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Humble Indian Startups Make In-Roads At High-Octane Davos At the World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting 2023, among renowned names such as Tata, Adani and the like, Indian startups Garuda Aerospace and Genrobotics drew considerable attention to their visionary offerings

By Soumya Duggal

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World Economic Forum

Per usual, the World Economic Forum's annual meeting this year, which recently wrapped up in the Swiss town of Davos, witnessed the presence of world leaders across governments, industry and research organisations.

From India too, Union ministers such as Smriti Irani and Ashwini Vaishnaw and industry stalwarts such as Tata Group chairman N. Chandrasekaran, business tycoon Gautam Adanmi and Bharti Enterprises chairman Sunil Mittal graced the event. But even among such renowned names, Indian startups managed to attract attention to their visionary offerings, rendering their humble presence unmistakable.

Chennai-based drone startup Garuda Aerospace, for instance, presented "the first-ever carbon-neutral drone" at the Indian Sustainability Lounge at the summit. Founder CEO Agnishwar Jayaprakash discussed environmental and social governance (ESG) and carbon neutrality as well as the use of drone technology for the good of the world. "I thank the government for its progressive policies and for transforming the environment by using a green carbon-neutral drone that has also impacted climate change and farmers across India," he said. Garuda Aerospace plans to manufacture over 25,000 drones in the next 15 months, hoping to transform the agricultural sector.

Kerala-based robotics company Genrobotics was another young startup chosen by the Indian ministry of industry and commerce to showcase its innovative technology: Bandicoot or "the world's first robotic scavenger". The robot integrates advanced technologies such as robotics and artificial intelligence to perform several sanitation needs efficiently.

The representatives of Canada and Germany and many other European countries had a series of discussions with Genrobotics' co-founders for implementing and expanding their clean-tech products and services to these regions, claimed the company.

"Our attendance at such a prestigious global forum will benefit more stakeholders to access Bandicoot and introduce it in improving and maintaining the sanitation of various countries. It will help us in scaling up our operations by forging partnerships with various international ventures and government agencies," said Vimal Govind MK, CEO, Genrobotics.

Soumya Duggal

Former Feature Writer

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