Sometimes, the most powerful statement is just two letters: “NO”. At HSNC University’s Nasha Mukt Bharat programme, that word rang out from a packed auditorium as students came together to take a collective pledge against drug-abuse in the presence of Maharashtra Governor and HSNC University Chancellor Shri Jishnu Dev Varma. The programme, organised jointly by HSNC University, Mumbai and Lok Bhavan, Mumbai, also saw the launch of NoToDrugs.in portal by  Governor Shri Varma.

The programme was also graced by Mr. Anil Harish, Provost, HSNC University; Shri S. Ramamoorthy, IAS, Joint Secretary to the Governor of Maharashtra; Ms. Seema Singh, Founder, Meghashrey Foundation; Dr. Sumedh Chavan, Trustee, Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay Seva Bhavi Trust; actor Ravi Dubey; Dr. Bhagwan Balani, Registrar, HSNC University and Prof. Tejashree Shanbag, Principal, K.C. College.

The programme went beyond a conventional awareness campaign and opened up a more difficult conversation: How does addiction begin? Why do young people sometimes find it difficult to say no? And what responsibility do we have when someone around us is already struggling?

In an address blending personal anecdotes with a direct message to the young audience, Mr. Anil Harish spoke about how addiction can sometimes begin almost casually: with a friend's suggestion, curiosity, a dare, peer pressure or simply the reluctance to be the one person in a group who says no. Drawing on deeply personal examples of young people whose lives and families were devastated by addiction, he underlined how a seemingly small choice can eventually take control of a person’s future.

He then shared an unexpectedly memorable anecdote from his own life. When someone offered tobacco at a gathering, his response was a four-letter word: “SURE.” Fortunately, his experiment ended with him throwing up rather than developing an addiction. But the experience carried a larger lesson: sometimes the pressure to say “yes” can overpower the instinct to pause and consider the consequences. “Yes” has a place in life, he told the students, but we must also learn when to say “no”. Mr. Anil Harish then put a question to the students: What would you say if someone offered you drugs? The auditorium answered with one emphatic word: “NO!”

Addressing the students, Governor Shri Jishnu Dev Varma highlighted three interconnected dimensions of the drug problem supply, demand and rehabilitation. While enforcement agencies and authorities have an important role in tackling the supply of drugs, he emphasised that society has a significant role to play in stopping demand and supporting rehabilitation. His message to the young audience was particularly direct: “Drug is not cool; it is cruel.”

He challenged the increasingly familiar response of treating addiction as somebody else's problem. “It's his life” or “it's her life”, he said, cannot become an excuse for indifference. “No person can live in isolation.” Addiction may affect an individual, but its consequences can travel through families, friendships, neighbourhoods and communities.

The Governor therefore urged students to rethink what it means to “interfere”. Reaching out to someone battling addiction, he said, is not interference, it is help. If someone is caught in substance abuse, that person may be “crying out for help” and young people have the ability to notice, reach out and stand by them.

His appeal was therefore not simply to speak about change, but to become part of it. “It is not about giving speeches; it is standing by someone,” he told the students, urging them to build awareness within their circles and help create the support systems that increasingly matter in a rapidly changing society.

Shri Varma also pointed to the weakening of traditional support structures and the need to recreate that sense of community through friends, relatives, acquaintances and social networks. The underlying message was clear: a healthier society cannot be built by individuals living in isolation from one another.

Giving the campaign a digital dimension, Governor Shri Varma launched the NoToDrugs.in portal, providing a dedicated platform to carry the message of a drug-free India beyond the auditorium, even as he administered the Nasha Mukt Bharat pledge to the students present. The combination of a digital platform and a physical, collective commitment underscored the need to carry the message beyond a single event and into the everyday spaces where young people live, study and interact.

Emphasising the importance of youth-led choices, Col. Dr. Hemlata K. Bagla, Vice Chancellor, HSNC University said “A drug-free India cannot be built through awareness alone; it must be built through the choices young people make every day. When a young person chooses to say no, that is not merely a refusal, it is a choice for health, dignity, ambition and a future with possibilities.” Dr. Bagla has been the driving force and has supported the entire ‘Say No To Drugs’ campaign at HSNC University.

“A University prepares students for more than examinations and careers. It also gives them the knowledge, confidence and support to navigate the choices that come with adulthood. In that sense, the Nasha Mukt Bharat pledge is as much about education as it is about awareness,” Dr. Bagla said.

The program builds on HSNC University's sustained youth-focused engagement towards a Nasha Mukt Bharat. Since June, students have participated in digital Poster Making, Slogan Writing & Reel Making competitions, followed by a ‘Nasha Mukt Yuva for Viksit Bharat’ (Drug-Free Youth for Developed India) awareness programme in July which brought together students for interactive discussions on addiction, its impact on physical and mental health, recovery and the importance of seeking support. This was followed by the live screening of the Maharashtra Chief Minister’s address on the Drug-Free Mumbai Campaign in July, where students were encouraged to recognise their individual and collective responsibility towards building a drug-free society. In August, HSNC University hosted the Mumbai city district-level competition which saw 116 participants across eight categories, using poetry, theatre, music, dance and digital media to turn awareness into youth-led social action.

The event was held as part of the Seva Sankalp Abhiyan to mark the birthday of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi.

Press Relations- Ms. Maya M

PR Head, HSNC University, Mumbai

Email: maya.m@hsncu.edu.in

Phone: +91- 8655962503/ 04

 40+ developers and 1,500+ housing societies expected to participate in the second edition, strengthening the platform for transparency, awareness and collaborative redevelopment

Navi Mumbai,19^th September 2026 : CREDAI MCHI YOUTH NMR is set to host the second edition of Ease of Doing Redevelopment (EODR) 2.0 in Navi Mumbai & Raigad (NMR) on Sunday, 27th September 2026, at Hall A, CIDCO Exhibition Centre, Navi Mumbai, from 10:30 AM to 8:00 PM. The initiative was addressed by Sumit Ahluwalia, President; Vicky Thomas, Vice President; Jitesh Agrawal, Immediate Past President; Tejas Patil, Treasurer; Akash More, President Elect; Dharmin Jasani, Event Convenor; Amit Haware, Advisor; Zeeshan Naik; Arjun Thesia; and Anmol Mehta, who shared their perspectives on redevelopment and the objectives of EODR 2.0. The one-day exhibition will bring together 40+ developers from across Navi Mumbai, with more than 1,500 housing societies expected to visit from various nodes of Navi Mumbai and the wider NMR region. The initiative builds upon the participation of approximately 800–1,000 housing societies in the previous edition, while expanding developer representation to facilitate greater interaction and choice for societies.

Redevelopment represents an important opportunity for housing societies and property owners to consider the future of their existing homes and communities. However, the process also involves several stages of evaluation, consultation and collective decision-making.With transparency, awareness and collaborative redevelopment as its central theme, EODR 2.0 aims to create a platform where society representatives and property owners can gain a better understanding of redevelopment, interact directly with developers and seek guidance from relevant experts.

The exhibition will feature panel discussions and expert consultations, providing visitors with an opportunity to discuss various aspects of redevelopment and understand the considerations involved in taking the process forward.The second edition of EODR reflects the belief of CREDAI MCHI YOUTH NMR that awareness around redevelopment needs to be an ongoing process.

Housing societies do not become eligible for redevelopment at the same time. As different communities reach the relevant stage in their lifecycle, property owners require access to timely information and an understanding of the opportunities and considerations associated with redevelopment.EODR 2.0 therefore seeks to maintain this conversation year after year, helping property owners become more informed about the redevelopment process and encouraging constructive engagement between societies, developers and professionals.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Sumit Ahluwalia, President, CREDAI MCHI YOUTH NMR, said:“EODR 2.0 is a continuation of our endeavour to build awareness around redevelopment across Navi Mumbai and Raigad. Redevelopment is a significant decision for property owners and communities, and it is important that societies have access to information, understand their options and engage in the process with greater clarity. Through EODR, we want to create a platform that encourages transparency, awareness and collaboration, while bringing societies and developers closer together. As more societies become eligible for redevelopment every year, we believe this conversation needs to continue every year as well.”

With more than 40 developers participating, EODR 2.0 expands the representation of the development community across Navi Mumbai and Raigad.The increased participation is intended to provide housing societies with greater opportunities to interact with developers, understand different approaches to redevelopment and initiate meaningful conversations based on their individual requirements.

The exhibition will also provide access to expert consultations and panel discussions, allowing society representatives to explore questions and considerations that may arise during the redevelopment journey.The initiative is designed to bring the conversation closer to property owners and communities, while encouraging a more informed and collaborative approach to redevelopment.

Key Highlights of EODR 2.0

●      40+ developers participating from across Navi Mumbai

●      1,500+ housing societies expected to visit

●      Participation from societies across various nodes of Navi Mumbai and NMR

●      Direct interaction between housing societies and developers

●      Panel discussions covering important aspects of redevelopment

●      Expert consultations for society representatives and property owners

●      Focus on transparency, awareness and collaborative redevelopment

●      Expanded scale following participation from approximately 800–1,000 societies in the previous edition

The press launch will also feature perspectives from members of CREDAI MCHI YOUTH NMR, highlighting the importance of awareness, professional engagement and collaboration in shaping the future of redevelopment across Navi Mumbai and Raigad.

About CREDAI MCHI YOUTH NMR

CREDAI MCHI YOUTH NMR is a platform representing young real estate professionals and developers in the Navi Mumbai and Raigad region. The association works towards promoting professionalism, innovation, collaboration and the progressive development of the real estate sector.

Through initiatives such as EODR, CREDAI MCHI YOUTH NMR seeks to facilitate greater awareness and constructive dialogue between the development community and property owners, particularly on issues that have a long-term impact on the region’s housing and urban landscape.

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], September 19 : MoroMaa, a beauty, lifestyle and body care brand founded by Soundous Moufakir, has raised ₹1.5 crore from Aviral Bhatnagar of AJVC. Launched on 27 June 2026, the brand is working to establish M Beauty, or Moroccan Beauty, as a distinct category in India through products made with authentic Moroccan ingredients sourced directly from Morocco.

The investment comes within the brand’s first few months of operations, during which MoroMaa has sold out two of its products. The fundraise marks an early milestone in the company’s plans to develop its product portfolio, strengthen distribution and introduce Moroccan beauty practices to a wider Indian audience.

MoroMaa’s proposition is rooted in Soundous’ personal connection to Morocco and her experience of its beauty traditions. The brand seeks to bring the ingredients, rituals, and cultural context of Moroccan personal care to Indian consumers, while developing products suited to the local market.

Soundous, who holds an MBA in Finance, is building MoroMaa as a solo founder and CEO. Her background across finance and the entertainment industry informs the brand’s two central identity pillars: Artists and Moroccan. While the Artists proposition connects the brand to the founder’s entertainment background and cultural networks, the Moroccan proposition focuses on the authenticity of its ingredients and the beauty traditions behind them.

Commenting on the fundraise, Soundous Moufakir, Founder and CEO of MoroMaa, said,b

Aviral Bhatnagar, Founder of AJVC, said, “Soundous brings a combination of product understanding, distribution experience and personal familiarity with Moroccan beauty to the business. Her approach to developing MoroMaa reflects an opportunity to introduce a distinct beauty proposition in India while adapting it to the local consumer. We believe the category has room to develop and are looking forward to supporting the company as it builds its product portfolio, distribution and customer base.”

With the latest investment, MoroMaa plans to focus on product development, expanding its reach and building awareness around Moroccan beauty in India. The brand’s longer-term vision is to establish M Beauty as a recognisable category within the country’s growing beauty and personal care landscape, while retaining authenticity in its sourcing and product development.

About MoroMaa

MoroMaa is a beauty, lifestyle and body care brand founded by Soundous Moufakir.

Launched on 27 June 2026, the brand brings authentic Moroccan ingredients and beauty traditions to Indian consumers through its M Beauty proposition. MoroMaa is focused on developing a category-led beauty business rooted in Moroccan heritage, product development, and accessibility.

Website: https://moromaa.com

Mumbai, September 2026 : What started with a playful take on wine seltzers has grown into a brand built around real fermented fruit, honest flavour and an unpretentious approach to drinking. With its first range establishing a growing community of consumers, Tipsy Tabby is now taking that foundation into its next phase.

For Partner Akshay Kasbekar, the move is a natural evolution of the brand, driven by changing drinking habits and the opportunity to create for more occasions.

“Tipsy Tabby didn’t set out to be a one-product brand. We built the base range first to earn trust, understand what people enjoy and establish what Tipsy Tabby stands for. The next chapter is about taking that foundation forward and creating a house of drinks that can show up across different occasions and intensities. It’s evolution, not reinvention,” says Akshay Kasbekar, Partner, Tipsy Tabby.

As younger consumers move beyond traditional categories and increasingly choose drinks based on the moment, Tipsy Tabby sees an opportunity to build a brand that can move with them. Its playful, slightly mischievous personality remains at the heart of this evolution, with a focus on making drinking well feel accessible, fun and free from the usual rules.

The upcoming launch of Strong marks the first step in this next chapter. A 15% ABV ready-to-drink wine in Tipsy Tabby’s signature 330ml bottle, Strong brings greater intensity to the brand while retaining its fruit-forward identity and introducing a distinct flavour direction.

Designed for occasions when the night calls for something with more presence, Strong expands the ways consumers can experience Tipsy Tabby, from celebrations and house gatherings to bigger nights out.

For the brand, this is more than a new product. It is the beginning of a larger vision to build a house of drinks that stays true to the same real, fun and unpretentious spirit across different occasions and intensities.

With Strong, Tipsy Tabby is taking its next step forward without losing what made people reach for it in the first place.

The rally comes at a time when India's NBFC sector is witnessing robust growth. According to RBI data, NBFC credit grew 14.4% year-on-year in June 2026 to Rs 57.8 trillion, up from 11.1% a year earlier, and accelerated to 14.9% in July 2026. Retail loans remain the key driver, growing 21.4% YoY in July compared to 13.7% last year, while gold loans surged 69.3%.

Blue-chip peers are also in strong form. Bajaj Finance and Shriram Finance reported 20% AUM growth in Q1FY27, with Nomura preferring both names on resilient growth and stable asset quality. Shriram Finance reported a 40.9% YoY rise in standalone net profit in Q4FY26, outpacing Bajaj Finance.

Against this backdrop, microcap NBFCs like Continental Securities are seeing catch-up buying. Founded in 1990, the Jaipur-based company is engaged in finance and investment activities, offering gold loans, personal loans and loans against property to small borrowers. It has a market capitalisation of around Rs 74.94 crore.

On fundamentals, the company remains small but profitable. For Q1 FY27 (June 2026 quarter), it reported revenue of Rs 1.19 crore and net profit of Rs 0.70 crore, and has declared a dividend of Rs 0.05.

Technically, the stock was consolidating in the Rs 13-15 range till May 2026 before breaking out in late August with heavy volumes. A sustained close above Rs 24.80 would confirm a fresh 52-week breakout. 

Investors should note that microcap stocks carry higher volatility and liquidity risk. This is for informational purposes only and not investment advice.

 Disclaimer : This content is for informational purposes only and is not investment advice, a recommendation, or a solicitation to buy or sell any security. This article is Partner Content. Readers should consult a SEBI-registered investment adviser before making any investment decision. Sangri Network and its publisher, Sangri Internet Pvt. Ltd., accept no liability for decisions made on the basis of this content.

The second edition of the Jindal Policy Conclave will bring together 30 distinguished voices at O.P. Jindal Global University to discuss the role of India’s youth in governance, democratic participation, economic development, institutional reform, and India’s global engagement.

“Congratulations to O.P. Jindal Global University for creating a platform that brings together law, public policy, governance and young minds who will shape the future of our country. You belong to the most exciting generation in Indian history as you will be the future leaders of the country. The Government of India has taken several initiatives that demonstrate how policy can translate national priorities into programmes of action,” the Minister further said.

In a wide-ranging speech on law, policy and the creative economy, the Minister added, “Future lawyers must understand not only statutes and judgments, but also technology, innovation, culture, and business models. Under the changing nature of work, future entrepreneurs must understand not only markets and finance but also storytelling, design, policy, artificial intelligence and the trust that builds lasting brands. Future journalists must understand not only facts and headlines, but also digital platforms, algorithms, ethics and misinformation.”

In his welcome address, Prof. (Dr.) C. Raj Kumar, the Founding Vice Chancellor of O.P. Jindal Global University, said, “I am deeply grateful to Dr L. Murugan, who is a distinguished parliamentarian, currently serving as both the Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting and the Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs, Government of India, for his inaugural address at the Jindal Policy Conclave 2026. He has had a very long and outstanding career, holding various positions of power and responsibility both within the state of Tamil Nadu and at the national level. In the context of the Policy Conclave, we must remember that universities are institutions which are expected to speak truth to power and also be able to deeply engage in addressing the big challenges of our time. I want to pay tribute to the alumni of the Jindal School of Government and Public Policy and students from other schools who have come together to organise the Conclave.”

The Jindal Policy Conclave (JPC) 2026, a student-led public policy conference hosted by the Jindal School of Government and Public Policy (JSGP), O.P. Jindal Global University, is being held on 18–19 September 2026 at the university’s Sonipat campus. The second edition has brought together 30 policymakers, parliamentarians, academics, civil servants, journalists, and practitioners for two days of dialogue on issues shaping a young India.

Over two days, the Conclave will feature seven thematic panels addressing federalism and regionalism; the agrarian economy and agricultural reform; defence and military manufacturing; free speech and press freedom; artificial intelligence and misinformation; jobs and employment; youth democratic participation; and women’s safety, participation, and lived realities.

Prof. R. Sudarshan, Dean, Jindal School of Government and Public Policy, delivered the opening remarks and said, “Dr L. Murugan has emerged as a key architect of India’s creative economy. He also launched five major knowledge reports which demonstrate how data-backed research can guide industry strategy and help evidence-based policymaking.”

The keynote address was delivered by Prof. (Dr.) Lobsang Sangay, Lecturer of Law at Harvard Law School and Former President of the Central Tibetan Administration. He said that young people should contribute to society without any fear of disappointment or failure. “Young Indians already belong to a 5,000-year-old rich cultural heritage. They should pursue their goals without worrying about results as the hard work itself will lead to success.”

Other distinguished speakers will include Admiral (Retd.) Dinesh Kumar Tripathi, former 26th Chief of the Naval Staff; Smt. Iqra Choudhary, Member of Parliament from the Kairana Lok Sabha Constituency; Smt. Kanta Singh, Deputy Country Head, UN Women India and Smt. Priyanka Chaturvedi, former Member of Parliament and visiting faculty at JSGP. Shri T. L. Satyaprakash, a 2002-batch Haryana-cadre IAS officer, will deliver the Valedictory Address.

The build-up to JPC 2026 included several pre-Conclave engagements. An interactive session with Prof. (Dr.) Manoj Kumar Jha, Member of the Rajya Sabha representing Bihar and National Spokesperson of the Rashtriya Janata Dal, examined structural gaps in India’s education system and the case for viewing education as a democratic project. The discussion covered educational inequality, merit, institutional accountability, public investment, youth unemployment, and democratic participation, with Prof. Jha emphasising that students are not merely the future but active participants in the present.

In collaboration with the India Chapter of the Hertie School of Public Policy in Germany and the Jindal Institute for Haryana Studies, JPC also conducted a 90-minute policy roundtable on ‘Leveraging the Potential of Solar Power in Haryana’, using Sonipat as an anchor case. In addition, it hosted a pan-India policy case competition examining why expanded formal credit has not necessarily translated into growth for Indian micro and small enterprises.

Through its two-day programme, JPC 2026 seeks to sustain dialogue between established and emerging voices, placing representation, education, employment, democratic participation, and institutional accountability at the centre of the policy discourse.

Mumbai, September 19, 2026 : VENUS Safety & Health Pvt. Ltd., one of India’s established Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) manufacturers, has received a strong response to its V-90 V Mask, which has been designed to address the need for respiratory protection that combines protection, comfort and usability. Developed for demanding industrial environments, the mask focuses on fit, breathing comfort, durability and heat management for workers who may require respiratory protection through extended working hours.

Across sectors such as construction, automobile, engineering and mining, workers routinely operate in environments where dust, particulate matter, heat and long working hours make respiratory protection critical. While providing respiratory protection is an important aspect of workplace safety, ensuring that workers can wear the equipment comfortably and consistently through demanding shifts is equally important.

The V-90 V Mask has been designed with these workplace realities in mind. Its convex cup-shaped design provides a better facial fit while offering greater breathing space, particularly for workers who may need to wear respiratory protection for extended shifts of eight to ten hours. The mask features latex-free textile elastic straps, with braided textile elastic designed to resist deformation under high temperatures and repeated usage.

The V-90 V Mask also features a dual-shell design that adds durability for repeat and extended use while helping reduce the accumulation of dust and stains on the mask surface. Another key feature is VENUS Safety & Health’s Stay Cool Butterfly Vent Valve, designed to reduce exhalation heat and fogging. This is particularly relevant in industrial environments where workers may already be exposed to elevated temperatures and physical exertion.

According to Mahesh Kudav, Managing Director, VENUS Safety & Health Pvt. Ltd., the response to the V-90 V Mask reinforces the importance of designing PPE around the practical requirements of workers.

“Respiratory protection should go beyond being a compliance requirement. For PPE to serve its purpose effectively, workers must be able to use it correctly and consistently through demanding work environments. At VENUS Safety & Health, our focus has therefore been on combining protection with practical design, comfort, and durability. The V-90 V Mask reflects this philosophy. Innovation in safety must make protection easier for workers to adopt as part of their everyday working lives.”

The V-90 V Mask carries IS 9473 and CE 0121 approvals and is suitable for applications across automobile, construction, engineering, mining and other industrial sectors.

The product’s focus on comfort and usability comes as occupational safety increasingly moves beyond statutory compliance, with organisations paying greater attention to employee wellbeing, productivity, ESG considerations and global manufacturing standards. For PPE manufacturers, this requires product development to consider not only protection standards, but also ergonomics, climatic conditions, duration of usage and worker behaviour.

The company’s innovations include the Stay Cool Butterfly Vent Valve and Twist N Click filter system, along with collaborations with institutions including IITs and DRDO. These efforts reflect its focus on developing safety solutions aligned with evolving industrial requirements.

As India’s manufacturing and infrastructure ecosystem continues to expand, the V-90 V Mask reflects VENUS Safety & Health’s approach to developing respiratory protection around the person who wears it, with a focus on protection, comfort and consistent usability in demanding workplace conditions.

About VENUS Safety & Health Pvt. Ltd.

Founded in 1986, VENUS Safety & Health Pvt. Ltd. is a leading global manufacturer of PPE and advanced air filtration solutions. Headquartered in Navi Mumbai, the company operates seven state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities and exports to more than 32 countries worldwide. Known for quality, reliability, and innovation, VENUS collaborates with leading institutions and complies with national and international safety standards to deliver certified, high-performance protection solutions across industries.

For further information on the company: https://venusohs.com/

Bengaluru, India, September 19, 2026 : Pocket FM, a Pocket Entertainment company, today announced the launch of Sherpa by Pocket FM, its fiction creation platform built around Narrative Intelligence, an approach to AI storytelling designed to understand, develop and maintain complex fictional worlds as they evolve over hundreds of episodes.

Generative AI has made it remarkably easy to generate text, but generating text and creating a great story are very different problems. Long-form fiction requires characters who evolve without losing who they are, relationships that remember their history, conflicts and storylines that can disappear and return dozens of episodes later, and narrative decisions that remain consistent across hundreds of thousands of words. A creator is not simply writing the next paragraph or episode, they are building and managing an entire world. Sherpa by Pocket FM is built for solving exactly this problem.

Rather than relying on a single model responding to a series of prompts, Sherpa by Pocket FM brings together specialized models and agents that work across the fiction creation process, from ideation and research to story planning, writing, evaluation and long-term narrative memory. At its core is a living understanding of the story world that grows as the story develops, allowing Sherpa by Pocket FM to reason across characters, settings, conflicts, relationships and events rather than treating every episode as an isolated piece of text.

“We believe the next breakthrough in generative AI for entertainment isn’t simply going to come from models that can write better sentences. It will come from systems that understand stories,” said Prateek Dixit, Co-Founder of Pocket FM. “That is what we are building with Sherpa by Pocket FM. Narrative Intelligence means understanding the world a creator is building, reasoning about where the story could go and maintaining that understanding as the story grows, while keeping the creator in control of the vision and the decisions that shape it.”

Building Narrative Intelligence

Sherpa by Pocket FM approaches fiction as a hierarchy, building an understanding of the story from its characters and world to larger narrative arcs, episodes and individual scenes. A story begins with an idea and expands into its characters, themes, setting and conflicts before developing into larger story arcs, sequences, episodes and scenes. Different parts of the platform are designed to work across those layers. Its Ideation Agent develops and expands story concepts, the Planning Agent works across story structure and sequences, the Research Agent brings relevant factual and contextual knowledge into the story, and the prose agent develops scenes and episodes. A Feedback Agent evaluates story quality and recommends revisions, while the Narrative World Model maintains long-term story memory as the fictional universe evolves.

Together, these systems allow Sherpa by Pocket FM to address one of the hardest problems in long-form storytelling: something that happened 50 or 100 episodes ago may still fundamentally affect what should happen next. Characters need to remember what they know, relationships need to reflect what they have been through, unresolved conflicts need to remain unresolved until the right moment, and the rules of the world cannot simply change because a new episode is being written. The creator remains at the center of this process, setting the vision and making the important creative decisions while Sherpa by Pocket FM helps plan, generate, evaluate and maintain the growing complexity of the story.

Built on How Audiences Actually Experience Stories

Sherpa by Pocket FM is being developed inside an entertainment ecosystem that gives Pocket FM a distinct advantage. The company can learn not only from stories themselves, but also from how audiences experience those stories over time. Pocket FM  has more than 770,000 titles and 550,000 creators, alongside more than 5.5 billion hours of playtime with minute-by-minute engagement and retention data and more than 1.4 million hours of high-quality text and voice content across millions of story arcs.

That creates a continuous learning loop between creation and consumption. More stories create richer audience signals, those signals can help improve models and evaluation systems, better storytelling can drive stronger engagement and more creator success, and that in turn brings more creators and stories into the ecosystem. As foundation models become increasingly capable, Pocket FM believes this understanding of how audiences actually experience long-form stories will become increasingly important. The challenge is no longer simply generating the next sentence; it is understanding what makes someone care enough about a story to come back for the next episode, and then the next hundred.

“Sherpa by Pocket FM is powered by our custom proprietary models, which feed off our rich data flywheel and continuously improve as more content is created and consumed,” said Vasu Sharma, Head of AI at Pocket FM. “This gives a single creator access to storytelling capabilities that previously required entire studios, specialized teams and massive production budgets. With the right tools, one creator can increasingly build and scale an entire fictional universe.”

Scaling a New Generation of Storytellers

Sherpa by Pocket FM is already changing the scale at which stories can be created across Pocket FM, with annualized content production growing 75x to more than 2.5 million hours, alongside a 10x increase in the number of blockbuster titles. For creators, this means being able to go from an initial idea to a structured fictional universe, build long-running stories faster and ultimately adapt successful intellectual property across languages, markets and formats.

“Every writer begins with a story, but between that first thought and the finished book lie many difficulties such as false starts, lost ideas, and long stretches when the words do not come. Sherpa can help a writer through some of these obstacles, offering a little guidance when the journey becomes difficult. It does not take the place of the writer; it helps the writer keep going. And when a writer can keep going, there is a greater chance that more stories will find their way into the world,” said Ajit Kumar, author of Brahmyodha : The Destroyer and an early Sherpa user, whose story had received 275.2 million plays on Pocket FM as of August 2026.

Sherpa by Pocket FM is part of Pocket Entertainment’s larger ambition to change who gets to create entertainment. The creator economy gave individuals access to global distribution. Pocket FM believes AI can now give those same individuals access to creative capabilities that were previously difficult to access at scale. With Sherpa by Pocket FM, a creator anywhere in the world can begin with an idea, build it into a complex long-form story and ultimately take that story to a global audience.

Pocket Entertainment’s long-term ambition is to enable a billion creators to create a billion stories for a billion people.

About Pocket Entertainment

Pocket Entertainment is the world’s leading AI entertainment platform building products that help creators create, produce, distribute and monetize entertainment at global scale. Its portfolio includes Pocket FM, the leading AI audio drama platform, and Pocket Saga, its AI microdrama platform. Founded in India in 2018 by Rohan Nayak, Nishanth KS and Prateek Dixit, Pocket Entertainment combines human creativity and AI to make audio and video entertainment creation faster and more accessible, enabling creators to develop high-quality entertainment, reach audiences across languages and geographies, and scale successful IP globally.

Pocket Entertainment is building a future of hyper-personalized entertainment, where individual creators can build global blockbusters that once required large studios, teams and budgets. Pocket Entertainment is headquartered in Bengaluru and Culver City, California, with offices in San Francisco, Berlin and Mumbai.

About Pocket FM

Pocket FM is the leading AI audio drama, shaping a new category of serialized entertainment for audiences around the world. With more than 250 million listeners across 20+ countries, Pocket FM combines human creativity and AI with audience insights to help more than 550,000 creators develop stories, produce audio, adapt content across languages and scale successful IP for global audiences. Pocket FM has built a rapidly growing library of more than 770,000 audio series, creating an entertainment ecosystem where creators can bring their ideas to life and reach audiences around the world. Pocket FM is headquartered in Bengaluru and Culver City, California, and is operated by parent company Pocket Entertainment.

Enables customers to make international spends without any forex markup charges

Mumbai : As part of its customer-first philosophy, IDFC FIRST Bank has become the first bank in India to offer Zero Forex Markup on all existing and new credit card customers, with no conditions attached.

The benefit is available automatically to all cardholders. Customers do not need to apply for a new card, upgrade their existing card, or meet any spending threshold. Their current IDFC FIRST Bank Credit Card now comes with Zero Forex Markup, with no conditions attached.

Key benefits to customers:

1. Meaningful savings on international spends: A transaction of ₹1,00,000 typically attracts forex markup charges of 3.5% plus GST, increasing the bill by about ₹4,130. With Zero Forex Markup, IDFC FIRST Bank customers avoid these charges entirely.

2. Reward Points continue: Customers will continue to earn Reward Points or Cashback as applicable on international transactions as per the features of their respective cards.

3. No separate forex card required: Customers often purchase forex cards solely to avoid forex markup charges. With this feature, their existing IDFC FIRST Bank Credit Card effectively serves the same purpose.

4. Relevant for modern global spending: International transactions today include not only travel, but also e-commerce purchases, subscriptions, streaming services, software, education payments and business expenses, making this benefit valuable for travelers, students, professionals and businesses alike.

1. Vision: To build a world-class Bank in India, founded with principles of Ethical, Digital, and Social Good Banking.

Shravan Gupta and the Beginning of MGF’s Real Estate Journey

The MGF Group traces its origins to 1930, when it was established as Motor and General Finance. The group initially built its business around automobile financing and financial services.

MGF’s transition into real estate began in 1997 with the establishment of MGF Developments Ltd. According to the company’s account, the move represented an important diversification of the group into residential, commercial, retail and hospitality development.

For Shravan Gupta, this diversification created an opportunity to participate in the rapidly developing urban property market in India.

Creating Modern Retail and Commercial Spaces

One of MGF’s notable areas of development has been retail real estate. The group developed shopping destinations in markets including Delhi, Gurgaon and Jaipur. Projects associated with MGF include The Metropolitan, The Metropolis, Megacity Mall, City Square Mall and MGF Metropolitan Mall.

The company states that MGF Developments created more than five million square feet of retail space, alongside residential and commercial developments.

These projects reflected the changing nature of Indian cities, where shopping centres increasingly became destinations combining retail, entertainment, food and leisure.

The Emaar-MGF Partnership

A major milestone in MGF’s real estate journey came through its partnership with Dubai-based Emaar Properties. In 2005, MGF Developments entered into a joint venture with Emaar, resulting in Emaar MGF.

The partnership brought together MGF’s understanding of the Indian market and Emaar’s international real estate experience. MGF’s official account describes the venture as a significant milestone in the development of India's real estate industry and foreign investment in the sector.

Shravan Gupta subsequently served as Executive Vice Chairman and Managing Director of Emaar MGF Land until June 2016, according to his executive profile.

A Broader Approach to Real Estate

Real estate today is no longer simply about constructing buildings. Buyers and investors increasingly consider location, connectivity, amenities, sustainability, community infrastructure and long-term value when making property decisions.

This changing environment has encouraged developers to think beyond individual buildings and focus on complete environments. Residential communities, commercial centres and retail destinations are increasingly planned around the way people live, work and spend their leisure time.

This broader perspective is relevant to the evolution of MGF’s real estate activities, which have covered multiple segments of the property market. MGF states that its real estate operations span residential, commercial, retail and hospitality sectors.

Shravan Gupta’s Role in the Real Estate Story

Shravan Gupta’s professional career has included both financial services and real estate. His experience with the MGF Group preceded his leadership role at Emaar MGF, giving him exposure to both the financial and development sides of the property business.

His tenure at Emaar MGF was particularly significant in the period when the joint venture was expanding its presence in India's property market. His executive profile records more than 15 years of experience across real estate and financial services and identifies his involvement with MGF Developments and other group companies.

What Makes Real Estate a Long-Term Solution?

A successful real estate strategy requires more than acquiring land and constructing property. It involves understanding market demand, infrastructure, demographics, financing, regulations and changing lifestyles.

For developers and investors, some of the most important considerations include:

●        Strategic location and connectivity

●        Quality of construction and design

●        Reliable infrastructure

●        Sustainable development practices

●        Strong community amenities

●        Long-term demand

●        Regulatory compliance

●        Responsible financial planning

These factors have become increasingly important as India's cities expand and consumers become more informed about property investments.

The Future of Indian Real Estate

India's continuing urbanisation is expected to create opportunities across residential, commercial and mixed-use real estate. At the same time, buyers are increasingly interested in energy efficiency, environmentally responsible construction, better amenities and technology-enabled communities.

The next phase of Indian real estate is therefore likely to be defined by a combination of innovation, sustainability and customer-focused development.

For businesses such as MGF, the experience of operating across different real estate segments provides a foundation for adapting to these changing market expectations.

Conclusion

The story of Shravan Gupta and the MGF Group illustrates how a business that began in financial services expanded into the real estate sector as India's cities and consumer markets evolved.

MGF's entry into real estate in 1997, its development of retail and commercial properties, and its subsequent partnership with Emaar represent important chapters in the group's property journey.

Today, the idea of a “real estate solution” goes beyond simply building properties. It is about creating spaces that respond to the changing needs of residents, businesses, investors and communities. As Indian real estate continues to mature, experience, adaptability and a long-term approach will remain important factors in shaping the industry's future.

– Norwegian Aura™ Will Also Feature a Bold Mix of Immersive Theater, Live Music and Late-Night Entertainment with the Debut of “ILLUMINOX: Infinite Wonder Unboxed™,” The Vinyl Republic™, and the Return of LunaTique: Pop Circus™– 

MIAMI :   Norwegian Cruise Line®  , the industry leader in delivering freedom and choice in experiences with uncompromising hospitality, today unveiled the entertainment lineup for the highly anticipated debut of Norwegian Aura™  in May 2027, including the headlining production “Whitney: A Celebration of Whitney Houston.”

Developed in partnership with The Estate of Whitney E. Houston and Primary Wave Music, the new original production celebrates one of the most acclaimed and bestselling artists of all time. With more than 220 million records sold worldwide, seven consecutive No. 1 Billboard Hot 100 hits, six Grammy Awards and a legacy that continues to inspire generations, Houston's music will come to life through a contemporary concert experience created exclusively for NCL.

Norwegian Aura's lineup will also feature "ILLUMINOX: Infinite Wonder Unboxed™," a new original illusion spectacular blending acrobatics and visual effects; “The Vinyl Republic™,” NCL's newest live music collective that expands beyond the theater; and the return of the adults-only nightlife favorite “LunaTique: Pop Circus™,” creating entertainment experiences for every guest from day to night.

"Every new ship is an opportunity for Norwegian Cruise Line to push the boundaries of what entertainment at sea can be, and with 'Whitney: A Celebration of Whitney Houston,' we're building on the incredible momentum we've seen from our Vegas residency-inspired productions celebrating some of music's most iconic artists," said Bryan White, vice president of entertainment production at Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. "Following the success of our Prince and Elton John productions on Norwegian Aqua and Norwegian Luna, respectively, this new show reimagines Whitney's legendary catalog through contemporary arrangements, dynamic storytelling, stunning visuals and powerful live performances. Together with original experiences like ‘ILLUMINOX’ and ‘The Vinyl Republic,’ we’ve created a collection of entertainment that transforms every venue into a destination and every evening into something unforgettable."

Whitney: A Celebration of Whitney Houston – A New Original Production Honoring One of Music’s Most Iconic Voices

Developed in partnership with The Estate of Whitney E. Houston and music publishing company Primary Wave Music, the production reimagines Houston's artistry through contemporary arrangements, dynamic storytelling and immersive stagecraft. Inspired by the glamour, confidence and star power that made Houston a global phenomenon, the show pays tribute to one of the most iconic voices ever recorded, transforming beloved songs into a vibrant concert experience that feels both timeless and entirely new. Guests will enjoy iconic hits including “It’s Not Right, But It’s OK,” “I Will Always Love You,” and “I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me),” the nine-times RIAA certified platinum dance-pop anthem, also named Best Pop Song of All Time by Billboard magazine in 2023.

Staged in the three-story Aura Theatre & Club, the 45-minute production combines live vocals, a live band, stunning visuals and performances extending beyond the main stage to create an immersive experience.

"We are thrilled to partner with Norwegian Cruise Line to present 'Whitney: A Celebration of Whitney Houston' for the debut of the Norwegian Aura in May 2027,” said Pat Houston, executor of The Estate of Whitney E. Houston and president of the Whitney E. Houston Legacy Foundation. “Whitney enjoyed cruises. Her fans and supporters will have a nostalgic experience enjoying the extraordinary artistry and live music of Whitney Houston, performed by worldclass musicians while sailing on the high seas.”

Breathtaking Acrobatics, Live Music That Spans Generations and Endless Nightlife

Beyond the headline production, Norwegian Aura will feature a collection of original entertainment designed exclusively for the ship to deliver multigenerational experiences.

“ILLUMINOX: Infinite Wonder Unboxed™” combines grand-scale illusions, acrobatics, original music and visual effects in a fast-paced theatrical production that invites audiences into a world where the impossible becomes reality. Inspired by the joy of curiosity and the thrill of the unexpected, the 45-minute production will take guests through a fast-moving journey full of surprise and wonder in the Aura Theater & Club.

Music comes alive aboard Norwegian Aura with “The Vinyl Republic™,” NCL's newest live music collective inspired by the legacy of vinyl records. Spanning genres from country and rock to funk, blues and pop, the band delivers high-energy performances where no two shows are ever the same.

The collective headlines two signature experiences in the Aura Theatre & Club: "The Vinyl Republic's Journey Through Rock," celebrating Journey's greatest hits and the arena rock era, and "The Vinyl Republic's Kickin' It Country™," a lively, late-night country party featuring today's biggest hits and interactive line dancing.

Beyond the theater, The Vinyl Republic brings live music throughout the ship, from the Penrose Atrium to Improv at Sea, creating fresh, engaging performances that transform every venue into a unique concert experience.

Returning favorite “LunaTique: Pop Circus™” expands its adults-only blend of cabaret, circus artistry and immersive nightlife to the Aura Theatre & Club following its successful debut aboard Norwegian Luna™. This immersive theatrical experience, featuring new acts and new music, is available for an additional cost and includes tantalizing cocktails paired with each performance, offering a late-night alternative that is equal parts live entertainment and cocktail party.

Guests will also enjoy signature experiences including “Aura FIRST NIGHT™,” a welcome showcase introducing the ship's entertainment lineup, and “Latin LIVE!™,” an energetic poolside celebration featuring live percussionists, dynamic vocalists, vibrant dance performances and the biggest Latin dance hits to keep guests moving all night long.

Together, these experiences reflect NCL's continued commitment to delivering world-class entertainment at sea through innovative productions and unforgettable live performances.

Norwegian Aura Inaugural Season from Miami

Prior to homeporting in Miami for her inaugural season in June 2027, Norwegian Aura will sail a seven-day Mediterranean voyage from Trieste, Italy to Barcelona, Spain on May 21, 2027 with calls to Valletta, Malta; as well as Salerno and Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy. This will be followed by a 13-day transatlantic voyage from Barcelona to Miami, from which she will commence her season of Caribbean cruises from Miami. From June 2027 through October 2027, Norwegian Aura will sail seven-day Eastern Caribbean voyages with calls to quintessential island destinations, including Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic; St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands; Tortola, British Virgin Islands; and the Brand’s newly enhanced private island in the Bahamas, Great Stirrup Cay, featuring the all-new Great Tides Waterpark. In winter 2027/28, Norwegian Aura will offer seven-day Western Caribbean voyages taking guests to lush, tropical destinations like Roatan (Islas de la Bahia), Honduras; Costa Maya and Cozumel, Mexico; as well as Harvest Caye , NCL’s resort-style private destination off the Belizean coast.

For more information about Norwegian Aura and NCL's award-winning fleet, visit www.ncl.com .

Be Younique – Open Learning Center (BY OLC) is a Human Design–based learning space where children grow through alignment with their natural design—at their own pace, in their own way. Human Design forms the foundation of how we understand the child: their natural way of engaging, responding, making decisions, using their energy, and moving through life. Learning begins with understanding the child, not with imposing a structure upon them.

At BY OLC, its believed that every child has their own way of thinking, learning, developing, and experiencing the world. When this individuality is recognised rather than corrected, learning can unfold as a natural and joyful process. Our role is not to fit the child into a predefined path, but to create an environment where the child can discover and develop their own.

The learning journey therefore unfolds in five stages: Settling In and Deconditioning, Exploration (Response/Interaction), Recognition of Design, Focused Development, and Pathway Option. Each stage allows the child to move at their own pace, with experience preceding structure and recognition preceding direction.

Settling In and Deconditioning creates space to loosen learned habits, comparison, pressure, and external expectations. Exploration allows children to engage with life through their natural way of interacting—responding, initiating, waiting for recognition, or observing their environment. Recognition of Design develops through lived experience, as children begin to notice their own patterns, energy, decision-making style, and rhythms. Focused Development allows structure to emerge from the child’s design and natural consistency, rather than from age, grade, or a predetermined curriculum.

The fifth stage, Pathway Option, is an optional interface with formal systems. This is where an academic pathway such as NIOS can become relevant—not as a milestone, expectation, or destination, but as a bridge available when the child and family choose to engage with formal certification. Certification is simply one possible outcome; it is not the purpose of the learning journey.

Founder Dr Yogeshwar Kasture says: “At the heart of BY OLC is a simple trust: nothing about the child needs to be fixed. The child leads the pace. There are no imposed timelines, no comparison-driven learning, and no need to prepare for a system before the child is ready to engage with it. Structure exists to support the child, never to control them.”

This reflects what Be Younique stands for more broadly: creating spaces where individuals can recognise their own nature and live from it, without distortion. Through Human Design, we invite recognition rather than correction, trust in the body’s intelligence rather than reliance on mental authority, and alignment with what is naturally true within each individual.

BY OLC therefore does not seek to take every child toward the same destination. It creates the environment, holds the space, and walks alongside the child—so that each child can recognise, experience, and develop their own way of being and learning.

If parents feel that they want to explore this kind of learning they can get in touch with Dr Yogeshwar Gajanan Kasture on 9270219622 or can visit their website https://beyounique.life/

The recognition comes at a pivotal time. According to the latest NASSCOM–Zinnov India GCC Landscape Report, India is now home to over 2,100 Global Capability Centres, employing more than 2.3 million professionals and generating close to $100 billion in revenue – making it the world’s largest GCC ecosystem. Many of these centres are standardising on Apple devices to support engineering, R&D, and innovation-led teams that expect enterprise-grade security alongside a best-in-class user experience. Team Computers has positioned itself as a partner of choice for these organisations, helping them modernise their digital workplace, streamline device lifecycle management, and align global technology standards with local execution.

“This recognition from Apple is a strong validation of the trust enterprises place in us to build their digital workplace. As we work towards our $1 billion vision, our focus remains on going deeper into segments like GCCs, where the demand for secure, high-performing device ecosystems is only growing. Being India’s top Apple partner is a reflection of the discipline and customer-first approach that has shaped our growth for nearly four decades,” said Nizam Siddiqui, Apple Practice Head, Team Computers.

Building the Digital Workplace of Choice for GCCs and Enterprises

As GCCs and large enterprises expand their footprint in India, the demand for secure, seamless, and scalable device ecosystems has never been greater. Team Computers works closely with organisations across industries to deploy Apple solutions that improve collaboration, strengthen security, and deliver an exceptional user experience at scale – combining deep technical expertise with end-to-end consulting, deployment, and support capabilities to simplify IT management and optimise total cost of ownership.

Apple Premium Business Partner, Tier 1 – and More

In addition to its Tier 1 Apple Premium Business Partner status, Team Computers is also an Apple Authorised Service Provider (AASP), enabling customers to benefit from comprehensive lifecycle support under one roof. From procurement and deployment to device management, maintenance, repair, and refresh, the company provides end-to-end services that maximise the value of enterprise Apple investments – a capability increasingly critical for GCCs and enterprises managing large, distributed device fleets.

A Milestone on the Way to $1 Billion

This recognition is one of several markers of Team Computers‘ broader growth strategy, as the company continues to invest in its enterprise offerings – spanning digital workplace, cybersecurity, cloud, managed services, AI analytics, and business applications – to support India’s fastest-growing business segments.

With nearly four decades of experience delivering enterprise IT transformation, Team Computers continues to empower businesses – from global capability centres to large domestic enterprises – with future-ready workplace solutions that combine world-class technology, operational excellence, and customer-centric service.

New Delhi [India], September 17 : Yugality is an AI-powered legal workspace designed to help lawyers research, draft, organise, manage their practice—and connect with clients and lawyers from one platform.

A hearing date to remember. A judgment to find.

A chronology to prepare.

A document buried somewhere in a folder. A client waiting for an update.

And another draft that needs to go out today.

For lawyers, these are not separate problems. They are part of the same working day.

The practice of law requires legal knowledge, analysis and judgment. Yet valuable time can also go into legal research, document management, legal drafting, case management, hearing tracking and client communication.

Yugality is built around a simple idea: lawyers should spend more time working on the law and less time managing the work around it.

One Workspace for Every Legal Workflow

A single legal matter can involve case laws, documents, drafts, evidence, hearing dates, client communication and a constantly evolving chronology.

Managing these across different platforms can create unnecessary fragmentation.

Yugality brings these workflows together through an AI-powered legal workspace, combining AI legal assistance, legal research, legal drafting, document management, case management, Legal Calendar, Chronology Builder, legal translation, notetaking and client connection.

The goal is simple: fewer disconnected tools and a more connected legal workflow.

More Than Legal Management — Find Clients Managing cases is only one part of building a legal practice. For many lawyers, another challenge is finding the right clients.

Yugality’s Find Clients capability is designed to help lawyers discover potential clients based on their legal requirements and improve their professional discoverability.

Instead of relying entirely on referrals, personal networks or conventional outreach, lawyers can have a dedicated digital space to connect with people seeking legal assistance.

Your legal expertise should be easier to discover when someone is looking for legal help.

Find a Lawyer When You Need One

The challenge also exists from the client’s side.

When someone faces a legal emergency, finding the right lawyer can involve multiple searches, messages and referrals.

Whether it is a legal notice, property dispute, family matter, business issue or court-related concern, Yugality’s Find Lawyers capability is designed to make connecting with legal professionals easier.

This creates a connected legal ecosystem where lawyers can find clients and people can find lawyers.

AI That Assists Lawyers, Not Replaces Them

AI is changing legal technology, but legal practice will always require professional judgment.

Yugality’s AI legal assistant and legal AI capabilities are designed to assist with activities such as legal research, understanding documents, organising information and preparing drafts.

Context matters. Accuracy matters. Professional judgment matters. The objective is not to let AI decide the law.

It is to help lawyers work with the law more efficiently while keeping the lawyer in control.

From Legal Research to Case Management

Yugality connects multiple stages of legal work—from legal research and AI-assisted drafting to document management, case chronology and hearing management.

Its Legal Briefcase helps organise matter-related documents, while the Legal Calendar and Chronology Builder help lawyers keep important dates and case timelines structured.

The result is a connected workflow that helps lawyers spend less time searching, organising and reconstructing information—and more time focusing on their cases.

Built Around the Reality of Modern Legal Practice

Yugality was built around the changing needs of India’s legal professionals.

Mr. Yug Raman Srivastava, from National Law University, Patiala, and Mr. Raman Nagpal built Yugality around a straightforward belief: technology should simplify legal practice, not add another layer of complexity.

For advocates, chambers and law firms, the opportunity is not simply to adopt legal technology. It is to build a better way of working.

One Platform. Multiple Legal Needs.

For lawyers, Yugality helps bring together:

• AI legal assistance and legal research

• Legal drafting

• Case and document management

• Legal Calendar and hearing tracking

• Chronology Builder

• Legal translation and notetaking

●          Find Clients

• Professional discoverability

For people seeking legal help:

• Find Lawyers based on their requirements

• Discover legal professionals digitally

• Connect with legal assistance more easily

Together, these capabilities form a connected legal ecosystem for lawyers and people seeking legal assistance.

A More Connected Future for Legal Work

The vision behind Yugality is to connect the journey from having a legal problem to finding legal help, and from accepting a matter to managing it.

For lawyers, that means better tools and greater opportunities. For people, it means easier access to legal professionals.

Less hoch-poch. Fewer disconnected steps. One connected legal ecosystem.

First Time Ever. One Legal Ecosystem.

AI Legal Assistant. Legal Research. Legal Drafting. Case Management. Find Clients. Find Lawyers.

Yugality brings them together in one platform.

Yugality — All Legal Needs, Made Easier.

Smarter Legal Work. One Connected Legal Ecosystem. 

Watch the Yugality Demo

See how Yugality brings legal research, AI assistance, drafting, case management and client-lawyer connectivity together in one platform.

Watch the Yugality Demo on YouTube:

https://youtu.be/x8v15-Kok1s?si=CXfvQ0T3Hegv4RNL

Yugality — making legal work and legal access easier, more connected and more intelligent.

Developed & Marketed by Campaigning Source Pvt. Ltd.

Bengaluru, Karnataka, India, September 17, 2026 : With the UK's September 2026 - 2027 intake under way, Unlimit Mobile — the international connectivity brand operated by Zetexa Global, an India-based travel ancillary and licensed telecom infrastructure company — is offering Indian students a UK mobile number that is purchased, verified and activated before they leave India, removing one of the most common friction points in the first week abroad.

Students arriving in the United Kingdom typically face a circular set of requirements: opening a bank account calls for a UK mobile number; a UK pay-monthly mobile contract calls for a UK address and credit history; and a tenancy agreement calls for a bank account. With no UK credit file on arrival, most students are declined for contract plans and fall back on premium-priced starter SIMs bought at airport kiosks, which they replace within weeks.

Unlimit Mobile's UK plans are prepaid and require no credit check. Students check coverage, select a plan, pay and complete a digital eKYC verification online from India; the eSIM then installs by QR code in about two minutes. Physical SIM cards can be shipped to any home address in India before departure, existing UK numbers can be ported in using a PAC code, and the service works on any carrier-unlocked, eSIM-compatible handset, so no new phone is required. Plans run on the Vodafone UK network with 4G LTE and 5G coverage across major cities and university towns.

"The first week of a student's course is an administrative week, and almost all of it runs through a phone number they do not yet have," said Amit Agarwal, Founder & CEO, Zetexa Global. "Landing with a live UK number means the bank application starts on day one rather than the first free weekday, and everything behind it — accommodation, enrolment, part-time work — unblocks in sequence."

All UK plans carry unlimited local calls and SMS, with high-speed data allowances sized for online classes, streaming and navigation; hotspot and tethering on compatible handsets, so a single plan can also cover a laptop in halls where Wi-Fi is unreliable; no 12- or 24-month tie-in and no exit penalty; pricing from £0.39 per day; and 24/7 support across time zones. Groups of five students purchasing together pay half price for the first month, while referrals earn £10, £25 or £45 depending on the plan length purchased. Purchase, renewal and top-ups are managed through the Unlimit Mobile app on iOS and Android.

"Because the process is entirely online, it is independent of the departure airport," said Srujan Yeleti, Founder & COO, Zetexa Global. "A student flying out of Kochi, Lucknow or Ahmedabad on a connecting itinerary sets up on exactly the same terms as one flying direct from Delhi or Mumbai."

Longer UK plans additionally draw on Zetexa Global's travel ancillary stack, carrying airport meet-and-greet assistance for visiting parents, lounge access in the event of a flight delay, eligibility for the Unlimit Mobile scholarship and internship programmes, and a multi-year rate lock — extending a single connectivity purchase across the duration of a student's course.

About Unlimit Mobile
Unlimit Mobile is a global connectivity brand under Zetexa Global, built for international students, travellers and newcomers relocating to the USA, Canada and the United Kingdom. It offers prepaid eSIMs, physical SIM cards and virtual phone numbers with no contracts, no credit checks and instant activation.

About Zetexa Global
Zetexa Global is an India-based travel ancillary and licensed telecom infrastructure company holding telecom licences across the FCC (USA), CRTC (Canada) and DoT (India), with a UK subsidiary, Zetexa Limited. Its consumer brands are ZetSIM, a travel eSIM covering 180+ countries, and Unlimit Mobile. Its B2B platform offers white-label, API, reseller and SDK connectivity products to travel, fintech and mobility partners.

Media contact: Unlimit Mobile | unlimitmobile.com | zetexa.com

‘Peediyan’ adds another layer to the world of ‘Mitti De Putt’, a film centred around themes of courage, identity, sacrifice and the deep connection people share with their roots. The song carries an emotional undertone that complements the larger narrative of the film, giving audiences a glimpse into its world ahead of its release.

Vikramjeet Virk, who plays a key role in the film, makes his presence felt throughout the track. His intense persona and commanding screen presence add weight to the visuals, further raising curiosity around his character and the role he plays in the story.

Directed by R. Malkana, ‘Mitti De Putt’ features an ensemble cast including Dev Kharoud, Vikramjeet Virk, Sharan Kaur, Pardeep Cheema, Anita Meet, Aman Sutdhar, Vikramjit Khehra, Deepak Kamboj, Yograj Singh And Mahabir Bhullar. The film aims to explore a story deeply connected to Punjabi identity, relationships, sacrifice and the spirit of its people.

For Virk, ‘Mitti De Putt’ adds another interesting chapter to his journey in Punjabi cinema. With the actor sharing screen space with an accomplished ensemble, his performance is among the elements audiences will be watching closely.

Backed by Zora Studios and NewWave Studios, the film has already generated interest with its trailer and now continues its promotional journey with ‘Peediyan’. The song’s release gives audiences another glimpse of the film’s tone and emotional landscape.

With ‘Peediyan’ now available, ‘Mitti De Putt’ continues to build momentum, and Vikramjeet Virk’s striking presence in the track ensures that the actor remains one of the key talking points surrounding the film.

The launch was held in association with Van Vivaha, Concepts & Cuisines by Fio, RR Enterprises, and Womncom and was supported by Amrish Pershad Designs, Weddings by Nutshell, Jaspreet Gulati and Gemmines. The occasion brought together members of the literary, cultural and creative communities to celebrate the author and her latest work.

Published by Nu Voice and distributed by Penguin Random House, Meera Krishan Ki Sangeeti is a compilation of lyrical compositions, with each composition telling a distinct story. Dedicated to her mother, Meera, and her father, Krishan, the book reflects Dr. Vaadera’s emotional connection with her parents and her desire to preserve their memories through words and music.

The collection brings together lyrics and musical compositions, allowing every piece to emerge as an individual narrative. Through the book, Dr. Vaadera explores the relationship between music, memories and human emotions, creating a work that resonates with the themes of love, family and legacy.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Vanndana Vaadera said, “This book is very close to my heart. It is my tribute to my parents, Meera and Krishan, and an attempt to preserve their memories through the language of music and storytelling.”

The launch event celebrated the creative journey behind the book and its unique approach to combining lyrical storytelling with music. Guests and members of the creative fraternity came together to mark the occasion and engage with the author and her work.

With Meera Krishan Ki Sangeeti, Dr. Vanndana Vaadera presents more than a collection of compositions—it is an emotional journey that honors family, memories, and the timeless connection between music and storytelling.

About the Book

Meera Krishan Ki Sangeeti is a collection of lyrical compositions Dr. Vanndana Vaadera, dedicated to her parents, Meera and Krishan. Each composition tells a story, bringing together music, emotion, and memories in a heartfelt celebration of love, relationships, and legacy.

http://www.drvanndanavaaderaacademy.com/

In this historic debut, JGBS has also emerged as the No. 1 private university business school in India for its MBA programme. The significance of this achievement becomes even more evident in the larger context of India’s expanding presence in global management education.

The QS Global MBA Rankings 2027 feature 19 India-based MBA providers, with five institutions making their debut this year. Leading this new cohort is O.P. Jindal Global University (JGU), making its historic first entry in the rankings in the 171–180 global band.

The achievement assumes particular significance as JGBS is only in the 16th year of its institutional journey, making its entry into the world’s Top 200 a remarkable recognition of the School’s growing national and global standing in management education. Notably, in its very first appearance in the rankings, JGBS has been ranked ahead of several of India’s long-established management institutions, including IIM Kozhikode, IIM Indore, IIM Lucknow and IIM Udaipur.

JGU has also secured the 23rd position in Asia among 81 MBA programmes, including a strong 16th position in Asia for Employability.

The QS Global MBA Rankings evaluate programmes across five key dimensions—Employability, Thought Leadership, Diversity, Value for Money, and Alumni Outcomes.

Commenting on the historic milestone, Prof. (Dr.) C. Raj Kumar, Founding Vice Chancellor, O.P. Jindal Global University, said,  “JGBS entering the world’s Top 200 business schools in its very first appearance in the QS Global MBA Rankings is a historic moment for JGU. For a business school that is only in the 16th year of its institutional journey, this is an extraordinary achievement. I would like to express our deepest gratitude to our Chancellor, Mr. Naveen Jindal, whose vision, enduring support and commitment to building a world-class university in India have enabled us to pursue excellence with ambition and purpose. This recognition belongs to our faculty, students, alumni and colleagues whose collective efforts have built JGBS into the institution it is today.”

Prof. Padmanabha Ramanujam, Dean, Academic Governance & Student Life, O.P. Jindal Global University, said, “This ranking is an important affirmation of the academic standards and institutional systems that JGBS and JGU have steadily built over the years. Our focus on rigorous academic governance, continuous benchmarking and international standards has been central to strengthening the quality and global standing of the University. This recognition encourages us to raise those standards even further.”

Prof. Mayank Dhaundiyal, Dean, Jindal Global Business School, O.P. Jindal Global University, said, “This achievement is a proud moment for the entire JGBS community. We have worked to build a business school that combines rigorous academics and research with industry engagement, experiential learning and a genuinely global outlook. Most importantly, this recognition strengthens the value of the education and opportunities we create for our students and inspires us to pursue even greater excellence in the years ahead.”

The recognition in the QS Global MBA Rankings 2027 represents another important milestone in JGBS’s journey of institution-building. The School has steadily strengthened its research ecosystem, international collaborations, industry engagement, student experience and opportunities for global learning and academic exchange.

An important milestone in this journey has been the achievement of AACSB accreditation, reflecting JGBS’s commitment to internationally recognised standards of business education. Together with its growing research impact, global partnerships and graduate outcomes, this has enabled JGBS to build a distinctive identity in management and business education in India and internationally.

The achievement also reflects the collective contribution of faculty members, students, alumni, academic leadership and professional teams across JGBS and JGU. The academic accomplishments and research of its faculty, the achievements and leadership of its students, the growing impact of its alumni and the confidence placed in its graduates by employers have collectively contributed to the School’s growing national and global reputation.

With its historic debut among the Top 200 business schools in the world, JGBS marks a new chapter in its journey towards building globally recognised management education and preparing future-ready leaders for a rapidly changing and increasingly interconnected world.

JGU’s continued performance across global and national rankings reflects its commitment to academic excellence, global engagement, research and transformative education.

Commenting on the development, Ashish Puravankara, Managing Director, Puravankara Limited, said, “Redevelopment is an important pillar of our Mumbai growth strategy and allows us to participate in some of the city’s most established and sought-after neighbourhoods. Our eighth redevelopment project reflects the momentum we have built in Mumbai and the confidence homebuyers are placing in our brand. We see a significant opportunity to build a scaled and sustainable redevelopment platform in the city, backed by disciplined capital allocation, strong execution and a long-term approach to value creation.”

Located in the western suburbs, Goregaon West is a well-established residential market with strong connectivity to key business districts and social infrastructure. The project further expands Puravankara’s footprint in one of Mumbai’s important residential corridors.

Rajat Rastogi, CEO-West & Commercial Assets, Puravankara Limited, added, “Mumbai’s redevelopment opportunity is about more than adding new supply; it is about reimagining some of the city’s most established neighbourhoods. With projects across marquee locations including Breach Candy, Pali Hill, Lokhandwala, Malabar Hill, Cuffe Parade and now Goregaon West, we are steadily expanding our presence across the city as we rebuild Mumbai’s skyline. Our approach is anchored in the Puravankara way of life: thoughtful design, quality, transparency and a strong focus on the people and communities we build for. With this addition, our Mumbai redevelopment portfolio alone represents a potential GDV of approximately ₹17,500 crore.”

Over the past three years, Puravankara has steadily expanded its Mumbai redevelopment portfolio across locations including Breach Candy, Pali Hill, Lokhandwala, Chembur, Malabar Hill and Cuffe Parade. The Goregaon West project adds another established residential micro-market to this portfolio and underscores the company’s continued focus on redevelopment as a key growth engine in Mumbai.

Bengaluru, 16 September 2026  :  HARTING India, a global leader in industrial connectivity solutions, is proud to announce its participation in Electronica India 2026, taking place from 16-18 September 2026 at the Bangalore International Exhibition Centre (BIEC), Bengaluru. Visitors can meet HARTING at Hall 5, Booth C91, where the company will showcase its latest connectivity technologies designed to accelerate the future of automation, transportation, energy, and digital transformation.

As Indian industries continue to advance toward smart manufacturing, renewable energy adoption, and intelligent mobility, HARTING remains committed to delivering robust, reliable, and sustainable connectivity solutions that drive innovation and industrial growth.

●      Han® Modular – Latest developments in Modular side along with Han® Easy Frames, flexible connector solutions enabling customized and efficient system integration.

●      Connectivity for Automation & KAVACH System – Powering the shift towards sustainable energy and transport solutions.

●      Miniaturization & High-Performance Interfaces – Compact Solutions that meet the demand for lightweight yet powerful designs.

●      Han® MPC & ICC20 – Built for Performance.

●      Har-flex® - Compact PCB connectivity solutions enabling miniaturization, flexibility, and high-performance interconnections for modern electronic devices and systems.

Electronica India is the premier platform for showcasing electronics and connectivity innovations, and we are excited to engage with industry leaders, customers, and partners. “Our solutions are enabling Indian Industries to embrace digitization, sustainability, and efficiency, which aligns with India’s vision of becoming a global, manufacturing hub” said Mr. Jacob Chandy – Managing Director – HARTING India Pvt Ltd.

HARTING experts will be available at the booth to demonstrate products applications, share technical expertise, and discuss how the company’s connectivity portfolio can support diverse industries including machinery, railways, energy, and automotive. 

About HARTING:

The HARTING Technology Group is a leading global provider of industrial connectivity. Around 6,000 employees are active across the globe in 42 sales companies, 14 production facilities and seven R&D sites. HARTING connectivity solutions are used to transmit "data and power" in numerous industrial sectors. Among others, in transportation, electromobility, renewable energy production, automation and mechanical engineering. In the 2025/26 business year the family owned and managed company generated sales of EUR 940 million.

About HARTING India

HARTING in India was set up in April 2005. The company began its India operations with a full-fledged office headquartered in Chennai, India in Oct 2005. The company is registered under Indian Companies Act. In addition to Chennai Headquarter, HARTING India has sales offices located in Bengaluru, Pune and Noida.

HARTING India seeks to enhance the country's Industrial capability and competitiveness to become a Global Player in terms of Technology and Markets, by providing the latest technology and innovative Interconnection solutions. With its vast experience and global reach, HARTING will be the most preferred partner for Interconnection solutions in India in the field of Factory Automation, Machinery, Energy, Transportation, Event Management Technology, Infrastructure and Medical technology. HARTING India is also an associate member of the Indo-German Chamber of Commerce, VDMA and the CII.

Meet us at Electronica India 2026: Hall 5, Booth C91, Bangalore International Exhibition Centre.

August initiatives across Delhi, Puducherry and Gurugram combine environmental awareness, e-waste education, collection-linked action and experiential learning

New Delhi [India], September 16 : Clean to Green Society™ (C2G) strengthened its environmental education and outreach efforts during August 2026 through a series of initiatives engaging students across schools and higher educational institutions in Delhi, Puducherry and Gurugram. From creative engagement and awareness sessions to an e-waste collection drive and an educational visit to a live waste-management facility, the programmes were designed to help young people understand environmental responsibility and translate learning into practical action. The initiatives addressed key themes including e-waste management, waste segregation, recycling, responsible disposal, resource conservation and circular-economy practices, while encouraging students to recognise the role that everyday choices can play in building a cleaner and more sustainable future.

As part of the outreach, a Drawing Competition was organised at DAV Public School, Sector 7, Rohini, Delhi, on August 13, around the occasion of Independence Day. Students were encouraged to creatively connect the idea of national responsibility with environmental protection, responsible waste management and the vision of a cleaner and greener India. The activity offered students an opportunity to express their understanding of sustainability through art while reinforcing the message that environmental responsibility is an important part of responsible citizenship.

A Training and Awareness Session was conducted at Societe Progressiste Government Aided High School in Puducherry on August 12. The session introduced students to e-waste management, waste segregation, recycling and responsible disposal practices, with an emphasis on how students can contribute to environmental protection through sustainable everyday behaviour.

In Delhi, another Training and Awareness Session was organised at Government Co-ed Secondary School, Block 2, Geeta Colony, on August 13. Students were sensitised to the importance of e-waste management, segregation, recycling and responsible disposal, and were encouraged to carry these practices beyond the classroom into their homes and communities. The programme sought to inspire young participants to become sustainability ambassadors who can influence responsible behaviour among those around them.

Taking the engagement a step further from awareness to action, Clean to Green conducted a Training and Awareness Session along with an E-Waste Collection Drive at ICFAI Business School (IBS), Gurugram, on August 11. Students were engaged on responsible e-waste management, segregation, recycling, circular-economy practices and the safe disposal of end-of-life electronic products.

The collection component enabled participants to connect what they learned during the awareness programme with an immediate, practical sustainability action. Engagement with students at a business school also provided an opportunity to introduce future professionals and decision-makers to concepts of resource efficiency, responsible consumption and circularity that are becoming increasingly relevant to businesses and institutions.

A major highlight of the month's outreach was an educational exposure visit by 55 students of Salwan Girls Senior Secondary School, Rajender Nagar, Delhi, to the RLG Mandoli Aggregation Centre on August 19 under the Clean to Green initiative.

Designed as an experiential learning programme, the visit connected classroom concepts with the functioning of a live waste-management facility. Students received practical exposure to different stages of waste management, including segregation, sorting, handling, storage and aggregation, while also learning about responsible recycling and the onward journey of collected waste.

The programme was conceived around the learning approach “See it. Understand it. Practice it.”, enabling students to observe operational processes instead of learning about sustainability only through textbooks. The educational focus included e-waste and battery waste management, responsible consumption and disposal, resource conservation and circular-economy thinking.

The visit was also aligned with the emphasis of the National Education Policy 2020 on hands-on, experiential and competency-based learning, providing students an opportunity to understand how environmental concepts translate into real-world systems and processes.

“Environmental awareness becomes meaningful when it leads to responsible choices and action. Through these engagements, our effort is to help young people understand why sustainability matters and how waste segregation, responsible disposal, recycling and resource conservation work in practice. Schools and educational institutions have an important role in shaping habits early, and when students carry these learnings into their homes and communities, the impact extends beyond the classroom. At Clean to Green Society, we want to create opportunities that enable young people to see, understand and participate in building a more responsible and circular future,” said Ms. Radhika Kalia, President, Clean to Green Society.

About Clean to Green Society™

Clean to Green Society™ (C2G) is a purpose-led non-profit organisation working to advance environmental awareness, responsible resource management and circular-economy participation across India. Launched in 2017, C2G works across awareness and behaviour change, responsible collection and recycling-linked engagement, CSR programme implementation, research, advisory, impact assessment and institutional partnerships.

Its work includes Information, Education and Communication programmes, collection-linked initiatives, CSR programme design and implementation, research and knowledge development, monitoring and evaluation, social and environmental impact assessment, stakeholder engagement and sustainability learning resources.

Since inception, C2G has reached more than 50 lakh people through 9,116+ activities across 152+ cities in 28 states and 8 Union Territories, supported by an above-the-line media reach of over 5 crore.

Gurugram (Haryana) [India], September 16 : Team Computers announced the launch of the Gemini Enterprise Experience Center at Team Computers’ Gurgaon office, providing enterprises with a dedicated space to experience Google Cloud Gemini Enterprise and explore how AI can be applied to real-world business workflows.

The Experience Center brings together Google Cloud Gemini Enterprise capabilities, enterprise AI use cases, live demonstrations and Team Computers’ cloud and technology expertise under one roof. It is designed to help business and technology leaders move beyond AI experimentation and understand how AI agents can be applied to real-world business challenges across functions and industries.

As enterprises move from generative AI pilots toward more connected ways of working, Gemini Enterprise brings together AI models, enterprise data, agents and governance to help organizations discover, create, share and run AI agents.

“The Gemini Enterprise Experience Center is designed to help make enterprise AI tangible for businesses. It brings technology, use cases and live demonstrations together, giving leaders a space to explore what is possible and identify opportunities aligned to their own business priorities,” said Ranjan Chopra, CEO & MD, Team Computers.

This Experience Center will serve as a platform for customer engagements, executive briefings, AI discovery workshops, solution demonstrations and proof-of-concept discussions. Use cases will span areas including employee productivity, knowledge discovery, research and insights, talent acquisition, customer experience and workflow automation.

A key focus will be helping enterprises understand the transition from stand-alone AI tools to an agentic enterprise, where AI agents can work across systems, data and business processes to support multi-step workflows.

“The enterprise AI landscape is rapidly moving from experimentation to business transformation. Google Cloud Gemini Enterprise is elevating this shift by bringing AI, agents and enterprise data together to fundamentally rethink how work gets done. The Experience Center gives enterprises an opportunity to experience this evolution firsthand,” said Rajpal Singh Sisodiya, Business Head – Cloud, Team Computers.

The Experience Center will also enable Team Computers to bring these AI capabilities closer to customers through interactive demonstrations and solution-led engagements.

“The Experience Center gives us an opportunity to move beyond presentations and showcase AI solutions to our customers in a live, hands-on environment. It allows businesses to experience real use cases, understand what is possible and see how AI can address their specific needs,” said Sagar Kukreja, Head of Marketing, Team Computers.

“Businesses across India are eager to move from AI experimentation to scalable, outcome-driven business transformation. Through the Gemini Enterprise Experience Center and our collaboration with Team Computers, we are providing leaders with an interactive environment to experience how Google Cloud’s agentic AI capabilities can seamlessly integrate into their daily workflows, unlock workforce productivity and accelerate business growth,” said Abhinav Kishore, India Head – SMB, Google Cloud

Through the Gemini Enterprise Experience Center, Team Computers aims to create a collaborative environment for enterprises to explore the practical applications of AI and accelerate their journey toward AI-powered ways of working.

For Chandukaka Saraf Jewels, the festival provides a natural connection between Lord Ganesha, auspicious beginnings, family traditions, prosperity and gold jewellery. Jewellery is traditionally associated with important family occasions and celebrations, making the category particularly relevant during the festive season.

Chandukaka Saraf Jewels has positioned itself around a heritage dating back to 1827, describing itself as a jewellery brand built on trust, transparency and generations of customer relationships. The company is currently celebrating its 200-year legacy. This heritage can be particularly powerful during Ganesh Chaturthi because the festival itself represents the continuity of Maharashtrian traditions across generations.

Ganesh Chaturthi is one of Pune's most celebrated and culturally significant festivals, bringing together millions of devotees, families, communities, and visitors in an atmosphere of faith, tradition, celebration, and togetherness. 2026 Ganesh Chaturthi provides an excellent opportunity for Chandukaka Saraf Jewels to build a strong and memorable brand presence across Pune city by associating with prominent Ganpati mandals and becoming an integral part of the city's festive celebrations. Through a strategically planned Ganpati Mandal Marketing and Branding Campaign, Chandukaka Saraf Jewels can create extensive visibility across key locations while establishing a strong emotional connection with consumers through the shared values of tradition, auspiciousness, trust, and celebration. The campaign includes branding across selected high-footfall Ganpati mandals like Hirabagh Mandal, Khajina Vihir and Shri SevaMitra Mandal, covering major areas like Shivaji Road, Bajirao Road, Shaniwar Wada, Sadashiv Peth,Shivajinagar gaothan and Tilak Road, as well as a wider network of neighbourhood mandals, ensuring that the brand reaches diverse audiences across Pune city. Prominent branding opportunities can include welcome archways, running mandaps, hoardings, and a building wrap at Kadam Jahagirdar Building, opposite Dagdusheth Mandir, Shivaji Road – locations where devotees and visitors spend considerable time around the city.

The branding can be designed with an elegant jewellery-inspired visual identity, combining the festive spirit of Ganesh Chaturthi with the premium branding of Chandukaka Saraf Jewels.

Strategic coverage can focus on major areas of Pune city and surroundings as well as residential areas, helping the brand connect with both existing customers and potential new audiences coming from all across Maharashtra.

The objective of the campaign is to go beyond conventional logo placement and create a meaningful, premium, and culturally relevant brand experience. By combining the immense reach of Pune's Ganpati mandals with creative branding, experiential marketing, digital engagement, and community participation, Chandukaka Saraf Jewels can establish a distinctive presence during Ganesh Chaturthi and strengthen its association with trust, tradition, celebration, and timeless values.

This city-wide campaign can provide repeated visibility, strong consumer engagement, enhanced brand recall, and valuable goodwill making Ganesh Chaturthi an ideal platform for Chandukaka Saraf Jewels to celebrate Pune, connect with its people, and reinforce its position as a trusted name in jewellery for generations to come.

Aligning with the Summit theme, ‘India Unbound: Defining Tomorrow’s Leadership,’ keynote speaker Raamdeo Agrawal, Chairman & Co-founder of Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd, shared his perspectives on India’s emergence as a multi-trillion-dollar economy and the unprecedented wealth creation opportunity it presents. Drawing on over four decades of investing experience, he underlined that India is entering a new era of financialisation, where expanding capital markets, rising household participation in equities, and entrepreneurial growth will redefine the country’s economic landscape.

He also emphasised that the next generation of leaders will benefit not merely from India’s GDP growth, but from its accelerating creation of financial wealth. He urged students to cultivate curiosity, disciplined learning, and long-term thinking, encouraging them to view the capital markets as one of the most powerful platforms for creating value and shaping India’s growth story.

At the 23rd edition of the ISB Leadership Summit, Professor Madan Pillutla, Dean, ISB, emphasised the unprecedented scale of opportunity ahead for the nation and the vital role of adaptive leadership.

Reflecting on ISB’s 25-year journey, Dean Pillutla said the school’s story began with an ambitious idea: to create a world-class management institution in India. Twenty-five years later, he noted, that vision has become a reality. He added that ISB’s founders recognised that resources and technology alone cannot drive progress and what matters is the leadership to put them to work effectively and create lasting impact. This idea remains relevant today as India works to address challenges such as climate change and inclusive growth.

He further noted that technology is only part of the equation. Referencing Nobel Laureate Daron Acemoglu, he pointed out that technology’s impact depends on how people and leaders choose to use it and how its benefits reach society.

Other sessions explored pressing business and societal challenges, including agility in evolving markets, entrepreneurial resilience, institutional innovation, technology, finance, space, law, and the changing consumer landscape. Speakers included Dr. Vasudevan Gnana Gandhi, Padma Shri Awardee and Senior Vice President – Propulsion, Skyroot Aerospace; Dr. Ananda Shankar Jayant, Padma Shri Awardee, renowned Bharatanatyam and Kuchipudi dancer; Lt. Gen. Anil Puri, PVSM, AVSM, VSM, SM, Former Additional Secretary, Department of Military Affairs and Administrative Member, Armed Forces Tribunal; Vikas Divyakirti, Founder, Drishti IAS; Gaurav Gupta, Founder, Gabit, Vivek Gambhir, Venture Partner, Lightspeed India,  Former CEO, Godrej Consumer Products & boAt Lifestyle, Nigar Shaji, ISRO scientist and Project Director, Aditya-L1; Tapan Mishra, former Director, Space Applications Centre, ISRO; and Raju Ramachandran, former Additional Solicitor General of India and Senior Advocate, Supreme Court of India, among other distinguished leaders, entrepreneurs, experts and ISB alumni.

The Summit also featured a Women in Leadership panel, ‘Her Own Way: Ambition, Identity & Building on Your Own Terms,’ featuring Anuja Chauhan, Author; Shubhika Sharma, Founder, Papa Don’t Preach; Varija Bajaj, Entrepreneur and Founder, Varija Lifestyles and Priyanshi Sharma, Co-Founder of Peek TV. The Sports Panel, ‘Winning Beyond the Scoreboard: Leadership, Teams & the New Indian Sporting Ecosystem,’ featured Ambati Rayudu, Former Indian Cricketer; and Joy Bhattacharjya, CEO, Prime Volleyball League and former Team Director, Kolkata Knight Riders.

Through a series of keynotes, panel discussions, fireside chats, and interactive sessions, the ISB Leadership Summit 2026 provided a platform for meaningful dialogue between established trailblazers and aspiring professionals. Participants concluded the day equipped with the foresight, adaptability, and resilience needed to lead effectively in an increasingly complex and unbound world, ready to shape the country’s next chapter of growth and global influence.

About the Indian School of Business (ISB)

The Indian School of Business (ISB) is India’s highest-ranked business school and features in the top league of several global business school rankings. A vibrant pool of research-oriented resident faculty, robust academic partnerships, a thriving alumni network, the backing of an influential board, and the guidance of the industry’s thought leadership have enabled ISB to fast emerge and consolidate itself as a premier global business school that grooms future leaders for India and the world.

Gurugram, Sep 16 , 2026 : Arena Animation, a leading institute in animation, gaming, visual effects, and digital media education and a training brand of Aptech Limited, recently hosted its Alumni Meet at Holiday Inn, Sector 36, in Gurugram. The event brought together alumni and partners, creating a vibrant platform to celebrate achievements, exchange industry insights, and strengthen community connections.

The event witnessed participation from over 100 attendees, including distinguished alumni who are now contributing across leading studios and organisations in the AVGC-XR (Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming, Comics, and Extended Reality) and creative industries. The gathering served as a platform to celebrate their journeys and inspire the next generation of creative professionals.

Notable alumni in physical & virtual attendance included Mr. Gurmeet Singh,  Director of the Movie, Mirzapur, Ms. Anjali Dutta, Vice President, Tech Mahindra, Mr. Mukund Sagar Vasishta, Director - Client Relations, Lakshya Digital, Ms. Nancy Kapoor, Design Head, Vedanta Oil & Gas, Mr. Vikas Saini, Sr. Art Director, Aristocrat Technologies, Mr. Sachin Yadav, Creative Director, Mastercard and Ms Priyanka Kapoor, Partner, Neovation, among many others, reflecting both creative excellence and entrepreneurial mindset fostered at Arena Animation.

The event was also attended by Mr. Shajan Samuel Sr. Vice President & National Sales Head, Arena Animation, Aptech Ltd. Following the successful establishment of alumni chapters in Indore, Vadodara, Nashik, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Siliguri, Chennai, Mumbai, Delhi, Aligarh, Ahmedabad, Jaipur & Pune, Arena Animation is expanding its alumni network with the launch of its 14th chapter in Gurugram. With more than 1500 alumni engaged across multiple chapters, the initiative continues to strengthen professional connections, celebrate alumni achievements, and nurture a thriving community of creative professionals. As part of this initiative, the brand will host similar meets across metro and non-metro cities, aimed at recognising the achievements of its alumni and fostering stronger connections within its growing creative network.

Mr. Sandip Weling, Whole-time Director & Chief Business Officer, Global Retail, Aptech Limited said, “It is inspiring to see our alumni from Gurugram successfully building ventures leading creative enterprises making meaningful contributions across leading studios and creative organisations. As Arena Animation marked 30 years, this milestone is not only a reflection of our legacy, but of the strong industry network we have cultivated over time. The Gurugram Alumni Meet celebrates these achievements while reinforcing our commitment to nurturing talent, strengthening alumni connections, and fostering a collaborative ecosystem that inspires the next generation of creative professionals.”

Mr. Nitesh Jawarani,  Business Partner & Centre Director, Arena Animation, Gurugram, Sector 14, said, “After three decades of being associated with Aptech & Arena Animation, it is truly special for us to host our first Alumni Meet of this scale and bring together the very people who have been an integral part of our journey. Our alumni are the living testament to what we have built over the years -  from students who once walked through our doors to professionals who have gone on to create successful careers worldwide. This gathering is much more than a reunion; it is a celebration of the relationships, opportunities and shared experiences that have shaped our journey.”

Mrs. Preeti Jawarani, Academics Director, Arena Animation, Gurugram, Sector 14, said, “Arena Animation, Gurugram has consistently placed strong emphasis on career-oriented education and quality placements, helping its students build successful careers in the animation, VFX, gaming, multimedia and creative industries. Over the past three decades, its shining placement record stands as a testament to this sustained focus on employability, industry readiness and nurturing talent that meets professional standards.”

Spread across 5000 sq ft, self-owned premises, Arena Animation, Gurugram provides its students with an environment that goes well beyond computer-based learning, with dedicated space for professional shoots, creative workshops, collaborative activities and alumni interactions fostering a vibrant creative community.

Continuing its legacy of shaping India’s creative ecosystem, Arena Animation also launched a slew of innovative and future ready training programs including AI in Video Editing, AI in Motion Graphics & Design.  The celebration also highlighted Arena Animation's continued focus on strengthening industry-academia collaboration, encouraging original intellectual property creation through initiatives such as Arena Animation Originals, integrating emerging technologies into learning, and developing globally competitive creative professionals.

The Alumni Meet also enabled engaging discussions around emerging technologies, evolving career pathways, and industry expectations. Alumni shared their professional journeys and insights, offering valuable guidance to aspiring creators on navigating a dynamic and competitive creative ecosystem.

With Gurugram being a key hub for creative arts, culture, heritage and storytelling, the event further reinforces Arena Animation’s role in nurturing talent that contributes to both national and global creative industries.

ABOUT ARENA ANIMATION:

Arena Animation is a pioneer, trendsetter, and global leader in Media & Entertainment education. Since its inception in 1996, Arena Animation has trained over 4,50,000 students globally through its extensive network of centers.

Arena Animation offers industry-relevant courses in Animation, VFX, Gaming, Digital, AR/VR, and Multimedia, empowering students to build global careers in the rapidly evolving creative industries. The curriculum is supported by top-tier faculty, global partnerships, and cutting-edge learning tools. Arena Animation’s students are placed in leading studios and companies such as DNEG, Rockstar Games, Zebu Animation, Green Gold Animation, ILM, NY VFXWALA, Network 18, Digitoonz, and more across the Media & Entertainment landscape.

Tapah [Malaysia] : The Sai Baba Peace Torch brought a powerful message of peace, unity and humanity to Tapah, Malaysia, as more than 500 Sai devotees gathered for a special ceremony dedicated to promoting harmony across communities and nations.

The ceremony was attended by Hitesh Rajpal, Deputy High Commissioner of India to Malaysia, and Malaysian Minister Dato’ Sivakrishnan Sivaram. The event was led by Aushim Khetarpal (Aushimji), Head of the Shirdi Sai Baba Peace Foundation, who was invited by Datuk SP Kannan (Kannan Baba) and the South Malaysian Sai Baba organisation to bring the Peace Torch to the gathering.

The ceremony witnessed an emotional response from devotees as the Peace Torch was carried through the gathering. Several devotees came forward to touch and hold the torch, while others stood with folded hands. The deeply emotional atmosphere reflected the significance attached to the torch as a symbol of peace, compassion, and universal brotherhood.

Speaking on the occasion, Aushimji reiterated the Foundation’s core philosophy, “Spirituality is Humanity.”

“This torch is not about one religion or one nation. It belongs to humanity. Whether Christian, Tamil, Parsi, Muslim or Hindu, before anything else, we are human beings,” said Aushimji.

He further highlighted the emotional connection witnessed during the ceremony, saying, “When people from different backgrounds come together, and tears flow simply by touching a symbol of peace, you realise that peace is not merely an idea. Peace is an emotion. Humanity does not need a passport, a religion or a language.”

The participation of Hitesh Rajpal, Deputy High Commissioner of India to Malaysia, underlined the longstanding cultural and spiritual ties between India and Malaysia. The presence of Dato’ Sivakrishnan Sivaram further added to the significance of the gathering, bringing together representatives of India and Malaysia alongside devotees in a shared expression of peace and harmony.

The Sai Baba Peace Torch is part of the Shirdi Sai Baba Peace Foundation’s international peace initiative and has travelled across borders carrying its message of peace, service and compassion. Its journey has included associations with institutions and humanitarian landmarks such as the United Nations, South Africa, the Mahatma Gandhi Foundation, the Mother Teresa Foundation, the Vatican and Amma.

Following its Malaysia chapter, the Peace Torch is scheduled to continue its international journey towards the World Peace Palace in The Hague, Baba Mundi and the Vatican, before travelling onward to South Africa. The torch is subsequently expected to return to India for the grand finale of the Foundation’s international peace initiative, planned for April next year.

The Tapah gathering marked another significant chapter in the journey of the Peace Torch, bringing together people from different backgrounds around a common message of peace and humanity.

The Shirdi Sai Baba Peace Foundation continues to promote the belief that spirituality is not confined by religion, nationality or geographical boundaries, but is ultimately rooted in humanity and the shared aspiration for a peaceful world.

“Spirituality is Humanity.”

About Shirdi Sai Baba Peace Foundation

The Shirdi Sai Baba Peace Foundation is dedicated to promoting peace, harmony, compassion and humanity through spiritual and humanitarian initiatives.

Ahmedabad (Gujarat) [India] : I have sat across the table from some of Gujarat’s most ambitious developers. Brilliant projects. Stunning renders. Competitive pricing. And yet—unsold inventory is piling up.

The product was never the problem. The communication was.

Gujarat’s residential real estate market in 2025–26 is at one of its most exciting inflexion points in a decade. But the developers who will win are not just the ones building the best homes—they are the ones telling the best stories.

The Market Reality: Opportunity vs. Sentiment

Let us start with the facts. Housing demand in Ahmedabad surged by 21.4% year-on-year in early 2026, with SG Highway, Bopal, and SP Ring Road emerging as prime demand drivers. Average ticket sizes continue to rise steadily across micro-markets.

Yet, a sharp contrast remains: developers cut back on new project launches in mid-to-late 2025 due to market sentiment hesitation and buyer caution. The buyers are active, and liquidity exists. The missing link is confidence, communication, and conversion. That is a marketing problem—and it is 100% solvable.

Mapping Gujarat’s Real Estate Expansion Hubs

Before you market, you must understand the geography of demand across Gujarat’s prime corridors:

• West Peripheral (Shela, Shilaj, SP Ring Road): Dominates new supply driven by proximity to the Sanand industrial hub and outer ring road access.

• Northern Corridor (GIFT City, Vaishnodevi, Science City): Expanding rapidly off the back of GIFT City’s global financial growth and nearby mega-infrastructure projects, delivering 20%+ rental yield momentum.

• SBD / Commercial Arteries (SG Highway, Sindhu Bhavan Road): Driving high-end residential and commercial demand through metro connectivity and corporate hub proximity.

The Core Shift: Buyers in 2026 are not buying square footage alone. They are buying proximity to metro lines, GIFT City jobs, and lifestyle upgrades. Developers must market the ecosystem, not just the apartment.

5 Strategic Marketing Shifts for Developers

1. Stop Advertising. Start Educating: Modern buyers in Ahmedabad, Vadodara, and Surat research projects online long before calling a sales office. Winning developers publish useful market guides, RERA breakdowns, and locality reports instead of relying purely on display ads.

2. Market the Micro-Market First: Locations like Shela, Shilaj, and Nikol have shown massive 5-year capital appreciation, yet buyers lack local market data. Developers should publish location intelligence reports to frame buying as a smart wealth decision.

3. Target the NRI & Premium Segment Intentionally: With luxury properties seeing 15–20% appreciation, NRIs represent a major growth driver. They require remote confidence built via 3D virtual site tours, direct WhatsApp relationship management, and structured FEMA guides.

4. Build a Full Digital Funnel: Over 70% of Indian homebuyers begin their search digitally. Developers must replace outdated offline-only channels with an end-to-end digital journey:

Search Discovery ➔ Video Content (YouTube/Reels) ➔ High-Converting Landing Page ➔ WhatsApp/CRM Lead Nurture

5. Turn RERA Transparency into a Brand Asset: Delivery delays remain a primary buyer concern. Proactively displaying RERA compliance, monthly video progress updates, and delivery track records builds instant market trust.

The Affordability Advantage: Ahmedabad vs. Top Metros

Among India’s top metropolitan cities, Ahmedabad remains one of the most value-rich real estate markets:

The Value Proposition: “What commands ₹2+ Crore in Mumbai or Bengaluru yields larger living spaces, superior amenities, and equal growth potential at ₹80 Lakhs to ₹1.2 Crore in Gujarat.”

The Developer’s Execution Roadmap

[PRE-LAUNCH] ➔ Publish micro-market research | Feature RERA metrics | Set up 3D tours

[ACTIVE SALES] ➔ Weekly site update videos | Run Meta/Google funnels | Collect buyer testimonials

[POST-HANDOVER] ➔ Build resident communities | Launch referral programs | Publish case studies

Final Word

Gujarat’s residential market is fundamentally strong. While other major Indian metros face demand fluctuations, Ahmedabad has sustained stable growth. But structural strength alone does not sell units. Transparency, visibility, and narrative build real estate leaders.

About the Author

Jyoti Keswani is Senior VP at Sheetal Infrastructure Pvt Ltd. A PhD Scholar in Management and an alumna of Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIMA) and Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies (NMIMS), she specializes in organizational strategy, People management, and Brand and Marketing in real estate.

The call center will be operated in partnership with a customer experience management provider and will give customers a single, reliable point of contact for product queries, service requests, and support, available in both English and Hindi.

As musical instruments and audio equipment become long-term companions for musicians, students, and enthusiasts alike, the ownership experience extends well beyond the point of purchase. Prompt servicing, reliable guidance, and easy access to assistance directly shape how customers experience a brand over time. With this in mind, Yamaha Music India has made after-sales service a core pillar of its customer strategy, ensuring that product queries, service request, or troubleshooting needs are met with the same standard of care that defines its instruments and audio equipment.

Key details:

●      Channels: Phone and email support

●      Languages: English and Hindi

●      Operating hours: Monday to Saturday, 10:00 AM to 7:00 PM

●      Product coverage: Musical Instruments (MI) and Audio Products

●      Contact number: +91 85273 23300

"After-sales service is not an afterthought for us, it is an extension of the promise we make when a customer chooses Yamaha. This call center allows us to be more accessible and responsive, so that support is never far away for anyone who owns a Yamaha product," said Mr. Yusuke Honda, General Manager, CX Division, Yamaha Music India.

With the launch of this call center, Yamaha Music India reaffirms its commitment to building lasting relationships with its customers and setting a new benchmark for after-sales care in India's musical instruments and audio industry.

Pune, India, 16 September 2026 : The Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) convened the inaugural India Sustainability Forum (ISF) 2026 in partnership with CSIR-National Chemical Laboratory (CSIR-NCL), Pune and INFLIBNET Centre at the CSIR-National Chemical Laboratory, Pune bringing together leading scientists, industry experts, policymakers and innovators to explore how chemistry can accelerate India's sustainability ambitions.

Held under the theme "Advancing Sustainability through Chemistry", the one-day forum served as a national platform for dialogue, collaboration and knowledge exchange on some of India's most pressing sustainability challenges, including climate action, energy transition, circularity, sustainable manufacturing and environmental stewardship.

India is at a pivotal stage in its sustainability journey. Achieving national goals in areas such as clean energy, resource efficiency and sustainable industrial growth will require science-led innovation and stronger partnerships across academia, industry, government and the wider research ecosystem. Chemistry and the chemical sciences are expected to play a central role in enabling these solutions, from developing sustainable materials and advancing green chemistry to supporting cleaner manufacturing processes and resource-efficient technologies.

The India Sustainability Forum 2026 aims to strengthen connections between research and real-world impact by fostering collaboration, supporting innovation and encouraging engagement between scientific and industrial communities.

Dr Venkatesh Sarvasiddhi, Managing Director, RSC India and South Asia, said: "India has an extraordinary opportunity to lead the way in developing science-driven solutions for sustainability. Through the India Sustainability Forum, we aim to bring together diverse stakeholders to share knowledge, build partnerships and accelerate the translation of research into meaningful societal and environmental impact."

The forum featured keynote addresses and expert panel discussions involving distinguished leaders from government, academia and industry. Speakers include representatives from the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India, CSIR-NCL, INFLIBNET Centre, Shiv Nadar University, JNCASR, IIT Bombay, Sun Pharma Advanced Research Company, Pidilite Industries, Praj Industries, and several other leading institutions.

Key discussions focused on:

●        Translating laboratory research into industrial sustainability solutions

●        Advancing sustainable innovation through academia-industry collaboration

●        Green chemistry and sustainable manufacturing

●        Building partnerships to accelerate climate and sustainability goals

●        Supporting India's transition towards a circular and low-carbon economy

The programme included a virtual address on the Royal Society of Chemistry's global sustainability strategy by Jo Reynolds, Director, Global Impact, Royal Society of Chemistry, alongside recognition programmes celebrating leadership and innovation in sustainable chemistry. These include She Leads Sustainability, the Chemistry for Sustainability: Emerging Researcher Award, and recognition of RSC Fellows from the Pune region.

A video address from Dr Helen Pain MBE CSci CChem FRSC, Chief Executive Officer of the Royal Society of Chemistry, reinforced the organisation's commitment to supporting scientific excellence and sustainable innovation worldwide.

As the first edition of what is envisioned as a flagship event for the Royal Society of Chemistry in India, the India Sustainability Forum aims to catalyse meaningful collaborations, strengthen the connection between science and society, and help accelerate the development of sustainable solutions for India's future.

The event was organised in partnership with CSIR-National Chemical Laboratory (CSIR-NCL), Pune, with support from the INFLIBNET Centre, alongside academic and industry associations from across India.

Dr Ashish Lele, Director of CSIR NCL Pune, said “As the host institution, we  are absolutely delighted to partner with the Royal Society of Chemistry and IFLIBNET in bringing together an exciting community of researchers, industry leaders, policymakers, innovators and young scientists to exchange ideas in the panel discussions, and shape solutions for a more sustainable future.

“Sustainability is the defining challenge at the planet level, at national level, at societal level and at societal levels.”

Those thoughts were echoed by the keynote speakers, including Dr Devika Madali, Director of INFLIBNET Centre, said:who said: “Sustainability is practically not a research question anymore. It’s about existence itself.”

In his keynote, Dr BLV Prasad, Chief Scientist CSIR National Chemical Laboratory, Pune, concluded: “Climate change doesn’t need a passport or a visa”.

Notes for editors: About the Royal Society of Chemistry

We work at the heart of the chemical sciences community to create a future that is more open, more green, and more equal. Together, we’re helping chemistry to change the world.

We enable exciting progress that would be otherwise impossible. As an independent catalyst for change, we connect people and ideas through partnerships, conferences, events and networks that span the globe.

We publish scientists’ discoveries and insights so they can be used to improve our health, environment and lifestyles. And we’re transforming how we do that with a commitment to open access: everyone, everywhere, should have the same potential to read and share knowledge.

We care about protecting our natural environment, about tackling discrimination to build a truly inclusive world, and about making cutting-edge chemistry accessible wherever it’s needed for the good of society.

It’s all built upon and lifted up by our diverse global membership, with every one of those 60,000 members bringing a unique and valuable perspective. The chemical science community has the knowledge, skills and passion to make those a reality – together, we’re changing the world.

www.rsc.org  

RSC India Media Contact:
Shweta Bhagat [BhagatS@rsc.org]

Gurugram, September 2026 : Entrepreneur and marketing professional Attrri Bhhardwaj has launched his second venture, Renaco Media, expanding his entrepreneurial journey beyond the hospitality sector into the wider creative and experiential marketing space.

Bhhardwaj is the founder of GrowVista Hospitality, a marketing venture focused on helping hotels, resorts and hospitality businesses strengthen their digital presence and grow their businesses. While GrowVista Hospitality will continue to focus on the hospitality industry, the launch of Renaco Media opens a new avenue for Bhhardwaj to explore creative opportunities across a much broader range of industries.

From Hospitality to a Wider Creative Landscape

Over the course of building GrowVista Hospitality, Bhhardwaj developed a deep understanding of how brands use storytelling, content and digital marketing to connect with their audiences. Renaco Media comes from a desire to take that experience beyond hospitality and work with brands across different industries.

Renaco Media is being positioned as a creative and experiential marketing agency that brings together strategy, storytelling, content, influencers, events and technology under one platform.

The agency will work across areas including brand launches, creative campaigns, social media, influencer marketing, event and experiential marketing, podcasts, long-form and short-form content, video production, website development and digital brand experiences.

Rather than limiting itself to traditional digital marketing, Renaco Media aims to help brands create meaningful experiences and conversations around their businesses.

A Creative Partner Beyond Conventional Marketing

According to Bhhardwaj, the idea behind Renaco Media is rooted in the changing nature of modern marketing.

Today, brands are no longer built only through advertisements. They are built through stories, communities, creators, experiences, conversations and consistent content.

Renaco Media aims to operate at the intersection of these different creative disciplines.

From helping a new company launch its brand to developing a creative campaign, from producing a podcast for a founder to executing an influencer-led activation or an experiential event, the agency intends to work across the complete creative journey of a brand.

“GrowVista Hospitality will continue to be focused on hospitality. That is an ecosystem we understand deeply and will continue to build in. Renaco Media gives us the opportunity to go beyond that space — to work with different kinds of brands, explore new creative formats and experiment with ideas that may not necessarily fit within hospitality.”

Built Within an AI Venture Studio

One of the key aspects of Renaco Media is that it is being built within an AI Venture Studio, giving the agency an opportunity to explore the intersection of creativity and emerging technology.

The venture plans to experiment with AI across various aspects of marketing and creative production, including content ideation, campaign development, creative workflows, digital experiences and marketing solutions.

The focus is not simply on using AI as a production tool, but on exploring how technology can enable creative teams and brands to think, create and execute differently.

By combining creative strategy, storytelling and AI-led innovation, Renaco Media aims to build a modern approach to brand communication.

Expanding Across Industries

While hospitality remains at the centre of GrowVista Hospitality, Renaco Media will allow Bhhardwaj to work with a much wider range of businesses and creators.

The agency's potential focus areas include real estate, jewellery, restaurants and cafés, personal brands, creators, consumer businesses and emerging companies.

This broader approach is intended to give the team greater creative freedom while allowing brands from different sectors to access an integrated creative and marketing partner.

 Two Ventures, Two Distinct Focus Areas

The launch of Renaco Media does not mark a shift away from GrowVista Hospitality.

Instead, Bhhardwaj sees the two ventures as complementary.

GrowVista Hospitality will continue to build its presence within the hospitality ecosystem, while Renaco Media will explore opportunities across the wider creative economy.

This allows both ventures to develop their own specialised identities while giving Bhhardwaj the opportunity to pursue different areas of entrepreneurship.

“Renaco is not about leaving hospitality behind. GrowVista will continue to grow in that space. Renaco is about opening another door — one that allows us to work across industries, collaborate with creators, build experiences and explore what the future of creative marketing can look like.”

Looking Ahead 

Renaco Media's long-term vision is to become a creative partner for ambitious brands looking to build stronger identities and deeper connections with their audiences.

Beyond client work, the venture also plans to explore original content initiatives, including a podcast focused on entrepreneurship, marketing, creativity, technology and the evolving world of business.

With the launch of Renaco Media, Attrri Bhhardwaj is expanding his entrepreneurial journey from a specialised hospitality marketing business into a broader creative ecosystem.

The new venture brings together brand building, content, creators, experiences and technology, with the ambition of helping brands turn their ideas into stories and experiences that people remember.

Renaco Media

Your Story, Seamlessly Told.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/attrri-bhhardwaj/

https://www.renacomedia.com

Mumbai, September 15, 2026 : Business Viewpoint Magazine and The Enterprise World concluded the third edition of the Bharat 2.0 Conclave series, Bharat 2.0 Conclave: Shakti Edition, at Hotel Sahara Star, Mumbai. It brought together more than 200 leaders, professionals, entrepreneurs and changemakers to spotlight women’s leadership and India’s growth story.

The event began with an interactive “Stand Up If…” activity, followed by the Shakti Pledge and a collective tricolour flag-waving ceremony. The opening keynote by Dhruv Apte, “Who Writes the Next Chapter? The Power of Storytelling, Shakti & Leadership in a Changing Bharat,” was followed by Rashoo Sachdeva’s keynote on “Identity, Leadership & Beyond.”

The conclave’s leadership dialogue continued with a panel featuring Roopa Lobo, Dr. Mandeep Maitra, Dr. (Hon.) Ridhima Dua, Rishita Malhotra and Swati Satapathy, moderated by Dhruv Apte. The discussion explored the journey from organisational leadership to entrepreneurship.

A major highlight was the presence and felicitation of Dr. Kiran Bedi, followed by a candid conversation moderated by Dr. Ankita Singh, Founder of the HR Association of India. The conversation explored Dr. Bedi’s leadership journey, experiences, choices and lessons, as well as the meaning of Shakti through her personal leadership story.

The Leadership Excellence Awards recognised 69 women leaders, with honours spanning technology, AI, healthcare, education, FinTech, engineering, sustainability, HR, entrepreneurship, marketing, logistics, law and social impact.

One of the attendees, Deepika Pillai, Vice President of TELUS Digital, said the event’s purpose was among its strongest draws: “The name Shakti drew me to this conclave. The fact that this is a platform being built for recognizing women in the industry, I think that's what stood out for me and that brought me here.”

The Shakti Edition placed women’s leadership within the broader vision of Viksit Bharat 2047, framing the journey from participation to leadership and transformation.

Here’s the awardee list:

Ar. Bhagyashri Varma, Swati Thakur, Kshama Rangan, Priyanka Chande, Pallavi Srivastava, Dr. Rini Singh, Roopa Lobo, Seema Sutradhar, Dr. Mandeep Maitra, Deepika Pillai, Dr. Snehal Pinto, Dr. Anjana Vinod, Maansi Gupta, Diksha Panesar, Namita Shrivastava, Itisha Jalan, Agatha Sushila Dias, Treesa Bizira, Dr. Aruna Ashok, Swati Satapathy, Richa Agrawal, Jharna Dhar, Rishita Malhotra, Dr. Shivani Mayekar Rao, Dr. Vaishali Ashok Bhide, Shilpi Baid Dewangan, Isha Oswal, Shaily Gupta, Prerana Deshnur, Shelley Bhasin, Dr. Shivani Modi, Rachana JG, Sudarshana Mitra, Jaya Sengupta, Reethika Azariah Kuruvilla, Dr. Karishma Kagodu, Kaveri Ingale, Pooja Chawla Gandhi, Mamtaa Nitturkar, Dr. Richa Pathak, Dr. (Hon.) Ridhima Dua, Rabiya Naushad Khan, Dr. Henrietta Newton Martin, Dr. Meenal Mategaonkar, Archhana Agarwaal, Col. Madhumita Dhall, Preeti Kamalakar, Renu Jethani, Sudarshana Niraj Dravid, Rashoo Sachdeva, Richa Varshney, Anisha Pandeya, Preiti Patel, Aanchal Gupta, Dr. Sharmila Amin, Aastha Atray Banan, Sakshi Pandey, Sonica Aron, Yamini Agarwal, Aprma Kumar Anand, Veena Bhogaonkar, Akshata Mallya Shenoy, Anamika Dikshit, Dr. Anjali Dalwadi Prajapati, Ira

Agarwal, Sathya VP, Sabira Arefin, Anisha Chandy Eckardt and Gautami Deshmukh.

About Bharat 2.0 Conclave

Bharat 2.0 Conclave is a leadership and business platform that brings together entrepreneurs, industry leaders, innovators, educators, policymakers, and changemakers to foster dialogue around leadership, innovation, and nation-building while celebrating excellence across industries

Mumbai (Sept. 15, 2026) :  A new SAS report with research insights by IDC uncovers what’s powering the organizations winning the race to profit from their AI investments: embracing trustworthy AI measures. Organizations applying trustworthy AI practices were 15 times more likely to report strong return on investment (ROI) from their AI projects.

As identified in the second annual Data and AI Impact Report: The New Economics of Trust, organizations with the strongest governance, data quality and auditability practices – a comparatively small market segment – consistently outperformed peers, reporting at least double the ROI from AI deployments. Fewer than one in 20 trustworthy AI ‘laggard’ organizations reported the same.

“When AI works, it’s incredibly impactful,” said Bryan Harris, CTO at SAS. “However, it is well documented that state-of-the-art agents can have error rates that exceed 25% on complex tasks – which is unacceptable in high-stakes decision-making. In order to achieve accuracy and repeatability, organizations must embed domain expertise into agentic workflows, while keeping people at the center of governance and oversight. Organizations that do this successfully will close the trust gap and gain a competitive advantage in the market with AI.”

Noshin Kagalwalla, Vice President – Public Sector, APAC & Managing Director, SAS India, said, “The findings reflect a broader shift among organizations in India toward strengthening the foundations required to support trustworthy and explainable AI. With over 90% of surveyed organizations planning to increase AI investments, establishing trust in AI systems will be critical to realizing lasting business value.”

“As AI becomes more autonomous, organizations face a new challenge: maintaining confidence in systems people don't fully understand,” said Chris Marshall, Vice President at IDC. “Our findings show that stronger oversight, explainability, accountability and data foundations are becoming prerequisites for scaling AI successfully.”

In India, organizations reported year-on-year improvements across measures of AI trustworthiness, while also highlighting the continued need to strengthen explainability, accountability and data quality as adoption expands. Among surveyed organizations, the financial services and technology sectors demonstrated notable progress across measures of maturity and infrastructure.

Investment intentions among surveyed organizations in India remain strong, with 91.8% expecting AI spending to increase over the next 12 months. Notably, the proportion planning a significant increase of more than 20% rose from 5% in 2025 to 27.3% in 2026, reflecting continued confidence in AI as a strategic business priority.

The report’s findings span three themes:

AI that can't explain itself is a major business liability
Researchers found that at many organizations, employees are increasingly hesitant to rely on systems that may or may not be able to offer correct output or explain how AI arrived at a final decision. As AI gains autonomy, this liability grows, making explainability crucial for success.

The report also explored a major hurdle to success in AI adoption: when employees' lack of trust in AI decisions leads them to override and make manual corrections. This only perpetuates the AI trustworthiness deficit, and can cost organizations time, productivity and profitability. When AI decision-making is only as good as the data it’s based on, building a strong data foundation becomes pivotal for organizations looking to reduce override rates.

Among surveyed organizations in India, insufficient explanation behind AI-generated recommendations and inadequate context were cited as the most common reasons employees override AI outputs. The results suggest that as AI systems become more capable, the ability to explain decisions and provide business context remains critical to user confidence and adoption.

Key findings:

●      97.2% of users override AI-generated recommendations in at least some cases.

●      The number one reason employees decided to override AI, regardless of whether its output was considered correct, was when the AI could not provide an explanation behind its decision.

●      Trust falls from 76% for generative AI to 66% for agentic AI, highlighting growing concerns as AI systems gain more autonomy.

Trustworthy AI practices drive business success

The report exposes a widening ROI divide between organizations that prioritize trustworthy AI practices and those that do not. The findings suggest organizations gaining the most value from AI are not necessarily deploying different technologies but instead managing AI differently.

Key findings:

●      Organizations investing in trustworthy AI measures are 15 times more likely to report strong or high ROI on their AI projects (62% vs. 4%).

●      Organizations with the strongest trustworthy AI practices realize 1.85 times greater gains across 13 different business outcomes, including revenue growth, cost savings and customer experience.

●      85% of these AI leaders with trustworthy practices are increasing their investment in this area by more than 10% this year, actively widening the performance gap.

Too many organizations are losing time and money to weak data foundations
Most organizations are deploying AI on severely underdeveloped or outdated data and data infrastructure. Without a strong data foundation to support crucial transparency and explainability, organizations struggle to govern AI effectively and realize value.

The findings also point to the growing importance of data quality as organizations scale AI adoption. In India, Data Quality & Governance emerged as one of the most important factors for 69.4% of surveyed organizations, reflecting a broader shift toward strengthening the foundations required to support trustworthy and explainable AI.

Key findings:

●      Only 17.5% of enterprises have a fully optimized data infrastructure mature enough for the demands of agentic AI, which negatively impacts performance.

●      Organizations with an optimized data foundation are four times more likely to expect strong ROI from AI projects, and six times more likely to mandate the data quality and explainability controls necessary to build trust.

Take a deeper dive

The findings are based on a global survey of 2,699 decision-makers with knowledge of or influence over their company's data and AI initiatives. The survey was conducted across 28 countries and four focus industries: banking, insurance, life sciences and the public sector. The report highlights industry use cases and findings that demonstrate how leaders in each of these industries around the globe are approaching AI.

Key findings:

●      Banking leaders are going beyond compliance, treating robust AI governance as a competitive advantage and operational necessity – 85% of AI leader banks have established governance frameworks, compared to just 29% of laggards.

●      Forty-one percent of public sector leaders are increasing trustworthy AI investment by more than 20% in the year ahead, which is as fast as the most ambitious organizations across any industry.

●      23% of life sciences organizations have scaled AI company-wide – the highest of any industry.

Explore study findings and access the full report here.

What makes AI trustworthy?

Trustworthy AI  is artificial intelligence designed to be reliable, fair, secure, up to regulatory standards, and able to clearly show how it arrived at a decision. Users and decision-makers at all levels within an organization must be able to hold an AI system to a pre-determined chain of accountability for incorrect or missing AI output. Any AI system must also be governed and proven to be in compliance with clear rules.

What makes an organization a trustworthy AI leader?

Within the study, organizations were scored out of 100 against five dimensions of trustworthy AI. The report’s trustworthy AI leaders were organizations with an average total score of 80 or higher.

Each organization was scored across the following five trustworthy AI criteria.

1. Data quality and governance.

2. Model governance and oversight.

3. Explainability and fairness.

4. Responsible AI policy.

5. Audit and accountability.

About SAS

SAS is a global leader in data and AI, helping organizations make confident decisions with AI they can trust. For decades, SAS has set the standard for delivering software that drives meaningful impact, incorporating deep industry expertise, transparency and governance. SAS gives you THE POWER TO KNOW®.

SAS and all other SAS Institute Inc. product or service names are registered trademarks or trademarks of SAS Institute Inc. in the USA and other countries. ® indicates USA registration. Other brand and product names are trademarks of their respective companies. Copyright © 2026 SAS Institute Inc. All rights reserved.

Editorial Contacts:

Kunal Aman, SAS

kunal.aman@sas.com

sas.com/news

Thoughtfully formulated for Indian heat and humidity, the new jelly moisturiser offers non-sticky hydration leaving skin feeling fresh and dewy with a lasting bounce

National, 15th September 2026 : Dot & Key, India's fastest-growing D2C skincare brand, has expanded its moisturizer range with the launch of its new Dragon Fruit Bounce Jelly Moisturiser. Designed for oily and combination skin that craves hydration without the heaviness or grease, the new light-weight moisturiser offers deeply layered hydration and visibly plumps skin with lasting bounce.

This new launch reflects the brand’s continued focus on innovation with unique science-backed formulations that address evolving skincare needs of Indian consumers. Finding effective hydration for oily yet dehydrated skin without a greasy residue can be a constant challenge. The Dragon Fruit Bounce Jelly Moisturiser solves this with a quick-absorbing, cushiony jelly texture that glides on effortlessly, leaving skin feeling fresh and dewy without the unwanted shine.

The moisturiser is powered by three key hero ingredients, Plant-PDRN, Niacinamide and multi-peptides, which work together to support collagen, improve skin elasticity and balance excess oil. The formula is further enriched with multi-weight Hyaluronic Acid, Ectoin and a Ceramide-Cholesterol lipid matrix, which help lock in moisture and strengthen the skin’s barrier while protecting against environmental stressors.

The fast-absorbing formula layers effortlessly under sunscreen and makeup, making it ideal for everyday wear. Thoughtfully formulated for Indian heat and humidity, the fragrance-free moisturiser is suitable for daily AM and PM skincare routines.

Priced at ₹499, the Dot & Key Dragon Fruit Bounce Jelly Moisturiser is now available across Dot & Key's website, leading online marketplaces, quick commerce platforms and offline retail stores. Dot & Key’s Dragon Fruit range also features the Dragon Fruit Bounce Sunscreen launched earlier this year. To know more, visit www.dotandkey.com

About Dot & Key Skincare

Dot & Key is India's fastest-growing D2C skincare brand, known for its consumer-first approach and category-defining innovations. Headquartered in Kolkata, the brand was founded in 2018 by Anisha Agarwal Saraf and Suyash Saraf, with a mission to make global-standard skincare accessible to Indian consumers. Dot & Key has emerged as a leading player in India's beauty market, with strong positions across sunscreens, moisturisers, facewash and lip balms including its flagship Vitamin C and Blueberry Barrier Repair ranges. All innovation is developed in-house at Dot & Key's own R&D lab, where a team of skincare scientists with over 50 years of combined experience blend the best of fruit actives and high-performance ingredients. The brand is backed by Nykaa, India's leading beauty and wellness aggregator, and reaches millions of consumers through a robust omnichannel presence.

Pune : Two hundred years ago, a small flame of trust was lit, and today it has grown into the magnificent banyan tree that is Chandukaka Saraf Jewels. Under the shade of this tree, countless family memories have been cherished, the warmth of thousands of relationships has been shared, and behind every piece of jewellery lies a priceless story woven with trust.

Established in 1827, Chandukaka Saraf Jewels has completed an illustrious journey spanning two centuries. Over this remarkable journey, times have changed, generations have changed, fashion has evolved, and jewellery designs have transformed. Yet, beyond all these changes, the trust of customers and the tradition of purity have remained unwavering.

This enduring trust, the unbreakable relationships built with customers, and the rich legacy of 200 years were celebrated in grand style at a spectacular event held at Laxmi Lawns, Manjari. The celebration beautifully brought together 200 years of tradition, the modernity of the present, and new dreams for the future.

No matter how large an institution grows, its true stature is defined by the people who walk alongside it with dedication and loyalty. As part of Chandukaka Saraf Jewel’s glorious 200-year journey, loyal employees who have devoted several years of their lives to the organisation were specially honoured.

Employees who demonstrated outstanding performance were presented with cars and two-wheelers, while other employees were felicitated with silver articles in recognition of their contribution. For those who had devoted some of the most valuable years of their lives to the organisation, the institution placed the keys to cars and two-wheelers in their hands. What greater expression of gratitude could there be?

This unique recognition of employee loyalty stood out as a special gesture in Maharashtra's business landscape. The honour was not merely about gifts; it was a celebration of hard work, a tribute to loyalty, and a living expression of belonging — an affirmation that “You are one of us.”

The felicitation ceremony was further enhanced by a series of cultural performances, adding to the atmosphere of enthusiasm, joy, and togetherness.

Speaking on the occasion, Director Atul Shah said, “Times have changed, generations have changed, and the forms of jewellery have evolved; but the trust placed in Chandukaka Saraf Jewels has never changed. This 200-year journey does not belong to us alone; it belongs to our customers and to every employee who has stood firmly beside us.”

Speaking about the organisation's journey ahead, Director Siddharth Shah said, “We will certainly carry forward the tradition of purity and trust built over 200 years. At the same time, we now aspire to establish Chandukaka Saraf Jewels as a distinctive name for exceptional and innovative jewellery. This is our commitment for the next 200 years.”

Meanwhile, presenting the vision of “System ab aapki mutthi mein,” Director Aditya Shah emphasised the extensive use of new-age technology across the business. He spoke about the organisation's intent to provide customers with services that are more seamless, faster, and increasingly customer-centric, in keeping with changing times.

The historic celebration was attended by Directors Atul Shah and Sangeeta Shah, along with Aditya Shah, Damini Shah, Siddharth Shah, and Ankita Shah. Employees, family members, well-wishers, and associates came together to make this landmark occasion even more memorable.

Today, CS Jewels has expanded its network of jewellery stores across Pune, Maharashtra, and Karnataka. The brand is also set to open a new jewellery showroom in Khandwa, Madhya Pradesh, in the near future.

Mumbai, 15 September 2026 : DBS Bank India today announced the expansion of capabilities on DBS MAX, its merchant collections platform, with a digital payment management solution powered by Juspay, a global payment infrastructure company. The solution helps merchants improve payment resilience, optimise transaction flows and gain consolidated visibility across digital collections.

India’s digital payments landscape has evolved rapidly with UPI transaction volumes having increased by more than 12,000 times over the last decade. Businesses are increasingly adopting more than one payment aggregator to support growing transaction volumes so that they can, in turn, provide reliable digital payment experiences to their customers. The new integration on DBS MAX, backed by Juspay’s platform supports intelligent routing, based on merchant-defined rules and payment performance. A unified dashboard provides consolidated visibility across payment gateways and payment methods, including transaction success rates, refunds and reconciliation, helping merchants quickly understand payment performance and identify actionable insights. Businesses can add or switch between supported payment aggregators with minimal technical changes, reducing time and effort spent on multiple integrations.

Divyesh Dalal, Managing Director and Country Head, Global Transaction Services, Corporate Banking- Financial Institutions and SMEs, DBS Bank India, said: “The acceleration of online commerce has led to a rise in consumer expectations for seamless online payment journeys. Given this ongoing evolution, corporates are now seeking platforms which provide a comprehensive suite of online payments with optimal payment modes for enhanced decision making.  As a future forward bank, we envision our partnership with Juspay as the first step towards providing an intelligent payments platform offering a more streamlined merchant and end user experience. Leveraging our global credibility, local distribution and technology prowess, DBS is uniquely placed to provide advanced digital solutions to a wide number of enterprises across India. This marks the beginning of a new era in treasury management for corporates.”

Through this partnership with Juspay, DBS MAX offers increased functionality designed to address common merchant concerns with solutions such as a gateway-agnostic card tokenisation when merchants switch between supported gateways. In addition, consolidated visibility across payment gateways enables merchants to better assess payment performance and tailor promotional campaigns to drive customer engagement.

“By partnering with Juspay, DBS Bank India brings its established payments franchise and Juspay's leading payment orchestration capabilities together to further enhance DBS MAX for businesses.” said Sheetal Lalwani, Co-Founder and COO of Juspay. “Together, we are bringing the strengths of banking and modern payments infrastructure to create a more intelligent and connected payments ecosystem for businesses. This collaboration aims to simplify the complexity of digital payments while giving businesses greater visibility, and control across their payment operations.”

DBS has been recognised globally for its transaction banking capabilities and digital expertise with awards like Asia's Best Digital Bank and Asia’s Best Bank for Customer Experience at the Euromoney Awards for Excellence 2026, as well as Best Bank for Payments – Asia-Pacific and Best Bank for Transaction Banking – Asia-Pacific at the Global Finance Treasury & Cash Management Awards 2026. DBS was also named the Best Corporate Digital Bank - India by Global Finance in 2026, underlining its continued customer focus.

About DBS

DBS is a leading financial services group in Asia with a presence in 19 markets. Headquartered and listed in Singapore, DBS is in the three key Asian axes of growth: Greater China, Southeast Asia and South Asia. The bank's "AA-" and "Aa1" credit ratings are among the highest in the world.

Recognised for its global leadership, DBS has been named “World’s Best Bank” by Global Finance, “World’s Best Bank” by Euromoney and “Global Bank of the Year” by The Banker. The bank is at the forefront of leveraging digital technology to shape the future of banking, having been named  “World’s Best AI Bank” by Global Finance, “World’s Best Digital Bank” by Euromoney and the winner of multiple digital assets awards. In addition, DBS has been accorded the “Safest Bank in Asia“ award by Global Finance for 17 consecutive years from 2009 to 2025. DBS Bank India was recognised by CRISIL Coalition Greenwich as the Best Bank for Corporate Cash Management in India in 2025 and 2026. The bank was also named Best Bank for ESG in India at the Euromoney Awards for Excellence 2026 and was recognised as the Best Bank in Emerging Tech and AI at the Business Today-KPMG India’s Best Banks Awards 2026.

DBS provides a full range of services in Consumer, Wealth, SME and corporate banking. As a bank born and bred in Asia, DBS understands the intricacies of doing business in the region’s most dynamic markets.

DBS Bank has been present in India for more than 30 years, opening its first office in Mumbai in 1994. DBS Bank India Limited is the first among the large foreign banks in India to start operating as a wholly owned, locally incorporated subsidiary of a leading global bank. As a trusted partner, DBS provides a range of banking services for large, medium, and small enterprises and individual consumers in India, focusing on a seamless customer experience that helps them ‘Live more, Bank less’. In November 2020, Lakshmi Vilas Bank was merged with DBS Bank India Limited. DBS Bank India is now present in ~350 locations in 19 Indian states.

DBS is committed to building lasting relationships with customers, as it banks the Asian way. Through the DBS Foundation, the bank creates impact beyond banking by uplifting lives and livelihoods of those in need. It provides essential needs to the underprivileged, and fosters inclusion by equipping the underserved with financial and digital literacy skills. It also nurtures innovative social enterprises that create positive impact.

With its extensive network of operations in Asia and emphasis on engaging and empowering its staff, DBS presents exciting career opportunities. For more information, please visit www.dbs.com

Fourth edition of Salespreneur, the Gurugram-based revenue B-school's flagship placement event, draws 28 recruiters and 62 interview requests across 21 students in a single afternoon; Day Zero offers range from ₹16 LPA to ₹31.5 LPA for roles across North America, Europe, the Middle East and APAC

Salespreneur is the stage on which Day Zero happens. In the months before the event, student teams adopt a real company and build a complete go-to-market plan for it, from ideal-customer research and market sizing to live outbound cadences and a detailed GTM plan, then pitch it to a room of founders, sales leaders and recruiters. After each pitch, every guest records one of three responses: an interview request, a mentoring commitment, or a pass with written feedback. Interview slots open on the day itself, and offers can be made before the room empties. This season's four teams pitched plans for Dclutter, NeuroFin, Aqqrue and Structured AI. Guests of honour were Ashish Cherian, Director at Adobe, and Zeeshan Jawed, Director of Sales at Kaseya.

Every Day Zero offer was for a revenue-adjacent role, with recruiters hiring across the length of the sales cycle: Sales Development Representative, Business Development Representative, Account Executive and Customer Success Manager. Markets spanned North America, the UK and Europe, the Middle East, India and APAC, with several roles remote-first, selling into North American and European hours from India. Offers ranged from ₹16 LPA to ₹31.5 LPA, with the highest at ₹31.5 LPA and an expected average of ₹20.75 LPA across offers in the offer stage.

The 28 recruiters in the room spanned SaaS, fintech, developer tools, research and IT infrastructure. Companies that hired or opened interviews from the Salespreneur room include Karbon Business, PineGap, Recepto, Forrester, Cast.ai, Supa, GobbleCube and Practice by Numbers; the full list of 28 will be published with the season report. Also present were revenue leaders from MongoDB and members of the institute's CXO advisory board, including Rajeev Chari, founder of axiTrust, and Anupreet Singh, Chief Revenue Officer at Gan.ai.

The IIM slot, run by a 9-month B-school

Day Zero is the day before a placement season formally opens. A small set of recruiters, invited on the strength of the roles and compensation they bring, get first access to the cohort, and offers made on the day close before the wider process begins. The Indian Institutes of Management introduced the slot for their most sought-after recruiters, and over time it became the benchmark every B-school season is read against: the highest offers, the most competitive roles and the earliest signal of how a batch will do.

New-age B-schools have largely run rolling placements across a semester and reported a single average at the end. As they compete for the same recruiters, the Day Zero format is finding its way into their placement calendars as a way to concentrate demand and give students a time-bound outcome. HiveSchool runs it as a recurring institutional event for its PGP in Revenue, Tech and Entrepreneurship; Salespreneur is now in its fourth edition. The comparison the institute draws with the legacy institutes is to the method, not the money.

Season on season

Both ends of the Day Zero range moved up this edition. The floor rose from ₹12 LPA to ₹16 LPA, an increase of 33%, and the top from ₹25 LPA to ₹31.5 LPA, an increase of 26%. The institute's annual numbers have moved the same way: average CTC rose from ₹14.76 LPA in 2024-25 to ₹16.47 LPA in 2025-26, with the median moving from ₹14 LPA to ₹15 LPA (Annual Placement Report 2025-26). The remaining two-thirds of the cohort now interview through the regular placement window, and the institute expects the full-season average to settle at ₹16 to ₹17 LPA, consistent with previous cohorts, with a batch twice the size of the last one.

Report card, not brochure

The Day Zero report states that its ranges reflect Day Zero offers only, and that the ₹20.75 LPA average is an expected figure that will be restated as offers close. That follows the standard the institute set in August, when it published a placement report and video naming every placed student along with their story, opened direct, unmediated access for prospective students to speak with any of them, and committed its founder to personally answering every placement-related query. The full placement report follows at the close of the season.

"We didn't invent Day Zero. The legacy institutes refined it over decades, and we studied it closely. What we did was apply the same discipline to revenue roles that no B-school had treated as a core discipline, and run it for a cohort you can actually get into. Sixty-four interview requests in one afternoon for 21 students is what that looks like. We'll publish every number that follows, including the ones that don't flatter us," said Nikhil Gaur, Founder and CEO, HiveSchool.

Recruiters in the room pointed to the work rather than the resumes. "What stood out was the pipeline math. They could defend every number in the revenue model. That is a skill I hire for," said Ashish Cherian, Director, Adobe. "The ICP thinking was sharp. They knew who not to sell to, which is the hardest thing to teach," said Zeeshan Jawed, Director of Sales, Kaseya.

What produced the day

Every team built its pitch on the same four pillars, mirroring how a revenue team operates inside a company: ideal-customer research that ends in a tiered account list with disqualification criteria; market sizing that ties pipeline coverage to a quarterly number; a live outbound cadence sequenced across LinkedIn, email, calls and WhatsApp over 14 days, with real replies and booked meetings; and a  go-to-market plan with owners, milestones and a pipeline target. Recruiters decide on evidence of selling, not a CV.

The 9-month Postgraduate Program in Revenue, AI and Entrepreneurship is built backwards from the roles it places into. Delivered fully offline in Gurugram, it runs on daily business challenges, live simulations, sprints and founder-led workshops, with a curriculum designed alongside startup operators and students mentored by people currently doing these jobs at leading tech companies.

With admissions open for its next cohort, Hive School of Business is staying with the model it believes previews where Indian education is headed: tightly targeted outcomes, built input by input, as a credible, high-return alternative to the traditional MBA for freshers and early-career professionals. Recruiters who want a seat in the Salespreneur room next season can register through hiveschool.co.

About Hive School: Hive School is India's first dedicated Revenue B-School. Its flagship 9-month Postgraduate Program in Revenue, Technology and Entrepreneurship is delivered fully offline in Gurugram and led by senior startup operators; the school also runs an AI Marketing Fellowship and undergraduate programmes. With a growing placement track record and a community of founders and investors behind it, Hive School is building business education for the next generation.

●      Four-pillar investment framework spanning Growth Potential, Competitive Positioning, Operational Excellence and Financial Strength

New Delhi, September 15, 2026 : Axis Max Life Insurance Limited (“Axis Max Life”/ “Company”), formerly known as Max Life Insurance Company Ltd., announced the launch of the Axis Max Life Rising India Manufacturing Fund (SFIN: ULIF05007/09/26RISINGINDM104), an actively managed thematic fund designed to provide policyholders an opportunity to participate in India’s expanding manufacturing ecosystem.

The fund will invest primarily across the manufacturing sector and related and allied industries, including ancillary businesses, industrial infrastructure providers, engineering companies, automation solution providers, logistics participants and other businesses deriving a significant share of their revenues from the manufacturing ecosystem. Through this diversified approach, the fund seeks to capture opportunities emerging from India’s growing focus on domestic production, localisation and global competitiveness.

India’s manufacturing sector continues to benefit from policy support, infrastructure investments, supply-chain diversification and rising domestic demand. Initiatives such as Make in India, the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) schemes, National Logistics Policy and PM Gati Shakti are supporting investments across manufacturing industries, while rising private-sector capital expenditure and export competitiveness are creating opportunities across the broader manufacturing ecosystem.These trends are creating opportunities across sectors including automobiles, capital goods, defence, electronics, chemicals, pharmaceuticals and industrial services.

Vaibhav Kumar, Head – Product Management and E-Commerce Channel, Axis Max Life, said, “India’s manufacturing ecosystem is at an important stage of its evolution, supported by a combination of policy reforms, infrastructure development, domestic demand and the growing diversification of global supply chains. As the country strengthens its position as a competitive manufacturing destination, we believe the opportunity extends beyond traditional manufacturers to a much wider ecosystem of businesses enabling this transformation.

With the Axis Max Life Rising India Manufacturing Fund, our endeavour is to provide policyholders an actively managed avenue to participate in this long-term structural opportunity. The fund’s diversified approach and disciplined investment framework will enable us to identify businesses with strong growth potential, competitive positioning, operational capabilities and financial strength, while expanding the range of investment choices available to our customers.”

As an actively managed fund, the Axis Max Life Rising India Manufacturing Fund will provide the fund manager flexibility to identify opportunities across manufacturing and allied sectors based on growth prospects, company fundamentals, valuations and evolving market conditions. This approach enables dynamic allocation across manufacturing and allied sectors, with the flexibility to identify emerging opportunities and adapt to changing market conditions. The fund will use the Nifty India Manufacturing Index as its benchmark and will be available across online and offline channels through applicable Axis Max Life unit-linked insurance products. The annual Fund Management Charge (FMC) will be 1.35% of assets under management. With the launch of the Rising India Manufacturing Fund, Axis Max Life continues to expand its suite of investment options, providing policyholders greater choice to participate in long-term opportunities emerging across India’s economy.

About Axis Max Life Insurance Limited (https://www.axismaxlife.com)

Axis Max Life Insurance Limited (the “Company”), formerly known as Max Life Insurance Company Ltd., is a subsidiary of Max Financial Services Limited (“MFSL”) with Axis Bank Limited and its affiliates also being shareholders of the Company. Axis Max Life offers comprehensive protection and long-term savings life insurance solutions through its multi-channel distribution, including agency and third-party partners. The Company has built its operations on a need-based sales process, a customer centric engagement model and trained human capital. As per audited financials for FY2025-26, Axis Max Life recorded a gross written premium of INR 38,877 crore.

IRDAI Registration. No – 104

Company Identification Number - U74899HR2000PLC143012

The event saw the presence of Seema Azmi, Adaa Khan, Mohak Meet and Pratik Sehajpal, who came together to introduce audiences to the world of The Lift. The actors shared insights into their respective roles and spoke about what drew them to the series and the opportunity to work with Ishika Shahi and the Directors Kut team.

For Ishika Shahi, The Lift marks an exciting step as she brings a fresh web series to the audience through the **Directors Kut Production YouTube Channel. The series promises an engaging narrative while bringing together a diverse ensemble of performers.

Speaking about the project, the cast also discussed the experience of working together and the process of bringing their characters to life. The press conference gave the media an opportunity to interact with the actors and get a closer look at what viewers can expect from the upcoming series.

With a promising cast and a new story to tell, *The Lift* is set to take its journey to audiences on the Directors Kut Production YouTube Channel.

Pune, September 12, 2026 : Aishwaryam Group, one of Pune and PCMC’s established real estate developers is strengthening its position as among PCMC’s largest developers, selling more than 1,800 homes annually across its portfolio. With around 1,200 agreements registered in the last year, the Group is now entering its next phase of growth with a sharper focus on premium and lifestyle-led residential development. The Group’s sustained performance reflects the strength of its residential portfolio and its ability to cater to homebuyers across different segments and locations.

The shift marks an important evolution for Aishwaryam. Since its inception in 2008, the Group has built significant scale by addressing the aspirations of first-time and value-conscious homebuyers across Pune and PCMC. Today, its portfolio extends from smart and mid-segment housing to premium and branded residences, reflecting both the evolution of the company and the changing aspirations of homebuyers.

Key Highlights

• Sells more than 1,800 homes annually across its residential portfolio 

• Registered around 1,200 agreements in the last year 

• Residential portfolio spread across North PCMC and West Pune 

• F portfolio in association with Fashion TV crosses 750 units sold 

• Premium and lifestyle-led residences to be a major growth focus going forward 

A key catalyst in this transformation has been Aishwaryam’s entry into premium branded residences in association with Fashion TV, making it a pioneer in bringing the concept for the first time to PCMC. Its F portfolio has already crossed 750 units sold, demonstrating growing acceptance of the brand among a more aspirational homebuyer segment.

Satish Agarwal, Managing Director, Aishwaryam Group, said, “Our scale has been built over the years on customer trust, a deep understanding of PCMC and the ability to consistently deliver homes that respond to changing aspirations. Selling more than 1,800 homes annually gives us a strong foundation for our next phase of growth. We now see a significant opportunity to take Aishwaryam into a more premium space, with greater emphasis on design, lifestyle, branded residences and differentiated experiences. Our ambition is to build on our position as one of PCMC’s largest developers while creating a stronger premium residential portfolio across Pune and PCMC.”

From scale to premiumisation

Aishwaryam’s residential footprint is spread across North PCMC and West Pune, giving the Group access to some of the region’s most active and evolving residential corridors. Its portfolio spans Moshi, Chikhali, Tathawade, Wakad, Nigdi and other established and emerging Pune-PCMC markets.

PCMC itself is witnessing a transition from predominantly value-led housing towards a more diversified residential market. Improving connectivity, employment hubs, social infrastructure and rising consumer aspirations are creating demand for larger homes, superior amenities and more lifestyle-oriented residential products. Aishwaryam intends to leverage its established presence, development experience and understanding of the PCMC consumer to capture this shift.

Narendra Agarwal, Director, Aishwaryam Group, said, “PCMC is entering a new phase where homebuyers are increasingly willing to move beyond functionality and value towards better design, amenities, experiences and overall quality of life. This creates a significant opportunity for developers with local market understanding and execution capability. Having built scale across the region, our strategy now is to move decisively up the value chain. Premium residences will be an important growth engine for Aishwaryam as we create products for the next generation of aspirational homebuyers.”

Building a diversified real estate platform

Over the years, Aishwaryam Group has expanded beyond residential housing into commercial development, plotted development, infrastructure and education. This evolution reflects its broader strategy of serving consumers across different stages of their homeownership journey—from a family’s first home to larger, premium and lifestyle-led residences.

The Group’s current residential portfolio includes Aishwaryam Anand, F Premium, F Signature and 57 Elevate, spanning value-driven, mid-segment and premium housing. Its commercial portfolio includes Aishwaryam One developments across Chikhali, Moshi and Akurdi, alongside premium office and retail developments. Its education footprint includes Delhi Public School in Hinjawadi and Pune East.

About Aishwaryam Group

Established in 2008, Aishwaryam Group is an established Pune and PCMC focused real estate developer with over 17 years of experience, 50-plus projects, more than 6 million sq. ft. of development and over 7,500 families served. The Group has also sold more than 300 commercial units, reflecting its growing presence beyond residential development. From its roots in value-driven housing, Aishwaryam has evolved into a diversified development platform spanning premium residential housing, commercial developments, plotted developments, infrastructure and education. Its residential portfolio ranges from 1 BHK homes for first-time buyers to premium 2, 3 and 4 BHK residences across Pune and PCMC.

Its current residential portfolio includes Aishwaryam Anand, F Premium, F Signature and 57 Elevate. F Premium, premium and branded residences developed in association with Fashion TV is located at Tathawade, a 10-acre development comprising seven towers with 2, 3 and 4 BHK residences, signalling the developer’s expansion beyond its traditional value-driven and mid-income base into aspirational premium housing.

At the same time, the Group is expanding its commercial presence through projects such as Aishwaryam One Chikhali, Aishwaryam One Moshi and Aishwaryam One Akurdi, alongside premium office and retail developments. Its broader portfolio also encompasses infrastructure and education. The Group’s education footprint includes Delhi Public School in Hinjawadi and Pune East.

The Group has built a growing footprint across Moshi, Chikhali, Wakad, Tathawade, Nigdi and other key Pune–PCMC micro-markets, with future expansion planned across Punawale, Pradhikaran, Akurdi, Hinjawadi, Kasarwadi, Ravet, Moshi, Chikhali, Balewadi, Kharadi, Parandwadi and Gahunje. The company remains focused on quality construction, practical design and long-term value across established and emerging locations.

Aishwaryam’s development philosophy is anchored in trust, innovation, customer satisfaction, high value, pride and stakeholder delight to create spaces in which people, businesses and communities can thrive.

For further information: www.aishwaryam.com

A case handled by the Institute of Human Reproduction (IHR), Guwahati, illustrates this less familiar side of reproductive care. A healthy young man sought medical advice not because he was infertile, but because several members of his family had albinism. His mother and maternal aunt were affected, while he and his brother appeared unaffected. Later, his brother had a son with albinism.

Before planning his own family, the patient wanted to understand what that history meant for his future children.

Understanding a Condition Hidden in the Family

The first step was not IVF or another fertility procedure. It was understanding the family history.

Doctors examined the family pedigree and found a pattern consistent with autosomal recessive inheritance. In such conditions, an affected person generally inherits two disease-causing copies of a gene, one from each parent.

Advanced DNA testing then provided a clearer picture. The patient's mother had two copies of the disease-causing genetic change and had albinism. The patient, despite being healthy and having normal pigmentation, had one disease-causing copy and one normal copy. He was therefore a carrier.

That distinction was central to the case. A carrier can appear completely healthy while still being capable of passing a genetic variant to the next generation.

Why Testing the Partner Changed the Picture

Finding that the patient was a carrier did not, by itself, establish that his future child would have albinism. His wife's genetic status also mattered.

She was tested and did not carry the same disease-causing genetic change. According to the assessment provided by IHR, this meant their child would not be expected to have this familial form of autosomal-recessive albinism.

For each child, the couple was counselled about a 50% chance of inheriting the father's altered gene and being a healthy carrier, and a 50% chance of not inheriting that familial genetic change. IHR described the expected chance of a child having this particular familial form as essentially zero because the wife did not carry the same change.

The couple was also counselled about the possibility of rare de novo mutations—genetic changes that can arise spontaneously rather than being inherited from either parent.

Not Every Genetic Concern Requires IVF

Perhaps the most important part of the case was what doctors decided not to do.

Before the partner's results were known, several reproductive options could be discussed. These included natural conception after genetic counselling, testing during a future pregnancy where medically indicated, and, if there were a significant risk of an affected child, IVF with preimplantation genetic testing for a monogenic condition, or PGT-M.

But once testing showed that the wife did not carry the same familial genetic change, IVF and embryo testing were not considered necessary for preventing this particular form of albinism.

Instead, the couple was advised that natural conception was an appropriate option based on the genetic findings.

The case therefore demonstrates an important principle: access to advanced reproductive technology does not mean that it should automatically be used. Sometimes careful investigation can prevent unnecessary intervention.

A Multidisciplinary Reproductive Medicine Case

The assessment involved more than one area of expertise. A reproductive medicine specialist discussed the couple's reproductive options. A clinical geneticist or genetic counsellor helped interpret the family history, genetic results, and implications for future children, while a genetic testing laboratory identified and confirmed the relevant genetic change.

There were no major medical complications. The significant development was the wife's negative result for the familial variant, which changed the reproductive strategy from considering intervention to reassurance and natural conception.

The eventual clinical outcome, therefore, was not a pregnancy achieved through treatment. It was clarity.

The patient learned why he could carry the genetic change despite being healthy, how the condition had travelled through his family, why his wife's result mattered, and what their future children's risks could be. As there was no fertility problem, no fertility treatment was required.

Why the Case Matters Beyond One Family

The case was later presented at a conference as an anonymised discussion because of its educational value in genetic counselling and reproductive medicine.

Its broader relevance lies in showing why reproductive healthcare can begin before infertility exists. A person may be healthy and have no difficulty conceiving, yet a strong family history of an inherited condition can raise legitimate questions before pregnancy.

Detailed family history, appropriate genetic testing, and partner testing can help establish whether a condition is carried, estimate the likelihood of transmission, and determine whether any additional reproductive intervention is actually warranted.

Where relevant, couples may need to understand options ranging from natural conception to prenatal testing or PGT-M. But those choices should follow an assessment of their actual genetic risk rather than fear created by family history alone.

Reproductive Medicine Is Also About Making Informed Choices

This case broadens the usual understanding of reproductive medicine. Fertility treatment is one part of the field, but reproductive counselling can also help people understand inherited risks before they become parents.

At IHR, the important capability in this case was the combination of reproductive counselling with genetics: tracing the family history, identifying the inheritance pattern, testing both partners, interpreting the findings, and explaining the result in understandable terms.

The most meaningful outcome was not the use of an advanced procedure. It was determining that one was unnecessary.

For couples with a known genetic condition running through their family, that may be the larger lesson. Good reproductive care is not simply about offering more interventions. It is also about knowing when testing is useful, when technology is justified, and when evidence can give a couple enough confidence to proceed naturally. For clinicians, it is also a reminder that the right starting point is often a careful conversation before any procedure is considered.

MUMBAI, September 11, 2026 : Kumar Gera, Chairman of Gera Developments, was honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award (Builder) at the CBIS Summit & Awards 2026, recognising his distinguished contribution to India’s real estate sector and his role in shaping the growth of residential real estate in Pune and beyond.

The award recognised Gera’s long-standing journey in the real estate industry and his contribution to building Gera Developments into an established real estate company, while championing innovation, quality and a customer-first approach to residential development. Under his guidance, Gera Developments has evolved into a prominent real estate brand with a strong presence in Pune, Bengaluru, Goa and California, USA.

The CBIS Summit & Awards brought together leading architects, developers, industry professionals and next-generation leaders to recognise significant contributions across the construction and building industry. The awards programme featured categories including Next-Gen Builders, Masters of Build, Masters of Design, Sustainable Initiatives Anchored by Women Realty Leaders and Lifetime Achievement recognitions.

Speaking on the occasion, Kumar Gera, Chairman, Gera Developments, said, “I received this award on behalf of all those who work in and have been a part of Gera over the years, whose commitment and contribution have been integral to this journey. For me, the journey of building has always been about much more than creating physical spaces. It is about creating lasting value for customers, communities and the city. Over the years, the industry has evolved significantly, and so have customer expectations. I believe the future of real estate will belong to organisations that continue to innovate, remain deeply customer-centric and build with a long-term sense of responsibility.”

With over 50 years of experience in real estate development, Kumar Gera is a visionary leader who has built Gera Developments on the enduring values of Trust & Integrity, Customer First, Innovation, Compassion and Ownership. He has also played a significant role in the development of the organised real estate sector in India, serving as the Founder and First President of CREDAI.

He was the First Indian President of Junior Chamber International (JCI), an organisation representing approximately half a million young people across 82 countries.

Gera’s recognition comes as the Indian real estate sector continues to undergo significant transformation, with changing homebuyer expectations, greater emphasis on quality and amenities, and increasing focus on creating integrated and future-ready communities.

In a Power Talk session at the CBIS Summit & Awards 2026, Kumar Gera reflected on the principles that have shaped his leadership journey and the evolution of his approach to real estate. Speaking about what remains constant amid changing times and technologies, he emphasised that putting the customer first, building trust and maintaining integrity are values that cannot be replaced. He also highlighted the importance of people and respect for people as a key lesson for the next generation of developers and designers.

For Gera, the Lifetime Achievement Award marks another milestone in a career spanning decades, reflecting his contribution to the growth of organised real estate and his continued engagement with the evolution of India’s residential sector.

About Gera Developments Private Limited:

Gera Developments Private Limited, a reputed brand for over 50 years, is one of the pioneers of the Real Estate business in Pune. Recognised as the creators of premium residential and commercial projects in Pune, Goa and Bengaluru, the brand has established a global presence through developments in California, USA. Gera prides itself on providing long-term enjoyment to customers, by having a distinct customer-first approach. The philosophy at Gera of “Let's Outdo” rests on the trinity of Innovation, Transparency, and Enhanced Customer Experience. It is at the heart of Gera's effort to infuse innovation and transparency in Real Estate and home building, with an unwavering focus on meeting the shifting lifestyle dynamics of their customers, while upholding the premium living experience. Accordingly, there are many 'firsts' that stand to Gera's credit.

The company introduced a 5-Year Warranty on Real Estate, consisting of Preventive Maintenance & Repairs and provision of insurance on buildings way back in 2004 for the first time in India. RERA mandated the same only in 2017. Gera also introduced India's first and only 7-year warranty in Real Estate. They have designed and launched a pathbreaking concept, the award-winning ChildCentric®️ Homes, and  WellnessCentric Homes™️ which revolutionised the Real Estate sector for both, the developer and the home buyer. The company has also launched Gera's Home Equity Power — a first-of-its-kind industry initiative providing financial flexibility to customers to withdraw funds from their prior payments to meet financial emergencies.

These products are matched by the services of the GeraWorld®️ Mobile App, which brings speed, convenience, and transparency to the buyer, enhancing customer experience. Gera Developments has also launched the Club Outdo initiative, a tech-driven loyalty and referral program that provides multiple benefits, offers, and community engagement opportunities to existing and new customers.

The company emphasises delivering value-added experiences to customers, with projects designed around the evolving needs of their customers. Driven by trust, quality, a customer-first mindset, and innovation, the brand has won several national and international awards on both the product and service fronts. Gera continues to be recognised by the Great Place to Work®️ (GPTW) Institute among India's Best Workplaces.

Gera envisions raising the standards of Real Estate in India. As they redefine new standards of service orientation, product innovation, real estate marketing, and brand building, they are consistently generating fresh value for its stakeholders, while setting new benchmarks for the industry.

Please visit www.gera.in for more information

The people most closely associated with it were penetration testers, network security engineers, incident responders, researchers and security operations teams. Their work focused on vulnerabilities, malware, infrastructure and the technologies used to protect organizations.

That picture has changed.

Cybersecurity now sits at the intersection of technology, business, regulation, risk and increasingly artificial intelligence. A security incident can affect not only an organization's IT infrastructure but also its customers, operations, reputation and regulatory responsibilities.

Artificial intelligence is accelerating that change.

AI is being used to analyse security events, automate investigations and assist defenders, while attackers are experimenting with the same technology to scale reconnaissance, social engineering and other offensive activities.

The result is an environment where the traditional distinction between attacker, defender and technology is becoming increasingly blurred.

It is also changing the nature of cybersecurity events in India.

From a technical community to a broader security ecosystem

The evolution can be seen in the people now participating in cybersecurity discussions.

A modern cybersecurity conference in Delhi is no longer necessarily a room filled only with security engineers and ethical hackers. Discussions increasingly involve CISOs, enterprise architects, risk professionals, technology leaders, researchers, legal experts and people working on AI governance.

The upcoming CIA Conference (CIACON 2026) reflects this wider ecosystem.

Its speaker lineup includes professionals working across offensive security, enterprise security, cloud architecture, risk, compliance, AI governance, malware research, cyber law and CISO leadership.

Among them are Rakshit Tandon, a national cybersecurity expert; Nipun Jaswal, Senior Director and Global Capability Leader – Offensive Security at NTT DATA; and Sushil Dash, Enterprise Architect and Red Teaming Expert.

The enterprise security perspective includes Swati Anuj Arya, Vice President & Global BISO at S&P Global, Adish Jain, AVP & CISO at Pe, and Harish Goel, Senior Director – IT Security & Compliance at Publicis Groupe.

The lineup also includes architecture and infrastructure professionals such as Gaurav Wadhwa, Director – Enterprise Security Architecture at Tata Digital, Gunjan Chhillar, Cloud Solutions Architect – India & SAARC, and Anuj Sharma, Solution Architecture at AVM Consulting Inc.

The range is revealing.

Cybersecurity is no longer being discussed from a single point of view.

Why Delhi-NCR matters

Delhi, Gurugram and Noida form a closely connected business and technology ecosystem, bringing together IT companies, multinational organizations, technology services and enterprise operations.

That makes the region a natural setting for cybersecurity discussions. Organizations across NCR are dealing with cloud infrastructure, digital platforms, connected systems and increasingly AI-enabled technologies—creating security challenges that span technical, business and governance functions.

For a cybersecurity conference in Delhi, this diversity is particularly relevant. CISOs, security architects, offensive-security professionals, risk leaders and AI governance specialists often approach the same problem from very different perspectives.

The CISO's role has changed

The growing presence of CISOs and senior security professionals reflects a larger change inside organizations.

A CISO today may be involved in questions extending well beyond security operations.

Should an organization adopt a particular AI technology?

How should access to sensitive systems be controlled?

What is the business impact of a vulnerability?

How should an organization respond to a major cyber incident?

How should security and compliance requirements be balanced with business objectives?

The speaker lineup reflects these overlapping responsibilities.

Dr. Sushil Meher, Health IT & CISO at AIIMS, Prakash Kumar Ranjan, CISO & DPO at Sarman Capital Limited, and Ummed Meel, Director – Cyber and IT Risk at Grant Thornton Bharat, represent different perspectives on enterprise security, risk and governance.

Cybersecurity decisions are increasingly business decisions.

AI is creating another security layer

Artificial intelligence is changing cybersecurity from both sides. Organizations are using AI across applications, analytics and business processes, while attackers are exploring techniques such as prompt injection and autonomous attacks.

This creates new security questions around AI permissions, monitoring, manipulation and accountability—particularly as AI systems begin interacting with enterprise data and infrastructure.

The “AI vs AI” theme at CIACON 2026 reflects this shift, bringing AI security, agentic AI and governance into the wider cybersecurity conversation. Aman Bandvi, Founder Director – Policy, Governance, Trust at the Bharat Responsible AI Forum, adds a governance perspective to these discussions.

Technical research remains at the centre

The growing executive role in cybersecurity does not make technical research less important.

Enterprise security decisions ultimately depend on understanding how systems can be attacked.

The CIA Conference lineup includes Debjeet Banerjee, a malware developer and researcher associated with Black Hills Information Security, alongside offensive-security professionals such as Nipun Jaswal and Sushil Dash.

There is also a legal perspective through Pavan Duggal, Advocate, Supreme Court of India, bringing questions around digital evidence, privacy, liability and accountability into the wider cybersecurity conversation.

Together, these perspectives demonstrate why modern cybersecurity requires more than one professional discipline.

A conference that has evolved with cybersecurity

The CIA Conference itself predates today's AI security conversation.

Its first edition was held in 2018 at Manav Rachna in Faridabad.

In 2020, the conference moved to a virtual format during the pandemic and brought international perspectives into its discussions, including speakers associated with PCI DSS and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

The industry has changed considerably since then.

Cloud has become fundamental to enterprise infrastructure. Connected devices have multiplied. Security operations have become increasingly automated. Generative AI has entered mainstream business.

The people involved in the cybersecurity conversation have changed as well.

The current conference brings together security practitioners, researchers, enterprise leaders, CXOs, architects, risk professionals, AI governance specialists and legal experts.

That evolution mirrors the broader development of cybersecurity itself.

What to expect at CIACON 2026

The upcoming CIA Conference 2026 will take place on 23–24 September 2026 at PHD House, New Delhi.

The programme brings together discussions around AI security, autonomous attacks, threat intelligence, enterprise security and emerging technology, alongside practical activities including the Hardware Hacking Village.

More importantly, the event brings together different parts of the cybersecurity community at a time when the boundaries between those disciplines are becoming less distinct.

For a security researcher, the important question may be how an emerging technology can be broken.

For a CISO, it may be how that vulnerability translates into organizational risk.

For an architect, it may be how the system should be designed differently.

For a governance professional, it may be who is accountable.

These are different questions, but they are increasingly part of the same cybersecurity conversation.

The battlefield is changing

The phrase “AI vs AI” captures one part of this transition.

The larger change is that organizations are beginning to operate in environments where humans and automated systems work together — while attackers may be doing the same.

That raises a difficult question for security teams: not simply how much technology to deploy, but where automation creates value, where it introduces new risk and where human judgement remains essential.

The changing cybersecurity conference landscape in Delhi-NCR reflects this broader transition.

The conversation increasingly involves the people who build systems, attack them, defend them, govern them and make business decisions around them.

From its beginning in 2018 to its virtual edition in 2020 and its current 2026 edition, the CIA Conference has evolved alongside that changing environment.

The next chapter takes place in New Delhi this September.

And perhaps the most interesting question is no longer whether AI will change cybersecurity.

It already has.

CIACON 2026 is scheduled for 24 September 2026 at PHD House, New Delhi.

For readers looking for the event information, the registration page is available here:

CIACON 2026 registration

In an unprecedented initiative bringing together top medical leadership to address the pre-symptomatic windows of chronic illness, ODDS Longevity today announced ‘The Silent Decade: Quantifying Health, Performance & Longevity.’ This closed-door, invite-only gathering will take place on Sunday, September 13, 2026, from 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM in New Delhi.

Long before a diagnosis arrives, the body is already telling a measurable story. The 30s and 40s often mark a critical decade when underlying shifts in metabolic and mechanical health begin to take shape, quietly, without visible symptoms. This is the ‘Silent Decade’, and it is here that early insight into your body's trajectory can make the difference between managing disease later and rewriting its course now.

That premise will anchor the afternoon: clinical science, data-driven insights and everyday lifestyle solutions brought into a single conversation about what actually builds a longer, healthier life. The symposium will feature leading cardiologists, endocrinologists and orthopaedists alongside specialists in nutrition, sports science, movement, Pilates, performance and emerging biohacking practices. A deliberately wide lens addressing the foundation of longevity. If you’re interested in longevity and preventive health, Inquire more at bit.ly/46bY7YJ

The afternoon is built around two key longevity discussions:

●      The first, ODDS MAQ™: The Mechanical Health Conversation, will be led by Padma Shri awardee Dr Ashok Rajgopal, Chairman of Orthopaedics at Medanta, alongside Clinical Exercise Physiologist and Sports Scientist Asad Hussain. The discussion will explore how mechanical ageing can be quantified and identify subtle losses in strength, movement and functional capacity long before they progress toward disability.

●      The second, ODDS AXION™: The Cardiometabolic Conversation will turn to the gap between being clinically ‘within range’ and being individually optimal. The panel will bring together Padma Shri Dr Praveen Chandra, Chairman of Cardiology at Medanta; Dr Dheeraj Kapoor, Director of Endocrinology at Artemis Hospitals; Dr Arjun Dang, CEO of Dr Dang's Lab; and Founder of Odds Longevity, Asad Hussain.

●      The third, Wellness Panel: Lifestyle Solutions and the evolving role of holistic wellbeing and longevity in enabling people to live better and healthier lives. The panel will bring together Biohacker Tanya Malik Chawla. Wellness Expert Mini Shastri and Founder of ODDS Longevity, Asad Hussain.

Where the first conversation asks how well the body still moves, the second asks how well it still runs. Together making the case that longevity isn't defined by any single metric, but by the interplay of medical health, nutrition, movement, recovery and daily lifestyle choices.

A central highlight of the symposium will be ‘From Data to Outcomes,’ a clinical case study showcasing how early physiological changes can be measured through ODDS’s proprietary QHP™ and translated into measurable, real-world outcomes.

Asad Hussain notes, “The foundation of modern longevity medicine rests on identifying physiological shifts long before they express as disease. ‘The Silent Decade’ represents that crucial timeframe where proactive measurement can fundamentally alter health trajectories.”

Through these conversations and clinical insights, the symposium aims to move the dialogue from reactive treatment toward a more precise, outcome-driven approach to longevity science. One where prevention is grounded in data rather than guesswork.

The symposium will conclude with high tea, networking and live longevity assessments, offering attendees an opportunity to engage with the ideas discussed and experience measurable approaches to longevity firsthand.

ABOUT ODDS

instagram.com/oddslongevity

ODDS is an AI-driven longevity and performance ecosystem that integrates movement, metabolism, recovery, and lifestyle into a unified system. Odds track 60+ biomarkers per to design personalised protocols as per individual’s health goals around their lifestyle. At the helm of Odds lies a team of medical-certified experts, doctors, pathologists, clinical exercise physiologists, sports scientists, recovery specialists, and human performance coaches led by founder, Asad Hussain a Clinical Exercise Physiologist and Sports Scientist from Manchester, a Lifestyle and Wellness Coach, and Harvard Medical School-certified professional, with two decades of experience working with high-performance individuals. By aligning behaviour with biology in the Indian context, Odds delivers personalised protocols focused on sustained health, performance, and longevity. It is now trusted by young founders, seasoned entrepreneurs, C-suite executives and even Padma Shri awardee doctors.

Over the last two decades, fertility care in Northeast India has changed in ways that are visible not only in laboratories and treatment options, but also in the people seeking help. At the Institute of Human Reproduction (IHR), Guwahati, Dr Deepak Goenka has watched that shift. Associated with IHR since 2000, he is Director and Head of the Department of Reproductive Medicine, with his practice spanning reproductive medicine and infertility, obstetrics and gynaecology.

Fertility Patients Are Getting Older

One of the clearest changes has been the age of women approaching fertility specialists. Around 20 years ago, the average female partner seeking fertility treatment at IHR was generally between 25 and 30 years old. Today, the institute increasingly sees women in the 35–40 age group.

IHR associates this shift with later marriages, delayed childbearing, career priorities, and changing social choices. Clinically, age matters because ovarian reserve and egg quality decline over time. Reproductive medicine now offers couples more options than it once did, but awareness of age-related fertility decline and timely family planning remains important.

Infertility Is Not Just a Women’s Health Issue

The infertility profile seen at IHR is also varied. The team reports male-factor infertility, polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), and diminished ovarian reserve among common patterns. Poor ovarian reserve and reduced egg quality are being observed particularly in women seeking pregnancy at a later age.

A persistent misconception is that infertility automatically indicates a problem with the woman. In practice, male-factor infertility is an important part of fertility evaluation.

Why Both Partners Need to Be Evaluated

Rather than beginning with assumptions about either partner, fertility assessment needs to consider both. IHR offers procedures including ICSI and TESA in relevant male-factor cases, alongside genetic and fertility-preservation services.

IVF itself is surrounded by misconceptions. It does not guarantee pregnancy or a live birth; it is not always the first treatment for infertility, and it is not intended only for older couples. Similarly, transferring more embryos does not necessarily produce a better outcome.

Treatment depends on the case, including age, ovarian reserve, sperm parameters, medical history, and previous treatment.

IVF Has Changed — and So Has the Way It Is Used

The technology available to fertility specialists has changed substantially during Dr Goenka’s career. Advances listed by IHR include ICSI, improved embryo culture and blastocyst development, vitrification and modern cryopreservation, preimplantation genetic testing, next-generation sequencing, non-invasive chromosomal screening, fertility preservation and more precise ovarian-stimulation and embryo-transfer strategies.

IHR states that it has offered PGT-A since 2009 and later introduced non-invasive chromosomal screening, or NICS, in Northeast India under the guidance of Dr Goenka and Chief Embryologist Rashmi Goenka. Dr Goenka has also written publicly about the potential role of NICS in embryo selection.

From Standard Protocols to Personalised Fertility Treatment

Modern IVF increasingly takes the individual patient’s reproductive and medical profile into account rather than applying the same protocol to every couple.

Age, ovarian reserve, sperm parameters, previous IVF outcomes, embryo development, genetic risk and medical history can all influence the treatment strategy. Depending on circumstances, IHR currently provides IVF, ICSI, genetic testing, fertility preservation, cryopreservation and donor programmes.

The Growing Role of Genetics and Fertility Preservation

Genetics and preservation have become important parts of modern reproductive medicine. In appropriate cases, genetic testing can help identify chromosomal abnormalities or specific inherited conditions.

Fertility preservation, meanwhile, can involve freezing eggs, sperm or embryos for possible future treatment. Cryopreservation therefore has a role beyond an individual IVF cycle, allowing reproductive material to be stored where clinically appropriate.

For couples considering treatment, these developments expand the available options, but they do not replace diagnosis. The choice of treatment still begins with understanding why conception has not occurred.

Northeast India Has Made Progress, but Access Gaps Remain

Access to specialised reproductive medicine in Northeast India has improved as ART facilities have developed within the region. IHR currently provides IVF, ICSI, IUI, genetic testing, fertility preservation, cryopreservation, laparoscopy and hysteroscopy in Guwahati.

Yet access to technology does not resolve every challenge. IHR identifies lack of awareness, delayed referral, and limited insurance coverage as important concerns in Assam and the Northeast. Some patients reach fertility specialists later, when age-related decline or underlying conditions can make treatment more challenging. The financial burden is another concern because fertility treatments are generally not adequately covered by health insurance.

IHR’s supplied information does not provide enough region-wide data to quantify gaps outside major urban centres. However, affordability, awareness, specialist availability and timely referral remain areas requiring attention.

Research Alongside Clinical Practice at IHR

Clinical practice at IHR is accompanied by academic activity. The institute runs a Fellowship in Reproductive Medicine and short-term infertility courses.

Dr Goenka has also been involved in published clinical work. A 2016 paper by Kanchan Murarka, Deepak Goenka and M. L. Goenka documented an unusual abdominal pregnancy after bilateral tubal block. Another publication from 2025 involving Dr Goenka examined hyperlipidemia as a rare complication following IVF. His academic contributions also include commentary on NICS and embryo selection.

What the Next Phase of Reproductive Medicine Could Look Like

The changes seen at IHR illustrate a broader movement in fertility medicine: more sophisticated laboratory tools, greater use of genetics and preservation, and treatment decisions increasingly shaped around individual patients.

But technology is only part of the picture. Timely evaluation remains important. A commonly used benchmark is evaluation after 12 months of regular unprotected intercourse without conception when the woman is under 35, with earlier evaluation generally recommended at 35 or above or when known fertility concerns exist.

For Northeast India, the next phase of reproductive medicine will therefore depend on more than new procedures. Better awareness, earlier assessment, realistic expectations and wider access will matter alongside scientific advances. After more than two decades at IHR, Dr Goenka’s experience reflects that changing balance: technology continues to expand what fertility specialists can do, while careful evaluation determines when and how those tools should be used.

More than four decades later, IHR continues to operate from Bharalumukh, but the institution itself has changed considerably. What began with a small team providing essential healthcare services has grown into a multidisciplinary centre covering reproductive medicine, fertility treatment, maternity care, gynaecology, neonatal and paediatric care, diagnostics and related surgical services.

A Journey That Began in 1980

IHR’s early years were built around a specific healthcare need. Infertility management and specialised maternal care were not as widely accessible in the region as they are today. The institution was created to address that gap, with reproductive health, infertility and mother-and-child care at the centre of its work.

Its development was gradual. As medical practice evolved, IHR added doctors, nurses, technicians, departments and specialised facilities. Rather than remaining solely a fertility clinic, it expanded its scope alongside the needs of the patients it served.

One of the most important moments in that journey came on 7 July 1995, when IHR pioneered the test-tube baby programme in Northeast India. The milestone marked a significant development for assisted reproductive medicine in the region and positioned Guwahati as a place where patients could access a form of fertility treatment that had previously been difficult to obtain locally.

Two years later, in 1997, IHR established what it identifies as the first semen bank in Northeast India. These developments formed part of the institution’s early work in assisted reproduction and were followed over time by the adoption of newer fertility procedures, laboratory practices and reproductive technologies.

From IVF to Continuity of Care

Today, the range of services at IHR extends well beyond IVF. Its reproductive medicine services include IUI, ICSI, fertility preservation, cryopreservation of eggs, sperm and embryos, and genetic testing procedures such as PGT, PGS and PGD. The institute also provides laparoscopy and hysteroscopy, along with other fertility-related procedures and surgeries.

The wider hospital setup includes obstetrics, high-risk pregnancy care, gynaecology, labour and delivery, paediatrics and neonatology, NICU and PICU facilities, pathology and diagnostic services, imaging, pharmacy and general and advanced laparoscopic surgery.

This breadth is particularly relevant in reproductive healthcare because treatment does not necessarily end when conception occurs. For patients who require it, the presence of fertility, maternity, high-risk pregnancy and newborn-care services within the same institution can provide continuity from fertility treatment through pregnancy and childbirth.

The physical and clinical infrastructure has developed alongside these services. IHR currently reports three major operation theatres, including a dedicated endoscopy theatre, as well as a minor operation theatre. Its fertility infrastructure includes a Class 10,000 IVF laboratory and facilities for IVF-ET and ICSI. The hospital also has an in-house pathology laboratory, NICU and PICU facilities, five ultrasound machines, digital X-ray and a 24-hour pharmacy.

More Than 30,000 IVF Journeys

The scale of IHR’s work is also reflected in the figures provided by the institution. IHR states that it has completed more than 30,000 IVF cycles and has been associated with more than 50,000 deliveries over the years.

It further explains that the “30,000+ IVF success stories” referenced by the institution represent more than 30,000 couples who completed their IVF journey and took their babies home following treatment at IHR.

Patients have not come only from Guwahati. According to IHR, people travel to the institute from across Assam and other Northeastern states, including Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura and Arunachal Pradesh. It has also treated patients from elsewhere in India and from countries including Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, the United States and Australia, as well as Dubai.

The institution does not currently provide a verified state-wise or country-wise breakdown of this patient population, so its geographic reach is better understood as an indication of where patients have travelled from rather than a quantified distribution.

Keeping Pace With Reproductive Medicine

Reproductive medicine has changed substantially since IHR opened its doors in 1980. The institution attributes its longevity partly to its continued adoption of newer treatment protocols, laboratory practices and technology, supported by clinical and embryology teams, infrastructure investment and professional training.

More recent developments include the introduction of stem cell-related services in 2023 and needle-free injection technology in 2026. IHR also states that it has followed an OHSS-free IVF approach since 2012.

Its academic role has developed as well. IHR holds Manyata Certification and is affiliated with FOGSI as an Endoscopy Centre and an Infertility Centre. It also conducts a Fellowship Programme in Reproductive Medicine, providing structured clinical training in fertility and reproductive healthcare.

A 46-Year Institution Still Evolving

The story of IHR is ultimately one of expansion around a consistent clinical focus. It began in 1980 with infertility and high-risk pregnancy care, entered a new phase with assisted reproductive medicine in the 1990s, and gradually built services around fertility, pregnancy, childbirth and newborn care.

That evolution matters in a region where access to specialised healthcare has historically required patients to travel outside the Northeast. IHR’s presence in Guwahati has meant that reproductive technologies and associated maternal and neonatal services have developed within the region itself.

Forty-six years after its establishment, the institution is no longer defined by a single treatment or milestone. Its history spans the early development of assisted reproduction in Northeast India, the expansion of IVF and embryology, and the creation of a broader system of reproductive and maternal care.

For IHR, the next chapter will be shaped by the same field that has transformed dramatically since 1980: reproductive medicine itself. What remains consistent is the founding idea of building specialised care around patients navigating infertility, pregnancy and the complex medical journey between the two.

Bengaluru Friday 11 September 2026 : The Honourable Minister for Sugar and Textile, Government of Karnataka, Sri. Rudrappa Manappa Lamani, today inaugurated “Threads of India,” a campaign initiative by LuLu Mall Rajajinagar, Bengaluru, dedicated to India’s handloom weaving heritage. The Minister was hosted by Mr. Noman Aziz Khan, Director, LuLu Group Karnataka, collaboration with Government Sri Krishnarajendra Silver Jubilee Technological Institute, Happy Hearts & Co., JD Institute of Fashion Technology, JD School of Design, and Avantra, each contributing curation, design, and craft expertise to the exhibition. This exhibition is happening at LuLu Mall Rajajinagar, Bengaluru, from 3rd to 13th September,

“It is heartening to see an event like this being hosted at LuLu Mall Rajajinagar, Bengaluru a space that brings everyone together, from families and young shoppers to our artisans and weavers, Initiatives like Threads of India give our weaving communities the visibility and recognition they deserve, right in the heart of the city.” said Mr. Rudrappa Lamani, Honourable Minister for Sugar and Textiles, Government of Karnataka.

For most shoppers and particularly for a generation that has grown up with fast fashion and ready made garments, the sheer labour behind a handwoven saree is invisible, the throw of the shuttle, the hours of warping and dressing the loom, the calculations behind a single motif repeated a thousand times across a six yard length. By giving working looms and artisans space at one of Bengaluru’s busiest retail destinations, LuLu Mall Rajajinagar has made that process visible to thousands of visitors who would otherwise never encounter it turning a walk through the mall into an unplanned lesson in craft history.

“Threads of India is LuLu Mall Rajajinagar’s own campaign initiative, and the idea was simple to give this traditional craft a stage it doesn’t normally get. A lot of young shoppers have never seen a handloom in motion. At its heart, this is about empowering culture, craft and community  giving our weavers a platform to be seen and heard, not just their products. Over the course of the exhibition, we’ve seen wonderful interaction and engagement between visitors and the weavers themselves, with people stopping to ask questions, watch the process, and understand the story behind every thread. That exchange is what has made this campaign truly successful, and it’s something we hope to keep building on.”.” Said Mr Noman Aziz Khan, Director of LuLu Group Karnataka

In a gesture that captured the spirit of the campaign, the weavers presented LuLu Mall Rajajinagar, with a token of love woven entirely by hand on the loom, with “Threads of India” and the exhibition dates inscribed into the silk itself. The piece was handwoven by the artisans in a single night, worked on the same traditional handlooms on display at the exhibition a small but telling reminder of the skill and dedication behind every handwoven textile on show.

The exhibition walks visitors through the full arc of the handloom story, pit looms, frame looms and charkhas set up exactly as they would be in a weaver’s home; skeins of dyed yarn and the tools used for warping, sizing and shuttle winding and a curated line up of finished pieces of sarees styled on mannequins alongside the machines that made them.

About Lulu Mall Bengaluru

Lulu Mall Bengaluru, a premier shopping destination with 5 floors housing over 150+ international and national brands. Spanning 7 lakh square feet, our mall offers an unparalleled retail experience, complemented by 11 screens consisting of 3 VIP dedicated Audis for your entertainment. Enjoy a diverse culinary journey at our 5+ restaurants, 1 pub and 30 food court outlets, all within a 1300+-seater food court. With parking space for 1700+ vehicles, Lulu Mall Bengaluru ensures a convenient and delightful visit for all.

For more enquiries:

Vishal S S

Head – Media, PR and Communications

Email – vishalss@luluinida.com

Contact – +91-9606451845, Bengaluru, Karnataka

Known for her strong presence in the entertainment fraternity and her close bond with several celebrities, Munisha celebrated the special occasion surrounded by her friends and industry colleagues. The celebration saw a warm mix of television actors, Bollywood personalities, producers and entertainers coming together to raise a toast to Munisha ahead of her birthday.

The star-studded guest list included Sudhanshu Pandey, Shiv Thakare, Daisy Shah, producer Rajan Shahi along with his daughter Ishika Shahi, producer Siddharth Kumar Tiwari, Donal Bisht, Shiny Doshi,Adrija Roy, Niharika Chouksey, Nikki Sharma, Angad Hasija, Krushal Ahuja, Dipshikkha Nagppal, Kashmera Shah, Gautam Rode, Pankuri Sharma,Parnitaa Pandit, Nisha Rawal, Juhi Parmar,Aishwarya Sharma,Khanzaadi,Urvashi Dholakia,Abhay Vakil, Chaitali Kohli, Delnaaz Irani,Sanjay Gangnani,Ritu Chaudhary,Manasi Verma, Bhakhtyar Irani, Tannaz Irani, Yamini Malhotra,Hunar Hali, Mouli Ganguly, Mazher Sayed,Narayani Shastri,Vishal Singh, Ashita Dhawan,Sailesh Gulabani  Jaswir Kaur, Rajiv Thakur, Avinash Wadhawan, Randeep Rai,Rati Pandey, Shraddha Arya,Ridhiema Tiwari, Jaskaran Singh Gandhi,Vabiz Dorabjee, Hrishikesh Pandey, Aditya Deshmukh,Mohamed Nagaman Lateef,Aditya Khurana,Shivangi Verma and Nivedita Basu, among several others.

The evening was filled with laughter, conversations, music and plenty of memorable moments as celebrities from different corners of the industry came together to celebrate Munisha.The glamorous guest list and the lively atmosphere made the celebration one of the most talked-about industry parties.

Munisha, who is known for her association with celebrities through her work as a tarot card reader, looked every bit the birthday girl as she hosted her friends for the special evening. From catching up with old friends to celebrating with her industry circle, the night was all about good vibes, friendship and creating memories.

With an enviable celebrity turnout and an atmosphere packed with fun and festivities, Munisha Khatwani’s pre-birthday celebration certainly lived up to its reputation as the party of the year.

National, India, September 10, 2026: Blue Machines AI, an advanced agentic CX operating system for enterprises, has partnered with Muthoot Finance, one of India’s leading financial services companies, to deploy enterprise Conversational AI for gold-loan lead engagement and qualification.

The platform has engaged 1.39 million gold-loan leads, achieved 63.1% customer connectivity and increased branch-visit conversion by 150%. The deployment has reduced the average journey completion time by more than 70% – from over seven minutes to approximately two minutes.

As digital campaigns generate a growing volume of gold-loan inquiries, lenders need the ability to consistently engage, qualify, and follow up with every prospective customer.

Blue Machines AI’s Conversational AI Agents engage Muthoot Finance’s digital leads and capture key information, including the customer’s loan requirement, the gold available as collateral for the loan, and their residential PIN code.

Based on these inputs, the platform identifies qualified prospects and guides them towards the nearest Muthoot Finance branch, helping customers progress from an initial digital inquiry to an offline lending interaction.

The partnership has expanded the program’s geographic coverage from approximately 5,000 PIN codes to more than 19,000 PIN codes across India, enabling Muthoot Finance to serve digital demand across a significantly wider portion of its branch network.

Based on current operating trends, branch visits generated through the initiative are on track to scale approximately 36x from earlier levels.

These integrations allow the AI agent to go beyond conducting a conversation. It can validate customer inputs, identify the relevant branch, assist customers with gold-value information and initiate the appropriate next step within the gold-loan journey.

The platform also includes journey-continuity capabilities that allow returning customers to resume an interaction from where an earlier conversation ended. This preserves context across follow-ups, reduces repetition and makes it easier for customers to complete interrupted journeys.

The solution progressed from proof of concept to production within three weeks, demonstrating how enterprise Conversational AI can be deployed rapidly while remaining closely integrated with business workflows.

The Blue Machines’ platform combines speech-to-text, text-to-speech and large language models to enable natural customer conversations at scale. Its orchestration layer connects these conversations with enterprise tools, operational systems and downstream teams, allowing each interaction to progress towards a defined business outcome.

Sarath Joseph, General Manager, Muthoot Finance, said:

“Our partnership with Blue Machines AI has helped us build an AI-powered engagement layer that interacts with customers through natural conversations, captures key information and identifies those most likely to progress towards a branch visit. The deployment has enabled us to improve operational efficiency while creating a more seamless experience for customers across geographies. By connecting digital inquiries more effectively with our branch network, we can help interested customers take the next step in their gold-loan journey more quickly.”

Nirmit Parikh, Founder and CEO, Blue Machines AI, said:

“Muthoot Finance has built one of India’s most extensive and trusted financial-services networks. Our partnership brings together the reach and trust of that physical network with the intelligence and scale of enterprise AI. Together, we are building a model where every expression of digital intent can be understood, qualified and seamlessly connected to the right branch. The 150% uplift in lead-to-branch conversion demonstrates the transformative potential of conversational AI when it is embedded into the heart of an enterprise’s customer journey. We believe this partnership can set a new benchmark for how AI connects digital discovery with financial access across India.”

Blue Machines AI and Muthoot Finance are exploring opportunities to expand the partnership to optimize additional business processes and accelerate AI transformation across new use cases. As the partnership evolves, the platform is expected to support a wider range of customer engagement, qualification and servicing workflows across the customer lifecycle.

About Blue Machines AI

Blue Machines AI, part of the Apna Group, is the agentic CX operating system for enterprises. It brings together customer intelligence, dynamic personas, simulation and autonomous agents to continuously decide and execute the next best customer action across voice, chat, WhatsApp, web and email. Unlike traditional engagement platforms that automate predefined journeys, Blue Machines AI can reason over customer context, simulate possible outcomes, adapt journeys in real time and learn from every interaction. Sovereign by design, it can run on managed cloud, within an enterprise VPC or on-premises, giving enterprises control over their data, models, workflows and guardrails. With production-ready infrastructure and Forward-Deployed Engineering, enterprises can deploy multilingual AI journeys in under a week.

About Muthoot Finance

Muthoot Finance Limited is India’s largest gold-loan NBFC and the flagship company of The Muthoot Group. With a legacy spanning more than 138 years, the company provides gold loans and a broad range of financial services to millions of customers through its extensive branch network and digital channels. Headquartered in Kochi, Muthoot Finance is committed to advancing financial inclusion by delivering accessible, trusted and customer-centric financial solutions across India.

India's T20 captain takes a strategic stake in the AI-native group that guides half a million students a year turn talent into opportunity across 150 countries.

SINGAPORE and MUMBAI, 10 September 2026: Manifest Global, a Singapore headquartered AI-native Talent Mobility  company, on Wednesday announced that India’s T20 captain Shreyas Iyer has made a strategic investment in the company. The investment by Shreyas Iyer represents a significant step forward for Manifest Global in its goal to provide innovative solutions to students in India.

Manifest Global is an AI-native group that helps close to half a million students a year discover, fund and reach education and career opportunities across more than 150 countries.

The partnership began with Mahesh Toshniwal, spiritual and life coach and founder of Just Imagine, who became the bridge between Rohan Pasari and Shreyas Iyer — bringing together two very different worlds, sport and entrepreneurship, united by a shared belief in human potential.

“India has the world’s largest youth population and no shortage of ambition and talent. What’s missing is the timely guidance, and the right direction at the right moment, in a world where opportunities don’t come easily and competition keeps rising,” Shreyas Iyer said, adding, “This is where I believe Manifest Global with its AI-native approach closes the gap and has the potential to positively impact the generation.”

“Every student carries ambition. Every country needs talent to grow. Manifest exists to connect the two,” said Rohan Pasari, Founder and CEO of Manifest Global. “Shreyas did not lend us his name. He took a position, and that is the only kind of endorsement that interested us.”

Iyer's own path runs through the gap Manifest is built to close. He was picked out as a schoolboy in Mumbai by a coach who saw something in him before he had achieved anything, and he is direct about what that meant.

“Someone believed I was worth backing before I had done anything at all,” he said. “Every child needs one person like that. Most of them never get one. That is the problem worth solving.”

India produces more ambition than almost any country on earth and offers less guidance per student than almost any. A school counsellor in India can be responsible for thousands of students at once. Most students never speak to one, and end up making the largest decisions of their lives on hearsay.

The demand on the other side of that gap is now structural. Developed economies face a projected shortfall of more than 85 million workers by 2030. Their working-age populations are shrinking at the same time as AI reorganises what those workers need to know. Attracting international talent has moved from a policy preference to an economic requirement, and universities remain the most reliable route through which it happens.

Manifest's response is deliberately structural too. International education is one of the most fragmented industries of its size: thousands of regional operators, each strong in one corridor, none able to fund a serious technology build. Manifest acquires the operators who own a route and runs a single AI layer underneath all of them.

The group now operates across the arc of the talent journey. Cialfo and BridgeU serve schools, counsellors and students navigating education and career pathways. Comet gives families a direct route to study-abroad products and services. Explore connects universities to the students they are looking for. Flow AI is the group's AI-native platform for education businesses, built to make their counsellors better advisers rather than faster processors. Kaaiser and EduGo place students into institutions in Australia and across 18 European countries.

“The next generation of talent infrastructure has to do more than connect people to jobs and institutions,” Pasari said. “It has to help a sixteen-year-old work out what she is capable of, understand what her options actually are, build the skills those options require, and then cross a border to take one. We are building every layer of that.”

Iyer will front Manifest's work with students and families across India, starting with a campaign launching later this year.

About Manifest Global

Manifest Global is a Singapore-headquartered, AI-native group building the infrastructure that moves global talent. It serves close to half a million students a year across more than 150 countries, works with over 1,750 school partners, and operates through Cialfo, BridgeU, Comet, Explore, Kaaiser, EduGo Abroad and Flow AI. The group is backed by Tiger Global, Square Peg, SIG, January Capital, SEEK, Analog Partners, Cercano and more.

Media contact

Rohith M, Manifest Global

rohith.m@manifest.inc

Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala : Genetidoc Genetic Clinic and DNA Testing Lab has announced a second expansion of its specialist panel, welcoming seven more qualified Clinical Geneticists across six states. This follows the platform's earlier announcement of ten specialist additions and reinforces its position as India's largest network of online genetics specialists.

The seven joining doctors bring expertise from Delhi, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Karnataka, Punjab, and Gujarat — and, in a first for the platform, from an active National Health Service genetics department in the United Kingdom.

The Seven Specialists Joining Genetidoc

Dr. Bhawana Aggarwal (DM Medical Genetics, AIIMS New Delhi · MD Pediatrics · MBBS Gold Medallist) consults at Yashoda Hospitals, Medicity and Kaushambi, Delhi. A former Assistant Professor in Medical Genetics at AIIMS, trained under Professor Madhulika Kabra, she has authored over 12 peer-reviewed publications including the first Indian case report of Penttinen syndrome, and has presented research internationally at Turin and Manila.

Dr. Kshitija Patil (DM Medical Genetics, AIIMS New Delhi · MD Pediatrics · MRCPCH · Harvard Cancer Genomics · Tata Memorial Molecular Genetics) independently consults at Apollo Hospitals, Navi Mumbai. With over 12 years of clinical experience, she was part of the team that managed India's first child to receive gene therapy for Spinal Muscular Atrophy, and is a frequent speaker for the Organisation for Rare Diseases India (ORDI).

Dr. Lekshmi S. Nair (DrNB Medical Genetics · DNB Pediatrics · ECMGG · MRCPCH) practises at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, Scotland, and independently consults at NIMS Medicity, Trivandrum. She is the first Genetidoc specialist with active clinical experience within a UK National Health Service genetics department, bringing NHS-standard protocols to patients across India via online consultation.

Dr. Priyanka Patra (DM Medical Genetics · MD Medical Biochemistry · Certificate in Clinical Genetics, Osmania University) is one of West Bengal's pioneering Clinical Geneticists, consulting across IPGMER and SSKM Hospital, the Institute of Fetal Medicine, and Apollo Clinic, Kolkata. Her foundational MD in Medical Biochemistry gives her a distinctive depth in the evaluation and management of metabolic disorders.

Dr. Varun Venkat Raghavan (DM Medical Genetics · MD Internal Medicine) is a Clinical Geneticist at JSS Hospital, Mysuru. One of the few genetics specialists in India trained in Internal Medicine rather than Paediatrics, he fills a critical gap for adult patients navigating late-onset neurological conditions, hereditary cancers, and disorders that India's largely paediatric-oriented genetics services do not adequately address.

Dr. Ravneet Kaur (DM Medical Genetics · MD Pediatrics) is a Clinical Geneticist at Fortis Hospital, Mohali — one of the few qualified genetics specialists serving the Tricity region — with a focused clinical practice in precision oncology and inborn errors of metabolism.

Dr. Tanuja Rajial (DM Medical Genetics, AIIMS Jodhpur · MD Pediatrics, UCMS Delhi · HMX Cancer Genetics, Harvard Medical School) is a Clinical Geneticist at Genexplore Diagnostics and Research Centre, Ahmedabad — Genetidoc's first Gujarat-based specialist, bringing expert genetics access to a state of over 60 million people.

A Platform Built for Every Part of India

Genetidoc now brings together a panel of qualified genetics specialists with combined clinical experience spanning over 1,00,000 families and 65,000 genetic tests — covering prenatal diagnosis, rare childhood syndromes, hereditary cancer, metabolic disorders, and adult neurogenetic conditions.

All consultations take place online — by video or WhatsApp — with DNA sample collection arranged from the patient's home or nearest clinic, anywhere in India. Samples are processed at NABL and CAP accredited partner laboratories, with clinical reporting by Genetidoc's own specialists. The panel collectively consults in English, Hindi, Malayalam, Tamil, Kannada, Telugu, Bengali, Marathi, Punjabi, and Rajasthani.

Founder's Statement

Dr. Roshan Daniel, Clinical Geneticist, Founder of Genetidoc, and Head of the Medical Genetics Department at KIMSHealth, Trivandrum, said:

"Each addition to this panel fills a real gap — a state without a genetics specialist, a patient group being underserved, a clinical area that needed more depth. That is how we are building this network — not by adding names, but by adding access."

About Genetidoc Genetic Clinic and DNA Testing Lab

Genetidoc is India's largest network of online genetics specialists, founded by Dr. Roshan Daniel. The platform offers online consultations, genetic counselling, and DNA testing across all areas of clinical genetics — with pan-India sample collection and reporting by qualified genetics specialists. Testing is processed through NABL and CAP accredited partner laboratories.

For consultations: WhatsApp or visit genetidoc.com

Stockify intends to invest the ₹50 crore in building an enlarged pool of excellent professionals, improving technology, acquiring customers, and developing new platforms. One of the crucial components of the expansion plan will be the opening of a new office in the GIFT City of Ahmedabad while ramping up the presence in Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru and Dubai. The new funds will help Stockify expand its team across important functions and invest in technology that can enhance customer acquisition. The development of new platforms and improving wealth-management services will be put into practice by the company while scaling its business at the same time. Due to this fundraising, Stockify will be able to build a solid physical base for further expansion while focusing its attention on profitability.

During his thoughts on the upcoming fundraising, Stockify’s founder and CEO, Piyush Jhunjhunwala, explained that at Stockify they have only followed the “earn and burn” approach, not “burn and earn.” According to Jhunjhunwala, "We have always been profitable since we started operations, and this will always remain the foundation of our philosophy. With the funds raised, we would be strengthening our manpower, putting in different systems, creating new platforms, and ensuring that we continue to remain profitable." With the new funds, Stockify wants to expand its operations and grow three times its profits, reaching about ₹30 crore ($3 million) in a couple of years. The company expects the expenses incurred on talent, technology, and acquisitions to help achieve the goal of increasing profits while keeping the profitable business model intact.

The firm's objective is to continue enhancing its wealth-management platform and developing its operational capabilities throughout growth. Overall, it is working to become a bigger and more sustainable wealth-tech firm while balancing growth plans across the various areas with being financially responsible and making sure the company stays profitable.

Mumbai, India : The All India Liquid Bulk Importers & Exporters Association (AILBIEA), the apex national body for India's liquid bulk trade, will host its Silver Jubilee Knowledge Conference on Friday, 11 September 2026, from 10:00 a.m. to 4:45 p.m., at The Regal Ballroom, Hotel Trident, Nariman Point, Mumbai – 21. Themed “India in Full Flow — The Decade of Demand”, the conference precedes the Silver Jubilee Evening, which commences at the muhurat of 6:21 p.m. in the same venue.

A working agenda, not a ceremonial one

The conference opens at 10:00 a.m. with the inauguration and the welcome address by Shri Jayyannt Lapsiaa, President, AILBIEA, followed by three masterclasses, each on a pressure point the trade is living with today:

●      Geopolitics, Maritime Risk & the Liquid Bulk Supply Chain — Capt. Pankaj Kapoor, Quadraant Legal, on chokepoints, war-risk and sanctions exposure, and what the shifting map means for Indian cargo owners chartering tonnage.

●      Dispute Preparedness in the GSTAT Era — Shri S. K. Rahman, IRS, Technical Member, GST Appellate Tribunal, on how importers and exporters should build and defend a matter in the new appellate architecture.

●      Free Trade Agreements in Services — Dr. Joshua Ebenezer, Principal Consultant, NuCov Facili-Trade, opening the services chapters of India's FTAs: logistics, storage, testing and certification, surveying and chartering.

EMI – AEO – The Way Forward

The centrepiece of the morning has no speaker list and no prepared presentations. From 12:15 p.m. the floor opens to importers, exporters, terminal operators, customs brokers and surveyors to state plainly what is working in the Authorised Economic Operator framework, what is not, and what must change. Interventions will be captured live and consolidated into a formal Outcome Document for submission to the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs, as India moves towards its AEO coverage targets for 2028. Themes include the trust-based framework, faceless examination, National E-Bond and Transfer of Ownership, Participating Government Agencies routing under SWIFT 2.0, and Customs Integrated Systems 2.0.

The afternoon: global suppliers, reform from the Department, and the flagship address

At 2:00 p.m., the Global Suppliers Panel, moderated by Shri Avinash Maheshwari of Geo-Chem Laboratories (Cotecna Group), brings the world's suppliers into candid conversation with India's buyers. It features Mr. Reece H. Cannady of the U.S. Grains & BioProducts Council, U.S.A.; Shri Vikash Sharma, Director, Godrej International Trading & Investment, Singapore; Mr. Indrajit Vishwanath of Abacus Chemie, U.A.E.; and Shri Ajay Aloni of Cellmark Asia. Across edible oils, grains, petrochemicals and solvents, they will address where demand is heading and how India is judged as a counterparty.

At 2:50 p.m., Shri Anupam Prakash, IRS, Joint Secretary (Customs), CBIC, will address Path Breaking Customs Reforms — the Department's own account of what has been delivered, what is under implementation, and the direction of travel for trade.

The conference culminates at 3:15 p.m. with the flagship address, “Leadership at 26,000 Feet”, by Capt. Raghu Raman, Founding Chief Executive Officer of NATGRID — on decision-making under pressure and leading when the margin for error is gone. The vote of thanks follows at 4:30 p.m.

Partners

Event Partners for the Silver Jubilee celebrations are Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority (JNPA), Mumbai Port Authority, Deendayal Port Authority (Kandla) and Adani Ports & SEZ. The celebrations are supported by Godrej Industries Group, Aegis Vopak, Supreme Petrochem Ltd., VVF Limited, AWL Agri Business and Hindustan Unilever Limited. AGS 360, from Atlantic Global Shipping (AGS), is the Digital Partner for the Silver Jubilee celebrations, which will also mark its India launch — an integrated digital maritime information and intelligence application bringing port information, vessel tracking and port call estimates onto a single platform. Media Partners are Daily Shipping Times, EXIM and friends from the Logistics Media Ecosystem.

Shri Jayyannt Lapsiaa, President, AILBIEA, said: “We did not want a Silver Jubilee conference of speeches. We wanted a room where the trade says plainly what it needs, the Government hears it directly, and something leaves the room in writing. Twenty-five years have taught us that when industry and Government speak with trust, trade moves faster and the nation gains.”

The Silver Jubilee Evening follows, commencing at the muhurat of 6:21 p.m., with a special tribute to Mr. Nadir B. Godrej, Chairman Emeritus, Godrej Industries Ltd., and Mr. M. P. Taparia, Managing Director, Supreme Petrochem Ltd., and the presentation of the Silver Jubilee Commemorative Citations. The evening is strictly by invitation.

Register for the Knowledge Conference: https://forms.gle/u6vB6JTbCVE5VcJc9

Registration & Enquiries on WhatsApp: +91 98190 30311

RSVP & Media Contact — AILBIEA Secretariat  |  ailbiea@gmail.com  |  +91 22-6155 9910 / 6155 9999  |  www.ailbiea.com

One Industry. One Voice. Twenty-Five Years of Excellence.

BENGALURU, INDIA (10^th September 2026): SharkNinja APAC today announced the India launch of the Ninja CRISPi™ Portable Glass Cooking System, bringing one of Ninja’s most talked-about global innovation sensations to Indian homes & kitchens.

CRISPi has built a cult following in international markets by rethinking the familiar air fryer format, clocking thousands of 5-star reviews across countries. Instead of an opaque drawer, the PowerPod sits directly on a non-toxic glass cooking container, allowing users to watch food crisp and brown as it cooks, while also making it super-easy to serve and store in the same container. The India campaign captures that proposition simply: Looks Good. Cooks Better.

Built for India’s evolving kitchen routines, CRISPi is designed for consumers who want the speed and convenience of air frying without losing sight of what is cooking. From everyday snacks to family portions, its glass cooking system brings visibility, versatility and confidence to the countertop.

The launch follows an encouraging pre-order response in India, where the first limited batch sold out within days.

CRISPi is designed for more evenly distributed cooking, with 360-degree air circulation that helps food brown and crisp consistently. The transparent, non-toxic and shock-resistant CleanCrisp™ glass keeps moisture and flavour locked in while keeping the cooking process in view, so users can watch food transform without repeatedly opening the container.

CRISPi comes with two borosilicate glass containers, 1.4L and 3.8L, giving users flexibility across different portions and occasions – whether it is a personal meal for one, or a full family meal. Of its multiple functions, in particular, ReCrisp is designed to bring texture back to food that has already been cooked, making it useful for everything from samosas and pakoras to pizza and leftovers.

Both CleanCrisp™ glass containers are PFAS-free and can be used to cook, serve and store food in the same dish.

“CRISPi is a great example of the kind of innovation Ninja stands for. It takes a familiar category and rethinks it in a way that is genuinely useful, from how it cooks to how consumers can see and interact with their food. We are very excited to bring a product that has already created so much buzz globally now to India, and we believe consumers here will quickly see what makes CRISPi so special” said Mrunmay Mehta, MD & Country Head - India, SharkNinja APAC.

“At Vijay Sales, we always aim to bring innovative technology to Indian homes, and the Ninja CRISPi is a great fit for modern kitchens. we look forward to working together to serve our customers" said Nilesh Gupta, Director-Vijay Sales

About SharkNinja APAC:

SharkNinja APAC refers to the licensed APAC operations for the Shark and Ninja brands. Focused on bringing globally recognised, problem-solving products to local consumers, SharkNinja APAC supports the growth of these brands across the region and is committed to delivering innovation that positively impacts everyday life.

Shark and Ninja products are available across leading online and offline retailers in India.

A recent edition of SIDBI MSME Samvaad explored both opportunities, highlighting what MSMEs need before taking the next step; From stronger processes and compliance to financial discipline and reliable execution.

Going Global: Building Export Readiness

Exporting is about more than finding an overseas buyer. Quality, consistency, documentation, compliance, and timely delivery are critical to building trust in international markets.

With export processes becoming increasingly digital, registrations such as IEC and GST, along with platforms such as ICEGATE and DGFT systems, play an important role in enabling smoother trade. Free Trade Agreements can also provide access to select markets at reduced or zero customs duties, subject to applicable rules.

The journey of Faridabad-based Alpine Group, which grew from domestic manufacturing into international markets in leather accessories, offered a practical perspective. Its experience underlined a key lesson: a competitive product may open the door, but dependable systems and consistent execution help keep it open.

GeM: An Opportunity Beyond the Private Market

For MSMEs, another significant avenue lies closer to home. GeM provides access to government procurement and institutional demand through a digital marketplace.

More than 12 lakh micro and small enterprises were highlighted as registered on GeM, with public procurement exceeding ₹5 lakh crore in FY 2025-26. Micro and small enterprises accounted for 68% of orders, while around 45% of procurement value went to MSMEs.

But registration is only the starting point. Success on GeM requires businesses to identify the right categories, understand buyer requirements, maintain necessary documentation, and assess their eligibility before bidding.

Compete Smart, Not Just on Price

One of the important takeaways from the discussion was the need for financial discipline. While bidding on GeM, MSMEs must account for production, overhead, logistics and delivery costs before deciding their lowest sustainable price.

Competing purely on price can come at the cost of profitability. Sustainable growth comes from knowing your numbers, and knowing the value you bring.

The Bigger Opportunity

Whether it is global demand through exports or institutional demand through GeM, the growth opportunity for MSMEs is expanding. But tapping into it requires more than a good product.

Strong systems, compliance, technology, financial planning, and reliable execution can help turn opportunities into sustainable growth.

Watch the full conversations on SIDBI MSME Samvaad to explore these opportunities in greater detail.

Watch Episode 11 here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DyQYGXU6zko&list=PLUiMfS6qzIMw-FgBzeVXjTpPMarJlTc7W&index=2

Watch Episode 12 here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TzotbUD49tE&list=PLUiMfS6qzIMw-FgBzeVXjTpPMarJlTc7W&index=2

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India] : Celebrity Tarot Reader & Crystals expert Lisa Simmi is receiving attention for a tarot prediction she made ahead of the finale of The Traitors Season 2, in which she identified Krystle D’Souza as one of the potential winners of the reality show.

Before the winner was revealed, Lisa Simmi conducted a tarot reading asking the cards: “Who Will Win The Traitors 2?” Her prediction featured several prominent contestants, including Krystle D’Souza, Rida Tharana, Mallika Sherawat, Shalini Passi, Dalip Tahil and Sahil Salathia. Among the names highlighted in her reading was Krystle D’Souza.

The prediction has now attracted renewed attention following the Season 2 finale, where Krystle D’Souza and Rida Tharana emerged as the joint winners of The Traitors Season 2, sharing the ₹66 lakh prize.

For Lisa Simmi, the outcome has made her pre-finale reading an intriguing moment for fans of tarot and reality television. Her prediction was made before the result was known, and Krystle’s eventual victory has led viewers to revisit the original reading and its interpretation of the contestants’ energies and game trajectories.

As a Celebrity Tarot Reader & Crystals expert, Lisa Simmi has built a following around tarot readings, spiritual guidance and crystal practices. Her readings are based on the interpretation of tarot cards and are intended as spiritual and entertainment guidance rather than guaranteed predictions of future events.

The unexpected alignment between Lisa Simmi’s reading and the eventual result has added an interesting twist to the Traitors Season 2 winner story — proving once again why tarot predictions surrounding popular reality shows generate so much curiosity among viewers.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/reel/Dcu2UTUh-vU/

Disclaimer: Tarot readings are based on personal interpretation and spiritual beliefs and are intended for entertainment and guidance purposes only. They do not guarantee or predict future outcomes with certainty.

In India, silver holds a special place in cultural and religious traditions. It is traditionally regarded as an auspicious metal and is widely used for jewellery, religious ornaments and idols, utensils, coins, puja articles and festive decor. During Ganesh Chaturthi, silver articles and ornaments are often used to adorn Lord Ganesha, adding an element of elegance and grandeur to the festive celebrations.

At Chandukaka Saraf Jewels, the focus extends beyond aesthetics to quality, purity and customer well-being. The brand offers a curated range of silver products for festive worship, gifting and everyday use, with an emphasis on purity and responsible craftsmanship.

USP's of Silver

1) Silver Rate Based on Purity

2) 97% Pure Silver Utensils

3) Hallmark Certified – Silver Articles and Utensils

4) Special Karatmeter for Testing the Purity of Silver

As part of its commitment to customer well-being, Chandukaka Saraf Jewels  states that it does not use cadmium in any quantity in its silver utensils products, particularly in utensils intended for food use, such as dinner plates, bowls, glasses, cups, spoons and other serving articles. The brand also offers its silver products after the hallmarking process.

Silver Articles for Ganesh Chaturthi

The festive season brings with it a beautiful opportunity to combine devotion, craftsmanship and tradition. Silver Ganpati articles can be used to decorate the idol, enhance the puja setup, or be presented as meaningful festive gifts.

Significance of Silver Ganpati Articles

Silver Durva: Durva is among the most important offerings made to Lord Ganesha. Traditionally offered in bundles of eleven or twenty-one blades, it is associated with devotion, auspiciousness and the worship of Ganesha.

Jawand and Kamal Haar:  These decorative garlands feature motifs inspired by hibiscus (Jaswand) and lotus (Kamal). Available in finishes such as silver polish, gold polish and stone embellishments, they add a regal touch to the idol.

Silver Modak Set:  Modaks are traditionally associated with Lord Ganesha and are among the most popular offerings during Ganesh Chaturthi. A set of five, seven, or twenty-one silver modaks represents devotion, sweetness and celebration.

Jaswand Phool: The red hibiscus is traditionally associated with Ganesha worship. Silver floral replicas offer a lasting decorative alternative while retaining the visual symbolism of the flower.

Kevda Paan: A silver representation of the fragrant Kevda leaf, traditionally included among the leaves offered during Patra Puja.

Paan Supari: Traditionally used for auspicious rituals, silver Paan and Supari articles can be part of the ceremonial puja arrangement.

Silver Fruits: Replicas of auspicious fruits such as kaju, badam, pista, coconuts, bananas and other traditional offerings symbolise abundance, gratitude and prosperity.

Kamal Phool: The lotus is widely associated with purity, spiritual awakening and auspiciousness. A silver lotus can be used as an offering or decorative element in the puja arrangement.

Silver Ladu: Symbolising sweetness and celebration, silver laddus are decorative representations of one of the traditional sweets associated with Ganesha.

Parijatak Phool: Inspired by the delicate Parijatak or Night-flowering Jasmine, these silver flowers bring an elegant floral element to the festive décor.

Shami Paan Tas: Shami leaves have an important place in Hindu traditions and are associated with auspiciousness and the removal of obstacles. Silver Shami leaf accessories can be incorporated into the festive puja décor.

Gulab Phool: A silver rose represents beauty, devotion and affection, making it an elegant addition to the decoration of the Ganpati idol.

Niranjan: A traditional oil lamp used during puja and aarti, symbolising the presence of divine light.

Udbatti Ghar: A decorative incense-stick holder designed to complement the puja setup while safely collecting incense ash.

Puja Kalash: The Kalash is an important ritual vessel in Hindu worship and is traditionally associated with auspiciousness, abundance and the presence of divine energy.

Karanda: A small decorative container traditionally used to keep items such as kumkum or haldi during religious ceremonies.

Kapoor Aarti: A specialised holder used for performing camphor aarti as part of the worship ritual.

Panchaarati: A five-wick lamp used during aarti, traditionally representing the five elements and adding a sacred glow to the worship ceremony.

Silver Janve: A representation of the sacred thread, or Yajnopavita, used as a ceremonial accessory for the deity.

Ghanti: A ritual bell traditionally rung during puja and aarti, marking the beginning of worship and creating an auspicious atmosphere.

Ganpati Mukut: A silver crown placed on the head of Lord Ganesha, symbolising grandeur, dignity and divine royalty.

Ganpati Bajuband: Traditional arm ornaments that enhance the royal appearance of the Ganpati idol.

Ganpati Kaan: Decorative silver ear ornaments designed to complement Lord Ganesha's distinctive ears and enhance the overall ornamentation of the idol.

Parashu and Trishul: Traditional symbolic weapons associated with divine power. The Parashu (axe) and Trishul (trident) represent strength and the power to overcome obstacles and negative forces.

Sond Bhushan: An intricately crafted ornament designed to adorn Lord Ganesha's trunk and enhance the detailing of the idol.

Silver Undir: The mouse, or Mushak, is traditionally regarded as Lord Ganesha's vehicle (Vahana). A silver representation of the Mushak completes the traditional Ganpati ensemble.

Silver Paat / Chaurang: A raised platform used to place and display the Ganpati idol during worship. A silver-clad Paat or Chaurang adds grandeur to the festive altar while creating a traditional setting for the idol.

Silver Tamhan / Tabak: Tamhan/Tabak is a broad, shallow, circular metal plate traditionally used for pooja and ceremonial use.

Silver Kelipan: Kelipan is the silver article shaped like a banana leaf (केळीचे पान), it is essentially a decorative/ceremonial silver representation of the traditional banana leaf used in Indian cultural practices to offer prasad to Lord Ganesh.

Silver Dul/Bhikbali: Silver Dul of Lord Ganesha is a beautifully crafted devotional article that brings together the timeless appeal of silver craftsmanship and the spiritual significance of Shri Ganesha. Revered as the remover of obstacles and the symbol of auspicious beginnings, Lord Ganesha holds a special place in Indian homes and religious traditions.

Silver Ganpati Tode: Silver Ganpati Tode refers to a traditional silver ornament or decorative piece featuring Lord Ganesha. Traditional Tode are described as thick, finely crafted bangles, making the name strongly associated with substantial traditional ornamentation in Maharashtra.

Bringing Tradition Home with Silver from delicate floral motifs and traditional offerings to elaborate crowns and ceremonial accessories, silver Ganpati ornaments bring together India's rich artistic heritage and festive traditions. Their enduring shine, intricate craftsmanship and auspicious associations make them meaningful additions to the Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations. Whether chosen to adorn the family Ganpati, enhance the puja space, or presented as a festive gift, silver articles can become treasured pieces that are cherished and passed down through generations.

At CS Jewels, the collection reflects this blend of tradition, craftsmanship, purity and contemporary elegance, offering devotees and families an opportunity to celebrate Ganesh Chaturthi with silver creations designed to complement one of India's most beloved festivals since 1827.

Pune, Maharashtra | September 09^th, 2026: Jhamtani, one of Pune's most trusted real estate brands, has built its legacy on a simple belief: a promise means little unless it is delivered. With a reputation built on timely delivery, quality, reliability and consumer commitment, the brand is marking a significant milestone in the company’s journey as it enters its next phase of growth with Ranveer Singh, the ultimate Indian showman, as its brand ambassador. Jhamtani has spent over 16 years creating thoughtfully designed residential and commercial developments while earning the trust of thousands of homeowners through a steadfast commitment to quality, transparency and timely delivery.

The association is rooted in a shared belief in ambition, continuous evolution and challenging convention. Known as a generational performer, Ranveer Singh's achievements, self-made journey and aspirational appeal complement Jhamtani's vision, making him the ideal face for the brand's next chapter.

The announcement was made at a grand press event in Pune, where the company celebrated its journey and philosophy of ‘The Name is a Promise’, culminating in the reveal of Ranveer Singh as the face of Jhamtani.

Commenting on the association, Ranveer Singh said, “I've always believed that the strongest associations are built on shared values and a common vision for the future. That's what makes this association with Jhamtani so meaningful. The brand has built a remarkable legacy through quality and trust, and I'm proud to be part of its next chapter.”

Anup Jhamtani, Managing Director, Jhamtani, said, “The decision to bring Ranveer Singh on board comes from a strong belief in what this association represents for Jhamtani. Ranveer’s energy, ambition, individuality and pursuit of growth resonate strongly with the spirit we want to bring into our next phase. This is a proud moment for the entire Jhamtani family, and we are excited about the possibilities that lie ahead.”

Meenakshi Jhamtani, Executive Director, Jhamtani, said, “For us, ‘The Name is a Promise’ is a philosophy that has to be lived, not just communicated. Over the years, we have worked to build stronger systems, deeper customer relationships and a culture that puts people and their experience at the centre. Ranveer brings an energy and personality that complements this evolution beautifully, allowing us to take our promise to a wider audience while staying true to who we are.”

Building Beyond Real Estate

Jhamtani’s commitment extends beyond delivering homes through initiatives such as Hamesha Aapke Saath, which strengthens customer relationships beyond possession, and J-Tribe, which fosters community living through celebrations, sporting events and social gatherings.

Initiatives including Rising Stars, Shakti Edge, CSR and sustainability programmes further reflect the brand’s commitment to nurturing talent and creating meaningful impact.
 

Jhamtani’s portfolio spans mid-premium, premium and ultra-luxury residential communities, along with commercial developments. Its XO Signature Series represents its ultra-luxury, design-led offering.

Current developments span across key growth corridors of Pune, including Baner, Balewadi, Wakad, Ravet,Tathawade, Mundhwa, Koregaon Park NX, Kharadi and Charholi, with projects including Ace Abundance, Ace Ayodhya, Ace Villas and SpaceBiz.

Beyond real estate, the group operates through Jhamtani Cera-Kraft, Jhamtani Agencies and Jhamtani Prosumers Solar Pvt. Ltd., strengthening its presence across the built environment and renewable energy.

About Jhamtani

Jhamtani brings a business legacy of more than 4 decades and over 16 years of real estate experience. The company has delivered over 3 million sq. ft. and is currently developing 4 million sq. ft. across 32+ residential, commercial, and mixed-use developments, with another 4 million sq. ft. in the immediate pipeline for launch this financial year. With over 13,000 happy faces across Pune, Jhamtani continues to expand across key growth corridors in East and West Pune.

With Ranveer Singh as its brand ambassador, Jhamtani moves into its next phase with renewed energy while remaining rooted in its core philosophy.

The legacy remains strong. The promise remains unchanged. The journey moves forward.

 Company targets ₹550 crore AUM this fiscal year, backed by a ₹300 crore debt fundraising plan and transition to secured retail finance

Chennai, India (9^th September): Orange Retail Finance India Private Limited (“Orange” or “the Company”), an RBI-registered Non-Banking Financial Company (NBFC) rated ICRA BBB− (Stable), has successfully completed its first listed Non-Convertible Debenture (NCD) issuance of ₹50 crore, marking its entry into the listed debt market. The issuance represents the first tranche under the Company’s ₹200 crore listed NCD programme for FY27, supported by UMI Capital, and forms part of Orange’s broader ₹300 crore debt fundraising plan for the financial year.

The fundraise marks an important step in Orange’s strategy to diversify its funding base and build a more scalable, institutional capital-raising platform as it targets ₹550 crore in AUM during FY27. The capital-raising programme comes alongside the Company’s strategic transition from its legacy Two-Wheeler lending portfolio towards a predominantly secured retail finance model led by Gold Loans and MSME Loan Against Property (LAP), with a focus on expanding its presence across semi-urban and rural South India.

Saravanan Kandan, Chief Financial Officer, Orange Retail Finance India Private Limited, said: “This is the first of several steps to widen our funding base and lower our long-term cost of capital. The ₹200 crore funding programme, provides us with a structured pathway to access institutional debt capital as we scale, while keeping us disciplined on asset-liability management as we work towards our ₹550 crore AUM target.”

The strategic transition has been accompanied by a sustained improvement in portfolio quality, with the Company’s gross NPA declining from 9.3% as of March 2024 to approximately 2.1–2.8% currently, while its capital adequacy ratio (CRAR) stands at 34%. Orange’s disbursements are concentrated in rural and Tier-2 markets across Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Telangana, where a significant proportion of its customers are first-time users of formal credit.

Gold Loans are expected to account for a substantial share of incremental AUM, alongside MSME LAP. The Company’s focus on underserved markets also has a strong financial inclusion dimension, with women currently accounting for 35% of its borrower base. Orange intends to double its women borrower base as it scales.

The Company has strengthened its senior management team with the appointment of a Chief Financial Officer, Chief Business & Operations Officer and Chief Risk Officer, bringing over 75 years of combined experience across banking, NBFCs and development finance institutions. The leadership team will support the Company’s transition towards a diversified, secured retail finance model, while strengthening risk, financial and operational capabilities. 

As part of its five-year roadmap, Orange aims to scale AUM from ₹410 crore to ₹3,000 crore by FY2031, supported by secured lending, technology and stronger financial controls.

Ebenezer Daniel G, Founder, Managing Director & CEO, Orange Retail Finance India Private Limited, said: “Completing our first listed NCD is an important milestone in Orange’s transition to a more diversified, capital markets-linked funding base. The transaction reflects the confidence debt investors place in the leadership team we have built for scale and in a growth plan anchored in secured, financially inclusive lending.”

The successful completion of the first listed NCD issuance represents an early milestone in Orange’s broader transformation from a legacy Two-Wheeler lender towards a secured, financially inclusive retail finance franchise, while building the diversified funding architecture required to support its long-term growth. 

About Orange Retail Finance India Private Limited

Orange Retail Finance India Private Limited (ORFIL) is an RBI-registered Non-Banking Financial Company (Middle Layer) headquartered in Chennai, serving semi-urban and rural customers across Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Telangana and Kerala through 58 branches. ORFIL's core products are MSME Loan Against Property, Gold Loans and Affordable Housing Loans, supported by its proprietary technology platforms, ORFLend (loan origination and servicing) and FinMobi (customer application). The Company is rated ICRA BBB− (Stable) and reported a capital adequacy ratio of 41% as of its latest rating review.

Media Contact

Saravanan K | Chief Financial Officer 

Orange Retail Finance India Private Limited

saravanan.k@orangeretailfinance.com

Pramod Kamble | Assistant Account Manager

Adfactors PR

pramod.kamble@adfactorspr.com | 8888360559 

Anushka Mehta | Senior Account Executive

Adfactors PR 

anushka.mehta@adfactorspr.com | 9167944956

Greater Noida, September 9th, 2026: Birla Institute of Management Technology (BIMTECH), a leading AACSB-accredited business school in India, has proudly signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Institute of Actuaries of India (IAI) to strengthen professional learning and build capabilities in emerging and relevant areas of professional development.

The MoU was signed by Dr. Pankaj Priya, Dean & Deputy Director, BIMTECH, and Dr. Ruchita Verma, Executive Director, IAI.

Under the collaboration, BIMTECH and IAI will jointly develop and deliver 2–3 certification programmes over the next year, leveraging their complementary expertise in management education and actuarial science. The first initiative under the partnership, the Certification Training Programme on Carbon Credits & Carbon Markets, is designed to equip working professionals, corporate executives and sustainability practitioners with practical knowledge of the evolving carbon economy.

The programme has been conceptualised and designed under the leadership of Dr. Prabina Rajib, Director, BIMTECH, who is also leading key sessions on global carbon markets, including the EU Emissions Trading System (EU-ETS), carbon market mechanisms such as Perform, Achieve & Trade (PAT), Energy Saving Certificates (ESCerts), CORSIA and Carbon Futures.

Underscoring the significance of the initiative, Dr. Prabina Rajib, Director, BIMTECH said, “The transition towards a low-carbon economy is not only an environmental imperative but is increasingly shaping business, finance and risk decisions. As carbon markets evolve, there is a growing need for professionals who understand how these markets function and the opportunities and risks they create. Our Certification Programme on Carbon Credits & Carbon Markets, developed as the first initiative under our partnership with the Institute of Actuaries of India, seeks to address this need by bringing together perspectives on carbon markets, finance, regulation and risk. Through this collaboration, we aim to build relevant, future-ready capabilities in areas that will increasingly influence businesses and professionals.”

Additionally, Dr. Ruchita Verma, Executive Director, IAI, said, “The evolving climate and sustainability landscape presents new opportunities for professionals with strong analytical and risk-management capabilities. Our collaboration with BIMTECH will enable us to jointly create learning programmes that respond to these emerging professional requirements and build awareness in areas of growing relevance.”

The Online Certification Programme on Carbon Credits & Carbon Markets is scheduled from September 19 to October 10, 2026. The programme is designed for a diverse professional audience, including actuaries and actuarial students, finance and investment professionals, risk managers, ESG and sustainability professionals, policy specialists, consultants, corporate professionals and students interested in climate finance and sustainability.

Furthermore, this collaboration brings together key concepts across global climate frameworks, carbon market mechanisms, net-zero calculations, climate and sustainability risks, voluntary carbon markets and compliance frameworks. Delivered through an interactive online format, the programme is designed to bridge conceptual knowledge with practical applications and help professionals understand the growing relevance of carbon markets to business and financial decision-making.

Through this collaboration, BIMTECH and IAI seek to contribute to the development of a future-ready professional ecosystem equipped to understand the opportunities and challenges presented by the global transition towards a low-carbon economy.

The seller base is expanding fast

• Meesho’s transacting seller base stood at 1.04 million, up 81% year-on-year, with Tier 2-and-smaller towns making up 45% of it

• Flipkart says AI tools integration helped drive 80-85% growth in new seller onboarding from Tier 3, 4 towns this year compared to last

• Meesho’s content-commerce push saw a three-fold increase in order volumes during 2024 testing and reached 14.5 million users in a year — enough traction for the company to launch Creator Club this week, a dedicated platform pairing creators directly with sellers

StudioBackdrops has done this before

The company’s own sales mix has swung with the broader D2C wave, by its founder’s account:

• Pandemic era: the business was 90% online, 10% offline, and saw 600-800% revenue growth as creators built home studios

• Post-2023: as revenge-buying faded and e-commerce traction slowed, the company shifted to a B2B model

• Today: 70% B2B and 30% online, running through more than 200 dealers across Tier I, II and III cities, including remote cities.

Founded with a bootstrapped ₹1.5 crore by Archisman Misra, StudioBackdrops now stocks over 6,500 SKUs, including its in-house brands Indus — which has captured 70-75% of the Indian seamless backdrop market — and AriesX, its lighting and studio solutions line that is competing with international giants. The company has reported 40% year-on-year growth.

On why the company is now investing in mentorship rather than just equipment, Archisman Misra said, “India’s creator economy is moving beyond the pursuit of better gear. The real gap today is know-how, understanding the right setups, making smarter equipment investments, avoiding common mistakes and learning the workflows that often take years to develop. That thinking is behind SBD Creators, the company’s new nationwide mentorship program, which aims to onboard at least 100 creators by the end of 2026 across all 28 states, with content in regional languages including Assamese, Bengali, Marathi, Gujarati and more.

The company says it can already reach 20,000+ PIN codes nationwide, including a custom shipping route it built to get equipment to a photographer in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, logistics that lines up with where Meesho and Flipkart say their own new sellers are increasingly coming from. 

For more information, please visit: https://studiobackdrops.com/

Mumbai : For investors, the real test of any equity fund isn't its strategy on paper — it's what it has actually done for their money over time. On that measure, the Tata AIA Top 200 Fund has a track record worth noting: as of 31 July 2026, it has consistently outperformed its benchmark, not in a single good year, but across every major time horizon  three years, five years, seven years, and since its inception in January 2009.

These numbers reflect a broader story: the Tata AIA Top 200 Fund, an actively managed equity fund available under Tata AIA Life Insurance's Unit Linked Insurance Plans (ULIPs), has outperformed its benchmark, the S&P BSE 200, consistently not just in one good year, but across multiple time horizons. Recognising this consistent performance, global rating agency Morningstar has awarded the fund a 5-star rating.

This is not an isolated result — it reflects Tata AIA's consistent outperformance across its broader portfolio. As of June 2026, Top Funds of Tata AIA's rated assets under management hold a 4- or 5-star Morningstar rating, placing the overwhelming majority of its funds among the highest-rated in their category.

Performance Highlights (as of 31 July 2026)

• 5-Year CAGR: 16.47%, compared to the benchmark's 10.67%

• Since Inception (12 January 2009) CAGR: 18.27%, compared to the benchmark's 14.31%

• Morningstar Rating: 5-Star, - as of July 2026, Category- Equity

• Consistency, not a One-Off: Rolling Returns

A single good year can happen by chance. Consistency across market cycles is harder to achieve — and it's where the fund's rolling returns make the stronger case:

Tata AIA Top 200 Fund delivered stronger performance than the S&P BSE 200 benchmark across all rolling periods, with returns of 23.8% vs 15.2% over 3 and 5 years, and 21.8% vs 13.2% over 7 years, demonstrating consistent long-term outperformance.

Because rolling returns measure performance from many different starting points rather than a single fixed date, they show whether outperformance is a genuine pattern or a one-off. Here, the fund has stayed ahead of its benchmark across every window measured.

(*Average monthly rolling rate of return over last 10 year period)

What This Has Meant for Investors

Here's what that outperformance has looked like in rupee terms: a hypothetical investment of ₹1,00,000 made in the fund five years ago would be worth approximately ₹2,14,300 today, based on the fund's 5-year CAGR of 16.47%. The same ₹1,00,000 invested at the fund's inception in January 2009 would have grown to approximately ₹17.3 lakh over the fund's ~17-year history, based on its since-inception CAGR of 18.27%.

An investment in the Tata AIA Top 200 Fund has delivered strong long-term growth, with an approximate value of ₹17.3 lakh for an investment made at inception in January 2009, generating a CAGR of 18.27% vs 14.31% for the benchmark. Similarly, an investment made 5 years ago would be worth approximately ₹2.14 lakh, with the fund delivering a 16.47% CAGR vs 10.67% for the benchmark, highlighting consistent outperformance.

SFIN: Top 200 Fund ULIF 027 12/01/09 ITT 110

Performance Data: As of 31 July 2026. Returns above one year are calculated as CAGR.

Benchmark: S&P BSE 200. 

Past performance is not indicative of future performance.

Note: Market-linked investments are subject to market risks. The investment risk in the portfolio is borne by the policyholder.

How the Fund Does It

Rather than simply tracking the BSE 200 index, the Top 200 Fund is actively managed — its team selects fundamentally strong businesses within that universe, with an eye on sustainable growth rather than short-term momentum. With roughly 94.94% of the portfolio invested in equities across large-cap, mid-cap, and emerging companies, and diversified exposure including Financials (12.95%) and Services (12.43%), the fund is built to participate in India's growth story while managing concentration risk.

“The Top 200 Fund's performance over the years reflects the strength of a disciplined, research-led investment process. What it has meant in practice is that a long-term investor who stayed the course — through multiple market cycles — has seen their money meaningfully outpace the benchmark. That's the outcome we want every investor in this fund to experience,” said Harshad Patil, Chief Investment Officer, Tata AIA Life Insurance.

As financial markets navigate shifting interest rate expectations and changing investor sentiment, Tata AIA reiterated its commitment to helping customers build long-term wealth through professionally managed, research-backed investment solutions within its ULIP offerings.

Morningstar Disclaimer

© 2025 Morningstar. All rights reserved. The Morningstar name is a registered trademark of Morningstar, Inc. in India, and other jurisdictions. The information contained here: (1) includes the proprietary information of Morningstar, Inc. and its affiliates, including, without limitation, Morningstar India Private Limited (“Morningstar”); (2) may not be copied, redistributed or used, by any means, in whole or in part, without the prior, written consent of Morningstar; (3) is not warranted to be complete, accurate or timely; (4) may be drawn from data published on various dates and procured from various sources; and (5) shall not be construed as an offer to buy or sell any security or other investment vehicle. Neither Morningstar, Inc. nor any of their affiliates (including, without limitation, Morningstar) nor any of their officers, directors, employees, associates, or agents shall be responsible or liable for any trading decisions, damages or other losses resulting directly or indirectly from the information.

Disclaimers

• The linked insurance product do not offer any liquidity during the first five years of the contract. The policy holder will not be able to surrender/withdraw the monies invested in linked insurance products completely or partially till the end of the fifth year.

• Premium paid in Unit Linked Life Insurance policies are subject to investment risks associated with capital markets and the NAVs of the units may go up or down based on the performance of fund and factors influencing the capital market and the insured is responsible for his/her decisions. On survival to the end of the policy term, the Total Fund Value including Top-Up Premium Fund Value valued at applicable NAV on the date of Maturity will be paid.

• Market-linked returns are subject to market risks and terms & conditions of the product. The assumed rate of returns or illustrated amount may not be guaranteed and depends on market fluctuations.

• The performance of the managed portfolios and funds is not guaranteed, and the value may increase or decrease in accordance with the future experience of the managed portfolios and funds.

• The Company does not guarantee any assured returns. ~Market-linked returns are subject to market risks and terms & conditions of the product.

• Investments are subject to market risks. The Company does not guarantee any assured returns. The investment income and price may go down as well as up depending on several factors influencing the market.

• The investment income and price may go down as well as up depending on several factors influencing the market. Please know the associated risks and the applicable charges, from your Insurance Agent or the Intermediary or Policy Document issued by the Insurance Company. Please make your own independent decision after consulting your financial or other professional advisor. Returns are calculated on an absolute basis for a period of less than (or equal to) a year, with reinvestment of dividends (if any). All investments Company are subject to market risks. The Company does not guarantee any assured returns.

• Buying a Life Insurance Policy is a long-term commitment. An early termination of the policy usually involves high costs, and the surrender value payable may be less than all the premiums paid. Unit Linked Life Insurance products are different from traditional insurance products and are subject to risk factors.

• All funds open for new business which have completed 5 years since inception are rated 4 star or 5 star by Morningstar as of August 2025.

About Tata AIA Life

Tata AIA Life Insurance Company Limited (Tata AIA) is a joint venture Company formed by Tata Sons Pvt. Ltd. and AIA Group Ltd. (AIA). Tata AIA Life `combines Tata’s pre-eminent leadership position in India and AIA’s presence as the largest, independent listed pan-Asian life insurance group in the world, spanning 18 markets in the Asia Pacific region.

Tata AIA reported a total Premium Income of INR 38,164 crore for FY26, up 21% from FY25. The Company continues to rank among the Top 3 Private Insurers in Individual Weighted New Business Premium (IWNBP) with an IWNBP income of INR 10,018 crore. The Company also achieved industry-leading Persistency performance (based on both premiums and number of policies), ranking #1 in four out of five cohorts. For more information on Tata AIA Life’s product portfolio and retirement solutions, please visit www.tataaia.com.

About the Tata Group  

Founded by Jamsetji Tata in 1868, the Tata group is a global enterprise, headquartered in India, comprising 30 companies across ten verticals.

The group operates in more than 100 countries across six continents, with a mission 'To improve the quality of life of the communities we serve globally, through long-term stakeholder value creation based on Leadership with Trust’.

In 2024-25, the revenue of Tata companies, taken together, was more than $180 billion. These companies collectively employ over 1 million people.

Each Tata company or enterprise operates independently under the guidance and supervision of its own board of directors. There are 26 publicly listed Tata enterprises with a combined market capitalisation of more than $328 billion as on March 31, 2025.

About AIA

AIA Group Limited and its subsidiaries (collectively “AIA” or the “Group”) comprise the largest independent publicly listed pan-Asian life insurance group. It has a presence in 18 markets – wholly-owned branches and subsidiaries in Mainland China, Hong Kong SAR(1), Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, Cambodia, Indonesia, Myanmar, New Zealand, the Philippines, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan (China), Vietnam, Brunei and Macau SAR(2), and a 49 per cent joint venture in India. In addition, AIA has a 24.99 per cent shareholding in China Post Life Insurance Co., Ltd.

The business that is now AIA was first established in Shanghai more than a century ago in 1919. It is a market leader in Asia (ex-Japan) based on life insurance premiums and holds leading positions across the majority of its markets. It had total assets of US$345 billion as of 31 December 2025. 

AIA meets the long-term savings and protection needs of individuals by offering a range of products and services including life insurance, accident and health insurance and savings plans. The Group also provides employee benefits, credit life and pension services to corporate clients. Through an extensive network of agents, partners and employees across Asia, AIA serves the holders of more than 44 million individual policies and over 16 million participating members of group insurance schemes.

AIA Group Limited is listed on the Main Board of The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited under the stock codes “1299” for HKD counter and “81299” for RMB counter with American Depositary Receipts (Level 1) traded on the over-the-counter market under the ticker symbol “AAGIY”.

Notes:

(1) Hong Kong SAR refers to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

(2) Macau SAR refers to the Macau Special Administrative Region.

For more information, please contact: 

• Niladri Bhattacharya - Vice President, Head - Corporate Communications and social media (Niladri.Bhattacharya@tataaia.com) +91 9830230283

• Sailee Nayak – Senior Account Director
  (Sailee.nayak@adfactorspr.com) +91 9930167115

Mumbai - September 8, 2026 : The Akhil Bharatiya Adhyatmik Samiti Trust was formally launched with a vision to inspire a more united, harmonious and peaceful Bharat by bringing together individuals, communities, institutions and India’s diverse spiritual leadership around shared human values.

Inspired by the vision of Maitreya Dadashreeji, the Trust is founded on a simple belief: The transformation of a nation begins with the transformation of the individual. Peace begins with how we think, speak and act, in our homes, our relationships, our communities and our society. When individuals choose peace, families become more harmonious; harmonious families strengthen communities; and harmonious communities contribute to a stronger and more united Bharat.

At the launch, Maitreya Dadashreeji emphasised:

“Our first agenda must be Vishwa Shanti. When the spiritual strength of Bharat comes together with one purpose, it can become a powerful force for peace - within every individual, within society, within Bharat and ultimately across the world.”

- Maitreya Dadashreeji

A CULTURE OF PEACE THAT BEGINS WITH US

The Trust believes that peace is not only an aspiration for institutions or leaders. The Trust therefore seeks to encourage a culture where peace moves from being an idea we admire - to a value we practice, through initiatives engaging individuals, families, youth and communities in friendship, compassion, respect, service and harmony.

India’s extraordinary diversity of traditions, cultures, philosophies and ways of life is one of its greatest strengths. The Trust seeks to nurture this diversity through friendship, mutual respect and a shared commitment to the wellbeing of all. Envisioned as a non-political, non-partisan and inclusive platform, it will provide a space for spiritual organisations, institutions and communities to meet, listen, learn and work together wherever there is a shared purpose.

BHARAT’S SPIRITUAL HERITAGE - A LIVING FORCE FOR PEACE

For millennia, Bharat has nurtured values that affirm the interconnectedness of human life Ahimsa (non-violence), Karuna (compassion), Seva (selfless service), Satya (truth), Maitri (friendship), Kshama (forgiveness) and Samatva (equality and harmony). At the heart of this civilisational vision is: Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam - The World is One Family.

India’s spiritual heritage is not simply a legacy to preserve. It is a living inheritance that can help shape a more harmonious future. The opportunity is to bring these values into our everyday lives so that spirituality is expressed through how we live, how we relate and how we serve.

FROM A UNITED BHARAT TO A PEACEFUL WORLD

The Trust’s vision for national unity is inseparable from its larger commitment to Vishwa Shanti - World Peace. A peaceful world cannot be built by nations alone. It must also be built by people. When individuals cultivate peace within themselves, they create greater harmony around them. When this spirit expands through families and communities, it strengthens the fabric of the nation.

Peace within the individual. Peace within society. Peace within Bharat. Peace in the world. The Trust therefore envisions Vishwa Shanti as a shared human journey, bringing together spiritual leadership and wider society around the common aspiration of peace and human upliftment.

A CALL TO EVERY CITIZEN

The vision of the Akhil Bharatiya Adhyatmik Samiti Trust extends beyond institutions. It is an invitation to every individual to become a participant in the journey of peace. A united Bharat can become a powerful voice for a peaceful world.

The Akhil Bharatiya Adhyatmik Samiti Trust therefore begins its journey with a simple invitation: Come Together. Choose Peace. Build Maitri. Serve Humanity.

EK BHARAT HUM BHARAT. ONE WORLD ONE FAMILY.

www.abastrust.org

The commitments represent more than 90% of the fund’s targeted USD 55 million investor corpus and follow its first close announced earlier in July. Areion Group has committed USD 5 million alongside external investors, bringing the fund’s targeted corpus to USD 60 million and aligning sponsor capital with that of the investor base.

Neev Jogani, Vice President - Areion Assets Management, who led the entire fund raising initiative and played a central role in shaping the fund's strategic direction, remains exuberant about stressed assets as a compelling investment opportunity for HNIs and institutions. 

Early deployments by the Fund span retail stressed-asset portfolios, telecom and cable manufacturing, and education-sector opportunities, primarily through security receipts and secured structures supported by tangible collateral.

With a five-year tenure initially, Areion Growth Fund – GIFT City will pursue opportunities across India’s stressed and non-performing credit market. The fund will invest principally in security receipts issued by asset reconstruction companies (ARCs), together with selectively structured, secured high-yield non-convertible debentures (NCDs). Its investment approach will focus on collateral coverage, seniority and enforceability of security, underlying asset quality, cash-flow visibility and identifiable resolution or monetisation pathways, targeting lucrative USD-denominated risk-adjusted returns.

Commenting on the development, Mr. Suresh Khatanhar, Group CEO, Areion Group, said:

“The response to Areion Growth Fund – GIFT City has been overwhelming. The commitments received shortly after launch reflect investor confidence in Areion’s investment capabilities, our experience in stressed assets and special situations, and the depth of the opportunity set in India’s evolving credit and turnaround market. We shall continue to apply a selective, asset-led investment discipline, with particular emphasis on capital protection, alignment of interests and repeatable value realisation.”

Areion entered the AIF space in 2019 and has since developed a multi-fund alternatives platform across Category I and Category II funds. Since inception, Areion has deployed about INR 30 billion in special-situation assets.

About Areion Group

Areion Group is an Indian financial-services and investment institution focused on distressed asset solutions, special situations and corporate debt restructuring. The Group combines investment, asset-management and restructuring capabilities to support complex-credit resolution and value creation across stakeholder groups. Areion’s platform is supported by experience in stressed-asset investing, restructuring, recovery and special-situations execution across sectors.

MUMBAI, INDIA, SEPTEMBER 8, 2026 : Independent storytelling platform STRT91 has released UNRELEASED - Inki Kaun Sunega?, a 30-minute documentary that goes inside the Vile Parle Cypher, one of the city's most active, most unbothered-by-fame rap communities. Directed by Imran Shamsi and produced by What Works, the film follows rappers who spend their weekdays delivering milk, cooking, guarding gates and running deliveries, and their weekends doing something the industry never gave them permission to do: standing in a circle, in public, and saying exactly what's on their mind.

The film premiered on August 15 on the STRT91 YouTube channel and is available to watch for free worldwide.

Watch UNRELEASED: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJjVGN1HpJg

THE FILM THAT WASN'T SUPPOSED TO EXIST

Imran and his team went to Vile Parle to shoot a reel. They left with a documentary.

At the centre of it is Kuldeep, 20, the reason the cypher exists at all, he started gathering rappers with nothing but word of mouth, and admits on camera that for a long time, he didn't tell his mother it was happening. Not because it was wrong. Because he didn't want to hand her one more thing to worry about.

That's the whole film in one confession: young people finding somewhere to put what they're carrying, quietly, before anyone tells them they're allowed to.

What began with a handful of strangers standing in a circle is now a Saturday ritual, a rotating stage for young artists across the city, each one showing up for themselves in front of people who might, by the end of the night, become friends. The only rule: show up, bring your words, keep rapping.

The Camera Points Where Hip-Hop Documentaries Usually Don't

Most hip-hop films chase the stars, the labels, the arenas. UNRELEASED goes the other way,  into gullies, onto pavements, into cramped homes, and lets rappers talk about identity, family, hunger and ambition not as a filmmaker's theme, but as the life they're already in. No studio lighting. No stylised edits. No industry standing between the artist and the mic.

"These young artists don't need sympathy. They need an audience. I hope this film gives them one." - Imran Shamsi, Director

Director's Note - Imran Shamsi

"I've spent most of my career directing campaigns and branded films for some of the biggest names in entertainment. But this film reminded me why I fell in love with storytelling in the first place. We went there just to shoot a 90 second reel. Then we met Kuldeep. Then Ayan. Then Pannu. Then dozens of kids standing in a circle, waiting patiently for their turn. Nobody had asked them to come. Nobody was paying them. Nobody was promising fame. Yet every Saturday, they showed up. That's when I realised the story was never about rap,  it was about people finding dignity through expression."

Imran Shamsi is the founder of What Works, a Mumbai-based production house whose work spans documentaries, branded films and advertising for Aamir Khan Productions, Red Chillies Entertainment, Yash Raj Films and Sony Pictures. He also directed Spotify's short documentary on Emiway Bantai, and Behind The Beats: 25 years of Lagaan.

Editor's Note - Ninoshka Andrade

"Usually you're chasing the cleanest frame, the smoothest transition. Here, the imperfections became the language of the film, a shaky phone recording, someone forgetting their lyrics, a crowd shouting over each other, silence after a hard line. We wanted the audience to feel like they weren't watching performers, but standing inside the circle. We didn’t try to make them look cool, we just found what’s cool within them. Hopefully, by the end, it feels less like you discovered rappers, and more like you met people."

Ninoshka Andrade is Creative Director at STRT91 and edited UNRELEASED, weaving documentary footage, street recordings and interviews into a single narrative.

Why STRT91 Made This

STRT91 exists on one belief: the streets of India already hold extraordinary stories, someone just has to stop and listen. UNRELEASED is the platform's first major independent documentary, and its clearest proof of that belief yet. The team didn't have to travel across the country to find their subjects. They found them a few kilometres from home, in a public ground in Vile Parle, where every weekend, a circle of unknown rappers passes around a mic and nobody's checking who's famous.

From Private Screening Rooms To A Free Public Release

Before its public launch, UNRELEASED was previewed at intimate industry screenings hosted at Aamir Khan Productions and Excel Entertainment’s Lightbox Preview Theatre, bringing together filmmakers, musicians, writers, journalists and members of Mumbai's creative community. It premiered publicly on 15 August 2026 on the STRT91 YouTube channel, released free, worldwide.

Hrishi K- Radio & Podcast Host

This is the kind of thing that is so needed. Something from the streets. Something straight from the heart. It's counter-cultural. It's the absolute best. And I love the fact that all these rappers are known by their pen names and how they go out there and express themselves. It's such a wonderful way of expressing your frustration. And, I think Kuldeep, who was one of the main characters, was right. He says words are free. Use them.

Kautuk Srivastava- Comedian

It was one of the most inspiring and moving things I’ve watched in a very long time. There’s so much talent around, it needs to be given that one push. I hope we get to see more of these kind of films.

ABOUT STRT91

STRT91 is a storytelling platform documenting India's street culture through original films, documentaries, photography and short-form storytelling — the people, places, art, music, food and communities that make India's streets extraordinary. YouTube: youtube.com/@STRT91 | Instagram: instagram.com/strt.91

ABOUT WHAT WORKS

What Works is a Mumbai-based production house creating advertisements, documentaries, branded films, music videos and digital campaigns. Founded by Imran Shamsi, the studio has worked across entertainment, film and brand storytelling with leading Indian studios and global brands.

thisiswhatworks.in

MEDIA CONTACT

Shivangi Chaturvedi - PR & Promotions, STRT91 / What Works

Email: shivangi@thisiswhatworks.in 

Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India] : AlgoShack Technologies, Bengaluru-based AI product company and creator of algoQA, its AI-augmented autonomous quality engineering platform, ranked 3rd globally among 742+ test automation companies by Tracxn, participated as Startup Partner in the Women Entrepreneurship Bootcamp held in August 2026, at SSM Cultural Hall, BIET, Namma Davanagere.

The district-level initiative brought together 120 selected girl students from five institutions across Davanagere, organized into 10 teams, for a day of intensive hands-on training in entrepreneurship spanning customer discovery, business model design, and pitch development. The program was convened under the Karnataka Digital Economy Mission (KDEM) and the IT, BT and S&T Department, Government of Karnataka, as part of the state’s broader push to expand entrepreneurial opportunity beyond metro hubs and into district-level talent pools.

AlgoShack’s involvement reflects the company’s growing focus on grassroots technology engagement, extending its presence beyond enterprise software quality into skill-building and innovation access for emerging talent in Karnataka’s smaller cities. As a bootstrapped company that has scaled to a 300-person team, AlgoShack has consistently positioned itself as an advocate for founders and builders who create value through discipline, innovation, and execution, a philosophy the company sees reflected in Davanagere’s next generation of women entrepreneurs.

“Entrepreneurship shouldn’t be limited by geography or access to networks,” said Ananya, Women Leader at AlgoShack. “These 120 students are proof that ambition and problem-solving ability exist everywhere. Our role is simply to show up, share what we’ve learned building a company from scratch, and back that talent with real exposure. Programs like this are exactly where India’s next wave of founders will come from, and we wanted AlgoShack to be part of that starting point.”

The bootcamp featured sessions on the entrepreneurial mindset and Karnataka’s opportunity landscape for women. It is followed by structured workshops on problem validation and business model development, closing with a peer-pitch challenge and a 60-day action plan for participating teams.

AlgoShack’s participation in the Davanagere bootcamp adds to its ongoing engagement with India’s innovation ecosystem, aligning with the company’s broader narrative of building global-standard technology from India, a message it has carried through its enterprise work in autonomous testing.

About AlgoShack Technologies

AlgoShack is a Bengaluru-based AI-native autonomous testing platform company, ranked 3rd globally among 742+ test automation companies by Tracxn. Its flagship product, algoQA, is an AI-augmented autonomous testing platform serving enterprises across MedTech, banking and fintech, digital commerce, and global capability centers. Bootstrapped and built on 35 years of engineering heritage, AlgoShack holds ISO 9001:2015 certification and MedTech compliance attestations under IEC 62304 and ISO 14971. The company recently expanded to Newark, Delaware, marking its entry into the US market.

Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], September 8: Arrowhead, a Bengaluru-based enterprise voice AI company, has announced results from its deployment with digital lending platform Kissht. Within two months of launch, Arrowhead’s AI voice agents began handling 40% of all inbound customer support calls received through Kissht’s Ring app.

The deployment currently covers loan application rejection queries and requests related to mandate or No Objection Certificate cancellations. Approximately 88% of these calls are resolved without human intervention.

“Within the first two months, the bot was handling 40% of our entire inbound volume,” said Suraj Shetty, Head of Customer Experience, Learning and Development at Kissht (Ring). “Of those calls, around 88% are getting handled without needing a human at all.”

Unlike many voice AI deployments that begin with outbound sales or engagement use cases, Arrowhead and Kissht introduced the technology directly into inbound customer support. The initial deployment focused on queries that can involve customer frustration, sensitive financial information and regulatory considerations.

A Focused Deployment With Defined Guardrails

The AI agents were initially trained to handle two specific categories of calls: queries concerning rejected loan applications and requests involving mandate or NOC cancellations.

The scope of the deployment was kept deliberately focused. The AI agent operates only within these predefined call categories. If a customer refers to the Reserve Bank of India during a conversation, the call is immediately transferred to a human specialist without the AI attempting to respond further.

Arrowhead’s technology has also been integrated with Kissht’s dialler and customer relationship management system. This allows relevant customer information and application status to be retrieved before the call is connected. As a result, customers are not required to repeatedly verify basic information or explain the same issue after a transfer.

One of the principal technical challenges during development was reducing the delay between conversational turns.

“When we started, latency was around one second. We built our own small language model and brought that down to around 500 milliseconds, which is among the lowest in the industry,” said Devyani Gupta, Founder of Arrowhead.

Reducing this delay was particularly important for creating a more natural interaction during sensitive customer conversations. Faster response times help reduce interruptions, awkward pauses and the impression that the customer is interacting with a conventional automated system.

Approximately 30% Lower Average Handle Time

According to operational data from Kissht, the AI voice agents are completing calls approximately 30% faster than human specialists handling comparable queries.

“The bot’s average handle time is running about 30% lower than our human agents,” said Shadab, Product and Build Owner at Kissht.

“If the same cost per minute is assumed, that translates into an approximately 30% saving on every call resolved entirely by the AI agent,” Gupta added.

The reduction in average handle time is in addition to the operational benefits created by resolving approximately 88% of calls within the selected categories without human involvement.

Kissht has stated that the efficiency improvement has not resulted in a decline in the customer experience measured during the deployment.

“That is what I would want another CX head to understand,” Shetty said. “We reduced handle time, but the customer experience held steady.”

Extending Support Beyond Regular Working Hours

The deployment has also allowed Kissht to address customer calls received outside the working hours of its support specialists.

Approximately 20% of the company’s inbound support volume is received between 8 PM and 8 AM. Before the introduction of the AI voice agents, many of these calls remained in the queue until the following working day.

“Around 20% of our inbound volume comes between 8 PM and 8 AM. Earlier, that became a queue waiting for the next day,” Shetty said.

Arrowhead’s AI agents now provide round-the-clock coverage for the supported query categories. The same operational policies, escalation rules and guardrails apply to calls received during and outside regular support hours.

A Collaborative Implementation Approach

Arrowhead and Kissht attributed the speed of the rollout to close collaboration between their respective product, customer experience, and engineering teams.

The implementation process included daily stand-up meetings from the beginning of the engagement. Arrowhead’s team also reviewed live customer conversations to understand how callers described their concerns, where conversations became difficult, and when human intervention was necessary.

Kissht’s implementation team worked directly with Arrowhead’s founders and engineers throughout the deployment. This allowed feedback from customer calls to be incorporated into the system without relying solely on periodic reviews or conventional support-ticket processes.

The two companies used this feedback to refine conversational flows, improve response speed, and strengthen the rules governing transfers to human specialists.

EMI and Repayment Support Agent Under Development

Following the initial deployment, Arrowhead and Kissht are developing an AI agent for EMI and repayment-related queries.

The next phase is expected to cover payment confirmations, auto-debit outcomes, duplicate deductions, late-fee status, foreclosure requests, NOC timelines, and CIBIL-related timelines.

Because these conversations involve transaction-specific information, the new agent is being developed with stricter controls. One of its core instructions is described as “money facts, absolute,” meaning the system must not independently calculate, estimate or round financial information.

The expansion represents a significant progression from handling defined service queries to managing conversations in which an inaccurate response could directly affect a customer’s understanding of a payment or financial obligation.

Kissht said the decision to proceed with the repayment use case followed the operational performance of the first deployment and the ability of the system to maintain customer experience while reducing handling time.

Deployment Highlights

About Kissht

Kissht is an Indian digital lending platform that provides consumer credit through its Ring app. Its offerings include personal loans, business loans and loans against property, with a focus on serving India’s underserved and emerging middle-class consumers.

About Arrowhead

Arrowhead develops enterprise-grade conversational AI voice agents for organisations managing customer interactions at scale. Headquartered in Bengaluru and backed by Stellaris Venture Partners, the company primarily works with banking, financial services and insurance organisations across inbound customer support and outbound engagement. Arrowhead develops its own low-latency speech and language technology for multilingual conversations in India.

Media Contact

Garv Jain
Founder’s Office, Arrowhead
Email: garv@arrowhead.team
Phone: +91 96095 21113
Website: arrowhead.ai

The stage is set for the next chapter of Yamaha Music India’s Teens Rock – The Battle of Bands 2026, as five promising bands have secured their place at the Grand Finale following the zonal rounds of the nationwide music competition. Joining them will be one band selected through public voting, bringing together six young bands ready to take the stage and make their mark at the Grand Finale in Bengaluru.

Launched in May 2026, Teens Rock – The Battle of Bands was created to give young musicians a platform to showcase their talent, express themselves through music and gain valuable experience performing on a live stage. The competition received an encouraging response from across India, with young bands from different parts of the country coming forward to share their music, connect with fellow musicians and take their passion for music to the next level.

Following the zonal rounds, five bands emerged as winners and earned their spot in the finale. The five finalist bands are:

1. North Zone: Ground 1, St. Xavier's School, Haryana

2. East Zone: The Apricity, Shri, Hanuman Mandir Dharamshala School, West Bengal

3. South Zone: CS Academy, Tamil Nadu

4. West Zone: M6, St. Stephen’s School of Music, Maharashtra

5. Northeast Zone: Neuhof School Band, Neuhof English Medium School, Mizoram

Joining them will be Odd Mates, Sai International School, Odisha, which was selected through public voting. The public vote gave music fans an opportunity to support their favourite band and be a part of their journey.

Mr. Kennei Sakai, Managing Director, Yamaha Music India, said, “Teens Rock is about much more than a competition. It is about giving young musicians the confidence to step onto a stage, express themselves and discover what they can achieve together. It has been inspiring to see these bands grow through every stage of the competition and bring their unique energy and passion to the stage. We are excited to see what the finalist bands bring to the Grand Finale and to celebrate this journey with them.”

The Grand Finale will take place on 4^th October 2026 at Prestige Centre for Performing Arts, Bengaluru, where the six bands will showcase their talent, filling the evening with live music, energy and exciting performances. The event will bring together some of the brightest musical talent with celebrated names from the Indian music industry, including Mr. A.R. Rahman, Brand Ambassador for Yamaha Music India, and Yamaha Artists Mr. Ranjit Barot, Mr. Gulraj Singh and Mr. Rhythm Shaw.

With the Grand Finale just around the corner, Teens Rock continues its journey of encouraging young musicians to pursue their passion, build confidence and find their voice through music. 

ROORKEE, India — September 8, 2026 : Avathon, a leader in Autonomy for Operations, and the Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee (IIT Roorkee), one of India's premier institutions of national importance, today announced the launch of the Avathon Physical AI Lab (Avathon PAL), a research initiative dedicated to advancing the science of Physical AI for the industrial economy. The proposed laboratory will be established in the Department of Computer Science & Engineering at IIT Roorkee. The laboratory is envisaged to serve as a centre for collaborative research in Physical AI and to deepen collaboration with leading academic institutions across India and around the world.

The partnership pairs Avathon's leadership in bringing autonomy to industrial operations with IIT Roorkee's deep bench of research talent in optimization, machine learning, knowledge representation, and multi-agent systems. Together, the parties intend to build a durable foundation for cutting-edge Physical AI research focused on the most difficult problems in the industrial economy, from supply planning and logistics at scale to knowledge-driven, continuously learning autonomous systems.

"IIT Roorkee shaped how I think about the world and what’s possible within it. Returning to build something lasting here is deeply personal," said Pervinder Johar, Chief Executive Officer of Avathon and an alumnus of IIT Roorkee. "The talent and rigor at this institution are extraordinary, and the challenges facing the industrial world today are exactly the problems this partnership is built to solve. Physical AI is how we bring autonomy to the industrial economy, and there is no better place to advance that science than where my own journey began."

Prof. K.K. Pant, Director, IIT Roorkee highlighted that “The proposed Avathon Physical AI Lab marks an important step in strengthening the bridge between cutting-edge research and real-world industrial challenges. Physical AI is emerging as a transformative frontier, bringing together artificial intelligence, autonomous systems and physical operations. At IIT Roorkee, we are committed to fostering such interdisciplinary and industry-driven research that not only advances scientific knowledge but also contributes to India’s technological self-reliance and the vision of a Viksit Bharat 2047. This collaboration with Avathon will provide our researchers and students an opportunity to work on complex, high-impact problems and translate innovation into meaningful industrial applications.”

The Avathon PAL will work in close concert with Avathon's newly formed AI Center of Excellence (COE) in Bangalore. Together, the lab and the COE are designed to form a bridge between frontier research and real-world deployment, with science emerging from IIT Roorkee feeding directly into solutions that put autonomy into production across mining, energy, manufacturing, logistics, aerospace, and other industrial sectors. The Bangalore COE will anchor Avathon's growing research and engineering presence in India and serve as the primary industrial counterpart to the lab's academic work.

"This partnership brings a rare combination of academic freedom and real-world industrial relevance to our research community," said Prof. Sugata Gangopadhyay, Principal Investigator of the Avathon PAL, Department of Computer Science & Engineering, IIT Roorkee. "Working alongside Avathon, a company at the forefront of bringing Physical AI to industrial operations, gives our researchers both the problems and the ambition worthy of them."

The Avathon PAL intends to support a range of activities, including sponsored doctoral fellowships, collaborative research across multiple problem areas, student internships and industry exposure at Avathon, and workshops and technical events that connect the initiative to the broader research community. The lab reflects a shared conviction that the next frontier of artificial intelligence lies not in enterprise IT but on the factory floor, in the supply chain, and across critical infrastructure – the physical operations that move and sustain the global economy.

About Avathon

Avathon is a leading AI provider of Autonomy for Operations, bringing Industrial AI into the physical world. The Avathon Autonomy Platform enables organizations to intelligently plan, orchestrate, and execute complex manufacturing, supply chain, and asset management operations by transforming data into knowledge. Designed to scale securely across industrial environments, Avathon improves asset performance and strengthens operational resilience. Learn more at www.avathon.com

About IIT Roorkee

Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee (IIT Roorkee), established in 1847 as the Thomason College of Civil Engineering, is one of the oldest technical institutions in Asia. It was declared an IIT in 2001 and is recognised as an Institution of National Importance. IIT Roorkee offers undergraduate, postgraduate, doctoral, and postdoctoral programmes across engineering, architecture, sciences, management, humanities, and social sciences. The Institute is committed to excellence in education, research, innovation, entrepreneurship, and technology development, addressing national and global challenges through interdisciplinary collaboration.

Join IIT Roorkee on Twitter: www.twitter.com/iitroorkee

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IIT Roorkee Website: https://www.iitr.ac.in/

For much of the past decade, career growth was driven by deep functional expertise. Today, organisations expect professionals to think beyond their specialisation, collaborate across functions and markets, and make commercially sound decisions in increasingly complex environments. Roles are expanding faster than skills can keep pace, expertise has a shorter shelf life, and the ability to connect diverse business disciplines is becoming as valuable as technical proficiency.

Several forces are driving this shift, including automation and accelerating AI adoption. According to McKinsey's State of AI 2025, 88% of organisations now use AI in at least one business function, yet only a small share report measurable business impact. The gap highlights a growing need for professionals who can exercise sound judgement, evaluate trade-offs, and translate emerging technologies into business outcomes.

Responding to this evolution in management, The University of Western Australia (UWA), in collaboration with the Indian Institute of Management Kozhikode (IIM Kozhikode), offers the fully online Master of Business Administration (MBA) - Global. Designed for working professionals, the program develops the cross-functional, strategic, and global business capabilities needed to lead in an increasingly interconnected world.

A learning journey that builds to an international credential

Rather than asking professionals to pause their careers for a traditional MBA, the program follows a progressive pathway that allows students to build credentials while working and seamlessly progress toward a globally recognised master's degree.

Year 1

Complete six modules from IIM Kozhikode to earn the Professional Certificate Programme in Advanced Business Management. Students also receive 36 credits through UWA's Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL), ensuring their learning contributes directly to the master's program.

Year 2

Continue with six modules delivered by UWA that are focused on international business, global strategy, and cross-market leadership, and graduate with an internationally recognised Master of Business Administration (MBA) - Global, while benefiting from the academic strengths of both schools and alumni network of UWA.

Complementing the core curriculum is a series of AI-focused masterclasses that explore how emerging technologies are reshaping management practice across functions. Rather than treating AI as a standalone discipline, these sessions demonstrate how AI can be applied to improve decision-making, accelerate innovation, and create business value.

Students will explore topics including:

●      AI in Organisational Behaviour – from intelligent feedback loops to emotional intelligence bots.

●      Building and Testing MVPs with GenAI – rapidly taking ideas from concept to market in under 60 minutes.

●      GenAI for Data Analysis – integrating generative AI with statistical thinking to make faster, more informed business decisions.

By embedding AI within broader management contexts, the program helps students develop the judgement to determine where AI creates value, where human leadership matters most, and how the two can work together to drive organisational performance.

Reflecting on the program's impact, Hemant Parikh, Managing Director and CEO of Reliant Overseas Ltd & Group, says, "The dual credentials from Emeritus/UWA and IIM Kozhikode have already enriched my strategic outlook, enabling me to drive innovation across our operations in four continents." He also credits the program with demonstrating "the power of global collaboration" through interactions with teachers and a diverse cohort of professionals. Echoing the program's practical focus, Aradhana Potteth, Senior SAP Consultant at LTIMindtree, shares, "The program structure challenges you to apply yourself in the real world rather than just theoretical knowledge." She further highlights the value of the learning community, calling it "networking at its best" after engaging with professionals from a wide variety of industries and experience levels.

The program’s long-term value is further reinforced by two leading institutions:

●      UWA is ranked 77^th in the world (QS World University Rankings 2027)

●      IIM Kozhikode is among India's leading management institutions and is ranked #3 in India in the NIRF Management Rankings 2025.

●      Upon graduation, students join UWA's global alumni network of over 155,000 graduates across 60+ countries.

As the nature of management continues to evolve, organisations will increasingly differentiate professionals by the quality of their judgement rather than the breadth of their technical toolkit. Building that capability requires more than learning the latest technology, it requires a management education that develops strategic thinking, cross-functional perspectives, and the confidence to make decisions in an increasingly complex global business environment.

To learn more about the program, visit

Built as an all-in-one digital workspace, MazdaDev aims to eliminate the need for users to install multiple software applications or rely on separate online services for routine productivity tasks.

One Platform. 130+ Digital Tools.

At the heart of MazdaDev is its collection of free online PDF tools, enabling users to edit, merge, split, compress, rotate, sign and convert PDF files into formats such as Word and JPG.

Beyond PDF processing, the platform brings together tools for image compression and conversion, AI-powered content generation, SEO utilities, CAD conversion, text processing and file management, giving users a broader set of utilities from a single browser-based platform.

The tools are designed to work across modern web browsers, making them accessible from desktops, laptops, tablets and other supported devices additional installation.

Privacy-First by Design

Privacy is a core part of MazdaDev’s platform architecture.

Several of its PDF, image and utility tools are designed to process files directly within the user’s browser, using technologies such as JavaScript and WebAssembly. This allows supported operations to be performed locally without uploading files to a remote server.

For tools that require server-side processing, MazdaDev states that files are transmitted using 256-bit TLS encryption and automatically removed from server storage within one hour after processing.

The company also states that submitted user content is not used to train AI models, sold, rented or shared with advertisers.

Built for Different Digital Workflows

MazdaDev is designed to serve a wide range of users and everyday workflows.

Freelancers can use its PDF and document utilities for contracts, proposals and business documents. Creators can access tools for content creation, YouTube titles, tags and thumbnails. Marketing professionals can use SEO and website analysis utilities, while students and small businesses can take advantage of document conversion, file-processing and productivity tools.

The platform also supports workflow integrations, allowing users to save or share outputs through services including Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, Notion and Slack, along with email-based workflows.

According to MazdaDev, the platform is currently used by 50,000+ creators across 140+ countries, reflecting growing demand for accessible browser-based productivity and file-management solutions.

Developed in India

MazdaDev is operated from India and was founded by Shubham Shobhit. The platform is also identified on its website as a member of the NVIDIA Inception program.

The company’s approach combines PDF utilities, document and file converters, image-processing tools, AI-powered generators, SEO utilities, CAD conversion and other browser-based applications into a single digital ecosystem.

By bringing these tools together, MazdaDev aims to provide users with a simpler alternative to maintaining multiple standalone applications and services.

More Than Just a PDF Toolkit

While PDF processing remains one of MazdaDev’s core offerings, the platform is expanding beyond traditional document utilities to create a broader browser-based digital productivity ecosystem.

From preparing documents and converting files to improving digital content, processing images, working with CAD files and using AI-powered utilities, the platform is designed around the idea of having commonly needed tools available in one place.

Many of the tools are available free of charge and without requiring an account or software installation, lowering the barrier for users who simply need to complete a specific digital task quickly.

About MazdaDev

MazdaDev is an India-operated online productivity and file-processing platform offering 130+ browser-based tools across PDF editing, document conversion, image processing, AI generation, SEO, CAD conversion, text processing and other digital utilities.

The platform focuses on making everyday digital workflows more accessible through browser-based tools, with privacy-conscious processing and a growing collection of free online utilities.

More information: mazdadev.in

PeopleWorks continues to invest heavily in the areas today's HR buyers care about most: intuitive design, mobile-first self-service, and cloud-native infrastructure. What sets the platform apart as a leading provider of HRMS software in Bangalore, the company says, is that this experience layer sits on top of functional depth built to absorb the operational complexity that real Indian organizations carry: multi-state compliance, industry-specific pay structures, legacy processes inherited through decades of business change, and the unpredictability of scaling from a founder-led team to a multi-site enterprise.

Four Decades of Domain Depth, Built Vertical by Vertical

PeopleWorks has been shaped by deep exposure to a wide spread of industry verticals: manufacturing, IT and ITES, retail, healthcare, BFSI, logistics, and more. Each vertical has arrived with its own operational quirks: shift-based wage calculations, multi-location statutory compliance, seasonal workforce surges, or union-linked settlements. Over the years, PeopleWorks has met these requirements not with generic settings but with purpose-built enhancements and, where needed, fully custom-engineered solutions.

That accumulated body of work is what the company points to as its real differentiator. Every enhancement built for one client's edge case has, over time, become a configurable capability available to the next. The result is a platform whose functional depth has compounded across decades of live enterprise deployments, giving PeopleWorks the ability to model policies and processes that newer, template-driven platforms are often unable to accommodate without lengthy workarounds.

Proven Scale: From Emerging Businesses to 20,000-Employee Enterprises

A recurring question for any growing organization is whether its HR platform can scale with it. PeopleWorks answers this with its existing client base, which spans organizations with fewer than fifty employees to large enterprises managing workforces of 20,000 and beyond. Rather than positioning itself for a single company-size bracket, PeopleWorks has engineered its architecture and implementation approach to flex across this entire range, supporting a lean HR team running core payroll and attendance at one end, and a distributed, multi-entity enterprise running complex approval hierarchies and analytics at the other.

"Scale isn't just about how many employee records a system can hold," said a senior spokesperson at PeopleWorks. "It's about whether the platform can hold the complexity that comes with that scale, different reporting structures, different compliance obligations, different ways of working without breaking down or forcing the client to change how their business actually runs. That's the test we've been meeting for decades, and it's the same test we're built to keep meeting as our clients grow."

A Genuine Hire-to-Retire Platform, Not a Bundle of Modules

PeopleWorks offers a comprehensive Hire-to-Retire suite spanning more than 25 modules and sub-modules covering recruitment and onboarding, core HR, attendance and leave, payroll and statutory compliance, performance management, learning, self-service, and exit management, among others. Recognized by industry leaders as the best payroll software in Bangalore, the company positions this as meaningfully different from platforms that offer a curated set of modules built to look complete: because each PeopleWorks module has been developed and refined against real, demanding enterprise use cases over decades, the depth within each module, not just the breadth across them, is what the company says sets it apart.

This distinction matters increasingly as HR buyers, having lived through the limitations of newer platforms, look past interface polish to ask harder questions about configurability, compliance accuracy, and long-term adaptability. PeopleWorks maintains that the honest answer to "how deep does this actually go" is best demonstrated by a client roster that includes some of the most operationally complex organizations in the country, not by a features list.

Depth as a Deliberate Choice, Not a Legacy Constraint

PeopleWorks is careful to frame its longevity as an active advantage rather than a legacy label. The company continues to invest in modern experience layers, mobile-first self-service, cloud infrastructure, and data-driven dashboards while keeping its underlying functional depth intact. The intent, PeopleWorks says, is to give organizations a platform that looks and feels current without asking them to compromise on the configurability that complex Indian businesses actually require.

Recognized as one of India's leading HRMS providers, PeopleWorks continues to position its four-decade domain expertise, proven scalability, and comprehensive Hire-to-Retire architecture as the foundation of its value to enterprises navigating an increasingly crowded HR technology market.