Shree Niketan Schools’ #CallYourTeacher campaign invites people to call the teachers who shaped their lives and share the memories that still stay with them
 

We often think about them. We speak about them. But how often do we actually speak to them?
 

This Teachers’ Day, Shree Niketan Schools is encouraging people to change that with a simple call.
 

Through the #CallYourTeacher campaign, the school group is inviting everyone to pick up their phone, call a teacher who made a difference in their life, and tell them how they helped shape the person they became.
 

The idea is deliberately simple. People are encouraged to record themselves making the call, share what the conversation meant to them, and invite others to do the same. The call could be to a teacher who shaped their career, inspired a passion, gave them confidence, or made them believe in themselves at a crucial moment.
 

Participants can share their call and their experience on social media using #CallYourTeacher and tag @ShreeNiketanSchools, encouraging others to reconnect with the teachers who helped make them who they are.
 

At the heart of #CallYourTeacher is a belief that education goes far beyond textbooks and classrooms. The values, encouragement and sense of identity that teachers help instil can stay with a child for a lifetime. And sometimes, the people who shaped us simply deserve to know the difference they made.
 

About Shree Niketan Schools

Indian Roots; Global Outlook is at the heart of Shree Niketan Schools’ educational philosophy. The school believes that children with a strong foundation in their cultural heritage can reach unprecedented heights in a global future.
 

At Shree Niketan, India’s rich legacy of values, traditions and knowledge is brought into the context of a rapidly globalising world. Respect, prayer, festivals, family and the celebration of India’s diversity are viewed not merely as cultural practices, but as opportunities to nurture empathy, leadership, collaboration and a strong sense of identity.
 

With a vision to nurture students who are deeply connected to their Indian roots while being intellectually and emotionally equipped to thrive on the world stage, Shree Niketan Schools continues to build an education that prepares children for both where they come from and where the world is going.
 

Today, Shree Niketan Schools is a growing community of 700+ staff members and 12,000+ children across five campuses, with a presence in Thiruvallur, Tambaram East, Tambaram West and Nolambur.
 

For more information: Shree Niketan Schools – Call Your Teacher
 

Instagram: @ShreeNiketanSchools
 

Campaign Assets

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Ageas Federal Life Insurance, one of India’s leading and fastest-growing private life insurers, today announced the launch of its flagship term insurance product, Super Protect Plus Plan, on Policybazaar, India’s largest online insurance platform, introducing a focused term insurance offering exclusively for salaried and self-employed customers. The launch strengthens the company’s digital distribution presence while making life insurance more accessible through a simple and convenient online buying journey.

The plan combines life protection with a range of customer benefits. Eligible customers can avail of a 12% discount on the first-year premium, a Lowest Price Guarantee, and complimentary health management services worth up to Rs 53,000 annually. The plan also comes with inbuilt Terminal Illness cover and a 99.82% Claim Settlement Ratio. It further offers 0% GST on term insurance, as applicable under prevailing tax regulations.

The launch is part of Ageas Federal Life Insurance’s broader focus on strengthening its digital distribution capabilities and expanding its online reach. Through its partnership with Policybazaar, the company is leveraging the platform’s extensive digital reach and high-intent customer base to connect with customers actively looking for insurance solutions online.

The partnership enables customers to discover, compare and purchase insurance products through a digital-first experience, while providing Ageas Federal Life Insurance with an opportunity to engage customers at the consideration stage of their purchase journey. It also supports the company’s efforts to strengthen digital conversions, expand its online distribution footprint and build a scalable, future-ready digital distribution channel aligned with evolving customer expectations.

The launch also brings Ageas Federal Life Insurance’s brand philosophy, ‘Promises Made Possible’, into its digital term insurance proposition, reflecting the company’s focus on making life insurance more accessible and convenient for customers.

About Ageas Federal Life Insurance

Ageas Federal Life Insurance, one of India’s leading private life insurers, offers a diverse range of wealth management, protection, and retirement solutions to individual and corporate customers. Ageas Federal Life Insurance Co. Ltd. is a joint venture of Ageas, a multinational insurance group headquartered in Europe, and Federal Bank, one of India’s leading private sector banks.

Having commenced operations in 2008, Ageas Federal achieved breakeven within five years. Through a nationwide network of 3,770+ branches including partner bank branches and a sizeable advisor network, the Company has established a strong pan-India presence. As of March 31, 2025, the Company has issued over 19.71 lakh policies with a sum assured of over Rs 27,558 crore, total assets under management of over Rs 18,956 crore, and a robust capital base of over Rs 800 crore.

Inspired by the Japanese philosophy of Nagomi, which represents harmony and balance, this premium expression brings together aged blends, smooth American-crafted blends and refined Japanese blending expertise. The result is a spirit that delivers layered richness, remarkable smoothness and a balanced flavour profile, resonating strongly with Indian consumers seeking elevated, globally informed spirits experiences.

Nagomi is crafted under the vision of Shinji Fukuyo, Chief Blender at Suntory and Master Blender of the Year at the International Spirits Challenge 2024, whose approach marries precision, depth and character across global spirits traditions.

Beyond this international recognition, Oaksmith continues to build strong momentum closer home. In 2025, Nagomi won Grand Gold for Best Indian Spirits (Blended Category) and Product Debut of the Year at the 12th Spiritz Conclave and Achievers Awards, underscoring its growing influence and relevance within India's premium spirits landscape.

Nobukazu Aoki, Head of Marketing and Innovations, Suntory Global Spirits India, added: "Nagomi's recognition at the International Spirits Challenge 2026 is a significant milestone not only for Oaksmith but also for the evolving premium spirits category in India. Today's consumers are increasingly seeking brands that offer authenticity, craftsmanship and distinctive experiences. Nagomi embodies these aspirations through its unique blend of global spirits traditions and Japanese artistry. This award further validates our vision of creating contemporary premium experiences that resonate with modern Indian consumers while meeting the highest global standards of quality."

Commenting on the win, Rashi Singh, Director Marketing - Indian & American Spirits, Suntory Global Spirits India, said: "Winning a Gold Medal at the International Spirits Challenge 2026 is a proud moment for Nagomi from Oaksmith and a testament to our commitment to quality, craftsmanship and innovation. This recognition highlights the growing prominence of Indian premium brands on the global stage. Nagomi reflects our commitment to blending global spirits-making expertise with local relevance, and this achievement inspires us to continue raising the bar for premium blended products in India."

On the palate, Nagomi presents a rich golden hue, with aromas of soft smoke, ripe fruit and gentle spice. The taste unfolds with rounded oak notes, subtle sweetness and a smooth, full-bodied texture, leading to a long, clean and harmonious finish. Its bottle design, inspired by Japanese aesthetics, mirrors the spirits philosophy; strong, understated and timeless.

Nagomi is currently available in Maharashtra, Goa and West Bengal.

Pepper’s Agent Atlas: Turning GEO Insights into Action

Search has changed, and so has the place where a brand gets judged. People put their questions to ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Copilot, Claude and Google AI Overviews, and they act on what they hear without ever opening a website. Pepper tracks more than 10 million prompts across those engines, and the pattern it sees is that whether a brand turns up in those answers now decides whether it makes a buyer's shortlist at all. Sangeeta Bavi, Head of Sales for Digital Natives, Startups and Growth at Anthropic, framed the test at Index: "Go ask your marketing, product and engineering team: if you search for your product or brand, is it discoverable, and will an agent actually complete the transaction?"

Agent Atlas is built to answer that. It sits as the chat layer of Pepper's GEO platform. A question goes in the way you would put it to the sharpest analyst on the team. Atlas works across AI search visibility, rankings, analytics and content in one pass, shows what is happening, recommends what to do in order of impact, then carries out the work once it is approved.

One thing Atlas is not: software the client logs into. "You do not log in. Pepper does," is how the company puts it. Every Pepper customer is on Atlas from today, and their Pepper growth team runs it. Self-serve is not part of this release.

"We are not trying to build another tool in the category," said Anirudh Singla, Co-founder and CEO of Pepper. "We are trying to engineer organic growth for an AI era. Our understanding of organic growth has moved from SEO to Search Everywhere Optimization, and that needs strategy, agents and human subject matter experts working together."

"Atlas has brought our decision time right down," Singla said. "An analysis that used to take two weeks now runs through Atlas, so our teams spend their hours on leads and business outcomes instead. If you are a CMO with two minutes before you walk into your CEO's office, you should not have to wait a week for an agency report. You ask Atlas and you have the answer before you sit down."

Along with the launch, Pepper was clear about what it will and will not be measured on. The company said it will not sign a contract against a one-shot AI visibility score, because the same prompt run repeatedly against the same model comes back with a different answer each time. What it commits to instead goes into the contract: a full strategy and a projected number before a client signs, KPIs written in, weekly reviews against baseline, and an annual term Pepper keeps only if the number moves.

"Every AI engine is a black box today, and anyone claiming clean attribution is guessing with confidence," said Rishabh Shekhar, Co-founder and COO of Pepper. "That will change, because advertisers will not spend without reporting and these models will have to open a console. We are making sure our customers are already measuring the right things when it does."

The chain Pepper says it stands behind runs from Earned Authority, the agreement across the third-party sources that buyers and models trust, through citations and mentions, to branded search lift, to demand.

The launch came at the third Index, Pepper's GEO Growth Summit, held in Bengaluru after San Francisco and New York, in front of 150+ marketing leaders. Anant Vidur Puri, Partner at Bessemer Venture Partners, made the case for moving now: "Unless AI is front and center of your marketing strategy, I don't think the business can go fast." Ashutosh Wadhwani, Head of Growth at Swiggy, put the same shift more bluntly: "Stop optimizing for clicks. Start optimizing for recommendations and citations."

Pepper's argument has not changed in eight years. Organic is the channel a brand owns rather than rents. With Agent Atlas, a lean team can own all of it. Agents for scale. Humans for judgment. One team that owns the number.

The 180° balcony surrounding each house on the project maximizes fresh air, ample sunlight and enough space to personalize your home

Solcrest is planned with four homes per floor across 6 towers of 34 floors each. Every home is oriented east or west, with balconies wrapping 180 degrees around the unit — a plan form that gives each apartment two exposed faces, cross-ventilation through the depth of the home, and no shared corridor beyond three neighbours. Orientation and floor-plate layout are decisions fixed at the drawing stage; unlike fittings or finishes, they cannot be revised, substituted or downgraded later.

"At Solcrest, we're not just building homes - we're crafting a sanctuary that nurtures body, mind and soul. We've drawn inspiration from the earthy tones of the region, infusing the architecture with a sense of warmth and belonging. With expansive open spaces and a low-density layout, we've ensured that every home enjoys ample natural light, gentle breezes and unobstructed views," said Kiran V., Founder and CEO of Bricks and Milestones while speaking on the larger vision and execution of Solcrest as a haven for its residents.

The site sits off Hennur Road, 20 minutes from Manyata Tech Park, and 24 km from Kempegowda International Airport, with East Point Hospital, Orchids International School and Bharatiya Mall of Bengaluru within 8 km. Two lakes lie on either side of the property within a 1km radius., surrounding the project.

Solcrest is envisioned as an experience shaped by light, air, and green space rather than a checklist of specifications, where residents can look forward to mornings that begin with sunlight streaming into their homes and evenings spent unwinding amid landscaped courtyards instead of concrete expanses. The home itself is built with the Sun in mind, with views of glorious sunrises or serene sunsets becoming a daily treat rather than a rare sighting. The 180 balconies, along with providing each home with ample light and ventilation, is also sizable enough to double as a private gym, a mini library or an outdoor coffee nook, adding another layer of personalization to the space.

Shared facilities include a 30,000 sq ft clubhouse, a swimming pool, indoor game rooms, co-working areas and space for a bistro café, along with landscaped courtyards and open lawns. These are placed within the retained landscape rather than on cleared ground.

More information is available at bricksandmilestonessolcrest.co.in.

About Bricks & Milestones

Founded in 2015 by architect Kiran Venugopal, Bricks & Milestones is a Bengaluru-based real estate developer dedicated to creating thoughtfully designed residential and commercial spaces that reflect the city’s heritage. Bricks and Milestones has set new benchmarks in luxury, sustainability and thoughtful design. Guided by the philosophy of "creating masterpieces," in handpicked locations, it combines cutting-edge architecture with eco-conscious living. Its portfolio includes landmark residential projects like New Dawn, Wonderwall, Felicity, and Lagos, as well as commercial icons such as The Fore. Their latest ventures include The Earthscape, a premium residential development, and an upcoming hospitality project in North Bengaluru. Bricks & Milestones is committed to creating flexible, sustainable spaces that meet the future needs of urban India. 

The NCDs were issued in two tranches – i) INR 100 crore with a tenure of 24 months carrying a fixed rate coupon of 9.15% per annum and ii) INR 200 crore with a tenure of 36 months carrying a fixed rate coupon of 9.25% per annum. The coupon on both tranches is payable annually, with the principal repayable as a bullet payment at the end of the respective tenures.

Commenting on the transaction, Mr. Nilesh Dalvi, Chief Financial Officer, CreditAccess Grameen, said, “The bilateral NCD placement with a leading global financial institution is a strong endorsement of our credit profile, asset quality and governance standards, while further deepening our access to the domestic institutional debt market. From an ALM perspective, the bullet structure is particularly advantageous, as the principal remains fully outstanding until maturity rather than amortising progressively, thereby providing a longer effective funding benefit and strengthening our ALM profile. As we move forward, we will remain focused on enhancing funding efficiency and building a robust funding architecture aligned with our growth ambitions through 2028.”

About CreditAccess Grameen Limited

CreditAccess Grameen Limited is India’s leading rural focused inclusive financing platform headquartered in Bengaluru. The Company provides a curated lifecycle credit suite to low-middle income households spanning group loans, individual business loans, secured business loans, affordable housing loans, and two-wheeler financing. The Company operates across 457 districts in 16 states (Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh & West Bengal) and one union territory (Puducherry) through 2,276 branches. The Company’s Promoter is CreditAccess India B.V., a multinational company focused on inclusive financing, supported by leading global institutional investors. 

Red Hat Summit Connect

As organisations across Asia Pacific embrace AI, hybrid cloud, automation, and cloud-native technologies, managing complexity has become just as important as driving innovation. With AI strategies increasingly spanning different models, accelerators, and cloud environments, enterprises are looking to open source because openness brings choice, and choice brings greater flexibility. That flexibility enables them to adopt the technologies best suited to their business needs while building the agility needed to respond to change.

Reflecting this year’s theme, “Unlock what’s next,” the Red Hat APAC Innovation Awards 2026 celebrate organisations that are leading the way with open source. This year’s awards recognise 32 winners across the region whose innovative use of Red Hat solutions is helping solve complex business challenges and deliver meaningful outcomes for customers, employees, and communities.

The winners were recognised for demonstrating how open source can help organisations turn complexity into opportunity. By modernising technology foundations, streamlining operations, and accelerating innovation, each organisation has delivered measurable outcomes that strengthen business resilience and create lasting value. Their achievements reflect Red Hat's continued collaboration with enterprises across 13 APAC countries to solve real-world challenges through open source. 

The awards comprise six categories: Digital Transformation, Hybrid Cloud Infrastructure, Cloud-Native Development, Automation, Virtualisation, and AI.

Category: Cloud-Native Development
Winner: Department of Information Technology & Communication, Government of Rajasthan
The Department of Information Technology & Communication (DoIT&C), Government of Rajasthan, leads the use of technology across Rajasthan government departments and autonomous bodies to improve administration and public service delivery. Its responsibilities include IT consultancy, e-governance implementation, technical guidance, capacity building, and the delivery of IT infrastructure and software solutions across the Rajasthan government.

To modernise its digital governance ecosystem, DoIT&C needed to address legacy systems, siloed applications, manual provisioning, limited scalability and slow deployment cycles across platforms such as e-Mitra and Raj Kaaj. The organisation adopted Red Hat OpenShift Platform Plus, Red Hat Application Foundation, Red Hat Trusted Application Pipeline and Red Hat Enterprise Linux, supported by Red Hat Consulting and Red Hat Training and Certification, to move from virtualised environments to a standardised, container-based platform with greater automation and DevOps capabilities. The transformation reduced service rollout time by 30-40%, improved system availability and performance by 25-35%, automated 50-60% of infrastructure and operations, and accelerated application development and deployment cycles by around two times. This has helped DoIT&C shift from a reactive, maintenance-heavy IT model to a more agile, innovation-focused ecosystem, improving governance efficiency and delivering faster, more reliable services to citizens.

Category: Hybrid Cloud Infrastructure and Cloud-Native Development
Winner: Adani Airport Holdings Limited
Adani Airport Holdings Limited (AAHL), India’s largest airport infrastructure company, manages, operates and develops eight airports across the country. Its network accounts for 24 per cent of passenger footfalls and 33 per cent of air cargo traffic in India, serving passengers, airlines, logistics companies, retailers and other airport stakeholders. 

As Adani Airports expanded its digital capabilities, it needed a more scalable and flexible integration platform to connect more than 20 diverse airport systems, accelerate the onboarding of new applications and support operations across on-premise and cloud environments. Using Red Hat OpenShift, Red Hat Application Foundation and Red Hat Enterprise Linux, Adani Airports built a hybrid cloud integration platform to deliver real-time data across its airport ecosystem. The platform has improved system performance, reducing response times from a few seconds to microseconds, while providing travellers with more transparent and accurate information on wait times, baggage and flight status. Faster detection of bottlenecks and operational issues is helping airports improve efficiency, reduce congestion at checkpoints and enhance the passenger experience, while supporting faster turnaround times and on-time performance for airlines.

Category: Hybrid Cloud Infrastructure and Cloud-Native Development
Winner: Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC), Ministry Of Railways
Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC), a public sector enterprise under the Ministry of Railways, is the digital, catering, tourism and hospitality arm of Indian Railways. It operates India’s largest online railway ticketing platform, alongside catering, tourism, hospitality and premium train services, supporting millions of passengers across the country every day.

With nearly 89% of reserved railway tickets booked online, IRCTC’s next-generation e-ticketing platform (NGeT) had become business-critical but capacity-constrained, especially during Tatkal and peak booking periods. With Indian Railways serving approximately 2-2.5 crore passengers daily and more than 8 billion annually, scalability, uptime and transaction performance are critical to IRCTC’s digital services. To strengthen these capabilities, IRCTC adopted a containerised, microservices-based platform built on Red Hat OpenShift Platform Plus, supported by Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform for end-to-end orchestration. The modernisation enabled the platform to auto-scale during periods of intense demand, helping to address the system failures and booking disruptions during peak periods. It has also improved infrastructure efficiency and accelerated application boot times, enabling teams to release new versions faster and with less friction. By replacing manual, error-prone operational tasks with automated workflows, IRCTC is also strengthening its security posture, reducing operational effort and freeing developer resources for higher-value work.

Category: Virtualization
Winner: Bharti Airtel Ltd
Headquartered in India, Bharti Airtel is a global communications solutions provider with over 650 million customers in 15 countries across India and Africa. The company also has its presence in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka through its associate entities. The company is ranked second amongst mobile operators globally, and its networks cover over two billion people.

To deliver on its customer-first promise at massive scale, Airtel has been reengineering its infrastructure and moving from legacy, manual systems to open, flexible, cloud-native platforms. This future-ready foundation has helped Airtel innovate new technology solutions delivering enhanced customer experiences across its digital services, including recharge, billing and self-service applications. As part of this transformation, Airtel has been leveraging Red Hat OpenShift Platform Plus, Red Hat Advanced Cluster Management for Kubernetes, Red Hat Quay and Red Hat OpenShift Virtualization.

Supporting Quotes
Daniel Aw, Vice President & General Manager, APAC, Red Hat APAC, “Enterprise technology is becoming more complex than ever, but success is no longer about how many new technologies an organisation adopts. What matters more is how effectively these solutions work together to address real business challenges and deliver tangible value. This year’s winners demonstrate that the organisations best positioned for long-term success are those building open, flexible foundations that allow them to innovate on their own terms. Their achievements are a testament to what organisations can accomplish when technology decisions are guided by business needs rather than trends, and it is this approach that we are proud to celebrate through the Red Hat APAC Innovation Awards.”

Additional Resources

• Learn more about the Red Hat APAC Innovation Awards 2026

• Learn more about Red Hat Summit: Connect

About Red Hat
Red Hat is the open hybrid cloud technology leader, delivering a trusted, consistent and comprehensive foundation for transformative IT innovation and AI applications. Its portfolio of cloud, developer, AI, Linux, automation and application platform technologies enables any application, anywhere—from the datacenter to the edge. As the world's leading provider of enterprise open source software solutions, Red Hat invests in open ecosystems and communities to solve tomorrow's IT challenges. Collaborating with partners and customers, Red Hat helps them build, connect, automate, secure and manage their IT environments, supported by consulting services and award-winning training and certification offerings.

Forward-Looking Statements
Except for the historical information and discussions contained herein, statements contained in this press release may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are based on the company’s current assumptions regarding future business and financial performance.  These statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially. Any forward-looking statement in this press release speaks only as of the date on which it is made. Except as required by law, the company assumes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements.

Shri Gaurav Gupta, ACS (Energy) along with Smt. Divya Prabhu GRJ, MD, KREDL inaugurates the Karnataka Pavilion at Bharat Electricity Summit 2026

Addressing the Focus State Session for Karnataka during Bharat Electricity and Indian Utility Week 2026 at Yashobhoomi, New Delhi, Shri Gupta said the State was preparing its power sector to meet rapidly rising electricity demand while strengthening grid infrastructure, energy storage and renewable energy capacity - an effort that will contribute directly to India's national clean energy targets.

Shri Gaurav Gupta, ACS (Energy) along with Smt. Divya Prabhu GRJ, MD, KREDL and other dignitaries at the Bharat Electricity Summit 2026, New Delhi

Karnataka currently has more than 39 GW of installed power capacity, with two-thirds of its power mix coming from clean hydro and renewable sources. The State has been able to meet a significant share of its daily electricity demand through green power.

“Over the next decade, Karnataka will continue to expand its power capacity while ensuring that this growth remains overwhelmingly green,” Gaurav Gupta said.

The State’s electricity demand is expected to double over the coming decade, driven by rapid industrial expansion, widespread electric vehicle adoption and the development of large data centres in Bengaluru, Mysuru and Mangaluru. To manage this growth, Karnataka has emerged as an early State to implement a CEA and KERC-approved Resource Adequacy Plan.

Gaurav Gupta said the State’s clean-energy transition would be backed by investments in grid resilience and energy storage. Karnataka is advancing the 2,000 MW Sharavathy Pumped Storage Project and deploying large-scale Battery Energy Storage Systems at critical KPTCL substations to provide greater flexibility to the power grid.

The State is also expanding the Pavagada Solar Park, scaling up wind capacity and promoting the solarisation of agricultural feeders through PM-KUSUM Component-C and the Chief Minister Saura Krishi Yojana (CM-SKY).

On transmission infrastructure, Gaurav Gupta said KPTCL was operating with ultra-low transmission losses of under 3 per cent and was undertaking the construction of thousands of kilometres of new transmission lines and super-grid substations.

Gaurav Gupta highlighted Karnataka’s long-standing leadership in India’s energy sector, noting that the State established Asia’s first major hydroelectric power station at Shivanasamudram in 1902, while Bengaluru became the first city in South Asia to be electrified in 1905.

Karnataka is ensuring there is no curtailment of transmission and no delay in payments to power generators, providing greater certainty to investors, Gaurav Gupta said. 

He said the State is encouraging greater private participation in energy storage and transmission and expects to attract Rs. 2–3 crore in private investment in the power sector over the next four to five years.

Gaurav Gupta said Karnataka was also responding to feedback from investors, including on land-related regulations and project procedures. As part of this exercise, the State is simplifying rules and processes and moving them online to provide investors with a clear and seamless pathway for setting up projects.

“This kind of transparent and streamlined system will make it easier for more investors to participate in Karnataka’s power sector,” he added.

As India moves towards the goal of Viksit Bharat by 2047, Karnataka is positioning itself to lead in the next phase of the country’s clean-energy transition, with opportunities for global partnerships in battery storage, green hydrogen and smart-grid automation, Karnataka Renewable Energy Development Ltd Managing Director Divya Prabhu said. 

Digitalisation will be key to the future growth of renewable energy, Divya Prabhu said.

She said the electricity system and power generation are moving towards a more predictable and efficient architecture, supported by better forecasting and prediction systems. These advances are being made possible through digitally intelligent power systems.

She highlighted the growing role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the energy sector, including optimising power procurement, using digital twins to simulate and assess power networks, and enabling predictive maintenance and management of assets.

Divya Prabhu also said the digitalisation of renewable energy projects is a major milestone for Karnataka. The State has mapped renewable energy projects and developed a single-window digital platform that provides investors with comprehensive information on projects, making it easier for them to explore and invest in the sector.

“Karnataka is working towards creating a digitally enabled renewable energy ecosystem that is more transparent, predictable and investor-friendly,” she said.

Bharat Electricity Indian Utility Week 2026 is Organised by The Energy & Climate Initiatives Society (ENCIS), the three-day event convenes more than 15,000 professionals, over 250 exhibitors, and 150 global thought leaders from 40 countries. Major sponsors and participating organisations include Adani, NTPC, Coal India, NLC, Tata Power, ReNew, EDF, Schneider Electric, Toshiba JSW, Kirloskar Brothers, and others. Delegations from the US, UK, Germany, France, Japan, South Korea, Australia, UAE, Singapore and more have gathered in New Delhi to advance India’s clean energy and technology ambitions.

Guided by the theme 'Shaping Energy Sovereignty • Building Climate Resilience • Powering Viksit Bharat,' Bharat Electricity, POWERGEN India & Indian Utility Week 2026 is more than a showcase, it is a catalyst for next-generation energy solutions, manufacturing, and global collaboration.

ONLY X Smriti Mandhana
 

For ONLY, denim has always been more than a wardrobe essential. It is a language of confidence, individuality and self-expression for young women. Smriti Mandhana embodies the spirit of the ONLY girl effortlessly. As one of India’s most celebrated athletes and role models, she represents a generation that is ambitious, self-assured and unafraid to define their own path. Her natural approach to style extends far beyond the game, making her a true reflection of the ONLY attitude.
 

The ONLY Fit campaign puts denim in the spotlight, exploring a range of jeans and statement jackets designed to be styled, switched up and worn on repeat. From everyday comfort to standout moments, each piece is made to move seamlessly, reflecting ONLY’s belief that great denim is timeless and always open to interpretation.
 

Speaking about the collaboration, Sumit Dhingra, CEO & Country Director, BESTSELLER India, said, "Smriti Mandhana is one of the standout icons of her generation, not just for what she has accomplished, but for how she has gotten there: on her own terms, in her own time, always staying true to herself. That quiet confidence and authenticity is exactly what ONLY represents. With this collaboration, we want to inspire young women across India to pursue their ambitions boldly and carry their individuality with pride.”
 

Speaking about the collaboration, Smriti Mandhana said, “What drew me to ONLY is the ease and energy the brand brings to style. That instantly resonated with me. Denim has always been a go-to in my wardrobe because it fits naturally into my day and gives me the choice to experiment with my look depending on the moment. Partnering with ONLY felt like a natural fit because we share the similar philosophy; trusting your instincts, keeping it effortless and always being open to switching things up.”
 

The ONLY Autumn 2026 Denim Collection is now available across ONLY app, stores and online.

About ONLY

Founded in Denmark in 1995 as part of the BESTSELLER group, ONLY has evolved from a denim-focused label into a global fashion brand known for its trend-led, accessible style. With a strong foundation in denim and a progressive, style-first approach, the brand today offers a versatile portfolio of modern wardrobe essentials and statement pieces that enable self-expression for the next generation of women. Over the years, ONLY has built deep expertise across retail, wholesale, and the evolving online market, with a presence across 70 countries and a growing online presence in India through www.only.in and leading e-commerce platforms.

About BESTSELLER India
BESTSELLER India is part of BESTSELLER, an international, family-owned fashion company founded in Denmark in 1975. With a portfolio of more than 20 brands, BESTSELLER designs fashion and accessories for women, men, teenagers and children, built on the promise of great style, quality and value.
 

In India, its portfolio includes JACK&JONES, VERO MODA, ONLY, SELECTED, JACK&JONES JUNIOR and VERO MODA GIRL, complemented by its own digital platforms and leading online marketplaces. Globally, BESTSELLER’s products are available in more than 90 countries through branded stores, multi-brand and department stores, and digital channels.

Ai+ opens up Nxt Quantum OS

As part of the commitment to data sovereignty and security, Nxt Quantum enforces a strict sovereign data boundary, ensuring that 100% of application data traffic is routed through local, India-hosted infrastructure. This robust system performs automated analysis of source rules across more than 1,000 connections and 172 unique destination IPs to ensure perimeter security. Notably, all data traffic and IP pings are contained within India, with external traffic limited to essential Google core services directed solely to California and Singapore, necessary for standard operating system functions. This approach not only prioritises data integrity but also reinforces our commitment to protecting user information in line with the Nxtquantum OS framework.

Network Traffic Security Review

With v1.1, NxtQuantum OS also introduces a more streamlined privacy experience through the NxtPrivacy Dashboard, bringing application permissions together in a single interface. Users can review, modify and revoke permissions more easily, providing greater control over how applications interact with device resources and personal data. Enhanced background activity visibility helps users understand when applications access sensitive device resources while operating outside active use. Privacy alerts further help identify permissions that may be excessive, unnecessary or no longer required, enabling users to make more informed decisions about their privacy.

Commenting on the update, Madhav Sheth, CEO, NxtQuantum Shift Technologies (Ai+ Smartphone), said, “The future of technology isn't defined by what it can do. It's defined by how much people can trust it and the aspirations it enables. That belief is central to how we are building NxtQuantum OS.”

The latest enhancements are part of NxtQuantum’s broader approach to building a technology platform, in which privacy, security, and user control are considered throughout the software experience.

This commitment to transparency also extends to how Ai+ evaluates its products through Project Open Review 2.0, which enables reviewers, creators, journalists, technology enthusiasts and ethical hackers to independently test Ai+ devices and provide feedback even before launch.

About Ai+ and NxtQuantum Shift Technologies

NxtQuantum Shift Technologies is a deep-tech Indian company building secure, sovereign digital platforms for a digital-first world. Founded by Madhav Sheth, the company develops NxtQuantum OS, India's first sovereign operating system, and is committed to building technology that is designed, engineered and developed in India while remaining globally competitive.

About Ai+ Smartphone

Ai+ Smartphone is a next-generation brand built in India, delivering reliable and high-performance mobile experiences. Powered by NxtQuantum OS, India’s first sovereign mobile operating system. The brand focuses on delivering a clean design, ensuring long battery life, and maintaining trusted software performance, all while keeping prices accessible without compromising the user experience.

From redefining smartphones to pioneering AIoT products as part of the company's Connected Ecosystem, Ai+ Smartphone is creating a new standard for trust, immersive experience, and accessibility. Rooted in a privacy-first architecture and a commitment to equitable access, Ai+ Smartphone stands for more than specs — it stands for India’s next era of user-owned, future-ready technology.

Decentro Earns Three Industry Recognitions, reinforcing its Leadership in Fintech Infrastructure and Embedded Finance

Two different juries, evaluating three different things, landed on the same company and the same founder in the same season. Decentro was judged as a business, as a category innovator, and for the leadership behind it. Recognition that points to something more fundamental: an infrastructure stack that most players in the space simply don't have.

The "boring" part is the actual innovation
Decentro's approach combines product infrastructure with regulated operating capabilities. The company holds RBI Payment Aggregator (PA) authorisations for online and physical payments, an IFSCA Payment Service Provider licence through its GIFT City entity, and UIDAI Offline Verification Seeking Entity certification. This stack enables enterprises to access bank-grade payment acceptance, identity verification and related financial workflows through a unified integration layer.

The company serves more than 2,000 enterprises across banking, lending, marketplaces, fintech and consumer internet, including large platforms such as AU Small Finance Bank, BharatPe, CRED, Meesho, MakeMyTrip and Muthoot Finance. Decentro's Payment Aggregator platform supports online and offline payment acceptance, including UPI, bank transfers, recurring mandates and QR-based in-store payments. Public company materials also describe its PA-Physical (PA-P) authorisation as enabling offline payment acceptance alongside its online capabilities.

Decentro processes more than USD12 billion in annual payment volume and 120 million-plus identity verifications a year, with integration timelines cut from months to days and roughly 30% lower operational costs for enterprises building on the stack. The company has also expanded its collections capabilities through Neowise, its conversational AI platform for lending collections. Neowise supports multilingual borrower engagement and human-assisted resolution workflows for lenders, and now handles close to 3 million borrower conversations a month across 12-plus Indian languages, working with lenders including Tata Capital and L&T Finance. Three physical delivery centres and 400+ trained human debt callers support the cases that need a person rather than a bot.

The leadership behind the platform
Rohit Taneja is a two-time fintech founder. Before Decentro, he co-founded Mypoolin, an early social payments platform backed by Accel, which Wibmo later acquired; PayU subsequently acquired Wibmo. He then led product and engineering for Wibmo's payment gateway business, working with financial institutions across India, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Dubai.

Founded in 2020 by Rohit Taneja and Pratik Daudkhane, Decentro is backed by Y Combinator and offers more than 150 APIs across payments, identity verification, banking and AI-led collections. Under their leadership, the company has secured its PA licence, acquired Neowise, and expanded into cross-border payments infrastructure through its IFSCA licence and GIFT City presence. Decentro's continued focus is to make financial infrastructure simpler to adopt, so businesses can spend more time building differentiated customer products.

"Being recognised at the company, innovation and leadership levels in the same year is deeply meaningful for all of us at Decentro," said Rohit Taneja, Co-founder and CEO, Decentro. "We set out to build the infrastructure behind financial products, not another standalone financial product. For our customers, that means faster launches, fewer fragmented integrations, and regulated capabilities that can be embedded directly into their customer experience. These honours reinforce the value of building compliance and reliability into the platform from day one."

Decentro was named Fintech Company of the Year for its efforts across payments, identity and collections, achieved while staying profitable on a lean ~USD10 million raised to date. Separately, the Bharat NBFC & FinTech Summit recognised Rohit for building a mechanism that lets Decentro's infrastructure operate seamlessly behind complex banking and financial products.

About Decentro
Decentro is a full-stack banking and fintech infrastructure platform founded in 2020 and backed by notable funds including Y Combinator. It enables businesses to launch and scale financial products through a unified API layer spanning payments, identity verification, banking and AI-led collections. Decentro holds RBI Payment Aggregator authorisations for online and physical payments, an IFSCA Payment Service Provider licence through its GIFT City entity, and UIDAI Offline Verification Seeking Entity certification for offline Aadhaar verification. The platform serves more than 2,000 enterprises across banking, lending, marketplaces and consumer fintech.

Careernet recognized as a Leader in Everest Group’s Recruitment Process Outsourcing Services PEAK Matrix® Assessment 2026 – India

Everest Group's 2026 RPO assessment examines how recruitment providers are responding to changing hiring requirements through flexible, scalable delivery models — including modular and project-based services, recruiter-on-demand offerings, and expanded advisory capabilities. The assessment also evaluates the growing role of generative AI, agentic AI, automation, analytics, and talent intelligence across sourcing, screening, candidate engagement, workforce planning, and recruiter productivity, and covers 57 RPO providers globally.

Anshuman Das, Co-founder and CEO, Careernet Group, said, “The nature of hiring is changing rapidly, and organizations across industries and stages of growth are navigating increasingly diverse and complex talent needs. This requires recruitment partners who can understand the nuances of each business and curate solutions that bring together deep talent expertise, market intelligence, technology and talent evaluation. At Careernet, our RPO solutions are designed to help organizations address these distinct requirements with the right combination of human expertise, technology and scale. Being recognized as a Leader by Everest Group reinforces our commitment to delivering agile, outcome-focused talent solutions that create meaningful impact for our customers.”

Commenting on the recognition, Sailesh Hota, Vice President, Everest Group, said: "Careernet has established itself as a leading RPO provider in India through its strong expertise in white-collar hiring, deep relationships with GCCs and technology-led enterprises, and its ability to deliver both project-based and end-to-end engagements. Its investments in AI-enabled recruitment technology, the integrated HirePro assessment platform, outcome-based engagement models, and expanding delivery capabilities have helped position it as a Leader in Everest Group's Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) Services PEAK Matrix® Assessment 2026 – India."

The recognition comes at a time when enterprises are reassessing their recruitment strategies amid stabilizing hiring demand, continued economic uncertainty, financial pressures, and persistent skills shortages. Everest Group notes that organizations are increasingly seeking recruitment models that can scale with changing business requirements while delivering measurable hiring outcomes, stronger stakeholder experiences, and greater workforce agility.

About Careernet

Careernet is a leading holistic talent solutions provider. Because the world needs great talent, we make it happen with the unified strength of Careernet, HirePro, Longhouse, and MyCareernet. Founded in 1999, the company’s mission is to shape exceptional teams with scalable, holistic talent solutions while helping candidates realize their dream careers.

We help companies acquire the best talent by making their recruitment experience seamless with technology innovations. We offer a comprehensive suite of talent solutions, some of the prominent ones being Advisory, Recruitment Process Outsourcing, Executive Search, Permanent Recruitment, Professional Staffing, Talent Branding, Research and Early Careers. Today, Careernet serves over 1,000 active top employers and has more than 2,000 employees with dedicated offices in multiple locations across the country, the Middle East, the US, and the Philippines.

For more details, visit: careernet.in.

More than 500 digital and technology experts at Syngenta’s DevCon 2026 in Pune

Hengde Qin, Syngenta Group’s Global CEO and Feroz Sheikh, Chief Information Digital Officer, launched the event virtually, sharing their perspectives on the growing impact of digital on Syngenta’s business and how AI and agentic development is critical for us to innovate, operate and deliver value in the future. 

Syngenta continues to strengthen its digital agriculture capabilities as an Agtech company. The importance of engineering excellence, AI augmentation and knowledge sharing in developing the next generation of AgTech solutions was clearly reinforced at DevCon 2026.

"Agriculture faces increasingly complex challenges, and technology has a critical role to play in helping farmers navigate them. DevCon is more than a technology conference. It is a platform where our global engineering community comes together to learn, collaborate and innovate. By combining strong engineering practices with the power of AI, we are building solutions that have real-world impact on farmers and strengthen the future of agriculture," said Andre Piza, Global Head of Digital AgTech, Syngenta.

What makes DevCon unique is the scale of impact behind the innovation. More than 90% of the digital agriculture solutions developed by Syngenta's Pune-based technology teams support farmers and agricultural stakeholders across global markets, making the city one of the company's most important hubs for digital innovation. 

"The theme 'Sharper Together' reflects our belief that innovation happens when great minds learn from each other and raise the bar collectively. Bringing together 250 developers from across India creates a powerful community of problem-solvers focused on advancing digital agriculture. From Pune, our teams are contributing technologies that support farmers across the world, demonstrating how engineering excellence can drive global impact," said Salil Bongale, Global Head - IT & Digital, Pune Centre.

Through technical showcases, peer learning sessions and discussions on AI-enabled development, DevCon 2026 celebrated the growing role of engineering communities in shaping the future of agriculture. The event underscored how Syngenta's developers are not only building software, but also creating digital solutions that help farmers improve resilience, productivity and sustainability. DevCon 2026 demonstrated that the future of AgTech will be built through collaboration, continuous learning and innovation at scale.

Razorpay, India’s Omnichannel Payments Platform for Businesses, today launched RAY, an AI Account Manager on WhatsApp, in partnership with IndusInd Bank, with Bajaj Finance among the first businesses live on the platform. Built for businesses of every size, RAY gives founders an always-on, intelligent way to manage their payments and get support whenever they need it, day or night. Businesses have already had 20,000+ conversations with RAY, an early signal of how readily they are shifting to conversational, AI-led resolutions over dashboard-based ones for faster, more accessible support.

Razorpay Launches AI Account Manager on WhatsApp, with Induslnd Bank

Starting today, businesses can send RAY, Razorpay's AI Assistant, a simple message or voice note saying, “Show me a summary of my payments from yesterday” or go deeper with a request like, “Analyse my payments from the last two months and project my sales for the next two months.” RAY responds in natural language, without founders having to navigate dashboards or multiple screens to find the information they need. For India’s small businesses, getting help from their payments provider has just become as simple as texting a friend.

But the bigger shift is what happens next. For years, the largest businesses have had someone they could call to help them manage their payments and business needs. Most small and growing businesses haven't. Whether it’s checking the status of a settlement ahead of an urgent payout, sending a payment link to a customer, or issuing a refund while on the go, Razorpay is now putting that experience inside WhatsApp, the app most MSME’s already use for their business.

RAY is designed to do more than answer questions. It proactively tracks a business’s payment health and shares useful insights and actions before a business owner has to ask. From recommendations such as “Here’s how you can improve your payment success rate,” to flagging an upcoming settlement with a message such as, “Your Rs 94,600 settles Wednesday. Tuesday is a bank holiday. Would you like to get it settled today?”, RAY helps businesses stay ahead of issues and make faster decisions.

The launch marks the next evolution of RAY, Razorpay's AI-powered merchant assistance technology. While RAY was originally built to help businesses access information and support by leveraging AI, it no longer just answers questions when businesses reach out - it independently triggers actions across Razorpay’s systems. Where businesses once had to log into a dashboard to issue a refund or generate a payment link, they can now simply ask RAY to do it - on WhatsApp, in the middle of a conversation. 

The idea behind RAY started with a simple insight. Razorpay’s systems can already detect the early signs of a merchant needing support - from improving payment success to staying ahead of settlements. The opportunity was in how to act on those signals at scale. Manual outreach, however well-intentioned, depends on someone picking up the phone, one merchant at a time - a model built for hundreds of businesses, not millions. RAY was built to close that gap: turning real-time signals into real-time action, reaching every business on time, automatically.

Khilan Haria, Chief Product Officer, Razorpay said, “We’ve been thinking about how AI can fundamentally change the way businesses interact with their payments infrastructure. Millions of businesses across India are building and growing every day, and we wanted to make it easier for them to access the information, intelligent insights, and support they need along the way. With RAY, an AI Account Manager on WhatsApp, a business owner can simply ask for what they need in the most natural way possible and have it acted upon.”

He added, “More importantly, we are moving towards a world where they may not even need to ask us first. If we see an opportunity to help, whether it’s improving payment success, staying ahead of a settlement, or taking an action at the right moment, RAY will proactively reach out and help. Every founder, regardless of the size of their business, should feel like they have someone looking out for them.”

Amitabh Saraff, Head – Institutional and Government Coverage, IndusInd Bank said, "At IndusInd Bank, we are committed to making banking simpler, faster, and more accessible for businesses. Our partnership with Razorpay reflects this focus by bringing account management capabilities to a familiar platform like WhatsApp, helping make business support more immediate, intuitive, and convenient."

Bajaj – Tanaji Khot – Senior Head Banking, Bajaj Finance said, “When you're running a business, you don't always have the time to open another dashboard or follow up on multiple support channels. You just want to know what's happening and get an issue resolved quickly. Being able to simply send a message on WhatsApp makes the experience much more natural. It feels less like using another business tool and more like having someone available when you need help.”

Razorpay’s AI Agent Platform is built around a single intelligent agent that can handle a wide range of business needs end-to-end. Instead of building separate AI agents for payments, settlements, refunds, and other functions, the platform allows a single agent to draw on different capabilities, tools, knowledge, and memory depending on what a business needs in the moment. It holds full 360-degree context for each merchant, and an extensive evaluation system validates every response in real time, keeping hallucinations in check without compromising latency. The result: RAY moves seamlessly within a single conversation - from understanding what a business needs, to finding the right information, to recommending the next step, to taking the action itself.

With this launch, Razorpay is taking another step towards a future where AI doesn’t just help businesses understand what is happening, but helps them act on it. Built on Razorpay’s growing intelligence layer across payments, risk, and business operations, RAY is part of the ecosystem the company is building to make running a business simpler, more proactive, and increasingly intelligent.

About Razorpay

Razorpay, an omnichannel payments platform for businesses, strives to help Indian businesses with innovative solutions built with technology to address the payment and banking journey for businesses. Established in 2014 by alumni of IIT Roorkee, Shashank Kumar and Harshil Mathur, the company strives to provide technology payment solutions to many businesses. A few angel investors have also invested in Razorpay’s mission to simplify payments and business banking.

What happens when college students take competition a little too seriously? For Wonderla, it means hairdryers turn into roller coasters, water tanks become training grounds and hostel beds double up as practice arenas. With its latest youth-focused campaign, Wonderla Off Campus, Wonderla Holidays Ltd. India's largest amusement park chain is bringing the spirit of college competition into its parks through the Wonderla Off Campus League (WOCL), a five-city inter-college championship that combines play, rivalry, teamwork and the unmistakable energy of campus life. From 5 August to 11 September, students from colleges across Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai, Kochi and Bhubaneswar compete within their cities in a season-long points race.  Colleges with the maximum points in each city, take the ultimate prize of rolling trophy and sponsorships worth Rs. 13 Lacs.

Wonderla Off Campus League (WOCL) by Wonderla Holidays brings college rivalries across Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai, Kochi and Bhubaneswar. Students compete to win exciting prizes

Across the season, students go head-to-head in a mix of ride-based challenges that test nerves and reflexes, and skill-based games that reward strategy and teamwork, with solo formats for individual glory and team events, played in twos, for those who'd rather share the win. The week builds to Treasure Hunt Thursdays, a park-wide hunt enabled by Wonderla's digital platform that carries the highest points on offer, turning a single evening into the biggest swing in the city standings.

The campaign is supported by a series of fun brand films that take a humorous look at students preparing for WOCL in increasingly unconventional ways. Set against familiar hostels and dormitory settings, the films follow students who take their training for the competition to unexpected extremes, much to the confusion and frustration of their roommates.

In one film, two roommates search frantically for a missing hairdryer and fan, only to find their friend using them to recreate the thrill of a roller coaster ride. In another, a mysterious water shortage leads roommates to discover their friend using the hostel's water tank as a rather unconventional practice arena. A third film sees a student lying upside down on her bunk bed, intensely counting backwards as part of her own preparation ritual.

Each time, the explanation is simple: it's all for WOCL. The films build on the larger idea behind Wonderla Off Campus - bringing the competitive spirit, friendships, rivalries and shared experiences that define college life in the Wonderla universe.

Dheeran Choudhary, Chief Operating Officer, Wonderla Holidays Ltd., said, "Running a championship inside a live amusement park is an operational sport of its own. Every challenge, in the water and on the rides, is conducted under the supervision of our trained teams, with our standard safety protocols in place across all five parks. And the live leaderboard on the Wonderla Off Campus microsite means a student can leave the park in the evening and watch their college's position move the same night. The competition is intense by design. The experience stays effortless by design too."

Pallavi Nayak, Vice President – Marketing & Growth, Wonderla Holidays Ltd., said, “The core essence of Wonderla is that some of the most memorable experiences are created when people come together to connect and celebrate. With Wonderla Off Campus, we want to combine the spirit of our youth from their campuses with the Wonderla energy and create a platform for the young to showcase their talent, passion and competitive spirit. More than a championship, Wonderla Off Campus is about building those connections with the next generation and creating experiences that extend beyond our parks. We look forward to making this a celebration of youth, community and of course, Majaa!”

Students can also enter the College Creator Challenge, posting a reel of their Wonderla experience on Instagram, tagging @wonderla_in with #WonderlaOffCampus, for a chance to win an iPhone 17 Pro Max and weekly headphone giveaways, judged on reel quality and creativity. (T&Cs apply)

Ticket bookings are open through the season and students can register for WOCL at all five parks. The championship closes on 11 September, when five colleges, one in each city, will be crowned champions, who will win sponsorship worth Rs. 13 Lacs along with Rolling Trophy. 

About Wonderla Holidays Limited
Wonderla Holidays Limited is India’s largest and premier amusement park operator, offering world-class entertainment experiences across its amusement parks and premium resorts. The company operates five top-tier amusement parks in Kochi, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Bhubaneswar, and Chennai alongside Wonderla’s resort offerings - Terrea by Wonderla and The Isle by Wonderla, premium retreats in Bengaluru. Known for its thrilling attractions, including custom-designed rides from leading international suppliers, Wonderla continues to set the benchmark in family entertainment. In addition to its parks, Wonderla offers serene, immersive experiences through its resorts, blending leisure and entertainment in one seamless destination. Since its inception in 2000, over 48 million guests have enjoyed Wonderla parks, solidifying its position as India’s most-visited amusement park chain, while its resorts continue to redefine luxury leisure and hospitality.

For further details, visit www.wonderla.com.

Vijay Sankar, Chairman, The Sanmar Group

The investment marks a significant milestone in AltEons’ growth strategy as the company scales its integrated renewable energy platform combining solar, wind, energy storage and advanced energy management solutions to provide Round-the-Clock (RTC) clean power to C&I consumers. AltEons is working on an under-construction pipeline of 210 MW Hybrid portfolio (Wind, Solar, and Battery Energy Storage Systems) in Maharashtra to cater to the growing demand of energy intensive businesses in the State.

The company works with customers across manufacturing, automotive, data centres, and industrial engineering, among others. These customers are seeking long-term, sustainable energy solutions that support their Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) commitments. Apart from this capacity, AltEons will secure another 800 MW pipeline by the end of the year.

Vijay Sankar, Chairman, The Sanmar Group, said, "AltEons has built a compelling platform focused on addressing one of the most critical challenges in energy transition, delivering reliable renewable power at scale. We believe the company's innovative approach, experienced leadership, and strong execution capabilities position it to become a significant player in India's evolving renewable energy sector. As a multinational, sustainability-focused organization, we are pleased to partner with AltEons on this exciting journey." 

Srinivasan Viswanathan, Founder & CEO of AltEons Energy, said, "We are delighted to welcome The Sanmar Group as our strategic investor and partner in our mission to transform India's clean energy landscape. This investment reinforces confidence in our vision of delivering reliable RTC renewable power to C&I customers. With Sanmar's long-term partnership, we are well positioned to develop over 1.5 GW of RTC renewable energy projects and help industries accelerate their decarbonization goals."

About AltEons Energy
AltEons Energy is a renewable energy company focused on developing and operating utility scale and commercial renewable energy solutions for corporate customers. The company specializes in Round-the Clock renewable energy solutions by integrating solar, wind, energy storage, and digital energy management technologies to provide reliable, sustainable power that supports India's energy transition and corporate decarbonization objectives.

About The Sanmar Group
The Sanmar Group is a diversified industrial conglomerate with a presence in Chemicals, Speciality Chemicals, Shipping, Engineering and Foundry businesses. With a history of over six decades, Sanmar’s global footprint spans India, Egypt, Singapore, Mexico and the United States of America. Sanmar is known for its strong ethical foundation and emphasis on growth through partnerships. 

For more information, please log on to www.alteonsenergy.com.

Ai+ Smartphone Enters the Bigg Boss House Across Five Language Editions
 

Bigg Boss has grown beyond being a television show to become a cultural phenomenon, driving conversations across television, digital and social platforms. Its ability to connect with audiences across languages and regions makes the property a powerful platform for Ai+ Smartphone to build familiarity, trust and aspiration among consumers across the country.
 

The association spans the Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Bengali editions of Bigg Boss, with Salman Khan, Vijay Sethupathi, Nagarjuna Akkineni, Kiccha Sudeep and Sourav Ganguly hosting the Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Bengali editions respectively. Together, the association gives Ai+ Smartphone a powerful multilingual platform to build familiarity and relevance while speaking to consumers in the languages, cultural contexts and entertainment formats they connect with most.
 

Speaking on the collaboration, Archi Gogoi, Head of Brand, Marketing & Growth, Ai+ Smartphone, said, “In a market as diverse as India, meaningful consumer connections come from understanding the distinct cultures, conversations and contexts that shape audiences across regions. Bigg Boss is one of the few platforms that combines massive national relevance with incredibly strong regional appeals. For Ai+ Smartphone, this association is about going beyond visibility and becoming part of the conversations and cultural moments, our consumers already care about. Across Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Bengali, we have an opportunity to connect with audiences in a way that feels more local, relevant and authentic.”
 

As part of the association, Ai+ Smartphone will engage audiences through product integrations, branded moments, contextual content and digital amplification across the Bigg Boss ecosystem. The approach is designed to take the brand beyond conventional advertising and integrate Ai+ Smartphone naturally into moments and conversations audiences engage with throughout the season.
 

For Ai+ Smartphone, the Bigg Boss 20 partnership represents another step in building a technology brand that combines Indian roots with global ambition while staying close to the culture, conversations and consumers shaping modern India.
 

About Ai+ Smartphone

Ai+ Smartphone is a next-generation brand built in India, delivering reliable and high-performance mobile experiences. Powered by NxtQuantum OS, India’s first sovereign mobile operating system. The brand focuses on delivering a clean design, ensuring long battery life, and maintaining trusted software performance, all while keeping prices accessible without compromising the user experience.

From redefining smartphones to pioneering AIoT products as part of the company's Connected Ecosystem, Ai+ Smartphone is creating a new standard for trust, immersive experience, and accessibility. Rooted in a privacy-first architecture and a commitment to equitable access, Ai+ Smartphone stands for more than specs — it stands for India’s next era of user-owned, future-ready technology.

About Ai+ and NxtQuantum Shift Technologies

NxtQuantum Shift Technologies is a deep-tech Indian company building secure, sovereign digital platforms for a digital-first world. Founded by Madhav Sheth, the company develops NxtQuantum OS, India's first sovereign operating system, and is committed to building technology that is designed, engineered and developed in India while remaining globally competitive.

Prashant Tiwari, Chairman, Prateek Group, announces the Group’s plans to develop a INR 500 crore high street mall in Siddharth Vihar, Ghaziabad

Envisioned as a new-age retail, dining and entertainment destination, the project will cater to the rapidly growing residential population of Siddharth Vihar and surrounding markets across NCR.

The project forms part of Prateek Group’s long-term strategy to build a portfolio of annuity-generating commercial assets, complementing its residential development business. By retaining ownership and operating the mall entirely through a leasing model, the Group aims to create a sustainable recurring revenue stream while building long-term value from its commercial portfolio.

The fully lease-based format will also enable Prateek Group to exercise greater control over tenant curation, brand positioning, asset management and the overall consumer experience.

Designed as a comprehensive family and lifestyle destination, the mall will feature a curated mix of national and international brands across fashion, consumer electronics, athleisure, ethnic wear, formal and casual fashion, jewellery, footwear, beauty, accessories and other lifestyle categories.

Entertainment will be a key component of the development, with plans for a state-of-the-art multiplex, dedicated kids’ entertainment and family recreation zones, positioning the project as an experience-led destination extending beyond conventional retail.

The food and beverage portfolio will include quick-service restaurants, cafés, speciality food concepts, premium casual dining, fine-dining restaurants and banquet facilities, creating a strong culinary and social ecosystem within the development.

Strategically located in Siddharth Vihar, the project is expected to benefit from a large and expanding residential catchment across Indirapuram, Crossings Republik, Raj Nagar Extension, Noida, Greater Noida and the NH-24 corridor. Continued residential development and improving connectivity across the region have created growing demand for organised retail, dining and entertainment infrastructure.

Speaking on the announcement, Prashant Tiwari, Chairman, Prateek Group, said, “The INR 500 crore high street mall in Siddharth Vihar is an important part of our strategy to build a strong portfolio of income-generating commercial assets. Our vision is to create a destination that brings together shopping, dining, entertainment and community experiences under one ecosystem. By retaining the asset and following a completely lease-based model, we will be able to curate the right brand mix, maintain high operational standards and create a consistently strong consumer experience while generating sustainable long-term rental revenues.”

The development is also expected to generate economic activity across retail, hospitality and entertainment, create employment opportunities and further strengthen Siddharth Vihar’s emergence as a major residential and commercial destination within NCR.

With a project worth approximately INR 500 crore, a development footprint of around 2 lakh sq. ft. and a 100% lease-based model, Prateek Group aims to establish the project as a landmark organised retail and entertainment destination in Ghaziabad while significantly expanding its portfolio of annuity-generating commercial assets.

G-SHOCK Fan Meet
 

Held at the G-SHOCK Exclusive Store, Linking Road, Santacruz West, the event brought the G-SHOCK community together through conversations, collection showcases and interactions centred around the brand’s heritage and timepieces. Among the highlights of the evening was a special showcase by four G-SHOCK collectors, who presented selections from their personal collections and shared the stories and significance behind their timepieces. The showcase offered attendees a closer look at the personal connections and stories behind some of the collections that have grown alongside the brand.
 

A key highlight of the evening was the presence of Junichi Izumi, creator of the GA-2100 series, who engaged with members of the G-SHOCK community and shared insights into the design journey behind the GA-2100, one of G-SHOCK’s most recognisable series. His participation offered collectors and enthusiasts an opportunity to hear directly from the creative mind behind the GA-2100 and gain a deeper understanding of the design thinking and philosophy that shaped the series.
 

Commenting on the occasion, Takuto Kimura, Managing Director, Casio India, said, “G-SHOCK has grown into a global community united by a shared appreciation for individuality, creativity and innovation. India has been an important part of that journey, with collectors and enthusiasts embracing the brand and making it their own. The Fan Meet is an opportunity for us to bring this community together, celebrate their passion for G-SHOCK and create meaningful interactions around the brand.”
 

Sharing his thoughts on the occasion, Junichi Izumi, Creator of the GA-2100 Series, said, “The GA-2100 was developed as a new expression of the G-SHOCK identity while staying true to the strength and character of the brand. It has been very rewarding to see how collectors and enthusiasts around the world have connected with the series and made it their own. Meeting the G-SHOCK community in India and hearing their stories and perspectives has been a very special experience, and I am happy to be part of this gathering.”
 

The evening featured interactions between Junichi Izumi and attendees, with conversations spanning collections, design and the evolution of the GA-2100 series. Horologists, media and creators also engaged with the brand and each other on G-SHOCK’s continued relevance across generations. The evening continued with an after-party at Gigi Bombay, Bandra West, where guests came together for music and informal conversations, extending the gathering into a more relaxed setting.
 

With the G-SHOCK Fan Meet - Collector’s Edition, Casio India continues to celebrate the collectors, enthusiasts and creators who have made G-SHOCK part of their own stories. By creating spaces for the community to come together, share their collections and connect with the people behind the brand, G-SHOCK continues to build on the culture and connections that have shaped its presence in India.
 

About Casio India Co. Pvt. Ltd.

Casio India Co. Pvt. Ltd. (CIC) is the Indian subsidiary of Casio Computer Co., Ltd., Tokyo, Japan, one of the world's leading manufacturers of consumer electronics and business equipment solutions. Casio India has established a dynamic presence in the Indian market since 1996, emerging as a leading and cherished consumer goods manufacturer. Casio India's range of products include sales and marketing of Timepieces, Electronic Musical Instruments, Desktop Calculators and Scientific Calculators.
 

Setting the benchmark for excellence, Casio India is dedicated to embodying the spirit of innovation and quality that defines the Casio legacy. With a strong commitment to its corporate creed of "creativity and contribution," Casio has consistently translated this ethos into the creation of innovative products making a positive impact on society.
 

For more information, visit www.casio.com/in.

Health Minister U.T. Khader, A. Jayasimha, Ayush TV MD Hari Krishna and GWC VP Harish inaugurated GWC 2026, promoting holistic health and wellbeing

In a powerful interaction with Harish R., Chairman, GWC – 2026, the Minister highlighted the importance of creating greater public awareness about what people eat, where they eat and how food and lifestyle influence long-term health. His recent enforcement initiatives covering five-star hotels, leading clubs, hospitals, bakeries, sweet outlets and pharmaceutical establishments have reinforced the need for stronger public vigilance and responsible health practices.

A major highlight of the event was the announcement of a Women as Wellbeing Ambassadors initiative under GWC – 2026, aimed at empowering women to become champions of healthy families, communities and lifestyles.

The Minister also inaugurated “AYUSH Life Immunity Prasadam – One Meal a Day,” promoting the use of seasonal vegetables, fruits and natural foods as part of an immunity-focused lifestyle. He further released 10 powerful principles for an immunity-enriched lifestyle, providing a simple roadmap for healthier living.

GWC – 2026: A Global Platform for Integrated Wellbeing

The previous edition of the Global Wellbeing Confluence, held in April 2025, created significant momentum, bringing together nearly 5,000 AYUSH doctors and around 45,000 visitors.

The 2026 edition is scheduled for October 23–26, 2026, at Palace Grounds, Bengaluru, with expectations of participation from more than 15,000 AYUSH and modern medicine doctors, along with healthcare professionals, wellness experts, institutions and the public.

The AYUSH Federation of India is the official partner, with associate partnerships from organisations including the Akhila Karnataka Rajya Sarkari Mahila Noukarara Sangha, Karnataka Drugs and Pharmaceuticals Manufacturers Association, and Indian Naturopathy & Yoga Graduates Medical Association, among others.

The GWC – 2026 launch event was attended by Mr. Hari Krishna M., Managing Director, AYUSH TV; Sri A. Jayasimha, Chairman, Karnataka State Brahmin Development Board; and Mr. Pavan Ramesh of AYUSH TV, along with distinguished representatives from the healthcare and wellbeing sectors.

Global Wellbeing Confluence – 2026 aims to bring AYUSH, modern medicine, nutrition, naturopathy, yoga and preventive healthcare onto one powerful platform creating a movement that can make Karnataka a model for healthy and sustainable living for India and the world.

Let’s Talk RED – Youth in Action

For years, menstrual health efforts have focused largely on helping girls access menstrual products, information and hygiene. But creating a stigma-free experience requires changing the environment around them too — including the attitudes and behaviours of the boys growing up alongside them as classmates, friends, brothers and, eventually, partners and colleagues.

Ujaas, an initiative of the Aditya Birla Education Trust founded by Advaitesha Birla, has been working to bring boys into this conversation. Its impact assessment of 2,402 boys in Maharashtra points to measurable shifts in how they understand and engage with menstruation. Following the intervention, understanding of puberty increased by 83.6%, comfort discussing menstruation rose by 59.8%, and confidence to support female peers increased by 51.7%. The proportion of boys who believed they should understand menstruation rose from 50% to 72%, signalling a growing recognition that menstrual health is not only a girls’ issue, but a shared responsibility.

At the same time, the findings reveal an important gap between changing attitudes and everyday behaviour. While confidence in supporting female classmates increased from 54% to 82%, the proportion of boys demonstrating an appropriate response when a classmate had stained her clothes moved from 43% to 40%.

For Ujaas, this gap is significant. It shows that changing what boys know and believe is only the first step; the real test is how that understanding translates into behaviour when a girl is in a moment of vulnerability. The next step is therefore to move from awareness and intention towards empathy, sensitivity and the confidence to respond appropriately.

Speaking on the insights, Ms Advaitesha Birla, Founder Ujaas an initiative of Aditya Birla Education Trust said, “Menstrual health is not exclusively a women’s issue. It is a shared social responsibility. Involving boys in this movement transforms period awareness from a passive topic into active, everyday allyship. At Ujaas, our mission goes beyond imparting knowledge; it’s about inspiring empathetic behavior so that dignity, safety, and respect become the default culture across our institutions and communities.”

It is this understanding that Ujaas launched Let’s Talk RED – Youth in Action, its youth-led menstrual health platform, which brought together students from four Mumbai colleges on 24 August. The initiative moved the conversation beyond the biology of menstruation to explore how stigma, myths, language and everyday responses can affect girls, and what young men can do differently as friends, classmates and family members. Students reflected on the Menstrual Rights Charter and examined how changes in language, behaviour and institutional culture can contribute to more respectful and menstrual-friendly campuses.

The initiative builds on the first edition of Let’s Talk RED, which provided girls with a platform to share the challenges they face around menstruation. Their experiences and perspectives culminated in a Charter of Demands for creating menstrual-health-friendly schools, colleges and enabling environments. This year, Ujaas is taking that conversation forward from sharing challenges to driving action, and from identifying what needs to change to enabling young people to become part of that change.

The discussion also brought forward a strong view among students that creating menstrual health friendly environments must begin with changing attitudes at an early age. The Period Ally Stats Board, which captured responses from 56 female and 31 male participants across 10 statements, highlighted an opportunity to move from awareness towards active allyship. Among male respondents, 50% said they already speak up when they hear jokes, teasing or comments that reinforce period stigma, while 38.9% said they would like to start doing so. Similarly, 44.4% said they already advocate for better menstrual facilities or support in their college or community, while another 44.4% said they would like to start. The findings reinforced the students' view that while systemic improvements such as better facilities and access to menstrual products remain important, sustainable change also requires addressing stigma, misinformation and social attitudes. The participating colleges will take these conversations forward through student-led awareness and peer engagement during the academic year.

A student panellist representing the participating colleges across Mumbai and Kalyan - Bhavan’s College (Andheri), Thakur College (Kandivali), KJ Somaiya College and BK Birla College (Kalyan) - said, “Once you understand what girls experience, you realise that menstruation is not something boys can simply stay out of. Being an ally can be as simple as knowing how to respond when someone needs help, not making a joke out of something that can already feel uncomfortable, and being able to talk about periods without making them a taboo. Even small changes in how we respond can make someone feel more comfortable, respected and supported.”

Ujaas will continue to work with the participating colleges through the academic year to support and follow up on these action plans, with the aim of extending menstrual friendly practices beyond the campus and into the wider environments in which young people live including their peer groups, families and communities.

The larger lesson from the Ujaas findings is that ending menstrual stigma cannot be the responsibility of girls alone. If girls are to grow up without feeling ashamed of a normal biological process, the attitudes of the people around them must change too.

For Ujaas, menstrual health progress is therefore not only about whether girls have access to products or understand how to manage their periods. It is also about whether the people and institutions around them know how to respond with empathy, respect and dignity — so that a period stain becomes a moment of support, not a moment of shame.

About Ujaas

Ujaas is an initiative of the Aditya Birla Education Trust, founded by Advaitesha Birla, working to normalise menstrual health across schools, communities and homes. With programmes across Maharashtra and Delhi, Ujaas combines structured menstrual-health education, community engagement, access to sustainable menstrual products and women-led livelihood models.

In 2025–26, the initiative reached 4,35,842 people through 13,194 menstrual-health education sessions across 1,704 educational institutions, including 63,841 boys and men, while engaging 62,794 community stakeholders. Its SHG-led Ujaas Green Sanitary Pad Manufacturing Units and Period Sakhi model also create livelihood opportunities for women while expanding access to sustainable menstrual products.

The SAFE-PFO trial has enrolled its first patient at Herz- und Diabeteszentrum NRW (HDZ NRW), marking the formal start of recruitment for a randomized head-to-head evaluation of two widely used patent foramen ovale (PFO) closure technologies. The enrolling site is led by Principal Investigator Dr. med. Werner Scholtz. SAFE-PFO will directly compare the Cocoon and Amplatzer PFO closure devices.

The Cocoon Occluder portfolio from SMT comprises catheter-based devices for the minimally invasive closure of Atrial Septal Defects (ASD), patent ductus arteriosus (PDA), ventricular septal defect (VSD) and Patent Foramen Ovale (PFO), and is designed to support the treatment of congenital and acquired heart defects. 

The study plans to enroll up to 1,260 patients at approximately 60 centres across Europe. Patients will be randomly assigned to receive either the Cocoon PFO Occluder or a device from the Amplatzer PFO Occluder family. Each patient will be monitored for 12 months, and recruitment across the full study is expected to take about two years.

“This is the first direct head-to-head comparison of the Amplatzer and Cocoon PFO devices, a randomized controlled trial designed to fill an important gap in the clinical evidence for PFO treatment in adults,” stated Prof. Giuseppe Tarantini, Principal Investigator, SAFE-PFO. SAFE-PFO brings together leading centres across Europe to answer an important clinical question.”

Citing the importance of the trial, Dr. Gabor Toth, Co-Principal Investigator of SAFE-PFO, said, “ By directly comparing these two PFO closure devices in a large, randomised study, we hope to provide physicians with clear evidence to help guide treatment decisions for their patients.”

“I welcome the initiation of this important, high-impact trial and look forward to the active participation of several centres across France with experience using both devices for PFO closure,” said Professor Gilles Montalescot, Co-Principal Investigator of SAFE-PFO in France.

Commenting on the trial, Dr. Krishna Sudhir, Chief Medical Officer, SMT, said, “Enrolling the first patient is an important milestone for SAFE-PFO. This study will help cardiologists better understand how the Cocoon PFO Occluder compares with a widely used PFO closure device. Our aim is to generate clinical evidence to support informed treatment decisions and, ultimately, better care for patients with a PFO.”

The Cocoon PFO Occluder features a platinum coating, which effectively mitigates nickel leaching, a common complication associated with traditional nitinol-based Occluders. The study will evaluate its performance against the Amplatzer PFO Occluder family in a randomized controlled setting. No conclusions about comparative safety or effectiveness should be drawn until the study is completed and its results are analysed. 

About the SAFE-PFO trial
SAFE-PFO (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT07380490) is a randomized, multicentre European clinical study comparing the Cocoon PFO Occluder with the Amplatzer PFO Occluder family in adults undergoing transcatheter PFO closure. The first patient was enrolled on 24 July 2026 at HDZ NRW in Germany. Each participant will be followed for 12 months.

About SMT (Sahajanand Medical Technologies)
SMT (Sahajanand Medical Technologies) is a medical devices company with a portfolio of technologically advanced medical devices across vascular and structural heart intervention. SMT offers a portfolio of products focusing on vascular intervention and was the first company in the world to receive CE certification for a DES with a biodegradable polymer. SMT has a global presence with its footprints in more than 72 countries, as on March 31, 2025. 

For further details, please visit  the website or follow SMT on LinkedIn.
 

Disclaimer
Sahajanand Medical Technologies Limited is proposing, subject to receipt of requisite approvals, market conditions and other considerations, an initial public offer of its equity shares and has filed a draft red herring prospectus dated July 25, 2025 (“DRHP”) with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (“SEBI”) and the stock exchanges. The DRHP is available on our website at www.smtpl.com as well as on the website of SEBI at www.sebi.gov.in, Motilal Oswal Investment Advisors Limited at www.motilaloswalgroup.com, Avendus Capital Private Limited at www.avendus.com, HSBC  Securities  and  Capital Markets (India) Private Limited at www.business.hsbc.co.in and Nuvama Wealth Management Limited at www.nuvama.com and and the websites of the stock exchange(s) at www.nseindia.com and www.bseindia.com, respectively. Any potential investor should note that investment in equity shares involves a high degree of risk and refer to the Red Herring Prospectus, including the section titled “Risk Factors” of the Red Herring Prospectus when available, for details. Potential investors should not rely on the DRHP for any investment decision.

Amplatzer™ Occluder devices are registered trademarks of Abbott or its subsidiaries. 

¹. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40454242/
². www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK493151/

Bhavesh Goswami, Founder & CEO, CloudThat | Stanford Seed Alumni

According to Gartner, by 2027, approximately 80% of the engineering workforce will need to upskill to keep pace with the rapid evolution of generative AI. At the same time, IBM research indicates that while access to AI tools is becoming widespread, employee capability and confidence in using these tools remain a significant challenge. Against this backdrop, enterprise AI adoption is increasingly dependent on the availability of trained and certified talent.

CloudThat wins the FY26 Microsoft Superstars Award - India

CloudThat’s FY26 performance reflects the growing demand for enterprise AI and cloud skills. As part of Microsoft’s FY26 campaign, CloudThat trained 3.8 lakh learners, including 2 lakh learners through M365 Copilot skilling programmes and another 85,000 learners across Azure Data & AI. The company also delivered sustained learner acquisition, strong AI skilling outcomes and consistent growth in Microsoft Certified Professionals during the year.

The recognition builds on CloudThat’s longstanding association with Microsoft. Since 2012, CloudThat has trained more than 11 lakh professionals globally, supporting over 2,000 certifications across 30+ countries. Its continued recognition by Microsoft over nine years reflects the scale and depth of its skilling and consulting capabilities.

CloudThat’s strength is also supported by its trainer ecosystem. Twenty of its in-house Microsoft Certified Trainers (MCTs) featured in Microsoft’s Top 100 Global MCT list for 2025, while 13 trainers were recognised under the MCT Quality Awards for 2026. This depth of certified training expertise enables the company to deliver skilling programmes at scale while maintaining a strong focus on certification and learning outcomes.

Beyond enterprise skilling, CloudThat has also expanded its work across government, public sector and higher education. Under AI Pragya, launched by the Centre for e-Governance, Government of Uttar Pradesh, in collaboration with Microsoft, CloudThat trained more than 1,560 government officials across Copilot, Azure, Responsible AI and cybersecurity. The company has also undertaken comparable programmes for the Government of the Maldives, where monthly active usage of Microsoft tools increased by 20% following the training programme.

In the higher education ecosystem, CloudThat works with institutions to integrate Microsoft technologies and certifications into academic curricula, moving beyond one-time workshops towards structured, industry-aligned learning pathways. Its curriculum partnerships include IIT (BHU) Varanasi, Shree Vaishnav Vidyapeeth University, Acharya, SKITM Indore and GD Goenka University. Through these programmes, students can progress through seven Microsoft certification pathways spanning Azure, AI, Data Science and Business Applications. CloudThat plans to expand this model to 50 institutions over the next twelve months.

Commenting on the recognition, Bhavesh Goswami, Founder and CEO, CloudThat, said, “Winning our fourth Superstars title, and our eighth Microsoft recognition overall, tells us something bigger than an award ever could: that Microsoft has trusted us with its skilling ecosystem for more than a decade, and that the trust has held even as the technology underneath it evolved over time. It gives us real confidence as we push into our next phase of growth, expanding our global footprint and building CloudThat into the kind of AI skilling institution the world will keep needing, year after year.”

With AI adoption moving rapidly from experimentation to enterprise-wide implementation, CloudThat continues to focus on building the skills required to translate technology investments into measurable outcomes. Its latest Microsoft recognition reinforces its role in enabling enterprises, governments and academic institutions to develop AI, cloud and digital capabilities at scale.

Japan’s Consul-General Mr. Hiroshi Nawata inaugurates SOLIZE PARTNERS India’s AI Innovation Lab in Bengaluru, alongside SOLIZE PARTNERS global leadership
 

The AI Innovation Lab will focus on applying AI to real engineering and manufacturing challenges. The current focus areas include Generative Design Engineering, Smart Quality Monitoring, Phygital AI through collaborative robots and Digital Agents. The Lab is also working across applications including natural-language 3D CAD generation, mechanical-part lifespan prediction, image-based fault detection, AI and IoT applications in 3D-printer factories and autonomous robotics.
 

“The SOLIZE Group’s focus with AI is not simply to introduce a new technology, but to build on the engineering expertise we have developed over 35 years. Our strength comes from our people, our understanding of manufacturing and our experience of solving complex engineering challenges. By combining this foundation with AI and leveraging the synergies of our teams in India and Japan, we will achieve enhanced productivity, take on more complex challenges and create scalable solutions that deliver real value to the industry,” shared Mahadevan V. S., CEO & Director, SOLIZE PARTNERS India.
 

The global leaders explained the unique capabilities of SOLIZE PARTNERS' additive manufacturing expertise, highlighting how the group’s journey began with industrial 3D printing and expanded through 3D data creation, engineering support, training and manufacturing-related services. Over the years, these capabilities have grown to include product development, the R&D value chain and across multiple industry segments.
 

The event also showcased the complementary strengths of Japan and India - Japan's precision, engineering and process expertise alongside India's software capabilities and engineering talent. The SOLIZE Group connects these strengths with the expertise of its global teams to develop transformative solutions for evolving engineering and manufacturing needs.
 

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Hiroshi Nawata, Consul-General of Japan in Bengaluru, said, “Japan and India bring complementary strengths to their partnership. Japan has built deep capabilities in precision, quality, engineering and manufacturing, while India has developed strong engineering and technology talent and the ability to scale these capabilities. When these strengths come together, they create opportunities not only for business, but also for developing new capabilities and contributing to growth. SOLIZE PARTNERS India's 35-year presence in India is a meaningful example of this long-term relationship, built on trust, technology and a shared commitment to quality. Initiatives such as the AI Innovation Lab demonstrate how the partnership between our two countries can continue to evolve and create new possibilities for the future.”
 

The inauguration comes in a landmark year for SOLIZE PARTNERS India, which is celebrating its 35th anniversary. The milestone was also marked through the company's Annual Townhall 2026, bringing together team members and leadership to reflect on the organization’s journey, its people and its future direction.
 

Together, the events marked an important point in SOLIZE PARTNERS India's story—bringing its AI capabilities, additive manufacturing expertise, India–Japan relationship and 35 years of engineering legacy together as it looks towards the next phase of growth.

KL Rahul joins hands with Pedigree for the Healthy Belly Campaign
 

The product brings together belly-friendly ingredients such as pumpkin and sweet potato; highly digestible proteins from chicken and egg; and prebiotics and fibres that help promote optimal digestion, increase good gut bacteria and support the immune system. It also introduces PEDIGREE® India’s first belly-shaped kibble, giving the product a distinctive form inspired by the digestive-health need it is designed to address.
 

The launch responds to an emerging concern among dog parents in India. In an internal study*, nearly one in four pet parents (26%) feeding home-cooked meals reported observing digestive issues in their pets. As pet parents become more attentive to their dogs’ everyday wellbeing, they are increasingly looking for nutrition that supports specific health needs rather than addressing concerns only after they arise.
 

A dedicated Healthy Belly microsite will also help pet parents understand canine digestive health and the role appropriate nutrition can play in supporting it.
 

Ayesha Huda, Chief Marketing Officer, Mars Pet Nutrition India, said, “Our insight is that digestive health is an important concern for Indian pet parents, particularly among those relying on home-cooked meals. We therefore looked at how nutrition science could help us create a bespoke solution for everyday feeding. We choose ingredients with known belly friendly impact such as pumpkin and sweet potato, highly digestible proteins from chicken and egg, and prebiotics to support healthy digestion and good gut bacteria.. As the brand that helped build the pet-food category in India, we want to continue advancing it through science-backed innovation that responds to the changing needs of pets and their parents.”
 

The product launch is supported by a new brand film featuring Indian cricketer KL Rahul and his dog. Using the relatable subject of a dog’s bowel habits, the film encourages pet parents to pay closer attention to digestive health and introduces PEDIGREE® Healthy Belly as a nutritional solution designed to support it.
 

KL Rahul said, “Anyone who lives with a dog knows how closely you pay attention to their health and everyday behaviour. Digestive health is an important part of their overall wellbeing, and nutrition can play a significant role in supporting it. As an athlete, I understand how much the right nutrition matters to energy, health and performance. PEDIGREE® Healthy Belly makes it easier for pet parents to understand and support this important aspect of their dog’s wellbeing.”
 

Shyam Nair, Executive Creative Director, 22feet, part of Omnicom Advertising India, said, "PEDIGREE Healthy Belly is built on one honest pet-parent truth, you may have a hundred worries, but your dog’s number two is always number one. From chewed-up shoes to muddy furniture, raising a dog comes with its share of challenges. But the moment their tummy seems off, every other worry pales in comparison. The campaign turns this familiar, slightly unglamorous reality into a playful reminder that a healthy dog begins with a healthy belly.”
 

Learn more about PEDIGREE® Healthy Belly.

Link to the Film: www.instagram.com/p/Dcp4l54gWqO/?hl=en
 

For more information about Mars, please visit www.mars.com. Join us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube.
 

Disclaimer: *Source: Mars internal consumer survey conducted in 2025 among home-cooked food (HCF) dog feeders in India (n=253).

Bangalore Watch Company x Geneva Watch Days

“For an Indian watch brand, being in Geneva is significant. It puts our work in the same room as people who have spent decades shaping and following the watch industry,” said Nirupesh Joshi, Co-Founder of Bangalore Watch Company. “We have always built our brand from India, keeping in mind a global audience. With a debut in Geneva, we can present our brand to its intended audience, while still communicating our unique point of view”

The brand’s Geneva debut follows its presence at Dubai Watch Week in 2025, marking an increase in global awareness for an Indian watch brand amidst a rising tide of Swiss watch brand entries to India. 

With its watches finding collectors well beyond India, the brand’s international community has grown around its approach to telling stories through watches, with collectors connecting with subjects ranging from aviation and space to cricket and the outdoors.

“We have customers in more than 30 countries today, and that has happened because people have connected with the stories behind our watches,” said Mercy Amalraj, Co-Founder of Bangalore Watch Company. “Geneva gives us a chance to meet them all. We can share what we have been working on and take a moment to see how far something that started in Bangalore has travelled.”

It is notable that the watch community worldwide has begun gravitating towards independent watch brands from lesser-known parts of the world. India has lately been on the spotlight for increasing consumption of Swiss watches. Bangalore Watch Company is riding this wave in the opposite direction, building something from India and presenting it to the world.

About Bangalore Watch Company

Founded in 2018, Bangalore Watch Company creates high-quality mechanical watches that tell stories of a 21st-century India. Drawing inspiration from Aviation, Cricket, Space, and the Great Outdoors, each collection captures modern Indian narratives that go far beyond stereotypes.

With several firsts to its name including watches made from recovered fighter planes and aircraft carrier materials, India’s first watch qualified for Spaceflight, and a proprietary Cerasteel material that is a fusion of Steel and Ceramic, the brand blends storytelling with technical innovation and contemporary design. Recognised by leading global publications such as The New York Times, Forbes, and Hodinkee for its originality and craftsmanship, Bangalore Watch Company stands at the forefront of modern Indian watchmaking.

Founded by husband-and-wife team Nirupesh Joshi and Mercy Amalraj who left their tech careers overseas to pursue a passion for modern Indian storytelling, the brand has built a quiet but enthusiastic following with customers in over 30 countries.

GoCredit's free Loan App Checker names the RBI-regulated lender behind any lending app, from RBI's official directory of 1,024 digital lending apps

A borrower types the app’s name. The free loan app safety checker searches it against the Reserve Bank of India’s public directory of Digital Lending Apps deployed by Regulated Entities - 1,024 apps as of 1 September 2026 — and against more than 9,200 RBI-registered entities. Where there is a match, the borrower sees the regulated entity behind the app, that entity’s grievance redressal officer, and the escalation route to the RBI Ombudsman. Where there is no match, the tool does not accuse: it hands the borrower a verification checklist and the official reporting channels.

Why the “not found” answer matters most

Google Play’s India policy requires personal loan apps to appear in the RBI’s DLA directory before they can be distributed. An app absent from that directory is therefore an app that should not be offering personal loans on the store at all.

That distinction is the tool’s core design decision. Lists of banned loan apps circulate widely on Indian social media, but no official public list of banned apps exists: blocking orders issued under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act are confidential by law. In a written reply to Parliament in July 2026, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology stated that 87 illegal loan lending applications have been blocked to date; the names in those orders are not published.

“Every viral ‘fake loan app list’ is somebody’s guess, and borrowers are making decisions about their money based on those guesses. The verifiable question isn’t which apps are banned — it’s which regulated entity is behind the app in front of you. RBI publishes that. We made it searchable,” Anupam Acharya, Co-founder and CEO, GoCredit.

How to check if a loan app is RBI registered

The company outlined the verification sequence any borrower can follow, with or without the tool:

1. Search the app name in RBI’s DLA directory. Every legitimate digital lending app in India is reported to the RBI by the bank, NBFC or housing finance company that deploys it.

2. Open the app’s About or Compliance screen. RBI rules require a lending app to name the regulated entity behind it. If no lender is named anywhere, treat that as the first red flag.

3. Read the loan agreement or sanction letter. The legal lender is named at the top; it is frequently different from the app’s brand name.

4. Never pay an advance “processing fee”. Registered lenders deduct charges from the disbursed amount; they do not collect fees by UPI before disbursal.

5. Report what does not check out. Unauthorised lending apps can be reported to the RBI at sachet.rbi.org.in, or to the national cybercrime portal at cybercrime.gov.in and helpline 1930.

What the tool deliberately does not claim

The checker never describes an app as “RBI-approved”. The RBI compiles its DLA directory from information submitted by regulated entities on its CIMS portal and publishes it, in the regulator’s own words, without further validation. A listing is a disclosure by a regulated entity, not an endorsement by the RBI — and the tool’s language reflects that distinction on every verdict it returns.

Built on regulatory architecture, not around it

The tool is a consequence of the RBI’s Digital Lending Directions, under which regulated entities must report the apps they deploy. That reporting requirement is what makes an app-level public check possible at all. GoCredit renders the resulting directory in the form a borrower can act on: searchable by the name on their phone screen, with the grievance contact attached.

Alongside the checker, GoCredit has published the complete list of RBI-registered loan apps in India, with a dedicated safety page for each app naming the regulated entity or entities that deploy it.

The company operates an AI Loan Agent that matches borrowers to lenders through a single consent-based application, rather than repeated applications across multiple instant loan apps that each trigger a credit bureau inquiry. The safety checker extends the same premise to the step before borrowing: establishing who the lender actually is.

Availability

The loan app safety checker is free, requires no signup, and is available now at gocredit.money/loan-app. The underlying directory data is refreshed from the RBI’s published source.

About GoCredit

GoCredit is a personal loan platform operated by Vijayalakshmi Technology Infinity NKB Private Limited, offering an AI Loan Agent that matches borrowers with RBI-registered lending partners through a single consent-based application.

Website: gocredit.money

Sources Referenced

1. Reserve Bank of India - public directory of Digital Lending Apps deployed by Regulated Entities (rbi.org.in, Citizen’s Corner), accessed 1 September 2026.

2. Press Information Bureau - Release ID 2287195, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology reply to the Rajya Sabha, 21 July 2026.

3. Google Play Developer Policy - personal loan app requirements for India.

Vero Moda x Marilyn Monroe

Decades after she first captivated the world, Marilyn Monroe remains a symbol of confidence, individuality and effortless glamour. Long before the age of social media, she defined what it meant to be an icon with magnetic presence and fearless femininity continuing to inspire generations across fashion, film and culture today.

VERO MODA translates Marilyn's iconic spirit into a fashion-forward yet nostalgic collection designed for today's woman, one who embraces authenticity and confidence in every moment.

The collection seamlessly blends VERO MODA's signature aesthetic with Marilyn Monroe's unmistakable visual identity. Her legendary portraits, iconic signature and instantly recognisable kiss mark are thoughtfully woven throughout the collection, creating pieces that feel nostalgic yet unmistakably modern.

At its heart are statement dresses, graphic t-shirts and relaxed sweatshirts showcasing Marilyn's most celebrated imagery through bold portrait graphics and pop-art inspired artwork. Playful polka dots, delicate pearl embellishments, sparkling rhinestone details and expressive graphics pay homage to the glamour Marilyn defined, reinterpreted with a contemporary outlook. 

A standout highlight is the denim capsule, where vintage-inspired washes meet feminine ruffles, modern silhouettes and elevated detailing, offering a modern take on one of fashion's most enduring essentials. 

The collaboration also extends into accessories with statement caps featuring Marilyn’s kiss mark and autograph, an easy way to carry a touch of the icon into everyday style.

The VERO MODA x Marilyn Monroe capsule collection will be available exclusively on the VERO MODA App for the first 48 hours from launch, beginning 1st September 2026, before rolling out across VERO MODA retail stores nationwide, online at www.veromoda.in, and on Myntra.

About VERO MODA

Launched in 1987 as BESTSELLER's first fashion label, VERO MODA has grown to become one of Europe's most recognised high-street fashion brands. Built on the belief that everyday style should feel effortless, elevated and empowering; the brand creates versatile collections that celebrate individuality and inspire confidence. With an authentic expression of style and a constant focus on evolution, VERO MODA continues to redefine modern fashion for women who embrace self-expression and effortless dressing.

In India, VERO MODA has established itself as one of the leading destinations for women's western wear, offering trend-led collections designed for every facet of a woman's lifestyle. The brand reaches customers through its exclusive brand outlets and shop-in-shops across the country, the VERO MODA App, www.veromoda.in and leading online marketplaces.

About Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe is one of the most influential pop culture icons of all time. A true trailblazer, Monroe forged her own path, embracing her individuality and pursuing her passions in an era when paths for women were few. She appeared in 29 films over the course of her career, became a Golden Globe winner for Some Like It Hot, and continued to set a new standard for women in film. As part of her quest for control, she launched her own production company, Marilyn Monroe Productions, affording her control over her image, while pushing back on the Hollywood system to ensure her voice and others were heard. Her pioneering spirit, independence and confidence, along with her incomparable star power, continue to inspire modern generations and transcend cultures and backgrounds. Partnerships with both luxury and mass-consumer brands, in addition to an extensive merchandising program, reinforce her status as a global icon.

Feel a little overwhelmed by the idea of adding “nutrition” to your diet? You’re not alone. We’re here to help guide you with five easy steps to make that goal more achievable.

1. Eat More Plants

You don’t have to cut out animal products from your diet to be healthy, but the Dietary Guidelines recommend filling at least half your plate with fruits and vegetables and also working in whole grains and plant-based protein. Incorporating plant-based foods into meals is an easy way to add essential nutrients and vitamins to your diet! This includes eating walnuts, increasing your intake of omega-3 ALA (2.5g per 28g serving). Blend veggies and walnuts into sauces like this versatile Walnut Romesco Sauce, or swap half the meat in dishes like tacos and lasagna with beans or walnuts.

Walnut Romesco Sauce

Ingredients

1 cup well-drained roasted red peppers

1⁄2 cup California walnuts

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon sherry vinegar

1 teaspoon paprika

1/2 to 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

3 cloves garlic

1 bunch fresh parsley

Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation

1. Place all ingredients in a food processor and process until smooth. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

2. Serve over grilled summer vegetables or grilled steak.

California Walnut Romesco Sauce

2. Drink More Water

Drinking at least eight glasses a day can help curb your cravings and help you from confusing thirst with hunger. Not to mention, staying hydrated is important, especially for those who are active.

3. Make Your Snacks Count

Don’t count your snacks—make your snacks count. Make sure your snacks offer a combination of protein, fiber and good fats. A handful of walnuts, seasoned to your liking is a well-rounded snack that can hold you over until your next meal. This is a great way to meet a craving for sweet or savory with satisfying crunch. You can make a simple trail mix with other nutrient-rich ingredients to really stack your snacks!

Tropical Trail Mix

Ingredients

½ cup low-sugar dried papaya chunks
½ cup unsweetened dried goji berries
½ cup unsweetened shaved coconut
1 cup unsweetened dried pineapple, cut into chunks
1 cup unsweetened dried kiwi
2 cups California walnuts
1 cup toasted, salted pepitas
1 cup bittersweet cacao chips

Preparation

1.Combine all ingredients in a large bowl.
2. Store in an airtight container in a cool, dark, dry spot to keep it fresh for about one month.

California Walnut Tropical Trail Mix

4. Make Mealtime an Occasion

Most people tend to move through life very quickly and don’t stop to enjoy simple pleasures. Things like sitting down to eat a meal can be good for you both mentally and physically, as it encourages you to eat more slowly, allowing your body to process and digest food more appropriately. Physical benefits aside, this can also provide the mental benefit of taking a break and unplugging from your busy life, while enjoying a meal and time with loved ones.

5. Understand Nutrition Labels

While eating whole, unprocessed foods as often as possible is great, it’s not always realistic with our busy lifestyles. Pay attention to the ingredient lists on packaged products, and look out for things like saturated fats, sodium, and added sugars. To avoid being in the situation of not knowing what you’re going to grab as an on-the-go alternative, plan ahead by meal prepping or packing your own snacks to fit in with your diet and nutrition goals. For simple grab-and-go snacks you can make in bulk, try this No-Bake Walnut Cocoa Cherry Bars.

No-Bake Walnut, Cocoa, Cherry Bars

Ingredients

1/2 cup old-fashioned oats

1 cup pitted Medjool dates

1/2 cup shelled California walnuts

1/2 cup unsweetened dried cherries

2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

Preparation

1. In a large food processor bowl, combine oats, dates, walnuts, cherries, cocoa powder and salt. Process 1-2 minutes, or until mixture resembles a crumbly dough.

2. Turn mixture onto wax paper and shape evenly into a 1/2-inch-thick rectangle.

3. Chill at least 1 hour and cut into 9 bars. Bars do not need to be stored in the refrigerator.

No Bake California Walnut Cocoa Cherry Bars

There’s not just one simple way to elevate your nutrition levels for National Nutrition Month, but there are a lot of steps you can take to work towards a more nutritious lifestyle. Setting a goal of what you want to achieve this month and prioritizing a nutritious diet through the previous suggestions are wonderful ways to start!

Mr. Vijay Garg, Chief Financial Officer of MY FM

Mr. Garg assumes the Presidency at a pivotal moment for private radio. The industry, which reaches more than 200 million listeners every week as a free, trusted and deeply vernacular medium, is seeking decisive policy action on four fronts: parity with other media through permission to broadcast independent news and current affairs; extension of Phase III licences on the 4% Adjusted Gross Revenue model already approved by the Union Cabinet for new cities; rationalisation of GST on radio from 18% to 5%, at par with print; and conversion of the 2023 MEITY advisory into a mandatory directive activating FM receiver chips in every mobile phone sold in India.

A finance leader with three decades in media

A cost and Management accountant (ICMA) by training and a graduate of the University of Delhi, Mr. Garg brings close to thirty years of financial and business leadership, of which more than two decades have been in radio. He began his career in corporate finance with Oberoi Hotels & Resorts, moved into broadcasting as Chief Financial Officer of Red FM, and joined the Dainik Bhaskar Group’s radio business in 2007. Today he serves as CFO for the Group’s radio and some other businesses and has been closely associated with MY FM’s expansion from a regional network into one of the country’s largest FM footprints, now moving towards 44 stations 3 across Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Haryana, Punjab and Chandigarh.

Within the industry, Mr. Garg is regarded as one of radio’s most respected voices on the economics of the business — licence fees, spectrum costs, tax structures and the unit economics of small-town broadcasting — and has contributed to AROI’s submissions to the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting and the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India.

On his election, Mr. Vijay Garg said, “I am deeply honoured by the confidence the industry has placed in me. Radio is India’s most local, most inclusive and most cost-efficient mass medium — it speaks to the country in its own languages, free of cost, and it stays on air when every other network goes down. Yet the sector today carries a cost structure built for a very different era. My focus as President will be simple and unrelenting: secure media parity for radio, make the economics of the licence sustainable, correct the tax anomaly, and get FM chips switched on in every phone sold in this country. If we get these right, radio will not merely survive — it will power the local economies of Tier 2 and Tier 3 India for the next decade.”

Appreciating his predecessor’s leadership, Mr. Garg said that Ms. Anurradha Prasad’s tenure had “given the industry a united voice and put radio’s case squarely before the Government,” and said the incoming leadership would build on that foundation.

About AROI

The Association of Radio Operators for India (AROI) is the official body representing private commercial FM radio broadcasters across the country. Its members operate hundreds of stations spanning metros and Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities, reaching over 200 million listeners every week in more than a dozen languages. AROI engages with the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, TRAI and other authorities on policy, regulation and the long-term growth of the radio and audio industry in India.

Nicole Junkermann

The milestone was recorded across the digital ecosystem surrounding Lega Pallavolo Serie A Femminile, working with Gameday by NJF Holdings through their Spike Media partnership. Content generated approximately 61.5 million interactions across digital platforms as the league expanded its audience well beyond traditional television and match-going fans.

For Nicole Junkermann, founder of NJF Holdings and the investor behind Gameday, the figures are significant beyond Italy. Junkermann has previously identified India as an important long-term market for sports investment, technology and digital media, including the infrastructure that can help professional leagues build larger audiences.

"Two billion views changes the conversation," said Nicole Junkermann. "When we first talked about what the Italian experience might mean for India, the season had already produced extraordinary numbers. The final result is stronger still. It shows that women's volleyball can build a very large digital audience when the sport is given the right distribution, content and commercial infrastructure."

Earlier this year, Nicole Junkermann identified India as a market where lessons from the growth of Italian women's volleyball could have wider relevance. At the time, Italy's top women's league had generated more than 1.4 billion digital views during the season, alongside more than 45 million social media interactions.

The completed season has substantially exceeded those figures.

From 1.4 billion to more than 2 billion views
The growth reflects a strategy that treats digital distribution as part of the sporting product rather than simply as a way to promote matches.

Gameday by NJF Holdings and Lega Volley Femminile created Spike Media to focus on media, distribution, audience development and the commercial infrastructure surrounding Italian women's volleyball. The approach has expanded the volume and reach of content around matches, clubs and athletes, allowing fans to encounter the sport across a much wider range of digital channels.

Gameday by NJF Holdings is the sports and media platform backed by international investor Nicole Junkermann. Its work combines professional sport with digital sports media, audience development, technology and commercial infrastructure.

For Junkermann, the Italian experience challenges the assumption that women's leagues need to wait for traditional broadcast audiences to develop before they can become significant media properties.

"Women's sport is still too often assessed using the economics and distribution models of the past," said Nicole Junkermann. "Digital platforms give leagues the chance to build audiences differently. You can create interest around the athletes, the clubs and the competition every day, rather than relying on a few hours of television each week."

That distinction could be particularly relevant to the development of women's sport in India, where sport and digital media already have an unusually close relationship.

Why Nicole Junkermann sees an opportunity in Indian women's sport
India's sporting economy remains dominated by cricket, but Nicole Junkermann believes its success demonstrates something broader: the country's ability to turn sport into entertainment, media, technology and culture at enormous scale.

The question is where that experience could travel next.

Indian women's sport offers one such opportunity. India has a large young digital audience and a sophisticated sports industry, while athletes and competitions outside men's cricket have more opportunities than ever to reach supporters directly through digital platforms.
Nicole Junkermann believes digital distribution, sports technology and better commercial infrastructure can play an important role in accelerating that development.

"India is particularly interesting because many of the ingredients are already there: a young digital audience, a huge appetite for sport and increasingly ambitious female athletes," said Nicole Junkermann.

"Cricket has shown what India can build around a sport. I don't think we should assume that only cricket can benefit from that imagination."

The Italian experience is relevant because it demonstrates how investment around a league can create value beyond the competition itself. Media distribution, short-form content, athlete channels, data, sponsorship and sports technology can all become part of the infrastructure supporting a modern sports property.

For investors looking at women's sport in India, that broadens the opportunity. Investment doesn't have to mean buying a team or competing for a headline sponsorship. It can include the technology, media and digital infrastructure that helps leagues and athletes reach audiences, understand supporters and build sustainable revenue.

Nicole Junkermann's investment thesis for sports infrastructure in India
Nicole Junkermann has previously argued that some of the most interesting sports investment opportunities in India will be found beneath the headline valuations, particularly in sports technology, media, digital distribution and league infrastructure.

The latest results from Italian women's volleyball strengthen that thesis.

A digital audience measured in billions doesn't mean that every view has the same commercial value, nor does it make Italy and India directly comparable. But the scale demonstrates how quickly the audience around a women's competition can grow when distribution is designed around the way people now consume sport.

For Gameday by NJF Holdings, India remains a market of long-term interest as the country's professional sports economy develops beyond its established strengths.

"India doesn't need to copy the Italian model," said Nicole Junkermann. "That would miss the point. The interesting question is what India can build for itself, using its own athletes, audiences and sporting culture. The numbers from Italy simply show how much can happen when a women's league is given the infrastructure and ambition to grow."

For Nicole Junkermann, the 2 billion milestone is therefore less an end point than evidence of what can happen when investment follows changing audience behaviour.

As women's sport attracts greater attention from broadcasters, sponsors and investors around the world, Junkermann believes India has the audience, sporting culture and digital scale to develop a model distinctly its own.

About Nicole Junkermann and NJF Holdings
Nicole Junkermann is an international investor and the founder of NJF Holdings, a privately held international investment group operating across Europe, the United States, the Middle East and Asia.

Through NJF Holdings, Nicole Junkermann invests across technology, life sciences, sport and media, with a particular focus on businesses and infrastructure positioned for long-term structural change. Nicole Junkermann has identified India as an important long-term market for investment and innovation across sport, technology and life sciences.

Gameday by NJF Holdings is the group's sports and media platform, with interests spanning professional sport, media, digital distribution and the technology infrastructure supporting the next generation of sports properties.

Diagnostic testing that once required multiple visits, long waiting periods and physical collection of reports can today be accessed through digital platforms, home sample collection and increasingly seamless healthcare experiences. Consumers can discover tests online, schedule collections from home and receive reports digitally.

But as access improves, a different challenge is becoming increasingly visible: what do consumers actually do with all this health data?

This question could shape the next phase of India’s diagnostics market.

For years, diagnostics has largely been a reactive category. A doctor recommends a test, a consumer books it, the sample is collected, the report is generated and the interaction largely ends there. Even preventive health packages, despite their growing popularity, often remain isolated events rather than part of a continuous health journey.

That behaviour is beginning to change.

Consumers are becoming more proactive about monitoring their health. Cholesterol, blood sugar, thyroid levels, vitamin deficiencies, liver and kidney markers and other parameters are increasingly being tracked over time rather than checked only when symptoms appear.

This is creating a fundamental shift in the role of diagnostics.

The value of a diagnostic test is no longer limited to the number printed on a report. Increasingly, its value lies in understanding what that number means in context, how it compares with previous results, whether a marker is improving or deteriorating, and what actions may need to follow.

“Diagnostics is moving from being a point-in-time healthcare transaction to becoming a continuous layer of health intelligence. The next phase of growth will not be driven simply by more tests being conducted but by how effectively the industry helps consumers understand their health patterns, act on them, and stay engaged over time,” says Dr. Arpit Jayswal, Founder & CEO, Curelo.

The rise of the health-conscious consumer
This evolution is being supported by a broader change in consumer behaviour.

Wearables have made people accustomed to monitoring steps, heart rate, sleep and other health indicators regularly. Fitness platforms have turned health tracking into an ongoing activity. Consumers increasingly expect information to be accessible, personalised and easy to understand.

Diagnostics is beginning to move in the same direction.

Instead of viewing a blood test as a standalone event, consumers are gradually beginning to see laboratory data as another layer of their personal health information.

The implications are significant. A single cholesterol report provides a snapshot. Multiple reports over several years can reveal a trend. A vitamin D result tells a consumer where they stand today. A sequence of results can show whether an intervention is actually working. Similarly, blood sugar, thyroid, liver and kidney parameters can become considerably more meaningful when viewed against historical data rather than in isolation.

This makes continuity one of the industry's next big opportunities.

From testing to health journeys
India already has a large and increasingly accessible diagnostic ecosystem. The next opportunity may therefore be less about simply adding more testing capacity and more about connecting the information generated through that testing.

Historically, health records have been fragmented across laboratories, hospitals, doctors and diagnostic providers. Consumers may have years of reports but no simple way to bring them together and understand the bigger picture.

This fragmentation creates an unusual paradox: healthcare is generating more data than ever, while consumers can still struggle to understand their health history.

The next generation of diagnostic platforms could help close this gap by bringing together test discovery, historical records, trend analysis and appropriate next steps into a more connected experience.

That could also change the economics of the category.

For a traditionally transactional business, customer value is closely linked to the individual test or package purchased. But if diagnostics becomes part of a consumer’s ongoing health journey, the relationship can extend well beyond the first booking.

The industry begins to move from acquisition-led testing to engagement-led healthcare.

Retention could become the new industry metric
This shift is particularly interesting from a business perspective.

In many consumer categories, repeat behaviour is one of the clearest indicators that a product has become part of everyday life. Diagnostics has historically been different, as a specific health need often triggers testing.

But preventive healthcare changes that equation.

Consumers managing chronic conditions, tracking specific biomarkers or simply becoming more proactive about preventive health may have reasons to return periodically.

At Curelo, early consumer behaviour is pointing to this possibility. The platform currently offers more than 4,000 diagnostic tests and has accumulated over 400,000 patient records, providing visibility into how consumers interact with diagnostics beyond their first booking.

The larger industry question is whether repeat testing will increasingly become less about recurring illness and more about recurring health management.

If that happens, retention could become as important a metric for diagnostics businesses as it is for other consumer internet categories.

The real opportunity lies beyond the report
None of this means that the importance of laboratories, testing infrastructure, quality standards or turnaround times is diminishing. These remain fundamental to the industry.

But they are increasingly becoming the foundation rather than the complete consumer proposition.

The next competitive advantage could lie in what happens around the test.

Can consumers discover the right tests more easily?

Can they understand their results without being overwhelmed by medical terminology?

Can they compare current results with their historical data?

Can they identify meaningful changes?

Can they access the right care pathway when something requires attention?

And can all of these steps happen within one connected experience?

These questions point to a broader evolution of diagnostics, from testing as a transaction to diagnostics as an intelligence layer within healthcare.

A category waiting to be redefined
India’s diagnostics market has already undergone a significant transformation through greater accessibility, digitisation and convenience.

Its next transformation could be more behavioural.

As consumers become increasingly comfortable tracking their health, diagnostics may gradually become less dependent on a doctor’s prescription or an immediate health concern.

Instead, it could become part of an individual’s ongoing health-management routine.

That would fundamentally expand the role of the industry.

The winners of the next phase may not simply be the companies capable of processing the largest number of tests. They may be the ones capable of helping consumers derive the highest value from the data those tests generate.

India has spent years making diagnostics easier to access.

The next chapter could be about making diagnostics easier to understand, act upon and return to.

And that could transform diagnostics from a largely invisible support function of healthcare into one of India’s most important emerging consumer health categories.