Narendra Modi and his government have been quite vocal about their support and the potential they see in India's startup industry. This is the reason that the government unveiled its ambitious Start-up India Action Plan in January this year so as to give that desired push to the Indian entrepreneurs and startups.

While many programs and initiatives are launched by the government, it is seldom that we, the public, get to know who were the beneficiaries and to what extent they befitted from the initiative. But, finally, in the case of the Start-up India Action Plan, that's not the case. Cygni Energy, a Hyderabad-based renewable energy has made the cut and emerged as the first startup that will avail the benefits offered by the Modi's government Start-up India Action Plan.

Founded in the year 2015, the startup is currently in the midst of filling a patent under the fast-track mode for its inverter-less solar energy technology invention.

According to information available, about 30 applications were filtered in May from a grand total of 200 applications for consideration by the inter-ministerial board for tax and intellectual property rights related benefits. After a long selection process, Cygni was the one that was able to meet all the required criteria of the board and was selected as the beneficiary.

Venkat Rajaraman, a Stanford graduate, is the brains behind Cygni. It was at IIT, Madras that Rajaraman conceived the idea for the startup. Prior to starting Cygnj, he has worked at Sun Microsystems, US and Portal Player, the company credited with developing the iPod's chip. After having a successful abroad stint, he came back to India in the year 2007 and started working at Su-Kam Power Systems.

According to Rajaraman, Cygni's inverter-less solar power backup will deliver 40 percent savings in energy. While currently the product is catering to the Indian market, it has still managed to create waves in the international market as well. The startup plans to expand its market to North Africa and Southeast Asia by the end of this year.

Answering questions on what differentiates his startup from others, Rajaraman believes that it his company's intellectual property that gives it an upper hand over others.

The startup recently received a private equity investment from Sasken worth Rs. 10 crore . The company plans to utilize the funds in expanding its manufacturing capacity from 36,000 units a year to 1 lakh units by 2016.
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