Global IndianstorySanjay Nekkanti: Leading India’s satellite revolution through Dhruva Space

Sanjay Nekkanti: Leading India’s satellite revolution through Dhruva Space

Written by: Mallik Thatipalli

(August 8, 2023) Sanjay Nekkanti built his first satellite when he was 19-years-old and knew then that it was what he wanted to do. In 2012, he co-founded Dhruva Space, which, ten years on, remains a forerunner in end-to-end space technology solutions, for customers who want to launch and own space assets. In 2022, the company made history as the first privately-owned Indian company in the country to build a satellite by itself. Its two nanosatellites, Thybolt-1 and Thybolt-2, were launched by ISRO.

Today, the Indian space-tech industry is booming; valued at around US $8 billion in 2023, it is projected to be worth over ten times that by 2040. Dhruva Space is one of the handful of space-tech startups on the scene today, even rarer still, one of the few companies worldwide who provide end-to-end solutions, from space system engineering and satellite launches to ground support, serving both civilian and defense customers globally.

In May 2023, Hyderabad’s Dhruva Space successfully conducted its third space mission in less than a year, launching two types of Satellite Orbital Deployers and a Radio Frequency module aboard ISRO’s PSLV-C55. The mission, which included testing the DSOD-3U and DSOD-6U units for larger CubeSats and delayed satellite deployment, marked a significant step towards Dhruva Space’s goal to have payloads on every ISRO-PSLV mission.

Sanjay Nekkanti is a co-founder of Dhruva Space

“Typically having a space mission in orbit entails working with multiple suppliers. This has a huge impact on cost, reliability and turnaround times. A little context: the timing of the vitalisation of India’s Private Space Sector has been integral, considering there are many small satellite requirements globally. The projections are estimated to be in the tens of thousands in number; so, in order to meet any of those demands, the global supply chain needs to be robust and strong,” says Dhruva Aerospace CEO Sanjay Nekkanti, in conversation with Global Indian.

Dhruva Space works actively in the ecosystem with 400-odd companies that have been building small yet important components for the Indian Space Programme for many decades now. By working with these vendors, Dhruva Space delivers missions faster and economically without impacting reliability. This is the need of the hour in the age where customers are not looking at sending just one or two satellites to Space but rather considering sending dozens of satellites to Space, to improve satellites-enabled services.

Dhruva Space’s 3U and 6U Satellite Orbital Deployers and Orbital Link onboard ISRO’s PSLV-C55

Starting out amid challenges

In 2012, during the early days of Dhruva Space, the Indian market was not very receptive to space entrepreneurs, who had very little access to capital. The private space sector was seen as a high-risk domain with little to no guarantee of a reward. However, Nekkanti himself had been part of fledgling efforts, as part of the SRM University Team that built SRMSAT, a student-made satellite which was launched in 2011 on board the PSLV-C18. He went on to pursue a dual-degree Master’s programme in Space Engineering in Europe, and was already incubating his desire to turn India into a satellite capital of the world. To this end, he founded Dhruva Space in 2012. Six years later, he was joined by long-time friends, Chaitanya Dora Surapureddy, Abhay Egoor and Krishna Teja Penamakuru, as co-founders. Also in 2012, the market was segmented only into academia – which was academic institutions building small satellites – and Government which is Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).

Dhruva Space team at the launch of their Orbital Link and Satellite Orbital Deployers aboard ISRO’s PSLV-C55

Nekkanti recalls, “Access to capital in 2012 was very difficult, but as the dialogue around satellite and space technologies have evolved over the years, Dhruva Space has raised USD 9 million to date; and we are supported by institutional and angel funds.”

Milestones and lessons

Since June 2022, Dhruva Space has completed three Space missions – in its endeavours to make Space accessible frequently and cost-effectively on a reliable basis. They have Space-qualified three classes of their Satellite Orbital Deployers; these mechanisms are integrated onto the launch vehicle and dispense satellites into orbit; they have also launched Thybolt-1 and Thybolt-2 cubesats, each weighing around 800 grams.

“These satellites have completed more than 7,000 orbits. The local vendor ecosystem has been a big part of these successes; in Hyderabad, there are around 150 small businesses, vetted by the Indian Space Program, that make crucial Space-grade components for various spacecraft and also offer testing facilities that are important to our R&D processes. We actively work with them for all our missions and projects till date.” Nekkanti shares.

Dhruva Space | Global Indian

Over the years, the founders have had their share of challenges. Abhay Egoor, CTO says, “As a co-founder, I have learned that team is the biggest and most important factor in overcoming most challenges. They’re the ones who will be with you through the whole execution phase of an idea; ideation is one part but to realise it is a different ball game!”

This is amply illustrated in the fact that all the four co-founders possess different skill-sets and come from different backgrounds. Over the years, they have learnt invaluable learnings through hands-on experience.

Nekkanti reminiscences about the time in 2019 when they worked on a satellite design for 18 months. “What we had come up with was perfection except for one major flaw; there was no design repeatability, meaning making this again would have been near impossible. This took a lot away from the company’s USP in that we would eventually launch constellations of satellites. So we had to go back to the drawing board to ensure the product and company’s long-term and future value. We learned that sometimes, product innovation sometimes sees multiple steps forward and just as many steps back – but this is a part of the journey.”

Firing Ahead

Due to Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), there is a thriving aerospace ecosystem in Hyderabad.

The State of Telangana also hosts a treasure trove of reputed educational and research institutions (including the IIT-Hyderabad and BITS Pilani Hyderabad among others) and the start-up partnered with the institutes for Industry-Academia collaborative-framework to not just help empower faculty in space engineering fields, but to also encourage more students to foray into these fields with more confidence and the right support structures.

Dhruva Space | Global Indian

Krishna Teja Penamakuru, COO, shares, “There is a thriving vendor network supplying integral parts but there is no company building products and IP using it. We are looking to contribute to this ecosystem by building indigenous products and to create infrastructure and/or facilities where we see gaps.”

Over the next two quarters, Dhruva Space’s primary focus is to undertake technology demonstrations for as many of their subsystems and satellites as possible. Egoor states, “From a business perspective, we shall also be enabling our customers to launch their payloads on our deployers. This is in addition to expanding our global customer base for our flagship products such as the space-grade solar panels and satellite platforms.”

Also, over the next 18-24 months, Dhruva Space shall be observing the expansion of its capabilities and infrastructure with the setup of a world-class manufacturing facility for small satellites. They have partnered with French satellite service provider Kinéis for an upcoming mission; the partnership has been recognised by the French Space Agency CNES. the joint Space project will extend deployment of solutions worldwide, and notably in India, for such crucial applications as smart agriculture and fishing, wildfire prevention, humanitarian convoy and wildlife tracking, monitoring of energy networks and infrastructures, transport tracking and logistics – proving how important satellite technologies are to everyday life.

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Published on 08, Aug 2023

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Meet Sarbpreet Singh, who went from corporate boardrooms to writing about the immigrant Sikh experience

(February 26, 2024) A Boston-based writer, podcaster, and commentator, Sarbpreet Singh is a man who wears many hats with élan. Author of the critically acclaimed books The Story of the Sikhs 1469–1708, Night of the Restless Spirits, The Sufi’s Nightingale, and the bestselling The Camel Merchant of Philadelphia, his deeply researched books have left an imprint on many readers. Having worked for various firms, including General Electric, Lucent Technologies, Flextronics International, and AT&T Bell Labs, he made the career switch to writing in 2017. Sarbpreet Singh is the very definition of a Global Indian. Raised in Sikkim, speaking Punjabi (his mother tongue) and Nepali (the language most prevalent in Sikkim), his syncretic upbringing and outlook have ensured he imbibes the best that places and people have to offer. [caption id="attachment_49428" align="aligncenter" width="585"] Sarbpreet Singh[/caption] Love of literature Hailing from one of only two Sikh families that lived in Gangtok, Sikkim, the author was quite disconnected from his roots, both culturally and socially. He recalls, “While I had friends growing up, I struggled with feelings of isolation that came from the ‘othering’ that my visible Sikh identity provoked.” In a school culture where sporting abilities were valued highly, his indifferent soccer

disconnected from his roots, both culturally and socially. He recalls, “While I had friends growing up, I struggled with feelings of isolation that came from the ‘othering’ that my visible Sikh identity provoked.”

In a school culture where sporting abilities were valued highly, his indifferent soccer and track and field abilities meant that he turned to elocution, dramatics and related pursuits, which transformed into lifelong interests.

He recalls, “I always loved literature, and during my high school years, against the advice of my mentors, I decided to study English literature as an elective, something that was not recommended for a student studying science subjects. The two-year syllabus enriched me tremendously as I delved into the likes of Thomas Hardy, Samuel Butler, John Galsworthy, and, of course, Shakespeare."

Sarbpreet went on to study Engineering at The Birla Institute of Technology and Science in Pilani. After a stint at ICIM, a Bombay-based tech company, he left for the US to study computer science at Pace University in New York.

Life in the US

The author says that he adjusted to life in the US easily. “As someone who attended elite schools in India, had a deep love of the English language, and identified with western ideas and culture, I did not have much trouble adjusting to my new life in a new country. I maintained my Sikh identity, and while my distinctive physical appearance did lead to the inevitable othering, it did not hold me back in my professional career at all,” he states.

However, Sarbpreet did change profoundly in other ways. He recounts, “My first job took me to a small suburb of the Midwestern city of Milwaukee. Quite serendipitously, a budding interest in my roots, which had started while I was in graduate school, took shape as I started spending time with young Sikhs around my age who attended the small Milwaukee Gurdwara.”

As a young man who was until then immersed mostly in Rock and The Blues, and disdained all forms of Indian music, he found himself drawn to Gurmat Sangeet, or Sikh sacred music.

Milwaukee was also home to a small but thriving Indian classical music community, which Sarbpreet got involved with. The twin interests in Gurmat Sangeet and Shastriya Sangeet developed into a lifelong passion, especially as he launched The Gurmat Sangeet Project, a non-profit dedicated to the preservation of traditional Sikh music.

A writer by accident

As an expatriate Indian and a Sikh, Sarbpreet first encountered writings on Sikhs and the Sikh faith by chance. He explains, “While I did speak Punjabi, I never learned to read Gurmukhi and was hence limited to reading exclusively in the English language. I encountered J.D. Cunningham's History of the Sikhs and Max Marthur Macauliffe’s The Sikh Religion, finding both works to be tremendously inspiring, after which I read Khushwant Singh’s History of the Sikhs as well.”

Reading about the broad worldview of the Sikh Gurus and the trials and tribulations of eighteenth-century Sikhs as they struggled to establish their progressive faith in a society that was anything but welcoming inspired Sarbpreet tremendously.

This budding interest in Sikh history led him to writings about more recent events, most notably the tragic events of 1984. He reminisces, “Reading the PUCL/PUDR report on the Delhi massacre, an article by Madhu Kishwar titled Gangster Rule on the same topic, and most importantly, an academic paper by anthropologist Dr. Veena Das created tremendous turmoil in my heart.”

This was the spark that prompted him to write Kultar’s Mime, a long poem about four children who survived the anti-Sikh violence of 1984 and their attempts to deal with their PTSD.

After that, Sarbpreet took a long break from writing, and it wasn’t until years later that he started writing a column for the popular web magazine SikhChic in 2013. He states, “The positive response to the column inspired me to write my first book, The Camel Merchant of Philadelphia, set in the court of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. The book was a great critical and commercial success, and it launched my career as a writer.”

From tech to storytelling

He left the world of technology around 2014 and, for the next two years, focused on producing the play Kultar’s Mime, created by his daughter based on his poem. He shares, “Somewhere along this three-year journey, which took the play to six countries for 90+ performances, I made the decision to embrace storytelling completely." His epiphany came after a performance in Birmingham, UK, when a young Sikh in his late teens walked up to him and said, ‘I could never imagine that our stories could be told in this manner’. After the tour ended in 2017, he started writing in earnest.

Sarbpreet writes on topics that inspire him or catch his imagination; as his interests are varied, his books deal with different themes. He outlines it when he says, “All my work is deeply rooted in research, and I tend to immerse myself in my subject before I write a single word. For example, my latest novel, The Sufi’s Nightingale, is a retelling of the life of the poet Shah Hussain. While I tried to read everything about him that I could lay my hands on before writing the novel, I also spent a couple of years creating original compositions to sing his kafis or poems, which appear in translation in the book and are deeply embedded in the narrative.”

A man of many talents

Along with writing, Sarbpreet is also the writer-narrator of the podcast, Story of The Sikhs, which has listeners in over ninety countries. Ask him how he juggles it with writing, and he smiles. “There is really no juggling involved at all! Even though my canvas is quite broad, all my work is based on what truly inspires me. Novels, works of non-fiction, plays, poetry, podcasts, and music—all of these to me are just different modes of storytelling, with the ultimate objective of inspiring others.”

Though he has lived longer now in the US than in India, the author is rooted culturally in the Indian subcontinent. It is reflected in the food he likes, the music he listens to and the stories he writes. When not spending time with his family, he is busy with his other passions – tennis, music and literature. He is currently working on his next book, Cauldron, Sword, Victory – The Rise of the Sikhs expected to be out later this year.

Follow Sarbpreet Singh on Instagram.

How Ruchit Garg quit his top-tier job at Microsoft to build an ‘Amazon’ for small holder farmers

(October 19, 2024) What inspired Ruchit Garg to quit his job at the Redmond Headquarters and return to India to set up a social enterprise for small holder farmers? Especially when Garg, who grew up struggling financially, actually made it to the Holy Grail of tech jobs. It was the desire to make a change at the bottom of the pyramid that took the young boy who would sneak into his local library in India to read the Harvard Business Review, to actually being featured in it himself. In March 2023, the Global Indian, who is the founder and CEO of Harvesting Farmer Network, was invited discuss financial inclusion for smallholder farmers at Harvard University. Humble beginnings Ruchit Garg lost his father when he was young, and the family had only his mother's meagre earnings on which to survive. He was born in Lucknow, where his mother worked as a clerk for the Indian Railways Library. Since the family couldn't really afford books, the young boy would sneak into the library to read. The library was well stocked, however, and he read a wide range of books and magazines, including the Harvard Business Review, which he loved. [caption id="attachment_50197" align="aligncenter"

ge of books and magazines, including the Harvard Business Review, which he loved.

[caption id="attachment_50197" align="aligncenter" width="382"] Ruchit Garg, Founder and CFO, Harvesting Farmer Network[/caption]

"I grew up in Lucknow, then West Bengal and back to UP where I did a master's in Meerut," Garg said. He loved coding and computers and went on to create India's first commercial text-to-speech system in Hindi, back in 2001, when he was part of a young company. From there, in 2005, he went to Microsoft R&D in Hyderabad and later moved to Redmond, Washington where he helped build XBOX, the Microsoft OS and the Windows Phone.

There was only one problem. "I got bored," Garg confessed in an interview. "I felt like a misfit there. I always wanted to start a business." At the time, he was also seeing the startup economy boom in the US, and he decided it was now or never. He founded 9Slides, a multi-media traning platform which allowed business to create, publish and measure their training content on any device. The company was eventually acquired by Limeade, where he worked in product development for two years.

A change of heart

"I saw some recognition and everything that comes with selling a company," Garg said. "But I realised it's also not worth it to me, to build something with a solely monetary focus. Obviously, you want to build a hugely successful company, but which can also help people at the bottom of the pyramid," he says. He recalled his grandfather, who was a farmer in India and the hardships that small hold farms continue to face.

It's not worth it to me to build something with a solely monetary focus. Obviously, you want to build a hugely successful company, but which can also help people at the bottom of the pyramid.

When he began in 2016, there were 480 million small holder farmers in the world. In 2024, there are roughly 500 million, and they continue to make up a large portion of the world's poor, who live on less than $2 per day. In contrast, the food agriculture industry is worth trillions of dollars, and small holder farms produce about 80 percent of the food consumed in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. This was one part of the picture that gave him pause. The other was the number of people who go to bed hungry every night - according to the WFP, the number is around 783 million people, that's roughly 1 in 10 of the world's population. "Unless we fix the problem, it's going to be bad for the human race as a whole," Garg remarked.

Smallholder farmers are central to his solution. Apart from producing the majority of food consumed in large parts of the world, they also reduce dependency on imports and help stabilize local food prices. Many smallholder farms sell their produce at local markets, creating a supply chain that benefits local vendors, transporters, and other small businesses. By purchasing seeds, fertilizers, and farming tools locally, they also help sustain agricultural input markets. They might be small, but they play a crucial role in providing food security for their communities by ensuring a consistent, localized food supply, which is particularly vital in rural areas where larger commercial farms might not operate.

Bridging the gap with tech

Despite these contributions, smallholders face challenges such as limited access to finance, quality inputs, and market connections, which makes it difficult for them to scale operations or achieve consistent productivity. So, Ruchit Garg began studying these issues and found there were fundamentally three problems. "Access to market, access to inputs like seeds and fertilizers and access to financial instruments like insurance and so on," Garg explained. "From my perspective as a data tech guy, this can all be seen as information asymmetry; there is a gap between small holder farmers and everyone else in the value chains." There were lots of companies to give loans to farmers, but it was hard to figure out where the farmer is exactly, what his networth might be or how much crop he produces. "If we could match, make it easier, affordable and timely and available to stakeholders, we could solve a lot of problems."

Could cutting-edge tech be integrated into the age old practices of smallholder farms? Digital tools are transforming smallholder farming by connecting farmers directly to buyers, reducing their dependence on middlemen. Precision agriculture, including IoT sensors and mobile apps, helps farmers manage irrigation, monitor soil conditions, and predict weather patterns, which boosts yields and cuts costs. India’s investment in agri-tech reached $1.7 billion between 2014 and 2019, showing the sector’s growth potential. However, issues like poor connectivity and digital literacy still limit broader adoption, something Garg’s Harvesting Farmer Network is actively addressing

Moving back to India

Shortly before the pandemic hit, Ruchit Garg decided to move his family back home. He was travelling a lot for work, doing around one international trip every month from California to Nigeria, Kenya and to Europe. Being in India made sense and he would have access to the huge number of small holder farmers in Asia. "Also, my kids were growing up and hadn't really seen India, I thought it would be a good time for them to move back and also be near their grandparents," he said.

As soon as the move happened, though, the pandemic struck and the world went into lockdown. Garg was also reading news about farmers throwing away produce and feeding it to cattle because they couldn't transport it to markets and to buyers. Again, the problem seemed to be an information gap. Garg got on Twitter and began linking farmers with buyers, and immediately, calls started pouring in. There were cases when farmers had huge orders for thousands of kilos which they could not transport because of pandemic restrictions. "I would call the local bureaucrat and arrange for the person to be given a pass. I also worked with the Indian Railways. They were also very cooperative, they even offered to arrange a special train for me. It was a community effort and I found myself at the centre of it," Garg recalls.

How it works

Simply put, Harvesting Farmer Network describes itself as a "mobile marketplace," which collaborates with offline centres to help farmers at every step of the growing process, from seed to market. Driven by data, intelligence and technology, HFN establishes digital and physical connections with farmers, providing them with access to inputs (seeds, fertilisers, equipment etc), finances and to buyers, as well as with expert advisory and better pricing. HFN reportedly has 3.7 lakh farmers in its network and covers 948,043 acres of land.

Farmers can also get help on call, and HFN has linked up a network of agronomists and advisors to give them scientific and reliable advices. What's more, this advice is available in local languages. It also helps to sidestep the middlemen and connect farmers directly with buyers, helping generate better value and revenue for farm produce, using a tech-driven, integrated supply chain.

Follow Ruchit Garg on LinkedIn.

A crypto pickle: Indian entrepreneur Hafez Raman’s Athey Nallatha lets you buy achar with bitcoins

(March 10, 2022) If a fusion of shrimp and papaya isn't exotic enough for you, then perhaps the opportunity to buy a bottle of pickles with cryptocurrency just might be. For Indian entrepreneur Hafez Raman, co-founder of Athey Nallatha, the startup that offers 'an NFT collection made by mothers of India', this is the culmination of a lifetime spent in pursuit of unconventional choices. For instance, in school, as his peers weighed their prospects in engineering and medicine, Hafez was thinking of relativity and quantum mechanics. He also realised early on that he would never work a nine-to-five. Instead, he began his career as a copywriter, did an MBA and went on to found an EdTech startup. When the idea to start a business arose during the pandemic, Hafez jumped at it and called Akshay Raveendran, a friend from his business school days. "He asked me for a day to think things over but called me back in 40 minutes," Hafez said, in an exclusive interview with Global Indian. [caption id="attachment_21057" align="aligncenter" width="429"] Indian entrepreneur Hafez Raman, co-founder, Athey Nallatha[/caption] The aforementioned Chemmeen pickle is flying off the shelves, reports Hafez. Over the last year and a half, Athey Nallatha,

ndian.com//wp-content/uploads/2022/03/IMG-20220228-WA0035.jpg" alt="Hafez Raman | Akshay Raveendran | Athey Nallatha | Global Indian" width="429" height="644" /> Indian entrepreneur Hafez Raman, co-founder, Athey Nallatha[/caption]

The aforementioned Chemmeen pickle is flying off the shelves, reports Hafez. Over the last year and a half, Athey Nallatha, which means 'yes, that's good' in Malayalam, grew too big for his mother's kitchen. Today, they function out of a factory in Kochi alongside some of the biggest players in the game. Currently, in the process of setting up retail businesses in the UAE and Germany, Athey Nallatha already takes individual orders from across the world.

In college, Hafez studied photonics at the Cochin University of Science and Technology and did his research at IIT Bombay. "I also had a passion for writing, so I became a copywriter." In 2016, he went to do an MBA at the CSMS Cochin School of Business, where he met Akshay.

With his ed-tech company in mind, he began his career as an entrepreneur, creating a set of 'brain-mapping' tools to implement in schools. Based on psychologist Howard Gardner's Theory of Multiple Intelligences, the "tools can help us tap the brain better," Hafez explains.

[caption id="attachment_21059" align="aligncenter" width="724"] Hafez Raman | Akshay Raveendran | Athey Nallatha | Global Indian Hafez Raman and Akshay Raveendran, co-founders, Athey Nallatha[/caption]

‘In a pickle’ during the pandemic

It was during the second phase of the lockdown, in September 2020, that the idea for Athey Nallatha came about, based on his mother’s suggestion. "I had tried a number of business ideas by this time, from ed-tech to handlooms. My mother asked why I couldn't start a business that would not be hit by the pandemic and employ people who need the work. She suggested a food startup."

Things fell into place and within a month, the company was up and running. They started out with highly perishable products like salads and fruit punches. "We thought of a subscription plan and a hyperlocal streaming system. We had a pool of delivery boys too, so we were able to proceed," Hafez explains. However, dealing with products that have a shelf life of only one day proved too big a logistical challenge to overcome and finding the right product was imperative. "It couldn't just be any product. There needs to be room for it in the market and the timing has to be just right." That's when he remembered his mother's pickles," he adds.

Behind the recipe

Why pickles? "There's a story behind it," Hafez smiles. His mother, Aneesa Ashraf, grew up in a household where money was a struggle. Her brother was forced to quit studying and find a job; like so many Keralites, he decided on the UAE. "He was a lot younger than my mother and she didn't want him to feel homesick, so she would make pickles for him." All this took place much before Hafez was born – but the pickles were an instant hit. "She would use meat, vegetables and her own masalas – they actually resembled a curry more than a pickle," he remarks.

[caption id="attachment_21058" align="aligncenter" width="605"] Hafez Raman | Akshay Raveendran | Athey Nallatha | Global Indian The founders of Athey Nallatha, Hafez Raman (left) and Akshay Raveendran, with Hafez's mother, Aneesa[/caption]

Hungry for change

As they embarked on an extensive period of research, Hafez and Akshay uncovered less-than savoury details about the packaged food industry in India. "There wasn't a single mainstream player in the market dealing with quality products. I know because I ran a series of biological tests on them," he says, adding, "We're all eating poor quality food and because the pickles are so heavily masked with masalas and salt, we can't tell the difference." The prawns used in pickles, for instance, can sometimes be up to two years old by the time they make it to your plate. Undercutting costs by investing in poor quality ingredients, like buying export-reject shrimp from major companies or the most dilute asafoetida available in the market – the industry was rife with shoddy business practices. It only made him more determined to carve his own path.

Athey Nallatha began as a set of fragmented units, with a number of middle-aged women all pitching in to make their pickles. "At first, my mother and my friend's mother joined us to produce 60 bottles a day," the Indian entrepreneur says. Three months later, Chemmeen, the aforementioned prawn and papaya pickle was a bestseller. It was quickly becoming clear that working out of his home kitchen wouldn't suffice any longer. "We started with two mothers and grew to four," Hafez remarks. "It was time to move to a bigger kitchen."

Social impact

By this time, they had attracted media attention, with a business model that walks the fine line between profits and making social change. Employing women ensured jobs for a number of people who had lost theirs due to the pandemic. "We had many mothers approach us, not just to get into the manufacturing side but also for sales. They wanted to be a part of it because they could feel the difference,” he says of his employment model that set the company apart, adding, “I realised that I needed to build a community.” His company now employs over 100 women.

Hafez Raman | Akshay Raveendran | Athey Nallatha | Global Indian

The cryptocurrency route

Dealing with steep overheads and a growing clamour from women in Kerala asking to be part of Athey Nallatha, Hafez and Raveendran needed to think outside the box. As they studied the problem, they found that blockchain systems provided them with a solution. In September 2021, they began accepting payments in cryptocurrency. "It can enable a 15 percent reduction in supply chain costs due to the various transaction processes that are handled digitally. Reducing the quality of the product is not an option, nor was premium pricing all-around. A blockchain system might not yield results instantly but it is a viable long-term plan," the Indian entrepreneur explains. The decentralised processes involved will also ultimately result in greater profits for farmers, in the absence of middlemen and other retailers.

Setting up a business and ensuring a profit margin is not the only bottom line for the Indian entrepreneur. As they became aware of the number of women who’re eager to work but don't get the chance, Athay Nallatha also launched the Nallatha Project to upskill employees. "We have women who are eager to do sales for us, so we allow it. They can take a commission on every bottle and don't have to worry about targets," Hafez explains. "We also train them in manufacturing and production."

Follow Hafez Raman on LinkedIn

Celebrating 50 years: Madhur Jaffrey’s culinary legacy

(January 16, 2024) Renowned for securing the best actress award at the 1965 Berlin Film Festival for her portrayal of a pompous Bollywood star in Merchant Ivory's film 'Shakespeare Wallah', Madhur Jaffrey is a trailblazer in the culinary world. She has brought the delights of Indian cuisine, along with its diverse regional nuances, to successive generations of Western cooks. Recently, the 50th anniversary edition of her debut cookbook 'An Invitation to Indian Cooking' got released by the publishing group, Knopf. With its original edition 50 years back, the book had announced the arrival of a culinary star. 2023 also saw the release of the 40th anniversary edition of Madhur's another popular cookbook, 'Indian Cookery', updated with 11 new recipes. The first edition of the book was groundbreaking, coinciding with a BBC series of the same name featuring Madhur, and it went on to sell lakhs of copies. Madhur has authored more than 30 cookbooks in her illustrious career. At 90, the workaholic is far from slowing down. One of the biggest living authorities on Indian cuisine, Madhur keeps herself busy by educating Gen Z and Gen Alpha through her Masterclass on digital media. “Nobody knows spices like we do, we

ducating Gen Z and Gen Alpha through her Masterclass on digital media. “Nobody knows spices like we do, we are masters,” she announced proudly in its trailer.

[caption id="attachment_32665" align="aligncenter" width="525"] Indian Cuisine | Madhur Jaffrey | Global Indian Madhur's debut cookbook is celebrating its 50th anniversary edition[/caption]

“When my programme came on air, there weren’t any Indian cookery shows, it was an immediate hit,” Madhur Jaffrey told the BBC, talking about her ground breaking cookery programme that premiered in the United Kingdom 40 years ago.

The Padma Bhushan 2022 awardee grew up in Delhi and left for London in her 20s to study at The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. She became an actress and later, turned to writing cookery books and presenting cookery shows. Little did she know that this career transition would turn out to be a significant step towards introducing India’s soft power to the western world.

[caption id="attachment_32663" align="aligncenter" width="544"] Indian Cuisine Madhur Jaffrey Madhur Jaffrey[/caption]

Indian food is a magical world where the art of using spices is so advanced that we’ve created a cuisine that exists nowhere else in the world!

Her debut cookbook, an Invitation to Indian Cooking (1973) introduced Indian food to western hemisphere for the first time. It was later inducted into the James Beard Foundation’s Cookbook Hall of Fame in 2006.

When she was hired by BBC to present her cookery show - Madhur Jaffrey’s Indian Cookery, it was meant to be an educational programme. The aim was to make people learn about Indian culture by introducing them to authentic food cooked in different regions of India. The show mesmerised people so much that Madhur soon became known as ‘spice girl’, thanks to the plethora of South Asian spices she introduced to the western homes. She was popularly called ‘the actress who can cook.’

Building respectful image of South Asians

“Until then, the South Asians were not represented the way they would have loved to see themselves on the television and cinema,” she said, in the interview with BBC.

[caption id="attachment_32664" align="aligncenter" width="574"] Madhur Jaffrey[/caption]

Madhur’s career transition had filled in the much-desired space with elan. Her show was the first mainstream series about Indian food to be broadcast in the UK and also the first one to be presented by an Indian.

Characteristically dressed in a crisp cotton saree, Madhur Jaffrey became the face of the South Asian diaspora in the UK. She knew this, tailoring her image to that of an attractive Indian who is modern, yes, but remains tied to her roots. That was the pre-internet era, so Madhur used to get flooded with letters of appreciation from her fans.

Ruling the supermarkets

If Madhur was exotic, the food she cooked seemed even more so to the uninitiated Western audiences. In fact, her recipes became so popular that Indian food was "tried by everybody all over England and beyond’. “The day I cooked chicken with green coriander, they ran out of green coriander in Manchester,” laughs the food expert.

The demand for Indian spices and ingredients grew so much that supermarkets started overstocking the ingredients that the Global Indian used in her cookery show.

[caption id="attachment_32666" align="aligncenter" width="598"] Indian Cuisine Madhur Jaffrey Madhur Jaffrey presenting her cookery show on BBC in 1980s[/caption]

The spice girl from India

In the introduction to her cookbook, At Home with Madhur Jaffrey, she writes, “The techniques used in Indian cooking are not any different from those used the world over: roasting, grilling, steaming, frying, stewing, braising and so on.” Yet it is distinct she emphasises.

What gives Indian cuisine its uniqueness, its tingling excitement, and its health-giving properties is the knowledgeable use of spices and seasonings, ancient in its provenance.

The food expert has authored close to thirty bestselling cookbooks on Indian, Asian and world vegetarian cuisine, and has appeared in several related television programmes. Apart from Madhur Jaffrey’s Indian Cookery that premiered in 1982, she presented Madhur Jaffrey's Far Eastern Cookery (1989) and Madhur Jaffrey's Flavours of India (1995).

[caption id="attachment_48280" align="aligncenter" width="456"] Indian Cuisine | Madhur Jaffrey | Global Indian Madhur Jaffrey[/caption]

What made her shows and books relevant for decades was the fact that she adapted to the time constraints of her fans. In one of her book introductions, Madhur shared, “My own cooking has changed over the years. I am often as rushed for time as perhaps you are. I am often asking myself is there an easier way to do this?”

Madhur made sure, therefore, to simplify her cooking to match with the times.

I now try to reach real Indian tastes by using simpler methods and fewer steps

The seven times winner of James Beard award wrote in one of her books.

As she made a huge name for herself in the traditional yet novel segment, Madhur went on to associate herself as food consultant of one of the most popular Indian restaurants in New York City - Dawat.

Madhur has also written three children’s books and two memoirs – Sweet Memories (2002) and Climbing the Mango Trees: A Memoir of a Childhood in India (2006).

Strengthening cultural relations between continents

Before becoming a television personality and delving into the domains of food and travel writing, Madhur had made a mark for herself as an Indian-British-American actress, starting with minor acting roles on BBC television and radio. One of her notable works is the film, Shakespeare Wallah (1965) for which she won the Silver Bear for Best Actress award at the 15th Berlin International Film Festival.

[caption id="attachment_32667" align="aligncenter" width="714"] Madhur Jaffrey Global Indian Madhur Jaffrey in one of her television shows[/caption]

During the course of her acting career, she enthralled audiences with her performances in television, films, radio and theatre. Perhaps this background contributes to her eloquence as a food presenter.

Her cookery shows have always been lively with powerful punchlines like:

Each grain of rice should be like brothers, close to each other but not stuck together.

After a divorce from Sayeed Jaffery, the notable actor who is father to her three daughters, Madhur married an American violinist. The couple have now been together for 56 years.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B2GKfjaZQZE

In recognition of her contribution to cultural relations between the UK, India and the United States, through film, television and cookery, Madhur was named the honorary Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 2004. Padma Bhushan 2022, the third highest civilian award from the Government of India, is a testament of her service to Indian culinary art.

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Meet the startups that are giving wings to India’s private space dreams

They dare to go where others only dream of. Launching a startup is no mean feat; more so when it is a space tech startup, which was until recently, a little-known industry. From dealing with investors who largely wanted to educate themselves on the subject rather than actually invest, to finding the right vendors and clients, India’s space tech startups have had to do quite a bit of leg work to make inroads into the sector. The fact that the government opened up space tech to the private sector in June last year has definitely come as a shot in the arm for these entrepreneurs who are aiming for the sky and beyond. According to research by Seraphim Capital, in the first quarter of 2021, the overall venture capital investment in the global space tech sector was $2.7 billion compared to the $1.6 billion during the same period last year. In India too space tech startups have raised nearly $31 million in funding in 2021, according to a report in YourStory. This is a 70% increase from the $18.2 million raised by the sector in 2020. With some of these startups ready to launch their projects as early as next

million raised by the sector in 2020.

With some of these startups ready to launch their projects as early as next year, Global Indian takes a look at their journeys.

Pixxel

[caption id="attachment_3946" align="aligncenter" width="524"] Meet the startups that are giving wings to India’s private space dreams Khsitij Khandelwal and Awais Ahmed[/caption]

Launched in 2019 by BITS Pilani alumni Kshitij Khandelwal and Awais Ahmed, Pixxel is an Indian space tech startup that aims to put a constellation of 30 micro-satellites into a sun-synchronous orbit. The constellation will comprise of earth imaging satellites to provide global coverage at a revisit of every 24 hours once it is fully deployed. Data and insights collected from these are meant to help organizations detect, monitor, and predict global phenomena in the fields of agriculture, oil and gas, climate change, forestry, and urban planning. Pixxel’s satellite from this constellation is set to be launched on a PSLV rocket. It was Asia’s only space startup to qualify for the 2019 Techstars Starburst Space Accelerator in Los Angeles.

Pixxel operates on a subscription-based SaaS model where clients will be billed for purchasing data. In August 2020, the Bengaluru-based company raised $5 million in seed funding led by Blume Ventures, growX Ventures, and Lightspeed Ventures. In March this year, it raised $7.3 million from Techstars, Omnivore VC, and others.

Agnikul Cosmos

[caption id="attachment_3948" align="aligncenter" width="293"] Meet the startups that are giving wings to India’s private space dreams Srinath Ravichandran and Moin SPM[/caption]

Agnikul Cosmos was the first in the world to test fire an entirely 3D printed rocket engine, Agnilet. The space tech startup that is incubated in IIT Madras was launched in 2017 by Srinath Ravichandran and Moin SPM. They are backed by Professor Satya Chakravarty, a rocket scientist and head of National Centre for Combustion Research and Development (NCCRD) and RV Perumal, former ISRO scientist and the man behind the PSLV launches.

While the company was completely bootstrapped to begin with, they got their first break when they got seed funding of $500,000 from Speciale Invest. By February 2020 they got more investors on board and raised $3.5 million in pre-series A funding and by May this year they had raised $11 million in series A funding led by Mayfield India. The space tech startup also counts angel investors such as Anand Mahindra, Naval Ravikant, Balaji Srinivasan, and Nithin Kamath as its backers.

Agnikul has signed an NDA with the Department of Space to obtain the government’s technological assistance in the development of launch vehicles and counts pharma companies, telecom companies, and researchers experimenting with micro-gravity, as clients. In an interview with Global Indian, Srinath said, “We are essentially a cab ride for these people. We help them take their payload up to space. India is now being taken seriously for its private space tech and the industry is changing as we speak.”

Skyroot Aerospace

[caption id="attachment_3950" align="aligncenter" width="484"] Meet the startups that are giving wings to India’s private space dreams Naga Bharath Daka and Pawan Kumar Chandana[/caption]

Hyderabad-based Skyroot Aerospace was founded in 2018 by former ISRO scientist Pawan Kumar Chandana and Naga Bharath Daka. The company is building technologies for responsive, reliable and economic access to space and envisions a future where spaceflight is as reliable and affordable as a regular air flight. Skyroot is the second space tech startup after Agnikul Cosmos to receive help from ISRO in terms of testing facilities and technical knowhow for their launch vehicles. The company is developing a highly efficient LNG/LOX cryogenic liquid engine in order to use greener rocket fuel.

In 2020, Skyroot received the National Startups Award in the space category. Earlier this year, the startup raised $11 million in its series A funding that was led by Greenko Group founder Anil Kumar Chalamalasetty and Mahesh Kolli. Some of their other investors include WhatsApp’s Neeraj Arora, CureFit’s Mukesh Bansal, Graph Ventures, and Worldquant Ventures. The funding will be used for Skyroot’s rocket program and to get their first launch vehicle Vikram-1 off the ground. The founders are now looking to raise $40 million over the next few years to fund their aggressive growth plans over the next few years.

Bellatrix Aerospace

[caption id="attachment_3952" align="aligncenter" width="275"] Meet the startups that are giving wings to India’s private space dreams Yashas Kharanam and Rohan M Ganapathy[/caption]

Bengaluru-based Bellatrix Aerospace, which is incubated at the Indian Institute of Science (IISC), was founded in 2015 by Yashas Kharanam and Rohan M Ganapathy. Specializing in electronic propulsion systems, rocket engines and launch vehicles, the space tech startup successfully tested the country’s first privately built Hall Thruster, an electronic propulsion system that is ideal for micro-satellites. It had earlier developed - and bagged an order from ISRO - for the world’s first commercial Microwave Plasma Thruster which uses water as fuel.

In 2019, Bellatrix raised $3 million in a pre-series A round led by IDFC-Parampara, StartupXseed, and Karsemven Fund among others. Earlier this year, the company announced that it would partner with Skyroot Aerospace. Plans are afoot to launch Chetak, their own rocket, by 2023; the two-stage rocket is powered by their own Aeon engines and will use liquid methane as fuel.

Dhruva Space

[caption id="attachment_3954" align="aligncenter" width="338"] Meet the startups that are giving wings to India’s private space dreams Sanjay Nekkanti[/caption]

Headquartered in Hyderabad, Dhruva Space was founded in 2012 by Sanjay Nekkanti and is engaged in developing small satellites for the commercial, government and academic markets. It has worked with companies such as Exseed Space, Cisco, and KPMG.

In 2019, the startup had raised $673,000 in a round of angel funding by Mumbai Angels Network; the investment was led by Ravikanth Reddy of Hotcrete. The space tech startup provides end-to-end solutions such as building small satellites, ground sensors as well as launching them and monitoring them. The company is working with ISRO and the European Space Agency (ESA) and has been awarded $59,000 by the latter.

RELATED READ: Agnikul Cosmos built the world's first 3D printed rocket

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