Recent News on Technology and Innovation

Source: http://www.technologyreview.in/blog/posts.aspx?bid=371

1) India Launches New Missiles With Nuclear War Head
Capabilities
The successful test launch of Agni-5, the new long range intercontinental ballistic
missile with 5,000 kilometers range to reach key Chinese and European cities, is
another feather in the cap of Indias defense technologies.
NARAYANAN SURESH 04/19/2012
Bangalore, April 19, 2012: Further enhancing the nations technological capabilities, Indias defense engineers
today successfully test fired a new range of intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) called Agni-5 or Fire. The
missile has a range of 5,000 kilometers and can reach the Chinese capital of Beijing and many of European
and African cities.
The 50-ton, 17.5 meter three-stage missile propelled by solid fuels validated many technologies developed by
scientists at Indias Defense Research Development Organization (DRDO). The missile can carry nuclear
warheads and is also programmed to split to reach multiple targets. This involves the capability to re-enter the
Earths atmosphere overcoming high temperatures and reach designated targets accurately. The missile can
carry warheads weighing up to 1.5 tons. The composite rocket motors performed brilliant. This will make the
nation self reliant in this crucial technology and any future ban on technology transfers to India by developed
countries will not affect the defense capabilities. This missile project has cost the nation approximately Rs.
2,500 crore ($500 million).
Today we are a missile power with the capability to design, develop, build and launch missiles of this class,
the beaming head of DRDO VK Saraswat told television channels soon after the launch.
The missile was launched at 0807 hours from Wheeler Island on Indias east coast state of Odisha. It was in
flight for the programmed period of 15 minutes and traveled a distance of 600 kilometers, giving enough time
for scientists on the ground to validate a host of new technologies included in it for the first time.
One of the additions is the third stage of the rocket made of light-weight, high-strength composite materials.
The blunt cone of the rocket was tested with a coating of an indigenously developed chromium-based material
to decrease the resistance in flight and extend the range. The solid propellants will provide the missile series
with the capability to be launched at a short notice from mobile platforms, ideal for combat situations.
A DRDO official said some new technologies developed by the organization were also tested successfully for
the first time. A high accuracy Ring Laser Gyro based Inertial Navigation System (RINS) and a modern Micro
Navigation System (MINS) provided the missile to reach its designated target with a few meters of accuracy.
DRDO-built high speed on board computer with a fault tolerant software combined with robust communication
ports increase the reliability of the missile.
Todays successful launch is the culmination of the Integrated Guided Missile Program (IGMP) started by the
government in 1991. Two small and medium range missiles, Agni-1 and Agni-2, are already in use by various
defense agencies. The Agni-3 missiles test fired few years ago had half the range of Agni-5 and is currently
under production and deployment.

2) India Announces $1 Billion Innovation Fund
The fund with an initial seed capital of $20 million from the national government will
focus on technological innovations relevant to tackling some of Indias unique
challenges.
NARAYANAN SURESH 11/15/2011
2 COMMENTS
Innovation has got a new tag in India: Inclusive Innovation. Indias Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh has
grandly announced the launch of a $1 billion initiative, India Inclusive Innovation Fund (IIIF) which will focus on
fostering technological innovations aimed to serve the needs of millions of poor citizens in the country.
The $1 billion (Rs. 5,000 crore) IIIF will start with a seed capital of $20 million (Rs. 100 crore) announced by the
Prime Minister during the release of the first report of the National Innovation Council in New Delhi on
November 15, 2011. The Council is headed by Dr. Sam Pitroda, an advisor to the PM on innovation.
Indias Prime Minister said technological innovations that happened in the country in areas such as space
sciences, atomic energy and automobiles have mainly benefited only the rich sections of the society. He
admitted that tech innovations have by and large bypassed the vast majority of the nations poor citizens and
hence there was a need to address this segments needs.
The Prime Minister has been under fire from various sections of the society over his recent remarks that
sympathized with the plight of one of Indias high profile private airline, Kingfisher Airline, which sought
government help to pull it out of its $1.4 billion debt burden. Probably, this prompted the government to show
some symbolic efforts to speak for the common citizens too and the Prime Minister perhaps chose his next
public appearance for this.
Dr. Singh said: Innovation can be a game-changer to move from incremental change to radical change. And
therefore, it is our resolve to build an enabling environment for innovation to flourish. Since his government
has been talking about inclusive growth, the fund itself got the inclusive innovation tagged to it.
So IIIF will use the seed money to raise at least $1 billion and use it to develop innovative models to tackle
problems in areas such as poverty alleviation, health, rural communications, agriculture, animal husbandry, and
green energy.
These are anyway some of the areas where a lot of Indian innovators have focused their attention on in recent
years.
Summing up the problem, the Prime Minister said: The set of challenges that we as a nation face is not only
diverse, but also unique. It is only through creativity and innovation, by coming up with novel solution
appropriate to Indian context, that we can meet these challenges effectively.

3.) Vinod Khoslas 'Cool Dozen' Tech Innovation
Sectors
Celebrated tech innovator and venture capitalist Vinod Khosla believes that future
innovations in the information technology sector will happen in a dozen new areas.
NARAYANAN SURESH 11/09/2011
1 COMMENT
Bangalore, November 9, 2011: For the thousands of starry eyed young innovators struggling to make their
mark in the information technology sector, industry icon Vinod Khosla, founder of Sun Microsystems and
Khosla Ventures, has prepared a short list.
These are my cool dozen list, Khosla told over 1,000 tech entrepreneurs and wannabes who had gathered in
Bangalore for the 8th India Product Conclave organized by software industry association, Nasscom today.
These segments have opened up primarily because of the explosion in computing use spurred by handheld
devices like tablets and smart phones. The industry has been liberated from the dependence on desktop
personal computers which had limited the scope for innovative applications, Khosla thundered to the wildly
appreciative audience.
#1 One of the first areas which will see widespread innovation, Khosla said, will be in the arena
of technologies that reduce data overload for users. He mentioned the presence of two prominent startups
in this area: Sulia and Datasift.
Sulia is touted as the worlds first interest network. For a user, the sites algorithms gather all the relevant data
of a specified topic from various websites, organizes the data and presents it in its entirety in an easy-to-access
format. And it will regularly update the information for the user. Datasift too does something similar. It will sift
the data of interest to a user from all social networks and present a comprehensive document to a user.
#2 There will be a lot of action in the field of big data analytics. Khoslas reasoning is that corporate users will
need simple solutions to handle the deluge of data they generate from various sources. It can be of immense
use to individual customers too. An example is the financial service provided by Billguard which alerts a user
about all the hidden charges, and misuse of ones credit and debit cards. Another prominent company
is Recorded Future which uses predictive analytical tools to provide information about all the futuristic
development likely in any field of activity.
#3 Software tools that cater to the emotions of people will be a big hit. Khosla mentioned two prominent
companies in this are: Ness Computing which does not provide any specific solution but deliver whatever
software help a user needs. You name it, we will give it, is their mantra. Foodspotting is the second company
which provides a visual guide to food and provides where to order a food one likes the most and also share the
information with ones friends.
#4 Education is the fourth area that will see a lot of innovation. Khosla referred to CK-12 Foundation which
provides a comprehensive access to curriculum-based content.
#5 The next version of television will be here shortly as TV 2.0 which will turn current passive television viewer
into instant participants. A large number of television viewers today are concurrently accessing information on
one or more computing device such as smart phone or a tablet. This phenomenon is called second screen.
Khosla said a new company, Second Screen Networks, provides apps such as digital ads with lots of
applications synchronized to the one that is seen by the viewer on the screen. For example, if a Dominos
commercial is on the television screen, the order form for pizzas from Dominos will be served simultaneously
on the second screen of the viewer. Similarly, augmented reality apps are available on smart phones
recreating things in virtual reality for the viewer.
#6 The sixth area of action will be the SocialNext. Here social networks will spring up for specific purposes.
#7 The seventh area of action will be related to tools for sharing ones interest. An example is meebo, the
company which links ones friends who are on various social networks at one place and provides easy tools to
share ones Web experiences instantly with ones like minded people.
#8 Health will be another segment where users will be able to do away with the help of doctors and future
companies may use tools to process available information from ones symptoms and give instant diagnosis.
#9 The ninth area for future innovation is the near field computing. An example is Verayowhich provides non-
clonable, personal identity tags based on RFID technology.
#10 Publishers of the world will need to worry about the democratization of this field by what is happening due
to technological changes. The tools developed by Storify, for example, picks up content posted by people on
various social networking pages and turns them into easy-to-read stories automatically. The days of
professional writers and editors may soon be over, warned Khosla!
Snip.it is another prominent player in this arena. The tools provided by snip.it lets one to comment about
anything one sees on the Web, gather all the relevant weblinks, termed snips, and also access what other
people have commented on the same topic.
#11 Utility segment will be the 11th area full of tech interventions. SeatMe is a San Francisco-based startup
that is developing a wide range of software solutions to revolutionize the restaurant industry.
Or Ringshuffle which allows a person to temporarily shuffle ones mobile number to keep it private and
inaccessible without deactivating it. Weatherbill is another company that provides tech solutions to help people
and organizations to adapt appropriately to climate change.
#12 Things that simplify the happenings in the marketplace for companies and individuals make the
12th spot on Khoslas cool dozen list. A promising player here is the Bangalore-based Interviewstreet,
founded in 2009 by Vivek Ravisankar and K Harishankaran. The amazing range of software puzzles and other
tricky questions developed by InterviewStreet help software companies to sift the best programming talent
quickly.
There are many other areas where there will be wide ranging tech innovations especially in clean energy and
communications. But these are Khoslas cool dozen list from computing