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Karnataka Microalgae Biotechnology Startup Novalgae Closes Seed Round to Turn Ballari’s Arid Land into High-Value Spirulina Farms

07

Jul

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BusinessAgritech India, biotechnology, Novalgae, Spirulina Farming, sustainable agriculture

Karnataka Microalgae Biotechnology Startup Novalgae Closes Seed Round to Turn Ballari’s Arid Land into High-Value Spirulina Farms

Bengaluru, (Karnataka) [India] July 07 2026: Bengaluru-based microalgae biotechnology startup Novalgae Private Limited has closed an undisclosed seed round from three angel investors to expand its community spirulina farming programme in Ballari District, Karnataka, targeting 150 tons of annual production by 2027. Founded by brothers Siva Sankar and Atul Ghosh, Novalgae is working with smallholder farmers who have pooled resources as a collective, transforming marginal and arid land in Ballari into productive spirulina cultivation hubs. The fresh capital will be deployed toward farm expansion within the district and formulation research and development for nutraceutical-grade spirulina ingredients targeting B2B health and…

Scientists identify genes to improve fertilizer nitrogen use efficiency in rice

New Delhi: In a major boost to the scientific efforts for crop improvement to save nitrogenous pollution and fertilizers worth billions, Indian biotechnologists identified candidate genes for nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) in rice. This was accomplished by Prof. Nandula Raghuram, Dr. Supriya Kumari and Dr. Narendra Sharma from the School of Biotechnology, Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, New Delhi. Their findings have just been published in the premier international journal, Frontiers in Plant Science. The article is titled “Meta-Analysis of Yield-Related and N-Responsive Genes Reveals Chromosomal Hotspots, Key Processes, and Candidate Genes for Nitrogen-Use Efficiency in Rice “. Analysing over…

Study kindles new hope for a cure for Parkinson’s Disease

New Delhi: Efforts to find a cure for Parkinson’s Disease is expected to get a big boost with researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology-Madras finding that energy deficiency in certain cells in the human brain could be a major cause for the development of the neurodegenerative disorder. Parkinson’s Disease is the second most prominent neurodegenerative disease across the world after Alzheimer’s disease. More than 200 years after it was first described by Dr. James Parkinson as “shaking palsy,” the world is still searching for a cure. Currently, the medical intervention is focused mainly on the management of the disease.…