The drones that we commonly&nbsp;know&nbsp;of are powered by batteries or conventional fuels and are used for everything from cargo hauling to videography to strategic purposes.&nbsp;In order to add more lifting power and range, Hyderabad-based Indian start-up&nbsp;BluJ&nbsp;hopes to eventually make a fully-autonomous&nbsp;aircraft measuring 6metres in wingspan and 4metres in length,&nbsp;that can carry a 1-ton payload (1000kg) across a distance of 800kms, powered by a Hydrogen fuel cell system.

Simply put, Hydrogen fuel cells use the chemical energy of hydrogen to produce electricity and the only residue it leaves behind is heat and water.

Established in 2022, the firm initially received grants from the Government of Telangana and the Government of India, and most recently raised $2.25mn in&nbsp;seed&nbsp;funding.&nbsp;The round is led by Endiya Partners and&nbsp;Ideaspring&nbsp;capital with participation from&nbsp;Rainmatter&nbsp;foundation.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/watch-indian-tech-start-up-creates-first-passenger-drone-for-the-naval-warships-522292">Indian tech start-up creates first passenger drone for the Naval warships</a>

"Our first commercial product will be a&nbsp;Hydrogen-Electric&nbsp;fully autonomous VTOL aircraft for cargo with a capability of about 100 kgs payload and 400-500kms range.&nbsp;We&nbsp;are currently building&nbsp;a full-scale,&nbsp;battery powered&nbsp;technology demonstrator&nbsp;which would be having the same dimensions as the envisioned hydrogen-fuel cell powered one" Maruthi Amardeep, Co-founder and CEO of&nbsp;BluJ&nbsp;told WION.&nbsp;

He added that they expect to conduct flight trials of this lithium-ion battery-powered variant by the end of 2023,&nbsp;followed by the flight demonstration of the Hydrogen-powered variant by&nbsp;the&nbsp;end of 2024.&nbsp;Through these, they plan to mature the technologies required to make&nbsp;their future&nbsp;VTOL aircrafts for passengers and cargo that can ferry 1-ton payload across a distance of 800-100kms.

<h2>A fleet of winged drones under development</h2>

Queried about the use case of such heavy-payload lifting drones that fly long ranges, Maruthi Amardeep explained that they are meant to reduce travel time for cargo and passengers and to be used in sectors such as oil and gas, mining, logistics. It can also make travel easier and quicker between satellite cities to metropolises, travel from cities to airports and for defence logistics purposes etc.&nbsp;

Also watch |&nbsp;Tech Talk: India's first passenger drone for naval warships

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"The funding we have received will sustain us for two years, within which we can develop most of the required technologies at the ground level and build one flying prototype that is powered by a fuel cell" Amardeep said.

The drones being designed and developed by&nbsp;BluJ&nbsp;are unlike the conventional drones.&nbsp;BluJ&nbsp;is building a fleet of winged drones.&nbsp;They take off vertically like a helicopter and then use forward propellors for sustained flight.

<h2>Making Hydrogen-powered VTOL aircraft: Key challenge</h2>

While Hydrogen fuel cell technology is clean, efficient, reliable and comes in a small form factor, the major challenges are the high cost of platinum&nbsp;(used as a catalyst), lack of infrastructure to support hydrogen distribution and the high cost of producing hydrogen and it not being widely available.

The team at&nbsp;BluJ&nbsp;says&nbsp;they understand the challenges and&nbsp;that their&nbsp;product and market strategy&nbsp;is both sustainable and practical.&nbsp;

According to the firm, their core team&nbsp;brings together 100+ years of deep domain expertise, with members having previously worked for Boeing, General Electric, ISRO, Siemens and Collins Aerospace.&nbsp;

BluJ&nbsp;was founded in May 2022 by CEO Maruthi&nbsp;Amardeep, a University of Cincinnati graduate who previously served as Engineering Director at&nbsp;Skyroot&nbsp;Aerospace, and CTO Utham Kumar Dharmapuri, who was an engineering lead at Boeing.&nbsp;

WATCH WION LIVE HERE

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The drones that we commonly know of are powered by batteries or conventional fuels and are used for everything from cargo hauling to videography to strategic purposes.

The drones that we commonly know of are powered by batteries or conventional fuels and are used for everything from cargo hauling to videography to strategic purposes. In order to add more lifting power and range, Hyderabad-based Indian start-up BluJ hopes to eventually make a fully-autonomous aircraft measuring 6metres in wingspan and 4metres in length, that can carry a 1-ton payload (1000kg) across a distance of 800kms, powered by a Hydrogen fuel cell system. Simply put, Hydrogen fuel cells use the chemical energy of hydrogen to produce electricity and the only residue it leaves behind is heat and water. Established in 2022, the firm initially received grants from the Government of Telangana and the Government of India, and most recently raised $2.25mn in seed funding. The round is led by Endiya Partners and Ideaspring capital with participation from Rainmatter foundation. Also read | Indian tech start-up creates first passenger drone for the Naval warships "Our first commercial product will be a Hydrogen-Electric fully autonomous VTOL aircraft for cargo with a capability of about 100 kgs payload and 400-500kms range. We are currently building a full-scale, battery powered technology demonstrator which would be having the same dimensions as the envisioned hydrogen-fuel cell powered one" Maruthi Amardeep, Co-founder and CEO of BluJ told WION. He added that they expect to conduct flight trials of this lithium-ion battery-powered variant by the end of 2023, followed by the flight demonstration of the Hydrogen-powered variant by the end of 2024. Through these, they plan to mature the technologies required to make their future VTOL aircrafts for passengers and cargo that can ferry 1-ton payload across a distance of 800-100kms. A fleet of winged drones under development Queried about the use case of such heavy-payload lifting drones that fly long ranges, Maruthi Amardeep explained that they are meant to reduce travel time for cargo and passengers and to be used in sectors such as oil and gas, mining, logistics. It can also make travel easier and quicker between satellite cities to metropolises, travel from cities to airports and for defence logistics purposes etc. Also watch | Tech Talk: India's first passenger drone for naval warships × "The funding we have received will sustain us for two years, within which we can develop most of the required technologies at the ground level and build one flying prototype that is powered by a fuel cell" Amardeep said. The drones being designed and developed by BluJ are unlike the conventional drones. BluJ is building a fleet of winged drones. They take off vertically like a helicopter and then use forward propellors for sustained flight. Making Hydrogen-powered VTOL aircraft: Key challenge While Hydrogen fuel cell technology is clean, efficient, reliable and comes in a small form factor, the major challenges are the high cost of platinum (used as a catalyst), lack of infrastructure to support hydrogen distribution and the high cost of producing hydrogen and it not being widely available. The team at BluJ says they understand the challenges and that their product and market strategy is both sustainable and practical. According to the firm, their core team brings together 100+ years of deep domain expertise, with members having previously worked for Boeing, General Electric, ISRO, Siemens and Collins Aerospace. BluJ was founded in May 2022 by CEO Maruthi Amardeep, a University of Cincinnati graduate who previously served as Engineering Director at Skyroot Aerospace, and CTO Utham Kumar Dharmapuri, who was an engineering lead at Boeing. WATCH WION LIVE HERE

A VTOL aircraft powered by Hydrogen? Indian start-up 'BluJ' is working on one

We've all had those days when we force ourselves to work just a little bit longer, even if our eyelids strain to stay open and thoughts seem to fall out of our heads, just as our bodies try to fall asleep...in the workplace.

Yes, we're talking about those terrible days when no amount of coffee can keep us up and we crave a quick snooze, but who's going to let us do that at work?

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/a-miracle-after-six-days-woman-found-alive-in-rubble-of-collapsed-building-in-china-476607" hreflang="en">A miracle? After six days, woman found alive in rubble of collapsed building in China</a>

An Indian start-up firm based in Bengaluru will.

It has recognised the 'right to nap' and granted its employees a 30 mins nap time every day.

Wakefit, a modern furniture brand that has been in the "business of sleep" for six years will now pay its employees to sleep.

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Official Announcement 📢 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/sleep?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#sleep</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/powernap?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#powernap</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/afternoonnap?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#afternoonnap</a> <a href="https://t.co/9rOiyL3B3S">pic.twitter.com/9rOiyL3B3S</a>
— Wakefit Solutions (@WakefitCo) <a href="https://twitter.com/WakefitCo/status/1522064693900193794?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 5, 2022</a></blockquote>
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Taking to Twitter the brand shared a screengrab of its co-founder Chaitanya Ramalingegowda's email to the company's employees.

Watch |&nbsp;Gravitas Plus: Do you feel burnt out? Watch this

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If you're wondering why a company would do this, you're not alone.&nbsp;

What do they gain?&nbsp;

Well, the brand answered this question too. Citing research by NASA the email says that a 26-minute nap can actually enhance a person's performance by 33 per cent. They go on to quote a Harvard study and say that naps can also prevent burnout.

Burnout has become all too frequent in our fast-paced, stressful lives, and for a corporation to spare its employees half an hour to avoid it seems like the bare minimum and yet at the same time, an applaud worthy move.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/set-for-life-uk-couple-wins-lottery-worth-ps36-million-or-ps10000-per-month-for-30-years-476565" hreflang="en">Set for life: UK couple wins lottery worth £3.6 million, or £10,000&nbsp;per month for 30 years</a>

Wakefit personnel will be able to relax every day from 2:00 pm to 2:30 pm, and their calendars will be blocked during "official nap time" to ensure that this time is not interrupted by anybody or anything.

Not only that, but to ensure a good night's sleep, staff would have access to "cosy nap pods" and "quiet rooms," which would provide the ideal sleeping environment.

"Looking forward to catching you sleeping at work", signs off Ramalingegowda.

We've all had those days when we force ourselves to work just a little bit longer, even if our eyelids strain to stay open and thoughts seem to fall out of our heads, just as our bodies try to fall asleep.

We've all had those days when we force ourselves to work just a little bit longer, even if our eyelids strain to stay open and thoughts seem to fall out of our heads, just as our bodies try to fall asleep...in the workplace. Yes, we're talking about those terrible days when no amount of coffee can keep us up and we crave a quick snooze, but who's going to let us do that at work? Also read | A miracle? After six days, woman found alive in rubble of collapsed building in China An Indian start-up firm based in Bengaluru will. It has recognised the 'right to nap' and granted its employees a 30 mins nap time every day. Wakefit, a modern furniture brand that has been in the "business of sleep" for six years will now pay its employees to sleep. Official Announcement 📢 #sleep #powernap #afternoonnap pic.twitter.com/9rOiyL3B3S — Wakefit Solutions (@WakefitCo) May 5, 2022 × Taking to Twitter the brand shared a screengrab of its co-founder Chaitanya Ramalingegowda's email to the company's employees. Watch | Gravitas Plus: Do you feel burnt out? Watch this If you're wondering why a company would do this, you're not alone. What do they gain? Well, the brand answered this question too. Citing research by NASA the email says that a 26-minute nap can actually enhance a person's performance by 33 per cent. They go on to quote a Harvard study and say that naps can also prevent burnout. Burnout has become all too frequent in our fast-paced, stressful lives, and for a corporation to spare its employees half an hour to avoid it seems like the bare minimum and yet at the same time, an applaud worthy move. Also read | Set for life: UK couple wins lottery worth £3.6 million, or £10,000 per month for 30 years Wakefit personnel will be able to relax every day from 2:00 pm to 2:30 pm, and their calendars will be blocked during "official nap time" to ensure that this time is not interrupted by anybody or anything. Not only that, but to ensure a good night's sleep, staff would have access to "cosy nap pods" and "quiet rooms," which would provide the ideal sleeping environment. "Looking forward to catching you sleeping at work", signs off Ramalingegowda.

Overtime? Paid leaves? Indian start-up goes above and beyond, gives its employees 'right to nap' at work

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/they-want-to-build-their-own-empire-but-we-want-to-empower-people-pm-modis-dig-at-opposition-190047">Prime Minister Narendra Modi</a> Monday received the first-ever Philip Kotler Presidential award.&nbsp;

The award focuses on the triple-bottom-line of 'people, profit and planet'. It will be offered annually to the leader of a nation, a statement from the Prime Minister's office said.

According to the award citation, PM&nbsp;<a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/sikhs-will-be-able-to-visit-kartarpur-gurudwara-without-visas-soon-pm-modi-189983">Modi was selected</a> for his "outstanding leadership for the nation".&nbsp;

"His selfless service towards India, combined with his tireless energy has resulted in extraordinary economic, social and technological advances in the country," it read.

The citation also states that under his leadership, India is now identified as the centre for innovation and value-added manufacturing (Make in India), as well as a global hub for professional services such as information technology, accounting, and finance.

The statement quoted the citation as saying Modi's visionary leadership has also resulted in the digital revolution (Digital India), including the Unique Identification Number, Aadhaar, for social benefits and financial inclusion.&nbsp;

The citation, the statement said, mentions initiatives such as Make in India, Startup India, Digital India, and Swachh Bharat, "which have positioned India as one of the most lucrative manufacturing and business destinations in the world".&nbsp;

Philip Kotler is a professor of marketing at Northwestern University, Kellogg School of Management. Owing to his ill health, Jagdish Sheth of EMORY University, Georgia was deputed to confer the award on Modi.&nbsp;

According to the award citation, Modi was selected for his 'outstanding leadership for the nation'.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi Monday received the first-ever Philip Kotler Presidential award. The award focuses on the triple-bottom-line of 'people, profit and planet'. It will be offered annually to the leader of a nation, a statement from the Prime Minister's office said. According to the award citation, PM Modi was selected for his "outstanding leadership for the nation". "His selfless service towards India, combined with his tireless energy has resulted in extraordinary economic, social and technological advances in the country," it read. The citation also states that under his leadership, India is now identified as the centre for innovation and value-added manufacturing (Make in India), as well as a global hub for professional services such as information technology, accounting, and finance. The statement quoted the citation as saying Modi's visionary leadership has also resulted in the digital revolution (Digital India), including the Unique Identification Number, Aadhaar, for social benefits and financial inclusion. The citation, the statement said, mentions initiatives such as Make in India, Startup India, Digital India, and Swachh Bharat, "which have positioned India as one of the most lucrative manufacturing and business destinations in the world". Philip Kotler is a professor of marketing at Northwestern University, Kellogg School of Management. Owing to his ill health, Jagdish Sheth of EMORY University, Georgia was deputed to confer the award on Modi.

PM Modi receives first-ever Philip Kotler award

I grew up in India, had been living in the US for the past 11 years, and recently returned to India full-time to launch a business after identifying an opportunity in the market. Prior to moving back to India, I worked as a venture capital (VC) investor in Florida, funding start-ups and early stage companies operating in the consumer and technology industries. I also served as the Chief Operating Officer of one of our venture capital portfolio companies, an international e-commerce business that sells watches, apparel, and accessories in over 30 countries.

One evening I was talking to my parents who described a recent painful mattress buying experience in Pune. They spent weeks searching for a mattress similar to what I had in the US but to their disappointment what they found was either very expensive or unavailable. They ultimately bought one of the old well-established brands at a high price. I immediately realised that this was a pain point that needed to be solved.

I gathered a team of experts to solve this problem. My old friend Vishal Mundhra, who loves to sleep, and is a tech expert, joined the team as the Chief Technology Officer. My former VC colleague, Joe Roos, a seasoned venture capital investor and retail industry expert, joined the team as the CFO.

We travelled the world to find the best components and technology to make the perfect mattress for India. We studied the competitive landscape and identified a number of key differentiating factors that would allow us to offer a superior product at an affordable price. It took us three months to figure out a name - we paid people to help us, completed surveys, but ultimately, I am proud to say that the name came to me when I was nodding off to sleep at my laptop.

Now the next step was how do we solve the pain points -&nbsp; we had to re-think the old mattress business model. We eliminated the traditional brick and mortar store model and focused on online sales. Rather than suffer the experience of dealing with aggressive style sales tactics in the store with pushy salespeople we created a beautifully designed and user-friendly website to showcase all the key features. By eliminating costly overhead and middlemen we could offer a superior product and pass the savings on to our consumers.

This has been a difficult entrepreneurial journey full of many risks and sacrifices. I left a comfortable job in the US and moved to Pune to build the business from scratch. I even left my supportive wife behind in the US because we both believe so strongly in this opportunity. The road so far has been full of ups and downs and last-minute surprises. Every step requires a tremendous amount of work, long hours, and often quick decisions. On the legal side we had to figure out the best structure to setup our company and how to react to the new GST regime in India. Since our materials are imported, we also had to deal with Indian Customs officials, which involves a lot of red tape and delays.

My advice to fellow entrepreneurs moving to India to start a business is that you must approach the market with an open mind - this is an amazing market but nothing is predictable. You must also be incredibly honest with yourself and others. You must pursue your dreams for the right reasons. The entrepreneurial path can be lonely, even when you assemble a great team, but I have never felt more passionate about any opportunity in my life and ultimately the sacrifices will be worth it. We are not simply selling a product, we are delivering happiness to consumers and providing them with a foundation upon which their dreams will be made.

The Indian market is incredibly dynamic and unique. Indian consumers can be demanding, frugal, and very price/value conscious. Very early on, we had to ensure that our deliveries were timely and precise to ensure a high level of customer satisfaction. We use high end vendors to fulfill our deliveries and go the extra mile to ensure our customers are satisfied. We have focused intensely on product quality using only the best internationally certified materials. We designed beautiful packaging to ensure that when the consumer receives our product they feel excited to open it and proud to own it. Every step of the customer journey is designed to ensure that we build lifelong relationships so that each customer feels that they are part of our family.

One of the most difficult aspects of a start-up is first demonstrating a minimum viable product (MVP) and product market fit. We were careful to demonstrate a clear market demand before investing and growing the business. Our early revenue traction confirms there is clear demand and feedback from our customers indicates additional demand for product extensions such as pillows. At this stage of the business you often must make a decision - do you continue to bootstrap the business or do you seek outside funding to help scale the model and promote growth? We ultimately decided that there is value in taking in outside strategic capital that will support our growth and allow us to leverage network resources. We are actively raising an angel/seed round and have found the Indian market to be highly fragmented on the investor side.

One of the biggest difficulties I face as the CEO is operating the business while also actively meeting prospective investors. I believe the key is to hire the right people and delegate as needed. &nbsp;

A start-up CEO's first reaction is to do everything on his own but that keeps us away from the more important strategic work. So as you grow the business get the right team in place to ensure that execution doesn't suffer and you keep making progress. Cash burn is very important so we focus on hiring inexpensive interns and using low rent space to ensure that the recurring cash burn is low. Cash should be spent on active marketing and revenue drivers at this stage.&nbsp; We are intensely focused on ROI and profitable spend avoiding anything that we deem wasteful or unnecessary. &nbsp;

Joe and I have reviewed thousands of start-ups across the course of our venture capital and private equity careers. The simplest advice that we can give would be to listen more than you talk. Learn from the mistakes of others and learn as much as you can as often as you can about your business, competitors, and the overall market. And don’t be afraid of taking risks!

(Sandeep was a venture capitalist and an investment banker prior to starting his own company.)

(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the authors and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

My advice to fellow entrepreneurs moving to India to start a business is that you must approach the market with an open mind.

I grew up in India, had been living in the US for the past 11 years, and recently returned to India full-time to launch a business after identifying an opportunity in the market. Prior to moving back to India, I worked as a venture capital (VC) investor in Florida, funding start-ups and early stage companies operating in the consumer and technology industries. I also served as the Chief Operating Officer of one of our venture capital portfolio companies, an international e-commerce business that sells watches, apparel, and accessories in over 30 countries. One evening I was talking to my parents who described a recent painful mattress buying experience in Pune. They spent weeks searching for a mattress similar to what I had in the US but to their disappointment what they found was either very expensive or unavailable. They ultimately bought one of the old well-established brands at a high price. I immediately realised that this was a pain point that needed to be solved. I gathered a team of experts to solve this problem. My old friend Vishal Mundhra, who loves to sleep, and is a tech expert, joined the team as the Chief Technology Officer. My former VC colleague, Joe Roos, a seasoned venture capital investor and retail industry expert, joined the team as the CFO. We travelled the world to find the best components and technology to make the perfect mattress for India. We studied the competitive landscape and identified a number of key differentiating factors that would allow us to offer a superior product at an affordable price. It took us three months to figure out a name - we paid people to help us, completed surveys, but ultimately, I am proud to say that the name came to me when I was nodding off to sleep at my laptop. Now the next step was how do we solve the pain points - we had to re-think the old mattress business model. We eliminated the traditional brick and mortar store model and focused on online sales. Rather than suffer the experience of dealing with aggressive style sales tactics in the store with pushy salespeople we created a beautifully designed and user-friendly website to showcase all the key features. By eliminating costly overhead and middlemen we could offer a superior product and pass the savings on to our consumers. This has been a difficult entrepreneurial journey full of many risks and sacrifices. I left a comfortable job in the US and moved to Pune to build the business from scratch. I even left my supportive wife behind in the US because we both believe so strongly in this opportunity. The road so far has been full of ups and downs and last-minute surprises. Every step requires a tremendous amount of work, long hours, and often quick decisions. On the legal side we had to figure out the best structure to setup our company and how to react to the new GST regime in India. Since our materials are imported, we also had to deal with Indian Customs officials, which involves a lot of red tape and delays. My advice to fellow entrepreneurs moving to India to start a business is that you must approach the market with an open mind - this is an amazing market but nothing is predictable. You must also be incredibly honest with yourself and others. You must pursue your dreams for the right reasons. The entrepreneurial path can be lonely, even when you assemble a great team, but I have never felt more passionate about any opportunity in my life and ultimately the sacrifices will be worth it. We are not simply selling a product, we are delivering happiness to consumers and providing them with a foundation upon which their dreams will be made. The Indian market is incredibly dynamic and unique. Indian consumers can be demanding, frugal, and very price/value conscious. Very early on, we had to ensure that our deliveries were timely and precise to ensure a high level of customer satisfaction. We use high end vendors to fulfill our deliveries and go the extra mile to ensure our customers are satisfied. We have focused intensely on product quality using only the best internationally certified materials. We designed beautiful packaging to ensure that when the consumer receives our product they feel excited to open it and proud to own it. Every step of the customer journey is designed to ensure that we build lifelong relationships so that each customer feels that they are part of our family. One of the most difficult aspects of a start-up is first demonstrating a minimum viable product (MVP) and product market fit. We were careful to demonstrate a clear market demand before investing and growing the business. Our early revenue traction confirms there is clear demand and feedback from our customers indicates additional demand for product extensions such as pillows. At this stage of the business you often must make a decision - do you continue to bootstrap the business or do you seek outside funding to help scale the model and promote growth? We ultimately decided that there is value in taking in outside strategic capital that will support our growth and allow us to leverage network resources. We are actively raising an angel/seed round and have found the Indian market to be highly fragmented on the investor side. One of the biggest difficulties I face as the CEO is operating the business while also actively meeting prospective investors. I believe the key is to hire the right people and delegate as needed. A start-up CEO's first reaction is to do everything on his own but that keeps us away from the more important strategic work. So as you grow the business get the right team in place to ensure that execution doesn't suffer and you keep making progress. Cash burn is very important so we focus on hiring inexpensive interns and using low rent space to ensure that the recurring cash burn is low. Cash should be spent on active marketing and revenue drivers at this stage. We are intensely focused on ROI and profitable spend avoiding anything that we deem wasteful or unnecessary. Joe and I have reviewed thousands of start-ups across the course of our venture capital and private equity careers. The simplest advice that we can give would be to listen more than you talk. Learn from the mistakes of others and learn as much as you can as often as you can about your business, competitors, and the overall market. And don’t be afraid of taking risks! (Sandeep was a venture capitalist and an investment banker prior to starting his own company.) (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the authors and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

Opinion: My advice for entrepreneurs who want to start business in India

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A VTOL aircraft powered by Hydrogen? Indian start-up 'BluJ' is working on one

Overtime? Paid leaves? Indian start-up goes above and beyond, gives its employees 'right to nap' at work

PM Modi receives first-ever Philip Kotler award

Opinion: My advice for entrepreneurs who want to start business in India