1% Greener, 7% More Engaged: Landmark Study Quantifies ROI of Sustainable Workspaces in India

The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) – Indian Green Building Council (IGBC), in collaboration with the Confederation of Danish Industry (DI), today launched the landmark research report "SUSTAINABLE WORKSPACE – Catalyst for Productivity and Profitability in Indian Businesses" at the CII Green Business Centre, Hyderabad.

The unique one-of-its-kind research study in the world with academic support from the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, reveals that sustainable workplaces are transformative for Indian businesses. The key findings of this research are that organizations that adopt Green Building Practices are more likely to have a thriving and engaged workforce, leading to increase in business performance for the organization. Moving far beyond environmental responsibility, the study demonstrates that green building strategies substantially enhance employee productivity, well-being, and organizational profitability.

The multi-year project presents the strongest evidence to date that adopting green solutions in India’s workplaces leads to marked improvements in employee thriving, engagement, and over all wellbeing outcomes. Through a rigorous, multi-phase approach involving inputs from 75 case study partners with over 1,100 occupant responses from 6 cities and analysis of more than 900 indoor environment quality data points, the study offers robust, data-driven proof that building sustainably delivers measurable value for both organizations and their people.

Key Findings

• A 1% increase in Green Index (a composite of indoor environment quality and comfort) lifts employee thriving by 3% and engagement by 2%, respectively, and enhances physical well-being by 3%.
• A 1% increase in Indoor Environment Quality leads to 7% increase in employee engagement and 2% increase in Thriving.
• Improved Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ)—covering temperature, lighting, noise, humidity, and CO₂—boosts both psychological vitality and learning at work, driving organizational performance, innovation, and staff retention.
• The findings confirm that sustainable workspaces deliver far-reaching outcomes: higher employee satisfaction, well-being, and organizational profitability across varying climatic and cultural zones in India.

The report was unveiled by H.E. Rasmus Abildgaard Kristensen, Ambassador of the Royal Danish Embassy to India; Shri R V Karnan IAS, Commissioner GHMC Government of Telangana; Mr. M Goutham Reddy, Vice Chairman, CII Telangana State Council; and Mr. C Shekar Reddy, National Vice Chairman, IGBC; Ms Bente Toftkær, Director, Global Talent & International Services, Danish Industry; Ar. Srinivas Murthy, Chairman, IGBC Hyderabad Chapter; and Mr. K S Venkatagiri, Executive Director, CII GBC in the presence of other dignitaries and sustainable industry champions.

Speaking at the launch, H.E. Mr. Rasmus Abildgaard Kristensen, Ambassador of the Royal Danish Embassy to India, said "Denmark is delighted to partner with India in advancing the agenda of sustainable and people-centric development. Over the years, our collaboration has demonstrated how shared knowledge, technology, and innovation can deliver solutions that benefit both people and the planet. The launch of the DI and CII-IGBC report on Sustainable Workspaces is yet another milestone in this journey. It reinforces the importance of designing workplaces that reduce environmental impact while enhance well-being, creativity, and productivity. Together, Denmark and India can accelerate the green transition and create resilient urban futures that serve as a model for the world."

Shri R V Karnan IAS, Commissioner GHMC Government of Telangana, while addressing the gathering said, "Telangana is proud to lead the sustainable transformation of India’s built environment, with Hyderabad emerging as one of the country’s green building hubs. Our state has consistently championed IGBC-certified projects across residential, commercial, and institutional sectors, setting benchmarks in energy efficiency and eco-friendly urban development. Collaborating with national and international partners, we reaffirm our commitment to harnessing the power of green workspaces to enhance quality of life, drive innovation, and build resilient urban futures. This report provides compelling evidence that sustainable workplaces are not only vital for citizen well-being but also a strategic investment in Telangana’s economic growth and global competitiveness."

Mr. C Shekar Reddy, National Vice Chairman, IGBC, stated, "As IGBC celebrates 25 years of championing the green building movement in the country, the launch of the DI and CII-IGBC research report on Sustainable Workspaces – Catalysts for Productivity and Profitability in Indian Businesses marks an important milestone. This study reinforces the need to move beyond traditional metrics like energy and water savings to embrace workplaces that prioritize people’s well-being, creativity, and productivity while ensuring environmental stewardship. Together, we can transform our work environments into powerful catalysts for both sustainability and business growth, shaping a greener and healthier future for India."

The report provides actionable guidance for business leaders, Developers, policymakers, urban planners, architects, ESG investors and industry associations. It urges all stakeholders to:

• Prioritize IEQ and comfort in both new and existing workplaces.
• Integrate measurable green metrics in design and operations.
• Assess workspaces with evidence-based tools to drive employee engagement and organizational success.

Over 70% Employees Face Lifestyle-related Health Risks: CII–MediBuddy Report

• Only 20% of employers offer regular health screening

MediBuddy, India’s largest digital healthcare company, in collaboration with CII, today unveiled the second edition of its corporate wellness report, marking a continued effort to decode the evolving landscape of employee well-being in India Inc. The latest edition, titled Workplace Health Reimagined: Corporate India’s Readiness for Digital Health Leadership, highlights how employee wellness is evolving from a peripheral initiative to a strategic lever for workforce productivity, talent retention, and business continuity.

India’s healthcare and workplace wellness landscape is undergoing a significant transformation, with wellness emerging as a national priority in the journey towards Viksit Bharat 2047. This is being shaped by rising medical inflation (14%), increased chronic disease risk, a digitally empowered workforce, and growing demand for inclusive and preventive care models.

In a post-pandemic world, where hybrid work models have become the norm, organisations are rethinking wellness, placing equal weight on physical and mental health, and moving from episodic to always-on care models. Technology is at the heart of this transformation; AI-driven insights, data-enabled personalisation, and mobile-first platforms are enabling more impactful care delivery. The nation's digital health infrastructure demonstrates remarkable scale. Public health initiatives such as the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) and the IRDAI’s push for 100% cashless insurance claims are further accelerating the shift toward digitally integrated, OPD-first healthcare systems. Together, digital infrastructure and insurance are proving to be critical enablers of equitable, future-ready wellness delivery across India.

The report reveals a stark reality of over 70% of employees carrying at least one lifestyle-related health risk, yet only 20% of employers providing routine health screenings. This alarming scenario calls for a shift from episodic, event-based health programs to always-on, digital-first ecosystems that drive workforce productivity, talent retention, and business continuity, all fostering business growth in today’s evolving times of shifting workforce priorities.

Key findings/highlights from the report:

• Macro View: The National Wellness Landscape
• Rising Burden of NCDs: Non-communicable diseases now account for 63% of all deaths in India, with heart disease, diabetes, and stroke impacting the workforce at median ages of 32, 34, and 36, respectively.
• Healthcare Infrastructure Crisis: The doctor-to-population ratio remains below WHO guidelines, with 70% of Indians in rural/semi-urban areas facing significant access barriers to diagnostics and routine care. 
• Healthcare Coverage Crisis: Only 41% of Indian households have any form of health insurance, leaving over 50 crore people, belonging largely from India’s 40-crore “missing middle” population, particularly comprising gig, daily wage, and informal workers, vulnerable to catastrophic health expenses. 
• Low OPD Insurance Penetration: OPD insurance penetration in India remains below 0.1%, a significant gap compared to over 85% in the US and 95% in Singapore, leaving most outpatient expenses uncovered, despite OPD accounting for nearly 70% of out-of-pocket healthcare spending
• High Out-of-Pocket Spending: OOPE accounts for 63% of India’s total health spend. 

Within Workplaces: The Corporate Lens

• Productivity Loss: Presenteeism and chronic illnesses cost Indian companies up to ₹1.12 lakh per employee annually, while structured wellness programs deliver a 3–4x return on investment
• Limited Access to Diagnostics: Less than 20% of corporate health programs cover essential diagnostics, despite their role in 60–70% of clinical decisions
• Low Preventive Screening for Women: Only 1.9% of eligible Indian women undergo cervical cancer screening, and just 36% of corporates provide targeted wellness benefits for women
• Gaps in Women-Centric Benefits: Just 36% of corporates offer targeted wellness benefits for women, with even fewer extending support for eldercare and mental health. 
• Lifestyle Risks and Screening Gaps: Over 70% of employees have at least one lifestyle-related risk factor, yet only 20% of employers provide routine health screenings. 
• SMEs Lag in Wellness Coverage: Although SMEs employ over 111 million people, only 9% offer structured wellness programs. 
• Corporate Wellness Readiness: India’s average Corporate Wellness Quotient (CWQ) score stands at 55/100, with fewer than 15% of companies achieving a ‘Mature’ wellness readiness level

Satish Kannan, Co-founder & CEO, MediBuddy, said, “India’s journey towards becoming a Viksit Bharat by 2047 cannot rest on economic metrics alone; it must be built on the health, productivity, and well-being of its people. As we stand at this inflection point, employee wellness can no longer be treated as an optional benefit but must be considered a strategic imperative. With rising health risks and evolving workforce expectations, this report in collaboration with CII offers actionable insights and data-driven frameworks to help organisations transition from annual health camps to always-on, digital-first ecosystems. At MediBuddy, we are happy to support this transformation by delivering care that is proactive, personalised, and powered by technology.”

Insights from the report: Trends reshaping care culture

The report highlights how employee wellness in India is moving beyond one-size-fits-all health programs to more integrated, inclusive, personalised, and digitally powered wellness solutions. Employees now expect benefits that reflect their life, role, and risk profile across domains such as mental health, chronic care, eldercare, and preventive screenings. At the same time, employee engagement is being increasingly driven by features such as gamified health journeys and wellness wallets. Additionally, mobile-first platforms and OPD access for dependents are now becoming differentiators in how employees engage with corporate wellness programs, with inclusion-focused benefits becoming key in addressing diverse workforce needs.

To direct this shift, the report introduces the Corporate Wellness Quotient (CWQ), an original and comprehensive benchmarking tool measuring digital wellness maturity and readiness across four pillars: access & affordability, policy integration, digital enablement, and employee engagement; and the ten-step wellness blueprint, which offers companies a strategic roadmap to build resilient and inclusive care ecosystems.

About MediBuddy

MediBuddy has always been at the forefront of India’s digital healthcare transformation. The digital healthcare company has a partner network of 125,000+ doctors across 22+ specialities, 7,500+ hospitals and clinics, 7,700+ diagnostic centres, and 10,000+ pharmacies, along with a team size of 2,300+ members. Serving 100,000+ lives per day, it has created an integrated healthcare ecosystem that offers patients seamless access anytime and anywhere, 24x7, 365 days a year. With its healthcare services available in 16 Indian languages to enable customer-friendly consultation, MediBuddy is bridging the urban-rural quality healthcare divide. MediBuddy offers online and offline doctor consultations, medicine delivery, lab tests at home, mental health consultations, and surgery care, among other healthcare services.

Financing for Electric Vehicles A Major Challenge: CII Report

Financing for electric vehicles in India remains a challenge and therefore it is necessary to offer options that can help adjust costs and electric vehicles (EVs) to bring equal to the cost of vehicles with internal combustion engines (ICE). The CII said this in a report on Monday. 

This report, prepared in collaboration with OMI, is part of a series of reports on 'Roadmap for Future Mobility 2030'

The report stated, "vehicle financing for electric vehicles remains a challenge. It is therefore necessary to offer alternatives that can help adjust costs and bring electric vehicles ( EV) equal to the cost of internal combustion engine models".

The report also called for the introduction of a ‘scrappage ’ policy, which is based on the need to remove expired vehicles (ELV).

The report, titled "Roadmap for Future Mobility 2030" recommends the establishment of a "first loss" fund mechanism to facilitate increased lending for the purchase of electric vehicles (EVs).

First loss refers to a type of funding arrangement wherein a capital provider allocates to a separately managed account traded by the manager. The manager is required to provide investment capital of 10-20 per cent of the total managed account, which is usually matched by the first loss capital provider.

The "first loss" mechanism is almost systematically used in the Insurance world and in the context of Securitisation.

Mobility as a Service (MaaS) - focussed strategies should prioritize seamless integration and offer multiple options to consumers to encourage the adoption of shared mobility, said the report.

Startup Odisha to Feature on CII’s Corporate-Startup Connect Platform CII ICONN

Startup Odisha to leverage strong corporate connection for Odisha startups and help them in scaling their businesses and reach new markets: Dr. Omkar Rai

In an effort to provide startups in Odisha with a strong corporate connection, Startup Odisha has reached an agreement with the Confederation of Indian Industry - Centre of Excellence for Innovation, Entrepreneurship & Startups (CII- CIES) whereby Startup Odisha will feature on CII ICONN Platform, a one of its kind, industry led platform for the startup ecosystem to catalyse collaboration between corporates, startups and other key players of the startup ecosystem. This arrangement allows Odisha Startups to showcase their leading innovations to Industry leaders, foster collaboration with Corporates, and work in close consonance with other stakeholders of the Startup Ecosystem and fast track their growth to a global scale.

A Letter of Intent (LoI)  shared between Startup Odisha Executive Chairman Dr. Omkar Rai and Chairman CII-CIES Mr. Kris Gopalakrishnan

A Letter of Intent (LoI) to this effect was shared between Startup Odisha Executive Chairman Dr. Omkar Rai and Chairman CII-CIES Mr. Kris Gopalakrishnan at CII Startup Summit in New Delhi on Wednesday. CII ICONN platform will provide Startup Odisha with a pavilion for Startups from O-Hub (the Incubation Centre), help it organize exclusive sessions to promote services offered by Startup Odisha, organize startup pitch presentation sessions, have discussion sessions for startups, and enable participation in Corporate Accelerator Programs etc.

Speaking at the inaugural session of the CII Startup Summit in New Delhi on Wednesday, Startup Odisha Executive Chairman Dr. Omkar Rai said that Startup Odisha is trying to bring excellence, inculcate best practices, and give wide exposure to the Startup ecosystem in Odisha to make it dynamic and vibrant. “Our startup Policy is best-in-class and is currently under revision, we are making it more futuristic so that we can meet the emerging challenges and needs, and the startup ecosystem of Odisha is able to position itself among the top three startup ecosystems in the country by 2025 as envisioned by Hon’ble CM of Odisha Shri Naveen Patnaik Ji,” said Dr. Omkar Rai.

He further emphasized the importance of having a strong rural innovation ecosystem and Startup ecosystem in tier-II & tier-III cities, one that is well-connected with corporates and unicorns.

Present on the occasion were Shri Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Union Minister of State for Entrepreneurship, Skill Development, Electronics & Technology; Mr. Kris Gopalakrishnan, Chairman CII CIES & co-founder Infosys; Ms. Aastha Grover, Head, Startup India; Ms. Anu Sriram, Chairperson, CII Women in Innovation Steering Committee; Mr. CK Ranganathan, Chairman, CII Startupreneur Awards 2022 and Chairman and Managing Director CavinKare Pvt Ltd; Dr. Chintan Vaishnav, Mission Director, Atal Innovation Mission; and other dignitaries.

Startup Odisha has over 1600 startups from across various sectors registered with it and out of which over 40 percent are women-led.

Working on the vision of Hon’ble Chief Minister Shri Naveen Patnaik on a mission mode, Startup Odisha is pulling all stops to make its place among the top three startup ecosystems in the country by 2025 and be a 5000+ strong startup ecosystem by then.

Of late, several key initiatives undertaken by Startup Odisha are spurring the culture of startup, innovation, and entrepreneurship in the State and are futuristic. The one that deserves special mention is the proposed setting up of a Draper Startup House in Odisha. Bitcoin billionaire investor Tim Draper, known for his early bets in breakthrough tech companies also backs startups in a big way. ‘Draper Startup House’ supports startup entrepreneurs across the world, with a vision and mission to one million entrepreneurs by 2030.

Also, Startup Odisha has engaged with SIDBI and would be utilizing its expertise and resources to provide a fillip to the startup ecosystem in Odisha and have a resilient management apparatus with financial management as one of the facets. Startup Odisha would work in tandem with SIDBI to foster growth verticals for the startup ecosystem in Odisha.

Also, the proposed Centre of Excellence (CoEs) at O-Hub, the Incubation space that sprawls over 4 lakh square feet would propel the growth of startups, including the new-age ones, and promotes innovation with best-in-class facilities at par with global standards. It is also pertinent to mention about Fund-of-Funds or Odisha Startup Growth Fund that Startup Odisha banks upon for fostering the growth of startups in the state. The corpus has been growing exorbitantly since its inception which shows the increasing trust of investors in the potential and scalability of startups in Odisha.

CII Launches the CoE for Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Startups at T-HUB

CII Centre of Excellence for Innovation Entrepreneurship and Startups is an industry-led initiative that works to increase the odds of entrepreneurial success in India by using its reach and resources to bridge critical gaps such as capacity, resources and linkages, through targeted programmes and interventions.

CII launched the CIES initiative in 2020 as a corporate-driven resource platform that enables the growth of successful start-ups in India.

Inauguration of CII CIES

The resource platform has translated to a Co-creating, co-innovating workspace, in 2023 with the launch of the CII CIES Centre in Hyderabad (T-Hub) with a 200-seater world class facility with plug-n-play workspaces, ideation labs, workspaces, mentoring and innovation labs, in partnership with Government of Telangana and Pratiksha Trust.

The centre will work with the ecosystem stakeholders to increase their odds of success for Startups, with focus on innovation and entrepreneurship skill sets.

CIES offers targeted programs throughout the year with training and educational programs, incubation and acceleration program for startups, and corporate engagement for innovation and scaleup agenda. The centre will also work with startups to create, incubate and accelerate within the corporate offices and family office engagements in the long-run.

The launch of the Centre also saw exchange of MOUs for Corporate Accelerator Programmes with Apollo Hospitals, Elico Ltd, Skoda Auto and Vedanta.

Inaugural Session

The Centre was inaugurated by Mr Jayesh Ranjan IAS, Principal Secretary Industries & Commerce (I&C) and Information Technology (IT) Departments, Government of Telangana today with Mr Kris Gopalakrishnan - Chairman, CII CIES Chairman, Axilor Ventures Co-Founder, Infosys Trustee, Pratiksha Trust and other senior industry leaders.

Mr Jayesh Ranjan in his address mentioned that “8 years ago, Government of Telangana very consciously decided to make Hyderabad a Startup hub and have taken many concrete steps towards this journey. Government of Telangana has consciously collaborated with external talent to exemplary institutions. As envisaged, the CIES will become a corner stone for the startup movement.”

Mr Kris Gopalakrishnan in his address mentioned that “CIES has 2 metrics to measure our success,1.To see the startups we support become 100M$ revenue companies, 2.Our member companies working w/Startups and acquiring them.”

Mr C K Ranganathan, Chairman, CII Startupreneur Awards 2022 & Chairman & Managing Director Cavinkare Pvt Ltd in his address said that “The CIES model will not be about just helping the startups, it will be a win-win partnership, enabling mutual learning for corporates while startups receive right mentorship.”

Ms Suchitra Ella, CII Southern Region & Co-Founder & MD, Bharat Biotech in her address mentioned that “This is the most opportune time to launch CIES, to establish the soft power that India is, around its G20 presidency. This center will establish the imp of creating an ecosystem.”

Ms Shobna Kamineni, Past President, CII and Executive Vice Chairperson, Apollo Hospitals during the MOU exchange mentioned that “Hyderabad has the potential to become number one affordable healthcare destination of the country.”

 

To Decongest Bengaluru, Karnataka Govt to Avail 50,000 Acres of Land for Industrial Development Within 6 Mths

CII Karnataka Annual Meeting 2022-23:

Beyond Bengaluru – Karnataka Government is committed to decongesting Bengaluru

New office Bearers for CII Karnataka: Mr Vijaykrishnan Venkatesan elected as the Chairman and Mr Venu Nuguri elected as Vice Chairman

Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Karnataka organised the Annual Meeting 2022-23 in Bengaluru today. The meeting was marked by an engaging discussion on“Karnataka@100: Sustainable Futures - Digital Transformation and Upskilling. Dr. Murugesh Rudrappa Nirani, Hon’ble Minister for Large & Medium Scale Industries, Government of Karnataka delivered the inaugural address.

CII Karnataka released the vision document Towards Karnataka@100 in collaboration with IIM Bangalore at the Inaugural Session. The vision document prepared in consultation with the stakeholders from across the state, capturing their inputs and aspirations for Karnataka@100 brought out a collective vision of an inclusive sustainable future powered by innovation.

CII Karnataka also announced the election of new office bearers for CII Karnataka State Council for the year 2023-24.Mr. Vijaykrishnan Venkatesan Managing Director of Kennametal India Limited (KIL) elected as the new Chairman while Mr. Venu Nuguri, Managing Director & CEO of Hitachi Energy will serve as the Vice Chairman.

Dr. Murugesh Rudrappa Nirani, Hon’ble Minister for Large & Medium Scale Industries, Government of Karnataka stated that Karnataka is number one in ease of doing business and in receiving FDI in the country at 38%. In Aerospace and Defence also, Karnataka is number one in the country with more than 63% share. All major multinational companies in the aerospace sector have set up their R&D centre in Karnataka.

Dr. Nirani shared that Karnataka Government is committed to decongesting Bengaluru and developing infrastructure in Karnataka as a top priority. The Government is looking to build around 17 or 18 airports in Karnataka each within a radius of 100 kilometres from the other. Road connectivity is also being improving with the objective to enhance the industrial connectivity across Karnataka with other states. According to him, Beyond Bengaluru will become a reality soon.

Speaking about the Global Investors Meet 2022, Dr. Nirani stated that Rs. 9.81 lakh crores worth of MOU were signed which would generate 7 to 8 lakh jobs in the State. He said that government is in sync with CII’s Beyond Bangalore concept, and highlighted that only less than 10% of these investments (during GIM) were for Bangalore, with 90% directed outside Bangalore, in Tier 2 and tier 3 cities. He further said that 50% to 60% of the MOUs signed during the Global Investors Meet will be operational within 5 years. Making land available for industrial development is of high priority for the government and the process of availing land parcels of 50000 acres in the State including 20000 acres in Bengaluru and over 30000 acres of land outside the city will be available within 6 months.

Ms. Suchitra Ella, Chairperson, CII Southern Region & Managing Director Bharat Biotech International Ltd said that the industry is currently in the early stages of a sustainability Revolution. To prepare for the sustainability revolution, companies need to rethink their approach on new skills and new jobs and academic institutions to bridge that gaps in R&D.

Mr. Kamal Bali, Deputy Chairman, CII Southern Region & President & Managing Director, Volvo Group India Pvt Ltd emphasised the need for India to focus on its transition to sustainable manufacturing not just by the large players but also within the MSME sector. Promoting sustainable manufacturing as a thrust area will be the need of the hour to be visible as a leader in the Global Value Chain. 

Mr. Arjun Ranga, Chairman, CII Karnataka State Council & Director, NR Group & Managing Director, Cycle Pure Agarbathis said that CII Karnataka has been working towards inclusive and sustainable growth by focusing on the development of Tier-2 cities and will continue to work on enhancing the ease of doing business, especially for MSMEs and strengthen the ecosystem for entrepreneurship and youth engagement.

A CEOs Perspective on Sustainable Future, Globalization to Localization moderated by Mr. Ramesh Ramadurai, Managing Director, 3M India Ltd saw a lively discussion on the key trends and actions that are being taken in India to drive sustainability in different sectors by a panel which included Mr. Sandeep Maini, Chairman, Maini Group; Dr Venkata Ramana Akkaraju, Chairperson, New Mangalore Port Authority; Mr. Venu Nuguri, Managing Director & CEO, India & South Asia, Hitachi Energy India Ltd, Mr. Arvind Mediratta, Managing Director & CEO, Metro Cash & Carry India and Mr. Dilip Jose, Managing Director & CEO, Manipal Hospitals.

The CII Karnataka Annual Meet 2023 brought together thought leaders from industry, government, and academia to facilitate dialogue and learnings for co-creating and working towards a sustainable and inclusive future for Karnataka.

Profile of CII Karnataka new office bearers

Mr. Vijaykrishnan Venkatesan, Chairman of CII Karnataka State Council 2023-24.

Mr. Vijaykrishnan Venkatesan, Chairman, CII Karnataka

Vijaykrishnan Venkatesan is the Managing Director of Kennametal India Limited (KIL) since September 2020. He spearheads the infrastructure business of Kennametal Inc. for the APAC region in addition to his role as the MD of Kennametal India. Prior to joining Kennametal, Vijaykrishnan accumulated over 23 years of work experience with Saint Gobain and 3M. He has held leadership roles in India as well as the APAC region. He served as Vice President - Abrasives systems Division, and as Executive Director – Strategic Planning, 3M India.  In his current role, he is leading efforts to drive growth for Kennametal in India and create value for its stakeholders with focus on enhancing ESG standards for the company, Manufacturing & operational excellence. He champions DEI & ESG initiatives within his frame of work. Vijaykrishnan is a Graduate of Madras University with a degree in Mechanical Engineering and an MBA with specialization in Marketing.

Mr. Venu Nuguri Vice Chairman of CII Karnataka State Council 2023-24

Mr. Venu Nuguri Vice Chairman of CII Karnataka

Venu Nuguri is Managing Director & CEO of Hitachi Energy in India and South Asia. He has been the Managing Director of India since December 2019 and head of the South Asia region since Jan 2016. Venu has over 25 years of experience across Business Units in the company. He has held several leadership positions in sales, marketing, account management, business development, customer relations, and operations. Venu has a degree in Electrical Engineering from the National Institute of Technology (NIT), Warangal, and he has also attended management courses at the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, Indian School of Business, Hyderabad, and the International Institute of Management Development, Switzerland.

CII Conducting their 1st Ever E-Sports Conference 2022, ‘Rise of Esports – The Emerging Frontier’

CWG Federation CEO Katie Sadleir among global sports administrators to discuss Esports in India and its potential globally in CII conference on Friday

International Esports Federation along with Olympic Council to be part of the Esports conclave

Led by the Commonwealth Games Federation CEO Katie Sadleir, top global sports administrators will discuss the growth of Esports in India as well as its potential future globally as the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) will be conducting the Esports Conference 2022, ‘Rise of Esports – The Emerging Frontier’, on Friday.

Since taking charge last year, the former Olympian swimmer Sadlier has encouraged the development of Esports globally and has also initiated the inclusion of the sport at the Commonwealth Games, considering the active engagement of under-30 age group in Esports. According to the Commonwealth’s website, an estimated 60% of the Commonwealth’s total population of 2.5bn people come from below the age of 30.

Earlier, the Commonwealth Games Federation announced Esports as a pilot event at this year’s Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. Asian Games has already announced it as a regular medal sport from the upcoming 2022 edition.

Among other leaders, who will also be joining the conversation are: Vlad Marinescu, President of International Esports Federation, Darren Kwan, President of Australian Esports Federation, Vinod Tiwari, President of Esports Federation of India and Director, International & NOC relations, Olympic Council of Asia and Lokesh Suji, Director of Esports Federation of India and Board Member & VP, Asian Esports Federation among others.

The conference will be conducted virtually.

“Esports is among the most exciting developments in the Indian sportscape. There are already firm data that points that Indian sports fans are ready to take to esports in a big way and that India is among the most significant emerging markets for this genre across the world. We embrace this opportunity and capitalize it with the right knowledge and institutional approaches and frameworks. The CII esports conference will have the best global sports administrators sharing their perspectives and insights on the rapid growth of Esports in the world as well as in India.” said Anupam Goswami, Chairman, CII National Committee on Sports & CEO of Mashal Sports & League Commissioner, Pro Kabaddi League.

A day-long conference will begin with the inaugural session which will be followed by below sessions,

Session 1: Esports - More than a Recreational Sport

Session 2: Esports – A Global Perspective

Session 3: Taking Esports Mainstream through OTT & Streaming

Session 4: Building Esports through key investments in India

CII, an Industry body, has been shaping India's development journey and contributing transforming the Indian industry's engagement in national development for more than 125 years.

Interestingly, India too has seen a tremendous increase in the Esports industry over the years. The number of Esports players in the country is expected to cross the 1-million mark by this year.

Notably, the total size of India’s esports industry is also expected to touch Rs 1100 crore by the financial year 2025, according to the EY Report of 2021. With the continuous growth, 100 brands are expected to invest by 2022 compared to 72 of last year.

The discussion will also witness perspectives of top Indian Esports players such as the 2018 Asian Games bronze medallist Tirth Mehta and FIFA pro Lokmanyu Chaturvedi alongside the popular gaming creators including Animesh ‘8bit Thug’ Agarwal, Founder & CEO of 8-bit Creatives, Karan Mahesh Pathak, Associate Director, Esports of Krafton Inc and Anirudh Pandita, Founder of Loco as well as Hiren Mody, Vice P, resident, Strategy and Partnerships one of India’s leading grassroots multi-sports organisation—Sports For All.

The discussion will be available to watch live on CII’s Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/c/FollowCII.

The audience can register themselves and watch the conference on CII HIVE – https://www.ciihive.in/Login.aspx?EventId=ESPORTS22

Govt of Telangana and CII Telangana Launching ALPLA Dual Education Center and India’s World Class Mold Shop on Monday

KT Rama Rao to inaugurate ALPLA India’s World Class Mold Shop and ALPLA Dual Education Center on Monday in partnership with Govt of Telangana and CII Telangana

ALPLA India has invested RS 60 crores in the tool room and RS 10 crores in Dual Education Center. With this, Its investment in Pashamylaram is RS 500 crore, making it one of the top 15 plants out of 177 plants worldwide.

KT Rama Rao, Minister for IT, Industries, Municipal Administration & Urban Development to inaugurate ALPLA India’s World Class Mold Shop and ALPLA Dual Education Center in partnership with Government of Telangana- Department of Technical Education and CII Telangana, in Pashamylaram, Telangana on Monday, 11th July.

Mr. Philipp Lehner CEO of ALPLA Global will join in the inaugural function.

ALPLA Mold shop in Pashamylaram would be ALPLA Global’s 3rd Mold shop- the other two being in Austria and Germany. The choice of Pashamylaram,Telangana reflects huge confidence in techno-commercial skills of Indian professionals to support high end technical solutions from ideation to design and execution on highly complex injection mold related projects including manufacture of precision closures, pumps and devices and other injection molded components.

ALPLA’s Dual Education Center draws its inspiration from similar programs in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The program has been innovatively tweaked (thanks to Government of Telangana- Department of Technical Education) by ensuring that diploma students from various polytechnic colleges complete 2 years of theoretical education in their colleges and then join the Dual Education Center of ALPLA.

In this center, they are given practical hands-on education and training on latest CNC machines and state of art technologies in Mechatronics. Students in this program are fully paid during their training period and offered jobs at the end of the program.

ALPLA’s investment in Telangana: ALPLA India has invested RS 60 crores in the tool room and RS 10 crores in Dual Education Center. With this, ALPLA’s investment in Pashamylaram, Telangana is

RS 500 crore, making it one of the top 15 plants out of 177 plants worldwide.

About ALPLA: ALPLA is a highly respected global company, headquartered in Austria with presence in 47 countries and 177 plants. The company is a global leader in the business of plastic rigid packaging with a turnover of Euro 4 billion+. ALPLA India is a market leader in India in rigid packaging space with 10 plants and headquartered in Hyderabad. The company is well known for focus on D&I agenda and is one of first companies to employee women engineers in manufacturing in all shifts. ALPLA has also received awards and recognitions for supporting employability of specially-abled.

Farm Equipment Maker VST Adjudged One of India’s Most Innovative Companies by CII

VST Tillers Tractors Ltd. (VST), one of India’s leading farm equipment manufacturer, is ranked among the 25 most Innovative Indian Companies of 2021 by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). Mr. Kris Gopalakrishnan, Past President, CII and Chairman, CII Industrial Innovation Awards 2021 along with Dr. S Chandrasekhar, Secretary, Department of Science and Technology, Government of India presented the award to VST Tillers Tractors Limited.

The award evaluates innovation, processes, products, services, technologies, and approaches which brought about quantifiable results. VST was felicitated with ‘CII Industrial Innovation Awards 2021’ in a virtual award ceremony held during the 27th edition of DST-CII Technology Summit 2021.

Receiving the award, Mr. Antony Cherukara, CEO, VST Tillers Tractors Ltd., said “We are honoured to receive this recognition from CII for Excellence in Innovation and delighted to be counted amongst the Top 25 Innovative companies in the country. Innovation is a must for breakthrough results and our team at VST is dedicated to bringing out more innovative products to the market. This award is a testimony to our commitment to the farming community for offering high quality, innovative and sustainable products."

VST has showcased their newly launched state-of-the-art, VST MT 932 - 30 HP Tractor and VST 165 DI (16 HP) Power Tiller for the awards.

VST MT 932 - 30 HP Tractor is the first multipurpose stylish compact tractor, infused with advanced technology features like 9+3 synchromesh, Mid PTO, Reverse PTO, Shorter Turning Radius, High-capacity Hydraulics, and operating comfort to increase productivity in toughest farming conditions with lesser fuel consumption.

VST 165 DI (16 HP) Power Tiller comes with MDR (Maneuverability, Durability, Reliability) technology, best in class power to weight ratio, unique adjustable seating comfort for a long duration of work, wider rotary (750mm) for maximum coverage, and reliable operation.

CII Industrial Innovation Awards were instituted in 2014 to identify and celebrate innovative Indian enterprises across industry segments and sectors. The purpose of this award is to encourage the industry to adopt a structured Innovation Framework in their operations and measure their performance periodically on the way to moving up the Innovation Value Chain. The Framework has been widely appreciated by the industry and the number of applications for this coveted award has been increasing year by year. These Innovation Awards have also been instrumental in the growth of business opportunities for winning firms. The award has formulated an Enterprise Innovation Maturity Framework which forms the basis of assessment of firms applying for CII Industrial Innovation Awards.

About VST Tillers Tractors Ltd.

VST Tillers Tractors Limited. was established in the year 1967 by the VST Group of companies. With a legacy of more than 53 years, VST continues to drive farm mechanization and empowerment of Indian farmers. The organization is the largest Indian manufacturer of Tillers, 4WD Compact Tractors, and amongst the leading producers of the other category Tractors, Engines, Transmission, Power Reaper, and Precision Components. VST also exports products to European, Asian, and African markets. To further strengthen its product portfolio and offer world-class technology customized to match the needs of Indian customers, VST has entered into strategic alliances with Pubert from France for Power Weeders and Zetor from the Czech Republic for Tractors.

VST believes in leveraging electric, driver optional, and connected vehicle technologies to offer sustainable, productive, and profitable farming solutions and has made a strategic investment in Monarch Tractor (Zimeno Inc) – Maker of the World’s First Fully Electric, Driver-Optional Smart Tractor.

Website: https://www.vsttractors.com/

CtrlS bags the World's first Golden Peacock Eco-Innovation Award for Datacenters

HYDERABAD, India , Dec. 22, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- CtrlS , Asia's Largest Rated-4 Hyperscale Datacenter provider, was awarded the prestigious Golden Peacock Award for Eco-Innovation. The company became the World's first datacenter to be awarded in the datacenter category. In the past, CtrlS has bagged several awards in Datacenter energy efficiency and Innovation from Confederation of Indian Industries (CII).

The jury selected CtrlS Datacenters, after having evaluated 234 companies on parameters such as innovation, environment, health and safety, energy conservation, and impact on climate Change. The winners in other than data center category include Tata Motors (ERC), ITC, JSW Cement, and ITC Life Sciences & Technology Centre. The past winners include Tata Steel , Mahindra & Mahindra, and Reliance Industries.

Instituted in 1991 by the Institute of Directors (IOD), India , the Golden Peacock Awards is globally regarded as a Corporate Excellence benchmark. It follows a transparent five step evaluation process of evaluation by expert evaluators, site visit to validate and rate the nominees, finalization of winners, and finally award the winners.

CtrlS focused on rightsizing of equipment and operations combined with 80 innovations in energy efficiency resulting in industry lowest PUE of 1.36. Besides energy efficiency, the company also focused on toxicity and carbon footprint reduction by exercising control on usage of hazardous substances, adoption of eco-friendly chemicals, and optimum consumption of water thus contributing to United Nations SDG goals.

Celebrating this achievement, Mr. Sridhar Pinnapureddy , Founder & CEO of CtrlS said, "We are delighted and proud to receive the prestigious Golden Peacock Eco-Innovation Award. This recognition is a testament to our continued commitment to excellence in energy efficiency, sustainability and addressing the critical environmental challenges." Complementing the team for their efforts, he added, "This achievement is a true recognition of our team's efforts for having deployed extraordinary effort in eco-innovation benefitting the customers, shareholders, stakeholders and planet earth."

About CtrlS:

CtrlS is Asia's Largest Rated 4 Hyperscale Data Center provider, serving 60 of the Fortune 500 Companies including 4,000 customers worldwide operating one million square feet of data center space spread across seven data centers located in Mumbai , Noida, Bangalore , and Hyderabad . The company is in the process of building addition 5 million square feet of Rated-4 Hyperscale data center facilities in the country.

About Golden Peacock Awards:

Golden Peacock Awards, instituted by the Institute of Directors (IOD), India in 1991, are now regarded as a benchmark of Corporate Excellence worldwide. No other Business Award today receives the kind of recognition and adulation among peers that Golden Peacock does. The purpose of the awards is to create a competition for raising overall performance standards and recognize the achievements of the best performing organizations.

Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) Launches ‘Digital Saksham’ Initiative with Mastercard and National Institute for MSME

Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) launches 'Digital Saksham' initiative with Mastercard and National Institute for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (ni-msme) to enable 3 lakhs+ MSMEs across India with digital know how and acceptance.

 

National, December 10, 2020: Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) today announced a strategic MoU with Mastercard and National Institute for Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (ni-msme) an organisation of Ministry of MSME, Government of India to launch the Digital Saksham Initiative - an expansive program designed to strengthen the competitiveness of MSMEs through digital know-how and acceptance.

This collaboration aims to educate and train micro and small business owners and entrepreneurs enabling them to integrate into the digital economy and access credit, expand their market access, diversify their customer base, digitize their financial operations and solidify their supply chain. The ultimate objective is to unlock the full potential of MSMEs in India, measured by greater profitability and financial resilience.

"We need to make 50% of the growth of the Indian economy come from the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) sector, raise its contribution to exports to 60% and create 5 crore new jobs. To realize this potential– micro and small businesses need to become increasingly competitive in a changing marketplace. I am pleased to note that the project Digital Saksham by CII, Mastercard and ni-msme entails a scale of reaching out to more than 3 lakh MSMEs in 25 cities including rural and peri-urban clusters. This will help drive systemic transformation and further accelerate achievements towards meeting our goals and ensure financial inclusion".  stated Shri Nitin Gadkari, Hon'ble Minister for MSMEs and Road Transport and Highways of India, while speaking at the 17th Global SME Business Summit 2020, virtually, organized by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), in partnership with the Ministry of MSME, GOI.

"I congratulate the Digitalsaksham project with mastercard and Ni-msme, I'll suggest the CII team to engage with MSMEs further on helping MSMEs become digital" – Mr A K Sharma, Secretary, Ministry of MSME.

Mr. Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General, CII, stated that the Digital Saksham initiative will focus on activating CII's vast membership base which includes 67% of MSMEs to upskill specially the micro and small businesses. Through a combination of CII's broad footprint with 67 offices across the country and collaboration with ni-msme, CII will target key supply chains and use a cluster approach to deliver relevant skills know-how to the last mile entrepreneur. CII will also engage value chain anchors in the delivery of training through their supply chains. "We have an ambitious outreach target on creating awarness on digital financial literacy for 3 lakhs micro and small business who will attain the knowledge and access to personal finance strategies and digital financial instruments through this intervention which will spread across 25 cities in 7 states". He added

Commenting on the partnership, Mr Ari Sarker, Co-President, Asia Pacific, Mastercard said "Small businesses play an enormous role in rebuilding local communities and supporting economic recovery. It is critical that we look for solutions that don't just focus on how we can support SMEs, but also those that are designed to enable SMEs to support themselves. Towards this goal, Mastercard is delighted to partner with the Government of India via the National Institute for Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (ni-msme) and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) to launch the Digital Saksham initiative. The program is an extension of Mastercard's global and India commitment to empower, enable, and enhance small entrepreneurs making them more competitive."

The implementation of the project is proposed from January 2021 and execution of trainings among the MSMEs from June 2021, confirmed Ms Amita Sarkar, DDG, CII and Ms Alison L. Eskesen, Vice President, Mastercard's Center For Inclusive Growth.


About Mastercard (NYSE: MA), www.mastercard.com

Mastercard is a global technology company in the payments industry. Our mission is to connect and power an inclusive, digital economy that benefits everyone, everywhere by making transactions safe, simple, smart and accessible. Using secure data and networks, partnerships and passion, our innovations and solutions help individuals, financial institutions, governments and businesses realize their greatest potential. Our decency quotient, or DQ, drives our culture and everything we do inside and outside of our company. With connections across more than 210 countries and territories, we are building a sustainable world that unlocks priceless possibilities for all.

About CII

The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) works to create and sustain an environment conducive to the development of India, partnering Industry, Government, and civil society through working closely with Government on policy issues, interfacing with thought leaders, and enhancing efficiency, competitiveness and business opportunities for industry. For 125 years, CII has been working on shaping India's development journey and, this year, more than ever before, it will continue to proactively transform Indian industry's engagement in national development. With 68 offices, including 10 Centres of Excellence in India, and 8 overseas offices, the premier business association has more than 9100 members, from the private as well as public sectors, and an indirect membership from around 288 national and regional sectoral industry bodies.

IIT Roorkee Is Most Innovative Institute of the Year - CII Industrial Innovation Awards 2020

Roorkee, 09 December 2020: IIT Roorkee has been adjudged as the 'The Most Innovative Institute of the Year' for its innovation quotient, in the CII Industrial Innovation Awards 2020.

The award ceremony was held today during the 26th DST-CII Technology Summit. The award was presented by Prof. Ashutosh Sharma, Secretary, DST, Government of India & Mr. Kris Gopalakrishnan, Past President, CII & Chairman, CII National Startup Council.

On this occasion, CII has also launched a compendium featuring three innovations of IIT Roorkee, along with the top 25 Innovative companies of 2020. The three innovations are:

• Nano-coating mask - An anti-microbial nano-coating for masks, PPEs, and other protective gears.
• Prana Vayu Ventilator - A low cost portable mechanical ventilator with feedback control and respiratory monitoring with a remote interface.
• Heal-agnostic - Breast Lung Oral Cancer Detector: Screening device for detecting breast or lung or oral cancer using exhaled breath.

In his address, Professor Ashutosh Sharma, Secretary-DST congratulated all winners and other applicants for their innovation and urged everyone to continue nurturing their innovation framework to revolutionize our industries for an exciting future. 

Prof. Sharma highlighted that innovation is the new mantra of technical areas like manufacturing, communication, etc. India is a powerhouse of innovation and has the third-largest start-up ecosystem in the world.

He further said that "Indian government and industry should realize that disruption through convergence of technology and enterprise can be a game-changer for the economy and society."

To provide impetus to industrial innovations, Mr. Kris Gopalakrishnan, Past President, CII, mentioned that "we must have a healthy mechanism to work on innovation and global collaboration in research, acquiring products and services and increasing the revenue stream."

He further added, "I congratulate all participants and winners and the two institutes- IIT Roorkee and IIT Madras. More companies should showcase the innovation on this forum.

"Innovation, creation of intellectual property, and incubation are major pillars for strengthening our research output. We encourage collaborative partnerships between faculty members and students at all levels, and our incubator TIDES. This facilitates the process from ideation to creation. This award is a testament to the result-oriented innovation eco-system being fostered at IIT Roorkee" said Prof. Ajit K. Chaturvedi, Director, IIT Roorkee


About CII Industrial Innovation Awards (https://www.innovationawards.ciiinnovation.in/index.php)

CII Industrial Innovation Awards were instituted in 2014 to identify and celebrate innovative Indian enterprises across industry segments and sectors. The awards give an opportunity to companies to shine and be known nationally and internationally for their innovative products and services. The special category of research institutions under the CII Industrial Innovation Awards 2020 acknowledges all significant contributions of innovative solutions, which are very crucial for assisting various firms, public and private enterprises in their endeavors. In the last five consecutive years, these awards have established themselves as one of the country's most coveted innovation awards.

About IIT Roorkee (https://www.iitr.ac.in/)

IIT Roorkee is an institute of national importance imparting higher education in engineering, sciences, management, architecture and planning, and humanities and social sciences. Since its establishment in 1847, the Institute has played a vital role in providing technical human resources and know-how to the country.


Join IIT Roorkee on Twitter: www.twitter.com/iitroorkee

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IIT Roorkee Website: https://www.iitr.ac.in/

CIE@IIIT Hyderabad announces 11th Cohort of DeepTech and 5th Cohort of MedTech Accelerators

• 6 month deep tech accelerator programme for early stage startups to create exciting products jointly with research
• Upto Rs 40 Lakhs funding apart from strategy and market mentoring
• 20 startups have graduated through the accelerators and 19 startups have raised further funding 

The AVISHKAR& OJAS accelerator programmesat CIE@IIITHhas openedapplications for its 11^thcohort of deep-tech and 5^thcohort of medtech startups.The 6-month deep-tech accelerator programme is specially designed for early stage startups building products in the areas of Machine Learning, Image Processing, Robotics, AR/VR, NLP and other sub domains of AI.

AVISHKAR DeepTech is a 6-month cohort based accelerator for emerging tech startups and OJAS MedTechan accelerator for startups in life sciences, biotechnology, diagnostics, point of care devices for healthcare along with emerging technologies facilitated by CIE@IIIT Hyderabad, Co-creation Consulting& Sathguru management consulting. 

It brings together the deep-tech expertise of IIITH’s research labs andtechnology mentoring opportunities that help startups build quality product/features within shorter timelines. The startups also go through a structured strategic business mentoring from Co-Creation Consulting & Sathguru management Consulting, customer introductions and investor connects for follow-on round of investments. MedTech startups also get access to medtech consortium which includes clinicians, hospitals, pharma, biotech & manufacturing companies. Investment readiness of the cohort startups is a key deliverable for the 6 month programme. A number of other ecosystem partners of IIIT-Hyderabad also contribute toward the programme with business development services and tools. 

Prof. C V Jawahar, Dean R&D, IIIT-Hyderabad & CEO, IIIT Foundation says, “Given the current scenario that the Indian start-up ecosystem is going through, programs like AVISHKAR will help boost and support nationwide innovation through early stage startups. AVISHKAR’s  base technology, mentorship and funding provides a massive edge. Using CIE@IIITH resources can translate into substantial benefits while scaling, and rapid internationalization of these ventures.” 

Closing date for applications is 15 August  2020. 

Application link: https://cie.iiit.ac.in/accelerator_programs/

Hear from our Avishkar mentors and Avishkar startups on how the 6-month accelerator helped: https://youtu.be/Jxw4Wa6g1eE

Hear from our OJAS mentors and OJAS startups on how the 6-month accelerator helped: https://youtu.be/IptecR55oUo

A few of AVISHKAR’s & OJAS success stories:

Instoried: Bengaluru-based AI-driven deeptech content startup Instoriedhelps brands predict the emotional impact of their content upon their customers' minds

Niche.ai : Computer vision studio solutions for enterprises. 

DreamVu :360 degree camera technology used for security, surveillance, crop monitoring, tele-conferencing, virtual tourism etc.

Inventigen Technologies Private Limited: An advanced cancer prognostics platform provides computer vision and ML-based automated diagnostics tools and treatment decision support tools to histopathologists, radiologists and oncologists. They are based out of Hyderabad.

Altor:  Building smart helmets that can be connected to the rider’s smart phones to provide features like accident detection and handsfree navigation

Dave Ai - Dave.AI is an Artificial Intelligence powered sales augmentation platform. The platform helps brands create a virtual sales avatar to understand their customers, customer’s preferences & deliver a personalized value selling experience that improves profitable sales for the brand.

Answerwise.io: AnswerWise is a stunningly simple AI layer for your customer support that helps deflect your common support queries while providing a seamless support experience for your customers

About CIE@IIITH

CIE@IIITH, also known as CIE (Centre of Innovation and Entrepreneurship) is a DST approved incubator operational since 2008. CIE@IIITH has so far supported around  250  startups and has seed- funded 19 startups, 80% of which are cash positive. CIE@IIITH was also instrumental being the kiln of the initiatives that culminated into the foundation of T-Hub. Along with developments in AVISHKAR, OJAS MedTech, CIE@IIITH is also focusing on turning a new leaf in terms of infrastructure facilities, programmes and startup engagements focusing towards building a deep tech startup ecosystem. New working spaces are launched, seed funding programmes, structured workshops and mentoring opportunities and technology transfer facilitation are also beingdeployed now. 

OJAS BioNEST @ CIE-IIIT Hyderabad was founded in 2018 with a support by DBT-BIRAC. OJAS- BioNEST helps companies building products at the intersection of technology and medicine in areas such as disease prevention, detection, diagnosis, treatment, monitoring, and wellness. OJAS welcomes entrepreneurs working on futuristic, bold and innovative ideas, harnessing digital technologies in healthcare practice

CII Sets Up Centre in Telangana to Help Startups connect with Large Biz Houses, Corporates

The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), an industry association in India, has launched the CII Centre for Innovation, Entrepreneurship & Start-ups in Telangana over a digital platform, on Saturday. The centre is established with goal of helping startups to connect with large business houses and corporates.

The CII Centre for Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Start-ups is supported by the Government of Telangana, by way of space at T-Hub technology startup incubator in the city, and Pratiksha, a charitable trust founded by Mr. S Gopalakrishnan.

In his keynote address at the Launch ceremony, Mr Rao, applauded that the centre is a pioneering initiative of CII and is a standing testimony of an enabling ecosystem of Telangana. He further emphasized that the start-up-focused approach of the Telangana government can be estimated from its multiple sector-specific initiatives such as cleantech focused ‘Sanitation Hub (S-Hub)’, ‘We-Hub’ for supporting women entrepreneurs, prototyping centre - ‘T-Works’, block-chain accelerator ‘T-Block’, largest startup incubator, ‘T-Hub’, and the existence of progressive life sciences companies among others.

The Centre is set to provide a very robust platform for building a stronger entrepreneurial ecosystem in India. The primary objective of the Centre would be to attract most innovative start-ups to collaborate with the corporates and to help corporates identify suitable budding start-ups for forging business partnerships and work with start-ups at the co-working space.

The Centre shall forge partnerships with 9100 members of CII from the private as well as public sectors, including SMEs and MNCs, and an indirect membership of over 300,000 enterprises from 288 national and regional sectoral industry bodies. The Centre would curate a customised programme for corporate houses and enable connect with the right start-ups based on industry’s needs and future strategies. 

Further, the CII Centre would lay a special focus on deep tech start-ups in manufacturing sector by creating a pool of potential start-ups from young researcher community and help them developing business plans and with investment.

The Centre would further help investors select potential start-ups for committing financial stake, build partnerships with the national and international academic centres of excellence (CoE) for imparting knowledge to and assistance in capacity development of budding start-ups, and work with Government of India and State governments to forge partnerships with foreign governments to launch mutual soft-landing of start-ups.

The Centre will serve as a knowledge Centre for preparing and empowering potential entrepreneurs in India through various capacity building programs and convert job seekers to job creators. The Centre will also strengthen capabilities of entrepreneurs to improve their competitiveness in the local and international markets, assist entrepreneurs in the process of business opportunity identification, analysis and finalization, supporting market research, facilitate technology tie-ups thereby creating enabling ecosystem for growth of start-up and employment generation

CII-Young Indians & RCC Diva Install "SUGADHARAM" Touch Free Handwash System

CII-Young Indians in association with RCC Diva and the Greater Chennai Corporation launched "SUGADHARAM", a Touch Free Hand Wash System. It was inaugurated at Tiruvanmiyur Market jointly by Actress Gowthami, and Mr. Vardharajan, Executive Engineer, Adyar Zone GCC.

[caption id="attachment_145012" align="alignleft" width="343"] SUGADHARAM - Touch Free Handwash System to fight COVID-19[/caption]

RCC Diva Foundation who sponsored this installation were represented by Manisha Pramod Chordia, Sangeetha Harish Marlecha, Nisha Bisani, Vikas Jain and the Project Team. From CII-Young Indians Aditya Roongta, Immediate Past Chair, Vishal Mehta, Chair, Krishna Nathani, Co-Chair, Chennai Chapter along with few other office bearers were present at the inauguration.

This Touch Free Hand Wash project has been initiated by this Young and Energetic Group to fight the COVID-19 crisis. The spread of the SAR-Cov2 virus or the coronavirus happens via droplet transmission and hand touch human contact. On an average people touch their faces more than 16 times an hour. This is major concern dealing with the fight against coronavirus. To prevent the spread through human contact one needs constantly wash their hands with soap. Soap has the capacity to kill the virus and frequent hand wash is one of effective solution to reduce the spread of the virus. This Touch free handwash helps people accessing public places to use these handwash where the user doesnt come in contact with tap or the soap dispenser yet enable them to use the handwash with help of mechanical pedal that can be operated via leg press. The project also bring awareness about the need for handwash. Regular handwash is a basic of hygiene and during these times, its a must to keep hands clean, hence the contactless handwash serves the purpose of hygiene and habit for all. Around 3000 people visit this market on a daily basis.

Young Indians are committed to the fight against COVID-19 and are working on several relief work and innovative projects to fight the virus.

~ Newsvoir

CII Seeks Exemption for E-Commerce, ITeS, Food Processing from Prohibitory Orders

The Confederation of Indian Industry has urged the government to exempt services such as e-commerce including delivery boys and supply chain vendors, food processing warehousing and IT-ITeS from the imposition of section 144 and other similar directives amid the coronavirus outbreak.

The appeal gains significance as more and more states are imposing lockdowns with the spread of coronavirus.

"For safeguarding the uninterrupted supply of consumer items in the market, CII urges the government to keep the manufacturing facilities of the food processing industry open under the strictest of safety and hygiene guidelines," Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General, CII, said.

He also added that any executive order or section 144 restrictions should include the exemption for these manufacturing facilities and food delivery services. PTI RSN

B2B Platform Pumpkart Raises Funding from CII Chairman for Startups and Entrepreneurship

Dr. Dinesh Dua, North India Chairman for Startups & Entrepreneurship for CII has made an angel investment in Pumpkart, an online B2B platform which works on Brand to retailer model.

Founded in 2014 by Mr. KS Bhatia, the startup which began as B2C company selling Pumps online pivoted earlier this year into a B2B platform. It has added multiple other categories to serve its clientele of retailers across Punjab, Haryana and Himachal.

Dr. Dua currently, currently CEO of Nectar Life Sciences Ltd and Chairman of Pharmexcil, Ministry of Commerce, GOI made his first Angel investment in a startup since he became the Chairman of Startups and Entrepreneurship for CII.

Dr. Dua an alumnus of IIM Ahemdabad has spent substantial time understanding Pumpkart’s journey and its business model. Impressed by the pace at which Pumpkart has been able to execute and build brands like VTOP in the Smart LED space, he believes that under the leadership of Dr. KS Bhatia, Pumpkart has a great team to deliver.

The Punjab’s government support to startups like Pumpkart and others has really given a boost to the state’s startup ecosystem. Punjab Government is aggressively supporting Pumpkart to bring the MSMEs of Punjab onboard the Pumpkart’s platform. Dr. Dua believes that this is not only a great milestone for Pumpkart but would also give a great boost to the MSMEs of Punjab by giving them an easy access to the domestic market. He also says that this one step was probably the tipping point which led him to invest in Pumpkart.

Pumpkart which is a boot strapped organization is currently scaling and is spreading its wings to states beyond Punjab. Dr. Dua specifically mentions this as the strength of a startup as a boot strapped organization is more careful with an external investment.

Dr. KS Bhatia, Co-founder and CEO of Pumpkart announced that Dr. Dua shall be joining the board of Pumpkart and under his mentorship, Pumpkart would scale new heights.

Dr. Dinesh Dua, through the CII platform also encouraged other high net worth individuals and corporates to identify innovative and fast growing startups like Pumpkart from the state and invest in them. This single step can provide a boost not only to the startup Ecosystem but also to the state’s economy.

Meet the 7 Finalists of 'Social Entrepreneur of the Year India Awards'

The Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship, the sister organisation of the World Economic Forum and the Jubilant Bhartia Foundation, a not for profit organisation of Jubilant Bhartia Group today announced the finalists of the Social Entrepreneur of the Year (SEOY)- India 2019 award.

The finalists were identified following an intensive search and selection process, including expert reviews, background research, reference checks and site visits.

The seven finalists of the award are:

1. Gaurav Mehta of Dharma Life, New Delhi


2. Shanti Raghavan and Dipesh Sutariya of EnAble India, Bengaluru


3. Mukteshwari Bosco of Healing Fields Foundation, Hyderabad


4. Nand Kishore Chaudhary of Jaipur Rugs, Jaipur


5. Bijal Brahmbhatt of Mahila Housing SEWA Trust, Ahmedabad


6. Aakash Sethi of Quest Alliance, Bengaluru


7. Sanjeev Kumar of The Goat Trust, Lucknow

Of the seven finalists, the winner will be chosen by a distinguished jury. Shri Hardeep Singh Puri, Minister of State (Independent Charge), Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs & Ministry of Civil Aviation and Minister of State in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry Government of India will present the award at a special ceremony on Thursday, 3rd October, 2019 which is part of the India Economic Summit organised by World Economic Forum and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). 

The winner of SEOY India will join the world’s largest network of social enterprises affiliated with The Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship.

The finalists of the SEOY India award are the tech-enabled social entrepreneurs who are helping in bridging the gap between the marginalised and the mainstream, by working in fields of livelihood generation for rural women, livestock entrepreneurship, creating safe & sustainable habitats, improving rural health, empowering people with disabilities and art preservation through empowerment of artisans. These social entrepreneurs have brought disruption in their respective fields with their innovative ideas. They have demonstrated that through empowerment of marginalised rural women, people with disabilities, small livestock farmers and grassroots artisans, India can move closer to inclusive growth.

Over the years, SEOY India award has established itself as one of the most reputed and coveted award for social entrepreneurs in India. This year the award celebrates its 10th year. In 2010, the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship and Jubilant Bhartia Foundation came together to promote social innovation in India through the Social Entrepreneur of the Year (SEOY) India Award. The annual award recognises entrepreneurs who implement innovative, sustainable and scalable solutions to solve social problems. These entrepreneurs address pressing issues faced by under-served communities.

The SEOY India award 2019 opened in March this year and received over 120 applications from 19 cities. This year saw over 30 applications from women social entrepreneurs. The categories of intervention include enterprise development, disability, water & sanitation, labour conditions, micro finance, housing, fair trade, energy, sustainable farming, communication media, clean technology and nutrition. In this year’s applications, health sector (43%) lead the nomination tally followed by education (40%), environment (27%) and rural development (26%).

Brief Descriptions of the Finalists: 

Gaurav Mehta
Dharma Life, New Delhi (www. dharmalife.in)
Echoing the belief that economically empowered women leads to empowered families; Dharma Life is providing women in rural India the opportunity to earn a livelihood while driving social change in their villages. These reformed women entrepreneurs, also referred as ‘Dharma Life Entrepreneurs’ (DLE) are changing the face of women empowerment in India.

Determined to create the largest network of female change agents, Dharma Life has  trained and engaged around 16,000 Dharma Life Entrepreneurs (76% women) across 13 states in India. By honing the entrepreneurial skills of rural women Dharma Life is optimising a woman led entrepreneur-based model that delivers critical products and services to low income households. This includes creation of livelihoods for the DLE, training and certification of the DLEs in rural sales entrepreneurship (certified by the National Skills Development Corporation (Government of India) and IFC), sustainable income creation for the Dharma Life Entrepreneurs as well as increased equity in society for them. Reached more than 1,50,000 households and over 1.3 million women with financial literacy campaign.

It addresses key and interlinked levers of social change – livelihood creation, digital empowerment, water, hygiene & sanitation, menstrual hygiene & family planning, energy access & clean cooking and nutrition.

Shanti Raghavan and Dipesh Sutariya   
EnAble India, Bengaluru (www.enableindia.org)
EnAble India (EI) is rapidly building the Indian eco-system of skilling, employment and entrepreneurship for persons with disabilities (PwDs) through technology innovations, breakthroughs in skill trainings, new workplace solutions and behaviour change tools. By changing the mindset of 729 business houses and building frameworks of inclusion in universities and government agencies, EI has created a robust business case for employing PwDs in formal and informal sectors across India.

Over 20 years, Shanti, Dipesh and their teams have cumulatively transformed the lives of 2,20,000 individuals with disabilities and their families, community leaders and employers, across 28 states. Working across a wide bench of 14 disabilities, all EI trainees perform at par, and receive salaries at par with their non-disabled peers. Through partnerships with 200 non-profit organisations, EnAble India is set to transform one million PwDs as confident tax payers, active citizens and nation-builders over the next three years.

Mukteshwari Bosco    
Healing Fields Foundation, Hyderabad (www.healing-fields.org)
Healing Fields Foundation (HFF) is building vibrant eco-systems of rural health care in areas where basic health services are absent or severely deficient. It is doing so by transforming once- voiceless and marginalised women into community healthcare entrepreneurs and health leaders who have a stake in the well-being of their communities. Backed with training in basic health care and innovative technologies (including a health decision-support app), more than 5000 trained community health entrepreneurs have taken healthcare information to nearly 12,50,000 individuals in the most backward districts of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana and Jharkhand. 66% report a 100-200% income increase as a local health entrepreneur. HFF has also kept its eye on enhanced health outcomes. 98% of service users have reported improved health knowledge; 71% regularly practise positive health behaviours and 89% families are immunising their children. Additionally, 1000 school health champions trained by HFF across Telengana have reached 150,000 people with information on health education, nutrition and healthcare products. The HFF model is currently being replicated in Indonesia.

Nand Kishore Chaudhary

Jaipur Rugs Ltd., Jaipur Living, Jaipur Rugs Foundation

Jaipur (www.jaipurrugs.com)
Jaipur Rugs [Featured Story] has catapulted more than 40,000 artisans (weavers and spinners) into artists, designers, entrepreneurs, teachers and quality control experts in the high-end, global, luxury carpet segment in 600 villages. By tripling incomes for women carpet weavers and enhancing their well-being and leadership, it has demonstrated that business success can combine as much meaning and purpose for customers, as it does for its rural and tribal artisans, and their families.

Jaipur Rugs is an exclusive, handmade carpet and rugs company, serving consumers across 62 countries. Upturning the exploitative practises of the carpet weaving industry, it has integrated ethical business practices with grassroots women’s entrepreneurship and created a business culture of empathy and care. Sharing growth benefits with its artisans, Jaipur Rugs runs an exclusive line of ‘Artisan Originals’ where weavers are the designers of their own rugs, showcasing their artistic creation on national and international platforms.

Impacted over 1,29,000 lives across Rajasthan, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand, Jaipur Rugs has put the locus of control back in the hands of village level bunkar sakhis and artisans not just through enhanced incomes, but also through leadership trainings, financial literacy and health services.

Bijal Brahmbhatt
Mahila Housing SEWA Trust (MHT), Ahmedabad (www.mahilahousingtrust.org)
By putting poor women in charge of their neighbourhoods, Mahila Housing SEWA Trust (MHT) is changing the face of India’s sprawling urban slums. Viewing habitat as essential to the well-being of a person, MHT mobilises, organises and trains women leaders or ‘Vikasinis’, to participate, design and drive urban planning and the development of their areas. The women map infrastructure gaps, deploy clean energy solutions and partner with local governments and the private sector for basic services like water, sanitation, power, sewerage and advocate for tenure rights. By building the social and leadership capital of resource-poor urban women, MHT ensures they access secure habitats and a quality of life deserving to all citizens.

Serving four lakh poor households, MHT has scaled its work to 34 cities across eight states in India. Reaching 1.7 million poor individuals, it has legalised power connections for nearly two lakh households, and potable water to 48,000.  Close to 57,000 households have built toilets and 30,500 have invested in energy saving products. In a major win, 22,563 Households have secured registration of property titles, resulting in a tangible asset for the poor. With urban population set to increase by nearly 50% by 2030, the MHT model offers a solid women and citizen-led strategy for transforming India’s squalid slums into safe, clean, climate friendly, vibrant socio-economic hubs.                       

Aakash Sethi
Quest Alliance, Bengaluru (www.questalliance.net) 

65% of children starting school today will hold jobs that do not exist yet. They are likely to have four or five careers over the course of their working life. Additionally, technology is rapidly changing job roles and rendering trade-specific skill trainings irrelevant. For Quest Alliance, self-learning and 21st century skills are then, the new life skills that youth will need to thrive, not just survive, in fast digitising economies.

Quest Alliance has integrated education technologies, curriculum and the culture and practise of self-learning and 21st century skills into India’s education and skill-training system.  By doing so, it is transforming institutions, educators, skill trainers, while enabling unemployable youth to respond to a fast digitising economy, enhance their learnability and build rewarding career pathways.

Through partnerships with 100 non-profit partners and state governments, the Quest Alliance model has been embedded in 5,000 government schools and 800 vocational training centres and ITIs across nine states. It has impacted 3,00,000 adolescent and youth (of which 50% are women) from rural, peri-urban, minority and other excluded communities. 70% of the youth who go through the Quest model are placed in jobs, with a majority reporting an average upward mobility of income of 170% (income compared to their current annual family incomes). A formal Memorandum of Understanding with the Government of India opened the pathway for more than five million adolescent and youth to be impacted by the Quest Alliance model over five years.

Sanjeev Kumar    


The Goat Trust Group of Social Ventures (www.thegoattrust.org)

Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh



The Goat Trust Group of Social Ventures is revitalising ailing, rural economies by transforming once marginalised and scattered women goat farmers into formidable network of small livestock entrepreneurs. Sanjeev and his team take a three-pronged approach for putting women in charge of small livestock husbandry: Innovations in micro-leasing (allowing a woman to lease and rear a goat); a network of 1000 ‘pashu sakhis’ or mature women goat farmers who offer scientific livestock rearing and veterinarian services for a fee; and innovative technologies, including a goat health app and an e-commerce platform for women farmers to connect with distant markets and access fair price for their livestock.

Together, this approach has enabled 3,00,000 ultra-poor women from marginalised communities to scale their small livestock farming value chains. They have enhanced their annual incomes from upwards of Rs 70,000 to Rs 900,000. Collectively, they have organised into 25 producer organisations with annual turnover of Rs 500 million. The Goat Trust group has scaled its model in 18 states through the state rural livelihoods mission machinery, focussing on difficult agro climatic zone like dry lands, forest fringe villages and flood-affected areas. More than 84 non-profit organisations across India, West Africa and Afghanistan, have been trained in its ‘Goat Gurukul’ to create the groundswell of women small livestock husbandry leaders.

Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship was co-founded by Professor Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum, and his wife Hilde. For twenty years, the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship has supported the world’s leading social entrepreneurs in their efforts to create a more just, equitable, and sustainable world. The Schwab Foundation provides unparalleled platforms at the regional and global level to highlight and advance leading models of sustainable social innovation.

Learn more at www.schwabfound.org and follow on: Twitter: https://twitter.com/schwabfound

Jubilant Bhartia Foundation (JBF), established in 2007, is the not-for-profit organisation of the Jubilant Bhartia Group. It focuses on conceptualising and implementing the Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives (CSR) for the Group. The Jubilant Bhartia Foundation’s activities include various community development work, healthcare programs, cultural and sports events, environmental preservation initiative, vocational training, women empowerment, educational activities and promotion of Social Entrepreneurship.