Govt Awards 12 Startups for Innovation in Animal Husbandry, Dairy Sector

The government on Friday gave awards to 12 startups for finding innovative solutions to address problems faced by the animal husbandry and dairy sector, a statement said.

Minister for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying Giriraj Singh announced the winners of 'Startup India-Animal Husbandry Grand Challenge'. 

The ministry in partnership with Startup India had launched the 'Animal Husbandry Startup Grand Challenge' to scout for innovative and commercially viable solutions to address the problems faced by the animal husbandry and dairy sector. 

The challenge was launched by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi in September last year at a national animal disease control programme in Mathura. 

As many as 157 applications were received in this competition. 

"The 12 startups...will be given cash grants worth Rs 1,02,00,000," the statement said. 

Under value-added products category, the winner was Krushak Mitra Agro Services Pvt Ltd, Mumbai, while Studio Carbon, Ahmedabad, was the runner-up. 

In the category of eliminating milk adulteration, White Gold Technologies LLP, Mumbai & Micro Life Innovations, Chennai were selected. 

For breed improvement, Adis Technologies, Belagavi, Karnataka and CisGEN Biotech Discoveries Pvt Ltd, Chennai were awarded. 

Under animal nutrition,  Krimanshi Technologies Pvt Ltd, Jodhpur and 2. Cornext Agri Products Pvt Ltd, Hyderabad were selected. 

For finding e-commerce solutions, MoooFarm, Gurugram, Haryana and AKM Technologies Pvt Ltd, Cuttack got the award. 

Under product traceability, EmerTech Solutions Pvt Ltd, Mumbai and NebulARC Technologies Pvt Ltd, Delhi were selected. 

No startup got an award in the category 'single use plastic alternatives'. "Two winners under each problem awarded with cash grants worth Rs  10 lakh (Winner) and Rs 7 lakh (Runner-up)," the statement said. 

The winners will be provided incubation offers. The incubator would be responsible for physical incubation of these startups for up to 3 months, mentor matchmaking, lab facility and testing facilities. 

The activities of the startups will be tracked  for up to nine months after the completion of the programme. PTI MJH

Former Google CEO's Research Foundation May have Found the Longest Organism Ever

A scientific expedition exploring the submarine canyons near Australia's Ningaloo has found an estimated 150-foot, or about as tall as an 11-story building 'Siphonophore' which is likely to be the world’s longest animal ever recorded.

Siphonophores are marine organisms which are essentially gelatinous strings that can grow to 100 feet long. Siphonophore is essentially a floating colony of tiny individual zooids ( an animal arising from another by budding or division) that clone themselves thousands of times into specialized bodies that string together to work as a team.

The giant organism was found by the flagship Remotely Operated Vehicle (RoV) robot of Schmidt Ocean Institute (SOI), a non-profit private foundation focused on oceanography, which is interestingly founded in March 2009 by Eric Schmidt and Wendy Schmidt. Eric Schmidt was the CEO of Google from 2001 to 2011, executive chairman of Google from 2011 to 2015, and executive chairman of Google's parent firm, Alphabet Inc, from 2015 to 2017.

The institute has shared a breathtaking video clip on Twitter which shows the Apolemia that is basically a type of Siphonophore.

Check out this beautiful *giant* siphonophore Apolemia recorded on #NingalooCanyons expedition. It seems likely that this specimen is the largest ever recorded, and in strange UFO-like feeding posture. Thanks @Caseywdunn for info @wamuseum @GeoscienceAus @CurtinUni @Scripps_Ocean pic.twitter.com/QirkIWDu6S

— Schmidt Ocean (@SchmidtOcean) April 6, 2020

Using the underwater robot (RoV), SuBastian, SOI's scientists for the first time are able to explore deep sea canyons and coral reefs around Australia that have never been seen before. The footage and samples collected from the oceans that surround Australia will have important implications for the sustainability and protection of these underwater ecosystems—and for similar habitats worldwide that are in peril because of rising ocean temperatures and other environmental threats.

View this post on Instagram

 

It is hard to explain this siphonophore from #DeepCoralAdventure livestream without sounding like we are describing a beast out of a science-fiction novel... There are over 180 known species of gelatinous strings called siphonophores, and some can grow to 130 feet (40 m), longer than a blue whale, which is usually considered Earth's largest animal (however, even the biggest siphonophore's body isn’t much bigger around than a broomstick). But instead of growing as a single body like virtually every other animal, tiny individual siphonophores (zooids) clone themselves 1000’s of times over into half a dozen different types of specialized bodies, all strung together to work as a team. In short, despite different functions, all the individuals in colony are genetically identical! - “In a way these specialized bodies function as organs,” said marine biologist Stefan Siebert of @brown_university, who studies these glorious creatures with the help of @mbari_news. “Some move the colony, some feed for the colony, some take care of reproduction.” Whereas creatures like you and me have over millennia evolved different parts of our bodies to work as organs, siphonophores have evolved individual bodies themselves into organs. It’s a bit like your liver up and declaring independence from the rest of you, even though it can't go anywhere. - No matter body plan or hunting strategy, siphonophores pose an interesting question: What exactly is individuality? “The whole thing looks like one animal, but it’s many thousands of individuals which form an entity on a higher level,” said Siebert. “So it's a really tricky question. And what's a colony? Humans are colonies—we are colonies of single cells.” Of course, ants and bees form colonies as well. But what siphonophores have been up to for all these millions of years is another thing entirely. They’re individuals within individuals. - (Thanks to Matthew Simon over at @wired for this great description - check out his article online, where much of this info is edited from) - A more friendly description by #ArtistAtSea @AngelaRosen.artist: Siphonophores are made up of many individual hydrozoans who agree to pass time together 

A post shared by Schmidt Ocean Institute (@schmidtocean) on Feb 26, 2020 at 8:36am PST

Additionally, up to 30 new underwater species were made by researchers from the Western Australian Museum aboard Schmidt Ocean Institute's research vessel Falkor.

Animal Science Firm Tropical Animal Genetics' Innovative Tech Platform to Double Dairy Farmers Income in India

Tropical Animal Genetics (TAG), a Gurugram-based livestock technology company pioneering innovations to ensure sustainable and profitable income to the dairy farmers, today has announced the launch of its latest Patented technology platform “Tropical Bovine Genetics (TBG)”.

Tropical Animal Genetics’ (TAG) innovative product profile is committed to doubling the Indian dairy farmers’ income with a mantra of assured genetics with Embryo Technology (ET) and assured lactation with Pregnancy Free Lactation (PFL).

Tropical Animal Genetics (TAG) is an animal sciences company focused on transforming the future of protein production by pioneering innovations in dairy, aqua, and poultry farming.

TAG has strategic and technology partnerships with Transova Genetics Inc, USA, Roslin Institute University of Edinburgh, Indian Institute of Science (IISc), IIT Madras and National Center for Biological Sciences (NCBS).

The company’s dual technology – (1) Affordable Assured Genetics with ET and (2) Assured lactation with PFL, will increase rural employment, provide safe milk to the consumers and will save the environment.

• Affordable Assured Genetics – Poor genetics of the herd results in low milk productivity per animal. TAG has industrialized sexed embryo technology allowing dairy farmers to access high productivity cows at affordable prices. Embryo derived milking cows (EDM) ensures dairy farmer will double his profits as compared to cows derived from Artificial Insemination (AI) using sperms. This is because only embryos give 100% genetics while AI gives 50% of the genetics.


• Assured Lactation – PFL technology does not require a pregnancy in a cow in order to produce milk. Instead, lactation is induced by mimicking the conditions of pregnancy. PFL is a groundbreaking solution that extends the productive life of a cow till the end of her life. This addresses the stray cattle problem in India as it will convert infertile animals into productive cattle. It will also help gaushalas become profitable.

Announcing the TAG’s innovative technologies, Dr. Pravin Kini, Managing Director, Tropical Animal Genetics said, “Our vision is to provide the right genetics for dairy in India that will help farmers secure a life of abundance and prosperity. We aspire to bring Indian farmers guaranteed pregnancies and better genetics.”

Dr. Bruce Whitelaw, Professor Animal Biotech, Univestity of Edinburgh and Future Technology Architect, TAG said, “Our R&D in India and UK will bring more advances to dairy farmers by further reducing costs of producing safe milk for the consumer while increasing farmer’s income.”

Dr Tom Mercuro, President, Transova Technologies said, “We are very excited about bringing Transova’s expertise to India and working with TAG to help in their goal of doubling farmer’s income.”

Mr. Srinivas Aluri, CoFounder TAG said “TAG is a new age Indian startup that is harnessing the power of deep technology to create positive social impact.”

TAG’s technologies also benefit the climate by reducing the number of unproductive animals. PFL will make infertile animals productive. Benefits of lower cattle population include reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and slowing of deforestation. TAG’s superior technology helps Bovine Breeder farmers convert sexed embryo to an embryo derived milch cow for sale to a dairy farmer, thus creating a new breed of rural entrepreneurs and generating employment opportunities. TAG is also working on a rural entrepreneurship program to create jobs by providing business and technical training.
About TAG: (Tropical Animal Genetics)

Tropical Animal Genetics a livestock technology company pioneering innovations for a sustainable food secure future. TAG’s Product TBG (Tropical Bovine Genetics) is committed to doubling the Indian dairy Farmers income with a mantra of assured genetics plus assured lactation to get assured revenue. The company’s technologies - affordable assured genetics and pregnancy free lactation for assured lactation will double farmer income, increase rural employment, provide safe milk to the consumers and save the environment.

~ Business Wire India