The workshop was attended by about 100 participants including staff members, students, and research scholars
G P VARMA
Kanpur, November 19, 2022: The Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, in collaboration with the African-Asian Rural Development Organization (AARDO), is organizing a training program on innovative technologies of renewable energies for rural areas to mitigate challenges of climate change.
The training program, which began on 17 November 2022, would be conducted till 24th November 2022.
The course objective is to sensitise participants on using the engineering of renewable energies as a tool to fight back against the impact of climate change.
The inauguration of the Training Programme was held on 17th November 2022 at the Outreach Auditorium of IIT Kanpur. Dr. Manoj Nardeosingh, Seceretary General, AARDO was the Chief Guest for the occasion, while Prof. Abhay Karandikar, Director of IIT Kanpur accompanied him. Prof. A. R. Harish, Dean of Research & Development, IIT Kanpur, Dr. Sanjeeb K Behera, Head of Administration and Research Divisions, AARDO, Prof. B.V. Rathish Kumar, Head, CCE IIT Kanpur and Prof. J. Ramkumar, Coordinator, RuTAG IIT Kanpur, were present at the inauguration event, among others.
African-Asian Rural Development Organization (AARDO) is a rural-centric inter-governmental autonomous organization that subscribes to the spirit of South-South and Triangular Cooperation and has 33 member countries. This jointly-organized course is being held for the benefit of middle and senior-level executives from government departments, ministries, and agriculture engineers and scientists engaged in policy formulation, implementation, planning and appraisals.
Prof. J. Ramkumar welcomed the participants and introduced the initiatives taken by IIT Kanpur to develop technologies that will harness renewable energy. тАЬThe Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) aim to transform our world. More than any other sector, agriculture is the common thread which holds the SDGs together. Regarding this training, the USP is тАШLearn by doingтАЭ, he said.
Prof. Abhay Karandikar, Director of IIT Kanpur said, тАЬI hope that this programme would inspire more people to move towards sustainable energy. We have our dedicated Sustainable Energy Engineering Department to work on issues related to sustainability. Our focus is empowering the rural areas around us through the Rural Technology Action Group (RuTAG) established in our institute. A platform is given to rural innovations in this centre and we have also transferred technology to the African countries through AARDO. WeтАЩre delighted to have signed an MoU with AARDO for student exchange programs and high end skilling.тАЭ He wished for the participants to have a pleasant stay and a valuable experience at IIT Kanpur.
Addressing the inaugural session, His Excellency Dr. Manoj Nardeosingh, Secretary-General, AARDO, said, “Climate change is one of the greatest challenges of the 21st century. Its most severe impacts may still be avoided if efforts are made to transform current energy systems. At AARDO, a compendium/basket of technologies has been compiled in the form of dynamic database of innovative technologies captioned as тАЬAffordable Technology MenuтАЭ (ATM), wherein available technologies for transfer as well as the innovative technology are parked. A few of the samples of selected technologies from the ATM are being handed over to four member countries.тАЭ
“I am very much sure that during this training programme, the presentation of the renowned resource persons, country delegates and the deliberation on the subject will contribute positively in arriving at valuable recommendations,” H.E. the Secretary General added.
Dr. Sanjeeb K Behera, outlined the mission of AARDO and its relevance to todayтАЩs world, while Prof. B. V. Rathish Kumar, invited the participants and he hoped that the participants leave with a pleasant educational experience.
Kanpur, November 17, 2022: A team of researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kanpur, has developed a novel technology to turn ACs into affordable air purifiers. The one-of-a-kind technology is conceptualized and developed with the infrastructural as well as R and D support from IIT Kanpur, as the team of researchers found a way to turn regular ACs into air purifiers, during the winter season.
With smog and pollution posing grave concerns across several cities especially during the winter, this invention is expected to be a boon for many. The innovation comes in line with IIT KanpurтАЩs relentless work in the domain of air quality assessment and monitoring. IIT Kanpur has been involved in assisting various state governments and organizations in deploying technologies to combat air pollution. This technology comes as a simplistic handy tool, which can be easily mounted atop regular ACs and utilized by switching on тАШfan modeтАЩ.
The air filters are equipped with the тАЬAnti-Microbial Air Purification TechnologyтАЭ developed at IIT Kanpur, in collaboration with researchers from the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. It has been tested at NABL Accredited Lab and has proven to be able to successfully deactivate SARS-CoV-2 (delta variant) with an efficiency of 99.24%.
Commenting on the development of this novel technology, Prof. Ankush Sharma, Professor-in-charge, Innovation and Incubation, IIT Kanpur, said, тАЬThe novel air purification technology used in these air filters has successfully proven its efficiency towards protecting us from life-threatening viruses. This innovation is a great addition to the R&D work IIT Kanpur is involved in.тАЭ
Co-Professor-in-charge, Innovation and Incubation, IIT Kanpur, Prof. Amitabha Bandyopadhyay, said, тАЬThis indigenous revolutionary innovation has tremendous potential to succeed in the global market. This launch is indicative of technology catering to critical world problems. I wish the team involved all the best with this new product.тАЭ
The existing air filters in the market work on a particle capture mechanism; however, over continuous use, the filter itself becomes a breeding ground for germs, like a petri dish. The minimum cost of such air purifiers in the market is around INR 10,000/- which usually comes with a fan and an air filter to clean the air. On the other hand, this new type of air filters developed at IIT Kanpur has proven to restrict the microbial growth and is capable of capturing PM 2.5, PM 10, dust, pollen, allergens and germs from the air while purifying.
The innovation has been licensed to AiRTH, a startup incubated at the Startup Incubation and Innovation Centre, IIT Kanpur, for marketing. It has been launched in the form of a product as тАШClean Air ModuleтАЩ and comes at an affordable price of Rs. 2000. One тАШClean Air ModuleтАЩ is claimed to be as effective as 10 normal AC filters. The product is now available for purchase through AiRTHтАЩs website and other e-commerce sites.
A statement from the AiRTH team reads, “In our struggle to make clean air accessible, we are proud that we finally have a product that is effective and can be adopted by the masses”.
AiRTH is founded by Ravi Kaushik, an IIT Bombay alumnus, who is currently the CEO of the company. AiRTH was incubated at IIT Kanpur in 2020 with guidance and support from Prof. Amitabha Bandopadhyay, the then Professor-in-charge of the Startup Incubation and Innovation Centre, IIT Kanpur. A novel Anti-Microbial Air Purification technology developed by researchers from IIT Kanpur and Prof. Suryasarathi Bose and Prof. Kaushik Chatterjee from IISc Bangalore, has been used in AiRTHтАЩs flagship product
Kanpur/Noida, November 16, 2022: The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur has joined hands with Microsoft to enable тАШfuture-readyтАЩ startups that can lead on many fronts. IIT KanpurтАЩs technology business incubator Startup Incubation and Innovation Centre, which works with young innovators and incubates new technology, knowledge, and innovation-based startups, has collaborated with Microsoft to launch the тАЬAzure Society of ExcellenceтАЭ. The two enterprises have entered an MoU to launch this program in close partnership. Under this program, SIIC, IIT Kanpur and Microsoft will work together to support the startups by extending mentorship, employment, and entrepreneurial opportunities. The program will also enable access to тАШFounderтАЩs HubтАЩ- a talent-employability program for the future-ready startups in SIIC, IIT KanpurтАЩs incubation ecosystem.
The collaboration will help startups at IIT Kanpur to avail benefits of Microsoft Software and services, access to GitHub, M365 resources, training, and skilling on Azure, mentors network, which includes exclusive access to Microsoft leadership and expert guidance from Microsoft Valuable Professionals (MVP), Azure Influencers, and startup founders. The Microsoft Mentor Network will also lend their support to provide expert feedback and advice on topics ranging from product roadmap to business plans and facetime with high-value VCs.
The MoU exchange ceremony received participation from prominent attendees from the incubation ecosystem at IIT Kanpur and Microsoft. The participants included Shri Akshay Tripathi, IAS Managing Director, UPLC; Prof. AR Harish, Chairman, Governing Body AIIDE-CoE; Dr Nikhil Agarwal, CEO FIRST IIT Kanpur & AIIDE CoE; Microsoft Officials, along with six innovative startups from AIIDE-CoE incubation ecosystem.
The event started with an inaugural address by Dr Nikhil Agarwal, which was followed by a welcome address by Prof. AR Harish and a special address by Akshay Tripathi.
Dr Nikhil Agarwal, during his welcome address, said, тАЬThis event today will initiate the foundation of a new avenue for the budding entrepreneurs where expert support and software technologies will come together to create a juncture for a better tomorrow for all and catalyse the journey of scaling-up for the modern Indian startups. I express my deepest gratitude for this collaboration.тАЭ
Under this program, the startups from the institute will also get access to flexible, scalable resources such as API Integration with GitHub, visits to Microsoft Tech Center in Bengaluru for demonstration of tech value and scheduled in-person/online sessions. Furthermore, they can avail access to Microsoft ISV тАУ Independent Software Vendors, and opportunities to work with Microsoft, and list on the Microsoft Marketplace.
Himani Agrawal, Country Head, Azure, Microsoft India, said, тАЬWe are delighted to collaborate with SIIC, IITK which will further enhance our respective startup acceleration efforts to provide an environment with the right support and structures and enable innovators to scale faster. With the Azure Society of Excellence, startups will be able to build innovative cloud-native apps and solutions to drive economic growth, which is inclusive, trusted, and sustainable.тАЭ
Commenting on the MoU exchange between SIIC and Microsoft, Prof. Ankush Sharma, Prof-in-charge, Innovation & Incubation, IIT Kanpur commented, тАЬThis collaboration between IIT Kanpur and Microsoft will help startups at SIIC reach new heights. Microsoft offers an excellent software pool, structure and expert support which, as and when blended with the innovations of our innovators, will make a remarkable difference in the society plus the startup ecosystem.тАЭ
Prof. Amitabha Bandyopadhyay, Co-PIC, Innovation & Incubation, IIT Kanpur, added, тАЬAssociation with Microsoft would allow the young innovators to use critically needed soft-infrastructure which would have otherwise cost them a significant sum. I truly app
Prof. Luay Nakhleh, Dean of George R. Brown School of Engineering, and Prof. Abhay Karandikar, Director IIT Kanpur, lighting the lamp at the Agreement Signing Ceremony
G P VARMA
Kanpur, November 14, 2022: The Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur (IITK) and William Marsh Rice University, USA signed a cooperation agreement today at a ceremony held at IIT Kanpur.
A delegation from the Rice University visited IIT Kanpur and took stock of various research and development work of the institute. IIT Kanpur already have an on-campus Rice-IITK Collaborative Center working in the areas of Sustainable Energy, Materials, Water, Alternative Fuels, etc. This new agreement offers the two universities newer avenues to work towards collaborative teaching, training, and research in areas of mutual interest.
The agreement was signed by Prof. Abhay Karandikar, Director, IIT Kanpur and Prof. Reginald DesRoches, President, Rice University. Prof. S. Ganesh, Deputy Director and Prof. Dhirendra Katti, Dean of International Relations from IITK and Prof. Seiichi Matsuda, Dean of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies; Prof. Luay Nakhleh, Dean of George R. Brown School of Engineering; and Prof. Pulickel Ajayan, Chair of the Department of Materials Science and NanoEngineering from Rice University were also present at the ceremony.
Prof. Abhay Karandikar, Director IIT Kanpur, felicitating Prof. Luay Nakhleh, Dean of George Brown School of Engineering, Rice University, with a memento
The agreement sets out guidelines for the two universities to develop joint research and academic engagements broadly in the areas of Engineering, Sciences, Medicine/Healthcare, Humanities and Management/Business. The initial phase of the engagements will focus on the areas of energy, ,environment, healthcare, biomedical sciences, biomedical engineering and data science, information technology, computer science and engineering.
Upon signing the agreement, Prof. Abhay Karandikar, Director IIT Kanpur said, тАЬIIT KanpurтАЩs collaboration with Rice University has been going from strength to strength. Under the Rice-IITK Collaborative Center, we have initiated important joint research, organized a virtual joint symposium for faculty collaborations and have provided once-in-a-lifetime opportunities for our students. I am sure this next chapter of our partnership will lead to strengthening our relations further.тАЭ тАЬI believe RiceтАЩs partnership with the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur will be the jewel in the crown of our efforts in India,тАЭ said Rice President Reginald DesRoches, who sees the continued expansion of Rice Global as a top presidential priority.
Prof. Abhay Karandikar, Director IIT Kanpur, felicitating Prof. Seiichi Matsuda, Dean of Graduate & Postdoctoral Studies, Rice University, with a memento
As part of this agreement, IIT Kanpur and Rice University will explore opportunities for student exchange activities; joint research and publications; and organizing joint conferences and workshops that involve scholars, policy makers, and business leaders from around the world. On the academic front, the agreement will lead the development of undergraduate or postgraduate coursework units jointly taught by IIT Kanpur and Rice University faculty; and the establishment of a joint PhD,Masters,Bachelors-Masters program.
The Rice-IITK Collaborative Center has been active at IIT Kanpur since its inauguration in 9th January, 2020. The Centre has been spearheading crucial research work in key areas such as Sustainable Energy, Materials, Water, and Alternative Fuels, among others.
The focus has largely been on developing materials and processes for solar photovoltaics, energy storage, alternative fuels, electrocatalysis, and water treatment and remediation. This new agreement will further accelerate the existing work and would open up newer scope of mutual interest among the two institutes.
Kanpur, Nov 7, 2022: IIT Kanpur-backed innovation тАШFleatherтАЩ – a regenerative approach to creating leather out of floral waste, developed by IIT Kanpur-incubated startup Phool.co, gets global recognition as one of the fifteen finalists for the 2022 Earthshot Prize, as announced by Prince William recently. The Earthshot Prize recognizes an accomplished group of entrepreneurs and innovators spearheading ground-breaking solutions to the grave environmental challenges our planet faces. тАШFleatherтАЩ is one of the only two innovations shortlisted from India for the award this year.
тАШFleatherтАЩ is a revolutionary product developed as animal-free leather by Phool. They are a startup founded by Ankit Agarwal and Prateek Kumar in July 2017 with critical incubation support from the Startup Incubation and Innovation Centre (SIIC), the technology business incubator of IIT Kanpur. The ideation and work to turn flower waste to sustainable products, however, was started by the team by 2015 itself. With critical R&D support and funding from IIT Kanpur, the Phool team started with making incense sticks from flower waste and then introduced the тАШFleatherтАЩ as an alternative to animal-based/plastic leather.
Fleather by PHOOL.Co will now be in the running to receive a ┬г1 million award at the second-annual Earthshot Prize awards ceremony to be held on December 2 in Boston. The Prize takes inspiration from President John F. KennedyтАЩs тАШMoonshotтАЩ. The finalists were selected from more than 1,000 nominations following a rigorous 10-month selection process by a panel of advisors with expertise in science, conservation, innovation, investment, economics, politics and activism. Fleather by PHOOL.Co has been shortlisted in тАЬThe Earthshot Prize to Build A Waste-Free WorldтАЭ category.
While unveiling the finalists, Prince William said, тАЬThe innovators, leaders, and visionaries that have made it to the 2022 Earthshot finalists prove there are many reasons to be optimistic about the future of our planet. They are directing their time, energy, and talent towards bold solutions with the power to not only solve our planetтАЩs greatest environmental challenges but to create healthier, more prosperous, and more sustainable communities for generations to come.тАЭ Prof. Abhay Karandikar, Director IIT Kanpur congratulated the Phool team, тАЬI am delighted to learn about тАШFleatherтАЩ developed by our incubated startup Phool being shortlisted as one of the finalists for the prestigious Earthshot Prize 2022.
IIT Kanpur had assisted the startup with critical R&D and incubation support from the start. From transforming flower waste into incense sticks to creating the vegan alternative to animal leather тАУ Fleather, the sustainable model that the startup has been following truly benefits the environment and helps the economy grow. Their support to underprivileged families and rural women through employment is an inspiring model in itself. My heartiest congratulations to Ankit Agarwal, Founder & CEO, PHOOL and his team, and best wishes for the way ahead.тАЭ
Prof. Amitabha Bandyopadhyay, Co-Professor-in-charge, Innovation and Incubation, IIT Kanpur, says, тАЬI always believed in this startup as it serves the ecosystem and uplifts the underprivileged workforce in numerous ways. Fleather has been able to resolve the most prevailing environmental challenges through flower waste, which, as an idea, should definitely be globally recognised. Congratulations to PHOOL.Co on this accomplishment.тАЭ
In addition to their eligibility for the ┬г1 million prize, all Finalists will receive tailored support and resources from the Earthshot Prize Global Alliance Members, an unprecedented network of private sector businesses around the world committed to helping scale innovative climate and environmental solutions and multiplying their impact.
Since its inception, more than 11,060 metric tons of flower waste collected every day from the temples in Uttar Pradesh, especially from the ghats of River Ganga, has been recycled at PHOOL. By the power of flower cycling, SIIC IIT Kanpur-incubated startup PHOOL stops 7,600 kilograms of waste flowers and 97 kilograms of toxic chemicals from getting into the river every day, along with providing livelihood to 1200 rural families and employment to 73 women тАШflowercyclersтАЩ to create тАШFleatherтАЩ. Big fashion houses like Anita Dongre have also shown interest in Fleather – a breathable and tensile material and sustainable leather alternative felicitated by PETA India at the CDC’20.
Prof. Ankush Sharma, Professor-in-charge, Innovation and Incubation, IIT Kanpur, congratulated the team of Phool, тАЬI am overwhelmed by the revelation of the finalists by Prince William as I have seen the incredible journey of PHOOL Co.тАЩs Fleather and how far they have come starting from our incubation centre.тАЭ
Ankit Agarwal, Founder & CEO, Phool.co expressed his gratitude on qualifying as a finalist and also for the incubation support by SIIC IIT Kanpur, saying, тАЬWe are grateful for IIT KanpurтАЩs belief in us and their consistent support. The Earthshot Prize Awards is an amazing opportunity, and it will encourage us to do our utmost to solve GangaтАЩs floral waste problem and make this planet a better placeтАЭ.
Five winners among the fifteen will be selected by the Earthshot Prize Council that include: HRH Prince William, Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah of Jordan, Cate Blanchett, Daniel Alves Da Silva, Sir David Attenborough, Ernest Gibson, Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim, Jack Ma, Shakira Mebarak, Yao Ming, Luisa Neubauer, Indra Nooyi, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, and Naoko Yamazaki.
The Earthshot Prize convenes a diverse nominator coalition of more than 200 people and organisations around the world from every continent, a distinguished Expert Advisory Panel, and The Earthshot Prize Council comprising influential individuals committed to championing positive environmental action. The fifteen Finalists were assessed by the Expert Advisory Panel of scientific, academic, and subject-matter leaders. The Earthshot Prize awards ceremony will take place on Friday, December 2 at the MGM Music Hall in Boston. It will premiere on Sunday, December 4, 2022.
About SIIC, IIT Kanpur: Startup Incubation and Innovation Centre (SIIC), IIT Kanpur, is one of the oldest incubators in the country. It was established in 2000 when the entrepreneurial ecosystem was still at a nascent stage in India. The multifaceted and vibrant incubation ecosystem at IIT Kanpur, nurtured for over two decades, prospers to fill the gaps on the road to converting an idea into a successful and meaningful business model. The domain expertise combined with the infrastructural prowess of the academic institute has collectively demonstrated a knack for tremendous social impact and technological advancement over the years.
About PHOOL.Co: Phool.co is an innovative startup focused on the circular economy which converts floral waste into Charcoal-free Luxury incense products and other wellness products. The startup is also IndiaтАЩs first wellness brand to have Fair for Life- Fairtrade and Ecocert Organic & Natural certifications. With deep-tech research, the startup has also developed тАЬFleather” leveraging their flowercycling technology. Fleather is a viable alternative to Animal leather which was recently awarded PETAтАЩs best innovation in the Vegan World.
About The Earthshot Prize: Founded by Prince William and The Royal Foundation in 2020, The Earthshot Prize is a global environmental prize to discover, accelerate, and scale ground-breaking solutions to repair and regenerate the planet. Inspired by President John F. KennedyтАЩs Moonshot which united millions of people around the goal of reaching the moon, the Earthshot Prize aims to catalyse an Earthshot challenge to urgently encourage and scale innovative solutions that can help put the world firmly on a trajectory towards a stable climate, where communities, oceans, and biodiversity thrive in harmony by 2030.
тЧП Fleather тАУ a revolutionary alternative to leather by IIT Kanpur-incubated startup Phool.co has been selected as one of the finalists for the Second Annual Earthshot Prize Awards. тЧП Launched in 2020 by HRH Prince William, The Earthshot Prize is one of the most prestigious environmental awards.
When the word “cheetah” falls in our ears, the image of a wild animal that is known for its amazing agility and speed automatically emerges in the mind.
Cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus) are big cat according to their size but they are quite different from other big cats like Lion, Tiger, jaguar and Leopard which roar and have retractable claws however cheetahs never roar but purr like small cats and possess semi retractable claws to maintain traction on the ground i.e. offer extra grip in its high-speed pursuits. They are placed in subfamily felinae of family felidae with small cats. While all big cats are kept in subfamily pantherinae of the same family felidae.
At present there are only four cheetahs left in the whole of India and that too in the zoological parks of Hyderabad and Mysore. About seven decades i.e. 70 years ago this beautiful wild animal had become extinct from the forests of India.
It is said that in the year 1948 there were only three cheetahs left in country. It was a matter of misfortune that these three were also killed by the a Maharaja of Madhya Pradesh in his hunt. After that an attempt was made to find this beautiful beast for about four years but it all went into vain and finally in the year 1952 this beautiful big cat was declared extinct from the forests of India by the government. Main reason for extinction of cheetahs from indian forests was sport hunting and were also tamed and used to hunt antelopes and deer by the aristocracy.
Now cheetahs, around only 7000 in numbers, occupy only nine percent of its global habitat in 16 countries of Africa apart from Iran in Asia.
Studies also suggest that the word cheetah is derived from the Sanskrit word ‘chitrakaya’, which means ‘multi-colored or the spotted one’ and this proves that there must have been a time when the number of cheetahs on the soil of India was abundant. Cheetahs have mention in vedas especially Rigveda and Atharvaveda and are also seen in cave paintings of neolithic period in central India.
With about 90 cm in height, 130 cm in length and an average weight of 50 to 65 kg, and its long legs, small head, slender body and small dark spots on skin and black tear line on face give him very beautiful and attractive look.
The black tear marks on its face reduces the strong sunlight, making it easier to hunt even in harsh sunlight.
The long tail and special body structure earn the cheetah the title of the “fastest running land creature” on the earth. Cheetah can accelerate up to a speed of about 95 kilometers per hour in just three seconds, which is much more than today’s modern sports car. Not only this, Cheetah is adept at running up to a speed of about 113 kilometers per hour for few moments.
It is said that the main diet of cheetahs in the forests of India used to be black buck, chinkara, and cheetal deer, but there is some evidence that cheetahs had also made other animals including sheep, goat, dog and nilgai their prey.
The extinction of such important large cat from the forests of India became a matter of concern for the government, and in 1970 the then government started trying to reintroduce cheetahs from Iran to the forests of India. After decades long talks between Iran and India, the talks were stalled as india underwent emergency and Shah of Iran fell from power. Later on Iran demanded Asiatic lions from India in exchange for cheetahs, but as the number of Asiatic lions was already low in India, so government of India rejected Iran’s offer. And as a result of which the ongoing talks with Iran regarding cheetahs were completely stopped.
But the Ministry of Environment and Forests and Wildlife Institute of India were firmly committed to bring cheetahs to the country and in 2009 it was decided to reintroduced them from Africa.
In this regard, a meeting was organized by the Wildlife Institute of India in Gajner, Rajasthan on the instructions of the Ministry of Environment and Forests, in which the wildlife Institute of India WTI, IUCN, Cheetah Conservation Fund and other NGOs including high officials of most of the states of the country participated and a strategy was chalked out to select the place where the cheetahs brought from Africa would be rehabilitated. After a long study, in January 2022 it was decided to reintroduce the cheetahs brought from Africa in ‘Kuno-Palpur National Park’ in the state of Madhya Pradesh. In this regard an agreement between India and Namibia was signed on 20th July 2022.
It is a matter of great pride for all the countrymen that on 17th September 2022, a total of eight cheetahs brought from Africa, that is four males and four females are being reintroduced to 344.6 sq km ‘Kuno-Palpur National Park’ in Madhya Pradesh. Later on Nauradehi in Madhya Pradesh and border area of Shahgarh in Rajasthan will also become cheetah’s new destination.
If all these efforts become successful, then in the coming days all of us will again be able to see this beautiful wildlife roaming, running and hunting in the forests of India.
Kanpur, August 30, 2022: Startup Incubation and Innovation Centre (SIIC), the technology business incubator at IIT Kanpur has partnered with Exotel. Exotel is a full-stack customer engagement platform and virtual telecom operator that offers secure and reliable communications on the cloud. Powering 70 million+ daily conversations, ExotelтАЩs unified stack enables 7000 global businesses to deliver unified CX with omnichannel capabilities and rich automation through AI voice and chatbots. In its partnership with SIIC IIT Kanpur, Exotel is extending its startup pack to the SIIC Startup community, which would enable the incubated startups to access their flagship products – Voice, SMS, Authentication, Smart IVR, SMS routing, call tracking, CRM & Helpdesk integration, SMS authentication, and other services, free of cost. To kickstart this partnership, a webinar was conducted by Mr Rajat Mittal, the Startups Partnership Manager at Exotel. The event received participation from 50 startup co-founders across different domains, i.e. healthcare, cybersecurity, AI/ML, robotics, etc. The partnership with Exotel has received requests from many companies incubated at SIIC, IIT Kanpur, expressing their interest to subscribe to ExotelтАЩs trial in order to understand the exact benefits their services will bring to their respective platforms. Exotel has been trusted and used by renowned brands such as OLA, RedBus, Quicker, Flipkart, etc. ExotelтАЩs platform is offering the following services to Startups at SIIC:
Credits worth INR 6,000 with a validity of 6 months that can be used for all three products – Voice, SMS and Authentication.
1 Exophone (virtual number) with 2 user logins and unlimited departments.
Zero software rental for the first 6 months with enterprise-grade customizations and a dedicated account manager.
Kanpur August 15, The Independence Day at the Christ Church College this year created a spirit of pride among students. Nationalistic fervor and limitless enthusiasm was visible among the college fraternity and the students on the completion of uhSeventy-five years journey of Indian Independence.
The College has been celebrating the national festival by organizing a weeklong activity by college students. Various events included a Selfie with Tiranga contest, Essay writing, Rangoli competition, Quiz, and a cultural gala on 15th August. All these events were planned and organized by the college co-curricular committee.
The event in the college started with the Tiranga flag hoisting by alumna chief guest Jayshree Tiwari Former Justice, Allahabad High Court and Principal and Secretary Prof. Joseph Daniel. The national anthem was sung.
Independence Day celebrations at Christ Church College
Dr. Mahalwal, Secretary College Alumni Association, conducted the flag hoisting program. College teachers and staff members including Dr. Sabina Bodra (Vice-Principal) and Profs. D.C. Srivastav, Shipra Srivastav, Sujata Chaturvedi, Meetkamal, Ashutosh Saxena, Shalini Kapur, and others were present on the occasion.
A colorful cultural program by students followed the flag hoisting ceremony. Swikriti performed Bharatnatyam on Vande Mataram, Shrajal and Vedant recited their self-written poems, and Vivek Paul gave a tribute to the Indian Army through his western dance. Humdah, Naba, Kashish, and Sharon filled the atmosphere with their mesmerizing singing of songs such as Jai ho, Watan mere abaad rahe tu, and Aie mere watan ke logon. The college band of Utkarsh, Ruhanika, Honey and Udit performed on Sandese aate hain and Vande Mataram. It felt like everyone was swept off into the sea of melody and nationalistic spirit.
Students performed a short play on тАЬBantwaare ki TraasdiтАЭ based on famous writer MantoтАЩs story тАЬTuba Tek Singh ” a very emotional and tear-jerking portrayal of the horrors of partition.
Cultural Committee Convener Dr. Vibha Dikshit planned and directed the short play with her team. Artists included Vedant, Dev, Nagendra, Utkarsh, Harshit, Abhishek, Priti, Gauravi, Vivek, Sahil, Priti, Rama, Sahil, Swapnil, and others.
The cultural gala concluded with a highly charged group dance on тАЬRang De Basanti.тАЭ It filled the atmosphere with a high nationalistic zeal. Vivek, Swikriti, and Maanvi choreographed the group dance, and the dancers included Swapnil, Sahil, Dev, Kashish, Anjana, Nikita, and Sneha.
Everyone was enthralled by the studentsтАЩ performances of the college cultural committee.Dr Vibha Dixit the convenor of the cultural event organized the events with her team members including Hina, Archana, Sakshi, and student representatives Vedant, Maanvi, Abhishek, Udit, Naba, Nagendra, Esha, and others.
The event enthralled everyone with immense joy and evoked love for the country. Audience greeted Tiranga over the song Ghar Ghar Tiranga.
