Business & Economy – Page 9

Coffee Board to launch four premium varieties under ‘India Coffee’ brand on Amazon

As international price volatility challenges prevail, the Coffee Board is strengthening the domestic appeal for pure coffee across the country

Coffee Board of India, a body that represents coffee growers and coffee industry in the country, has decided to expand its reach by launching four premium coffees under the ‘India Coffee’ brand as well as two affordable coffees under the ‘Coffees of India’ brand on Amazon, said K.G. Jagadeesha, IAS, CEO & Secretary, Coffee Board on Monday.

“Now, we are expanding our reach by launching four premium coffees such as Coorg Arabica Coffee (GI), Chikmagalur Arabica Coffee (GI), 100% Arabica coffee and a blend of Arabica and Robusta under ‘India Coffee’ brand,’‘ he said.

The launch would also include affordable coffees such as 100% Arabica and a blend of Arabica and Robusta under the ‘Coffees of India’ brand, he said.

“Coffee Board’s collaboration with Amazon is expected to boost domestic coffee consumption. Our coffees are sourced from the best coffee estates to suit the taste of millions of coffee connoisseurs across the country,” Dr. Jagadeesha added.

As international price volatility challenges prevail, the Coffee Board was in the process of strengthening the domestic appeal for pure coffee across the country, Coffee Board CEO further stated.

Sourced from Karnataka

Coffee consumption in the country is on the rise. Through this association, a premium range of coffees will be available on Amazon.in, that are sourced from the coffee-producing regions of the country in Karnataka, as per Amazon.

“This is in line with our endeavour to offer flavours of Indian coffee at value offers to our customers,’‘ said Nishant Raman, Director – IN Consumables, Amazon India, in a statement.

The country’s coffee exports stood at a rise of 90% in April-June 2022 over the same period in FY 2013-14. As the seventh largest coffee producer in the world, India exports 70% of its coffee overseas. Acclaimed as a region known for the origin of high-quality coffee, India has created a niche for itself with seven GI-registered coffees that are offered globally, according to Coffee Board.

Chairman of Canadian Canara Vision Inc Gilbert D’Souza passes away

Renowned personality Gilbert D’Souza, chairman of Canadian Canara Vision Inc (CCVI), one of Canada’s prestigious institutions, passed away on Sunday September 11 after suffering a massive heart attack.

Gilbert was known in Mangaluru, Bahrain, Oman, Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Canada among the universal Konkani community. He was residing in Mississauga Canada, along with his family. Before migrating to Canada, he was the owner of Al Taqa Equipment LLC in Abu Dhabi.

After completing his graduation in Mangaluru, he worked for Reserve Bank of India, Bakelite Haylam and Hindustan Lever in Bombay, and subsequently joined Unilever in the Middle East, for 20 years and retired holding the post of sales manager.

Gilbert is survived by wife and three children.

French hospitality brand ibis opens its fourth hotel in Bengaluru

Accor will have 100 hotel properties in India in the next five years

Global hospitality chain ibis announced its fourth and 21 hotel property in the city and in the country, respectively, near Manyata Tech Park at Hebbal on Wednesday.

The 154-room ibis Bengaluru Hebbal built-in 8-floors will have a fully-electric fireless kitchen, as per the hotel chain.

J.B. Singh, President & CEO, InterGlobe Hotels, a joint venture between InterGlobe Enterprises and Accor Asia Pacific, said, “This is the fourth ibis hotel in the city. ibis Bengaluru Hebbal has been designed with our ‘New Generation’ theme, which features highly dynamic, colourful and lively public areas coupled with a unique dining experience.’‘

Puneet Dhawan, Senior Vice President, Operations, Accor India & South Asia said, “Bengaluru is known to attract both business and leisure travelers, and this launch will provide them with a comfortable stay with a dynamic atmosphere to suit a globetrotter’s tastes.”

Accor is a French multinational hospitality company that owns, manages and franchises hotels, resorts and vacation properties under 40 different brands. It operates in 5,300 locations in over 110 countries.

Mr. Dhawan said the outlook for the hospitality sector in the country looked very positive for the next five to 10 years and Accor would have opened 100 hotels in the country in the next five years, up from 56 at present.

Kundapur: 32nd annual conference of Indian Psychiatric Society Karnataka branch held

“Mental health is very important in the modern days of pressurized world. No one should hesitate to get treatement for psychological health. We will not get solutions to our mental health issues if we do not go to the psychiatrists. This conference, which is intended to extend to community is very meaningful,” said Jayaprakash Hegde, president of state backward communities’ commission.

Hegde was speaking after inaugurating the 32nd annual conference of Indian Psychiatric society, Karnataka branch that was held at Yuva Meridian auditorium at Koteshwara on Saturday.

Hegde further said, “In order to protect the mental health I am doing the work of providing cooperation from our trust with the active cooperation of renowned psychiatrists of the district. Many people ask money for treatment but do not take medical help.”

Speaking on the occasion, Dr N N Raju, president of Indian Psychiatric society said, “Karntaka is in the forefront of psychological health sector in the country. It is also leading the implementation of new projects in this connection. The service of psychiatrists of Kundapur is excellent service to society. Service of senior doctor like Dr K S Karanth is known throughout the country.”

The programmes was presided over by Dr P Kiran Kumar, president of Karnataka branch of society.

President designate of Indian Psychiatric association Dr Vinay Kumar, president of south zone Dr Udayakumar, president of Karnataka branch Dr N M Patil, honorary secretary Dr Somashekhar Bijjal, secretary of conference committee Dr Ravindar Munoli were present.

Dr Prakash Tolar welcomed the gathering. Psychiatrists of various states are partaking in this conference. Discussions and discourses about community mental health will be held. The valedictory function of the conference will be held on Sunday, September 11.

Three Bengaluru startups win BITS Pilani event

Green Tiger Mobility, the cleantech firm, and Daffodil Health, a healthcare startup, won in the Pan India Track, where participants were invited from across the country.

Of the 15 startups, shortlisted from over 1,500 applications, four have been selected to receive an equity-less grant of Rs 30 lakh each. Of these, three are from Bengaluru. Winners were chosen based on three categories or tracks — Pan India, BITSian and Web3.0.

Green Tiger Mobility, the cleantech firm, and Daffodil Health, a healthcare startup, won in the Pan India Track, where participants were invited from across the country. Green Tiger is working on developing a hybrid vehicle, while Daffodil Health is a behavioural healthcare platform aimed at children.

The latter aims at giving parent-mediated therapy to children with behavioural and developmental disorders like autism, ADHD, dyslexia and others. Conquest, run by around 30 engineering students from BITS Pilani’s Centre of Entrepreneurial Leadership, is the first and largest student-run startup accelerator, hosting programmes every year to help startups get funding and mentors.

The Demo Day for the 18th edition of the accelerator programme was held in Bengaluru on Sunday, with 15 startups shortlisted to pitch their ideas to a panel of investors, industry leaders and others. Another Bengaluru-based company StreamMoney won in the Web3.0 Track, where the focus is on startups developing or utilising technology related to Web3.0. StreamMoney focuses on the ability to transfer conditional ownership of non-fungible tokens (NFTs).

The startup is working towards making a utility protocol, allowing NFT owners to rent out or allow ticketing or subscriptions of their NFTs. This allows owners to add in a utility contract with their NFTs that allows access to their tokens for a limited period of time.

Green Tiger Mobility, the cleantech firm, and Daffodil Health, a healthcare startup, won in the Pan India Track, where participants were invited from across the country.

A clean technology firm, focusing on building hybrid cars that allow you to switch between electric and internal combustion engines at the switch of a button, was one of the three Bengaluru startups that won big at BITS Pilani’s Conquest.

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Clay seed Ganesha campaign sets a new Guinness record

People from various age groups join hands to sculpt 3,308 idols

The clay seed Ganesha campaign, organised by Bengaluru Ganesh Utsava and Shree Vidyaranya Yuvaka Sangha, in association with the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board and Rotary Bangalore Parisara, claimed to have set a new Guinness World Record for ‘the most number of people sculpting with modelling clay simultaneously’ on Sunday at National College Grounds in Basavanagudi. Although the initial goal was set to create 10,000 Ganesha idols, only 3,308 idols could be created, making it to the records book.

“We are elated because we have broken our own record that we had created three years ago. We would like to do this more and more. We couldn’t reach our desired number, but I’m glad that we could set a new benchmark,” said Nandish Mariyappa, managing trustee of Bengaluru Ganesh Utsava.

The campaign saw over 3,000 people from various age groups and professions joining hands to sculpt their personal Ganesha idols. Idol-making materials such as clay, sculpting popsicle sticks, plant seeds, and water were provided at the venue. Many professional artist volunteers were also assisting participants. The live screening of the sculpting procedure by an artist was also organised. Seeds of plants such as tulsi, ashwagandha, sunflower and other flowering plants were provided for embedding within the idols. QR codes were also allocated to individual idols.

“We are so happy about the Guinness record. It’s a milestone for the KSPCB because we had planned to execute this systematically and create awareness about environmental pollution. We have all created our green Ganapa and seed Ganapa. This has been a success not only because of the record but also because of it being environment friendly,” said Shanth A. Thimmaiah, KSPCB Chairman.

Bengaluru Poetry Festival 2022: Celebrating the spoken word

The Bengaluru Poetry Festival is back for its sixth edition this weekend after a two-year break

The Bengaluru Poetry Festival (BPF) returns to the city this weekend after a gap of two years. Presented by Atta Galatta, the event spread over two days will see as many as 70 poets and artistes participating in various interactive sessions and workshops.

Subodh Sankar, founder of Atta Galatta and one of the organisers of BPF, says one of striking features of the festival is its inclusion of poetry in multiple languages. “We have readings by poets in different languages. We don’t restrict ourselves to a theme as it ends up creating boundaries where none need exist,” he says, adding, “It is a celebration of Indian poetry and a chance to bring those voices to a live audience.”

For Bengaluru-based poetess Mani Rao, the joy of being part of BPF is a celebration in itself. “The BPF is one of those events where there are no overlapping sessions; everyone can enjoy every module without having to scurry out of one halfway, just to attend another. Here, there will be two intense days poetry sessions. Today, there are so many people writing poetry in different styles and through their work one can get an idea of their views. The spoken word has really taken off in India,” says Mani, who is looking forward to meeting poets she has read at the fest as well as other members of the poet community.

Japanese company Rakuten opens office in Bengaluru

Rakuten India is a global product and innovation centre for Tokyo-based Rakuten Group that focuses on electronic commerce and online retailing

Rakuten India, a global product and innovation centre for Tokyo-based Rakuten Group that focuses on electronic commerce and online retailing, has opened an office in Bengaluru to grow its customer base in India.

Rakuten’s new office is situated near Cubbon Park. The 20-storey building, Rakuten-Crimson House, has office space of 3 lakh sq.ft. with a capacity to accommodate over 3,000 persons.

The office is expected to enhance the company’s capability for deep-tech innovation and R&D in e-commerce, fintech, content and entertainment, as well as AI in computer vision, speech, and natural language processing (NLP).

“India is and has been central to our growth strategy. Our new R&D centre will build on the high value-added engagements that Rakuten has been delivering from India in deep tech and product innovation,’‘ said Yasufumi Hirai, CIO, CISO, Group Executive Vice President of Rakuten Group, Inc.

Udupi: SMVITM’s Dr Sachin Bhat wins Karnataka State Urban Mobility Grand Challenge

Dr Sachin S Bhat, head of the Department, Electronics and Communication Engineering of Shri Madhwa Vadiraja Institute of Technology and Management (SMVITM), Bantakal had won the prestigious Karnataka State Urban Mobility Grand Challenge conducted by the Department of Electronics, IT, BT, government of Karnataka.

He won the startup grant of Rs 10 lac for his work to assist the Police department in capturing the accident information on-site with minimal manual inputs and to register an online First Information Report. This tool uses Artificial Intelligence technique to extract information of accidents from photographs from an image captured at the accident spot and notifies the nearest hospital regarding the location and severity of accident.

Automated generation of accident data would help in capturing of better quality of data that can further be utilized for analyzing accident causes and remedies. Principal and management have congratulated Dr Bhat for his stupendous achievement.

Youth-led start-up to send 40 satellites to compile space debris data

The race to space has the downside of polluting it. A Bengaluru-based start-up plans to send out a constellation of 40 satellites that will gather data on space junk in the low-earth orbit (LEO).
The satellites that will be launched in early next year will gather information on millions of pieces of debris that litter LEO, which NASA describes as an “orbital space junk yard”.

Digantara, the start-up launched by three young engineers, has taken upon itself the mission to help clean up LEO.

Space junk can reach speeds of up to 18,000 miles per hour, according to NASA. Many of them range from 1 cm to 10 cm in diameter. Most of this orbital debris comprises “human-generated” objects such as parts of spacecraft that have long disintegrated, rocket and satellite components, and very small flecks of paint from spacecraft and whole satellites.

“The ones which are 1 cm in diameter are estimated to be a million. Besides, international space agencies have determined that they are aware of only 4 per cent of objects in space. The data for 96 per cent is still missing,” said Digantara chief operating officer Rahul Rawat, who is only 23 years old.

Digantara, which is incubated at Bengaluru’s Indian Institute of Science, sent out a small satellite, a payload about the “size of a shoe box”, according to the start-up’s CEO Anirudh Sharma, on June 30 this year to gather information on space weather, including radiation, violent storms and other phenomena that can be potentially harsh for spacecraft and burn or fry them.

While this lone satellite has been sending out data to ground sensors, Rawat pointed to Elon Musk’s SpaceX Starlink constellation of 40 of 49 satellites that were “lost in a single blow” when they encountered a gigantic “solar paroxysm” that burned the spacecraft and cost the company $100 million in February 2022.

It is precisely to avoid satellites getting caught up in such “solar outbursts” or other violent geomagnetic incidents that Digantara expects its own satellites – and the information it will send back to its ground sensors – to come to the rescue of space companies with ambitions of sending out satellites.

“We are the only start-up of its kind in India though there are competitors in the US and Canada,” Rawat said, adding the gathered data can help firms that are into remote sensing and insurance where risk analysis reports will be important.

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