Following Australian Startups and Tech Trends

As part of our expanding coverage in IT, Telecom, Mobile, Green Tech, Media, and Games, today we are showcasing the story of an entrepreneur who has recently migrated to Melbourne from India. Sreenivas Ghatty, the founder and CEO of Tree Oils India, engaged in the manufacture of Biodiesel from non-electric tree Oils such as Jatropha and Pongamia. He was interviewed last week by Suhit Anantula who covers and writes on sustainability, economics, technology and development. Let us explore a bit further how Sreenivas is settling in Australia and his future plans with his venture. This is what Sreenivas has to say in his chat with Suhit. • Please tell us about yourself, your background and interests? Thank you for giving me this opportunity. I have a Masters in Agriculture and was a corporate banker in India and Dubai for 18 years until I entered the Biodiesel industry in 2003. I live in Melbourne with my wife and two daughters and keep travelling to India and other countries regularly.

The 12th participant is Greenairfares.com Greenairfares.com - is a site that sells airfares along with a carbon offset, based on the details of the flight. Many Australian and European airlines are currently doing this – but many US-based airlines are still far from it. So there is a niche market for it in the US. The website is targeted at US users and will also offer hotel and car booking services. Currently, no air booking system in the US is available that ties flight details to carbon emissions and sells only tickets with this offset included in the total price. It started with an idea in the shower in 2006. The founders behind this will soon announce themselves in March. Let us explore a bit further how Greenairfares.com is progressing. Q. How long it took before it was up and running? A. We are still in development – It's been about 1.5 years in the making. Most time was spent exploring different approaches with many barriers. Finally, a way forward was struck in Novemb