
Seventh edition of Huddle Global Start-up festival to be held in Kovalam in December
Huddle Global, branded as India's biggest beachside start-up festival, will be held at Kovalam. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan will inaugurate the festival at an event to be held at The Leela Kovalam. As the nodal agency of the Kerala Government for entrepreneurship development and incubation activities in the State, KSUM has been organising 'Huddle Kerala' since 2018.
Over the years, the beachside festival has become the country's eagerly awaited event due to its vibrant setting and powerful blend of innovation and opportunity it promises. The conclave this year is set to draw thousands of participants representing over 15 countries, promising a bigger global gathering that celebrates start-up culture.
KSUM CEO Anoop Ambika said that the upcoming edition is expected to draw more than 3,000 attendees, including 200 high-profile investors and 100 Angel investors, Fortune 500 leaders, venture capital firms and global mentors. International delegations and speakers have also confirmed their participation.
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Huddle Global 2025 will serve as a platform for start-ups to showcase cutting-edge innovations, raise capital, find strategic partners, and receive mentorship from some of the most accomplished names in the industry.
It will feature pitch competitions, start-up expos, investor meets, corporate challenges, fireside chats, masterclasses, and curated networking experiences — all designed to accelerate entrepreneurial growth and cross-border collaboration. The festival will spotlight futuristic sectors, including Artificial Intelligence (AI), Fintech, Blockchain, Healthtech, Life Sciences, Augmented/Virtual Reality, Spacetech, e-Governance, and Internet of Things (IoT). Start-ups in these sectors will exhibit breakthrough ideas and gain opportunities for real-time investor feedback, pilot funding and global market exposure.
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Hindustan Times
10 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
Upgrades in store for India's highways for EV era
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With the application and installation of Internet of Things (IoT) devices as part of a large V2X (Vehicle-to-Everything) infrastructure ecosystem, including cameras and sensors, we will be able to improve law enforcement and cater to emergencies better due to the availability of precise data on location, speed, and condition of the vehicle,' said Sinha. Unlike many developed countries, such as Germany, where overhead catenary wires, as used by electric trains and trams on select lanes of major highways, support charging on the go, NHEV will be operated through charging stations. These stations will function out of way-side amenities (WSAs) on national highways and private land along the road, spaced 50km apart. Each station will have two roadside assistance vehicles and ambulances dedicated specifically for addressing incidents that occur within a 25km radius. Each NHEV station will have 3200 kWh capacity with 36 chargers, EV service centres, toilets, food court, lounges, ATMs, and other commercial facilities such as salons and warehouses. 'Once these stations start functioning, people will stop going to single charging point stations, as there will be a greater reliability and lesser risk of queuing.' The first set of stations, totalling eight with two each on the north, south, east, and west zones, will be operational by March 2026. In addition to catering to highway users, Sinha said these stations will also serve as a logistics hub. 'All goods meant to be dropped within a 50-mile radius can be dropped there for last-mile deliveries, and local produce can be sold in these stations. This, in turn, can potentially create many delivery jobs currently limited to big cities,' he added Initially, these stations will be powered by on-grid power, but soon a mix of off-grid decentralised green power sources, such as solar, hydrogen electrolysers, and wind, will be gradually added in line with India's 2070 net-zero goal, Sinha said. For every 10 stations, three will be owned by power and petroleum PSUs, three by power and petroleum private companies, three by private individuals and family offices, while the state government would own one. Sinha said the ones owned by the state will have a larger area to accommodate a depot of electric buses and trucks. He added that preliminary talks have been held to set up these state government-owned stations/depots in Manesar, Haryana, and Dadri, Uttar Pradesh. Overall, 200 land applications are under review. The NHEV director noted that this model will not require any government subsidy, with each station being profitable through a mix of revenue streams from the different commercial activities, including those from advertising billboards. 'Within 40 months, each station is expected to break even on its initial investment of ₹40-50 crore compared to a 40-year break-even period for government-run chargers,' he said. Akash Singh, a transportation and infrastructure consultant and partner at global consulting firm Kearney, said that NHEV's approach is part of a broader national trend of 'testing first, scaling later' to de-risk public investment. He said by experimenting with models like battery subscription and vehicle-as-a-service in its trials, NHEV addressed one of the most significant adoption barriers, upfront cost, while creating confidence among inter-city operators. Adopting EVs is central to achieving India's commitment to net zero by 2070, with road transport estimated to contribute 12% of all emissions. By 2030, India has set an EV penetration target of 30% in private cars, 70% in commercial vehicles, 40% in buses, and 80% in two-wheelers and three-wheelers. But, EV penetration as of FY 2025 is 7.8%. HT spoke with some EV users who said that, currently, even for highway travel, there is no range anxiety, but they usually plan well ahead about when and where they will stop for charging. Vivek Ahuja, an early adopter of EVs in New Delhi, said he has travelled from Delhi to Shimla, Kasauli, Nainital, and Jaipur on his EV without any issue. 'On highways, every 50 km, there is availability of fast chargers, and there are multiple popular app-based services which provide reliable options for charging.' Another EV user, Nishant Jain, echoed the same sentiment, stating range anxiety is a non-issue currently, as each charge gives an approximate range of 400km. However, as EV adoption increases, public chargers will be needed, particularly for commercial vehicles. Data from the Federation of Automobile Dealers' Associations (FADA) showed that EV sales registered a 29% jump year-on-year in June. Currently, there is one charger for every 235 EVs on the road, according to a July report by CareEdge Analytics and Advisory. The report stated that the underdeveloped charging infrastructure has long been a bottleneck for EV adoption in India. In contrast, leading global EV markets, such as China and Europe, maintain a significantly denser network, with one charger for every 7 to 15 EVs, offering greater convenience and reliability to users. Sinha said NHEV stations will play a key enabling role not only for passenger vehicles but also for heavy-duty vehicles, including trucks, and prevent high queuing.


The Print
13 hours ago
- The Print
Kerala agriculture growth doubles national average, says CM Vijayan
'In the last financial year, while the agricultural sector at the national level recorded a growth of 2.1 per cent, Kerala achieved a growth of 4.65 per cent. The Agriculture Department implemented several measures aimed at increasing farmers' income by 50 per cent. He was speaking while inaugurating an online state-level celebration of Farmers' Day and the distribution of state farmer awards. Thrissur (Kerala), Aug 17 (PTI) Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said on Sunday that Kerala's agricultural sector is on the path of growth and that the state has achieved more than double the national average growth. 'A short-term agricultural programme named Mission 2026 and a long-term plan called Mission 2033 have been highly supportive in this effort,' the chief minister said on the occasion of the Malayalam New Year, Chingam 1. The state has also been able to implement a comprehensive crop insurance scheme, Vijayan said. He noted that during this government's tenure, paddy productivity had increased to 3,108 kg per hectare, while coconut cultivation achieved 54 per cent growth through the Keragramam project. The procurement of coconuts rose from 6.28 lakh tonne to 17.20 lakh tonne, the CM added. Vijayan said climate change, market uncertainties and wild animal attacks were adversely affecting the agricultural sector. 'To counter climate change and bring changes in value-added production, the state is implementing the KERA Project with World Bank support at a cost of Rs 2,365 crore. The project will directly benefit four lakh farmers and indirectly benefit another 10 lakh farmers,' he said. The chief minister added that this was the first major World Bank-supported project for the agricultural sector in 40 years. Vijayan said the agricultural calendar should be adjusted in line with climate change, and the sector should move forward through constructive discussions and innovative farming practices. The government, he said, was looking into combining modern technologies as well. 'More than 150 agritech start-ups have been launched. The government is also making efforts to carry out effective interventions in the value-added products sector. Moving ahead with the goal of branding agricultural value-added products under the motto 'One Krishi Bhavan, One Value-Added Product', over 200 value-added products have been prepared for marketing,' he said. The chief minister said curbing the menace of wild animals was indeed essential. 'However, this cannot be fully achieved through the intervention of the state government alone. Timely amendments to central laws are required, and for this the state government is putting pressure on the Centre,' he said. In addition, special projects that can be implemented at the state level have also been designed. The CM said the government's aim was to combine traditional farming practices with modern agriculture techinques and put them into practice. State Agriculture Minister P Prasad presided over the function. PTI TGB TGB KH This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.


News18
15 hours ago
- News18
Kerala agriculture growth doubles national average, says CM Vijayan
Thrissur (Kerala), Aug 17 (PTI) Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said on Sunday that Kerala's agricultural sector is on the path of growth and that the state has achieved more than double the national average growth. He was speaking while inaugurating an online state-level celebration of Farmers' Day and the distribution of state farmer awards. 'In the last financial year, while the agricultural sector at the national level recorded a growth of 2.1 per cent, Kerala achieved a growth of 4.65 per cent. The Agriculture Department implemented several measures aimed at increasing farmers' income by 50 per cent. 'A short-term agricultural programme named Mission 2026 and a long-term plan called Mission 2033 have been highly supportive in this effort," the chief minister said on the occasion of the Malayalam New Year, Chingam 1. The state has also been able to implement a comprehensive crop insurance scheme, Vijayan said. He noted that during this government's tenure, paddy productivity had increased to 3,108 kg per hectare, while coconut cultivation achieved 54 per cent growth through the Keragramam project. The procurement of coconuts rose from 6.28 lakh tonne to 17.20 lakh tonne, the CM added. 'To counter climate change and bring changes in value-added production, the state is implementing the KERA Project with World Bank support at a cost of Rs 2,365 crore. The project will directly benefit four lakh farmers and indirectly benefit another 10 lakh farmers," he said. The chief minister added that this was the first major World Bank-supported project for the agricultural sector in 40 years. Vijayan said the agricultural calendar should be adjusted in line with climate change, and the sector should move forward through constructive discussions and innovative farming practices. The government, he said, was looking into combining modern technologies as well. 'More than 150 agritech start-ups have been launched. The government is also making efforts to carry out effective interventions in the value-added products sector. Moving ahead with the goal of branding agricultural value-added products under the motto 'One Krishi Bhavan, One Value-Added Product', over 200 value-added products have been prepared for marketing," he said. The chief minister said curbing the menace of wild animals was indeed essential. 'However, this cannot be fully achieved through the intervention of the state government alone. Timely amendments to central laws are required, and for this the state government is putting pressure on the Centre," he said. In addition, special projects that can be implemented at the state level have also been designed. The CM said the government's aim was to combine traditional farming practices with modern agriculture techinques and put them into practice. State Agriculture Minister P Prasad presided over the function. PTI TGB TGB KH view comments First Published: August 17, 2025, 22:00 IST Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.