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Time of India
6 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
Startups cheer HAL's takeover of SSLV rocket; hope it boosts market for small satellites
With the defense PSU Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd ( HAL ) becoming the first Indian firm to own, build, and commercialise the Indian Space Research Organisation's ( ISRO ) SSLV rocket, sections of Indian startups are hopeful the deal will help them rely less on launch service providers overseas, get better schedule visibility, and save on costs. So far, most Indian startups, such as Pixxel, Digantara, and GalaxEye's upcoming mission Drishti, have used SpaceX for their launches. Some startups have also conducted payload testing on ISRO's shared missions. Startups told ET that if HAL can offer transparent pricing and firm launch windows, they would strongly prefer to work with Indian launch providers. Industry experts said the government should consider incentivising private payloads launched on Indian rockets to build a stronger homegrown ecosystem. SatLeo Labs CEO Shravan S Bhati, building thermal imaging satellites for low earth orbit (LEO), said the move will open new avenues for the competitive small satellite market and free up ISRO's think tank for deeper research and development (R&D) and planetary missions. The small satellite market, as per Stratview Research, will be valued at $7.7 billion by 2030. The small satellite market, as per Stratview Research (2024), was valued at $6.7 billion and is projected to grow to $7.7 billion by 2030. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Beyond Text Generation: An AI Tool That Helps You Write Better Grammarly Install Now Undo Earlier, in an interview with ET, Pawan Goenka, chairman of the Indian National Space Promotion & Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe), said the regulator-cum-promoter will be setting up a dedicated launch centre for small satellite launches. 'Our target is to conduct 25 small satellite launches per year across three vehicles (SSLV, Agnikul's, and Skyroot's rockets), securing a major share of the global market.' Ahmedabad-based PierSight Space's cofounder, Vinit Bansal, working on maritime technology, said that transferring SSLV technology to an agency focussed on production, such as HAL, can enable more SSLV launches per year. 'SSLV can now serve as an 'Uber to space,' providing flexible access to specific orbits that are not feasible through shared missions,' he added. Live Events Challenges persist, but startups hopeful Discover the stories of your interest Blockchain 5 Stories Cyber-safety 7 Stories Fintech 9 Stories E-comm 9 Stories ML 8 Stories Edtech 6 Stories Awais Ahmed, founder of Google-backed Pixxel, said that for startups such as his, this can reduce dependency on foreign launch providers and improve scheduling predictability. The startup launched its Firefly constellation of hyperspectral satellites earlier this year from SpaceX. 'If SSLV is reliably available and HAL builds institutional maturity in launch operations, it would certainly make access easier and potentially more cost-competitive,' Ahmed told ET. Another space tech startup, SpaceFields' founder, Apurwa Masook, building solid rocket propulsion technology for aerospace and defence and collaborating with HAL, said the global launch market is highly competitive and demands aggressive customer acquisition and agile supply chain management. He pointed out that traditional Indian DPSUs like HAL have historically faced challenges, which is also evident in their growing backlogs in military deliveries. 'For SSLV to succeed in the commercial market, HAL would need to rethink its go-to-market strategy and possibly lean more on nimble private sector collaborators,' the Bengaluru-based Masook said.
Time of India
13-06-2025
- Time of India
Telangana alerts central agencies on hawala trail fuelling drug cartels
Hyderabad: Stepping up its war on narco-financing, the Telangana Anti Narcotics Bureau (TGANB) has written to multiple central agencies, including the Enforcement Directorate, Serious Fraud Investigation Office, and Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, seeking action against a Goa-based hawala operator accused of channelling drug money to Nigeria. According to officials, the hawala operator, Uttam Singh, played a key role in laundering proceeds of the drug trade, allegedly charging a 2% commission for each transaction. "In just two days, he reportedly collected ₹50 lakh from various drug peddlers in Goa. Imagine the volume of money laundered over a year," a TGANB official told TOI. Singh would hand over cash to his associates only after a unique form of verification — the recipient had to show a specific half-torn currency note on WhatsApp as authentication. The Nigerians operating the peddling network from Goa were receiving up to 20% commission from handlers abroad. In one case, officials found that arrested suspect Emmanuel Bediako Maxwell made 150 bank transfers totalling ₹55 lakh to relatives—all proceeds from drug deals. In a related operation, four more Nigerians were arrested from a house built on an acre of land. The property owner, unaware of their background, rented a room for ₹20,000 but later resisted police entry and even threatened to contact senior officials in Goa when the raid began. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Beyond Text Generation: An AI Tool That Helps You Write Better Grammarly Install Now Undo Drugs were seized during the search. "Breaking these hawala channels is key to disrupting the international drug pipeline," officials said. "Drugs produced in Latin America are reaching Europe and then coastal Indian cities like Mumbai. But the money moves in reverse — from Mumbai to Nigeria, and onward to global suppliers," TGANB officials said. Follow more information on Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad here . Get real-time live updates on rescue operations and check full list of passengers onboard AI 171 .
Time of India
04-06-2025
- Health
- Time of India
‘I don't want upma': 4-year-old Shanku's viral demand video gets biryani added to anganwadi menu in Kerala
A young boy named Shanku's dislike for upma and his request for biryani in the anganwadi menu went viral after his mother posted it on Instagram. KOTTAYAM: When young Shanku innocuously expressed his dislike for upma last Feb and asked for it to be replaced with biryani and chicken fry in the anganwadi menu, his mother Aswathy Ashok recorded it and posted it on Instagram. She did not expect the video to go viral. Women and child development minister Veena George shared the video on Facebook and promised to consider his demand. George kept her word and included egg biryani in the revised menu, which she released on Tuesday. George released the revised 'model food menu' at the state-level inauguration of anganwadis' Praveshanolsavam in Pathanamthitta on Tuesday. The menu - revised by the women and child welfare department with the intention of reducing sugar and salt intake and including more calories and protein to aid growth as per nutritional standards -- also includes pulao. Egg and milk will be provided on three days, unlike the earlier two days. Breakfast, lunch and general feeding will be based on the revised menu. It is the first time a unified food menu is being implemented for anganwadi students. Shanku, 4, is in Qatar and, according to Aswathy, is relishing the news of the revised menu. Shanku, whose official name is Trijal S Sundhar, is the only child of Somasundhar and Aswathy. The mother and son joined Somasundhar, who is working at Al Khor in Qatar, during the summer vacation. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Beyond Text Generation: An AI Tool That Helps You Write Better Grammarly Install Now Undo "We will be returning to our native place by mid-July, and he will join school then," said Aswathy. Their native place is Prayar near Oachira in Alappuzha. Aswathy said the viral video was not shot deliberately. "Shanku's father returned to Qatar after his choroonu (first rice meal fed auspiciously). I used to take Shanku's photographs and videos and post them on Instagram for his father to see. The biryani video too was shot just like that," said Aswathy. "Shanku doesn't like upma and his favourite food is porridge and black-eyed pea. Upma was being served in the anganwadis daily and he developed a hatred towards it. He made the request for biryani and chicken fry while having biryani at home," she said.
Time of India
24-04-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Agri-biotech startup GreenGrahi raises Rs 32 crore in round led by Avaana Capital
Agri-biotech startup GreenGrahi has raised Rs 32 crore in a funding round led by early-stage investment firm Avaana Capital . The round, which was majorly equity, also saw participation from Huddle, Campus Fund, Blume Founders Fund, and angel investors, including Nexus Venture's Nitin Sharma and Northpoint Capital's Sameer Brij Verma. The funds will be used to build and scale its insect biomanufacturing platform, hire people and expand globally. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Beyond Text Generation: An AI Tool That Helps You Write Better Grammarly Install Now Undo 'Scale-up and global expansion are on the commercial side, but on the R&D side, our team is continuously working to extract more and more beneficial ingredients from the insect,' cofounder Siddharth Sharma told ET. Founded in 2021 by Sharma and Shivali Sugand, the Delhi-based startup uses agricultural residues to produce high-quality insect-based proteins, functional oils, and hydrolysates. These products are specifically developed for use in aquaculture , poultry, and pet nutrition , offering improved digestibility, nutritional value, and more stable pricing compared to traditional feed ingredients like fishmeal and soy, it said. Live Events The company has also developed biological agricultural inputs—such as biofertilisers , biostimulants, and biopesticides—to enhance soil health and strengthen crop resilience and productivity. Discover the stories of your interest Blockchain 5 Stories Cyber-safety 7 Stories Fintech 9 Stories E-comm 9 Stories ML 8 Stories Edtech 6 Stories The business-to-business (B2B) platform serves over 10 customers, comprising companies in both animal and plant nutrition sectors. 'From these 10 customers alone, we have Rs 560 crore in demand. But the challenge lies more on the production side—we need to scale up fast enough to meet this demand," said Sharma, noting that the funding will help scale up production to about 50 times the current capacity. The startup aims to grow its scientific team and tap into international markets, such as the US, UK, and EU. Sharma expects these regions to account for roughly 30-35 percent of the company's business, driven largely by demand from pet food companies. 'Right now, we have a production facility that can process about three to four tonnes of raw material each day. The next factory we're building will be able to process up to 150 tonnes daily…Once the new factory is ready by the end of this year, we expect to begin global shipments by the first quarter of next year,' he added. Commenting on the investment, Shruti Srivastava, investment director at Avaana Capital, said, 'Their proprietary insect biotechnology and bioprocessing platform enables the production of high-performance, cost-efficient ingredients at scale—helping build resilient food supply chains for global food security through science-backed, market-ready solutions.'
