Startups – Page 6 – Business So Simple

IFSCA constitutes a committee for development of avenues for Ship Financing and Leasing in IFSC

Posted on 24th Jun 2021 by Business So Simple in Entrepreneurship, Startups

International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) has constituted a committee to examine global best practices in ship financing and leasing, identify opportunities and devise a roadmap to enable such activities from GIFT IFSC. This committee will be chaired by Ms. Vandana Aggarwal, former Senior Economic Advisor, Government of India. The committee includes representatives from the Government of India, Gujarat Maritime Board and industry experts possessing domain knowledge.

India is strategically located on the world’s shipping routes and has a large coastline of approximately 7,500 km. India also has 12 major and over 200 minor ports. Data from the Ministry of Shipping suggests that 95% of India’s trading by volume and 70% by value is done via maritime transport. Inspite of significant exposure to Shipping, India is yet to develop as an international shipping hub. IFSCA aims to provide an enabling regulatory framework and facilitative environment so that GIFT IFSC can become an international hub for Ship Financing & Leasing activities thereby benefitting shipowners, lessors, carriers, ship operators, ship management companies and other stakeholders in the maritime ecosystem.

The committee is mandated to examine the existing legal, regulatory, tax and other applicable frameworks, identify the bottlenecks pertaining to ship financing & leasing and recommend specific measures required which shall enable ship financing & leasing from IFSC at par with best international practices. The committee would submit its recommendations to IFSCA in three months.

The constitution of the committee can be accessed through the following weblink: https://ifsca.gov.in/IFSCACommittees

MOF Press Release dated 24 June 2021

RM/MV/KMN

ARCI develops cost-effective catalysts for metal-air battery

Posted on 24th Jun 2021 by Business So Simple in Entrepreneurship, Startups

A new non-precious metal-based bi-functional electrocatalyst (capable of catalyzing two different types of reactions) can decrease cost and increase the efficiency of metal air batteries.

With the rise in demand for different energy sources, worldwide efforts are being made to develop different kinds of energy devices, such as lithium-ion batteries, lead-acid batteries, redox flow batteries, lithium-air batteries, zinc-air batteries, etc. sodium-ion batteries, fuel cells, and super capacitors.

Among them, Zn-air batteries have drawn significant attention due to their low cost and high energy density. They are compact power sources for portable electronics and electric vehicles and energy storage devices to manage energy flow among renewable energy generators, such as wind turbines, photovoltaic panels, electric grids, and end-users. However, a major challenge for such batteries is catalyst development. A bi-functional catalyst works for oxygen reduction while discharging the battery and the same catalyst helps in oxygen evolution reaction during the charging cycle. Most of the conventional catalysts available consist of noble metals in their composition, making the batteries costly.

International Advanced Research Centre for Powder Metallurgy and New Materials (ARCI), an autonomous R&D Centre of Department of Science and Technology (DST), Govt. of India, has developed the cost-effective electrocatalyst by anchoring transition metal ions into the sulfur-doped carbon framework via carbonization of a polymer called sPEEK (sulphonated polyether ether ketone). This catalyst synthesis method can also be used to recycle used ionomers (polymer composed of both neutral repeating units and ionized units).

The scientists have used an ion-exchange strategy that positions the metal ions in the carbon framework homogeneously, limits the particle size and offers control on composition and size at a very low loading of transition metal. Cost-effectiveness is thus achieved by low loading of transition metal, high activity, and high cycling stability compared to many of the catalysts earlier reported in the literature.

The catalyst also leads to reduced voltage polarization, enabling higher energy efficiency and a stable charge-discharge characteristic. The results obtained were comparable to that of conventionally used noble metal-based catalysts with metal loading of 20% or higher. The research has been published in ACS Applied Energy Materials.

Fig. a) TEM image of Mn-S-C catalyst b) electrochemical property and c) charge-discharge characteristics of the developed catalysts.

Publication link: DOI:10.1021/acsaem.9b01217

For more details, Dr. K. Ramya (ramya@arci.res.in) can be contacted.

Ministry of Science & Technology press release dated 24 June 2021

SS/RP (DST Media Cell)

Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Extends Validity of Udyog Aadhaar Memorandum from 31st March, 2021 to 31st December, 2021

Posted on 18th Jun 2021 by Business So Simple in Business Consultancy, Entrepreneurship, MSME, Startups

Ministry of MSME issued Press release on Thursday, 17th June 2021 extending Validity of Udyog Aadhaar Memorandum from 31st March, 2021 to 31st December, 2021

Posted Date:- Jun 17, 2021

Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises has issued an amendment to the original notification No. S.O. 2119 (E) dated 26.06.2020 vide 2347(E) dated 16.06.2021, extending the validity of EM Part-II and UAMs from 31.03.2021 to 31.12.2021. This would facilitate the holders of EM Part-II and UAMs to avail benefits of the provisions under various existing schemes and incentives including Priority Sector Lending benefits of MSME.

Considering the hardships faced by MSMEs during the prevailing COVID-19 situation and the representations received from the various MSME associations, financial institutions and Government departments dealing with the interest of MSME Sector, the said amendment has been carried out.

It is expected that existing EM Part-II and UAM holders would be able to migrate to the new system of Udyam Registration, which was launched on 1^st July, 2020, and would avail the benefits of Government Schemes, thereby paving the way for strengthening MSMEs and leading to their faster recovery, boost to their economic activity and creation of jobs.

Interested enterprises can register on https://udyamregistration.gov.in free of cost and without any documents. Only PAN and Aadhaar are required for registration on the Udyam portal. So far, this portal has facilitated registration and classification of 33,16,210 enterprises as on 17.06.2021 (5.26.43 PM).

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MJPS / RR

Journey of Women Scientists: From Break in Career to become Patent Professionals

Posted on 17th Jun 2021 by Business So Simple in Business Consultancy, Entrepreneurship, Startups

Ministry of Science & Technology issued Press Release today (17th June 2021): Journey of Women Scientists- From Break in Career to become Patent Professionals

An inspiring journey of 100 women scientists who returned to science after a break in career has been documented into a book form. The women scientists featured here had to discontinue their pursuit of career in science due to family responsibilities and social reasons. The book, which chronicles their journey to restart their career despite several obstacles, can be a beacon of light for moreIndian women in similar situations.

Knowledge Involvement in Research Advancement through Nurturing (KIRAN) division (now WISE-KIRAN) of the Department of Science & Technology (DST) supports women with break-in careers to return to science through the Women Scientists Scheme (WOS). Through various components of Women Scientists Scheme (WOS), DST addresses challenges confronted by those women who had a break in their career and desire to return to mainstream science. The booklet presents select stories of women who completed their training under WOS-C component of this scheme and are now achieving greater heights in their careers.

Booklet contains 100 success stories of women scientist scheme trainees which captures the lives of women who succeeded despite all odds in life. Booklet is available in both digital and print versions. I know there are many more success stories in the scheme which will be made visible to all in coming years,” said Prof Ashutosh Sharma, Secretary, DST.

Besides the women’s journey, the book includes details like qualification, specialization, present employment status, experience, and information about technical qualification in Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) attained by each woman after completing training.

WOS-C is a flagship scheme of the department and a recipient of Nari Shakti Puraskar, 2015 (Rani Lakshmibai Award) conferred by the Hon’ble President of India.WOS-C is implemented by TIFAC, New Delhi, an autonomous organization under DST. Inthe program, one-year long training is provided to women, having qualifications in science/engineering/medicine or allied areas in the field of IPRs and their management. Selection is through an All-India level online examination followed by an interview. Women between the age ranges of 27 to 45 years can avail the benefit of this scheme. Women are trained in nuances of patent filing and prosecution as well as other patent-related work.

Training has successfully developed a pool of women geared to create, protect and manage Intellectual Property in India. About 800 women have been trained in 11 batches, and about 270 women are registered Patent Agents. Many women have started their own IP firms as well and have become entrepreneurs. The scheme has made the women technically and financially confident, and many women of the middle ages who were earlier sitting at home are now beaming IP professionals.

The booklet is available on DST website: https://dst.gov.in

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SS/RP (DST Media Cell)

Pune based start-up all set to bring non-toxic, gentler, long lasting hand sanitiser to the market

Posted on 17th Jun 2021 by Business So Simple in Entrepreneurship, Startups

Ministry of Science & Technology issued Press release today (17th June 2021)

An environment friendly hand sanitizer that is gentle on the hands and does not dry them, will soon be available in the market. The alcohol free, aqueous, non-inflammable and non-toxic hand sanitizer has been developed from Silver Nanoparticles by a Pune based start-up.

Recurrent drying up of hands due to repeated application of hand sanitizers is a challenge which people have faced during the COVID 19 pandemic.

The hand sanitizer developed by WeinnovateBiosolutions prolongs antimicrobial activity thus obviating the need for repeated applications.Silver nanoparticles give slow and sustained release of silver ions to kill microorganisms that come in contact. Besides, it can be stored in ambient conditions.

It has successfully completed Central Drugs Standards Control Organisation (CDSCO) approved clinical trial for the hand sanitizer and demonstrated high efficiency in killing viruses.

WeinnovateBiosolutionswas supported by CAWACH 2020 grant of National Science and Technology Entrepreneurship Development Board (NSTEDB) under the Department of Science and Technology (DST) and incubated at Entrepreneurship Development Centre (Venture Centre), Pune. They developed the colloidal silver solution-based hand sanitiser. The technologyoperates on the ability of the silver nanoparticles to prevent the synthesis of viral negative-strand RNA and viral budding.

“We are very confident of the study outcomes and waiting to get the license for our hand sanitiser formulation from CDSCO, India. We are sure that such innovation will push India towards its ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ mission and make India a self-sustained nation to face such pandemics in future”, said Dr. Anupama Engineer, Cofounder & COO WeinnovateBiosolutions.

Silver nanoparticles have been found to be an effective antiviral which act against many deadly viruses like HIV, Hepatitis B, Herpes simplex virus, Influenza virus, and so on. Recent reports have suggested the role of Glutathione capped-Ag2S NCs (Silver nanoclusters) in inhibiting the proliferation of Coronavirus by preventing the synthesis of viral negative-strand RNA and viral budding. Thecolloidal silver on which the technology of the sanitizers of WeinnovateBiosolutions is based can help arrest Covid -19 spread by blocking the RNA replication and infectivity by blocking the surface glycoproteins.

A study to evaluate the efficacy of hand sanitiser on different types of viruses is also currently underway by the group.

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SS/RP (DST Media Cell)