1
From page 1 NATIONAL GAMES PLANS STILL OFF TRACK According to KSC president Padmini Thomas, the main- tenance work has finally picked up. Chief Minister Oommen Chandy will be inaugurating the Indoor Recreation Centre (IRC) in Shanghumugham on Friday, which would be hosting a display of the Chinese martial art, Wushu. “Wushu and karate which are not Olympics events, have been included in the 35th National Games. We have already appointed coaches for these and are waiting for the announcement as to when the training camps can start functioning,” said Ms Thomas. While 16 events are sched- uled to take place in the cap- ital city alone, the rest will be held at Kollam (two events), Alappuzha (three), Kochi (six), Thrissur and Kozhikode (four each) and Kannur (two). “I can tell you that the chairman of the coordina- tion committee of IOA, K.Murugan and his team, S.M. Bali and Rakesh Gupta, will be here to evalu- ate the infrastructure. They will then file a report to the IOA, after which the exact dates will be announced. But as of now, we are projecting December 2013- January 2014 for the 35th National Games,” said Anil Kumar. Government will ensure higher salary for gov- ernment doctors working within corporation limits –– Manjalamkuzhi Ali Urban affairs minister SPECIAL QUOTE OF THE DAY PAGE 2 I wonder how a party like CPM can go forward distrusting its own leaders: K.M. Mani P.A. Alexander elected president of Senior Journalists’ Forum-Kerala TUESDAY 14 | MAY 2013 KOZHIKODE START UP Technology Business Incubator at NIT, Calicut is opening newer avenues for youngsters HAVE IDEAS, GROW BIG JOSE KURIAN | DC KOZHIKODE, MAY 13 When the young and ambi- tious want to go off the treaded path of becoming cogs in the MNC wheel and hope to give concrete shape to innovative pur- suits, the technology busi- ness incubator (TBI) of National Institute of Technology (NIT) here has come in handy. It has in its nine years incubated 40 start-ups generating more than 500 job opportunities and an annual turnover of `25 crore. Supported by the National Science and T e c h n o l o g y Entrepreneurship Development Board (NST- EDB), the TBI has been catering to youngsters who want to start their own entrepreneurship ven- tures in information and technology. Till a few years ago, the number of eligible candi- dates applying for the facil- ity was very less, of whom just around two or three were selected. But the scene is different now with umpteen applications com- ing and five or six easily getting selected, TBI man- ager M. Preethi told Deccan Chronicle. “A startup company gets a space of 250 sq ft for ` 2,500 per month which is sufficient to accommodate a group of up to six apart from financial aid to meet the start up costs at an interest of 6 per cent,” she said. TBI also ensures 87 per cent sustenance of the incubated units. Zesty Beanz Technologies Pvt Ltd., incubated here, even won the ISBA (Indian step and business incubators’ asso- ciation) national award for best performing incubatee in 2010. NITC TBI chairman Jose Mathew says it is the right time for the TBI to expand. “With just a few personnel dedicated to the mission, we have made giant leaps,” he said, adding that the TBI would be remodeled in tune with IIT standards. A proposal to have its own building complex was on the cards, he said. TBI functions in associa- tion with the Union min- istry of information and communication technolo- gy (MICT) and the Technology Development Board (TDB). It has received a grant of `1.5 crore for providing seed fund assistance to selected companies. TBI also obtained a grant of `1 crore from TDB and `30 lakhs from the National Science and Technology Entrepreneurs’ Devel- opment Board. From these funds, it provides assis- tance to 15 startup compa- nies at an affordable inter- est rate of just 6 per cent. Arbitron India, an enter- prise doing media research in the US market is an anchor company. Moreover, TBI also has a centre of excellence on the campus to promote industry-academia inter- action. So far, TBI has hatched as many as 22 companies and 18 are under incubation. TECHNOPARK STARTED IT ALL IN 2007 DC CORRESPONDENT KOZHIKODE, MAY 13 The history of successful business incubation in the state dates back to 2007 when Technopark in Thiruvananthapuram launched Technology Business Incubator (TBI) focusing at telecom services. Though the TBI at NIT, Calicut was launched in 2003, it became an inde- pendent entity only in 2009. Technopark CEO Gireesh Babu told DC that it was a visit by a group of technocrats from Silicon Valley who interacted with experts and youngsters at Tech- nopark that served as the inspiration behind TTBI. Technopark has so far incubated about 182 com- panies. “If somebody has a brilliant idea but is struggling to source suffi- cient funds, TBI will ensure him all technical support and funding,” he said. Mob Me, the first com- pany incubated at Techn- opark has now grown into a major player with worldwide operations. It remits an amount of `5.4 crore as tax alone. TTBI was adjudged as the best in Asia in 2012 and second-best in the world in 2011. Winsome entrepreneurs ` 1.5 crore Mural Project launched in Kottayam DC CORRESPONDENT KOZHIKODE, MAY 13 Most of the CEOs who are still on campus but left after the incubation period to achieve new heights, nurture fond memories. “I always cherished a dream to start a business on my own and was toying with several ideas when I heard about the short pro- gramme at NIT,” recounts Nishant T., who with wife Jitha launched Wiinnova Software Labs Pvt. Ltd., which focuses on mobile application development and enterprise solutions. “The 40-day programme provides an unique oppor- tunity for any wannabe entrepreneur to learn the basics of starting and run- ning an organization from scratch,” he says, Right from legal and govern- ment-related hurdles, everything about starting up is covered under the programme. “It was NIT that opened the door to progress for us,” said Lapeesh Paratt who launched Zesty Beans, an IT company with an investment of just `8,000 at TBI in 2009. With a turnover of about `2 crore and operations for compa- nies in 40 nations, Zesty Beanz is a prominent MNC today. An alumnus of Government engineering college, Palakkad, Lapeesh feels that NIT TBI provides an excellent platform for any ambitious entrepre- neur. “We were supported by sufficient funds in the form of grants and soft loans,” he added. “The guidance from the quali- fied NIT faculty also has played a key role in mould- ing us,” Lapeesh adds. The experience of five friends — Abdul Gafoor, Ameen Islahi, Abdul Majeed, Ashok and Pavanan Ghosh — who jointly launched Infinite Open Source Solution LLP is also similar. Interestingly, all these youngsters gave up com- fortable jobs to float their own firm. Established in 2009, the company shifted to its own building recently. The cutting-edge web-based business management soft- ware of the group has been facilitating smooth busi- ness operations in more than 200 organizations, spanning 36 countries. Abdul Gafoor, one of the company directors, told DC that the training helped in learning how to run a company successful- ly and how to handle it in a structured manner. “The interactions with various people in the sector also proved beneficial,” he added. Moreover, the financial assistance at the initial stage also was very crucial, he said. With a `1 crore turnover and 25 employees, the com- pany aims at a `2.5-crore turnover and an increase in headcount to 65 next year. DC CORRESPONDENT KOTTAYAM, MAY 13 The `1.5 crore Mural City project, which will see as many as 350 artists from both within the country and abroad create murals at 20 different locations in Kottayam over 13 days, got off to a start with Cultural Minister K.C. Joseph inaugurating it on Monday. A five-day international mural camp was held in Kottayam in the third week of April to extract the natural colours needed for creating the murals. “The initiative taken by the Kerala Lalithakala Academy will change the profile of Kottayam and will give it a new place on the tourism map of India,” said Mr Joseph, advising the Kottayam municipali- ty to protect the murals that will be exhibited in public places. “Besides creating these murals, the job of protect- ing them is equally strenu- ous , especially as they will adorn public places,” he noted. Kerala Lalithakala Academy chairman K.A. Francis said as many as 40 murals will be created at 20 locations including the Thriunakkara temple, CSI Church near the Collectorate, Sree Krishna temple in Thirunakkara, the Pallipurathukavu tem- ple in Kodimatha, the Puthan Angadi Church, Cheriya Palli near Uppoottil junction, the dis- trict hospital, the district panchayat office, the Collectorate, Mammen Mappillai Hall, head post office, railway station, municipal office, East police station, and the Press Club. Home minister Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan presided on the occasion, and the chief guest was noted painter Lakshma Gowda. FOND MEMORIES DEDICATION of technocrats from Silicon Valley who interacted with experts and youngsters at Technopark that served as the inspira- tion behind TTBI –– Gireesh Babu CEO, Technopark It was a visit by a group We were sup- ported by suffi- cient funds in the form of grants and soft loans. The guidance from the qualified NIT faculty also has played a key role in moulding us —Lapeesh Paratt launched Zesty Beans in 2009 A startup company gets a space of 250 sq ft for `2,500 per month apart from financial aid to meet the start up costs at an interest of 6 per cent — M. Preethi Manager, TBI, NITC Nishant T. and wife Jitha launched Wiinnova Software Labs Pvt. Ltd. With just a few personnel dedicated to the mission, we have made giant leaps. The TBI would be remodeled in tune with IIT standards. — Jose Mathew Chairman, TBI, NITC TBI also ensures 87 per cent sustenance of the incubated units. NOTED TBIs IN KERALA ■ Technopark in Thiruvananthapuram ■ National Institute of Technology, Calicut ■ Info Park start-up village, Kochi ■ Amritha Institute of Technology, Kollam ■ TBI established at Technopark in 2007 ■ Adjudged best in Asia in 2012 ■ Second-best in world in 2011. ■ First incubated company: Mob Me ■ 96 percent success rate: one of the best ■ Started in 2003 ■ Becomes inde- pendent entity in 2009 Zesty Beanz Technologies Pvt Ltd. incu- bated at NIT won ISBA (Indian step and business incuba- tors’ associa- tion) award for best performing incubatee in 2010. TBI AT NIT IN SHORT IN FIGURES Total companies 40 ANNUAL TURNOVER `25 crore EMPLOYMENT 500 techies Scores of devotees thronged the Guruvayur Sree Krishna Temple on Monday to participate in the Akshaya Tritiya cele- brations and purchase gold coins embossed with the image of Lord Guruvayurappan. According to Devaswom authori- ties, gold coins worth `51 lakh were sold till noon when the temple was closed for the ‘Ucha Pooja’. —DC AKSHAYA TRITIYA CELEBRATIONS AT GURUVAYUR WHAT THEY SAY... Team ‘Infinite Open Source Solution’ during the opening of new office recently near NIT, Kozhikode. —DC ■ Heavy rainfall warning for Kerala: Nil ■ Heavy rainfall warning for Lakshadweep: Nil ■ Warning for fishermen: Strong winds from north-westerly direction speed occasionally reaching 45-55 kmph likely along and off Kerala coast and over Lakshadweep in the next 24 hours commencing 2 pm of May 13. Weather forecast for cities ■ Thiruvananthapuram: Partly cloudy. The maximum temper- ature will be around 34 degree Celcius. ■ Kochi: Partly cloudy. The max- imum temperature will be around 35 degree Celcius. ■ Kozhikode: Partly cloudy. The maximum temperature will be around 35 degree Celcius. Weather forecast Tick the answer and check DECCAN CHRONICLE tomorrow to discover how good you are. 1 Name the first person of African-American origin to serve as governor of a US state. ■ Douglas Wilder ■ P.B.S. Pinchback ■ Oscar James Dunn 2 Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons is a set of con- certos composed for which musical instrument? ■ Violin ■ Tuba ■ Piano 3 Who was the first Chief Justice of India (inde- pendent India)? ■ Sir Harilal Jekisundas Kania ■ M. Patanjali Sastri ■ Mehr Chand Mahajan The DC Quiz The answers to yesterday’s questions are: 1. Matthew Webb 2. Dave Gregory 3. To escape the Black Plague Death is never easy to deal with and having to inform others about it is painful and heartbreak- ing. Let us help you in your hour of need at no cost to you. Send in details of the deceased to kerala@decca- nmail.com and we will put out an obituary. Obit As many as 350 mural artists from both within the country and abroad will take part in the 13- day-long project.
