Gujarat’s startup ecosystem is gaining momentum as the Central Government’s Department of Science and Technology identifies promising ventures and supports them with funding to convert innovative ideas into market-ready solutions. One standout example is Bignano Ventures, founded by Koumal Kalantri, which has developed a ₹220 blood-based pregnancy test for cows, buffaloes and goats that requires only a drop of blood and can detect pregnancy 28–35 days after breeding, compared with conventional diagnosis generally conducted around 90–120 days after breeding.
The kit has already been used on around 27,000 animals and reached 25,000–27,000 farmers, while Amul Dairy and Sumul Dairy have ordered 10,000 kits, with Sumul already procuring them. Kalantri was recently among 26 grassroots innovators felicitated at Rashtrapati Bhavan in the presence of President Droupadi Murmu and was the only innovator from Gujarat among the awardees and the only one recognised for a livestock-focused innovation.
Supported by the AIC Anand Foundation of Anand Agricultural University under the Innovation and Agri-Entrepreneurship Programme of Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana, Bignano is also developing diagnostic kits for foot-and-mouth disease, brucellosis, tuberculosis and mastitis, with a target production capacity of 5 lakh kits. Another Gujarat startup, MooRopan India Pvt Ltd, founded by dairy microbiologist Dr Ankita Singh and Aryan Donga, has developed MastiSense, a low-cost electronic cow-side device that detects bovine mastitis in around three seconds, without reagents, and is designed to identify the disease up to 10 days earlier than conventional methods.
According to the founders, late diagnosis can reduce milk yield by around 40%, while early diagnosis could limit the reduction to approximately 10–15%. MastiSense has been validated by the National Dairy Research Institute (NDRI), Karnal, and a patent application has been filed.
MooRopan is also developing SiloRopan, a bacterial formulation for converting maize fodder into silage, with cultures adapted to Indian climatic conditions and fodder varieties; the company says its formulation has already been used to prepare around 2,200 tonnes of silage, with the resulting silage described as BIS-compliant, having a shelf life of up to 1.5 years, remaining stable for 20 days after opening and recording nil aflatoxin.
The Anand-based startup, founded in 2023, has raised ₹26 lakh in grants and received support from iHUB Gujarat, GIZ Germany, Anand Agricultural University and the Jubilant Bhartia Foundation/IIM Lucknow EIC Bharat Impact programme. Together, these innovations show how Gujarat’s startup ecosystem is increasingly connecting technology with practical dairy challenges—from reproductive management and early disease detection to fodder preservation—potentially improving productivity, animal health, milk quality and farmer-level decision-making.
Source: Dairynews7x7 31 Aug, 2026 Read full article here
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