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In the pursuit of becoming a global fintech hub, the Tamil Nadu government has constituted a FinTech Governing Council under the chairmanship of the Industries Minister Thangam Thennarasu with Chief Secretary V Irai Anbu as the Vice Chairman.

Guidance Tamil Nadu’s Managing Director & CEO Pooja Kulkarni will be the Councils’ convenor, said a tweet by Guidance Tamil Nadu.

Investment conclave
The announcement to set up the Council comes as a precursor to the launch of the fintech policy at the Investment Conclave to be held in Coimbatore on November 23. Chief Minister MK Stalin will preside over the event.

TN to announce fintech policy at investment conclave

The Council will have senior bureaucrats — Industry Secretary S Krishnan, Finance Secretary N Muruganandam, IT Secretary Neeraj Mittal and MSME Secretary Arun Roy — as members representing government departments. Sanjay Tyagi, CEO of FinBlue and Director of STPI-Chennai will also be a member.

The industry will be represented by Ramkumar Ramamoorthy, former CMD of Cognizant India, Balaji Nuthalapadi, MD & Head of Operations, Citi South Asia, and Sundar Kannan, Director of a leading Wall Street investment banking corporation as members.

Interestingly, the Bengaluru Tech Summit in Karnataka on Thursday launched a task group for fintech growth to create a roadmap for the growth of the industry.

Fintech City
Fintech is an emerging sectors that the State government is strongly promoting. The Tamil Nadu government has already kickstarted the implementation of a fintech city in Chennai by Tidco at a cost of ₹165 crore.

 ‘Fintech has the potential of becoming a major employment generator in TN’

The fintech city will also supplement the efforts of FinBlue, a fintech Centre of Excellence hosted at STPI, Chennai, which identifies, nurtures, funds and scales fintech startups.

It major Infosys has bagged the ‘IT Ratna of Karnataka’ award for the company’s outstanding performance in IT exports in the above Rs 10,000 crore category.

IT major Infosys has bagged the ‘IT Ratna of Karnataka’ award for the company’s outstanding performance in IT exports in the above Rs 10,000 crore category. Apart from this award, 20 other companies, including Wipro, Mindtree and TCS, were awarded ‘IT Pride of Karnataka’ award given by STPI (Software Technology Parks of India) and the Karnataka State Government, as part of the Bengaluru Tech Summit that began  in Bengaluru on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Chimera Technologies Co-founder and CEO Padma Duraiswamy bagged the ‘Woman Entrepreneur of the Year-IT’ award  and the ‘High Growth in Exports- IT/ITES’ award (exports greater than Rs 1000 crore and up to Rs 2000 crore) was bagged by Standard Chartered Global Business Services.

The Tamil Nadu government has already kickstarted the implementation of FinTech city in Chennai Tidco issuing a tender to select a Project Management Consultant for the ₹165 crore project.

Tamil Nadu will release a FinTech policy at the Tamil Nadu Investment Conclave 2021 to be held in Coimbatore on November 23, according to sources in the know.

This is the first major investment conclave outside Chennai as the State government wants to broadbase investments. The conclave will be presided over by Chief Minister MK Stalin where many MoUs will be signed, apart from foundation stone laying and inauguration of projects and roundtable sessions planned during the one-day event.

In February 2018, Maharashtra was first State to announce a Fintech policy to support the sector with a vision to make Mumbai a Global Fintech Hub. Karnataka government plans to set up a Centre of Excellence for Fintech.

FinTech is one of the emerging sectors that the State government is strongly promoting. The Tamil Nadu government has already kickstarted the implementation of FinTech city in Chennai with Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation (Tidco) issuing a tender to select a Project Management Consultant for the ₹165 crore project.

The State government through FinTech City wants to create an ecosystem in FinTech to attract both domestic and overseas financial institutions and to transform Chennai as one of the major global financial services centres. It will be developed with the requisite supporting infrastructure to accommodate financial institutions such as banking, non-banking financial services, financial BPO; regulatory institutions, financial market operations and training centres.

The FinTech city will also supplement the efforts of FinBlue, a FinTech Centre of Excellence hosted at STPI, Chennai, which identifies, nurtures, funds and scales FinTech startups. The State government had contributed ₹5.75 crore for the centre.

Incap Contract Manufacturing Services Pvt Ltd has been honoured with the prestigious IT Exports Award for the year 2020–2021. The award was granted by the STPI (Software Technology Parks of India) of Karnataka, and Incap was selected once again for the award under the category “Highest Exporter in Electronic Hardware –  Bengaluru”.

Mr Murthy Munipalli, Managing Director of Incap India, will receive the award during the “STPI IT Export Awards Function”, which will be held during the event “Bengaluru Tech Summit - 2021” on 17 November 2021.

Mr Munipalli stated that the company is honoured to be continuously recognised for the award. “The times are challenging for people and businesses around the world. Thus we are even more grateful for receiving the award and being recognised for what seems to be solid continuity of business success. This award stands as proof of our people’s extraordinary efforts, skills and innovative thinking - it is embedded in our business DNA to always think and plan ahead,” he stated. 

Furthermore, Mr Munipalli emphasised the importance of good community relations and communication with partners and customers. “This recognition is received thanks to our great cooperation with partners, customers and the local community here in Tumkur - we exist together and offer mutual support for each other.”

This is the 5th time for Incap to receive the prestigious STPI IT Exports Award, as the company has been granted the award also in 2013, 2016, 2019 and 2020. Mr Munipalli stated that Incap is proud to work in Karnataka, which is the heart of the electronics and IT sector while forming almost half of the country’s performance in this field.

Incap India factory is located in Tumkur, near Bangalore. The floor space of the facilities will amount to approximately 16,000 square metres after the ongoing expansion project in the factory premises in 2021. The factory produces inverters and UPS, PCBs for fuel and cash dispensers, power supply units, rescue devices, solar inverters, drives and medical devices as well as devices for other electronic industrial products. To meet the growing demand, Incap has been increasing the production capacity in India. One expansion project has already been finalised, the second one is close to being finalised and the third factory project is proceeding as planned.

Incap India has been a member of STPI since 2007. All STPI Member Units from the State of Karnataka have contributed to the tune of 41% to the total IT/Electronic Hardware Exports under STPI from the country. 

In August 2021, ZINI was selected for the Startup Punjab seed grant award. In March 2021, ZINI won a grant of Rs 25 lakh under the Startup India - NGIS (Next Generation Incubation Scheme) started by the STPI (Software Technology Park of India).

Founded by Dr Rohit Sharma in May 2017, Delhi-based ZINI is an AI-based virtual physician trained on medical data. Last month, the healthtech startup raised pre-Series A funding from Solarus Group, a London-based VC and PE firm.

The importance of family doctors was increasingly felt during the coronavirus pandemic when people started becoming more concerned about their health. But in the absence of family doctors, who do we approach during medical emergencies? 

As per a recent report, the doctor-patient ratio in India currently stands at 1:1,445, which is lower than WHO recommendation of 1:1000. In government hospitals, there is one doctor for every 10,000 patients. There are PHCs (primary health centres) with no doctors at all. 

The lack of genuine medical advice at the right time can be detrimental for a patient. To solve these challenges, Dr Rohit Sharma came up with ZINI, a flagship product of Delhi-based GRAINPAD Pvt Ltd. 

Founded in May 2017, the healthtech startup is an AI-powered, voice-based virtual physician that provides medical guidance and directs patients to seek timely medical help. 

According to Rohit, ZINI can address the gap in doctor-patient ratio in India. ZINI can also help gather structured data, which can promote research and help policymakers make data driven decisions about their communities.  

How does it work?
Accessible through an app, ZINI allows users to ‘talk to ZINI’ about any medical symptom or health issues. With an Alexa-like experience, the app can evaluate 950+ health symptoms, 300+ diseases, provide a detailed report, recommend the course of action and share details of nearby medical facilities that a patient can reach out to. 

When a patient calls a doctor, the doctor usually tries to figure out why they have a fever. “There are 200+ causes of fever. Until the doctor does not know “Why” the patient has a fever, they cannot advise further course of action. By talking to the patient, the doctor tries to extract more information to know the exact cause of the fever. This interview process is called ‘History taking’ a.k.a ‘patient interview’ step in clinical care. Only after this thorough interview can the doctor determine what is the cause of these symptoms and what is the ideal course of action,” Dr Rohit tells YourStory.

ZINI is a virtual intelligence that can automate the process of ‘history taking’. It is a ‘history taking’ bot, he says. '

“So far, in all of human history, only human doctors could do this. This is because the interview process requires three things -- knowledge (of medical science), intelligence, and intuition (from experience). But today, using the power of Data and AI, this process can be replicated by virtual agents like ZINI,” Rohit says.

“This technology is incorporated in various products. Some of those include ZINI the Android App, an OPD Management system, a medical API, and a 5-minute clinic system,” he adds. 

The company has been a part of the Startup Punjab Hub (Neuron) at STPI Mohali since 2018. Startup Punjab, which is the state government’s nodal cell for promoting innovation and entrepreneurship, had recently awarded the GRAINPAD ₹3 lakh as funding

Backed by the Punjab government’s Startup Punjab Hub (Neuron), a research and innovation company ‘GRAINPAD Private Limited’ has raised ₹101.74-crore funding for its artificial intelligence medical product.

“The product ZINI can be used in OPD and hospital waiting areas. It will carry out a thorough interview and redirect patients to the doctor of the correct specialty. Thus, saving doctors’ and patients’ time” the company’s chief executive officer-cum-managing director Rohit Sharma said.

The company has been a part of the Startup Punjab Hub (Neuron) at STPI Mohali since 2018. Startup Punjab, which is the state government’s nodal cell for promoting innovation and entrepreneurship, had recently awarded the GRAINPAD ₹3 lakh as seed grant.

Secretary-cum-director, industries and commerce, Sibin C, who is also state startup nodal officer, said that to encourage entrepreneurship in Punjab, the state government offers various fiscal incentives, including seed funding, interest subsidy, and lease rental subsidy, as outlined in the industrial and business development policy (IBDP), 2017. “All incentives that are available for MSME units are also available to startup units as per IBDP 2017,” he said in a statement.

Software Technology Parks of India-Bhubaneswar organised visit of School on the occasion of World Science Day which is observed worldwide on 10th of November 2021. In this occasion, around hundred students from two reputed Schools of the City like DAV CS Pur and Sai International School visited the STPI ELITE facility. The Students witnessed modern State-of-the-art facilities like Electropreneur Park (ESDM Incubation), Digital Fabrication Lab (Set up in collaboration with Fab Foundation, MIT, USA) and Tier III Data Centre which are being set up to promote Start-ups & Innovation as well as to cater the need of IT exporting units, Start-ups, Professional, Students & Researchers in the State.

The objective of the Program is to exhibit STPI’s facilities and services among School Students to make them abreast on the Technological Innovation which has taken place as well as to encourage them for Innovation, to be Creative as well as to aspire for an Innovation led Entrepreneurship in future. During the visit, a IT quiz completion was held among students and the top performers were presented with Certificates.

It is pertinent to mention that, Software Technology Parks of India (STPI), under the Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology, Government of India was set up with distinct focus of promoting IT/ITES/ESDM Industries and boosting the export Software and IT services from the country. Since inception, STPI is working in the forefront for bringing entrepreneurial revolution, start-up and innovation and becomes a key driver for several of the flagship programs of Government such as Digital India, Make in India & Make in Odisha. At present, STPI has 61 Centres across the country including four Operational STPI centres at Bhubaneswar, Rourkela & Berhampur & Balasore in the State of Odisha engaged primarily for boosting IT exports and fostering innovation.

Addressing the Students after presentation of Certificates to the top performers on the occasion of World Science day, Shri Manas Panda, Director, STPI-Bhubaneswar enlightened about the seminal role played by STPI to fulfil the vision of Government to drive the rise of India as an Innovation Hub and make the country a global leader in Technological Innovation though grooming of young mind & talents.

Backed by Punjab Government’s Startup Punjab Hub (Neuron), a Research and Innovation company ‘GRAINPAD Private Limited’ has raised funds from Solarus group at a valuation of Rs 101.74 Crores.

Dr Rohit Sharma, CEO-cum-MD GRAINPAD, thanked the Punjab Government for their enormous support. “We have been a part of the Startup Punjab Hub (Neuron) at STPI Mohali since 2018. The continued support and efforts of the whole Startup Punjab team has helped us reach so far, ” he said.

He said that the recent recognition and seed grant by Startup Punjab gave their company the needed boost for further establishing their validation in international markets.

According to the information, Startup Punjab, which is Government of Punjab's nodal cell for promoting innovation and entrepreneurship, has recently awarded the GRAINPAD with Rs 3 lakhs as seed grant.

Secretary-cum-Director Industries and Commerce Mr Sibin C, who is also State Startup Nodal Officer said that to encourage entrepreneurship in Punjab, the State Government offers various fiscal incentives including Seed Funding, Interest Subsidy, Lease Rental Subsidy as outlined in Industrial and Business Development Policy (IBDP), 2017. Furthermore, all incentives which are available for MSME units are also available to Startup units as per IBDP 2017, he said.

“Punjab has a rich tradition of entrepreneurship that dates back several decades, and Punjabis have gone on to establish strong businesses in different sectors such as Agri and Food Processing, Textiles, Pharmaceuticals, IT/ITeS, Steel, Manufacturing, Mobility etc.” said Mr Sibin C.

Talking about recent initiatives of the Startup Punjab, he said that they have started Punjab Student Entrepreneurship Scheme in collaboration with department of Technical Education and department of Higher Education, and the 500-seater Startup Punjab Hub (Neuron) at STPI Mohali, which will offer plug-n-play space to startups and has a state-of-the-art AI/Data Analytics Lab.

Startup Punjab Cell is committed to strengthening the startup ecosystem of the state by providing mentorship, fiscal support, incubation and acceleration support, ” he said.
Meanwhile, GRAINPAD has developed an Artificial Intelligence medical product named ZINI which can be implemented in OPD and Hospital waiting areas for patients to complete a thorough interview, redirect patients to the right specialty which will save both doctors’ and patients’ time.

The STPI has tied up with the NGIS fund which is aimed at supporting start-ups set up in tier II and tier III towns across India

The STPI (Software Technology Parks of India) has said the first tranche of investments into start-ups from the ₹120-crore Next Generation Incubation Scheme (NGIS) venture capital fund will be made in the next few weeks.

The STPI has tied up funds for the NGIS fund, which is aimed at supporting start-ups set up in tier II and tier III towns. The fund aims to foster start-ups in smaller towns that don’t find financial resources to support their ventures.

“We have selected 42 start-ups from about 1,820 applications that we received in Chunauti 1.0 after a multi-tier selection process,” Omkar Rai, Director-General of STPI, told BusinessLine. “We have onboarded 38 start-ups working in domains such as fintech, agritech,medtech and edutech. We are hoping to release the first tranche of funds from the ₹120-crore venture capital fund in the next few weeks,” he said.

Focus areas

Pontaq Venture India LLP has been appointed as the manager of the fund. The STPI has committed ₹60 crore towards its contribution to the fund. The STPI, which played a major role in promoting IT exports from the country, unveiled a plan last year to foster the start-up ecosystem in different parts of the country. It has also opened Centres of Excellence (CoE) in emerging technologies like artificial intelligence, machine learning, big data analytics, blockchain, augmented/virtual reality and IoT. The STPI said its 2.0 version would focus more on non-metros and places like the North-East, where abundant IT talent is available. The NGIS venture capital fund, however, is likely to limit its exposure to not more than ₹25 lakh.

The STPI is planning to hold nationwide ‘challenges’ to select start-ups for offering financial support and mentorship. The seed funding of up to ₹25 lakh would be provided to the shortlisted start-ups. The disbursals would be based on milestones achieved and periodic reviews. The seed funding will be in the form of equity participation by the STPI.