Manu Bhaker on Tuesday etched her name into the annals of Indian sports history. She became the first Indian woman to win multiple medals at a single Olympic Games.

The 22-year-old shooter clinched a bronze medal in the 10m pistol mixed team event alongside Sarabjot Singh, defeating South Korea 16-10 at the Paris Olympics.

This achievement follows her earlier success, where she secured a bronze in the women’s 10m air pistol event, marking a significant milestone for Indian shooting.

Bhaker’s double podium finish not only opens India’s medal tally at the 2024 Paris Olympics but also places her in an elite group of Indian athletes. She joins P.V. Sindhu as the only Indian women to win two Olympic medals. Sindhu, the celebrated badminton star, first made history at the Tokyo Olympics by winning a bronze medal after defeating China’s He Bingjiao 21-13, 21-15.

This added to her silver medal from the Rio Olympics, where she had a memorable run to the final, only to be bested by Spain’s Carolina Marin.

In the mixed team event, Bhaker and Singh displayed exceptional composure and skill. The Indian duo faced off against a strong South Korean team in the bronze medal match, showcasing their precision and teamwork. Bhaker, known for her steady hand and focus, was instrumental in maintaining India’s lead throughout the match. Their victory, secured with a decisive 16-10 scoreline, underscored Bhaker’s prowess and resilience under pressure.

After narrowly missing out on medals at the Tokyo Olympics, Bhaker’s performance in Paris has been a testament to her resolve and improvement. –IANS

source/content: theweekendleader.com (headline edited)

India now has more than 1.4 lakh startups, as the government continues to nurture innovation and encourage investments in the ecosystem, Union Minister of State for Commerce and Industry, Jitin Prasada, informed on Friday.

India now has more than 1.4 lakh startups, as the government continues to nurture innovation and encourage investments in the ecosystem, Union Minister of State for Commerce and Industry, Jitin Prasada, informed on Friday.

In a reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha, the minister said that under the ‘Startup India’ initiative, the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has recognised 1,40,803 entities as startups (as of June 30).

Over 55 regulatory reforms have been undertaken by the government since 2016 – when the ‘Startup India’ initiative was launched — to enhance ease of doing business, ease of raising capital and reduce compliance burden for the startup ecosystem.

In the Union Budget 2024-2025, the Centre has abolished the angel tax on startups, paving the way for more foreign capital to be pumped into the ecosystem and further easing the funding winter.

Under the Startup India Seed Fund Scheme (SISFS), Rs 945 crore was sanctioned for a period of 4 years starting from 2021-22, informed the minister.

The government also established the Fund of Funds for Startups (FFS) scheme with a corpus of Rs 10,000 crore, to meet the funding needs of startups.

DPIIT is the monitoring agency and the Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) is the operating agency for FFS.

The Centre also established the credit guarantee scheme for startups for providing credit guarantees to loans extended to DPIIT-recognised startups by scheduled commercial banks, NonBanking Financial Companies (NBFCs) and venture debt funds (VDFs) under SEBI-registered alternative investment funds.

According to reports, the Indian private equity and venture capital investments in 2023 stood at $39 billion compared to $62 billion in 2022.

(With inputs from IANS)

source/content: ibtimes.co.in (headline edited)