Monthly Archives: February 2016

Six Startups Attract Investors Support

Business & Economy, Science & Technology

Hyderabad :

It’s always a major problem for the startups to attract investors and get some funding, but it was not so on Saturday.

Six out of the 11 startups which have pitched their ideas at ‘Startup-a-thon 1.0’ have been able to attract investors and are now just a step away from getting some funding ranging between Rs 30 lakh and Rs 1.50 crore.

Manoj Sharma, CTO Quikr, speaking at the Startup-a-thon-1.0, in Hyderabad on Saturday. | Express Photo
Manoj Sharma, CTO Quikr, speaking at the Startup-a-thon-1.0, in Hyderabad on Saturday. | Express Photo

Out of the six, four startups will directly go for negotiations with investors and the remaining two need to pass through another round and will be allowed to have negotiations only if they clear this particular round. Besides, the event has also provided an opportunity to all the other startups (30) to get some mentorship opportunity.

“Mentoring and funding are the two major problems the startups face and, in order to solve these issues, we have organised this problem. Although only six startups have got short-listed, the main advantage of this programme is that every startup that participated in the event got some mentorship. Now, they know exactly what they are lacking and, by working on their weakness in future, they will be in a better state to pitch,” Maj. Sunil Shetty (retd), CEO and founder of Ask Mentor, said.

The two-day event also witnessed the inauguration of college-specific incubation centre at St Martin Engineering College (SMEC), Kompally. On day one, a mentoring workshop and preliminary round of startup pitches was held and eleven students were selected and were given a chance to pitch to the investors.

“Generally, a student takes at least five years’ time after graduation to become a entrepreneur. Our main aim is to reduce this gap by providing mentorship programme. In order to provide support to the youngsters, we started an incubator at SMEC college. This will be made available even to the outside students so that every student gets benefit from this,” said Rajiv Lulla, director (strategy) of askfunding.in.

“The initiative taken by askmentor and askfunding is commendable. In order to show our support for the event, we are introducing our developer platform to students so that they can make use of it. It is same as the in-house site we use and anyone can register freely and make use of the basic services,” Manoj Sharma, CTO of Quikr.com, said.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Telangana / by Express News Service / January 31st, 2016

Monograph on writer Suddhala Hanumanthu released

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Historical Links / Pre-Independence, Records, All
Poet Venu Sankoju, the author of the monograph on Suddala Hanumanthu.— Photo: Singam Venkataramana
Poet Venu Sankoju, the author of the monograph on Suddala Hanumanthu.— Photo: Singam Venkataramana

The Akademi had assigned the job to famous poet and writer from Nalgonda, Venu Sankoju. It was brought out under the title ‘The Makers of Indian Literature’.

Paying tributes to noted writer Suddhala Hanumanthu (1910-1982), who had actively taken part in the Telangana Armed Rebellion, Sahitya Akademi brought out a monograph on his life and contributions to Telugu language.

The Akademi had assigned the job to famous poet and writer from Nalgonda, Venu Sankoju. It was brought out under the title ‘The Makers of Indian Literature’ by the Akademi with an intention to reintroducing famous Indian writers to younger generation, especially those who had made outstanding contribution to Indian literature and language throughout their life. The author, Venu Sankoju, told The Hindu that the oppression of people by landlords during the Nizam rule had inspired Suddhala Hanumanthu to become a writer and singer. To highlight the plight of rural people during the Nizam rule, Mr. Venu Sankoju said writer Hanumanthu had given folk performances like Yakshaganam, Burrakatha, Gollasuddulu, Rajakiya Sadhuveshalu and others to sensitise the people.

Mr. Sankoju said the death of Doddi Komaraiah and Chakali Ilamma’s heroic fight against Visunur Desmukh motivated writer Hanumanthu.

Explaining the life of the poor during the Nizam era, the author had given a detail account in the 102-page monograph on the practice of bonded labour which writer Hanumanthu strongly opposed. His association with Arya Samaj and his family’s migration from Paladugu village to Suddhala village was found mention. Mr. Sankoju said when shoot at site orders were issued by the Nizam in 1947 against writer Hanumanthu, he fled to Bombay and worked as a tailor for a living.

It is be a must read for people who love to read the crucial phase in the Telangana history.

Mr. Venu Sankoju, a retired lecturer, has written many poems like Manishiga Puche Matti , Manam , Nelakala , Prana Pradhamina and others and he was editor the editor of Veera Telangana monthly. He has also won Sahitya Purashkaram given by the Telugu University.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Telangana / by T. Karnakar Reddy / Nalgonda – February 01st, 2016