Mysuru, Sept. 3- An entrepreneurship meet to promote  StartUps and prospective entrepreneurs in  Karnataka  was held at CSIR-CFTRI on Aug.  22 in association with  Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC), Department of Biotechnology, Government of India. The  meet focused  on opportunities for  Start-Ups in  Food and allied areas with special reference to Biotechnology Ignition Grant (BIG) scheme.

Dr. KSMS Raghavarao, Director, CFTRI, in his welcome address emphasised that  Start-Ups are the only means to meet  large scale employment needs of the youth in the country.

 In the inaugural address, Dr. Mrutyunjay Suar,  CEO, Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT) Technology Business Incubator, Bhubaneshwar, Odisha stated that  technology business Incubators are an integrated platform for Start-Ups with a vibrant Ecosystem for innovation. He also explained about various BIRAC  Schemes  including Biotechnology Ignition Grant (BIG)  for Start-Ups in the areas of  Agriculture, Drugs, Health Care, Bioenergy, Industrial Biotechnology, Phytochemicals, Nutraceuticals, Functional Foods and  Big Data Analytics.

He appreciated the role of  CFTRI  in establishing  Nutraphyto Incubation Centre at  its campus  for  encouraging budding entrepreneurs.

Further in the session, Sanjay Srinivasamurthy, Silicon Road, Mysuru; Lingaraju, Joint Director, MSME, Mysuru and Kodagu Districts; Dr. Srilakshmi Desiraju, Triphase Pharmaceuticals, Mysuru and  Dr. Dharma Prasad,  Prosetta Biinformatics, Mysuru also spoke.

In the Technical sessions followed, Rajeev Aiyappa, Plataforma Capital, Singapore; Dr.Shriram Raghavan, Jananom Pvt.Ltd; Dr.Jagadish N. Mittur, Principal Consultant (formerly), KITS; Dr. Aswanikumar, DNAXPERTS, New Delhi;  spoke on  Investment avenues for Food Processing, Modes and Methodologies in formulating Innovative proposals for BIRAC funding, Uplifting Start-Ups in Karnataka and so on. 

A glimpse of Start-Up opportunities in North-East particularly in the area of Food Processing was provided by Subhas Bhattacharjee, Liaison Officer-NER, CSIR-CFTRI.

In the Pitching sessions, nine Start-Ups presented their ideas. Later, the  expert team  also visited NutraPhyto Incubation Centre and Instrument Facility (NPIC-CIF) at CSIR-CFTRI.