Fighting pollution with IoT solution; Preserving Odisha’s weaving communities

Hello,

To travel is to live.

Indians are travelling, and how. Global airlines are launching new flights and expanding schedules in India, betting that the country will become one of the hottest travel markets over the next decade, Reuters reports.

In other news, beauty and fashion retailer Nykaa expanded the pool size of its ESOP scheme by allocating 4.73 lakh equity shares. This is the retailer's second such allotment in less than a month.

Elsewhere, after firing several X staff in Australia, the platform's owner Elon Musk is threatening to take them to court. The billionaire wants the former employees to return the money that the company accidentally overpaid them.

ICYMI: Good news! Scientists said earlier this week that international efforts to protect the ozone layer have been a "huge global success", with harmful gases in the atmosphere declining faster than expected. 

Speaking of the environment, agri-finance startup Samunnati has secured its largest debt tranche of Rs 133 crore ($16 million) from global impact investment firm Blue Earth Capital. The fresh capital is expected to help the company fund its climate and sustainability projects. 

In today’s newsletter, we will talk about 

• IoT-enabled solution to tackle pollution
• Preserving Odisha’s weaving communities
• Can office peacocking break WFH culture?

Here’s your trivia for today: When was the first commercial hard disk developed?

100 Emerging Women Leaders

IoT-enabled solution to tackle pollution

Akanksha Priyadarshini’s quest to find practical solutions to the problem of air pollution as an engineering student led her to start Aurassure, an IoT-enabled intelligent system that monitors environmental gasses, dust and weather parameters to offer end-to-end solutions.

Today, the organisation is actively working to bridge the information gap between citizens and the government with the help of wireless and sensor-based technologies.

Climate tech:

• Aurassure developed a hyperlocal air quality monitoring system that utilises satellite-based information and an analytic solution to forecast the weather with up to 95% accuracy.
• “When it comes to these kinds of technologies, you may be pitching with cost-cutting or revenue generation in mind, but as a principle, we are looking at social and environmental impact,” says Priyadarshini.
• Aurassure generated a revenue of Rs 1 crore in its first year and hit Rs 5.4 crore in its second year. With deployments in over 150 cities in India and plans to expand operations to Brazil and some parts of Southeast Asia.

Top Funding Deals of the Week

Startup: Battery Smart

Amount: $65M

Round: Series B

Startup: Sabine Hospital

Amount: $50M

Round: Equity

Startup: candi solar

Amount: $38M

Round: Series C

Women Entrepreneurs

Preserving Odisha’s weaving communities

In 2021, Richa Maheshwari decided to travel through rural India, starting with Odisha. Her travels and interactions with tribal communities in Odisha sowed the seeds for Boito, an apparel and clothing line that celebrates the unique and distinct craft forms of the state.

Boito does trench coats and all kinds of jackets, as they provide more scope for storytelling and are easy to don.

Back to the roots:

• “The designers and weavers have discussions, and contrary to fast fashion, what we present are classic masterpieces that have been passed down through generations,” says Maheshwari.
• These outfits have different art forms—the Khandua turtle kimono, a beaded Bonda jacket, and a jacket with a Dongria design overlay (Kapadagandha with dhokra accents).
• The brand is in the final stages of launching its website. It also wants to do cycle-wise fashion launches and popularise its collections as heirloom pieces.

Work Culture

Can office peacocking break WFH culture?

Remote work became a mainstay during the pandemic to ensure business continuity, and employees, too, became accustomed to flexibility in their schedules and a promise of work-life balance.  

Now that the pandemic is over, offices are attempting a new-age design approach to entice employees back to the physical workspace. Think plush sofas, pretty lights, food and beverage stations, and cosy nooks. This trend is called office peacocking.

In style:

• Many employers believe office peacocking is the best way to make employees feel valued, comfortable, and inspired to do their best work. “Comfort and ergonomics are prioritised with high-quality furniture and cosy break areas,” says Ramneek Ghotra, Chief Growth Officer, Finvasia.
• Kavitha Suresh, Assistant General Manager (workspace and warehousing), Crown Worldwide Group believes office peacocking can only work for a limited time because of high-cost challenges. 
• “People require a space that will set them free, where they can talk to anyone they want to, and are free to collaborate with others. Offices need to create an environment where ideas are sparked, and it's a joyful space to be in, not just visually,” says Amit Krishna Gulati, Co-founder and Director at Incubus Consultants. 

News & updates

• Fine vintage: Sotheby’s will soon host the largest champagne-only wine auction in Paris next week, offering about 1,500 bottles of vintage champagne belonging to Taiwanese electronics billionaire Pierre Chen.
• Earthbound: Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft is now scheduled to undock from the International Space Station and return to Earth by June 22, NASA said, giving the team more time to finalise departure planning and operations.
• Privacy risk: Microsoft has postponed the release of Recall, its controversial AI-powered feature that tracks computer usage, weeks after social media users flagged privacy concerns and expressed fears that it could enable spying.  

When was the first commercial hard disk developed?

Answer: IBM developed and shipped the first commercial Hard Disk Drive, the Model 350 disk storage unit, in 1956 as part of the IBM 305 RAMAC system.

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