Start your day with a priceless message from Ratan Tata

Last week, in an hour-long live conversation, Ratan Tata, Chairman of the Tata Trusts, revealed what the lockdown has been like for him, expressed deep anguish over the industry-wide layoffs, and spoke about betting on the startup ecosystem. He also talked about the potential of India’s youth in powering progress, and the underplayed role of fairness, empathy, and ethics in growth.

Recently, Biocon Limited secured DGCI's to use Itolizumab (ALZUMAb), an anti-CD6 IgG1 monoclonal antibody that it launched in 2013 to treat chronic plaque psoriasis, for emergency use in COVID-19 patients. And Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Chairperson and Managing Director of Biocon Limited, now India’s largest biopharmaceutical company, can’t stop exulting. She also urged innovators to make more Made in India COVID-19 drugs.

Amid the focus on developing a vaccine for COVID-19, Thyrocare MD Dr A Velumani said staying cooped up at home is not the way out of the pandemic. Exposure to the virus can help build a strong immune system, which may be ‘the best way to fight COVID-19 virus’. 

Startup funding in 2020 started out strong, but April onwards, things changed as the coronavirus increased its stranglehold in India. As investors grew risk-averse, even though more startups got funded in the first half of 2020, deal sizes shrank.

To know all about funding in the Indian startup ecosystem, download your copy of YourStory Research's in-depth H1 2020 funding report, which focusses on top trends, investments, sectors, and investors.

This VC fund is bullish on B2B startups

Season Two Ventures is focusing on Indian B2B startups with the potential to resolve pain points for global enterprises, and offering strategic guidance and market access.

The untold story of Postman CEO

Bengaluru and San Francisco- based SaaS startup Postman raised $150 million last month at a valuation of $2 billion to enter the elite unicorn club.

Abhinav Lal on redefining healthcare

Abhinav Lal, Co-founder and CTO of healthtech platform Practo, talks about his journey of learning to code at the age of 9 to building something to solve real-world problems.

Mento is building a Netflix for learning

Edtech startup Mento offers creative courses taught by industry experts including OYO's Ritesh Agarwal, film-maker Nitesh Tiwari, illustrator Alicia Souza to over 50,000 users.

Vidya Balan opens up about being fat-shamed

Padma Shri awardee and National Film Award-winning actor Vidya Balan talks about how people called her names like gundu and moti, and how she got past body image issues.

Helping students fall in love with science

Aniket Gupta, a student of Lovely Public Senior Secondary School, founded ISTC, which focuses on strengthening the scientific skills of young minds who lose their interest in science.

Quote of the day:

"The initial tendency when the virus hit (was) lay off people, thousands of people. Is that going to solve your problem? I don’t think it is, that’s the knee jerk reaction that you had from the traditional workplace, lay off people because the business is gone. But you have a responsibility to those people."

— Ratan Tata, Chairman, Tata Trusts

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