logo
Asia-Pacific summit on smart & sustainable agri concludes at PU

Asia-Pacific summit on smart & sustainable agri concludes at PU

Time of India28-04-2025

Chandigarh: A five-day Asia-Pacific summit on
smart and sustainable agriculture
concluded in Chandigarh Sunday. Organised by Panjab University-IIT Ropar Regional Accelerator for Holistic Innovations (PI-RAHI) and the Northern Region S&T Cluster, the summit aimed to empower
farmer producer organisations
(FPOs) and cooperatives while showcasing innovative solutions in agricultural practices.
The event was held in collaboration with the Network for the Development of Agricultural Cooperatives in Asia and the Pacific (NEDAC), Thailand.
The summit attracted 35 participants from 10 Indian states and seven countries, marking the first event of its kind in the country focused on grassroots agricultural transformation through technology. It featured multiple sessions across institutions such as IIT Ropar, CSIR-IHBT Palampur, and Unati Co-op. Marketing-cum-Processing Society Ltd.
Participants were introduced to various technological innovations, including those related to drone technology, post-harvest solutions, vertical farming, and biomanufacturing. A highlight of the event was the AgriTech Challenge, in which startups presented solutions for climate-resilient agriculture, market access, and waste-to-wealth innovations. Agro Stubble Management Pvt. Ltd., Biofield Power Pvt. Ltd., and Kanav Biosyze Pvt. Ltd. were awarded prizes for their impactful solutions.
The summit emphasised the importance of technology and collective enterprise in shaping the future of agriculture.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Dutch investor Prosus pegs IPO-bound Urban Company's fair value at $2.4 billion
Dutch investor Prosus pegs IPO-bound Urban Company's fair value at $2.4 billion

Time of India

time40 minutes ago

  • Time of India

Dutch investor Prosus pegs IPO-bound Urban Company's fair value at $2.4 billion

Dutch technology investor Prosus has pegged the fair value of at-home services platform Urban Company at $2.4 billion, according to its FY25 annual report. The Gurugram-based firm is among several Prosus-backed Indian startups preparing to go public. Prosus Ventures holds a 6.8% stake in Urban Company, which recently filed a draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) for a Rs 1,900 crore initial public offering (IPO). The offer includes a primary issue of Rs 429 crore and an offer for sale (OFS) of Rs 1,471 crore, through which early investors, including Accel , Elevation Capital, Tiger Global, and Vy Capital, will offload stakes. Over the past year, Urban Company closed multiple pre-IPO secondary transactions at a valuation of around $1.8 billion, ET reported. Another Prosus-backed company, omnichannel jewellery retailer BlueStone, is also gearing up for an IPO . As reported by ET on June 18, the private wealth management arms of 360 One and Centrum Wealth are in talks to facilitate secondary transactions worth Rs 300–350 crore in BlueStone. Both platforms are expected to sell the stakes to their clients ahead of the company's public market debut. The transaction is also likely to value BlueStone at around Rs 10,500 crore ($1.2 billion), about 30% higher than its last reported valuation of Rs 8,100 crore in August 2024, when it raised Rs 900 crore through a mix of primary and secondary funding from investors including Peak XV Partners and Prosus. Discover the stories of your interest Blockchain 5 Stories Cyber-safety 7 Stories Fintech 9 Stories E-comm 9 Stories ML 8 Stories Edtech 6 Stories Meanwhile, ecommerce marketplace Meesho , where Prosus owns about 13%, is expected to file its DRHP in the coming weeks. The company recently completed a reverse flip to shift its domicile to India, a key regulatory requirement ahead of its IPO plans. The listing preparations come amid a broader trend of global investors seeking to partially monetise long-held Indian tech bets, amid signs of a gradual revival in IPO activity. Prosus has been among the most active foreign investors in India's startup ecosystem, with a portfolio spanning fintech, edtech, ecommerce, logistics, and consumer tech.

India€™s biotech sector grew nearly fivefold in past decade: DBT Secretary
India€™s biotech sector grew nearly fivefold in past decade: DBT Secretary

Mint

time44 minutes ago

  • Mint

India€™s biotech sector grew nearly fivefold in past decade: DBT Secretary

New Delhi, Jun 23 (PTI) India's biotechnology sector has expanded rapidly in the past decade, with its bioeconomy growing from USD 35.5 billion in 2014 to USD 165.7 billion in 2024, according to Rajesh S Gokhale, Secretary, Department of Biotechnology (DBT). He said the sector is now aiming for a USD 300 billion target by 2030, as scientific advances begin to translate into industrial and public health gains. "Biotechnology is no longer a fringe discipline, it's now a strategic driver for India's economic and health priorities," Gokhale said at a press conference highlighting 11 years of DBT's achievements. Among the standout initiatives is GenomeIndia, a nationwide effort to sequence the genomes of 10,000 individuals from 99 population groups, he said. The data, released earlier this year, is expected to inform personalised medicine and help researchers develop diagnostics tailored to Indian populations. Gokhale also highlighted India's first in-human gene therapy trial using a lentiviral vector for Severe Hemophilia A. India's vaccine response, Gokhale said, demonstrated the capacity of the DBT-backed innovation ecosystem. Under "Mission COVID Suraksha", five COVID-19 vaccines developed with DBT support received emergency approvals, including GEMCOVAC-19, the world's first thermostable mRNA vaccine. Other products include the intranasal COVID-19 vaccine and CERVAVAC, India's first indigenous quadrivalent HPV vaccine, now part of the National Immunization Programme, according to document shared at the briefing. Indian scientists contributed to decoding the complex genome of bread wheat, a global staple crop, and published a reference genome with 94 per cent coverage. Other research showed how Mycobacterium tuberculosis can infect liver cells and undermine TB treatment efficacy, while a study on taurine levels suggested amino acid may influence aging. Gokhale said India's biotech startup landscape has changed dramatically, with over 10,000 startups now in the sector, up from a few hundred a decade ago. Over 800 biotech products have emerged in this period. Through BIRAC, DBT has helped set up 95 bio-incubators across 21 states. Infrastructure investments include India's first dedicated biomanufacturing institute in Mohali and vaccine testing labs notified as Central Drug Laboratories. Speed breeding facilities have also been established to accelerate the development of climate-resilient crops. The BioE3 policy, approved by the Cabinet in 2024, is aimed at fostering high-performance biomanufacturing aligned with Net Zero targets.

Rethinking enterprise operations with Agentic AI
Rethinking enterprise operations with Agentic AI

Time of India

timean hour ago

  • Time of India

Rethinking enterprise operations with Agentic AI

Agentic AI represents a transformative leap beyond traditional AI workflows, empowering autonomous software 'agents' to make decisions and execute tasks with minimal human oversight. Companies that have already integrated agentic platforms are witnessing productivity gains at scale. , the agentic platform launched in partnership with NVIDIA , for example, has 150 deployed tax agents supporting 80,000 professionals in data collection, analysis, and compliance tasks. In India, generative AI could transform 38 million jobs by 2030 and boost productivity by over 2.6% in the organised sector, as per EY's recent report, 'How much productivity can GenAI unlock in India? The AIdea of India 2025'. As agents gain autonomy, enterprises must rethink operations, redesign workforce structures, and forge tight collaborations between HR, IT, and operations to harness this next wave of innovation. From AI integration to agentic autonomy Historically, Indian organisations have embraced AI by embedding predictive analytics and automation into existing processes—deploying chatbots for customer service or using AI platforms for workflow optimisation. These implementations, while valuable, remained largely reactive. AI was brought to bear on specific tasks rather than reimagining the enterprise end-to-end. Agentic AI shifts from task-based automation to autonomous decision-making, where agents perceive context, act upon multiple data sources, and iteratively refine their actions without constant human prompts. As NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang said, 'The IT department of every company is going to be the HR department of AI agents in the future,' highlighting the need to onboard, train, and govern these digital entities as one would do for its employees. Autonomous agents free up human experts from repetitive duties—data gathering, document review, compliance checks—allowing focus on strategy and complex decision-making. This hybrid workforce demands new interaction models: agents handle data-intensive workflows, while humans provide judgment, oversight, and ethical guidance. Reimagining the future of work Forward-looking CEOs in India are no longer asking 'if' they must deploy agentic AI, but 'how' to restructure their organisations for an agent-augmented future. Leaders are conducting scenario planning to map agentic roles alongside human teams, anticipating changes in reporting lines, and redefining performance metrics. The rise of agentic AI also creates specialised positions—agent architects, prompt engineers, and agent operations managers—driving demand for a talent pool that blends AI expertise with domain knowledge. We are starting to see request for proposals (RFPs) that are open to accepting digital labour. To prepare the workforce for hybrid roles, upskilling and reskilling initiatives must span AI ethics, governance frameworks, and agent lifecycle management. Crafting a cohesive strategy Effective adoption requires HR, IT, and operations functions to co-author the agentic AI strategy. HR designs job families and training pathways that integrate agents and develops the infrastructure for agent provisioning, security, and aligns agentic workflows with business objectives and KPIs. Without this tri-party collaboration, agentic initiatives risk siloed deployments that underdeliver on promised ROI. With projections of 38 million jobs transformed by 2030, securing the first-mover advantage in agentic AI will require aggressive investments in technology and talent. The need is not for incremental changes but for a large-scale reimagining of work. For CXOs in India, the path forward involves embedding agentic AI into enterprise strategy across functions, building governance and ethical guardrails for autonomous decision-making, redesigning the workforce model with new agent-centric roles and fostering tight cross-functional collaboration between HR, IT, and operations. Organisations that act decisively today—investing in agentic platforms, talent pipelines, and governance frameworks—will not only enhance productivity but be among the leaders in India's next digital frontier.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store