Junicorns from 4 States Meet Governor Jishnu Dev Varma to Showcase Youth Innovation
Junicorns from Four States Meet Hon'ble Governor Shri Jishnu Dev Varma to Showcase Youth Innovation Movement
In a historic moment for India's grassroots innovation ecosystem, representatives of Junicorn student startups from Telangana, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Odisha met with Hon'ble Governor Shri Jishnu Dev Varma at Raj Bhavan, Hyderabad on 3rd July 2025.
The young innovators, part of the Junicorn100K national mission spearheaded by the International Startup Foundation (ISF), showcased transformative ideas aimed at uplifting rural India through innovation, technology, and entrepreneurship.
The delegation was led by Mr. J A Chowdary, Founder of ISF and architect of India's tech landscape; Dr. Siva Mahesh Tangutooru, Co-Founder of ISF and national coordinator of Junicorn100K; and Mr. Seshadri Vangala, Co-Founder of ISF and a key mentor shaping the student innovation pipeline.
The team was also accompanied by core ISF volunteers, Ms. Vishala and Ms. Padma Alluri, who have been instrumental in mentoring, guiding, and mobilizing youth from the grassroots to global platforms.
Governor's Address to Junicorns
'I am deeply encouraged by the passion, vision, and execution capabilities these young students have displayed. It is inspiring to see them not only represent their villages but also fly the Indian flag globally at platforms like the ISF Global Junicorn & AI Summit held in the USA. These changemakers are the future of India — and the future is bright,'
— Shri Jishnu Dev Varma, Hon'ble Governor
Voices from the Movement
Mr. J A Chowdary, Founder, ISF:
'This is a moment of pride for the Junicorn family. The Governor's support is a strong signal to the entire country that rural talent must be nurtured with purpose and vision.'
Dr. Siva Mahesh Tangutooru, Co-Founder, ISF:
'The blessing from Shri Jishnu Dev Varma Ji is not just symbolic — it reinforces our mission to empower 1,00,000 rural student innovators across India. We thank him for recognizing our young pioneers.'
Mr. Seshadri Vangala, Co-Founder, ISF:
'These students are not just dreamers — they are doers. This meeting with the Governor boosts their morale and anchors our belief that innovation must rise from the villages upward.'
Next Steps
This event marks a new milestone in the nationwide mission to foster rural youth-led innovation, with ISF leading the charge in partnership with governments, institutions, and industry mentors.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hans India
9 minutes ago
- Hans India
India targets $300 bn bioeconomy by 2030
New Delhi: The government is committed to realising a $300 billion bioeconomy by 2030, reiterated Union Minister of Science and Technology, Dr. Jitendra Singh on World Bioproduct Day on Monday. Calling for a wider public understanding and inclusive participation in India's biotechnology mission, Singh stated that every Indian was a stakeholder in the country's bioeconomy. The biotechnology ecosystem in the country 'has grown from just around 50 startups a decade ago to nearly 11,000 today -- a leap made possible by policy backing and institutional partnerships,' said Singh, while speaking at an event, organised by the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) and its agencies BIRAC and iBRIC+. Referring to the recently launched BioE3 Policy, Singh noted that it laid the groundwork for India to lead in sustainable biomanufacturing by aligning bioeconomy goals with environmental sustainability, economic growth, and equity. The BioE3 (Biotechnology for Economy, Environment and Employment) Policy aims to position India as a global leader in bio-based innovations. 'Bioproducts aren't limited to laboratories anymore. They're about livelihoods -- from biodegradable packaging to eco-friendly personal care, from rural employment to green jobs,' he said. He emphasised that the future industrial revolution will be driven by bioeconomy, and India, he believes, has taken the lead. Further, acknowledging the challenges faced by young scholars in biotech, the Minister pointed out the mismatch between parental expectations and individual aptitude in career choices. He termed the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 a 'game-changer' that would allow students to pursue disciplines of interest with flexibility. 'We are seeing a new generation with real aptitude and capacity to learn,' he said. Singh also urged for stronger social media outreach, using success stories, local languages, and relatable formats to communicate biotech's relevance to common citizens. 'If we want to attract young talent, we must link biotechnology to profitability and livelihood, not just academics,' he said. Meanwhile, Secretary, DBT and Chairman of BIRAC, Dr. Rajesh S. Gokhale outlined steps being taken to operationalise the BioE3 Policy in the country. These include 'support for pilot manufacturing, region-specific innovation missions, and strengthening the pipeline from research to market,' Gokhale said.
Time of India
11 minutes ago
- Time of India
Turkey's deepening role in Bangladesh adds a new layer to India's security calculus
Turkey's entry point into India's backyard Live Events India raises alarm over Turkish links to Islamist groups Ankara's pan-Islamist narrative is India-focused Erdogan's divergence from NATO Turkey's quiet push into the Bay of Bengal Trade persists but under a cloud (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel As Turkey deepens itsTurkey South Asia strategy, India Turkey rivalry India rare earth security , Ankara Islamist influence Bangladeshmilitary, ideological and economic footprint in South Asia, particularly in Bangladesh, it is opening a new and under-reported front in its long-simmering rivalry with not a direct military adversary, Ankara's convergence with Pakistan and increasing engagement in India's eastern neighbourhood is beginning to look like a coherent anti-India strategy, built on shared ideological sympathies, defence cooperation and soft-power the centre of India's concern is a subtle but strategic shift in Turkey's foreign policy posture under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, one that now pairs military-industrial ambition with pan-Islamist ideology and is actively shaping alignments in South Defence Industry Agency chief Haluk Görgün is scheduled to visit Dhaka on July 8, according to The Economic Times.Görgün will meet the Chief Adviser of the interim government, Muhammad Yunus, and all three service chiefs of the Bangladeshi armed forces. The visit is intended to finalise plans for setting up two Turkish-backed defence industrial zones in Chittagong and Narayanganj, bringing Ankara closer to India's eastern flank than ever groundwork for this collaboration has already been per ET, Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA) chief Chowdhury Ashik Mahmud Bin Harun visited Turkey earlier this year, followed by Foreign Affairs Adviser Md Touhid Hossain's trip to the Antalya Diplomacy Forum in April, where he described aerospace cooperation with Turkey as a "win-win" Turkey has no historical stake in the Bay of Bengal region, this defence-industrial engagement marks its first substantive hard-power play in India's immediate makes Turkey's growing presence more alarming for India is its reported support for Islamist outfits in Bangladesh, particularly Jamaat-e-Islami. Indian intelligence agencies, as reported by Firstpost and News18, believe that Turkish entities, some with links to its intelligence apparatus, have funded the renovation of Jamaat offices in Dhaka and facilitated visits by Islamist leaders to Turkish arms activities go beyond soft diplomacy. Indian officials say Ankara's strategy is a fusion of ideological influence and covert defence networking, especially through intermediaries affiliated with banned or radicalised officials told News18 that such visits are designed not just for exposure, but potentially to facilitate procurement of Turkish defence tech, possibly including drones and surveillance convergence of ideology and capability has raised red flags in Indian intelligence circles, as per the core of the deepening India–Turkey estrangement lies President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's increasingly assertive pan-Islamist foreign policy, which has frequently taken aim at India, especially over the Kashmir per TOI, between 2019 and 2022, India–Turkey relations hit their lowest point, marked by an intense phase of diplomatic hostility and media warfare. The downturn was triggered by India's revocation of Jammu and Kashmir's special constitutional status, a move that drew sharp criticism from response, both countries engaged in sustained narrative offensives, with official statements and media outlets on each side amplifying opposing positions on Kashmir and regional has consistently aligned itself with Pakistan's position on Jammu and Kashmir, raising the matter at the United Nations and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), and positioning itself as a rhetorical and ideological ally of Turkey's challenge is no longer limited to political to Hindustan Times, multiple drones used in cross-border attacks on Indian territory have been traced to Turkish origin, a development that has forced Indian defence planners to reassess Ankara's evolving role in the regional security signature drone exports, once celebrated as battlefield game-changers from Ukraine to Libya, suffered a dramatic setback during India's Operation Sindoor in May 2025. According to The Times of India, Indian air defences intercepted every Turkish-origin drone launched by Pakistan during the offensive. This included Bayraktar TB2s, Byker YIHA III kamikaze drones, and Songatri and eYatri its indigenously developed Akashteer air defence system, India neutralised 300–400 drones mid-air, many of them before they even breached Indian airspace.A Pakistani source told Reuters that these drones were intended to 'provide cover for manned aircraft and artillery strikes,' but the mission collapsed as India's layered defences, from legacy L70 guns to modern Akashteer radar and missile systems, activated with full efforts to export its drone diplomacy to South Asia, coupled with its ideological posturing, hihglight a hybrid threat: one that mixes religious soft power with technological hard power and increasingly positions Ankara as an active disruptor of India's regional security military adventurism and embrace of non-Western alliances are not only reshaping its relationship with India, but also with NATO. As The Diplomat reported, Ankara's 2019 decision to acquire Russia's S-400 missile system triggered its suspension from the US-led F-35 fighter jet deepened Turkey's strategic isolation from the West while nudging it closer to states like Pakistan and per Eurasian Times, India has used this window to build counterbalances. Following Turkey and Pakistan's open support for Azerbaijan in the Nagorno-Karabakh war, India supplied Armenia with Akash missile systems and ramped up defence ties with Iran, Greece, and Cyprus, states long at odds with another such instance, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's stop in Cyprus, the first by an Indian PM in over two decades, may appear routine en route to the G7 Summit, but it carries strategic weeks after heightened tensions with Pakistan, the visit subtly realigns India in the eastern Mediterranean and sends a clear message to Ankara over its growing closeness to divided since Turkey's 1974 military intervention, remains a geopolitical flashpoint. While the northern third is under Turkish control and claims independence as the TRNC, it is recognised only by Turkey. The Republic of Cyprus, a full EU member, governs the internationally recognised southern two-thirds of the per ET, India has long supported Cyprus's territorial integrity, placing it at odds with Ankara, especially as Turkey continues to back Pakistan on Kashmir. During India's Operation Sindoor, Turkey sided swiftly with contrast, Cyprus condemned the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack and offered to raise the issue of cross-border terrorism at the EU level, reinforcing its alignment with India on key security a development that caught India off guard, Hindustan Times reported sightings of Turkish drones, possibly Bayraktars, along the India–Bangladesh border near unconfirmed, Indian defence officials believe these overflights may have been part of reconnaissance or technology demonstrations to Bangladeshi fuel to the fire, Muhammad Yunus, Chief Adviser of Bangladesh's interim government, stirred a diplomatic storm during his four-day visit to Beijing by referring to the region as 'landlocked' and positioning Bangladesh as its 'only guardian of the ocean.''The seven states of India, the eastern part of India, are called the seven sisters... They have no way to reach out to the ocean. For Bangladesh, as the only guardian of the ocean in the region, this could be a huge opportunity and an extension of the Chinese economy,' Yunus said, implying that Bangladesh could serve as a strategic gateway for China into India's northeast.'From Bangladesh, you can go anywhere you want. The ocean is our backyard,' he sees this as part of a larger pattern of Turkey embedding itself into the China–Pakistan–Bangladesh framework, operating as a wildcard player that leverages soft power, drones, and ideological platforms to punch above its regional rising geopolitical tensions, India–Turkey trade has remained steady, though modest in scale. According to The Economic Times, India exported goods worth USD 5.2 billion to Turkey during April–February 2024–25, down from USD 6.65 billion in FY 2023– trade accounts for just 1.5% of India's total exports of USD 437 main exports to Turkey include mineral fuels and petroleum products (worth around USD 960 million), electrical machinery, auto parts, organic chemicals, pharmaceuticals, plastics, rubber, cotton, synthetic fibres, and iron and the import side, India imported goods worth USD 2.84 billion from Turkey during April–February 2024–25, a decline from USD 3.78 billion in FY 2023–24, and representing only 0.5% of India's total imports of USD 720 imports include marble (blocks and slabs), gold, fresh apples (valued at about USD 10 million), vegetables, lime, cement, chemicals, mineral oils (USD 1.81 billion), pearls, and iron and continues to maintain a trade surplus with people-to-people ties with Turkey remain active. More than 300,000 Indian tourists visited Turkey in 2023, and around 3,000 Indian nationals, including students, currently reside there as of 2024.
Time of India
11 minutes ago
- Time of India
Tariffs a temporary storm, structural reforms key for India: Arvind Sanger
Live Events (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our ETMarkets WhatsApp channel "But getting some reasonable framework is clearly going to be a relief for the Indian market because unpredictability is worse than predictability even if the predictability means a little more tariffs and frankly India opening up its economy in some sectors which it may not have been willing to otherwise is long-term very good for the Indian economy 's health in terms of making it more competitive and more open," says Arvind Sanger Well, clearly, the US markets were off a little bit today because of this news about new round of tariffs or reinstatement of the old tariffs in some countries. Luckily, there is time till August one, so the markets did not fall too badly. They fell a little bit 70 bps, 70 basis points in the US S&P from an Indian market standpoint, it is good news. It is now the second or third time in the last few days that President Trump has tweeted that a deal with India is closed. So, hopefully, there is some common ground quickly found and India becomes… There has been a couple of countries that have signed these are all not very detailed but broad outlines. UK has signed one a few weeks ago and then last week, I think, it was Vietnam that signed a deal and now India seems to be lining up and I will be good. It will remove some of the uncertainty, but the reality is with President Trump nothing seems to be permanent and even if India signs a deal now who knows what might come up in the getting some reasonable framework is clearly going to be a relief for the Indian market because unpredictability is worse than predictability even if the predictability means a little more tariffs and frankly India opening up its economy in some sectors which it may not have been willing to otherwise is long-term very good for the Indian economy's health in terms of making it more competitive and more I mean, there is no question in my mind that President Trump does not want the kind of tariff turmoil that we saw after the April 2nd, it was announcement. So, clearly, there is no desire to have that kind of uncertainty and market turmoil and economic what President Trump is doing is trying to put some numbers out there to as they say focus the mind of some of these countries like Korea and Japan to name the two most prominent ones, of the ones named in today's set of new tariffs announced and so if that helps focus the minds of both sides to try to get a deal, there is some my sense is what President Trump and his team are realising is that it is easy to announce these big negotiations, but these negotiations are tough and there is a reason why trade talks take years. And these guys are trying to compress it in weeks. So, I would not count on August one as the last final chance. Maybe it is, but maybe it is far, as we have discovered from the taco kind of name that Trump has been given, I do not think he is interested in causing huge economic turmoil. Short-term a little bit is okay, but he is now looking for assuming that there are deals coming from India and maybe EU and maybe a couple of other countries, then the US markets should settle down and not be too unsettled. But if these promised deals keep getting pushed and pushed to the right and the fear grows that who knows what is coming, then the markets could remain hope and assumption is that India and maybe EU are on track to do deals in the near future in the next few days, hopefully by the end of the week. And if that happens, then to be more specific about the Indian markets should do focus really tariffs is in my opinion a sideshow once we get whatever the tariffs are, some deal on the table, the real issue for the Indian markets is going to be the monsoons are fine, but the economic fundamentals whether it is auto sales growth or other short duration factors that we look at, the data is not extremely encouraging in terms of a strong earnings quarter ahead of I think that the earnings will and the commentary from the corporates will be determining more importantly in my opinion as to what Indian markets do in the coming weeks rather than the tariff news.
