The government today said it is examining a proposal for setting up a venture capital fund to promote drug discovery in India.

"The department of pharamceutical is in the process of examining a proposal to set up a venture fund for promoting pharma discovery and innovation," Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilisers Srikant Kumar Jena said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha.

He said that currently the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy is preparing details of the fund.

The State University of New York (SUNY), in partnership with The Research Foundation of SUNY and SUNY campuses statewide, has launched five regional "Technology Transfer" hubs across the SUNY research enterprise as part of a novel effort to spur new high-tech business opportunities and stimulate economic growth across New York State. The move is in direct alignment with the SUNY Strategic Plan to build the Entrepreneurial Century.

Technology Transfer operations at the University at Albany, Binghamton University, University at Buffalo, the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering, and Stony Brook University, which collectively are responsible for more than $1 billion in research expenditures, will serve as regional service providers for nearby SUNY campuses to turn SUNY innovations, inventions and ideas into products and materials for everyday public benefit.

SUNY College of Optometry, Upstate Medical University, Downstate Medical Center and SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry already operate through a single point of contact for regional handling of technology transfer and licensing matters.

An ingenious wheel that could turn any bike into an electric hybrid has won the U.S. round of the James Dyson Award, an event that's become the world's premier student-design competition. Tonight, the winner will be formally announced, at a Designer Pages event discussing the bright, bold future of design.

The so-called Copenhagen Wheel now joins other national-competition winners in the global competition, along with nine other designs. The grand-prize winner will then be announced on October 5th. They'll get $15,000 for themselves or their team, and another $15,000 for their school department. (It won't get your name on a building, but hey!)

Oil-filled oceans, broken financial systems, inequality, lack of clean water and uncured diseases. The world's biggest problems are calling--and calling now.

The good news is that college students are arriving on campus just in time to play important roles in attacking those problems. College students have a high-impact, problem-oriented focus. And their energy, idealism, connectedness and unique point of view are crucial to success in solving the world's greatest problems.

Colleges and universities are the crown jewels of our society. Our top research universities have a combined endowment of more than $250 billion, and their financial resources are exceeded by the intellectual capital both inside their walls and in the communities that surround them. Moreover, these institutions are society's most durable. Of the 83 institutions that have survived since 1550, including the British Parliament and the Catholic Church, 70 are universities.

Some entrepreneurs are making their mark in the world of small business over and over again.

When Marcia Kilgore arrived in New York City in 1987 and started work as a personal trainer, she had just $300 to her name and the backpack her mother had given her as a high school graduation gift.

More than two decades later, Kilgore, 41, has become a prolific innovator who sold her first company--the international spa chain Bliss--for a figure reportedly north of $30 million and went on to launch two more ventures: Soap and Glory, a purveyor of affordable beauty products currently sold at Target ( TGT - news - people ) in the U.S. and at other major stores in the U.K. and Canada, and FitFlops, which sells sandals that are designed to tone wearers' muscles. Oprah Winfrey touted FitFlops' virtues on her talk show in 2008 and they've been seen on many famous feet, with celebrity fans including Jessica Biel, Hilary Swank, Heidi Klum and Julianne Moore.

As the creator and producer of a television series on business success, I was fortunate to have the opportunity to interview over 120 of Australia’s leading entrepreneurs.

One of the most common questions I get asked is why are some business owners extremely successful and make millions of dollars while others struggle to make ends meet and never move beyond the four walls of their home office.

Before I answer, I always ask them what they think the reason is and the common responses are: rich parents, good luck, higher education, smarter, great sales people, hard working, and risk takers.

Airplanes release greenhouse emissions into the atmosphere and require enormous amounts of fuel to fly. A Boeing 747 can consume up to five gallons of fuel per mile. But what if planes could be powered by electricity? Though they won’t replace passenger airliners anytime soon, small, zero-emission, electric planes are flying today.

Engineers have been pursing electric flight for decades. In 1979, the Solar Riser became the first manned electric aircraft to fly. It used photovoltaic cells to charge a battery that powered an electric motor, but could only fly five minutes, at which point it could either glide or land.

Many enhancements have been made since, and several models of electric planes are showing signs of promise. Two of the most interesting planes to fly recently are the E430 and the SkySpark.

Stereos and TVs have shifted from vacuum tubes to chips. Computers are graduating from hard drives to flash memory. Light bulbs are swapping filaments for LEDs.

A group of startups say batteries could soon make the leap to solid state devices.

Orlando, Florida-based Planar Energy claims it has come up with a formula for a crystalline battery that can boost performance, cut costs, make it easier to erect factories and ultimately pave the way for things like inexpensive, mass-manufactured electric cars that can run on the same battery pack for years.

Prieto Battery, a startup out of Colorado State and named after Professor Amy Prieto, is working on lithium ion batteries made with silicon nanowires. (The picture shows Prieto's battery architecture.) Meanwhile, the Khosla Ventures-backed Sakti3 is developing a safe, dense solid-state lithium-ion battery

Until now European innovation policies have relied purely on technological push, but this focus has not
been as effective as the pure concentration on marketing and non-technological factors would
have been. E.g. today business models interlink with technology and innovation is not
necessarily technological. This means that technology in general follows the business model,
not vice-versa.

Thus EGDF welcomes all efforts to extend the definition of innovation from purely
technological innovations to innovations related to content, services and business models. An
intelligent innovation strategy should be both flexible and a combination of different elements
of innovation, in order to make the difference.

Therefore EGDF would like to see even more user driven approach from Commission when it
comes to innovations. As Commission has concluded, non-technological aspects of the
innovation process, such as design and marketing, are increasingly important to getting more
innovative products and services in the marketplace. But beside design and marketing, also
content and business models are crucial areas of innovation.

Recently, Under30CEO ran a poll to find out what the top cities for young entrepreneurs were in the United States.

Voters were asked to think about resources, schools, events, climate, and the social scene that a young entrepreneur looks for.

The results are in, and below we have put together the top 10 cities for young entrepreneurs in 2010.

The Knowledge inventory will become the most important element of Social Capitalism. Today, knowledge is largely sequestered behind the walls of corporation in the form of titles, skill codes, resumes, job descriptions, certifications, and college degrees. In order to predict the future, we point to the things that we have done in the past.

2nd Place is 1st Loser

10% of the country is unemployed and less than 10% are fully actualized in their profession. Competitive forces drive the hiring manager. The consequences of all business decisions eventually lead to win-or-lose market scenarios. People compete with each other for promotions, the boss’s time, the corner office, or just staying off the unemployment line. That is the only future anyone can truly predict based on the past. It’s easier to predict the loser than the winner – so that’s what happens.

The government has identified support for New Zealand’s fledgling venture capital industry as a “next step” towards boosting innovation.

Economic Development Minister Gerry Brownlee today announced a $40m underwrite for the New Zealand Venture Investment Fund (NZVIF)’s programme to encourage more private investment into new venture capital funds.

Since NZVIF was established in 2002, New Zealand governments have committed $160m to its venture capital programme. That $160m is nearly fully committed across six existing and two prospective venture capital funds.

The $40m underwrite will enable NZVIF to invest into a number of new funds based on returns from current investments, up to a total of $200m.

If you're looking to expand your business's customer base, you've probably heard the same advice a million times: create a Facebook page and open a Twitter account. While it is important to create and maintain a strong presence in social media, it is also important to find a way to stand out from the rest.

One way to do this is by creating a video and uploading it onto another social media site, like YouTube, or adding it to your blog to make things more interesting.

For someone who’s never held a camera, figuring out how to get started can be daunting. But, once you understand a few basics, you can produce a great-looking video on your own.

Technology brings us all kinds of advances in the world of education: as well as the basic software stuff, such as B&N's NookStudy, there's Nature Publishing's social media-savvy Scitable. And then you move along to how stuff such as the iPad and iPhone is helping the newest generations, while the Internet is improving the undergraduate experience (just ask Mark Zuckerberg). And then you come to Ultrinsic, and you think, college kids and gambling, now why didn't anyone else think of that?

So, let's explain. Ultrinsic, currently in beta form, allows students at 37 colleges to gamble on their grades in each of the classes they take. The student hands over money to Ultrinsic--as well as access to his or her official school records--as a wager that they will attain a certain grade. If they get it, Ultrinsic pays out on a sliding scale.

As surging numbers of Americans look to start their own businesses in the new economy, PerfectBusiness announces The Perfect Pitch 2010, an online contest that gives all entrepreneurs a chance to get their ideas in front of funders and advisors this August - without having to land meetings or even leave home.

Los Angeles, CA (PRWEB) August 10, 2010

PerfectBusiness, an LA-based network of entrepreneurs, investors and business experts, has launched their 2nd annual online pitch contest, taking place now until August 26, 2010, at The Perfect Pitch 2010 (http://www.ThePerfectPitch.com).

The online contest is open to business ideas across all sectors, including: products & innovations, green businesses, service companies, internet, software, entertainment and bricks & mortar businesses. Every submission is reviewed by an influential jury of angel and venture capital investors representing more than $10 billion in capital.

Seven year old entrepreneur Julie Murphy has realized her dream of taking herself and her mom, Marie Fife, to Disneyland in Southern California.

Murphy raised $1,838.31 by selling lemonade for $0.50 each at an arts fair in northeast Portland, Oregon.

Julie Murphy's lemonade stand proved locally controversial as health inspectors threatened to fine the seven year old $500 for not meeting health standards.

After receiving public outcry against bureaucratic intervention, county officials ordered health inspectors to use "professional discretion."

July 29, 2010—A۰P۰L۰U Vice President David E. Shulenburger today urged Congress to pass the Federal Research Public Access Act during a hearing by the Information Policy, Census, and National Archives Subcommittee of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

The hearing, Public Access to Federally-Funded Research, reviewed the current state of public access to federally-funded research in science, technology and medicine and provided an opportunity to assess the issues surrounding public access policies, including the impact of increasing public access on scientists, physicians, and researchers.

On behalf of A۰P۰L۰U, Shuleburger endorsed full and free public access to scholarly articles arising out of federally funded research and the preservation of the information for future generations. He cautioned that any legislation should make compliance easy on faculty and researchers; ensure the research is accessible to other researchers, students and the public; and observe an embargo to preserve the peer-review system supported by scholarly journal publishers.

Funding agencies are in the business of solving problems and filling human needs.  They don’t care about you or your interests, they care about fulfilling their role, whatever that may be.  Hence, if you go to the agency with your hands out asking for money, they want to know that you’re going to be able to further their mission.

So the basic question you must be able to address in any grant proposal is “who are you to be trusted with the money? Will you really further the mission of the agency?” If there is no trust that you can do what you say you will do, then there is no reason for the agency to give you the money. 

It boils down to two important factors: trust and credibility.  Trust is the idea that you will use the money wisely and not misuse it.  Credibility is the notion that you have the ability (based on training and resources) to do what you say you’ll do.

A group of charming fellows have created something they’re calling “Social Bicycles,” a bike-sharing system that allows you to drop bikes off almost anywhere there is a bike rack, locate them, and access them with an iPhone app. And it’s all outside of the confines of traditional urban bike-sharing systems.

While we all know that humans are intrinsically violent and destructive, the lads at Sobi are betting that at least some of them won’t destroy the bikes they borrow. The system uses a lock fastened to the bike’s wheel with a GPS system and transmitter built-in. When the bike is locked, it appears on the SoBi app and when you check it out you’re responsible for it.

Philadelphia-based DreamIt Ventures, a pre-seed stage venture firm and incubator founded in 2007 by David Bookspan, Steve Welch, and myself is graduating 14 startups today. It’s been a busy third year for DreamIt as prior companies incubated, including Google Ventures-backed SCVNGR, TechCrunch 50 Finalist SeatGeek, PostLing, and NoteHall, have all raised funding. You can read my coverage of last year’s batch of DreamIt startups here.

Below is a description of each company in DreamIt’s class of 2010:

Adapt.ly: Adaptly, which was reviewed here, provides a platform where advertisers can create, deploy, monitor, and adapt ads seamlessly across multiple social ad networks. Once these ads are deployed, users can access realtime and actionable insights about each ad which can be immediately used to optimize the advertising dollars being spent. In the first two weeks of launch Adaptly has already served millions of impressions and tracked thousands of clicks from its paying customers.