A home for Vrindavan's forgotten widows; Bellatrix Aerospace secures $20M

Hello,

Naukri-parent Info Edge will invest up to Rs 250 crore in an alternative investment fund (AIF) to back early-stage deep-tech companies in the country.

The company has entered into a contribution agreement with A88 Fund I, a scheme by SEBI-registered A88 Trust, PTI reported, citing regulatory filings.

Meanwhile, online rental platform for home furniture Rentomojo has filed preliminary papers with capital markets regulator Sebi to raise funds through an initial public offering (IPO).

Elsewhere, Austria has become the latest country to consider keeping children away from social media sites, BBC reports. Last December, Australia introduced a ban for under-16s becoming the first country to impose such a ban. Countries like France and the UK are in various stages of implementing such restrictions. 

Speaking of social media companies, a jury in the US recently found two social media giants–YouTube and Meta– had intentionally built addictive algorithms that harmed young people's mental health.

Lastly, tech companies have built tools that are generating AI slop. But an inquisitive reporter ended up trying an AI-generated recipe. Here’s how the experiment went. 

Have you tried any recipes generated by a chatbot?

In today’s newsletter, we will talk about 

• A home for Vrindavan's forgotten widows
• Bellatrix Aerospace secures $20M

Here’s your trivia for today: What country is completely enclosed by South Africa?

Social impact

A home for Vrindavan's forgotten widows

Winnie Singh, the co-founder and director of Maitri Ghar Vidhwa Ashram, has been working to restore dignity and stability to widows in Vrindavan.

Currently, Maitri Ghar Vidhwa Ashram works with 165 women, 100 in the Vrindavan ashram and 65 in Radhakund. An additional 250 women from the Radhakund community, who cannot be housed, come daily for milk, fruits, and healthcare support. Once Maitri commits to a woman, the commitment runs to her last rites, says Singh.

Key takeaways:

• The day in the ashram begins with meditation and yoga. The eldest is 108 years old, still agile, demanding, and is treated like a baby.
• Depending on the day, skill-building activities include making cloth bags and block-printed stools, which are sold through a partnership with a Delhi designer.
• Pickles are made in Delhi, under Singh's personal supervision for hygiene, and sent to Vrindavan for the women to label. A new partnership with a company in Karnal will soon bring papads and spice processing to the ashram. Women also look forward to pilgrimages and outings outside Vrindavan.

Funding 

Bellatrix Aerospace secures $20M

Spacetech startup Bellatrix Aerospace has raised $20 million in a pre-Series B funding round led by Cactus Partners.

This funding round also saw participation from new investors Hero Investment Office, 35 North Ventures, Indusbridge Ventures, and Monarch Holdings and also existing investors - Inflexor, Pavestone, GrowX, Startup Xseed, and Survam Partners.

Space dreams:

• Bellatrix Aerospace will utilise this funding for expansion of its manufacturing facilities to meet the demand from domestic and international satellite constellations.
• The startup said it will use the capital for what it called active customer programmes and to strengthen operational readiness.
• Founded in 2015 by Rohan Ganapathy and Yashas Karanam, Bellatrix Aerospace is developing advanced electric and chemical propulsion systems that cater to satellites of all classes.

News & updates

• Curbing usage: Thariq Shihipar, a member of Anthropic’s technical team, recently announced via Twitter that the company would be throttling usage during peak hours, a move that shows the realities of freemium models.
• Ecommerce: A group of World Trade Organization members on Saturday agreed on the world’s first digital trade rules, Reuters reports. Separately, India has hinted it might drop its opposition to the extension on the ecommerce moratorium. The moratorium prevents countries from imposing tariffs on electronic transmissions such as digital downloads.

What country is completely enclosed by South Africa?

Answer: Lesotho

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