KSUM’s Rural India Business Conclave 2.0 gets Underway

KASARAGOD:
Setting up a Technology Innovation Zone in the district on the lines of the existing one in Kochi is under consideration, said N A Nellikunnu, MLA, today.

“There is a plan to take over the two acres of land lying vacant after the closure of a factory near the seashore in Kasaragod to set up the IT facility,” the MLA said in his presidential address at the inauguration of the two-day Rural India Business Conclave 2.0 here.

Rajmohan Unnithan, MP, inaugurated the conclave, organised by Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM) in association with Central Plantation Crops Research Institute (CPCRI) at the agricultural centre’s premises. In his address, Shri Unnithan said startups have to utilize the favourable conditions in the ecosystem and they must also realise that the future of the country lies in villages.

In the 30-hour-long agri-tech hackathon held as a prelude to the conclave, CODERS team from Christ College of Engineering, Thrissur, won the first prize among the five teams that reached the final stage. They bagged the prize for developing a platform to effectively support tourists with all the necessary information. The team was awarded Rs 50,000 cash prize and they will also get an opportunity to directly pitch the idea to secureKSUM’s innovation grant of Rs 12 lakh.

The other four teams are RAANS, ARTAVERSE, UFARMS and MAXQ1017.

Dr Anitha Karun, Director, ICAR-CPCRI; Dr K. Muraleedharan, Head, Kalpa Agri Business Incubator; Prof H. Venkateshwarlu, Vice-Chancellor, Central University of Kerala; Mohammed Riyas, Project Director, KSUM; and Ashok Kurien Panjikkaran, Senior Manager, KSUM; Shanavas Padur, Vice President, District Panchayat, Kasaragod; Deepti Nair, Deputy Director, Coconut Development Board, were also present.

‘Ways to make use of technology for the growth of rural India’ will be the theme of the June 11-12 summit, which will see the participation of around 40 experts from startup sector. KSUM is also organizing the summit in association with Startup India, besides Social Alpha and institutions such as Central University of Kerala, LBS Engineering College and Kerala Agriculture College of Kasaragod district.

KSUM is the nodal agency of the Kerala Government for entrepreneurship development and incubation activities in the state.