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Karnataka Becomes The First State In India To Grant Funds To Startups

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first state to grant funds to startups, artificial intelligence, aseuro technologies, cm siddaramaiah, karnataka state to grant funds to startups, digitour technologies, flippar, gaurav gupta, highir technologies, highway delite, idea2poc, karnataka, karnataka tourism, kbits, naveen raj singh, online platform, priyank kharge, startups, tourism hackathon, trip on food, tripdairy, vidhana soudha, virtual reality solutions, indian, founders, entrepreneurs, innovators, startup stories, insights, investors, funding, acquisition, Government of Karnataka, startup policy, startup karnataka,

For the very first time, Karnataka became the first state in India to grant funds for 8 startups in the Tourism sector which had won a hackathon. And also that they were given over 25% of Rs.1.90 crores that they had collectively won.

This all started when the tourism hackathon competition was held for the budding startups. And the winners were declared that they would be honored with some prize money.

Yesterday, it was about five minutes to 5 P.M., when Karnataka’s IT and Tourism Minister Priyank Kharge entered into the hall room of the Vidhana Soudha. The honorable CM was about to be in the hall in any second to hand over the cheques to the startups who won the competition.

Surprisingly, none of the eight winners turned up to receive their prizes. Then a group of officials swung into action to reach for the winners in whatever way they can be communicated. Some were stopped by the security and some however managed to enter the hall. After the CM Siddaramaiah strode in, the startup founders were glad to at last reach the main building where the CM and the officials were present.

IT Minister Priyank told the CM that a total of Rs. 1.9 crores was granted to these startups. These startup companies developed ideas and products that enhanced the tourism experience. He also added saying that it is the first kind of initiative in India where winners of the Pitch to Government–Tourism Challenge held in November 2016 are receiving their first installment cheques.

These 8 winners were selected among 127 online registrations and each will be receiving anything between Rs. 5 lakh and Rs. 50 lakh.

The hackathon contest was conducted by the Karnataka Startup Cell, Karnataka Biotechnology and Information Technology Services, ( KBITS,) Department of IT and BT and the Department of Tourism.

The sole objective of this competition is to encourage those innovators who may need early stage funding to stimulate commercialization of their inventions and to help in validating proof of concept.

“Our focus is to create a strong startup ecosystem with a bottom-up mentality.” said Gaurav Gupta Principal Secretary of IT, BT and Science and Technology.

These are the 8 startup companies who emerged as winners:

1) AOO Hostels – Rs. 40 lakh

2) Highway Delite – Rs. 35 lakh

3) DigiTour Technologies – Rs. 25 lakh

4) TripdAiry – Rs. 20 lakh

5) Aseuro Technologies – Rs. 25 lakh

6) Moving up Products – Rs. 5 lakh

7) Trip on Food – Rs. 5 lakh

8) Highir Technologies – Rs. 25 lakh

Well, good luck all.

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Jio BlackRock Gets SEBI Approval to Launch Brokerage Operations in India

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Jio BlackRock Broking Private Limited, a joint venture between Jio Financial Services and BlackRock Inc., has received final approval from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to commence operations as a brokerage firm. The regulatory nod, granted via a certificate of registration issued on June 25, 2025, allows the company to function as both a stockbroker and a clearing member in India’s financial markets. This milestone follows a series of regulatory clearances for the Jio BlackRock ecosystem, including approvals for mutual fund and investment advisory businesses, underscoring the joint venture’s ambition to build a comprehensive, digital-first financial services platform.

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CoRover Unveils BharatGPT Mini: India’s First Offline Multilingual AI

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CoRover has launched BharatGPT Mini, India’s first offline multilingual AI model, at VivaTech 2025 in Paris, with the event officiated by Union Minister Jitin Prasada. This innovative Small Language Model (SLM), featuring around 534 million parameters, is specifically designed for edge devices and low-compute environments, enabling robust AI capabilities without the need for cloud connectivity. Its ability to function entirely offline and support 14 Indic languages makes it a powerful tool for digital inclusion, particularly in rural and remote regions where internet access is limited.

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Kerala Startup E-Quark Launches Innovative Mobile Holder with Built-In Charger

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Kerala-based startup E-Quark Molecule Innovations Pvt Ltd, headquartered in Thrissur, has introduced an innovative device called Keratin that combines a mobile phone holder with a built-in charger. This unique gadget is designed to offer users a convenient solution to hold and charge their smartphones simultaneously, addressing the common challenge of managing power supply while using mobile devices.

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