, Winners of Millet Innovation challenge, Top 20 startups of Fundstack 3.0, etc who were also present. These leaders shared valuable insights into the state’s commitment to promoting innovation and entrepreneurship.

One of the highlights of STARTUP UTSAVV 2024 was felicitation ceremony which acknowledged the outstanding contributions across various categories. Recognizing excellence in incubation, the ceremony applauded the outstanding contributions of entities such as KIIT Technology Business Incubator (Successful Incubator of the Year), AIC- Nalanda Institute of Technology (Supportive Incubator of the Year), and DBT ILS Bioincubator (Emerging Incubator of the Year). It also celebrated the entrepreneurial prowess with accolades like Newrup Tech Solutions Private Limited (Student-led Startup of the Year), Aurassure Private Limited (Women-led Startup of the Year) and BookingJini (Emerging Startup of the Year).

Noteworthy mentions went to startups that made a mark on the international stage in 2023-24, including Larkai Healthcare, IG Drones, TransportSimple, BonV Technology Private Limited and Lex Protector. Further commendation was extended to Larkai Healthcare, BonV Aero, Curebay Technologies, Aurassure Private Limited, EzeRX Health Tech, Beamer Food & Beverage, Trustless Pvt Ltd, Inofinity Research and Development, Bookingjini, Phoenix Robotix for their commendable feat of raising external funds in 2023-24. Further, the ceremony honored the winners of the Odisha Millet Innovation Challenge.

The event saw forging of strategic alliances with industry giants such as National Research Development Corporation (NRDC), Indian Steps & Business Incubators Associations (ISBA), The Insititute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI), National Innovation Foundation (NIF) through significant Memorandum of Understanding (MOUs). Additionally, Startup Odisha and SIDBI have exchanged an agreement for SIDBI Seed Fund Programme.

Startup Odisha 2

Naveen Patnaik, Chief Minister of Odisha, said, “To nurture a strong pipeline of entrepreneurs for the future, Startup Odisha conducts the Odisha Startup Yatra and Odisha Startup Xpress for college and school students respectively. We have reached more than 36,000 students, receiving a record-breaking 4,400 innovative ideas. The top 100 student ideas have been selected and felicitated today, and I extend my heartiest congratulations to these future entrepreneurs. As we envision a sustainable future, let it be a future of collaboration, inclusion, and shared prosperity. I wish this Startup Utsavv proves to be a catalyst for new ideas, partnerships, and innovations that will propel Odisha to new heights.”

Hon’ble Minister MSME, Shri Pratap Keshari Deb, said, ” Amidst Odisha’s natural abundance, I encourage our dynamic youth to transcend the conventional notions of job-seeking and embrace the empowering role of job creation. Recognizing the pivotal moment, we stand in, the government is steadfast in extending robust support for youth entrepreneurship. By nurturing their entrepreneurial acumen, the youth of Odisha can weave dreams into reality, illuminating a path towards a brilliant and promising future for both themselves and our state.”

Dr. Omkar Rai, Executive Chairman, Startup Odisha, said, “Startup Utsavv 2024 marks the celebration of the diverse achievements within Odisha’s startup landscape and duly recognises the successes crafted by startups, entrepreneurs, investors, incubators and other stakeholders of Startup ecosystem. The success so far in the Odisha’s startup ecosystem would form a bedrock and a strong plinth for the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Odisha to make future strides that would place it at par with the best and most progressive startup ecosystems across the globe.

With over 1800 recognized startups, including more than 700 women-led ventures, and an impressive Rs 500 Crores in external funding, the event echoed the thriving spirit of innovation in our state. The triumphant resonance of initiatives like Startup Yatra & Xpress, bolstered by the support of the Odisha Startup Growth Fund (OSGF), underscores our collective commitment to propelling Odisha as a hub for innovation and entrepreneurship. Reflecting on the celebration of achievements by startups, incubators, and stakeholders, the electrifying spirit of the event was palpable. From commemorating the Startup Mela last year to rejoicing in the 2023 accomplishments, the journey has been remarkable. Awards were bestowed, marking a gratifying moment as the innovative ideas of young minds took center stage.”

The Ask Me Anything with Shri Subroto Bagchi was quite a successful and engaging session with the participants. He emphasized the need for solutions addressing real problems and urged a shift from the traditional job-centric mindset. Additionally, he highlighted the importance of women entrepreneurs as role models, urging them to come forward and inspire others. Furthermore, he shared invaluable insights on scaling businesses and navigating challenges with unwavering confidence, providing a roadmap for entrepreneurial success.

The event marked the launch of Startup Yatra Booklets, providing valuable resources for aspiring entrepreneurs. The event seamlessly followed fostering connections among participants. It featured enlightening sessions, including a Masterclass on Design Thinking by Shri Ghanshyam S, Founder of Edler Hub, and insights from Shri Harkesh Mittal, Chairman of SISFS, on the Role of Academic Institutions & Incubators. Dr. Bijay Kumar Sahu, Senior Regional Manager at NRDC, shared expertise on Innovation, Technology, and Intellectual Property Institutional Support for Entrepreneurship. The day concluded on an inspiring note with Success Stories shared by notable startups from Odisha including Shri Partha Pratim Das Mohapatra founder of EzeRx, Shri Abhinash Sahoo Co-founder of BonV Aero, Shri Bodhisattwa Sanghapriya founder of IG Drones, Shri Priyadarshi Mohapatra founder of Curebay and Shri Sibashish Mishra founder of BookingJini.

Business, News

Pandemic creates opportunities to enhance Indo-US tech ties…

Aug 2, 2021 by Rekha Nair 0 Comments #Director General, #Director of North India, #Dr. Omkar Rai, #Government of India, #Indo-American Chamber of Commerce-NIC, #Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, #Mr. Michael Rosenthal, #STPI, #US Embassy

Pandemic creates opportunities to enhance Indo-US tech ties

New Delhi: As the online and technology space witnessed great strides amid the Covid-19 pandemic, the India-US relations in terms of information & technology have scope to growth further in much greater pace.

Speaking at the 2nd Indo-US Services Summit organised by Indo-American Chamber of Commerce-NIC on Information & Technology (IT) and digital transformation, Dr. Omkar Rai, Director General, STPI, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Government of India, noted that technology is a major binding force in the Indo-US relations.

“India and US relationship is so complementary. Their interest is also technology-based, our cultivation, collaboration lies in technology,” Rai said.

Saying that amid the lockdown India witnessed transformation and disruption, he added that the digital readiness of the nation was tested during the time.

The leap in terms of digital economy and online processes which India has achieved in the past one month is because of the robust IT services sector in India, he added.

“As we saw the pandemic’s impact in hospitality, tourism, we also saw great progress in other sectors such as education as we started online classes immediately,” he said, adding that going ahead much more immersive and animated content will need to be created.

Such efforts are going to create a lot of opportunity in the technology to digitise the entire ecosystem.

Mr. Michael Rosenthal, Director of North India, US Embassy, noted that IT is a vital sector as digitalization has become important for inclusive and sustainable development of both Indian and US economies.

Noting that India’s digital economy annually generates $20 billion dollar, he said: “In the US Embassy, it is considered that in terms of businesses, US is the largest partner of Indian IT players.”

Stressing on India’s standing in the global front in terms of IT, Rosenthal added that India offers major scope for global players.

Highlighting India’s booming digital technology space, Arun Karna, Regional Vice President of IACC, observed that since the pandemic has seen the adoption of digital technology has increased rapidly.

Other speaker in the session was Mr. Anup Purohit, Executive Council Member & Global Chief Information Officer, Wipro Ltd, Ms. Mamatha Madireddy, Centre Director GSC Hyderabad, Chennai, Kolkata, Vizag, HSBC and Mr. Rajesh Thakur, CEO, MothersonSumi INfotech & Designs Ltd (MIND).

The virtual summit 2nd Indo-US Services Summit on Leveraging Services Sector to Trigger Post –COVID 19 Economic Recovery”, which involves stakeholders from India and the US is a step towards creating newer ideas to ensure recovery of the sector. It is also an attempt to discern the present state, compile challenges and to evolve a consensual roadmap for inducting dynamism in those segments in a time bound manner.

Select segments that were focused during discussions were travel, tourism & hospitality, healthcare, energy, media & entertainment.

Business World, News

Bolstered by IBPS, Dataman Computer Systems Pvt Ltd’s Unnao centre is generating employment for the local youth

Jan 22, 2021 by Rekha Nair 0 Comments #Dataman Computer Systems Pvt Ltd, #Director General, #Dr. Omkar Rai, #Kamlesh Jain, #Managing Director, #Software Technology Parks of India

Lucknow: The India BPO Promotion Scheme (IBPS) from the Government of India has been instrumental in setting up BPO/ITES operations in several small cities across the country and thus creating employment opportunities for local youths. Under the aegis of IBPS, Dataman Computer Systems Pvt Ltd has expanded their operations to Unnao, Uttar Pradesh. The initiative has transformed the lives of a number of local youths employed in the centre, where a good share of employees are women..

Dataman Computer Systems Pvt. Ltd. was allotted 100 seats at Unnao under IBPS, and they started operations here in 2018. The IBPS scheme was notified by the Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY) under the Digital India Programme. Software Technology Parks of India (STPI) is the executing agency of the scheme.

The BPO/ITES centre at Unnao, Uttar Pradesh is one among 4 centres of Dataman Computer Systems Pvt Ltd across the country. The company provides a bouquet of services in the field of web applications and website design. The company is now planning to hire 300 employees across India by 2022.

Dr. Omkar Rai, Director General, Software Technology Parks of India, said: “I would like to congratulate Dataman Computer Systems Pvt Ltd  for establishment of their BPO/ITES unit at Unnao under IBPS. As per the mandate of IBPS, this centre has created employment opportunities for the youths of the region. I hope that this initiative will have a multiplier effect in the regional economy in times to come and will also motivate other entrepreneurs of nearby area to venture into the sector ”

Kamlesh Jain, Managing Director, Dataman Computer Systems Pvt. Ltd., said: “We are thankful to STPI for this initiative. Unnao is a fast-growing industrial town. Its accessibility to Kanpur and Lucknow via excellent road connectivity made us choose it as one of our centres.  Relative affordability and low attrition rate are also attractive propositions here.  We are also planning to expand our workforce in next year with additional 300 employees by 2022.”

The objective of the scheme is to usher an IT ecosystem in Tier 2 and 3 cities through the establishment of 48,300 seats in respect of BPO/ITeS operations across the country. The scheme provides financial assistance of up to 50% of the total admissible expenditure (Capital / Operational), with an upper ceiling of Rs. 1 lakh per BPO/ITES seat.  There are certain special incentives in the scheme to promote employment to women and specially-enabled persons, the participation of local entrepreneurs, setting up operations at non-capital cities, etc.

News, Technology

STPI organized webinar on IoT, ESDM, 5G & Cybersecurity on the third day of IISF 2020

Dec 26, 2020 by Rekha Nair 0 Comments #Arvind Consultancy, #CEO, #Chairman, #DG, #Director, #Dr. Omkar Rai, #Dr. P Siva Kumar, #Dr. Satya Gupta, #ESI MedTek, #Ex VP, #Founder & CEO, #IESA, #IIIT Hyderabad, #MD, #Prof. Ramesh Loganathan, #Samsung R&D India, #Shri Ochintya Sharma, #Shri Sanjeev Keskar, #Shri Subodh Sachan, #Shri Taranjit Singh, #STPI

On the third day of IISF 2020, Software Technology Parks of India (STPI) organized webinar on IoT, ESDM, 5G & Cybersecurity. The deliberations on various emerging technologies over last three days at New Age Technology Show would encourage startups, innovators & tech entrepreneurs to further strengthen the innovation journey in the country.

The Internet of Things (IoT) is a unique domain that brings the ESDM industry and the IT industry together. Smart devices rely on innovation in the ESDM industry to efficiently aggregate and transmit a huge amount of data. The IT industry, on the other hand, has a major role to play in extracting intelligence from this information, and leveraging it to make smart devices responding to triggers in real time. IoT can play a significant role in the revolution of hyper-connectivity by bringing data & intelligence to the forefront of human welfare and economic progress of the country.

“Innovation is the fuel for growth. Today, India is among top 10 nations in innovation, patent creation & publishing across the world. STPI CoEs are revving up the tech innovation paradigm by fostering startups,” stated Shri Subodh Sachan, Director, STPI, in his welcome address.

“Dealing with Edge computing is a paradigm shift in appropriating the application of IoT with small & big data. This will differentiate the success of IoT adoption for project-specific purposes by various industry verticals. IoT is a combination of diverse technologies ranging AI, Cloud, Data, Edge, computing, sensors & semiconductors. While building IoT solutions, we must focus on complexity of technology & their applications,” expressed, Shri Ochintya Sharma, Ex VP, Samsung R&D India in his keynote address.

“Collaboration between academia & industry in translating academic R&D into market-ready products & solutions is critical for technology innovation. Living Lab at IIIT Hyderabad is facilitating R&D for scaling solutions for urban areas. Living It is revving up collaboration among stake holders, fostering innovation & acceleration programs to address the urban challenges & developing scalable solutions for smart cities,” cited Prof Ramesh Loganathan, IIIT Hyderabad.

“IoT plays a pivotal role for all verticals of ESDM industry. From automotive to smart city & home appliance, and utilities to industrial automation, IoT can provide massive opportunities for startups,” underscored Shri Sanjeev Keskar, CEO, Arvind Consultancy.

“Time is opportune for transforming contract manufacturing into building indigenous electronics products. PLI scheme will revolutionize ESDM industry in India and we must focus on R&D and design competency. STPI & IESA have built the foundation for R&D, innovation, product development & IP creation in ESDM by setting up STPI Eletropreneur Park (EP). Startups can leverage it to realise the national priorities by building innovative technologies,” emphasized, Dr. Satya Gupta, Chairman, IESA.

“IoT-enabled MedTech is focused on healthcare management by collecting data from diverse sources & providing affordable & accessible solutions. Point-of-care devices deliver the data for analysis, diagnostic & treatment,” cited Dr. P Siva Kumar, MD, ESI MedTek.

“We must devise on-Edge IoT solutions to address the agriculture problems. Startup should focus on the mechanism of data gathering from the diverse systems & devices on Edge to create innovative solutions for agriculture,” quoted Shri Taranjit Singh, Founder & CEO, Agnext World.

At the concluding session of New Age Technology Show, the winners of Innovation Showcase for Emerging Technology were announced. Total 28 entries received in three different categories, 12 were in AI-ML & Data Analytics (on 22nd Dec 2020), 6 were in AR/VR/MR/XR (on 23rd Dec 2020) and 10 were in IoT-ESDM (on 24th Dec 2020). Out of which 17 were displayed during the event. Liger Mobility in AI-ML & Data Analytics, Healthy Lung Initiative in AR/VR/MR/XR (HELI) and NextLeap Aeronautics in IoT-ESDM were declared winners.

Dr. Omkar Rai, DG, STPI did the honour of announcing the winners of various emerging technology innovations and appreciate the spirit of all the startups who submitted their innovations for showcasing in New Age Technology Show.

“New Age Technology Show is an engaging segment of IISF 2020 with participation from industry, academia, startups & students. Such events are paramount to drive the country’s innovation journey & making India a global innovation leader,” stated Dr. Omkar Rai, DG, STPI.

Business World

India International Science Festival 2020 witnesses innovative interventions to contribute towards the building of a self-reliant India

Dec 24, 2020 by Rekha Nair 0 Comments #Director, #Director General, #Dr. Omkar Rai, #Hon'ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, #IIT Kanpur, #Prof. Abhay Karandikar, #Shri Subodh Sachan, #STPI, #STPI INDIA & MD & CEO, #STPINEXT, #The India International Science Festival

Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi inaugurated the 6th edition of India International Science Festival 2020 (IISF 2020) on 22nd December 2020. The theme of the event is ‘Science for Self-Reliant India and Global Welfare.’ The objective of the event was to provide a platform to participants to contribute towards nation-building by coming up with novel solutions to societal problems, that would, in turn, result in reciprocation of knowledge & emergence of ideas for the national interest. The identified Plenary Sessions “Igniting Young Minds for Solution centric STI Interventions.”  The India International Science Festival (IISF) will provide the spark of innovativeness and a strong belief in science and scientists among the country’s citizens that will catapult the country into becoming a world leader.

As a part of the IISF 2020, a special event titled “New Age Technology Show” is being organized by Software Technology Parks of India (STPI). The event shall witness various sessions spread across three days, and aims to encourage innovation in the field of emerging technologies such as AI-ML & Data Analytics, AR/VR/MR/XR and many others, cutting edge technologies like IoT, Electronic system Design & Manufacturing (ESDM), Blockchain, 5G, Cyber Security, etc. across the country for making India a Product Nation.

Kickstarting the New Age Technology Show inaugural session, Dr. Omkar Rai, Director General, STPI, underlined, “IISF 2020 is going to be the largest science & technology show in the world to celebrate innovations. Young innovators and startups can leverage emerging tech to build disruptive products & solutions to address the challenges of society.”

He further added, “Industry 4.0 technologies can revolutionize the landscape of research, innovation & product development while boosting the economy of India.”

“New age technologies like AI & Data Analytics will revolutionize the manufacturing and supply chain sectors. The next decade is crucial for India to take a lead globally in emerging technologies innovation,” cited Prof. Abhay Karandikar, Director, IIT Kanpur at New Age Technology Show at IISF 2020.

On this occasion, Shri Subodh Sachan, Director, STPI INDIA & MD & CEO, STPINEXT in his welcome address emphasized, “AI systems are touching our lives in a more integrated way across various mundane and industrial tasks and accomplishing them with greater accuracy, precision, and efficiency.”

New Age Technology Show was followed by a session on Technology Deliberation & Innovation Showcase on AI-ML & Data Analytics.  Brilliant thought leaders from Government, industry and academia deliberated on the cutting-edge technologies.  Dr. B. K. Panigrahi, Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering, IIT Delhi,  Dr. Mausam, Professor & Head, CSE and School of AI, IIT, New Delhi, Shri Umakant Soni, Co-founder AIfoundry at Chapter AI Bengaluru, Karnataka, India, Dr. Kalyan Netti, Principal Scientist, CSIR-National Geophysical Research Institute, Hyderabad, Shri. Ajinkya Malasane, Co-Founder at Playment.