Commenting on the awards, Mr. Gaurav Marya (President, Franchise India Holdings Limited) said,“India is fast developing as a major ground for entrepreneurship owing to one of the largest youth population in the world. A majority of our country’s youth population is either aggressively exploring options to start or has already initiated something of its own. These awards have been instituted to recognize and felicitate those individuals who have dared to think out-of-the-box and have, through their passion, changed the way entrepreneurship is perceived in our country. By giving them their due recognition, we want to encourage others to take that one requisite step towards making their entrepreneurial dreams come true.”

World Chess Federation’s President Mr. Kirsan Ilyumzhinov was the chief guest for the occasion. Awardees received national recognition as the best entrepreneur entities across the country in their respective sectors. In all, there were 17 award categories spanning across different business verticals. Using a fair and rigorous award process, following people were selected for various awards:

1. Innovative Start-up of the Year – Mr. Vikas Swami, Networkers Home
2. Entrepreneur of the Year (Trading) – Mr. Rahul Mehta, Indian Home Variations & Distributions LLP
3. Entrepreneur of the Year (Consumer Business) – Mr. Subhasish Chakraborty, DTDC Courier and Cargo Ltd.
4. Entrepreneur of the Year (Manufacturing) – Mr. Sunil Chari, Rossari Biotech Ltd
5. Dynamic Entrepreneur of the Year (Business Transformation) – Mr. Vikaas Gutgutia, Ferns N Petals Pvt. Ltd.
6. Entrepreneur of the Year (Innovation in Technology) – Mr. Yogesh Bansal, ApnaCircle.com
7. Professional Entrepreneur of the Year – Mr. Om Manchanda, Dr Lal PathLabs Pvt Ltd.
8. Entrepreneur of the Year (Innovation in Financial and Business Services) – Mr. Honey Katiyal, Investers Clinic Infratech Pvt. Ltd.
9. Social Entrepreneur of the Year – Mr. S. V. Krishnan & Ms. Sudha Krishnan, ACE Experiences Asia Private Limited
10. Creative Entrepreneur of the Year – Mr. Vinod Jain, Magppie
11. Young Entrepreneur of the Year – Ms. Ameera Shah, Metropolis Healthcare Ltd.
12. Serial Entrepreneur of the Year – Mr. Harish Bahl, Fashion and You
13. Woman Entrepreneur of the Year – Ms. Shahnaz Husain, Shahnaz Herbals
14. Family Entrepreneur of the Year – Mr. Rafiq Malik, Metro Shoes Ltd.
15. Business Mentor of the Year – Mr. Sam Chopra, Remax Cybiz Centre
16. Lifetime Achievement Award – Mr. D. K. Jain, Luxor Group
17. Entrepreneur of the Year – Mr. Kunwer Sachdev, Su-Kam Power System Ltd.

On receiving the Woman Entrepreneur of the Year Award, Ms. Shahnaz Husain expressed her delight by saying,“I started my career based on the Franchise system and have never looked back. I am honored to receive the prestigious Woman Entrepreneur of the Year Award from Franchise India.”

Entrepreneur India Awards 2011 (entrepreneurindia.org) also witnessed scintillating performances by singer Shibani Kashyap and Angels Dance Troupe. The awards ceremony was a part of Entrepreneur India 2011, a two day national conference which was organized to serve as a platform for the young and aspiring entrepreneurs to get a better understanding of entrepreneurship, innovation and how to unleash the creative potential in individuals, companies and regions.

IIME is a multi disciplinary business school focusing on actionable business programs. We ensure that our education is at all times relevant to business. We deliver well trained business leaders and managers who are able to influence across organizational boundaries. We are fully committed to high quality research. We continuously invest in research activities and recruitment of academic leaders in fields such as Strategy, OB, Finance, Marketing, Retail, Operations, General Management and IT .

IIME offers you an outstanding learning environment by facilitating the best learning experience possible. Your learning experience will be influenced by the most recent developments in the field and delivered by experienced teachers, researchers, top management professionals and consultants. We draw on a deep pool of practitioners from a range of organizations.

The school has entirely new insights and differentiation strategy to help management aspirants to grow into top ranking global professionals. The training at IIME starts from the word “go” as students have to manage the institute in all respects. Students are involved in admissions, administration, faculty selection, corporate interaction, project selections, internships, placements, various events and live projects.

Read more here.

Post Independence, women entrepreneurship has significantly contributed in building modern Indian economy generating not only wealth but creating employment and worth repeating success stories which are to numerous to count. However and sadly in men dominated society, the challenges faced by them are too many but the personification of “Shakti-the Indian Women” has successfully overcome these barriers and created the “Whole new world of opportunities” where they have established and crafted edge over their male counterpart.

This one of its kind unique conference on “Women Entrepreneurship: Challenges and Opportunities” is going to focus on several such issues and bring spot light on success stories and learning experience of both renowned and also the unsung heroines. Come and join this participatory and interactive conference and share your views and contribute in the emergence of the “Power of Women Entrepreneurship”. Rightly deserved and recognized by United Nation the second decade of 21st Century (2010-2020) belongs to women leadership in all sphere of society be it political, governmental, educational, economical and successful entrepreneurship.

Read more here.

Desi S. Valli, Executive Director & COO, Net4 India, commented, “We have enabled a virtualization and cloud computing platform for our partners to allow them to get the benefits of becoming an “instant service provider”. This helps the non-infrastructural players to provide web and application services instantaneously without incurring any cost on capital equipments. It will also help them focus on Sales and Marketing whereas Net4 will take the responsibility of the network, systems, applications, security and support. Thus, we can enable even a college student to become an entrepreneur and a web and applications service provider overnight.”

About 1250 delegates from across the country, 250 per city, including Chief Executives, Senior Management, Startup entrepreneurs and web developers will be likely to participate in the Partners’ Meet.

Read more here.

The World Bank Group’s 2010 ‘Doing Business’ report ranked South Africa 34th – out of 183 countries – for the ease of doing business. The country was placed at number 45 – ahead of countries like Poland and Mexico – in terms of overall competitiveness.

South Africa was also ranked the 18th most attractive foreign direct investment destination globally. This was according to the 2007 Foreign Direct Investment Confidence Index produced by management consulting firm, AT Kearney.

It was on this premise that Zuma invited delegates at the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) Africa India Diaspora Conference, held in Durban on Saturday, to do more business with South Africa.

“South Africa is the gateway to the one billion-strong African market… Our trade and investment opportunities for the Indian business sector lie in environmental technologies, ICT, transport equipment, capital equipments, creative industries and financial services,” said Zuma.

Investment from India into South Africa is roughly R45 billion, while trade from South Africa to India is an estimated R21 billion. Bilateral trade is said to have surpassed R53.9 billion. Trade between the two countries is estimated to reach R70 billion by 2012.

Read more here.

The various annual competitions conducted by E-Cell are:

*Envision : Product Design Competition
*Eclairez : Social Entrepreneurship Challenge
*Negocio : Web 2.0 and Mobile Application based Competition
*Cleantech Challenge: Clean Technology based Business Plan Competition.

Deadline for 1st round Submission : 31st October,2010

Contact: Chanakya Hridaya
chanakya@ecell-iitkgp.org
For more details, visit http://www.ecell-iitkgp.org/competitions/

The YCE awards ceremony was held at the British High Commission, New Delhi on September 1, 2010. The awards aim to reward creative entrepreneurs based in India for their contribution to their respective sectors. The YCE award programme goes beyond simply recognising the achievements of these entrepreneurs by providing them a platform to begin a dialogue with their UK counterparts.

The program also aims to link them with potential investment and mentoring opportunities in partnership with the Indian Angel Network (IAN), which is India’s first and largest business angel network.

    The judging panel for the YCE Communications Award included the following:

    - Mahesh Murthy, Founder, Pinstorm and Managing Partner, Seedfund

    - Jai Vikram Bakshi, Founder, Digiqom Solutions and representing the
      Indian Angel Network

    - Naved Akhtar, Co-Founder, Shop

    - Rajesh Dahiya, Founder, Codesign

According to the judges, “Sandeep illustrated his entrepreneurial skills through a perfect blend of a good idea and business venture leading to ‘real’ change. He looks for improving predictability in trends as reflected through his idea of 3D imagery and shows the relevant skills for successful collaboration and tie-up with the UK.”

On being bestowed with the award, Sandeep said, “I am honoured, humbled and oh-so proud to receive this award. It not only inspires our entire team to strive for excellence but also gives us an opportunity to collaborate with the creative fraternity of UK.”

A freelance photographer turned entrepreneur, Sandeep Maheshwari’s dream is to “Create an Image of India” like never before. He says, “We will take India to the world. In a few years, we will be behind every possible visual communication about India anywhere on the globe through our visuals, animations, illustrations and 3D imagery. In other words, the world will see India through our eyes.”

With over 800,000 images, http://www.imagesbazaar.com today has the world’s largest stock of Indian images where one can search, purchase and download as per his needs. In simple words, it slashes down the cost of producing a shoot from lakhs of rupees to a few thousands and the time from weeks to a few minutes. At present, over 6000 clients in more than 42 countries use images from http://www.imagesbazaar.com for their advertising, marketing and publishing needs.

“The aim is $12 billion bilateral by 2012,” Vinayak, who handles the chamber’s Africa desk, told IANS. The two-way trade stood at $7 billion last year. The organizers have identified pharmaceuticals, healthcare, food processing, automobiles, components, biotechnology, information technology, telecommunications, infrastructure, roads and railways as the focus areas of the four-day show.

More information here.

Georgia Governor, the Honorable Sonny Perdue, and Ambassador of India to USA, Her Excellency Ms. Meera Shankar, will be among the many dignitaries attending the summit. Goal of this premier bi-national summit is to accelerate business and investment in key areas with special emphasis to connect small to large size companies.

Nominations are now being accepted from profit, non-profit, individuals, government organizations who are based in USA and India. Nominees must show outstanding entrepreneurial spirit, innovation and commitment to promote USA India Business and Trade. The call for nominations closes on 5 p.m. (EST US Time) Monday, April 19, 2010.

UIBS 2010 Awards will cover Strategic tracks/industries of interest – Exports to USA or India, Technology, Agriculture and Forestry, Healthcare including Pharma, Real Estate and Infrastructure, Venture Capital & Investment, Auto & Auto Parts, Tourism & Hotel Industries, Manufacturing, Supply Chain & Logistics, Human Resources & Manpower Development. Additional categories are; Young Entrepreneur, Outstanding Business Leader and Community Builder. Nominees will be contacted for additional information to demonstrate their eligibility for the award and interest to be nominated.

Nominees can be nominated only in one category and one could self-nominate. For nomination forms send request to usibrc@gmail.com or download from http://www.usaindiabusinesssummit.com. Awards Banquet will be held from 6:30 pm on May 10th, 2010 in presence of international media and distinguished guests.

Distinguished speakers and participants from hundreds of organizations are attending UIBS including; U.S. Senator, Hon. Johnny Isakson; President and CEO, Siemens One, Ken Cornelius; Managing Director, Head of International Banking, JPMorgan Chase’s Commercial Bank, Morgan McGrath; CEO, Mahindra Special Services Group, Dinesh Pillai; CEO, MSD Wellcome Trust Hilleman Laboratories, Dr. Altaf Lal; Head, Global Supply Chain, The Coca-Cola Company, Rick Frazier; Chief Representative – North America, Tata Sons, David Good; EVP, Georgia-Pacific, Christian Fischer; Chair of Marketing Dept., Emory University, Dr. Jag Sheth; CEO and MD, Advinus Therapeutics, Dr. Rashmi H. Barbhaiya; COO, Infosys BPO, Ritesh Idnani. UIBS organizing committee has also invited; Minister of Commerce & Industry, Hon’ble Anand Sharma; Assistant Commerce Secretary, the U.S. Foreign Commercial Service, Hon’ble Suresh Kumar.

UIBS 2010 is organized by Georgia Tech CIBER, US India Business and Research Center (USIBRC), USIII with support of the Georgia Department of Economic Development, the Metro Atlanta Chamber, the U.S. Commercial Service, Lufthansa Airlines, CII India Business Forum, WE School and sponsors including Tata Sons, JPMorgan Chase, UPS, Mahindra and Mahindra, NIIT Technologies, Career Builder and Habif, Arogeti & Wynne. Media partners are People Matters, Mera Sangeet and DARE. For UIBS 2010 registration and details visit http://www.usaindiabusinesssummit.com. For exhibition booths and sponsorship opportunities, contact Program Chair.

With the growing changes in technology revolutionizing the lifestyle of the rural masses in India, the PKSCB in its endeavor to promote bioenergy is harnessing the potential of young minds and encouraging entrepreneurship in this direction. While the urban success story of India is still being penned down, the young IITians are working toward the development and betterment of the rural masses. Known for their technological prowess, IIT KGP has the unique advantage of deploying this skill to enhance the life of these rural masses along with promoting entrepreneurship. PKSCB is currently exploring ways to adopt a few villages around the campus in order to help make them self-sufficient and sustainable, energywise.

The center brought together an eminent panel of distinguished members, who encouraged students to emulate their success stories through a knowledge-sharing session that was filled with enthusiasm and excitement from both students and panelists. The panel consisted of Dr. SP Gon Chowdhury, MD, West Bengal Green Energy Development Corporation Limited, Gyanesh Pandey, CEO, Husk Power Systems – the company that has recently created waves for their innovative technology of producing electricity from rice husk, Anish Thakkar, Co-Founder and Director, Greenlight Planet Inc. – who has successfully combined cutting-edge technology with innovative distribution networks to commercialize low-power LED solar lanterns for rural India and Dr. Prabha Kant Sinha, Founder & Co-Chairman, ZS Associates.
According to Dr. SP Gon Chowdhury, MD, West Bengal Green Energy Development Corporation Limited, “Energy is the key input for socio-economic development of a nation. The fast industrialization and rapid urbanization besides mechanized farming have generated a high demand for energy in all forms, be it thermal, mechanized or electrical. With fossil fuels having been exploited in an unsustainable manner the need of the hour is to develop alternate sources of energy that are not only sustainable but also eco-friendly”. He also welcomed the initiative IIT KGP is taking to develop alternate energy sources and sensitize young minds to the need of the hour.

With both Gynesh Pandey and Anish Thakkar sharing their experiences and answering questions for an invigorated student body, the session was exciting and educating for students opting for entrepreneurship. Said Gyanesh Pandey, CEO, Husk Power Systems, “The power to empower lies in the simplicity of the solution to complex problems while creating socio-economic value for the rural masses and at the same time creating entrepreneurship with focus on sustainable solutions.”

Dr. Prabhakant Sinha, Founder & Co-Chairman, ZS Associates, who joined the seminar through a video conferencing from Chicago, added, “While the center is focused on creating India specific bioenergy solutions it is also keen on using its knowledge base and putting it into action through products, services and business solutions. With the aim of becoming a hub for researchers and industry to gather and share knowledge and information, the PKSCB is excited to facilitate the symposium and looks forward to other initiative of the kind in the future”. Dr. Sinha encouraged youngsters towards entrepreneurship while pointing out the need for inclusive growth and creating value for the bottom of the pyramid.

The symposium ended with young IITians like Sourav Das (winner of Eureka – Business Plan competition of Entrepreneurship Cell, IIT Bombay) and Manoj Mandelia (honoured at MIT’s EmTech 2010 where he was the youngest innovator on the list) sharing their plans for entrepreneurship and their dreams to make rural India self-sufficient and sustainable.

About PK Sinha Center for BioEnergy, IIT KGP:
‘PK Sinha Center for BioEnergy’ at IIT KGP, India’s first integrated bioenergy center, is envisioned to accelerate research, education and innovation in the important field of bioenergy. It brings interdisciplinary expertise of IIT Kharagpur faculty to bear, and establish collaborations in India and around the world. This center provides a unique opportunity to apply an integrated and collaborative approach to solve energy, climate change and economic challenges.

About Entrepreneurship Cell, IIT Kharagpur: started in 2005, is a student body which promotes entrepreneurship and innovation among students of IIT and other engineering college, nourishing student ideas to profitable business ventures. It facilitates enterprise formation through various bplan competition, VC and Angel investors forum and strategy consulting. With wide array of industry stalwarts E-Cell provides round the year inspiration through guest lectures, summit and workshops. In short our motto is THINK BIG START SMALL. The cell has helped setup about 20 successful startup companies in the last five years.

NEN represents India’s largest and most dynamic community of new and future high-growth entrepreneurs, with over 70,000 members in 30 cities. It provides critical support to start-ups and early-stage entrepreneurs through high-impact entrepreneurship education; access to mentors and experts; fast-track access to incubation and funding; and learning tools and materials. It partners with over 470 top-tier academic institutes in India to help them develop vibrant entrepreneurship ecosystems on campus, which develop and support new and future entrepreneurs. In addition, it runs Entrepreneurship Week India, the country’s largest entrepreneurship-awareness campaign. In 2009, E Week India featured over 3500 events with more than 350,000 participants.

NEN was co-founded by IIT Bombay; IIM Ahmedabad; BITS, Pilani; SP Jain Institute of Management & Research, Mumbai; Institute of Bioinformatics and Applied Biotechnology, Bangalore.

It is primarily supported by the Wadhwani Foundation, a philanthropic initiative of Dr. Romesh Wadhwani, Chairman of the Symphony Technology Group, and has offices in Bangalore and Mumbai.

NEN’s model for advancing entrepreneurship rests firmly on its partnership approach, making it both scalable and effective. Rather than deliver support directly, NEN partners with academic institutes to help them build an effective and a vibrant entrepreneurship ecosystem on campus to develop and support entrepreneurs. Institutes that NEN partners with are those that are already motivated to provide entrepreneurship programmes to their students, and appreciate the investment NEN makes to enhance their ability to do so.

In addition, NEN uses a group-purchasing model to aggregate support for institutes, members and entrepreneurs. Support includes a bank of volunteers for speaking and mentoring opportunities; corporations eager to support innovation; fast-track access to funding and incubation; learning tools and materials.

Our Mission
To help individuals achieve their full potential, regardless of background.

We believe entrepreneurship is a powerful tool for individuals to realize their potential. Entrepreneurship is more than starting a business; it is a way of thinking, and a critical driver of growth in any economy. Entrepreneurs bring to market new products and services, and devise better and more efficient ways to operate. In doing so, they create valuable, productive new jobs. Successful entrepreneurs create wealth for themselves, their families, their communities and society.

Our Strategy
We employ a two-pronged strategy to fulfill our mission:

To inspire, educate and nurture new entrepreneurs, we develop and fund not-for-profit programs and organizations that create entrepreneurial education, build networks, raise awareness, perform research and help develop a supportive policy environment.

In addition, certain sections of the population need extra support – individuals who due to physical and economic constraints often do not have the opportunity to explore, let alone reach, their full potential. We therefore fund not-for-profit efforts to empower the disadvantaged, with a focus on helping the disabled gain productive employment.

It is interesting to note that the Finance Minister referred to development of eco-friendly (and world-class infrastructure) around six industrial investment nodes. This points to a focus on sustainability in future development projects. It will also mean the use of more locally developed materials, adherence to international environmental standards and better all – climate infrastructure.

In the implementation of the budgetary vision, a lot of new projects will be rolled out. Apart from the construction players, it also means more business for companies dealing in concrete, steel, paints, fabrication, rehabilitation and design software.

Implementation of safety standards and effective project management to deliver projects on time will be the key for all future projects in the country.

For this reasons, International Quality and Productivity Centre (IQPC), the global provider of tailored, industry-driven conferences, will explore successful strategies to maximize opportunities in India’s infrastructure growth in both roads and railways.

Bridges India is an exclusive two-day conference and two-day interactive workshops, taking place at the Taj Mahal hotel, New Delhi, from 24-27 May 2010. it is where regional and international experts will showcase their latest projects and discuss future plans across the full array of flyovers, elevated roads, sea-links, elevated metro structures and railway bridges.

Bridges India, hosting valuable contributions from 18 industry experts, provides an excellent platform to explore business opportunities, find solutions to construction challenges, benchmark your current practices, and build industry partnerships that will result in mutual business growth. Speakers include S.K. Malik, Additional Member (Civil Engineering), Railway Board, S.K. Nirmal, Chief General Manager (Technical), NHAI, S.M. Sabnis, Joint Managing Director (Additional Charge), MRDC and G.R. Madan, Director – MRTS, MMRDA

International projects featured include the Hong Kong-Macau Bridge and Abu Dhabi’s iconic Sheikh Zayed Bridge. The technological advancements used in construction of elevated structures from theHong Kong, Dubai and Mecca metro will also be presented.

Since this event will be attended by delegates from different companies working in the region, attendees will get the chance to be exposed to best practices and establish a networking community for the benefit of the business.

The summit is supported by Mageba Switzerland, Sofistix and Tensacciai India Pvt Ltd as Associate Sponsors and by Afcons, Encardio Rite, Pranav Construction and VSL as exhibitors.

Topics that will be addressed at the forum include: ensuring deliverability of projects on time, optimizing design to minimize materials and cost, adherence to safety standards, finding a balance between aesthetics and functionality, examining the uniqueness of railway bridges, correct selection of material and, overcoming structural engineering challenges.

For more information visit http://www.bridges-india.com

The entrepreneurs recognized were Rajendran who started 2 years back with 4 lakhs and is in the process of reaching a turnover of 2 crores, Sarala, a finalist in the Global International woman entrepreneur of the year award 2009 & highest employment provider of 40 people and Muthulingam winner of the National Citi Group Awards 2009.

The Mentors of these entrepreneurs, Mr Kailash, Ms Parul Bhatt and Mr Haribhaskar & Indian Bank Branches which supported them with assistance from Old Washermanpet, Ambattur & Vadapalani were also commended for providing the high quality support. The Branch managers of Otteri and Porur were commended for completing highest loan disbursements. The DGM of both Chennai and Kancheepuram, Mr Ulagan & Mr S Sadagopan and the BYST Selection panel member representatives, Mr T L Viswanathan, Chairman, Mr T Victor & Mr Ramamurthy were recognized for their contribution in ensuring success of this scheme.

The over 200 senior participants from Business, financial Institutions, Government, Civil Society Organizations and youth leaders took an oath that they would help to support a youngster to take up entrepreneurship.

BYST, a non-profit at the forefront of entrepreneurship development working with business leaders across India. Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), its strategic partner has been a pillar of support from its inception bringing in active participation from the SME sector. A valuable partnership forged with the Guru Nanak College today was formalized with a letter of cooperation given to the Secretary & Correspondent Mr Sardar Manjeet Singh Sethi. Mr Sethi announced that the college would coordinate and cooperate in entrepreneurial development and business guidance.

Welcoming the gathering, Ms Lakshmi V Venkatesan, Founding Trustee and Executive Vice-President, BYST, said that “Funding and the desire to succeed alone is not enough if the start up businesses are to survive & grow, especially when they are set up by underprivileged young people”,. “Guidance through mentors along with a whole range of innovative business development services is essential to nurturing and sustaining small business start ups. Bharatiya Yuva Shakti Trust has created a unique role model for youth entrepreneurship all over India, many of whom has also become millionaires and has won national, international awards.

The support extended by financial institutions such as Indian Bank for its southern regional operations and Bank of Baroda for its Northern Regional operations and the support from International Finance Corporation for the BYST growth Fund is considered as a corner stone for scaling up. Banks have a critical role to play as government of India reports still show the gap between supply and demand for credit. BYST is thankful to Indian Bank and Mr Sundera Rajan for his vision in pioneering this joint scheme. He has kindly accepted our request to make BYST’s youth targets as part of his business plan.

Mr T L Viswanathan, Chairman, Strategic Committee, BYST, briefed the gathering on the background to initiate this kind of a scheme and role of each stakeholder underscoring the importance of each partner in making this scheme succeed.

Indian Bank Chairman, Mr M S Sundera Rajan said that IB is very happy to have done this partnership Mr. Sundera Rajan reiterated that it is successes of entrepreneurs like Rajendran, Sarala and Muthulingam, made possible through BYST’s extensive mentoring program in partnership with the business community that has encouraged IB to give it special focus. He added that IB is looking to ensure that credit flow for entrepreneurs remains healthy particularly in these financially challenging times. He further said that he was looking forward to extending this partnership to other regions in course of time & was keen to in build the targets of loans under this scheme in his annual business plan from 2010 to ensure reaching more numbers.

The guests were attracted to the exposition of BYST entrepreneurs produce. Products on display ranged from attractive colorful handicrafts, intricately designed garments, heavy engineering and industrial products produced by young entrepreneurs from BYST, they along with their Mentors proudly displayed their handiworks and keenly explained to the guests.

Come March 6th and India will witness coming together of 200 Entrepreneurs – from different industries, from different stages in their business lifecycle for UnPluggd Event.

If you are an entrepreneur, you must have heard of these statements (from startups/VCs/media/bloggers etc)

• Consumer Internet is just not happening in India (i.e. one cannot build a profitable Internet company from India)
• You cannot build a global technology company from India without spending a fortune [read: cash strapped startups cannot build one]
• Global Brand from India? We don’t have many! [i.e. startups cannot even think of this!]
• You always need funding to make it big.

If you have started believing in these stories, it’s time to give yourself a hug.

And come over for the event.

UnPluGGD, a startup event, scheduled for March 6th, 2010 will change your perspective on state of entrepreneurship in India. We bring to you startups/small businesses who have made it significantly big and we want you to hear out their stories, the challenges they faced, the negative reaction that they went through.

Organized by Pluggd.in, India’s premiere website on technology startups, UnPluggd is an event to showcase ‘business’ entrepreneurship and not just ‘product’ entrepreneurship.

The theme for the event – “From Startups to Small Business” has already caught the attention of small businesses, early stage entrepreneurs and Investors.

“Building business is much more than building products and the focus for UnPluggd’s March Edition will be to showcase technology startups who have achieved phenomenal growth defying the norms.
The companies which get to present would be startups at various stages of their life cycle. They would be chosen based on one factor – disruption.” says Ashish Sinha , Founder and CEO of Pluggd.in.

These startups have built a strong brand and defied the ‘standard’ wisdom of doing business. Call them the underdogs.

“Did they raise money? How did they bootstrap? Was it really the first stroke that was successful? These startups will share their part of the story and the insights behind the success.”

Not just that, every startup can speak about itself. Share the real issues, infrastructure dependencies, monetary needs etc. Collaborate, showcase and network in an all open manner.

Notes to Editor

For sponsorship, there are slots available – interested companies can contact the team at the earliest.

Website: http://www.UnPluggd.org, or visit http://www.pluggd.in
Contact Details: ashish @ pluggd.in

Pluggd.in is a platform focused on early stage startups and brings together startups, VCs, geeks and several other parts of the ecosystem in the most democratic manner. The site is widely read by entrepreneurial community and receives a great amount of engagement.

Yi works effectively for promoting leadership skills for the development of its members through the learning programs; the development and engagement of students in schools and colleges through its 47 Students’ Net platform which engage more than 2900 students from various educational institutions across India; and a Farmers Net platform that has enrolled 5903 young & progressive farmers from all across the country, providing them with real time agricultural inputs and know-how.

Yi has successfully conducted campaigns and developed successful projects across the focus areas of primary education, environment, primary healthcare and employability, contributing positively to its surrounding eco system and the Nation. Through its initiatives like Akshara, Yi has impacted 15000 students across 50 centers, skilled & placed 713 youth under the aegis of its Yi labs employability program. Under the healthcare initiative, over two lakh children have been dewormed in addition to many health awareness programs across the community in different cities. Within the sphere of environment, Yi conducts a Green I contest, campaigns for tree plantation, solid waste management projects, involving citizens and school children in the process.

To promote a country of responsible citizens, Yi has organized “Integrity India Campaigns” to work with the youth on creating a national level awareness, debate and dialogue on the issues of transparency, accountability and ethical behavior. Yi has so far spread this message to more than 10,000 youth across the country.

Yi organises an annual national summit with themes relevant to India and its youth. The national summits include sessions and interactions with some of the finest and eminent personalities from various fields, across India and the world. 5 editions of the Summit have been organised to date.

Yi works in partnership with various organisations. These include the Government, Companies, Civil society organizations. On the international arena, Yi engages with the BMW Foundation to promote the “Indo German Young Leaders Forum” for young thought leaders from Germany and India to come on a common platform to discuss issues and find solutions for enhanced relationships. Yi also works with the Aspen India Institute to conduct leadership development programs

In 2008, Young Indians partnered with CII on the Mission on India@75: The Emerging Agenda, which reflects its aspirational role to facilitate the acceleration in India’s transformation into an economically vital, technologically innovative, socially and ethically vibrant global leader by year 2022. The Yi organisation and activities are today aligned to work towards the goals set in the vision of India@75.

With six years of glorious past and decades ahead that promise nothing short, Yi intends to become a larger movement and promote the positive attitude of “We Can, We Will”.

Fifty small to medium sized companies will be awarded grants giving them travel for one year to help support their business and seek out new opportunities. British Airways Business Opportunity Grants winners will be awarded 10 return British Airways Club World (business class) tickets to be used throughout 2010. The total value of the tickets is worth more than Rs 112,035,000/-.

Judy Jarvis, British Airways’ regional commercial manager, South Asia said, “The interest and level of applications for the British Airways’ Opportunities Grant has been very good and businesses have just a few days to make their formal application. After the 15th of January, all new applications will be closed and we will start the judging process and announce the 50 winners from India very soon. The winning SME’s will have the opportunity to use the ten business class tickets awarded to start their year long travel programme and meet their clients and prospects face-to-face and close important deals early in 2010.”

British Airways has always been in the business of connecting people. By providing opportunities for people to meet face-to-face, the airline aims to make business personal again.

For a chance to win, companies have to visit a dedicated micro-site: www.ba.com/india-grants and state their business objectives for 2010, and how a British Airways Business Opportunity Grant would benefit their organization.

Notes to Editor

Chance to win travel for a year

British Airways Business Opportunity Grants invites Indian businesses to make their case for an unmet business travel need and win travel for one year to attend crucial, face-to face meetings. The grants will allow each of the businesses 10 return Club World (business class) tickets anywhere on the British Airways network, to be used at their discretion in 2010. British Airways is covering the cost of the fare; winning companies are responsible for paying taxes, fees and charges.

Whether it’s a sit-down appointment with a potential client, buyer, investor or a visit to an office that has not been visited because of budget cuts, the programme is designed to help budget-conscious businesses get where they need to go, physically and financially.

Businesses interested in entering the competition should visit www.ba.com/india-grants to complete the entry form telling British Airways about their business objectives in 2010 and how a British Airways Business Opportunity Grant would benefit their business.

A panel of British Airways executives and independent judges, including the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) and the Confederation of British Industries (CBI) will review the entries.

Entries will be accepted until 11.59pm on January 15, 2010, and winners will be notified by the middle of February 2010, if successful.

Entries must represent companies with 250 employees or less. Full terms and conditions are available online at www.ba.com/india-grants

Recognition from UN-ESCAP, Bangkok

The EDI has been selected as a member of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) network of Centres of Excellence for HRD Research and Training.

EDI as a member of the Network will have interactive access to information on other 123 member institutions via Internet. The database on the Network is included in the ESCAP HRD Homepage (www.escap-hrd.org) on the Internet. EDI will also be invited to collaborate with ESCAP in the development and delivery of a series of ESCAP HRD courses to train social development personnel working to alleviate poverty in the region. Further, EDI as a member will also be invited to nominate their personnel to participate in a series of ESCAP HRD courses for poverty alleviation, starting in 1998.

The Centre for Entrepreneurship and Innovation is currently active in the following areas:-

• Entrepreneurial Research and Case Development: CEI aims to collaborate with faculty and fellows who have thesis topics on subjects related to entrepreneurship and innovation. The centre has also collaborated with industry to develop research cases for further study. Business models from diverse firms such as Air Deccan, Sula Vineyards and Ferns’n’Petals were covered in the cases.
• Venture Creation:CEI provides support to creation of new ventures by providing consulting services in evaluating opportunities, identifying resourse requirements, assisting in resource acquistions and managing new ventures.
• Events: As part of a new initiative, CEI has started organizing events that invite eminent speakers to share their experiences and insights to help young entrepreneurs make a smooth transition from the idea to implementation.

Mumbai, Maharashtra, December 17, 2009 /India PRwire/ — Mr. Anil Sethi, Chairman of Subhash Projects And Marketing Limited (SPML), one of India’s leading infrastructure companies was conferred the prestigious Outstanding Entrepreneur Award at the Asia Pacific Entrepreneurship Awards 2009 India. Asia Pacific Entrepreneurship Awards 2009 India is organised by Enterprise Asia – a non-governmental organization in pursuit of entrepreneurship development across the region. The Outstanding Entrepreneurs Award recognises individuals who have shown outstanding tenacity, perseverance and courage in the business.

Mr. Anil Sethi has been highly instrumental in the growth and success of SPML, one of the leading infrastructure development companies in India with more than two and half decades of multi-disciplinary experience in Water, Power, Environment, Infrastructure, Manufacturing and Technology. The company which started as a water pumps agency in Guwahati has today grown into a multi – faceted conglomerate with a turnover of Rs. 1257 crore. He has been instrumental in developing the concept of turnkey developers for non conventional energy projects in India. He has also been actively involved in developing SPML into an end-to-end water solutions provider. As the Chief Mentor, he has nurtured, developed and empowered leaders at every level of the organization. He pioneered turnkey concepts in renewable energy projects and in many integrated water supply initiatives. Further, he extended the company’s operation into technological avenues specific to utility clients.

Mr. Sethi has been the recipient of several national accolades for his strides and accomplishments in the industry. He is a recipient of The Pride of India Gold star Award, India quality Gold star Award and The Vikas Jyothi Award, amongst others.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Anil Sethi said, “I would like to thank one and all who have supported me throughout in driving SPML’s success story. Our purpose has always been to fulfill the vision of our company – build world class infrastructure with passion and innovation to make human life comfortable. It is our constant endeavor towards achieving our objective that inspires us to perform better and we hope to be able to contribute more towards the well being of the people of our country.”

This award comes just a few days after SPML was awarded the Fastest Emerging Infrastructure Development Company (Large Category) at the Construction World Annual Awards 2009.

Notes to Editor

About Subhash Projects & Marketing Ltd.:

Subhash Projects And Marketing Limited (SPML) is a leading infrastructure development company with more than two and half decades of multi-disciplinary experience in Water, Power, Environment, Infrastructure, Manufacturing and Technology. The company that started in 1981 as a water pumps agency in Guwahati has evolved today into a multi-faceted conglomerate. Promoted by the Sethi family, SPML was incorporated as a public limited company in August 1983. An ISO – 9001: 2000 certified company, SPML has executed more than 400 projects across India and has established its leadership in the contracting business.

SPML has proven business capabilities in the Water, Energy, Environment and Infrastructure domain, on a Public Private Partnership (PPP) & Build-Own-Operate-Transfer (BOOT) basis.

SPML’s vision to become a force in the global infrastructure sector is supported by its core strengths – pan India presence, 28 years of experience in turnkey projects, innovative in- house designs and engineering solutions, highly skilled team of over 2000 professionals; complimented by its focus on innovation and cutting edge technology.

This dynamic version of the conventional investor’s pitch called the Vulture’s Nest; is a competition starting from 10^th December whose finals are to be hosted in the first week of February during E-Summit 2010, which is the networking event held by E-Cell, IIT Bombay.

As opposed to a conventional investor pitch, Vulture’s Nest will be much more competitive and aggressive. The finals will have investors as well as the general public as the audience which will make the event much more happening as against a routine pitch. These Entrepreneurs will get a chance to pitch their ideas to a panel of investors in 15 minutes. This is an excellent opportunity for start-ups who do not have access to large venture capitalists and private equity firms to gain capital and visibility.

The contest will go on air on ET Now channel, starting January. The US and the UK have similar shows, but it’s the first time that such an event is being conducted in India. IIT-B will invite submissions [in the form of presentations] from December 10 to January 4. Those selected will pitch their ideas at auditions in Delhi, Bangalore and Mumbai on January 16 and 17.

The final round will have 10 candidates pitching to four investors, one of whom is US-based venture capitalist Taj Haslani. All 10 participants might get funding if the panelists like their pitches. This competition will actively help entrepreneurs as they will interact with investors and get a chance to directly get funds for their firms.

About The Entrepreneurship Cell

The Entrepreneurship Cell, IIT Bombay, is a conglomerate of individuals with a vision, a dream. It is a place for all those who shirk from taking beaten paths and believe in leaving trails in all walks of life. The Cell aims at manifesting the latent Entrepreneurial spirit of young students. Not only do we show you the doors of opportunity but we also equip you to walk through it.

If you have the entrepreneurial spark, we make sure that it bursts. Strategically placed in a leading technological institute at the heart of the commercial capital of the country gives it a bird’s eye view of both, the students and the corporate. With full-fledged support from the institute the Cell finds itself as a tide that would lift all the boats that come in it’s path.

It is the firm belief of E-Cell that original thoughts and radical ideas take shape in young minds. Students are the greatest natural resource and the Cell intends to nurture them, provide them with opportunities for excellence. It intends to pierce the corporate veil, to let the budding entrepreneurs get a feel of how the corporate world works. In all it is the cherished dream of the Entrepreneurship Cell to create corpocrats (corporates + technocrats) out of the present day technocrats.

India, Maharashtra, November 25, 2009 /India PRwire/ — British Airways today announced the launch of British Airways Business Opportunity Grants across India as part of the airline’s commitment to help India’s more than 13 million SMEs (Small to Medium Sized Enterprises) and to help stimulate local business.

The global economic downturn saw business travel budgets slashed by more than 56%*over the last 12 months. British Airways Business Opportunity Grants is designed to help drive business growth for small to medium sized companies by focusing on tangible, human connections as a crucial driver of business for Indian SMEs in this critical time.

Fifty small to medium sized companies will be awarded grants giving them free travel for one year to help support their business and seek out new opportunities. British Airways Business Opportunity Grants winners will be awarded 10 return British Airways Club World (business class) tickets to be used throughout 2010. The total value of the tickets is worth more than Rs 112,035,000/-

Judy Jarvis, country manager at British Airways, India, said, “British Airways is in the business of connecting people globally and we’re aware that the key to building successful long-term business partnerships is through face-to-face meetings. This is the best way to grow long-term relationships in business. We hope that the British Airways Business Opportunity Grants will help India’s 13 million plus SMEs to increase their revenues and help with their strategic growth plans.”

The grants will offer winning companies the opportunity to travel overseas and conduct face-to-face business meetings that will result in stronger partnerships, new projects, and revenue for India SMEs. A group of independent judges will select the 50 winners, whose entries are the most apt and original, from among all eligible online submissions.

The British Airways Business Opportunity Grants programme was launched in Mumbai with support from cricketer Mr Sourav Ganguly, Dr Indu Shahani, the Sheriff of Mumbai, and prominent businessman, Mr Suhel Seth. The scheme is simultaneously being launched in the U.S. and U.K., Hong Kong, South Africa and the United Arab Emirates. It is being extended to India, one of the British Airways’ fastest growing markets.

The Grants programme comes hot on the heels of a recent Harvard Business Review Analytical Services study which reveals that 95% of leading international businesspeople said they believe that face-to-face meetings are the key to success in building and maintaining long term relationships, and 89% agree face-to-face meetings are essential for “sealing the deal.”

For a chance to win, companies should visit a dedicated micro-site: www.ba.com/india-grants and state their business objectives for 2010, and how a British Airways Business Opportunity Grant would benefit their organization.

On board, Club World business class customers can enjoy a sleek, comfortable cabin environment; elegant and classically British. From the ergonomically designed wider seating with the six-foot-six ‘z’ bed position, more storage and greater privacy, to the state-of-the-art in-flight entertainment and Club Kitchen, the business travellers’ every need is catered for. On the ground, refreshments and business facilities in the Club World lounges at Terminal 5 ensure the business traveller benefits from feeling refreshed and ready to seize every business opportunity.

British Airways has always been in the business of connecting people. By providing opportunities for people to meet face-to-face, the airline aims to make business personal again.

Notes to Editor

* Figures taken from the Harvard Business Review study of 2,300 North American, Asian and European subscribers in June 2009

Chance to win free travel for a year

British Airways Business Opportunity Grants invites Indian businesses to make their case for an unmet business travel need and win free travel for one year to attend crucial, face-to face meetings. The grants will allow each of the businesses 10 return Club World (business class) tickets anywhere on the British Airways network, to be used at their discretion in 2010. British Airways is covering the cost of the fare; winning companies are responsible for paying taxes, fees and charges.

Whether it’s a sit-down appointment with a potential client, buyer, investor or a visit to an office that has not been visited because of budget cuts, the programme is designed to help budget-conscious businesses get where they need to go, physically and financially.

Businesses interested in entering the competition should visit www.ba.com/india-grants to complete the entry form telling British Airways about their business objectives in 2010 and how a British Airways Business Opportunity Grant would benefit their business.

A panel of British Airways executives and independent judges, including the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) and the Confederation of British Industries (CBI) will review the entries.

Entries will be accepted until 11.59pm on January 15, 2010, and winners will be notified by the middle of February 2010, if successful.

Entries must represent companies with 250 employees or less. Full terms and conditions are available online at www.ba.com/india-grants

About British Airways

British Airways has a worldwide route network that covers more than 150 destinations in 75 countries.

In August 2009, British Airways celebrated its 90th anniversary. The airline has carried more than 1.2 billion customers on its extensive network, and is recognised as one of the world’s elite carriers. It is one of the world’s largest international airlines carrying approximately 36 million passengers around the world every year.

British Airways has been flying to India for 80 years and currently operates 45 flights a week from London Heathrow to five cities: Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Bangalore and Hyderabad. British Airways operates flights to India from London Heathrow’s state-of-the-art Terminal 5 which opened on March 27, 2008 and is exclusive to the airline’s customers and is capable of handling 30 million customers a year.

In September 2009, British Airways was awarded the Best European Airline by readers of Business Traveller at the 18th Business Traveller Asia Pacific Awards.

For further information on British Airways visit ba.com