Pluss Advanced Technologies Receives Rs. 50 Lakh Grant Under the Millennium Alliance Programme by FICCI

Pluss Advanced Technologies Pvt. Ltd., a venture funded company by Tata Capital Innovations Fund, has received Rs. 50 lakh grant under the Millennium Alliance Programme by FICCI. The award was presented by Hon'ble Dr. Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister for Science & Technology, Earth Sciences, Environment, Forests and Climate Change, Govt. of India.

Mr. Vishnu Sasidharan, Vice President, New Product Initiatives, PCMs - Pluss Advanced Technologies Pvt. Ltd. receiving the award from Dr. Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister for Science & Technology, Earth Sciences, Environment, Forests and Climate Change, Govt. of India

The grant will be utilised in building capacity amongst Indian hospitals and neonatal care units to tackle Neonatal deaths in India using MiraCradle™- an Indian Invention to treat newborn babies born with birth asphyxia. MiraCradle™, a neonate cooler (a patent pending), is a CE certified device which is available in over 130 private hospitals in India. Till date, over 5000 new born babies have been treated using this device - giving them the right to live.

"India accounts for more than a quarter (26 per cent) of the world's neo-natal deaths. The states of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Bihar contribute to more than half of newborn deaths in India. We have chosen Rajasthan as the state to create capacity to tackle birth asphyxia", said Samit Jain, Managing Director, Pluss Advanced Technologies Pvt. Ltd.

"Birth Asphyxia treatment has always been a challenge in India due to imported devices which costs over Rs. 15 Lakhs. MiraCradle™ is the world's first such affordable device for treatment of birth asphyxia in neonates. We have successfully worked with partners in South Africa and the device is today a standard method of care for birth asphyxia with 4 major government hospitals in South Africa using it. We hope to make this a reality in India too.", he further added.

MiraCradle™ was designed and developed in partnership with Christian Medical College, Vellore which undertook all clinical trials required for product approvals.

"We aim to address the Sustainable Development Goals set by United Nations with regard to Neonatal Mortality. We are targeting low and middle income countries and the device has been recognized by the WHO in its Compendium of Innovative and Affordable Health Care technologies. Besides South Africa, we are now working in Kenya, Vietnam, Thailand, Turkey and will soon spread to other countries. "said Mr. Ankit Jhanwar, Vice President Corporate Planning, Pluss.

About Pluss Advanced Technologies Pvt. Ltd.

A pioneer in advanced Phase Change Materials Technology (PCM), Pluss is the only Indian company engaged in research and indigenous development of PCMs for a wide range temperature requirement with several patents. Solutions from PLUSS help address the growing energy requirements for temperature control. Pluss is focused on creating value for its customers by designing innovative products and solutions in the field of Speciality Polymers and Phase Change Materials. Pluss is a venture funded organization with equity stake being held by Tata Capital Innovation fund, a premium fund of the TATA group from India. With its innovative products, Pluss Advanced Technologies is making its presence felt across the globe with representatives in USA, Turkey, South East Asia, Russia, Ukraine and South Africa. Pluss intends to be amongst the top innovative companies in the world in the near future.

For more details, please visit www.pluss.co.in.

About Millennium Alliance (MA)

The MA is an inclusive platform to leverage Indian creativity, expertise, and resources to identify and scale innovative solutions being developed and tested in India to address development challenges that will benefit base of the pyramid populations across India and the world. The MA is a network to bring together various actors within India's social innovation ecosystem including, but not limited to, social innovators, philanthropy organizations, social venture capitalists, angel investors, donors, service providers and corporate foundations, to stimulate and facilitate financial contributions from the private and public sectors and offer a range of support to innovators.

Under FICCI's leadership and in partnership with United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Technology Development Board (TDB), and other MA partners, the Alliance will provide innovators with services such as seed funding, grants, incubation and accelerator services, networking opportunities, business support services, knowledge exchange and technical assistance, and will facilitate access to equity, debt, and other capital. Through the Millennium Alliance, USAID, FICCI, TDB and other partners, will help realize India's role as a global innovation laboratory.

For more details, please visit http://www.millenniumalliance.in.