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<ul><li>Marut Drones claims to have built India’s first drone to eradicate mosquitoes larvae and water hyacinth on lakes. </li><li>It has also built autonomous drones for spraying on agricultural fields. </li><li>The startup was also one of the top startups in Facebook India’s <keyword id="107950" type="TECHNOLOGY" weightage="20" keywordseo="artificial-intelligence">Artificial Intelligence</keyword> accelerator. </li></ul><keyword id="6367900" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="prem-kumar">Prem Kumar</keyword> Vislawath lives in the IT area of <keyword id="6354552" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="hyderabad">Hyderabad</keyword> – Gachibowli, whereas his parents lived 40 kms away near a lake – Mantrala Cheruvu. The name which means a ‘lake of magic’ has nothing magical about it. Moreso, it is swarming with mosquitoes. Whenever he visited home one situation that alarmed him was – the rising number of mosquitoes. <div type="Video" msid="72809434" hostid="261" title="The AI Buzz is eradicating mosquitoes" thumbUrl="https://denmark.timesinternet.in/cmslite/api/app/images.jpg?msid=72809434"></div>

 With every visit, Vislawath would drop in a letter to the local municipal authorities. Seventeen letters went unresponded and he finally decided to visit them, one of whom said, “Educated people like you need to be helping out authorities in these situations.” That’s when the IIT Guwahati graduate took a step back from his active role as the co-founder of Raasta Films, a filmmaking company and decided to build his second startup along with his batchmates Sai Kumar Chinthala and Suraj Peddi. They built Marut Drones – a startup that uses drones to spray <keyword id="65563" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Mosquito">mosquito</keyword> killing repellent in Hyderabad’s massive lakes. “These lakes have water hyacinths growing in them, which often makes it difficult for authorities to enter and spray repellents. Workers too are prone to diseases when they enter water, as it also takes a long time to clean. With the drone we can easily target specific areas where larvae are breeding,” Vislawath told Business Insider. What disturbed Vislawath was that as many as 9.7 million cases of mosquito borne diseases are reported in a year. They lead to 40,297 deaths. The startup claims to have built India’s first drone to eradicate mosquitoes larvae and water hyacinth on lakes as well as autonomous drones that spray on agricultural fields. They also use an AI platform to identify mosquito borne diseases and the areas where they breed. “All of Hyderabad has only 17 entomologists. Only when a complaint comes in, a manual survey is done to check for mosquito breeding. They don’t have real time data. With our technology, a dashboard will show them the data of different breeds of mosquitoes,” he said. Marut Drones has built an IOT device, which captures mosquitoes within a 500 metre range and identifies whether its male or female and what kind of disease it could be carrying. Based on that, they give recommendations on whether the specific area has larvae or adult mosquitoes and how to deal with it. Interestingly for Vislawath and Sai, it was an obvious choice to use drones as they used them for filmmaking. They partnered with the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation. After a pilot in March in Miyapur lake , the mosquito larval density has come down from 41 per ladle of water to 28. With great results and a boost from the Hyderabad Municipal corporation, Marut Drones is now expanding to Mumbai and Raipur. “We aim to reach out to all smart cities in the country with our effective solutions,” said Vislawath. The startup was also one of the top startups in Facebook India’s Artificial Intelligence accelerator, through which they will get a month of mentorship from the social media giant. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/india-is-on-the-path-to-end-malaria-by-2030-but-dengue-is-spreading-fast-and-wide/articleshow/72395839.cms">India is on the path to end Malaria by 2030 — but dengue is spreading fast and wide</a>

AI is helping drones kill mosquitoes in Hyderabad – here's a chat with the filmmaker who made it happen

<ul><li><keyword id="6354742" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Flipkart">Flipkart</keyword> has acquired <keyword id="80487" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="walmart">Walmart</keyword> India’s business and has announced the launch of Flipkart Wholesale.</li><li>Walmart’s Best Price cash-and-carry business will now come under Flipkart.</li><li>Best Price currently has over 1.5 million members including <keyword id="6513856" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="kirana-stores">kirana stores</keyword> and MSMEs. </li></ul>Flipkart has acquired Walmart India’s business and announced the launch of Flipkart Wholesale. With this, the 28 Walmart’s Best Price stores in India will now come under Flipkart. Best Price currently has over 1.5 million members including kirana stores and MSMEs. With the acquisition of Walmart India business, Flipkart hopes to transform the kirana retail ecosystem in India with technology. While Flipkart has been working with kirana store owners since 2019 by bringing them on its platform, it is now entering the business-to-business e-commerce in the kirana stores segment – one that JioMart, Amazon are all betting on as the next big leg of Indian e-retail. Flipkart is going to begin the operations of Flipkart Wholesale in August, with grocery, fashion and general merchandise. Kirana stores regained their popularity during the coronavirus lockdown, as consumers rushed to the nearest grocery store to stock up. Four months later, consumer spending at kirana stores are still 22% higher than pre-Covid levels. “They have been winning the loyalty of the current consumers and acquiring new ones,” said Prem Kumar, Founder &amp; CEO of Snapbizz. “With the launch of Flipkart Wholesale, we will now extend our capabilities across technology, logistics and finance to small businesses across the country. The acquisition of Walmart India adds a strong talent pool with deep expertise in the wholesale business that will strengthen our position to address the needs of kiranas and MSMEs uniquely,” said Kalyan Krishnamurthy, Chief Executive Officer, Flipkart Group. Walmart had recently invested $1.2 billion in Flipkart in an equity round, two years after it bought a 77% stake in the Indian retail giant for $16 billion. The round valued Flipkart at $24.9 billion. Flipkart had recently surpassed the mark of 1.5 billion visits per month and reported 45% growth in monthly active customers and 30% growth in transactions per customer for FY20 “For over a decade, we’ve been committed to India’s prosperity by serving kiranas and MSMEs, supporting smallholder farmers and building global sourcing and technology hubs throughout the country. Today marks the next big step as Walmart India’s pioneering cash-and-carry legacy meets Flipkart’s culture of innovation in the launch of Flipkart Wholesale,” said Judith McKenna, President and Chief Executive Officer, Walmart International in a statement. The Walmart India team will now come under Flipkart and Flipkart Wholesale will be headed by Adarsh Menon, a veteran at the e-commerce company. McKenna said that with this new move, the combined team will break “new ground in their shared mission to help Indian businesses grow and succeed”. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/ecommerce/news/google-latest-offering-shoploop-is-similar-to-what-walmart-owned-flipkart-launched-a-week-ago/articleshow/77013646.cms">Google's latest offering Shoploop is similar to what Walmart-owned Flipkart launched a week ago</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/ecommerce/news/walmart-powers-flipkart-with-more-capital-to-battle-google-facebook-and-amazon/articleshow/76960607.cms">Walmart powers Flipkart with an additional $1.2 billion⁠ to help e-tailer battle Google, Facebook, and Amazon</a>

Flipkart buys Walmart’s India business - 'kirana stores' network to bolster e-retail play

Three alumni of the <keyword id="55119" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Indian-Institute-of-Technology">Indian Institute of Technology</keyword> (IIT) have developed a drone equipped with infrared camera which can help in thermal screening of groups without human intervention and identify suspected COVID-19 cases at an early stage once the lockdown is lifted. The drone also has a loudspeaker which can be used by personnel to monitor places especially with high disease prevalence and give appropriate instructions. The alumni team from IIT Guwahati, which has founded a start up called Marut Dronetech, is already conducting trial runs in coordination with state governments of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh besides Trichy Municipal Corporation. "Once the lockdown is eased, and people start gathering it will be difficult to ensure social distancing and hence enhanced risk of virus spread till the time situation is completely in control," Prem Kumar Vislawath, an electronic and communications engineering graduate, told . "<keyword id="94769" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="drones">Drones</keyword> are being made for lot of other activities including delivery of foods and medicines and spraying disinfectants, we realised that to limit the risk of the personnel getting infected while conducting temperature checks, drones equipped with infrared cameras to test temperature measurements can be used," he said. "Any abnormalities can be marked as suspects for COVID-19. This information can be used by health workers and officials to take further measures. This will help in the identification of infection in a person at a much early stage and can prove to be vital in the present scenario," he added. According to another team member, Suraj Peddi, the group tested different ways to calibrate airborne infrared cameras to measure body temperature. "Results showed that by installing a cotton swab within the field of view of the thermal camera, the camera can get an accurate reading. The calibrated drone camera can then be used to measure body temperatures while the officer remains at a safe distance away. While the results are encouraging, it is essential to mention this solution is not designed to be used for standard medical procedures," he added. Elaborating on the development, another team member <keyword id="9000268" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="sai-kumar-chinthala">Sai Kumar Chinthala</keyword>, said, "At a time when countries across the world are submitting to mass lockdowns owing to the ongoing pandemic, drones have emerged as a fresh breath of air, by proving to be an alternative and plausible lifeline for stranded populations advised social-distancing". According to the Union Health Ministry, the number of COVID-19 cases climbed to 2,301 in the country on Wednesday while the death toll rose to 56, The number of active COVID-19 cases stands at 2,088, while 156 people were either cured or discharged and one migrated to another country, the ministry stated The figure of 2,301 includes 55 foreign nationals. SEE ALSO:<a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/topic/coronavirus">Coronavirus News and Updates</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/world-bank-approves-1-billion-funding-for-india-200-million-for-pakistan-to-fight-coronavirus/articleshow/74957213.cms">World Bank approves $1 billion funding for India, $200 million for Pakistan to fight coronavirus</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/narendra-modi-speech-and-highlights-on-april-3/articleshow/74959547.cms">Indian Prime Narendra Modi urges people to light candles, torches, and mobile flashlights on April 5 at 9 pm⁠— as a symbol of a unified fight against novel coronavirus</a>

IIT alumni develops drone with infrared camera for thermal screening to identify Coronavirus suspects

<ul><li><keyword id="6354576" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="facebook">Facebook</keyword> India recently concluded the second cohort of it's Artificial intelligence accelerator program. </li><li>The three <keyword id="6362513" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="startups">startups</keyword> are <keyword id="3269198" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="FTCash">ftcash</keyword>, <keyword id="8356701" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="marut-drones">Marut Drones</keyword> and <keyword id="3634797" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="innerhour">Innerhour</keyword>. </li><li>They will now receive a month-long mentorship from Facebook on go to market strategies. </li></ul>Facebook India recently concluded the second round of it's Artificial intelligence accelerator program. The program which was in partnership with Telangana government's <keyword id="6354480" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="t-hub">T-Hub</keyword> saw three finalists who will further receive mentorship from Facebook on go-to-market strategies. The three startups are ftcash, Marut Drones and Innerhour – who will receive “further support for a month of Go-to-Market strategies to increase funnel conversion rates, picking up the sales model, taking product to the entire market, and building company,” said Facebook. “We are thrilled to play a key role in India’s start-up ecosystem, being a catalyst for future growth, using the potential of emerging technologies like AI, to solve the major problems India is facing today,” said Manish Chopra, director and head of partnerships at Facebook India. ftcash ftcash is a financial services company which helps micro-merchants and small businesses with digital payments and loans. The startup was founded in 2015 by Vaibhav Lodha. In May 2019, the startup had raised series A funding of ₹50 crores from global non-profit Accion, Dutch development bank FMO and IvyCap Ventures. But the startup is not new to awards and accomplishments. ftcash was also awarded by Prince William and Kate Middleton as a winner at the UK Trade and Investment – Great Tech Initiative. Marut Drones The Hyderabad-based startup is working on a ground level problem. With its AI powered computer vision, the startup identifies mosquito infestation and hyacinth growth in urban ponds. Using drones, it then sprays repellents in the infected areas. It also recently partnered with Hyderabad’s municipal corporation. The startup founded by Prem Kumar Vislawath in 2019, had earlier received an award from Nasscom – the emerging Technology Award for Drones and AI for Mosquito eradication and disease prediction for malaria and dengue. Innerhour Innerhour has an emotional health app, where with its psychological tools and services it helps in fighting the stigma and lack of access of qualified professionals in the mental health space. It was founded by psychiatrists Dr Amit Malik and Dr Shefali Batra. It had raised ₹3 crore in 2017.

Facebook India to mentor makers of mosquito-killing drone, emotion health app and a digi financer

Income Tax officials raided eight premises in Chennai and one place in Vellore and seized Rs 105 crore in old and new currencies and gold bars worth Rs 35 crore. This is considered to be the biggest seizure since PM Narendra Modi announced <keyword id="3315394" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="demonetisation">demonetisation</keyword>. 
 
The officials raided premises belonging to industrialist Shekhar Reddy, his associate Srinivasa Reddy and their agents, including a person called Prem Kumar. They also raided jewellery shops. 
 
Out of Rs 105 crore, Rs 95 crore were in old notes and Rs 10 crore mostly in the newly introduced Rs 2,000 denomination currency. 
 
The I-T department officials got a tip about Prem Kumar exchanging demonetised currencies for gold bars, and following his trail they stumbled upon the Reddy associates. 
 
"While the Reddys claimed they had bought gold bars from jewellery shops, we are investigating how they managed to get Rs 10 crore in 2,000 denomination notes when there is a restriction on cash withdrawal from bank accounts and people are standing in queues for hours to withdraw money from banks and ATMs," said an I-T official.

Biggest crackdown on black money: Tax officials seize Rs 105 crore in new and old currencies, 125kg gold in Chennai, Vellore

By Gunjan Sharma New Delhi, Jun 14 () Low-cost portable ventilators, affordable COVID-19 test kits, drones for sanitisation, specialised digital stethoscopes, disposable bamboo furniture for makeshift isolation wards and "infection-proof fabric" for hospitals -- these are among several innovations, by IITs across the country during the lockdown period, which are ready to the hit the market to aid the fight against COVID-19. The innovations have taken commercial route either through IIT-incubated startups or the premiere institutes have given license to companies keeping the patent rights with themselves. The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi, which became the first academic institute to get a nod from the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) for its COVID-19 test kit, has given non-exclusive open licence to Bengaluru-based biotechnology firm Genie Laboratories for commercialising the test, but with a price rider of Rs 500 per kit. The kits are being manufactured at a facility at the Andhra Pradesh MedTech Zone (AMTZ) in Vishakhapatnam, and are expected to be available in the market in the next 10 days. "Over 40 companies, including a few big names, have reached out to us to commercialise the test. We will be giving open licences to companies which meet the quality criterion set by us. We are also giving the licence with a price rider so that companies do not hike the price once commercialised. We have shortlisted Genie laboratories as the first one, but there will be more companies too," IIT Delhi Director V Ramgopal told . According to the IIT Delhi team, the current testing methods available are "probe-based" while the one developed by the IIT team is a "probe-free" method, which reduces the testing cost without compromising on accuracy. Another innovation by the institute, an "infection-proof fabric" to be used at hospitals to prevent hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) is being sent to various hospitals in Delhi and NCR in the form of bed sheets, curtains and uniforms by an incubated startup called "Fabiosys Innovations". The innovation was earlier tested at AIIMS. "We take rolls of cotton fabric and treat it with a set of proprietary-developed chemicals under a set of particular reaction conditions, using the machinery already commonly available in textile industries. The fabric, after undergoing these processes, gains the powerful antimicrobial functionality," Samrat Mukhopadhyay, a professor at the Department of Textile and Fibre Engineering in IIT-Delhi, said. "Even after washing multiple times, it does not lose its functionality. This fabric can be stitched into various articles such as bedsheets, the uniforms for patients, doctors and nurses and even curtains. The fabric satisfies the Indian standards in terms of the number of washing. It is completely non-toxic and affordable," he added. A "digital stethoscope" developed by a team at IIT Bombay, that can listen to heartbeats from a distance and record them, minimising the risk of healthcare professionals contracting the novel coronavirus from patients, is already available in the market. Operating a start-up called "AyuDevice" from the IIT's technology business incubator, the team has sent 1,000 stethoscopes to different hospitals and healthcare centres across the country. The product is also available for sale at various stores. An IIT Guwahati startup "Marut Dronetech" has developed two types of drones, which are being used by the Telangana government and various departments across the state. The drones are being deployed for spraying disinfectant in public spaces to prevent the coronavirus. They can disinfect 50 times more area than what can be done using traditional methods, the institute claimed. "We have also developed public monitoring and warning drones which are fitted with a camera and speaker. These can be used to monitor places, especially with high disease prevalence for crowd gathering and give appropriate instructions to people, using fitted loudspeakers," said Prem Kumar Vislawath, an IIT Guwahati alumnus. The institute's design department has come up with a bamboo hospital furniture range, mass production of which is quick and low cost, to meet demands arising out of hospitalisation of more people with the spike in coronavirus cases. "The furniture can be used at primary health centres and makeshift isolation wards set up in places like indoor stadiums. It can be easily disposed of when the virus has been contained. Over 200 beds can be manufactured per day using the design. We have tied up with two local entrepreneurs for manufacturing," a professor said. IIT Kanpur has collaborated with ICICI Securities for the development of a low-cost ventilator innovated by two of its students. "This easily portable ventilator will be much cheaper than other life-saving machines available in the market. It will also work as a sanitizer to keep the hospital germ-free. Due to the components used in the ventilator which are specifically manufactured in India, it will cost only Rs 70,000 while available ventilators cost around Rs 4 lakh," said IIT-Kanpur Director Abhay Karandikar. "We plan to develop around 30,000 units in 2020, and the first lot is expected to hit the market soon," he added. According to the Union Health ministry, India saw the highest single-day spike of 11,929 COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, taking the number of infections to over 3.20 lakh on Sunday, while the toll crossed the 9,000-mark with 311 more deaths. GJS CK CK

Low-cost test kits to santising drones: IIT innovations take commercial route to aid COVID-19 fight

Bengaluru-based retail technology startup <keyword id="3215798" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="SnapBizz">SnapBizz</keyword> on Sunday said it has raised an undisclosed round of funding from veteran industrialist <keyword id="6360722" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="ratan-tata">Ratan Tata</keyword>. This is Tata's seventh investment in startups in 2016 so far. Tata, former <keyword id="6355725" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Tata-Group">Tata Group</keyword> chairman, has invested over 20 startups so far. In January 2016, SnapBizz had announced a Series A funding of $7.2 million led by <keyword id="969909" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Jungle-Ventures">Jungle Ventures</keyword>, <keyword id="3215959" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Taurus-Value-Creation">Taurus Value creation</keyword>, Konly Venture and Blume Ventures. 

	With the mission of transforming the unorganised fragmented retail sector in the country, SnapBizz currently works with over a thousand kirana stores across Mumbai, Pune, Delhi, Hyderabad, Chennai and Bangalore and aims to expand its footprint across other tier 1 and 2 cities.
 

	"A visionary of Mr.Tata's stature showing confidence in SnapBizz is is certainly a big boost for our business idea and will continue to accelerate the digital revolution in India's kirana stores. Brands are also seeing this as an opportunity to partner with us in order to be a well wisher of the retailers," SnapBizz Founder and Chief Executive Officer Prem Kumar said in a statement.
 SnapBizz solutions enable smart store management and a digital connection to consumers, <keyword id="34523" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="fmcg">FMCG</keyword> companies and distributors. SnapBizz was founded in 2013.

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AI is helping drones kill mosquitoes in Hyderabad – here's a chat with the filmmaker who made it happen

Sanchita Dash

Flipkart buys Walmart’s India business - 'kirana stores' network to bolster e-retail play

Sanchita Dash

IIT alumni develops drone with infrared camera for thermal screening to identify Coronavirus suspects

PTI

Facebook India to mentor makers of mosquito-killing drone, emotion health app and a digi financer

Sanchita Dash

Biggest crackdown on black money: Tax officials seize Rs 105 crore in new and old currencies, 125kg gold in Chennai, Vellore

BI India Bureau

Low-cost test kits to santising drones: IIT innovations take commercial route to aid COVID-19 fight

PTI

Ratan Tata invests in SnapBizz, 7th investment in a startup in 2016 so far

BI India Bureau

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