Husk Power Systems, a Bihar-based start-up that can convert rice husks into electricity, has won an inaugural global business plan competition sponsored by venture capital firm Draper Fisher Jurvetson and Cisco Systems.
The company will receive a $250,000 investment from DFJ and Cisco to help take the technology to the next level.
There were 16 finalists in the “Global Business Plan Competition” for university and business school students. They presented their business plans to judges June 30 from 15 schools in six countries through Cisco’s TelePresence technology.
Members presenting from the Husk Power Systems team were University of Virginia, Darden School of Business 2009 graduates Manoj Sinha and Charles “Chip” Ransler. They launched the company in 2007 with co-founder Gyanesh Pandey, a Bihar-based engineer.
“We’re honored to receive this recognition and opportunity, especially considering the level of competition,” said Ransler, Husk Power’s chief strategy officer.
“We look forward to working with the investment professionals at Cisco and the DFJ Global Network to make Husk Power Systems a pioneer in providing electricity to rural villages in India.”
“With this competition, we certainly witnessed that entrepreneurship has no borders, and we look forward to expanding it to even more universities worldwide next year," said Tim Draper, managing director, DFJ.
“Deciding on just one winner was difficult, especially with this caliber of candidates. We are excited to have chosen Husk Power Systems, which is especially remarkable for its alternative power technology, and we can’t wait to see how this team becomes the next game changer.”
HPS can cost-effectively convert rice husks into electricity, using 35-100 kilowatt “mini power-plants” that deliver power on a pay-for-use service to villages of 2,000—4,000 inhabitants in India’s rice producing regions.
The 31-year-old Sinha, who has an electrical engineering degree from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and worked at Intel Corp., learned first hand about power shortages in India when he grew up in Bihar.
The system produces enough electricity to supply 300-500 households for 8-10 hours a day. A byproduct is silica, a valuable ingredient in making cement. There are generators in five villages currently, with the hope to expand that to 100 in a few years.
The long-term plan, Ransler told one reporter, is to profit from the global market in credits — earned by avoiding greenhouse-gas emissions, and to sell the benefit.
Husk Power Systems previously won first place in the University of Virginia business plan competition in 2008 and the social innovation competition at the University of Texas at Austin.
Judges evaluated factors including management teams, addressable market size, competitive positioning, barriers, capital efficiency and financial projections. DFJ and Cisco said they will continue to work with the winner and other finalists to mentor the “next wave of disruptive technologies.”
The other India-based finalist in the competition was Kasaragod, Kerala-based Innoz from the LBS College of Engineering. The company developed an SMS text messaging interface for trivia and other information for 300 million Indian cell phone subscribers.link
Thursday 9 July 2009
Neetu Chandra paired opposite Chirag Paswan?
Of late there have been murmurs around Neetu Chandra being paired opposite Chirag Paswan. For the uninitiated, Chirag is the son of politician Ram Vilas Paswan and has been nurturing Bollywood dreams for quite some time now.
A source close to Neetu stated, "She may or not be a part of the project. It would be interesting though if Chirag and Neetu come together since it would be a unique pairing. Considering the fact that both of them hail from Bihar, it would be a full-on Bihar force in the offering."
The source goes on to add, "From the current generation, Neetu and Chirag are the new entrants and it would be quite an interesting preposition. They both look good together and if things work out then there is a good probability of the two being paired together for this film. In any case quite a few film personalities today are hailing from Bihar."
"We know about Madhavan and Imtiaz Ali. Other than that Jehangir Surti (director of AA DEKHEN ZARA) also hails from Bihar. Shatrughan Sinha's son and daughter would be seen on the big screen soon, Shekhar Suman has already made a good name for himself while Adhyayan Suman is showing a good rise in stocks as well", he rattles down a few names here, "It's pretty much a 'Jai Bihar' situation currently."
When contacted, Neetu refused to comment and neither agree nor deny being a part of the project. For the records, she is currently working with Tanushree Dutta, who again hails from Bihar, in Jagmohan Mundra directed APARTMENT.link
A source close to Neetu stated, "She may or not be a part of the project. It would be interesting though if Chirag and Neetu come together since it would be a unique pairing. Considering the fact that both of them hail from Bihar, it would be a full-on Bihar force in the offering."
The source goes on to add, "From the current generation, Neetu and Chirag are the new entrants and it would be quite an interesting preposition. They both look good together and if things work out then there is a good probability of the two being paired together for this film. In any case quite a few film personalities today are hailing from Bihar."
"We know about Madhavan and Imtiaz Ali. Other than that Jehangir Surti (director of AA DEKHEN ZARA) also hails from Bihar. Shatrughan Sinha's son and daughter would be seen on the big screen soon, Shekhar Suman has already made a good name for himself while Adhyayan Suman is showing a good rise in stocks as well", he rattles down a few names here, "It's pretty much a 'Jai Bihar' situation currently."
When contacted, Neetu refused to comment and neither agree nor deny being a part of the project. For the records, she is currently working with Tanushree Dutta, who again hails from Bihar, in Jagmohan Mundra directed APARTMENT.link
Mother, son burned to death in Darbhanga
A woman and her son, who was a student of an engineering college, were burned to death today in Bihar's Darbhanga town.
Sumitra Devi (40) and Mukesh Kumar (22) were charred to death at their house in Shubhankanpur area of the district headquarters town in the wee hours.
"The neighbours saw flames leaping out of their house around 4 am and informed the Fire Brigade which doused the flame. Both of them had died by then," Station House Officer of Darbhanga (Town) police station Vipin Kumar told reporters.
Traces of kerosene were found in the room where the bodies were lying and the main entrance of the house was locked from outside, he said.
Mukesh, a student of an engineering college at Raigarh in Uttar Pradesh, had come home three days ago and his two sisters were away at a relative's place in Bhagwandas Mohalla in the town when the incident took place.
Whether it is a case of suicide or murder would be known only after investigation, Vipin Kumar said, adding the two sisters were being questioned.
Sumitra Devi (40) and Mukesh Kumar (22) were charred to death at their house in Shubhankanpur area of the district headquarters town in the wee hours.
"The neighbours saw flames leaping out of their house around 4 am and informed the Fire Brigade which doused the flame. Both of them had died by then," Station House Officer of Darbhanga (Town) police station Vipin Kumar told reporters.
Traces of kerosene were found in the room where the bodies were lying and the main entrance of the house was locked from outside, he said.
Mukesh, a student of an engineering college at Raigarh in Uttar Pradesh, had come home three days ago and his two sisters were away at a relative's place in Bhagwandas Mohalla in the town when the incident took place.
Whether it is a case of suicide or murder would be known only after investigation, Vipin Kumar said, adding the two sisters were being questioned.
Solar eclipse popularises astro-tourism in India
After space tourism, it is astro-tourism that is catching up people's fancy, courtesy the ensuing total solar eclipse.
Air charter and tourist operators in India are receiving an overwhelming response for chartered flights to view total solar eclipse of longest duration in 21st century.
All set to take place on July 22, the eclipse holds special interest for scientists and general public as its path of totality passes through thickly populated western, central, eastern and northeastern regions of India.
Cox & Kings, a travel agency claims that both amateur astronomers and others are booking for the Boeing-737 that they have hired for the two-hour journey from Delhi to Gaya in Bihar to watch the rare total solar eclipse.
Each ticket is priced at rupees 79,000 (around $1,618). "Well, we have got very strong response. The airline that we are flying has 21 seats facing the sun and 21 more window seats, which are facing away from the sun, facing the earth. We call them the ''''sun side seats'''' and the ''''earth side seats''''. The sun side seats, which will have direct view of the eclipse, cost about 79,000 rupees. We are actually getting very strong response form the amateur astronomy circles in India, from the corporate world and a wide variety of audience," said Nikhil Pawar, Scientific Officer, Space Technology and Education Private Limited, Mumbai.
On July 22, the moon will totally eclipse the sun after a decade. The next total solar eclipse will take place again only in 2034.
People on board these chartered flights can watch the eclipse for almost 10 times more than those on ground. And, there are reasons attributed to such a phenomenon.
"Theoretically the totality (of the eclipse) can be only 7 minutes 30 seconds. So that is the maximum you can get, if you are stationed at one place and during that period, by chasing the moon shadow they (people in airplanes) increase the time to 74 minutes that means almost ten times than the theoretically maximum possible," Piyush Pandey, Director, Nehru Planetarium, Mumbai.
Meanwhile, hotel owners in Patna are preparing to welcome the rush of astro-tourist guests expected to halt here. "The solar eclipse on the 22nd can be seen from Bihar. The tourists will come on the 21st and 12 rooms have been booked for them in our hotel," said Vinay Pandey, owner Hotel Republic, Patna.
In India, the eclipse will commence soon after sunrise.
Surat and Vadodra in Gujarat, Indore and Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh apart from Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh and Patna in Bihar are stated to be the ideal locations for good views of the total solar eclipse.
It provides a rare opportunity to view and study this grand spectacle of nature. The partial phase of the eclipse will be visible throughout the country.
Astro-tourism comes as a surprise in a country where people for ages have been considering eclipses especially solar eclipses as bad omen.
The belief that the sun is at the mercy of two evil planets, Rahu and Ketu causing the eclipse, still prevails among a large section of people despite propagation of scientific temper among the masses.link
Air charter and tourist operators in India are receiving an overwhelming response for chartered flights to view total solar eclipse of longest duration in 21st century.
All set to take place on July 22, the eclipse holds special interest for scientists and general public as its path of totality passes through thickly populated western, central, eastern and northeastern regions of India.
Cox & Kings, a travel agency claims that both amateur astronomers and others are booking for the Boeing-737 that they have hired for the two-hour journey from Delhi to Gaya in Bihar to watch the rare total solar eclipse.
Each ticket is priced at rupees 79,000 (around $1,618). "Well, we have got very strong response. The airline that we are flying has 21 seats facing the sun and 21 more window seats, which are facing away from the sun, facing the earth. We call them the ''''sun side seats'''' and the ''''earth side seats''''. The sun side seats, which will have direct view of the eclipse, cost about 79,000 rupees. We are actually getting very strong response form the amateur astronomy circles in India, from the corporate world and a wide variety of audience," said Nikhil Pawar, Scientific Officer, Space Technology and Education Private Limited, Mumbai.
On July 22, the moon will totally eclipse the sun after a decade. The next total solar eclipse will take place again only in 2034.
People on board these chartered flights can watch the eclipse for almost 10 times more than those on ground. And, there are reasons attributed to such a phenomenon.
"Theoretically the totality (of the eclipse) can be only 7 minutes 30 seconds. So that is the maximum you can get, if you are stationed at one place and during that period, by chasing the moon shadow they (people in airplanes) increase the time to 74 minutes that means almost ten times than the theoretically maximum possible," Piyush Pandey, Director, Nehru Planetarium, Mumbai.
Meanwhile, hotel owners in Patna are preparing to welcome the rush of astro-tourist guests expected to halt here. "The solar eclipse on the 22nd can be seen from Bihar. The tourists will come on the 21st and 12 rooms have been booked for them in our hotel," said Vinay Pandey, owner Hotel Republic, Patna.
In India, the eclipse will commence soon after sunrise.
Surat and Vadodra in Gujarat, Indore and Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh apart from Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh and Patna in Bihar are stated to be the ideal locations for good views of the total solar eclipse.
It provides a rare opportunity to view and study this grand spectacle of nature. The partial phase of the eclipse will be visible throughout the country.
Astro-tourism comes as a surprise in a country where people for ages have been considering eclipses especially solar eclipses as bad omen.
The belief that the sun is at the mercy of two evil planets, Rahu and Ketu causing the eclipse, still prevails among a large section of people despite propagation of scientific temper among the masses.link
Friday 3 July 2009
Railways to set up 1,000 MW power plant with NTPC
The government on Friday said that it would set up a 1,000 MW coal-based power plant at Nabi Nagar in Bihar.
“After discussions with the ministry of power, we propose to set up a 1,000 MW power plant at Nabi Nagar in Bihar,” railway minister Mamata Banerjee said while presenting the Railway Budget.
This plant is expected to help save considerable cost of electricity to the railways.
“This project is of great importance as it would be located in an under developed tribal area and will help in providing employment and bringing the tribal people into the mainstream,” she said.
It would be executed by NTPC subsidiary under the name— Bhartiya Rail Bijli Company limited— with 74:26 equity participation by NTPC and the ministry of railways.
At present, land acquisition for the power plant is in progress.
NTPC is the country’s largest power producer with a generation capacity of nearly 30,000 MW and the company plans to add another 3,300 MW in the current financial year.link
“After discussions with the ministry of power, we propose to set up a 1,000 MW power plant at Nabi Nagar in Bihar,” railway minister Mamata Banerjee said while presenting the Railway Budget.
This plant is expected to help save considerable cost of electricity to the railways.
“This project is of great importance as it would be located in an under developed tribal area and will help in providing employment and bringing the tribal people into the mainstream,” she said.
It would be executed by NTPC subsidiary under the name— Bhartiya Rail Bijli Company limited— with 74:26 equity participation by NTPC and the ministry of railways.
At present, land acquisition for the power plant is in progress.
NTPC is the country’s largest power producer with a generation capacity of nearly 30,000 MW and the company plans to add another 3,300 MW in the current financial year.link
Bridge collapse in Bihar disrupts train service
A railway bridge collapsed in Kharpokhra in Bihar, disrupting railway services.
The bridge collapsed because of strong current of water in the Gandak river over which the bridge was constructed. All the trains plying on the bridge have either been cancelled or diverted.
"Mainly passenger trains used to ply on this bridge but now with the collapse of this bridge, some trains will be cancelled and some will be diverted to other routes," said Deepak Vishwas, Divisional Rail Manager (DRM).
The workers are toiling hard to mend the damage. However, for the time being the passengers are left stranded.
"We reached here with great difficulty, paid 60 rupees for 60 kilometres. We have to go to Gorakhpur for getting some medicines. The train service is disrupted here. There are no trains, how will we go?," asked Anand, a passenger.
Heavy rains led to a strong current in Gandak river and also the release of water from Nepal added to the flow, which caused the bridge to collapse under the heavy pressure of water.link
The bridge collapsed because of strong current of water in the Gandak river over which the bridge was constructed. All the trains plying on the bridge have either been cancelled or diverted.
"Mainly passenger trains used to ply on this bridge but now with the collapse of this bridge, some trains will be cancelled and some will be diverted to other routes," said Deepak Vishwas, Divisional Rail Manager (DRM).
The workers are toiling hard to mend the damage. However, for the time being the passengers are left stranded.
"We reached here with great difficulty, paid 60 rupees for 60 kilometres. We have to go to Gorakhpur for getting some medicines. The train service is disrupted here. There are no trains, how will we go?," asked Anand, a passenger.
Heavy rains led to a strong current in Gandak river and also the release of water from Nepal added to the flow, which caused the bridge to collapse under the heavy pressure of water.link
Primary education for all is becoming reality in Bihar
Bihar has shown the way. The enrolment in government schools has gone up in the state while more and more students are opting for private schools in the rest of the country.
The enrolment in government schools has gone up from 72.2 per cent in 2005 to 83.6 per cent in 2008. Not only that.
Eighteen lakh school dropouts (in the 6-14 age group) of a total of 25 lakh in 2005 have been brought back to school till date.
The project director of the Bihar Education Project Council, Rajesh Bhushan, attributed this to the 'School Chale Hum' programme under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SAA) launched by the Nitish Kumar government.
Taking note of Bihar's success story, the Centre has increased Bihar's budgetary allocation for SAA, earmarking Rs 4,299 crore for the year 2009-10. Uttar Pradesh on the other hand had been allocated Rs 3,800 for the same purpose, Mr. Bhushan said.
According to ASER (Annual Status of Education Report) 2008, which carried out a survey at 997 villages of 35 districts on three basic parameters -- school enrolment, reading skill and arithmetic skills, Mr. Bhushan said that the proportion of out-of-school girls in the state had also dropped from 20.1 per cent in 2005 to 2.92 per cent in 2009.
BEPC sources said that the maximum number of children who have returned to schools were Muslims. In March 2008, the Muslim child population in the state in the age group of 6-14 was nearly 33.06 lakh and of them only 2.83 lakh were now out of school.
With more than two crore children in the age group of 6-14 enrolled in schools, it became imperative to strengthen the primary education infrastructure across the state, Mr. Bhushan said.
He said that the SAA succeeded in Bihar due to a number of innovative measures undertaken by the BEPC to make primary education student friendly.
Under the scheme, 15,000 new school buildings were constructed and 1,20,451 additional class rooms were added to schools till March, 2009, the sources said.
He said that schemes such as 'Bal Sansad' (child parliament), Meena Manch (girls club) Hunar (vocational training for muslim girls), Uthan kendra, Talimi Markaz, Martial arts for girls, English is fun and computer-aided learning were launched.
The 'Bal Sansad' or child parliament is a unique feature of the scheme under which parliament members motivate other children in their neighbourhoods to join the schools, Bushan said.
Similarly, at Uthan kendras out-of-school mahadalit children were given bridge courses to enable them to enter formal primary schools at class five level.
The Talimi Markaz was launched for Muslim students at 224 centres and Hunar is aimed at imparting vocational training to Muslim girls.
Over 13,768 minority girls are benefiting through vocational skill development training in 298 centres across the state in jute production, bakery and confectionary, certificate course in health of rural women, early childhood care and techonology, cutting, tailoring and dress making and beauty culture.
Mr. Bhushan said the state had fixed 2010 as the deadline for providing quality primary education to all children in the age group of 6-14.link
The enrolment in government schools has gone up from 72.2 per cent in 2005 to 83.6 per cent in 2008. Not only that.
Eighteen lakh school dropouts (in the 6-14 age group) of a total of 25 lakh in 2005 have been brought back to school till date.
The project director of the Bihar Education Project Council, Rajesh Bhushan, attributed this to the 'School Chale Hum' programme under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SAA) launched by the Nitish Kumar government.
Taking note of Bihar's success story, the Centre has increased Bihar's budgetary allocation for SAA, earmarking Rs 4,299 crore for the year 2009-10. Uttar Pradesh on the other hand had been allocated Rs 3,800 for the same purpose, Mr. Bhushan said.
According to ASER (Annual Status of Education Report) 2008, which carried out a survey at 997 villages of 35 districts on three basic parameters -- school enrolment, reading skill and arithmetic skills, Mr. Bhushan said that the proportion of out-of-school girls in the state had also dropped from 20.1 per cent in 2005 to 2.92 per cent in 2009.
BEPC sources said that the maximum number of children who have returned to schools were Muslims. In March 2008, the Muslim child population in the state in the age group of 6-14 was nearly 33.06 lakh and of them only 2.83 lakh were now out of school.
With more than two crore children in the age group of 6-14 enrolled in schools, it became imperative to strengthen the primary education infrastructure across the state, Mr. Bhushan said.
He said that the SAA succeeded in Bihar due to a number of innovative measures undertaken by the BEPC to make primary education student friendly.
Under the scheme, 15,000 new school buildings were constructed and 1,20,451 additional class rooms were added to schools till March, 2009, the sources said.
He said that schemes such as 'Bal Sansad' (child parliament), Meena Manch (girls club) Hunar (vocational training for muslim girls), Uthan kendra, Talimi Markaz, Martial arts for girls, English is fun and computer-aided learning were launched.
The 'Bal Sansad' or child parliament is a unique feature of the scheme under which parliament members motivate other children in their neighbourhoods to join the schools, Bushan said.
Similarly, at Uthan kendras out-of-school mahadalit children were given bridge courses to enable them to enter formal primary schools at class five level.
The Talimi Markaz was launched for Muslim students at 224 centres and Hunar is aimed at imparting vocational training to Muslim girls.
Over 13,768 minority girls are benefiting through vocational skill development training in 298 centres across the state in jute production, bakery and confectionary, certificate course in health of rural women, early childhood care and techonology, cutting, tailoring and dress making and beauty culture.
Mr. Bhushan said the state had fixed 2010 as the deadline for providing quality primary education to all children in the age group of 6-14.link
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