** IIT Dropout Series: Jharkhand boy left IIT Delhi for own startup, now runs a Rs 500-crore company with global partnerships

Ankit Prasad made it to the list of Forbes 30 under 30 in 2018 and has also been recognised in the Business World magazine’s 40 Under 40 list.

However, he wanted to tap into the growing smartphone industry and in 2015 founded ‘Bobble AI’ which created ‘Bobble Indic’ keyboard. Around 120 languages from around the world, as well as 37 Indian languages, are assisted by the keyboard. Bobble AI’s valuation was recorded to be over 500 crores in 2020, which increased to more than 750 crores in the third quarter of 2021.

** Urgent need to address shortage of 4.3 million nurses in India: Experts

“India has over 3 million registered nurses & midwives who are responsible for the country’s 1.3 billion population, which is grossly inadequate. This is less than the WHO norm of 3 nurses per 1,000 population and India needs to add more than 4.3 million nurses by 2024 to meet the prescribed WHO norms,” the Forum said in a statement.

Speaking during the discussion, Dr T Dileep Kumar, president, Indian Nursing Council, highlighted the need for nursing leadership and making nurses part of policy making.

** IIT (ISM) Innovation hub develops lac scrapping machine

IIT (ISM)’s innovation hub – Atal Community Innovation Center (ACIC), has taken into account the difficulties faced by lac growers in manually scraping lac from sticlac. They have developed a lac scrapping machine

Talking to The Telegraph Online, Amit Shukla, Chief Executive Officer ACIC  at IIT (ISM) Dhanbad said “Jharkhand produces almost half of the total quantity of lac produced in India. Jharkhand’s share makes India the world’s top lac producer.”

** Chanel appoints Unilever executive Leena Nair as CEO

According to the reports, Ms. Nair, in her new position with the French luxury group Chanel, will be based in London.

Leena Nair, the first female and youngest-ever Chief Human Resources Officer of Anglo-Dutch FMCG major Unilever has stepped down to join French luxury group Chanel as its Global Chief Executive.

She was a member of the Unilever Leadership Executive (ULE), which is responsible for delivering Unilever’s business and financial performance.

* DFRL’s ready-to-eat menu for Gaganyaan mission

The Defence Food Research Laboratory (DFRL) in Mysuru has prepared a slew of ready-to-eat dishes tailor-made for India’s space programme Gaganyaan.

The DFRL has prepared about 40 to 50 menus comprising both vegetarian and non-vegetarian items and the trials are in the preliminary stages.

** Tata Coffee honoured for its CSR initiatives in Soil and Water Conservation

Tata Coffee Limited (TCL) recently won the ‘Sustainable Agriculture Award’ at the Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) Agriculture Summit and Awards 2021. The company was recognized for its Soil and Water Conservation initiatives undertaken at its plantations and instant coffee plants.

Dec 2021