DuPont in Association with ET Now Presents ‘The Power of Shunya™: Challenge for Zero’

DuPont in Association with ET Now Presents ‘The Power of Shunya™: Challenge for Zero’

~ Anchored by Gaurav Kapur, the show will premiere on 12^th October

~ 24 most impactful entries shortlisted from 250 entries received from 28 institutes

~ Entries range from underwater autonomous vehicles to bamboo cars to freeze-dried yogurt to solar dryers

New Delhi, 11^th October, 2013: DuPont India, a leader in market driven science and innovation, in association with ET NOW, India’s premier business news channel, is launching an inspiring television competition series ‘The Power of Shunya™: Challenge for Zero’. This unique show will give university students the opportunity to present their best ideas and innovations that will help India achieve progress against the goal of Shunya or zero - a country of zero hunger, zero malnutrition, zero accidents, zero lives lost, zero carbon footprint. The 10-part series will be hosted by popular television anchor Gaurav Kapur and will premiere on Saturday, October 12, at 6:30 pm only on ET NOW. 

‘The Power of Shunya™: Challenge for Zero’ is an invitation to the best minds from science, technology and business schools to come together to showcase ground-breaking innovations and their go-to-market strategies across key sectors like food, agriculture, nutrition, health, energy, mobility, infrastructure, safety and sustainability. 

About The Challenge for Zero program:

~ Anchored by Gaurav Kapur, the show will premiere on October 12, 2013

~Jury : Vani Kola – MD, Kalaari,  Harish Hande - MD Selco India, Rajeev Karwal - Founder & CEO, Milagrow and Homi Bhedwar -Technology Director, South Asia & ASEAN, DuPont

~ Special judge for the grand finale: Kiran Karnik –Member, National Innovation Council 

Program details:

After a nationwide call for entry from science and technology institutes, 24 of the most impactful innovations have been shortlisted from 250 entries to make it to the series. These 24 innovators have now been each paired with a student of an eminent business school to help develop robust business plans and marketing strategies that will enable these innovations to reach the market and help achieve their Shunya impact.

The series will launch with a special curtain raiser episode, followed by eight episodes of preliminary competition rounds and then the Grand Finale in the tenth episode. In each of the eight preliminary competition rounds, three teams of two students – one engineering student and one business student – will compete per episode. In each episode, the team adjudged first will be placed on a leader board while the other two teams will be eliminated. After all the 24 teams have presented and been evaluated by the panel, the jury will then select from the leader board the three finalists that they determine as the top three to compete in the Grand Finale round. The contestants’ innovations will be judged upon the product’s tangibility, functionality, ability to harness the power of science, potential impact and ability to achieve the Power of Zero. 

The grand award: 

For the winning team: INR 1,000,000 and paid experience to the global DuPont Headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware, USA

For the 1^st runner up: INR 500,000 and a paid experience to DuPont India

For the 2^nd runner up: INR 250,000 and a paid experience to DuPont India 

Commenting on the initiative Rajeev A Vaidya, President - South Asia and ASEAN, DuPont, said: “The Power of Shunya™ initiative reflects our belief in the power of science-based innovations for problem solving. Every day at DuPont, we are bringing our market-driven science to address some of the big challenges that face us. At the same time, we recognize that science alone is not the answer. Collaboration can unlock the power of science, because these challenges are so big that no one can solve these alone. I hope our Challenge for Zero invitation to the science, technology and business students of the country helps inspire the young minds to pursue science-based problem-solving and to find new and innovative solutions that will help India become one of the world’s leading and sustainable economies”. 

Avinash Kaul, Chief Executive Officer, ET NOW, TIMES NOW and ZoOm ,states, “We are proud to be associated with such a unique competition that not only motivates the youth but also gives them a platform to showcase their astuteness. There is no doubt that the series will ignite a nationwide passion and pursuit for similar innovations.” 

Hemant Arora,Business Head-Branded Content, states “The Challenge for Zero” is the most logical extension of “The Quest for Zero” – the 16 part program series that is currently airing on Times NOW under the umbrella Power of Shunya™ project championed by DuPont and Times Television Network.  In the earlier series the focus was a nationwide search of science based innovations that currently exist and have a positive and catalytic impact on sustainable India.  The Challenge for Zero fittingly carries the mandate of Power of Shunya by encouraging the movement through India’s youth dividend – the University students.  

For more information, please visit www.powerofshunya.com, www.dupont.co.in/shunya.

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About DuPont:

DuPont (NYSE: DD) has been bringing world-class science and engineering to the global marketplace in the form of innovative products, materials, and services since 1802.  The company believes that by collaborating with customers, governments, NGOs, and thought leaders we can help find solutions to such global challenges as providing enough healthy food for people everywhere, decreasing dependence on fossil fuels, and protecting life and the environment.  For additional information about DuPont and its commitment to inclusive innovation, please visit http://www.dupont.com/

About Times Television Network:

Times Television Network is part of India’s largest media conglomerate, The Times Group.  It houses upscale brands including ET NOW – India’s No. 1 Business News channel; MOVIES NOW – India’s leading English Movies channel; ROMEDY NOW – a unique destination for Love and Laughter launching in India soon; TIMES NOW – India’s No. 1 English News channel; and zoOm – India’s No. 1 Bollywood channel. The network delivers segmented and differentiated content under one umbrella. It informs, entertains and engages over 100 million urban affluent viewers in India and is available in 45 countries across the globe.

About ET NOW:

ET NOW, India’s No.1 Business News channel, helps you make money every day, by providing breaking news that impacts the market, trading strategies, cutting edge analysis and in-depth interviews. ET NOW is supported by the unmatched resources and expertise of The Economic Times, India’s leading business daily. ET NOW engages with viewers in 16 countries across the globe.

 

	List Of Institutions
	B-Schools		City
	1	SVKM's Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies, Mumbai	Mumbai
	2	SP Jain Institute of Management and Research, Mumbai	Mumbai
	3	Shailesh.J.Mehta School of Management, Mumbai	Mumbai
	4	Faculty of Management Studies (FMS), Delhi University	Delhi
	5	Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT), Delhi	Delhi
	6	Management Development Institute, Gurgoan	Delhi
	7	Department of Management Studies, IIT-Delhi	Delhi
	8	Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad	Ahmedabad
	9	Indian Institute of Management, Kolkata	Kolkata
	10	Indian Institute of Management, Indore	Indore
	11	Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore	Bangalore
	12	Indian School of Business, Hyderabad	Hyderabad
	13	K.J.Somiaya Institute of Management Studies and Research, Mumbai	Mumbai
	14	National Institute of Industrial Engineering (NITIE), Mumbai	Mumbai
	Science / Agri / Engineering Colleges		City
	1	Indian Institute of Technology(IIT), New Delhi	Delhi
	2	Delhi Technological University(Formerly Delhi College of Engineering), Delhi	Delhi
	3	Indian Agriculture Research Institute ( IAR)) New Delhi	Delhi
	4	Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Mumbai	Mumbai
	5	VeerMata Jijabai Technological Institute(VJTI), Mumbai	Mumbai
	6	University Department of Chemical Technology, Mumbai	Mumbai
	7	Indian Institutes Of Science, Bangalore	Bangalore
	8	University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore	Bangalore
	9	Anand Agriculture University, Anand, Gujarat	Anand
	10	Maharaja Sayajirao University, Baroda	Baroda
	11	Indian Institute of Technology(IIT), Chennai	Chennai
	12	Hyderabad Central University	Hyderabad
	13	KJ Sommaiya College of Engineering, Mumbai	Mumbai
	14	Tamil Nadu Agricultual University, Coimbatore	Coimbatore