Thursday, 12 June 2025: A wrap of news and developments in Karnataka - Pixxel has won a second SPARK Grant under the Defence Ministry’s iDEX program to build advanced imaging payloads for the IAF, boosting India's aerospace capabilities and supporting homegrown defence innovation
Published Jun 12, 2025 | 8:33 PM ⚊ Updated Jun 12, 2025 | 8:33 PM
IAF aircraft (Twitter)
Synopsis: Pixxel has secured a second SPARK Grant from the Ministry of Defence’s iDEX program to develop advanced Hyperspectral and MWIR payloads for the Indian Air Force. Sports-tech startup Machaxi raised $1.5 million in funding led by Rainmatter and Prakash Padukone to expand its AI-powered badminton coaching centres across India
Bengaluru-based space tech company Pixxel has signed a second agreement with Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX), Ministry of Defence, under the SPARK (Support for Prototype and Research Kickstart) Grant scheme. Awarded through iDEX DISC 8 Challenge 6.2, the grant supports the development of advanced Hyperspectral and Mid-Wave Infrared (MWIR) payloads specifically for the Indian Air Force. This builds on Pixxel’s earlier selection under Mission DefSpace Challenge 2023 to develop miniaturised multi-payload satellites.
The cutting-edge payloads will boost India’s space-based and airborne imaging capabilities for various strategic and operational uses. Awais Ahmed, Pixxel’s Founder & CEO, said, “This grant is a proud milestone in our journey to put India at the forefront of next-generation aerospace innovation.” The iDEX program promotes self-reliant defence technology development by Indian startups and MSMEs.
Bengaluru-based sports-tech startup Machaxi has raised $1.5 million in a funding round led by Rainmatter, the investment arm of Zerodha, with participation from badminton legend Prakash Padukone and existing investors. The funds will fuel Machaxi’s expansion into Hyderabad, Pune, and Chennai, and support the launch of the “Machaxi x Padukone School of Badminton” initiative, which aims to establish 1,000 coaching centres across India in four years.
Central to this effort is Machaxi’s AI-powered coaching system, designed to standardize training quality and ensure consistency, while supporting coaches with performance tracking and scalable training models. Co-founder Pratish Raj emphasized the company’s mission to make quality coaching accessible nationwide. Prakash Padukone praised Machaxi’s forward-thinking approach to grassroots development.
The company’s AI coaching system is designed not to replace human coaches, but to standardize training quality, assist in performance tracking, and ensure that the coaching model remains scalable.
The Karnataka government has issued fresh transfer orders affecting several senior IAS and IPS officers. Roopa D, IPS, currently Managing Director of Karnataka Silk Marketing Board Limited, has been transferred with immediate effect and appointed as Additional Director General of Police (ADGP), Bengaluru Metropolitan Task Force. Shettennavar S. B., IAS, has been posted as Regional Commissioner, Belagavi Division, Belagavi, until further orders.
Rohini Sindhuri Dasari, IAS, serving as Secretary to Government (Food Processing and Harvest Technology), Department of Agriculture, Bengaluru, has been transferred and appointed as Secretary to Government, Labour Department, Bengaluru. Akram Pasha, IAS, has been posted as the Managing Director of Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC), Bengaluru.
All postings are effective immediately. These transfers are part of the routine administrative reshuffle undertaken by the state government to streamline governance and ensure effective functioning across departments.
