Rubics Group has come on board as an official sponsor of Mumbay FC for the Durand Cup 2026, extending its commitment to sport and supporting the growth of football in Mumbai. The association builds on Rubics Group’s growing engagement with sport, following its support of the Lionel Messi G.O.A.T. India Tour 2025 and its ownership of UP Dominators in the Pro Wrestling League, reflecting the Group’s commitment to creating world-class sporting platforms, nurturing emerging talent and building communities where ambition can thrive.

The partnership with Mumbay FC comes at a meaningful time  for the club and for the city’s footballing culture. Launched in 2024, Mumbay FC has been building its presence through local competition and community engagement; its participation in the 2026 Durand Cup marks an important step onto a national stage. The club’s recent progress, including its success in the Maharashtra State League and subsequent promotion to I-League 3, has added momentum to its ambitions. For Rubics Group, the association is rooted in a belief that potential needs the right environment to flourish. This is central to its ‘Homes That Build Champions’ philosophy—an approach that sees communities not simply as physical spaces, but as environments that can foster healthier, more active and aspirational lives.

“Sport is one of the strongest ways to build confidence, discipline, resilience and a sense of community. We believe that talent can only reach its potential when it has the right environment and opportunities around it. That belief is at the heart of our ‘Homes That Build Champions’ philosophy. Through our association with Mumbay FC, we are supporting not just a team, but the ambition of young players and the larger football community in Mumbai. We believe the city has tremendous potential to build a stronger football ecosystem, and we are proud to contribute to that journey,” said Suhan Shetty, Founder, Rubics Group.

Football provides a natural extension of this philosophy. Mumbai has always been one of India’s major sporting hubs, with a sporting culture built around participation, competition and ambition. While cricket has traditionally dominated the city’s sporting identity, football has maintained deep roots through its maidans, neighbourhood clubs, academies and grassroots communities. Today, it is also finding resonance with a younger, digitally connected audience.

Mumbay FC’s growing profile reflects this changing landscape. The club has attracted interest from audiences beyond traditional football circles, including through the involvement of actor and football enthusiast Tiger Shroff, who has been associated with the club since its launch and has participated in the Mumbai District League and training sessions. His involvement illustrates how football can connect with wider youth culture and bring new audiences into the sport. To build a lasting football ecosystem calls for investment in talent, infrastructure, access and opportunity. That is where Rubics Group sees an important role for corporate participation.

The Durand Cup, Asia’s oldest football tournament, provides Mumbay FC with a significant platform to compete and gain national exposure. Led by captain Mohammed Kaif Khan, the squad brings together emerging Indian footballers across defence, midfield and attack, giving them an opportunity to compete at one of the country’s most historic football tournaments.

For Rubics Group, backing Mumbay FC is consistent with its larger commitment to building communities where health, ambition, discipline and opportunity can coexist. Sport, in this context, becomes a way of creating pathways, connecting communities and giving young people the confidence to pursue their potential.

Whether you're a sister looking for a Rakhi gift for your brother or a brother looking to surprise his sister with something she'll wear every day, Sylvi's early Rakhi sale brings together style, precision, and value at sylvi.in.

Why a Watch as a Rakhi Gift

Rakhi gifting has evolved. Where sweets and traditional tokens once dominated, many siblings today are looking for gifts that carry meaning beyond the occasion, something functional, stylish, and built to last. A watch fits that description. It sits on the wrist every day, a reminder of the bond shared on Raksha Bandhan, long after the festivities are over.

This is where Sylvi Watches for women operates. Built on the promise of "Race with Time," the brand positions itself as a Make in India D2C watch label, offering collections priced between ₹1,299 and ₹4,999.

Sylvi Rakhi Sale 2026: The Discount Structure

Sylvi's Rakhi Sale 2026 is structured across multiple discount tiers, covering multiple styles and price points, from minimalist dress watches to bold skeleton dials.

Men's Watches — Up to 16% Off

Collections: Iconic, Pulse Skeleton, Frist, Core X, Gravitas, Bolt, Ocean, Rig One O One WT Max, Timegrapher, Urbane, Imperial, Opus, Urbane Moon, Elegare, Blade, Spectre, Urbanic, Blade DualTime, TimeShift, Starboard, Professional Edge

Men's watches are available across four discount tiers, from 10% to 16% off, spanning 21 collections. The range includes everyday and sport-oriented styles such as Bolt and Ocean, and formal and dress-watch designs such as Elegare and Urbane. The range also includes function-oriented designs such as Blade DualTime, while the Professional Edge collection brings a sportier approach to everyday wear.

Women's Watches — Up to 18% Off

Collections: Timeora, Serene, Dazzle, Bella

The steepest discount of the sale applies to Sylvi's women's watches collections. The Timeora collection features clean dials and refined straps, while Serene offers soft, rounded silhouettes for everyday wear. Dazzle includes sparkle and shimmer detailing, and Bella offers a versatile, feminine design suited to both daily wear and festive occasions.

At 18% off, these collections carry the largest discount in the sale, positioning them as an option for a Rakhi gift for sister.

A Sale Built for Both Sisters and Brothers

While Rakhi gifting conversations often centre on what a brother should buy his sister, Raksha Bandhan is, at its core, a two-way celebration. Watches can also serve as a practical Rakhi gift for brothers, without the sizing considerations that come with clothing or footwear.

Sylvi's Rakhi Sale 2026 covers this dual audience. The four-bucket discount system across men's collections offers brothers a range of styles and price points, while the 18% off women's tier applies across the Timeora, Serene, Dazzle, and Bella collections.

Shopping the Sale: What to Expect

Sylvi's early Rakhi Sale 2026 goes live on 18th August and runs through 19th August, giving shoppers a two-day window to shop and allowing additional time for delivery before Raksha Bandhan, which falls on 28th August 2026.

All 25 participating collections will be available on sylvi.in, the brand's D2C platform. Sylvi Watches carries a one-year warranty on its products; terms apply.

The Sylvi Promise: Make in India, Built to Last

Sylvi Watches operates under a Make in India positioning, giving the campaign a distinctly domestic relevance during the festive season, particularly for a gift tied to a cultural occasion like Raksha Bandhan.

Final Thoughts

Sylvi Watches' early Rakhi Sale runs 18th–19th August, with discounts up to 18% off, across its men's and women's collections. From the sporty Bolt collection to the Timeora line, from the dual-timezone Blade DualTime to the Dazzle collection's sparkle detailing, Sylvi's Raksha Bandhan 2026 spans a range of styles available across different price points.

Shoppers can explore the sale, browse collection-wise discounts, and place orders at sylvi.in starting 18th August 2026.

Bengaluru: Puravankara Limited (NSE: PURVA | BSE: 532891), one of India's most trusted and admired real estate developers, reported a strong start to FY27, backed by improving realisations and disciplined execution across its residential and commercial portfolio.

Puravankara reported a Profit After Tax (PAT) of ₹25 crore in Q1FY27, compared to a loss of ₹69 crore in Q1FY26, while EBITDA margin expanded to 25% from 15%. The company handed over 745 homes covering 0.94 msft during the quarter, up from 667 units in Q1FY26, sustaining the execution momentum built through FY26.

Total revenue for Q1FY27 stood at ₹877 crore, up 63% YoY from ₹539 crore in Q1FY26. Operating inflows for the quarter stood at ₹1,423 crore, against operating outflows of ₹1,078 crore, resulting in an operating surplus of ₹345 crore.

In Q1FY27, the company recorded pre-sales of ₹1,439 crore, up 28% year-on-year, on sales volume of 1.36 million sq. ft. across 1,017 units. Average realisation rose 18% to ₹10,589 per sq. ft., while customer collections for the quarter grew 40% year-on-year to ₹1,199 crore, the highest first-quarter collections in three years.

Commenting on the company's performance, Ashish Puravankara, Managing Director, Puravankara Limited, said, “Q1FY27 reflects the continued strengthening of our operating performance, with healthy growth in revenue, pre-sales and collections, alongside improved margins. As our portfolio progresses through completion and handover, we expect this execution momentum to support earnings visibility, with 2,777 completed units currently pending revenue recognition.

We continue to balance growth with disciplined capital allocation. During the quarter, we added ₹5,200 crore of GDV through four land transactions in Bengaluru. Further, the Purva Zentech transaction with ICICI Prudential AMC reinforces our focus on capital efficiency. With a strong launch pipeline and an estimated surplus of ₹19,831 crore over the next 3-5 years, we remain focused on delivering our FY27 sales guidance of ₹11,200 crore.”

Q1FY27 Highlights

Total area sold: 1.36 msft, up 9% year-on-year

Total sales value: ₹1,439 crore, up 28% year-on-year

Total units sold: 1,017

Average sales realisation: ₹10,589 psft, up 18% year-on-year

Collections: ₹1,199 crore, up 40% year-on-year

Total revenue stood at ₹877 crore, up 63% year-on-year

Profit after tax stood at ₹25 crore, against a loss of ₹69 crore in Q1FY26

EBITDA margin expanded to 25%, from 15% in Q1FY26

Possession

In Q1FY27, the company handed over 745 units, covering 0.94 msft, compared with 667 units in Q1FY26.

As of June 30, 2026, 3.20 msft of completed inventory (2,777 units) is pending revenue recognition.

The company completed 1.72 msft across ten towers and phases during the quarter: 1.00 msft in Goa (Provident Adora De Goa, Phases VIII to XI), 0.51 msft in Pune (Emerald Bay Towers B-2 and B-3, and Purva Aspire) and 0.21 msft in Mumbai (Purva Clermont, Wings A, D and E).

Projected Cash Flows:

As of June 30, 2026:

The total estimated surplus from ongoing projects stands at ₹8,976 crore.

The estimated surplus from commercial projects is ₹2,220 crore.

The estimated surplus from pipeline projects is ₹8,636 crore.

The overall estimated surplus across all categories stands at ₹19,831 crore over the next three to five years.

Debt

Gross debt stood at ₹3,942 crore as of June 30, 2026, reduced by ₹74 crore during the quarter even as the company deployed ₹574 crore towards land payments, advances and deposits.

Net debt stood at ₹2,836 crore, with a net debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57 for Q1FY27.

The cost of debt stood at 11.12% as of June 30, 2026.

Business Highlights (Q1 FY27)

In Q1FY27, Puravankara announced four land transactions in Bengaluru spanning approximately 41.93 acres, with a cumulative development potential of around 4.23 msft.

Mandur, Bengaluru: Secured a 14.57-acre land parcel with an estimated GDV of ₹2,300 crore, offering 1.8 msft of development potential.

Doddagubbi, North Bengaluru: Entered into a joint development agreement for an 11.23-acre land parcel with a potential GDV of over ₹1,100 crore and saleable area of 0.74 msft.

Sarjapura, Bengaluru: Entered into a joint development agreement for a 6.4-acre land parcel with a potential GDV of over ₹1,000 crore and saleable area of 0.8 msft.

Sanna Ammanikere, North Bengaluru: Acquired a 9.73-acre land parcel in the fast-developing airport corridor, with a GDV potential of approximately ₹800 crore and saleable area of 0.89 msft.

Purva Zentech, Bengaluru: Entered into a definitive agreement with ICICI Prudential AMC for the sale of the commercial property at an enterprise value of ₹625.94 crore. Of the total consideration, ₹145 crore will be received through the sale of shares of the SPV, while the balance will be realised through agreed balance sheet adjustments in accordance with the transaction structure.

Launch Pipeline

The company has 20.48 msft of planned launches across the Southern and Western markets, with an approximate GDV of ₹27,300 crore, with the majority of the pipeline concentrated in Bengaluru and Mumbai. The estimated future cash flow potential from total new launches (excluding new phases) is around ₹8,636 crore. The pipeline is supported by a redevelopment portfolio of five projects in Mumbai, representing 2.23 msft of saleable area on the company's share.

Editorial note on reported profitability

Under Ind AS 115 accounting norms, revenue and profit from residential projects are recognised only when homes are handed over, not when they are sold. As a result, there is usually a lag between sales performance and reported earnings.

With the exhibitor line-up now finalised, organisers turned their attention this week to DiFact – the Digital Factory & Connected Technologies Pavilion, giving visitors a closer look at what to expect. At its heart is the Digital Factory Experience Zone (DFEZ), developed in collaboration with the Automation Industry Association (AIA), the pavilion’s Knowledge Partner. Designed as a live production line, the zone will take a component through turning and milling, inspect it on a CMM, and track its progress through a real-time monitoring dashboard that visitors can watch update at every stage.

“We spent months deciding how much of this should be a demo and how much should actually work,” said Mr. Vinoth Sasidharan, Project Head, HIMTEX. “We ultimately decided that the entire pavilion should be genuinely connected. That felt like the right way to demonstrate what connected manufacturing really means.”

This year's show also carries a longer list of partners than earlier editions. MRS Equipment Trading Private Limited joins as Powered By Partner. Manav Marketing Pvt. Ltd. and Suresh Indu Lasers Private Limited are Diamond Partners. Gold Partner status goes to KTM Technology & Innovations India Pvt. Ltd. and Cromwell Industrial Supplies Private Limited, while GMT Engineers Pvt. Ltd. and Nbeson Tools International join as Silver Partners. Zoho Corporation Private Limited is this year's Digital Factory Enablement Partner, Lokesh Machines Limited is Visitor Engagement Partner, and Komter Equipment Pvt. Ltd. joins as Compressor Partner.

“A show of this size runs on the strength of its partners,” Mr. Kuna Shankar, Director, HITEX said. “Each of these companies chose to back this edition, and we value that as a great deal.”

Visitor registrations have picked up noticeably over the past week, according to the organising team, with a good share coming from outside Telangana. Organisers see this as an early sign that this edition's reach matches the numbers on paper.

HIMTEX 2026 runs daily from 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM between 20–24 August 2026 at HITEX Exhibition Centre, 1st Floor, Izzat Nagar, Hyderabad – 500084. Entry is open to registered business visitors aged 18 and above, and organisers recommend registering online ahead of time for a quicker entry at the gate.

HIMTEX 2026 is supported by the Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSME) and the Machine Tool Manufacturers' Association, Rajkot. Registration and the exhibitor list are both available at www.himtex.in.

The Hyderabad International Machine Tool & Engineering Expo (HIMTEX) is the flagship biennial exhibition dedicated to machine tools, manufacturing technologies, industrial automation, and engineering solutions. Bringing together leading manufacturers, technology providers, buyers, and industry professionals, HIMTEX serves as a catalyst for innovation, collaboration, and business growth while supporting the advancement of India's manufacturing sector.

Mumbai, August 14, 2026: IDFC FIRST Bank is pleased to announce that S&P Global Ratings has assigned the Bank its inaugural international investment-grade issuer credit ratings of ‘BBB-’ long-term and ‘A-3’ short-term, with a Stable Outlook.

Commenting on the rating, Mr. Sudhanshu Jain - Chief Financial Officer & Head Corporate Centre, said, "We are delighted to receive our first international investment grade Rating from S&P with a Stable Outlook.

We view this rating as an important milestone in our progress. The investment-grade rating is expected to enhance the Bank's standing with global investors and financial institutions, support access to international funding markets, facilitate Standby Letter of Credit (SBLC) lines, strengthen foreign currency funding at the Bank's GIFT City International Banking Unit, support mobilisation of FCNR(B) deposits, and deepen correspondent banking and cross-border trade finance relationships.”

Key excerpts from S&P Global Ratings' rating rationale:

• Expects IDFC FIRST Bank to maintain strong capitalization over the next 18-24 months, with its Risk-Adjusted Capital (RAC) ratio projected at 10.0%-10.5%, supported by regular capital raising, improving profitability and a low dividend payout policy. 

• The agency also noted the Bank's demonstrated ability to access equity markets and raise capital to support growth.  

• S&P Global Ratings expects further improvement in the Bank's profitability, supported by healthy revenue growth, declining credit costs and improving operating leverage. The agency expects the Bank's cost-to-income ratio to improve to 65%-70% from 75% in FY2026 over the next two years. 

• S&P expects the Bank's asset quality to remain stable, supported by technology-driven underwriting, portfolio diversification and a growing focus on lower-risk lending segments. The Stable Outlook reflects the agency's expectation that the Bank will maintain strong capitalization, manageable asset quality risks and a granular retail funding profile over the next two years. 

• S&P noted the Bank's experienced management team and strong digital capabilities, which have supported the expansion of a scalable retail banking franchise with nationwide reach. 

• S&P further highlighted the Bank's strong funding profile, with a CASA ratio of 50.8% as of June 30, 2026.  

The investment-grade rating is expected to strengthen the Bank's access to international markets and funding sources, support trade and SBLC lines, foreign currency funding, FCNR(B) deposit mobilisation, correspondent banking relationships and cross-border trade finance activities.

For businesses exploring the best sustainable EV companies in India, understanding these different models can help identify how electric mobility is becoming more accessible across logistics, employee transportation and public transport.

Major Sustainable EV Companies in India 2026

·       DRIVN 

·       ALT Mobility 

·       Vertelo 

·       ORIX India 

·       Refex Mobility 

·       GreenCell Mobility 

Sustainable EV Companies in India at a Glance

6 Major Sustainable EV Companies Transforming Commercial Mobility in India

The following companies address different parts of India’s transition towards electric commercial transportation. From EV leasing solutions that reduce the need for vehicle ownership to electric mass-transit platforms, their models demonstrate how businesses and transport operators can approach fleet electrification.

1. DRIVN

DRIVN is among the emerging sustainable EV solutions in India, focused on accelerating the adoption of electric commercial vehicles through flexible leasing models. The company owns and leases electric buses and medium- and heavy-duty trucks, helping businesses transition towards cleaner transportation without the need for large upfront vehicle investments.

Through its EV leasing solutions, DRIVN addresses key challenges associated with commercial fleet electrification, including vehicle acquisition costs, financing, deployment and lifecycle management. By combining asset ownership with long-term leasing, it enables fleet operators to adopt electric mobility while focusing on operational efficiency and sustainability.

2. ALT Mobility

ALT Mobility is one of the technology-driven EV leasing companies in India, supporting businesses in their transition towards sustainable transportation. The company provides electric vehicle leasing and lifecycle management solutions for commercial fleets, helping organisations access EVs without dealing with the complexities of direct ownership.

As part of the growing sustainable mobility ecosystem, ALT Mobility offers solutions covering vehicle leasing, maintenance, fleet monitoring and asset management. Its approach enables businesses to adopt sustainable mobility solutions while improving the scalability and efficiency of their electric fleets.

3. Vertelo

Vertelo is an electric mobility platform focused on enabling sustainable EV adoption across commercial fleets. The company combines EV financing, leasing, fleet management and charging solutions to support businesses looking to transition from conventional vehicles to electric alternatives.

As one of the emerging top EV leasing companies in India, Vertelo focuses on reducing barriers to fleet electrification by providing businesses with access to electric vehicles and supporting infrastructure. Its integrated approach highlights the importance of financing and operational support in scaling sustainable commercial mobility.

4. ORIX India

ORIX India is an established mobility solutions provider offering vehicle leasing, fleet management and corporate transportation services. Alongside its broader mobility portfolio, the company provides EV leasing solutions that help businesses incorporate electric vehicles into their transportation strategies.

By supporting the adoption of electric vehicles through managed mobility services, ORIX India contributes to sustainable transportation solutions for corporate customers. Its experience in leasing and fleet operations provides businesses with another pathway to explore cleaner mobility options.

5. Refex Mobility

Refex Mobility is focused on providing cleaner transportation solutions through managed fleet operations and electric mobility services. The company works with organisations seeking sustainable alternatives for corporate transportation and employee mobility requirements.

As one of the growing sustainable EV companies in India, Refex Mobility represents the fleet-services approach to electrification, where businesses can access greener transportation without directly managing vehicle ownership and operations. Its focus on green mobility solutions highlights the role of managed electric fleets in reducing emissions from commercial transportation.

6. GreenCell Mobility

GreenCell Mobility is a leading player in electric mass transportation, focusing on electric buses and Mobility-as-a-Service solutions. The company supports the shift towards cleaner public and intercity transportation by deploying electric fleets at scale.

Through its focus on sustainable mobility solutions in India, GreenCell Mobility is helping transform how passengers travel by replacing conventional transportation models with electric alternatives. Its electric bus ecosystem demonstrates how large-scale electric mobility solutions can support cleaner and more efficient urban and intercity transport networks.

To Conclude

India's sustainable commercial mobility ecosystem includes more than vehicle manufacturers. Companies such as DRIVN, ALT Mobility, Vertelo, ORIX India, Refex Mobility and GreenCell Mobility are addressing different requirements, from EV leasing and financing to fleet operations and electric mass transportation.

As commercial electrification expands, models that make EV adoption financially and operationally manageable can play an important role in supporting India's transition towards cleaner transportation.

FAQs

Which are some of the best sustainable EV companies in India?

DRIVN, ALT Mobility, Vertelo, ORIX India, Refex Mobility and GreenCell Mobility are among the companies operating across India's sustainable commercial mobility ecosystem.

What EV leasing solutions does DRIVN provide?

DRIVN owns and leases electric commercial vehicles, including buses and medium- and heavy-duty trucks. Its model includes long-tenure leasing, flexible payment structures, financing support and technology-led vehicle monitoring.

How does DRIVN support commercial fleet electrification?

DRIVN addresses barriers such as upfront vehicle costs, financing, deployment and EV asset management. By owning commercial EVs and leasing them to operators, the company provides an alternative to purchasing electric buses and trucks outright.

Karmosandhan.com aggregates verified information sourced directly from official notifications and updates it daily, giving users a single, dependable place to track opportunities from central and state government bodies. With a firm commitment to accuracy, the platform lists no fake or expired postings - a standard that sets it apart in a crowded field.

The portal offers real-time updates across every major recruiting sector, including defence, banking, railways, teaching, SSC, UPSC, and state public service commissions. While serving job seekers nationwide, karmosandhan.com maintains a distinctive West Bengal focus, with dedicated coverage of WBPSC, WB Police, and TET/SLST recruitments, district-wise search across all 23 districts of the state, and Bengali-language scheme information under its “Sarkari Prokolpo” section.

Beyond job listings, karmosandhan.com keeps candidates informed at every stage of the recruitment cycle. The portal compiles admit card availability, examination schedules, answer keys, results, and detailed syllabi, with direct links to the official recruiting bodies’ websites so users can verify and access everything at source. The platform also tracks government welfare schemes and scholarships - such as OASIS scholarships, Krishak Bandhu, and social welfare pensions - helping families stay aware of benefits they may be entitled to.

Accessibility sits at the heart of the platform. The website delivers a fast, mobile-friendly browsing experience so that aspirants in both urban centres and rural areas can access essential information without barriers. For those who prefer instant alerts, Karmosandhan.com pushes updates through its active WhatsApp, Telegram, and YouTube channels, ensuring no important deadline is ever missed.

“Our vision for karmosandhan.com is to democratise access to career and scheme information,” said Asit Kr Mahata, Founder of karmosandhan.com. “Every young person deserves timely, accurate updates - regardless of where they live or which language they speak. We built this platform to close that gap and to put reliable information within reach of everyone, everywhere.”

By simplifying the complexities of government notifications, karmosandhan.com aims to become a trusted companion for every aspirant taking their first steps toward a stable and meaningful career.

Explore the latest opportunities today at https://karmosandhan.com.

About Karmosandhan.com

Karmosandhan.com is a premier online portal dedicated to the latest All-India and state government jobs, examination results, admit cards, answer keys, syllabi, and scheme updates. Committed to accuracy and speed, it serves as an essential guide for millions of job seekers and citizens navigating India’s public-sector landscape.

Media Contact

Name: Asit Kr Mahata

Website: https://karmosandhan.com

Location: Bankura, West Bengal, India

●        Consolidated revenue stood at ₹345.12 crore in Q1 FY27, compared to ₹336.42 crore in Q1 FY26, registering growth of approximately 3% YoY

●        PAT stood at ₹10.02 crore in Q1 FY27

●        EBITDA increased 10% YoY to ₹28.58 crore, compared to ₹25.96 crore in Q1 FY26

●        EBITDA margin improved to 8.28% from 7.72% in Q1 FY26, an expansion of 56 basis points

●        Order book stood at ₹4,712 crore as on June 30, 2026, providing healthy revenue visibility

●        Company secured new orders worth ₹272 crore during Q1 FY27

●        Planned capex of ₹65 crore for FY27 on fixed assets

Delhi, August 13, 2026: B L Kashyap & Sons Limited (BSE: 532719, NSE: BLKASHYAP), one of India’s leading civil engineering and construction companies, today announced its financial results for the first quarter ended June 30, 2026.

During Q1 FY27, the company reported consolidated revenue from operations of ₹345.12 crore, compared to ₹336.42 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous year, registering approximately 3% year-on-year growth. Revenue in the preceding quarter, Q4 FY26, stood at ₹363.71 crore.

The company demonstrated improvement in its operating performance during the quarter, with EBITDA increasing approximately 10% YoY to ₹28.58 crore, compared to ₹25.96 crore in Q1 FY26 and ₹26.92 crore in Q4 FY26. EBITDA margin expanded to 8.28%, compared to 7.72% in Q1 FY26 and 7.40% in Q4 FY26, reflecting improved operational efficiencies and a favourable project mix.

Profit After Tax (PAT) stood at ₹10.02 crore in Q1 FY27, compared to ₹10.85 crore in Q1 FY26. This marks a significant turnaround from the loss of ₹12.52 crore reported in Q4 FY26, which was impacted by an exceptional loss of ₹37.82 crore.

The company maintained a robust order book of ₹4,712 crore as on June 30, 2026. During FY27, B L Kashyap secured new orders worth ₹272 crore, further strengthening its project pipeline across key segments.

Commenting on the results, Vineet Kashyap, Managing Director, B L Kashyap & Sons Ltd., said, “We have started FY27 on a steady note, with improvement in our operating performance and margins. Our consolidated revenue stood at ₹345.12 crore, while EBITDA grew by 10% year-on-year to ₹28.58 crore. More importantly, EBITDA margin improved to 8.28%, reflecting our continued focus on execution efficiency, project mix and disciplined cost management.

Our order book of ₹4,712 crore provides healthy visibility for the coming quarters, and we continue to pursue opportunities selectively across mixed-use developments, built-to-suit office spaces, premium residential projects, data centres and government infrastructure. Having successfully delivered two data centres, we see significant potential to scale our presence in this segment. We are also looking to increase our participation in government and railway projects, leveraging our execution capabilities and experience.

As we move ahead in FY27, our focus remains on profitable and sustainable growth, supported by a planned capex of ₹65 crore aimed at further strengthening our execution capabilities. With a strong project pipeline and opportunities across our core markets, we remain confident about the long-term growth prospects of the business.

A key pillar of our strategy is to deepen relationships with existing clients and increase the share of repeat business in our order book, while strengthening our presence in established markets and pursuing new clients through competitive and disciplined bidding.”

About B L Kashyap

B L Kashyap & Sons Ltd. (BLK) is one of the leading Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) companies in India. The company has a presence in 12 cities across 8 states. With over three decades of expertise, BLK has completed 250+ projects and constructed more than 140 million sq. ft. Its portfolio spans IT campuses, commercial spaces, malls, hotels, residential complexes, institutions, factories, healthcare, railways, data centres and metro infrastructure. BLK has a strong workforce of 630+ engineers.

For further information: www.blkashyap.com

New Delhi, August 2026 : Raksha Bandhan has always been about the bond between siblings, but the way brothers choose to celebrate their sisters is becoming increasingly personal. Reflecting this shift, FNP, India’s leading gifting brand, has unveiled its rakhi gifts for sister collection, bringing together personalised gifts, fragrances, contemporary gift sets and thoughtfully curated hampers designed around different personalities, preferences and budgets.

At the heart of the collection is a simple insight: the best gift for a sister is one that feels chosen specifically for her. From something she can use every day to something that carries a shared memory, brothers today are looking beyond conventional gifting and choosing products that are personal, relevant and expressive.

The collection features products such as the Personalised Queen of Hearts Gift Notebook, FNP Aura Euphoria Perfume Gift, Pastel Pop Rakhi Gift for Sister, Personalised Gift Set for Her, and Best Sis Personalised LED Tabletop, with options ranging from ₹449 to ₹1,099.

Speaking about the collection, Avi Kumar, Chief Marketing Officer, FNP, said, “Rakhi is one of those occasions where the gift is never just about the product—it is about how well you know your sibling. When brothers shop for their sisters today, they are looking for something that reflects her personality, her taste and the relationship they share. At FNP, our focus has been to make that choice easier with a collection that brings together thoughtful design, personalisation and variety across price points. Whether she loves fragrances, personalised gifts or something for her everyday space, there is something that feels distinctly hers.”

The FNP Aura Euphoria Perfume Gift, priced at ₹1,099, brings fragrance into the Rakhi gifting mix with notes of peony, osmanthus, rose, sandalwood and patchouli. For sisters who love something more personal, the Personalised Queen of Hearts Gift Notebook turns an everyday essential into a gift made specifically for her through customisation.

The Pastel Pop Rakhi Gift for Sister brings a younger, contemporary design language to the occasion, while the Best Sis Personalised LED Tabletop combines personalisation with décor. The Personalised Gift Set for Her brings multiple gifting elements together in one coordinated set, making it an easy yet thoughtful choice for brothers looking for a more complete Rakhi present.

Beyond individual products, FNP has also curated hampers that bring together fragrances, personalised products and other gifting favourites. The assortment has been created to give brothers more choice depending on their sister’s personality—whether she prefers something stylish, practical, personalised or indulgent.

With its extensive delivery network and personalisation capabilities, FNP is also enabling brothers separated by distance to remain part of the celebration. The collection can be ordered for sisters across India as well as internationally, bringing the same focus on quality, design and timely delivery to long-distance Rakhi celebrations.

The Rakhi Gifts for Sister collection is available on FNP’s website and across select FNP retail stores, with same-day delivery available for rakhi online along with other categories across select cities and international delivery to major markets.

Through the collection, FNP continues to build on its larger Rakhi proposition - making it easier to find a gift that feels right for every kind of sibling and every kind of bond.

How the Program Works

A Student GIC is a financial product accepted by Canadian immigration authorities as proof of funds for a student visa application. Indian students enrolling for higher education in Canada can register using Unlimit Mobile's referral link, which leads them to ICICI Bank Canada's SPP (Student Partners Program) online portal. During the application process, students would have the option to select if they have been referred by a consultant/agent. By answering 'yes' and providing the tracking codes, the referral can be traced and the award allotted.

Once the student provides their documents and submits the application, ICICI Bank Canada provides the account number and remittance instructions instantly. Most provinces require a remittance amount of CAD 23,120, according to the student GIC guidelines, although this may vary province wise. Following the KYC completion the bank permits a funding of up to CAD 50,000.

A payment may be made from either the student's bank account in India or their parent/spouse's bank account. The payment may be divided into a maximum of two transactions.

It generally takes 2 to 4 days for funds to reflect in the student's ICICI Bank account, post which the ICICI Bank Canada Certificate is provided in another day.

The mandatory KYC can be done with documents such as Aadhar card, PAN card, driving licence, voter ID, birth certificate and recent utility bills/bank statement not older than two months as long as these have been issued under the students name and the address/ DOB match is provided to the bank.

The RBC Phase and Arrival Actions

The second phase commences upon arrival in Canada. The student may activate their account online via the ICICI Bank Canada SPP app/website using their account number, passport number and date of birth provided during the ICICI application process and then open an RBC Royal Bank account by using the provided Referral Document from the previously mentioned stages. Post this, all GIC installments would be directly transferred and credited to the student's RBC bank account.

Students opening an RBC student account are provided a student credit card with a credit limit of CAD 2,000, no prior Canadian credit history required, and no annual fee, alongside 2% cashback on groceries and 1% cashback on other eligible transactions. Students also get a nationwide network of over 1,200 branches and 4,200 ATMS. Students can opt to have their GIC money transferred into their RBC bank account in a single tranche or installments based on their setup of the ICICI GIC. Following 12 months, the ICICI Bank Canada account will continue as a no-fee remittance account for ongoing India-Canada bank transfers, as provided in Unlimit Mobile's partners page.

The Connectivity Incentive

The reward component of the partnership where Unlimit Mobile holds brand identity: CAD 120 is given as redeemable Unlimit Mobile credits (coins) to the Unlimit Mobile wallet upon opening, funding and verification of the student's GIC account. These credits are non-redeemable and can only be used against Unlimit Mobile's phone bills (up to 50% off the monthly bill amount); for example, students with a CAD 40 monthly bill will have CAD 30 from the coin balance applied, using up to 50% of the bill amount and paying the remaining CAD 20 by cash or card, leaving CAD 10 of credits for future use.

The referral benefit is applicable for applicants from India, China, The Philippines, Vietnam, Morocco, Senegal and Nepal. The Indian student market represents one of the top origin countries in Canada's GIC program.

Zetexa's standpoint

Zetexa Global, through its brands Unlimit Mobile, ZetSIM (B2B, white label and API based B2B eSIM platform) and its various airport ancillary services like Meet & Greet, Fast Track and Business lounge access now extends their reach beyond travel planning and into the pre-departure, student-centric application journey. This partnership comes as the outcome of a noticeable shift where ancillary services providers are beginning to bundle services such as SIM connectivity, remittance and travel document management alongside visa consultation rather than offering these separately.

"While the GIC and visa application are only the first milestone for most students from India, maintaining connectivity and secure banking facilities upon arrival are a primary concern for them. By integrating Unlimit Mobile into the onboarding and banking processes with ICICI Bank Canada and RBC Royal Bank, we are assisting students even before they complete the formalities of leaving India," commented Amit Agarwal, Founder & CEO, Zetexa Global.

"This partnership is a natural extension of our approach to travel ancillary services, where banking, connectivity and on-ground support should not be independent decisions. We are excited to be part of the ICICI Bank Canada and RBC ecosystem for outbound students," said Amit Agarwal, Founder & CEO, and Srujan Yeleti, Founder & COO, of Zetexa Global.

ICICI Bank Canada also provides a digital refund service through the SPP portal if a visa application is rejected after the GIC has been funded, as stated in the program's published terms.

About Zetexa Global

Zetexa Global is an India based travel auxiliary company that owns international eSIM brands such as ZetSIM and Unlimit Mobile and provides white label and API based solutions for the telecom and banking industry through their B2B eSIM platform and airport ancillary services such as Meet & Greet, Fast Track and Business lounge access.

Bengaluru, 13 August 2026 : The Government of Telangana, through the Telangana Academy for Skill and Knowledge (TASK), today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with foundit, the jobs and talent platform, to strengthen employability, skilling, and access to career opportunities for youth across the state.

TASK, a not-for-profit organisation established by the Government of Telangana, works to bring together government, industry, and academia to build a future-ready workforce. Its initiatives are focused on enhancing the employability quotient of youth by strengthening personal, technical, and organisational skills while supporting industry with quality talent and workforce development services.

The MoU establishes a strategic collaboration aimed at improving employability, expanding access to career services, promoting industry-relevant upskilling, and enabling greater employment opportunities for students and job seekers registered within the TASK ecosystem. By combining TASK's extensive academic network with foundit's technology-enabled career solutions and labour market intelligence, the partnership seeks to create stronger pathways from education to employment.

K. Nitin Kumar Reddy, Chief Executive Officer, Telangana Academy for Skill and Knowledge (TASK), said,

“Preparing our youth for the future of work requires more than building technical skills- it requires connecting them with the right career guidance, industry insights, and opportunities. Our collaboration with foundit brings together TASK’s strong academic network with foundit’s technology-enabled career solutions and labour market intelligence to create more meaningful pathways from education to employment. Through this partnership, we aim to empower students and job seekers across Telangana with the skills, confidence, and career resources they need to navigate an evolving job market and build successful, sustainable careers.”

Tarun Sinha, Chief Executive Officer, foundit, commented, "Talent is one of India's greatest strengths, but unlocking its potential requires the right ecosystem. We are excited to work with the Government of Telangana and TASK to help young people build careers that are aligned with the needs of a rapidly evolving job market, while enabling employers to access skilled, future-ready talent."

As part of the collaboration, foundit will offer discounted employability enhancement services to candidates registered with TASK, including resume writing, AI-powered resume solutions, mock interviews with industry experts, AI-enabled interview preparation, assessment tests, LinkedIn profile enhancement, and profile visibility services. TASK will facilitate outreach across its network of registered colleges to promote degree programmes, certifications, executive education, and other upskilling initiatives offered through foundit's education partners.

The two organisations will also jointly conduct career guidance and employability awareness programmes through webinars and workshops, helping students better understand evolving industry expectations and career opportunities.

The MoU reflects a shared commitment to building a more skilled, employable, and future-ready workforce in Telangana. By bringing together government-led skilling initiatives with technology-enabled career services and market insights, the partnership aims to better align talent with industry demand and create stronger employment outcomes for young professionals across the state.

About foundit:

foundit, formerly Monster (APAC & ME) is a leading talent platform offering comprehensive employment solutions to recruiters and job seekers across APAC & ME. In addition to a powerful AI-powered job search, foundit offers e-learning, assessments, and services related to resume creation, interview preparation, and professional networking. Since its inception, the company has assisted over 120 million job seekers across 18 countries in upskilling and connecting them with the right job opportunities.

Over the last two decades, the company has been a leader in the world of recruitment solutions and has launched cutting-edge solutions to give recruiters access to passive candidates in addition to active ones. With the use of advanced technology, foundit is seeking to efficiently bridge the talent gap across industry verticals, experience levels, and geographies. Today, foundit is committed to enabling and connecting the right talent with the right opportunities by harnessing the power of deep tech to sharpen hyper-personalised job searches and offer precision hiring. Additionally, foundit has been recognised as a Great Place To Work, reflecting its dedication to fostering a supportive and dynamic work culture. 

To learn more about foundit in APAC & Gulf, visit: www.foundit.in | www.founditgulf.com | www.foundit.sg | www.foundit.my | www.foundit.com.ph |  www.foundit.hk | www.foundit.id

The collaboration marks an important milestone in Kerala’s ongoing efforts to harness advanced analytics and artificial intelligence to drive enhanced transparency in beneficiary selection, and establishment of a safety net for disaster prevention, mitigation, and response to the impacts of natural disasters. By leveraging SAS’ advanced analytics capabilities, the state aims to streamline beneficiary management for all social protection schemes in Kerala. It will optimize scheme management, inform policy decisions with data, improve expenditure planning, and simplify benefit delivery for citizens. By consolidating data and enhancing interdepartmental communication, it will boost transparency, accountability, and effectiveness of social welfare programs, benefiting both government stakeholders and citizens.

Through this initiative, Government of Kerala wants to bring a paradigm change in its present capabilities to:

●        Detect and eliminate duplicate citizen records using intelligent clustering and de-duplication techniques

●        Enhance decision-making with real-time insights and advanced analytics

●        Improve governance and compliance through data-driven monitoring frameworks

●        Strengthen delivery efficiency of social welfare schemes

Commenting on the collaboration, Sandip Kumar, IAS, Director, Kerala State IT Mission said, “Kerala has consistently been at the forefront of adopting digital technologies for governance. Our collaboration with SAS will further strengthen our ability to use data and analytics to improve service delivery, drive efficiency, and make informed decisions that benefit our citizens.”

Noshin Kagalwalla, Vice President – Public Sector, APAC & Managing Director, SAS India, said, “We are proud to partner with the Government of Kerala on its digital transformation journey. SAS’s AI and analytics capabilities enable governments to turn complex data into meaningful insights, supporting smarter governance, improved outcomes, and citizen-first innovation.”

The initiative aligns with Kerala’s broader vision to leverage technology as a catalyst for inclusive growth, transparent governance, and sustainable development. Through this collaboration, the state aims to set a strong example for data-led governance in India.

About Government of Kerala

Kerala has emerged as one of the leading states in India in the adoption of information technology and digital governance. The state was among the pioneers in introducing IT-enabled public services and building a comprehensive e-governance ecosystem aimed at improving administrative efficiency, transparency, and citizen service delivery.

About SAS

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

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

 Team launched in the presence of cricket legend Kapil Dev; Jain Sports announced as Team Partner as Bangalore Blasters set ambitious vision for the JPL Season 1

Bengaluru, 12^th August 2026: Navrathan Jewellers, owners of the Bangalore Blasters, on Tuesday unveiled the team ahead of the inaugural JITO Premier League (JPL) Season 1, marking the beginning of an ambitious sporting journey that brings together cricket, community, entrepreneurship and a shared pursuit of excellence.

The team was launched in the presence of Indian cricket legend Kapil Dev, who gave the players an inspiring pep talk in his iconic style. The event was also attended by IPL star Vaishak Vijaykumar, adding further cricketing pedigree to the launch.

The inaugural JITO Premier League will be held from 24 August to 5 September 2026 at the CCC Cricket Ground in Colombo, Sri Lanka, with the inaugural ceremony scheduled for 24 August.

For Navrathan Jewellers, the Bangalore Blasters is much more than a participation in a community cricket tournament. The franchise represents the owners' ambition to build a professionally managed, competitive and values-driven sporting property that can create a lasting identity within the JITO ecosystem.

Speaking on the launch, Mahendar Bafna, Team Owner, Bangalore Blasters, said: “For Navrathan Jewellers, the Bangalore Blasters is an opportunity to bring our passion for sport, our commitment to excellence and our belief in community together on one platform. We have a larger vision for this team than simply competing in a tournament. We want to build a professionally managed sporting property that people can identify with, support and be proud of. Our ambition is to make the Bangalore Blasters one of the most competitive and respected teams in the JITO Premier League, while representing Bengaluru with pride.”

He added: “The inaugural season in Colombo is the first step in what we believe can become a much bigger journey. We want the Blasters to stand for excellence, professionalism, teamwork and integrity, both on and off the field. We are also delighted to have Jain Sports as our partner in this journey. Their association strengthens our vision of creating a meaningful sporting ecosystem around the team. Having a legend like Kapil Dev at our launch makes this occasion even more special, and we are equally excited to welcome Vaishak Vijaykumar.”

The Bangalore Blasters will represent Bengaluru and its community with an emphasis on professionalism, teamwork, discipline, integrity and excellence. The franchise's vision is to use the JPL as a platform to bring together accomplished professionals, entrepreneurs and cricket enthusiasts while creating a culture that combines competitive sporting ambition with community bonding.

Jain Sports has been announced as a key Partner of the Bangalore Blasters, bringing its experience and commitment to sports to the team's journey. The partnership reflects the shared vision of building a strong sporting ecosystem and using cricket as a platform to promote participation, performance, community and the development of sport.

Dr Chenraj Roychand, founder chairman of Jain Group and Chancellor of Jain deemed-to-be-University said:

“Sport has the unique ability to bring people together, create aspirations and build a culture of excellence. The Bangalore Blasters is an exciting initiative because it combines that sporting spirit with the larger values of community and collaboration that JITO represents. At Jain Sports, we are delighted to partner with the team and support its vision. We believe the Blasters can become a strong platform for competitive cricket while also inspiring greater participation in sport and creating meaningful connections within the community.”

Speaking as Chief Guest at the launch, Kapil Dev said:

“Cricket has always had the power to bring people together, and that is what makes initiatives like the JITO Premier League special. It is not only about winning matches; it is about discipline, teamwork, friendships and creating a culture of sporting excellence. The Bangalore Blasters have the opportunity to build something special, it is the vision of the team and your passion that is important. I wish the team and the entire JITO Premier League the very best for a successful inaugural season.”

Vicky Ostwal, Chairman, JITO, said: “It is always exciting to see new platforms that bring cricket closer to communities and give players an opportunity to compete, learn and enjoy the game. The Bangalore Blasters has a strong vision and I am sure the team will bring a competitive mindset to the JITO Premier League. What makes tournaments like this special is the combination of cricket, teamwork and the relationships built around the game. I wish the Bangalore Blasters the very best for their inaugural season.”

The JITO Premier League is JITO's flagship community cricket tournament, bringing together cricket and the values of fitness, discipline, sportsmanship, brotherhood, networking and community bonding. The inaugural edition in Colombo is expected to bring together cricketing talent and members of the JITO community in a celebration of sport and camaraderie.

For the Bangalore Blasters, the tournament is also an opportunity to demonstrate that community sport can be driven with the same professionalism, preparation and competitive intensity associated with elite sport.

The team's partnership with Jain Sports further strengthens this approach, bringing together the ownership vision of Navrathan Jewellers and the sporting expertise and ecosystem of Jain Sports.

The launch also marks the beginning of a broader ambition for the Bangalore Blasters — to create a team that is not defined only by its results, but by the culture it builds, the community it represents and the sporting aspirations it inspires.

With the inaugural JITO Premier League commencing on 24 August 2026, the Bangalore Blasters will now travel to Colombo determined to make a strong first impression and lay the foundation for a long-term sporting journey.

About Bangalore Blasters

The Bangalore Blasters is the Bengaluru franchise participating in the inaugural JITO Premier League (JPL), with Navrathan Jewellers as the team owners and Jain Sports as a key team partner. The franchise aims to build a high-performance cricket team rooted in professionalism, teamwork, integrity and community spirit, while representing Bengaluru at the inaugural JPL in Colombo.

About JITO Premier League

The JITO Premier League (JPL) is JITO's flagship community cricket tournament, bringing together cricket enthusiasts and members of the community through a celebration of sport, fitness, discipline, sportsmanship, networking, brotherhood and community bonding. The inaugural season will be held in Colombo, Sri Lanka, from 24 August to 5 September 2026.

By Sandeep Nair | Penguin Random House | August 2026

ABOUT THE BOOK

When Sandeep Nair was thirteen, he entered an extempore competition at school. About forty-five seconds into his speech, his mind went completely blank. He stood on stage, unable to find the next word, while his teachers and classmates waited. Eventually, he walked off before his time was up.

It was an unusual starting point for someone who would go on to spend much of his career working with stories.

Over the last fifteen years, Sandeep has worked across engineering, marketing and brand strategy, with companies including P&G, Reckitt Benckiser, the Tata Group and Swiggy, across India, the UK and Singapore. He has built marketing campaigns, presented ideas in boardrooms, worked with founders and marketers, and run storytelling sessions for senior executives.

That experience taught him something valuable.

The people who appeared to be naturally gifted storytellers were rarely working without a framework. They had simply used certain patterns so often that they no longer had to think consciously about them. What looked like instinct was, at least partly, learnt.

The Story Map grew out of Sandeep’s attempt to give a shape to those patterns.

The book is written especially for people who do good work but struggle to make other people care about it: the founder who understands the business but cannot explain the opportunity to an investor; the manager whose feedback does not land; or the consultant with the right answer who nevertheless fails to convince the client.

Sandeep’s argument is that this is not necessarily due to a lack of charisma or an absence of some elusive “storytelling gene”. Storytelling can be studied, practised and improved.

The Story Map provides a practical system for doing that.

THE IDEA BEHIND THE BOOK

The book begins with the story of Ignaz Semmelweis, a nineteenth-century physician who discovered that something as simple as handwashing could dramatically reduce deaths among women giving birth.

Semmelweis had the evidence to back up his observations. After he introduced handwashing with chlorinated lime, mortality in his clinic fell sharply. But he could not adequately explain why it worked, and his attempts to persuade the medical establishment largely failed. He was eventually confined to a mental asylum where he perished from, ironically, an infection.

Louis Pasteur later helped make the idea of germ theory easier to understand. Microorganisms gave physicians an enemy they could picture: invisible agents that could travel from one person to another and cause disease. Pasteur is hailed as a hero today whereas Semmelweis is largely forgotten.

It’s one of Sandeep’s favourite stories because it illustrates a common problem that appears far beyond medicine. Having the right information does not guarantee that other people will understand it, believe it or act on it.

Much of modern working life has the same issue. We are trained to gather information, make presentations, analyse numbers and defend recommendations. We spend far less time learning how to decide what another person needs to hear, how much context they need, what is getting in the way of belief, or how an idea should be presented depending on the room in which it is being presented.

The Story Map is an attempt to provide a practical way of thinking through those questions.

HOW THE STORY MAP WORKS

At the centre of the book are three parts of a story: Soul, Body and Spirit.

Soul is the meaning of the story. It starts with three questions: Who is this story really about? What do they want? And what is standing in their way?

Sandeep describes these as Character, Goal and Challenge. A founder pitching a company, for example, does not automatically have to make herself the hero of the story. The more important character may be the customer trying to solve a problem. Once that choice changes, the rest of the story often changes with it.

Body deals with how the story is built. It covers structure, tension and connection: how information should be ordered, what will make somebody keep listening, and what will help an abstract idea become easier to understand or remember.

The book draws on nine master story structures as well as storytelling techniques ranging from ticking clocks and “what if” scenarios to anecdotes, confession and visual metaphor.

Spirit deals with the part of storytelling that is easiest to overlook: the audience and the situation.

A story that works in a keynote may not work in a boardroom. An argument that motivates an existing employee may be entirely wrong for a sceptical investor. The same facts can require a different order, tone or emotional register depending on who is listening and what they already believe.

Spirit therefore asks three further questions: Who is the Audience? What should they feel? And what Context are you speaking in?

Together, Soul, Body and Spirit contain 81 storytelling patterns. The reader, however, is not expected to memorise or use all of them.

Instead, the book starts with a simple question: What are you trying to achieve?

From there, readers can choose from seven common storytelling missions: Convince, Lead, Explain, Connect, Motivate, Honour and Repair. Each has its own Story Path through the larger system (and hence the name The Story Map), allowing someone to build a story for the situation at hand without first having to master the entire framework.

The book applies these ideas to pitches, presentations, leadership communication, difficult conversations, interviews, public speaking and other situations in which the way an idea is communicated can affect what happens next.

WHY STORYTELLING MATTERS IN THE AGE OF AI

The timing of the book is significant because the mechanics of communication are changing quickly.

AI can already help people organise notes, summarise information, prepare presentations, draft emails and generate reasonably fluent prose. It can also produce hooks, metaphors, scripts and emotional language in seconds.

But fluency is only one part of communication.

Someone still has to decide what the real problem is. Someone has to understand the audience, choose what information matters, work out what evidence will be credible, decide which emotion is appropriate and judge how the message should change when the context changes.

Those are questions of judgment rather than simply language generation.

Sandeep sees AI as a useful collaborator in the storytelling process, particularly for exploring possibilities and improving drafts. But he argues that the ability to generate more communication makes the underlying choices more important, not less so. A polished story built around the wrong character, the wrong problem or the wrong understanding of the audience is still the wrong story.

This is one reason the book focuses on thinking before writing. Before reaching for a clever opening or an emotional line, it asks the storyteller to understand the Character, Goal, Challenge, Audience and Context.

“I AM NOT A NATURAL STORYTELLER”

Sandeep is deliberately open in the book about his own relationship with storytelling.

“I am not a natural storyteller,” he writes near the beginning.

The thirteen-year-old who froze on stage did not disappear when he became an executive. Even after years of presenting ideas and speaking to large groups, Sandeep describes still feeling some trace of that anxiety whenever he stands in front of a room What changed was that he gradually developed structures he could rely on.

That experience also shaped the kind of book he wanted to write. The Story Map is not intended only for professional speakers, advertising people or people who already enjoy performing in front of an audience. It is meant for people who have something useful to say and would like a more reliable, confident way of saying it.

“Most people do not fail at storytelling because they have nothing interesting to say. They fail because they start with what they want to say, instead of asking what the room needs to hear. I wrote this book for people who are good at their work but bad at making others care about it,” says Sandeep.

ADVANCE PRAISE FOR THE STORY MAP

“Sandeep proves that facts don’t move people, stories do. The Story Map gives you a system to make anyone listen, care and act.”

— Ankur Warikoo, bestselling author

“Finally, a framework that turns storytelling from instinct into a repeatable, learnable skill. Sandeep Nair knows how to tell great stories and it shows.”

— Arindam Paul, CBO, Atomberg

“We navigate the world through stories. And being a good storyteller is an invaluable skill to have. The good thing is that it can be learnt—and Sandeep is a fantastic guide!”

— Amit Varma, two-time Bastiat Prize-winning journalist and host of The Seen and The Unseen podcast

“I preach to founders that storytelling is one of their most important skills—every stakeholder wants to join a great story that’s unfolding. Sandeep’s book offers a sharp set of frameworks to shape one’s storytelling, an invaluable guide to founder journeys.”

— Karthik Reddy, co-founder and managing partner, Blume Ventures

WHO THE BOOK IS FOR

The Story Map is written for people who regularly find themselves in situations where their words affect what happens next.

That includes founders pitching investors, hiring teams or explaining a new idea; leaders trying to take people through change; marketers and communications professionals building brands and campaigns; consultants and specialists explaining complicated subjects; and speakers, teachers and coaches trying to hold the attention of a room.

It is particularly aimed at people who already know their work well. Their problem is usually not a shortage of information. It is deciding what part of that information matters to the person sitting across from them, and finding a form in which it can be understood and remembered.

ABOUT SANDEEP NAIR

Sandeep Nair has spent fifteen years working across engineering, marketing, brand strategy and storytelling.

He began his career at Tata Motors, working on the engine assembly line in Pune. An early engineering problem there unexpectedly taught him something that would shape the rest of his career. After technical experts had struggled to resolve an issue with an RFID system, Sandeep spoke to the mechanics who actually used it every day. Their perspective helped uncover the problem and save the project.

The experience made him increasingly interested in the human side of problems. He subsequently completed his MBA at IIM Bangalore and moved into marketing.

Sandeep went on to work with companies including P&G, Reckitt Benckiser, the Tata Group and Swiggy, building brands across India, the UK and Singapore. He writes regularly about marketing, strategy and storytelling, and conducts workshops for founders, marketers and senior executives.

The Story Map brings together the structures, mistakes and lessons he accumulated while learning how to make ideas clearer, more memorable and more useful to the people hearing them.

New Delhi, 2026: ARTIX, India's pioneering hotel art fair, returns with its fifth edition on August 22 and 23, 2026, at The Claridges, New Delhi. Bringing together leading galleries, artists, designers, jewellers and creative brands, this year's edition will transform 21 hotel rooms into immersive exhibition spaces, offering visitors an intimate way to experience art beyond the traditional gallery format.

ARTIX 5.0 will feature a distinguished line up of participants including Lotus Arts de Vivre, 108 Art Projects, Golf Green Gallery, Aura Art Gallery, Gallery Vision Art, Jagat Jewels, Arushi Arts, Taranaksh, Bharati Shah, Aanchal Garg and Art & You, with more participants to be announced in the coming weeks.

One of the key highlights of this year’s edition will be a special showcase celebrating the life and legacy of K. G. Subramanyan, one of India’s most influential modern artists, educators and thinkers. Bringing together a focused presentation of his works, the showcase will offer visitors a closer look at his distinctive visual language and the enduring influence of his practice.

ARTIX 5.0 will also introduce 'Artist in Focus', a new initiative dedicated to supporting emerging artists. The platform will present a curated selection of works by promising contemporary talent, creating opportunities for greater visibility and meaningful engagement with collectors, galleries, curators and art enthusiasts.

Founded by Malvika Poddar, Payal Kapoor and Sethu Vaidyanathan, ARTIX was conceived as an alternative to the conventional art fair. Inspired by international hotel art fairs, it transforms hotel rooms into curated exhibition spaces, allowing every participant to create a unique environment that reflects their artistic vision while encouraging closer interaction between artists, galleries and audiences.

Since its debut in 2023, ARTIX has grown into one of India's most distinctive multidisciplinary art platforms, bringing together art, design, jewellery, textiles, fashion and craft through editions in New Delhi and Hyderabad. The fair has created a unique space where established names and emerging voices come together, reflecting the evolving landscape of India's creative industries.

Alongside the exhibitions, ARTIX 5.0 will host a curated programme of panel discussions, artist talks and guided walkthroughs, bringing together artists, collectors, gallerists and industry experts to explore conversations around contemporary art, collecting, design and culture.

Speaking about the fifth edition, the founders of ARTIX said,

"As ARTIX enters its fifth edition, our vision remains the same to create a platform where art can be experienced in a more personal and engaging way. Every edition has helped build a growing community of artists, galleries, collectors and audiences, and this year we are excited to introduce new initiatives that celebrate both artistic legacy and emerging talent while continuing to expand conversations around contemporary creative practices."

ARTIX 5.0 will take place on August 22 and 23, 2026, at The Claridges, New Delhi.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/artix.india/?hl=en
Website: https://artixindia.com/

WordCamp Bengaluru 2026 will be held on November 21 and 22, 2026, at St. Joseph’s Boys’ High School, Museum Road, Bengaluru. The community-run, not-for-profit event is being organized entirely by volunteers and is expected to bring together around 400 participants from the WordPress and open web ecosystem.

Navada is part of the 16-member organizing team behind the 2026 edition. His involvement follows his role on the Sponsor Team of WordCamp Asia 2026, held in Mumbai earlier this year. While the two events differ in scale, the progression reflects his continued involvement in the WordPress community, from contributing to a major regional event to helping organize a community gathering closer home in Karnataka.

A WordPress journey that began in 2011

Navada first began exploring WordPress through blogging in 2011. His interest in web publishing gradually developed into freelance web development and later entrepreneurship.

In 2015, he founded ForthFocus, a digital solutions company based in Kundapura, Karnataka.

The company has since grown to serve more than 350 clients across eight countries, working across WordPress, WooCommerce, eCommerce, business websites and custom digital solutions.

Alongside building ForthFocus, Navada has remained active in the WordPress ecosystem through community participation, speaking, organizing, and open source contribution.

What began as using WordPress for publishing eventually evolved into building professionally with the platform and contributing time and experience back to the community around it.

Regularly invited speaker at technology and business forums

Navada is also a regularly invited speaker at WordCamps, educational institutions, technology events, and industry forums.

His sessions have covered subjects including WordPress, digital privacy, remote team management, entrepreneurship, sustainable business and long-term digital growth.

His speaking engagements draw from more than a decade of experience in technology, entrepreneurship and managing distributed teams, often exploring the intersection of technology, people and business rather than technology in isolation.

Travel and Millennial Duo

Outside technology, Navada is an avid traveller. Together with his wife, Mrs. Keerthi Prabhu, a software testing professional, he runs Millennial Duo® (https://millennialduo.com), where the couple documents their travel experiences and practical destination insights.

They have travelled to 15 countries and counting and have also shared a WordCamp stage together, combining perspectives from web development and software testing.

WordCamp Bengaluru 2026 to bring together around 400 participants

WordCamp Bengaluru 2026 is positioned as Bengaluru’s own gathering for people who use, build and contribute around WordPress and the open web.

The event will feature two tracks and a Contributor Day, bringing together developers, designers, founders, agencies, content creators, students, educators and open source contributors.

The two day programme will include talks, discussions, practical sessions and opportunities for attendees to contribute directly to the WordPress open source project.

With approximately 400 participants expected, the event aims to create a platform for learning, collaboration and strengthening connections across Bengaluru and India’s WordPress community.

For Navada, becoming part of the organizing team represents another opportunity to contribute to an ecosystem closely connected with his professional journey.

“WordPress played an important role in shaping my professional journey. Contributing time and experience back to the community is a natural continuation of that relationship,” said V Gautham Navada.

His involvement in WordCamp Asia and WordCamp Bengaluru during the same year reflects a journey that has evolved from discovering WordPress as a blogger, to building a digital business around the web, speaking at community events and now helping organize WordCamps at both regional and local levels.

About WordCamp Bengaluru 2026

WordCamp Bengaluru 2026 will take place on November 21 and 22, 2026, at St. Joseph’s Boys’ High School, Museum Road, Bengaluru, Karnataka. The volunteer-run, not-for-profit event will feature two tracks and a Contributor Day, with around 400 participants expected.

About ForthFocus

ForthFocus is a remote-first digital solutions company founded by V Gautham Navada in 2015 and based in Kundapura, Karnataka. The company serves more than 350 clients across eight countries and works across WordPress, WooCommerce, eCommerce, web development, and custom digital solutions.

Official WordCamp Bengaluru 2026 Organizing Team:
 https://bengaluru.wordcamp.org/2026/meet-the-organizing-team/

They have grown up watching films, streaming shows, creators, reels and behind-the-scenes content that feel immediate, personal and real. Highly polished advertising still has its place, but audiences are increasingly drawn towards stories that feel human rather than manufactured.

That shift is changing the way brands approach video.

For Motion Canvas, a Pune-based video production company working across real estate, manufacturing, FMCG, hospitality and healthcare, the future of brand communication lies somewhere between cinematic production and authentic storytelling.

The idea is simple: brands don't always need to look perfect. They need to feel real.

The End of the "Perfect Corporate Video"

For years, corporate videos followed a familiar formula, carefully written scripts, perfectly positioned executives, polished voiceovers and predictable shots of offices, factories and products.

But audiences today can recognise advertising almost instantly.

They are exposed to an enormous amount of professionally produced content every day. At the same time, social media has created an appetite for spontaneous moments, genuine conversations, behind-the-scenes footage and stories that don't feel overly rehearsed.

This has created a new challenge for brands.

How do you maintain production quality without losing authenticity?

Motion Canvas believes the answer lies not in making content less sophisticated, but in making the storytelling more human.

“People don't connect with a brand because everything looks perfect. They connect when something feels genuine,” says Kshitij Kulkarni, Director, Motion Canvas.

“Technology and production quality can make a film visually impressive, but the story, emotion and authenticity are what make people remember it.”

Storytelling That Doesn't Feel Like Advertising

The changing audience behaviour is particularly relevant for businesses entering the digital content ecosystem.

A real estate developer, for example, is no longer communicating only through brochures and newspaper advertisements. Its audience may first discover a project through a short video, a creator-led walkthrough, a cinematic project film or an Instagram reel.

Similarly, an FMCG consumer may see a product through a digital advertisement before encountering it on a supermarket shelf.

The opportunity is to make these interactions feel less like interruptions and more like stories worth watching.

Motion Canvas develops brand films, corporate videos, TVCs, DVCs, CGI content and digital videos with this philosophy in mind.

The objective isn't simply to showcase a product or company.

It is to find the human story behind it.

Real Estate Is Selling More Than Buildings

Real estate is a good example of how storytelling can change perception.

A property can be photographed beautifully, but photographs alone may not communicate the experience of living there.

A cinematic real estate film can capture the morning light entering a home, children playing, the energy of a neighbourhood, the architecture, the people and the small details that make a place feel like home.

For premium developments, the story is often less about square footage and more about aspiration, lifestyle and belonging.

Motion Canvas works with real estate brands to bring these elements together through project films, developer films, architectural videos, CGI visualisation and digital campaigns.

The intention is to make the audience imagine the experience rather than simply observe the property.

Finding Stories Inside Manufacturing

Manufacturing may seem like an industry built around machines, processes and numbers.

But behind every factory are people, ideas and years of expertise.

The engineer solving a complex problem. The employee operating a machine with precision. The entrepreneur who built the company from scratch. The technology that transformed a production process.

These are stories.

Motion Canvas creates manufacturing and industrial videos that can showcase technology and capabilities while bringing the people and thinking behind the business into the narrative.

This human layer can make even highly technical B2B communication easier to understand and more memorable.

FMCG and the Fight for Attention

For FMCG brands, authenticity has become particularly important.

Consumers don't simply encounter brands through traditional advertisements anymore. They see products through creators, reviews, social media conversations, demonstrations, short-form videos and everyday experiences.

The most effective content often doesn't feel like an advertisement at first glance.

It feels like entertainment, information or a story.

Motion Canvas works with FMCG brands on product films, digital campaigns, social media content and advertising, creating visual assets that can adapt across platforms.

The objective is to capture attention quickly without losing the personality of the brand.

Hospitality Is About Feeling, Not Just Seeing

Hospitality has always been an emotional business.

A hotel doesn't simply sell a room. A resort doesn't simply sell a swimming pool.

It sells a feeling.

The anticipation of a holiday. The quietness of a weekend away. A meal shared with family. A sunset at a resort. The feeling of entering a beautiful space after a long journey.

Video can communicate these moments in a way that static communication often cannot.

Motion Canvas creates hospitality films, resort videos, food and beverage content, destination films and digital campaigns designed to communicate the experience behind the property.

The emphasis is on making audiences feel like they are already there.

Healthcare Needs Authenticity More Than Hype

Healthcare requires a different kind of storytelling.

Hospitals and healthcare brands cannot rely on exaggerated claims or overly dramatic communication. Trust is fundamental.

Patients want to see the people behind the institution — doctors, nurses, specialists and support teams — as well as the technology and infrastructure.

Motion Canvas works on healthcare corporate films, doctor profiles, facility videos, awareness campaigns and patient-focused content that combines professional credibility with human stories.

Here, authenticity isn't simply a creative choice.

It is essential to communication.

The New Relationship Between Brands and Audiences

The larger change is happening beyond individual industries.

The traditional boundary between advertising and entertainment is disappearing.

Brands are increasingly becoming content creators.

And audiences are increasingly deciding which stories deserve their attention.

This is creating a new role for production companies.

The job is no longer simply to arrange a shoot, operate cameras and deliver an edit.

It is to understand the audience, discover the story and determine how that story should be told across different platforms.

Motion Canvas combines video production with creative development, CGI, branding and digital communication to help brands build this broader visual ecosystem.

“Production is only one part of the equation. The real value comes when the content continues to work for the brand after the shoot is over,” Kshitij Kulkarni says.

The Future May Belong to Stories That Feel Real

The next generation of brand communication may not necessarily be defined by bigger sets, bigger celebrities or bigger production budgets.

It may be defined by better stories.

Stories that reveal rather than exaggerate.

Stories that show people rather than simply products.

Stories that acknowledge imperfections instead of hiding them.

And stories that give audiences a reason to stop scrolling.

For Motion Canvas, this represents an opportunity to bring the craft of filmmaking into a world where authenticity is becoming one of the most valuable creative currencies.

Whether it is a home waiting for its first family, an engineer building something extraordinary, a consumer discovering a new product, a traveller experiencing a destination or a doctor changing someone's life, every business has stories that can connect with people.

The challenge is finding them.

And telling them honestly.

Because in an age where almost everything can be produced, edited and polished, the stories that feel real may ultimately be the ones people remember.

August 2026 : The Federation of Self-Financing Technical Institutions (FSFTI) has urged the University Grants Commission (UGC), All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), Ministry of Education and other regulatory authorities to extend the admission deadline for technical and professional courses from August 14 to October 30th, 2026.

While the current admission deadline for UGC and AICTE-regulated courses is August 14, the Pharmacy Council of India has allowed admissions until September 15, 2026.

Dr. Anshu Kataria, President, FSFTI and Punjab Unaided Colleges Association (PUCA), and Chairman, Aryans Group of Colleges, said the admission session has been disrupted by uncertainty surrounding NEET, examination-related controversies, re-examinations, delayed results and prolonged counselling. Many students waited for medical and healthcare counselling before considering engineering, pharmacy, management, allied healthcare and other professional programmes, leaving them with little time to make informed career decisions.

Dr. Kataria said students seeking admission to allied and healthcare programmes have been particularly affected by frequent changes, directions and clarifications under the National Commission for Allied and Healthcare Professions (NCAHP) framework. Uncertainty over eligibility, entrance requirements, course nomenclature, sanctioned intake, institutional recognition and the regulatory status of colleges has caused confusion among students, parents and institutions.

Kataria added that delays in Polytechnic results and CBSE Class XII re-evaluation results have also affected students, including those seeking lateral-entry admission in engineering and other technical programmes. ITI examinations have only recently concluded, the results are not expected before 14th August, students aspiring to take admission into Polytechnic through LEET will not be able to complete their admission process within the existing AICTE admission timeline, he mentioned.

Adv. Amit Sharma, Senior Vice President, PUCA, said several NCAHP provisions and norms have neither been implemented uniformly nor communicated clearly. The absence of a fully functional and transparent mechanism has made it difficult for students to identify duly recognized courses and institutions.

Dr. K.V.K. Rao, General Secretary, FSFTI, said floods related disruptions in Assam, Odisha, Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab and other states have further affected admissions. Displacement, damaged road and internet connectivity, financial hardship and difficulties in obtaining academic documents have prevented many students from completing counselling, travelling to institutions and finalizing admissions.

PUCA members S. Manjit Singh, S. Gurmeet Singh Dhaliwal, Ashwani Garg, Ashok Garg, Mohit Mahajan, S. Gurkirat Singh, S. Gurpreet Singh and H.S. Kanda have urged UGC, AICTE, the Ministry of Education and other concerned authorities to extend the deadline to October 30th, 2026, so that deserving students are not deprived of higher education opportunities due to circumstances beyond their control.

It is to be mentioned that on PUCA petitions in Supreme Court, admission deadlines for technical courses were extended to October 30 in 2025, October 23 in 2024 and October 30 in 2023. In 2022, admissions were allowed until October 25 for first-year courses and October 30 for lateral-entry programmes.

What stands out this year is where the exhibitors are coming from. Companies are travelling in from Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Punjab, a spread that organisers say shows how far HIMTEX has grown beyond a Hyderabad-only event.

Mr. Vinoth Sasidharan, Project Head, HIMTEX, put it simply: “The evolution of HIMTEX—from a regional exhibition to an event that industry stakeholders deliberately plan to attend—is a clear indicator that we are building something with real industry value.”

The exhibitor mix is broad this year. CNC machining centres, VMCs, HMCs, sheet metal and forming presses, cutting tools, welding equipment, robotics, and material handling all feature, alongside a growing number of companies working in industrial software and connected manufacturing.

That last group ties into one of the biggest draws on this year's show floor: DiFact – the Digital Factory & Connected Technologies Pavilion. Built around the Digital Factory Experience Zone (DFEZ), developed with Knowledge Partner Automation Industry Association (AIA), the pavilion will run live demonstrations of turning and milling operations, CMM inspection, AMR-based material movement, cobot-assisted handling, and machine monitoring dashboards through the week. It is built to be walked through and seen working, rather than just read about on a brochure.

“MSMEs hear the words ‘Industry 4.0’ all the time, but seeing it actually running on a shop floor is still rare for most of them,” said Mr. Kuna Shankar, Director, HITEX. “That is exactly what DFEZ is built to show. We would rather let people see it running.”

Several exhibitors who confirmed their participation this week said scale was the main reason. A single large show tends to bring stronger footfall than several smaller regional ones, and HIMTEX's growing reach across states came up often as the reason for signing up.

HIMTEX 2026 continues to be backed by the Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSME) and the Machine Tool Manufacturers' Association, Rajkot, along with its Diamond, Gold and Silver partners.

Business visitor registration is open now at www.himtex.in. Entry is free for registered visitors aged 18 and above.

The Hyderabad International Machine Tool & Engineering Expo (HIMTEX) is the flagship biennial exhibition dedicated to machine tools, manufacturing technologies, industrial automation, and engineering solutions. Bringing together leading manufacturers, technology providers, buyers, and industry professionals, HIMTEX serves as a catalyst for innovation, collaboration, and business growth while supporting the advancement of India's manufacturing sector.

Ultra-slim stainless-steel collection brings contemporary design, premium finishes, and trusted performance to luxury spaces

India 11 August 2026: Schneider Electric, the global energy technology leader, is set to introduce Unica X, its new premium range of stainless-steel switches and sockets designed for modern living spaces. Launching across India, the Gulf region, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, and Thailand, Unica X brings together refined aesthetics, precision engineering, and dependable performance to meet the evolving expectations of homeowners, architects, interior designers, and hospitality developers.

As design expectations continue to evolve, Unica X combines minimalist aesthetics with engineering excellence, offering homeowners a solution that seamlessly blends style with performance.

Featuring Schneider Electric's slim design, Unica X offers a 6.5 mm ultra-slim visible profile with a precision-engineered 2 mm metal cover plate. The collection is available in six premium colours Brushed Stainless Steel, Painted White, Jet Black, Dark Grey, Dark Bronze, and Antique Brass and three elegant finishes: Metallic, Ceramic, and Antique Brush to match with their home interiors and design sensibility.

Built with precision-crafted CNC-machined metal trims and advanced multi-process colouring technology, Unica X is engineered to deliver a premium finish with lasting durability. The portfolio includes switches, sockets, USB charging solutions, dimmers, communication modules, hotel applications, and accessories, making it suitable for premium residential, hospitality, and commercial projects.

Designed to meet international IEC and BS standards, Unica X delivers long-term reliability, with switches tested for over 20,000 operations and sockets for more than 18,000 insertions.

With the launch of Unica X, Schneider Electric continues to expand its portfolio of premium electrical solutions that combine design innovation, engineering precision, and dependable performance for modern living spaces, reinforcing its vision of Advancing Energy Tech.

To learn more about the Unica X range, visit: https://www.se.com/in/en/work/products/product-launch/local/unica-x/

About Schneider Electric

Schneider Electric is a global energy technology leader, driving efficiency and sustainability by electrifying, automating, and digitalizing industries, businesses, and homes. Its technologies enable buildings, data centers, factories, infrastructure, and grids to operate as open, interconnected ecosystems, enhancing performance, resilience, and sustainability. The portfolio includes intelligent devices, software-defined architectures, AI-powered systems, digital services, and expert advisory. With 160,000 employees and 1 million partners in over 100 countries, Schneider Electric is consistently ranked among the world’s most sustainable companies.

www.se.com

Discover the newest perspectives on energy technology on Schneider Electric Insights.

New Delhi, August 2026: Ahead of Independence Day, premium Apple partner iNvent has announced ‘Freedom to Upgrade’, a consumer initiative that makes upgrading to select Apple devices easier through 24-month No-Cost EMI, exchange bonus of up to INR 12,000 and special savings across iPhone, MacBook and iPad.

The initiative is aimed at making technology upgrades easier to plan by reducing the upfront financial commitment typically associated with premium devices. By bringing together extended payment flexibility and additional value on exchange, iNvent is giving consumers more flexibility to decide when and how they move to their next device.

Under the Freedom Deals, customers can upgrade to an iPhone with monthly payments starting from INR 2,371, depending on the model and applicable offer. For instance, the iPhone 17 is available from INR 3,412 per month under the applicable offer. Customers can also avail an exchange bonus of up to INR 12,000 on eligible devices, further bringing down the effective cost of upgrading.

The Independence Day proposition also extends across MacBook and iPad. Eligible MacBook models are available with 8% discount and cashback of up to INR 15,000, while eligible iPad models carry 5% discount with cashback of up to INR 6,000. Special student and education benefits are also available on select MacBook and iPad models for eligible customers.

Swarn Bajaj, Founder, P3S Ventures Pvt. Ltd. said, “For many consumers today, the decision to upgrade is not simply about the price of a device; it is about whether that purchase fits comfortably into their monthly spending. With Freedom to Upgrade, we wanted to make that decision simpler. By combining 24-month payment flexibility with exchange benefits and meaningful savings, consumers have greater choice in deciding when and how they move to their next Apple device.”

As premium technology becomes increasingly integral to how consumers work, communicate and access entertainment, the decision to upgrade is also becoming more considered. Price remains important, but so does the flexibility to manage the purchase in a way that works for individual budgets.

Through Freedom to Upgrade, iNvent is looking to address this by combining product choice, exchange value, payment flexibility and in-store guidance, particularly for consumers who may have been considering an Apple upgrade but were hesitant about the upfront spend.

The Freedom Deals will be available across participating iNvent stores for a limited period, subject to product availability and applicable bank and offer terms.

Raksha Bandhan lands late this year, on 28 August. The Gwalior-based handmade platform leads with reusable rakhis, Dokra brass to blue pottery to crochet, each sold by the name of its craft and shipped worldwide.

Gwalior, India, August 2026 : Raksha Bandhan falls on Friday, 28 August this year, nearly three weeks later than last year, because the Hindu lunar calendar carried an extra month. iTokri.com, India's largest curated direct-to-consumer platform for handmade textiles and handicrafts, enters the longer window with the largest Rakhi range in its history: more than 2,300 handmade rakhis in stock as of this week, made in small batches by more than 20 named artisan groups and clusters across India, with list prices from Rs 180 for a plantable seed rakhi to about Rs 1,350 for premium copper-enamel and Meenakari sets.

Every rakhi on the platform is sold by the name of its craft: Patwa threadwork from Rajasthan, Dokra brass from Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal, Jaipur blue pottery beads, Bishnupur handpainted fabric, chikankari and tribal hand embroidery, crochet, beadwork, bamboo, upcycled handloom weave, and plantable seed rakhis that go into the soil after the festival. Every product page names the group that made it, among them Samoolam, Ekibeki, Miharu, Khamir, Kamli, Neeli Titlee and Vishnu Kumar Patwa.

The centre of the 2026 range is a bet the company first tested last year: reusable rakhis that live on after the festival, a felt toy a child keeps, a Dokra brass or copper-enamel keepsake, pieces that can be turned into a keychain or fridge magnet, and potlis and wooden doll boxes built for a second life. The 2025 trial collection sold well, so 2026 scaled it into the main range. In-stock examples include a Reusable Tribal Dokra Brass Rakhi with a Banaras wood doll box by Miharu at Rs 590, a Reusable Copper Enamel Rakhi with potli by Ekibeki at Rs 850 to Rs 1,350, a Reusable Crochet Kids Rakhi by Samoolam at Rs 490, and a Patwa Threadwork Blue Pottery Beads Rakhi with potli by Vishnu Kumar Patwa at Rs 390.

"The Rakhi market is huge and we are a small player in it, and that is fine, because nobody assembles what we assemble. This is India's largest curation of handmade rakhis: small batches from artisan groups across the country, sold by the name of the craft," said Nitin Pamnani, co-founder, iTokri.com. "On iTokri you do not buy a generic designer rakhi. You buy a Patwa threadwork rakhi or a Dokra brass rakhi, and the group that made it is named right on the page. The artisan is the designer."

Rakhi is iTokri's oldest proven seasonal engine. The company has run the window every year since 2019 and has repeated it as a win since 2022; the range has grown roughly five to seven times over from those early years. August is now iTokri's single biggest month of the year by order volume, and the Rakhi window brought the platform more than 5,000 first-time customers in August 2024 alone. International orders also peak in August, with the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada the platform's largest overseas Rakhi markets. The whole season runs, as everything at iTokri has since 2012, without a single price cut.

"A rakhi should not become waste on the second day of September. Last year we tried a small reusable collection and it took off, so this year the biggest share of the new range is built to be kept: a felt toy a child holds on to, a brass or copper-enamel keepsake, potlis and little wooden boxes that get a second life," Pamnani added. "Raksha Bandhan is late this year, on 28 August. Use the extra weeks to send something that lasts."

The collection is live at itokri.com/collections/send-rakhi. The company advises ordering by around 22 August within India and by around 15 August for the UAE, Singapore and Malaysia; the advised date for the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia has just passed, so buyers there should order immediately and check the tracked-delivery estimate at checkout. Every order ships from Gwalior with a handwritten note.

About iTokri.com

iTokri.com is India's largest curated D2C platform for authentic handmade textiles and handicrafts. Founded in 2012 by Nitin and Jia Pamnani in Gwalior, the platform works directly with 10,000+ artisan-creators across 500+ craft clusters, listing 100,000+ products spanning handwoven fabrics, block-printed textiles, sarees, dupattas, stoles, home textiles, and craft supplies. iTokri ships to 125+ countries and adds 500+ new products daily. The artisan is the designer.

Media Contact:

iTokri.com
Email: press@itokri.com

Website: https://itokri.com/

For most small and medium enterprises in India, "HR process" often means a stack of Excel sheets, a chat group for leave requests, and a payroll cycle run on manual calculations and hope. Kolkata-based Keyline Digitech Pvt Ltd, a digital solutions company with over 23 years of experience building web, mobile, and AI products for businesses across the globe, wants to change that with EfforTrak — a homegrown HRMS, attendance, payroll, and field-force platform built for Indian MSMEs.

A Problem Every Growing Business Recognizes

India's SME sector is often called the backbone of the economy. Yet as these businesses grow from a handful of employees to fifty or a hundred, most hit the same wall: the informal systems that worked when everyone knew everyone start to break down. Attendance gets disputed, salary calculations have errors, leave approvals get lost in chat threads, and compliance deadlines are missed — often at the cost of a labour notice, or a good employee who left because payroll was late for the third month running.

Large enterprises solved this problem decades ago with HRMS platforms, but most were priced and designed for companies with dedicated IT and HR departments — not a 40-person manufacturing unit in Howrah or a retail chain expanding across three cities. That gap is where EfforTrak is positioned.

What EfforTrak Actually Does

EfforTrak is built around a simple premise: an MSME shouldn't need a battery of consultants and a six-figure IT budget to run its people operations properly. The platform brings together the modules a growing business actually needs, in one connected system:

Biometric and face-recognition attendance. Instead of manual registers or attendance that can be gamed, EfforTrak supports kiosk-based biometric devices and face-recognition attendance, giving owners an accurate, tamper-resistant record of who was present, when, and where.

A mobile app with geofencing attendance. For teams not tied to one office, employees can mark attendance from their phone within a defined geofenced radius — a reliable check-in system for multi-site, field, or hybrid teams without a biometric device at every location.

Payroll built for Indian compliance. Payroll in India involves gratuity rules, full-and-final settlement timelines, wage structuring under the new Labour Codes, and details that catch owners off guard. EfforTrak's payroll engine is designed around these specifics rather than being a generic global tool retrofitted for India.

Field-force and GPS tracking. For sales teams, technicians, or delivery staff, EfforTrak offers location tracking that balances accountability with practicality, without excessive battery drain.

Leave, recruitment, and the employee lifecycle. From the moment a candidate is shortlisted to onboarding, and every leave application after, EfforTrak keeps the employee journey in one place instead of scattered across spreadsheets and emails.

Simple asset management. Laptops, phones, and tools have a way of quietly disappearing as a business grows. EfforTrak includes a straightforward module to track what's been issued to whom.

Basic lead management. Many MSMEs run their sales pipeline out of a notebook, losing leads in the process. EfforTrak's built-in lead management lets smaller sales teams capture, assign, and follow up on leads, adding a first layer of structure to revenue operations alongside HR.

Unit cost analysis. Beyond attendance and payroll, EfforTrak breaks down the overhead cost of people by project and task type, letting owners see what each project actually costs to staff — a level of visibility most MSMEs currently have no easy way to track.

Why It Matters for the "Process" Conversation

Keyline Digitech's pitch for EfforTrak isn't just "software that tracks attendance." It's framed around a bigger idea: process as a growth enabler. A business that can trust its attendance data, calculate payroll correctly the first time, and onboard employees with a defined workflow is one that can expand into a new city, take on a larger client, or pass a due-diligence check during fundraising without scrambling to reconstruct records — increasingly important as more MSMEs formalize operations to qualify for institutional credit or meet vendor-compliance audits from larger corporate clients. A structured HRMS isn't a luxury in that context; it's closer to infrastructure.

Built by a Team That Understands the Indian MSME Context

Keyline Digitech is not a new entrant experimenting with SaaS. The company has spent over 14 years developing web, mobile, and AI-driven solutions for clients across the globe, giving it a vantage point on how Indian businesses actually operate — including the ones that don't fit templates built for Silicon Valley startups or multinational enterprises. That shows up in EfforTrak's design choices: a mobile-first attendance experience, affordable, locally serviceable biometric devices, and a payroll engine built around Indian labour law rather than adapted from a Western product. The company has also brought in domain expertise beyond its own engineering team, working with HR compliance specialists to ensure the payroll and labour-law logic reflects real regulatory requirements — an important distinction in a country where compliance rules vary by state and change with each Labour Code rollout.

What's Next

EfforTrak continues to evolve as a platform rather than a fixed product, with new modules — including a dedicated recruitment workflow and desktop productivity monitoring — in active development. The roadmap follows a phased approach: start with a manageable core a small business can adopt without friction, then add capability as it grows.

For India's MSME sector, central to the country's employment and growth story, tools like EfforTrak represent a quieter but important trend: enterprise-grade discipline in HR and operations, built and priced for businesses previously locked out of it.

EfforTrak is a product of Keyline Digitech Pvt Ltd, a digital solutions company headquartered in Kolkata, serving clients across the globe.

This quiet redesign of everyday life is why demand for apartment interior designers in Bangalore has climbed steadily over the past years — not as a luxury indulgence, but as a practical response to how the city itself has changed.

The Vertical Living Paradox

Bengaluru's apartment stock has grown taller and denser even as household needs have grown more complex. Multi-generational families, work-from-home professionals, and young couples raising children are frequently sharing the same 3BHK and 4BHK floor plans, each carrying different, sometimes conflicting, expectations of the same rooms. A living room must double as a play area by day and a formal reception space by evening. A study must serve one parent's video calls while a child does homework at the same desk an hour later.

This is the paradox of vertical living: more people are living in less footprint per person than a generation ago, yet expectations for comfort, privacy, and aesthetics have only risen. Developers optimise floor plans for saleable area, not for how a specific family actually spends its day — which is precisely the gap that apartment interior design has stepped in to close.

Designing Around the New Indian Household

Perhaps the most significant shift is the return of the multi-generational home. Many Bengaluru families now house grandparents, working professionals, and school-going children under one roof — a configuration that older apartment layouts, built around the nuclear family, were never designed to support.

Interior designers are responding with layered privacy: a grandparent's room positioned away from evening traffic and noise, ensuite bathrooms with grab rails built in discreetly rather than added later, and lighting schemes that shift from bright task lighting for study corners to warmer, gentler tones in shared lounges. None of this is visible from a floor plan; it only emerges once a designer maps how each family member actually moves through the home across a single day.

The other defining brief of the past two years has been the home office. What began as a pandemic-era compromise — a laptop balanced on a dining table — has matured into a genuine design category. Owners now ask for acoustic separation from the rest of the home, dedicated storage for files and equipment, and a backdrop considered enough for video calls, all folded into rooms that must revert to guest bedrooms or family space on weekends.

Storage as the New Status Symbol

Ask any Bangalore-based designer what apartment owners request most often, and the answer is rarely a statement chandelier or an accent wall — it is storage solutions. In compact floor plans, a well-planned utility, a full-height wardrobe system, or a modular kitchen with intelligent pull-out units has become the real luxury, because it is what allows a home to look calm rather than cluttered.

This has pushed modular furniture and bespoke carpentry to the centre of most apartment briefs. Furniture that folds, nests, or converts — a study desk that becomes a dressing unit, a dining table that extends only when guests arrive — allows a single room to serve two or three purposes without ever feeling temporary or improvised.

Borrowed Light, Considered Materials

High-rise apartments also bring a recurring physical constraint: limited natural light on lower and mid-level floors, and narrow balconies that receive harsh western sun on others. Designers are increasingly working with light-reflective materials, strategically placed mirrors, and glazed partitions between rooms to borrow daylight across a floor plan rather than trapping it in a single space. Balconies, meanwhile, are being reimagined as usable extensions of the home — shaded, planted, and furnished — rather than leftover utility areas.

Why Bangalore Homeowners Are Choosing Professional Design Over DIY

With online inspiration readily available, many owners begin by attempting a DIY approach, only to run into the same wall: an apartment's plumbing points, electrical layout, and structural columns are fixed, and a Pinterest board rarely accounts for them. Aishwarya Interiors, the Bangalore-based residential design studio founded in 2004 by Yogesh and Laxmi Deshmukh, notes that most enquiries now begin not with a mood board, but with a specific problem — too little storage, an awkward corridor, a room that never gets used.

"People aren't looking for a designer to make their home look nice in photographs anymore," the studio observes. "They're looking for someone to make the apartment work the way their family actually lives — which is a far more technical brief than it sounds."

That shift — from aesthetics-first to function-first — is arguably the defining trend in home interiors in Bangalore today. As apartment sizes plateau and household compositions grow more varied, the designers best positioned to win trust are not necessarily those with the boldest portfolios, but those who can translate a family's daily routine into a floor plan that quietly, invisibly, just works.

For a city adding vertical housing faster than almost any other in India, that invisible engineering — more than any single finish or fixture — is what will define the next decade of apartment interior design in Bangalore.

-Greenply disrupts Indian Plywood market, sets new benchmark in termite protection, durability & lifetime assurance with innovative Termivax, powered by proprietary Nano- Technology.

Kolkata, 11^th August 2026:  Greenply Industries Limited, one of India's leading interior infrastructure companies, has introduced TermiVax one of India's first Vaccinated anti-termite plywood powered by advanced nanotechnology with a patent application filed. With this innovation, Greenply plywood will now come with superior lifetime protection against termites, a problem highlighted under damp & wet conditions & gets accelerated in monsoon season.

This innovation is much ahead than usual surface treatment & comes with advanced solution that prohibits growth of termites & subsequent damage to your furniture & home interiors. It’s nanotechnology compound penetrates deep into every corner of plywood besides surface ensures that every corner of plywood is fully covered by this protection.

For decades, anti-termite protection has primarily relied on surface coatings and post-installation chemical treatments. While these methods offer temporary protection, they often remain limited to the surface and can gradually lose effectiveness over time due to cutting, drilling, moisture exposure and regular wear and tear.

By integrating protection directly into the plywood during manufacturing, Greenply aims to provide a more reliable and long-lasting solution for homes, commercial spaces and institutional projects. This new product is thoroughly tested & approved by IPIRTI (Indian Plywood industry’s research & training Institute).

Commenting on the launch, Sanidhya Mittal, Joint Managing Director, Greenply Industries Limited, said: "At Greenply, innovation has always been guided by one simple objective to solve real consumer challenges through meaningful technology. Termite damage continues to be one of the biggest concerns for homeowners, particularly in a country like India where climatic conditions often accelerate infestations. This innovation reflects our commitment to continuously raising industry benchmarks by delivering advanced, more dependable and future-ready solutions for consumers which make your interior & home interior long last.”

This new technology solution will be available across the entire Green Range – Greenply Marine 710, Greenply Gold, Greenply Platinum, Greenply Club 500 & Greenply Club 700.

To know more about Greenply's TermiVax and watch the campaign film, explore:

Website: https://www.greenply.com/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vO6MCaWIbUg

About Greenply Industries Limited:

Greenply Industries Limited is among India’s leading interior infrastructure companies with a strong presence of 42 years in the wood panel industry. The company operates five state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities across the country and offers a wide portfolio of products including Plywood, MDF, Block Boards, Flush Doors, Decorative Veneers, PVC and Flooring products for domestic as well as global markets. With a strong distribution network spanning 1,100+ cities, towns, and villages across 27 states and 6 union territories, supported by more than 2,300 dealers and authorized stockists, a retail network exceeding 6,000 outlets, and 50+ physical and virtual branches across India.

A few conversations with colleagues recently made me think about something that is becoming increasingly common among teenagers.

One colleague, Ms. Norin, shared an interesting story. She has to keep her skincare products away from her younger sister—not because she doesn't want her sister to use them, but because she is unsure whether those products are actually suitable for her sister's skin. There is another practical concern too: many skincare products are simply too expensive to experiment with.

Another colleague, Parerna, shared a similar experience. Her younger sister has become fascinated by Korean skincare and the idea of achieving "glass skin." The desire is understandable. Teenagers today are exposed to thousands of perfectly polished faces on Instagram, YouTube and other social platforms. But the information they receive doesn't always tell them what is appropriate for young skin—or whether they need those products at all.

These conversations led us to a larger question:

Are we teaching teenagers how to understand their skin, or are we simply teaching them what to buy?

That question became one of the reasons we started Belletique.in.

Teenagers Don't Need Another Lecture

Today's teenagers are surrounded by information.

They learn at school. They attend tuition classes. Parents and family members constantly advise them. Friends have their own opinions. And then there is social media—an endless stream of advice about skincare, acne, sunscreen, serums, face masks, Korean beauty and "glow-ups."

The problem isn't a lack of information.

The problem is knowing what information to trust—and making learning interesting enough that teenagers actually want to engage with it.

If we simply create another website full of long articles telling teenagers what they "should" and "shouldn't" do, we may be adding one more classroom to their already crowded lives.

That isn't what we wanted Belletique to become.

We wanted to create something that feels more like a community of friends learning together.

A place where a teenager can ask, "Why do I suddenly have pimples?"

Or:

"Do I really need sunscreen?"

"Why are my friends' skin routines so complicated?"

"Can I use my sister's serum?"

"Is glass skin actually healthy skin?"

"Why is my skin darker than my friends'?"

These are not silly questions.

For a teenager, they can be very real concerns.

Confidence Shouldn't Have a Skin Colour

There is another issue that is equally important to us.

The beauty industry has historically created very narrow ideas of what "beautiful" skin should look like. Fair, flawless, poreless, glowing and increasingly "glass-like."

But healthy skin doesn't have one colour.

It can be fair, brown, dusky, deep, wheatish or anything in between.

A teenager shouldn't have to believe that they need to change their natural skin colour to feel attractive or confident.

At Belletique, our vision is simple:

To help teenagers feel confident in their own skin.

That means helping them understand that skincare isn't about becoming someone else. It is about learning how to take care of the skin they already have.

We want to move the conversation from "How can I look perfect?" to "How can I keep my skin healthy?"

That may sound like a small change in words, but for a teenager, it can represent a completely different way of looking at themselves.

The Skinfluencer Problem

There is another challenge that cannot be ignored.

Social media has democratized skincare information. Anyone can create a video, share a routine and call themselves an expert.

Some creators provide genuinely useful information. But others promote complicated routines, unnecessary products or unrealistic expectations. Sometimes the recommendation is influenced by a commercial relationship or a desire to sell something.

A teenager may see a video with millions of views and naturally assume:

"If millions of people are watching it, it must be true."

Unfortunately, popularity is not the same as medical credibility.

This is why we believe teenagers need a different kind of source—one where medical credibility comes before commercial interests.

Dermatologist-Guided, Not Product-Driven

Belletique is being built around a simple principle:

Education first. Products second.

We want teenagers to understand their skin before they start buying products for it.

Our educational content is designed with dermatologist guidance, with an emphasis on evidence-based, practical and age-appropriate information.

The objective isn't to convince a teenager that they need ten skincare products.

In fact, sometimes the most useful advice may be:

You don't need another product.

For young skin, understanding the basics can often be more valuable than following complicated beauty trends.

We also want to create a clear distinction between education and product promotion. Teenagers should be able to learn about acne, sunscreen, skin hygiene, pigmentation and other common concerns without feeling that every piece of information is ultimately leading them toward a purchase.

Learning Through Friends, Not From a Podium

This is perhaps the most important part of our approach.

Teenagers naturally learn from each other.

They discuss what they use. They share experiences. They ask questions anonymously. They challenge each other's beliefs. They follow trends. They laugh about embarrassing skin moments that adults may not fully understand.

Why not use that natural behaviour to create a healthier learning environment?

Belletique is therefore being developed as a teen skin health community, where education can happen through questions, conversations, challenges, polls, quizzes, myths versus facts, relatable stories and dermatologist-guided answers.

Instead of saying:

"Here is another lesson about skincare."

We want to say:

"Hey, your friend asked this. Have you ever wondered the same thing?"

That difference matters.

Because teenagers don't necessarily reject learning.

They reject being preached to.

From "Glow-Up" to "Grow-Up"

The beauty industry often talks about a "glow-up."

We believe teenagers need something slightly different: a healthy grow-up.

Growing up means understanding that acne doesn't make you unattractive.

It means knowing that having darker skin doesn't make you less beautiful.

It means understanding that social media photos aren't reality.

It means learning that a celebrity's skincare routine may not be appropriate for a 14-year-old.

It means knowing when a skin concern can be managed with basic care and when it is time to speak to a dermatologist.

And perhaps most importantly, it means developing a healthy relationship with your appearance at an age when self-confidence is still being formed.

Why Belletique?

Belletique.in was born from these everyday conversations—not from a desire to create another beauty marketplace.

Our ambition is to build India's teen skin health platform, where teenagers can learn about their skin in a language and environment that feels natural to them.

The platform brings together three things we believe are urgently needed:

Fun — because learning shouldn't always feel like homework.

Friends — because teenagers learn naturally through communities and shared experiences.

Trusted guidance — because health information should not be determined by likes, views or product sales.

We are still at the beginning of this journey.

There is a lot to learn, and there is a lot to build.

But our fundamental belief is clear:

Every teenager deserves the opportunity to understand their skin without feeling pressured to change who they are.

The goal isn't perfect skin.

The goal isn't fairer skin.

The goal isn't "glass skin."

The goal is healthy skin—and the confidence to feel good in your own skin.

That is the idea behind Belletique.

And perhaps, in a world where teenagers are constantly being told how they should look, the most important message we can give them is a simple one:

You already own the skin you need to be confident in. Learn how to take care of it.

Hyderabad, 10th August, 2026 : GHR Infra has launched the ‘2BHK Freedom Offer’ at GHR Callisto, its IGBC Green Homes Pre-certified Gold-rated residential community in Kollur, Hyderabad. Spread across 8.3 acres, with nearly 70% open space, the project is located around 10 minutes from Neopolis and offers 2, 2.5, 3 and 4 BHK residences. Introduced on the occasion of Independence Day, the offer applies to select 2 and 2.5 BHK homes starting at ₹83 lakh*.

Under the offer, homebuyers receive a complimentary modular kitchen from IKEA, along with the choice of an EV parking provision  or two years of common area maintenance. Eligible homes can also be booked with a 10 per cent down payment, helping buyers manage some of the immediate expenses associated with purchasing and setting up a new home.

The announcement adds to the range of Independence Day home offers available to buyers exploring flats for sale in Hyderabad. As the Hyderabad real estate market continues to expand across its western corridor, homebuyers are placing greater emphasis on project completion, connectivity, usable open space and the overall cost of ownership.

Commenting on the announcement, Mr Karteesh Reddy Madgula, CEO, GHR Infra, said, “The beginning of Phase 1 handovers marks an important moment for GHR Callisto and the families who have chosen to make this community their home. Buyers today assess the complete cost and experience of homeownership, including interiors, maintenance and future mobility needs. Through the 2BHK Freedom Offer, we are addressing some of these immediate considerations while giving buyers the flexibility to select a benefit that is most relevant to them.”

GHR Callisto comprises 1,190 homes across four residential towers, with configurations ranging from 2, 2.5, 3 and 4 BHK. Its 2 and 2.5 BHK residences, measuring approximately 1,195 sq. ft. and 1,295 sq. ft. respectively, are designed for young professionals, first-time homebuyers and growing families looking for 2 BHK apartments in Hyderabad and apartments in Kollur.

For buyers planning to buy a flat in Hyderabad, the commencement of Phase 1 handovers provides greater visibility into the project’s progress and living environment. The offer also positions GHR Callisto among the new residential projects in Hyderabad that combine homeownership benefits with ready community infrastructure.

The project has been planned around GHR Infra’s philosophy of ‘Smart Life in Nature’. Its smart and sustainable features include home automation, EV fast-charging infrastructure, rainwater harvesting, grey-water treatment, organic waste composting and Vaastu-compliant homes.

A 50,000 sq. ft. clubhouse forms the recreational and social centre of the community. The development also includes three swimming pools, an amphitheatre, indoor and outdoor sports facilities, work-from-home and co-working spaces, landscaped open areas and round-the-clock security.

Located in Kollur, GHR Callisto offers access to Neopolis, the Financial District and HITEC City, along with nearby educational institutions, healthcare facilities and leisure destinations. This connectivity, combined with the project’s open spaces and amenities, makes it relevant for buyers considering apartments in Kollur, Hyderabad, as well as those comparing premium apartments in Hyderabad.

With 2 BHK homes continuing to attract interest from end-users seeking a balance of space, value and connectivity, the offer is aimed at buyers evaluating 2 BHK flats in Hyderabad for self-use or long-term ownership.

The ‘2BHK Freedom Offer’ is available for a limited period on eligible 2 and 2.5 BHK homes at GHR Callisto. Terms and conditions apply.

About GHR Infra:

"GHR Infra is a Hyderabad-based real estate developer built on the core philosophy of Building Responsibly. Backed by 35+ years of legacy through our founders in residential, villa, commercial, and hospitality developments, GHR Infra has independently constructed over 4.15 million sq. ft. of premium residential space. With landmark projects like The Cascades Neopolis, GHR Callisto, GHR Titania and Trivana, we proudly serve 1895+ happy customers through a growing portfolio of 2,869 apartments and 150+ villas in gated communities, while continuing to develop our ongoing and upcoming project pipeline in a combined 14.77 million sq. ft.

https://ghrinfra.in/

National, August 10, 2026 : Season 3 of the Global e-Cricket Premier League (GEPL), conceptualised by JetSynthesys, a global leader in digital entertainment and technology, concluded with a high-stakes finale. The defending champions Chennai Falcons, jointly owned by Gopal Srinivasan, Madhusudana R., Arjun Santhanakrishnan, retained their crown in a spectacular fashion after quelling a strong challenge from Sara Tendulkar-owned Mumbai Grizzlies in the final of the third season of the JetSynthesys’ Global e-Cricket Premier League (GEPL) on Sunday. In the title clash, Chennai Falcons endured some nervous moments on their way to a 2-1 victory over Mumbai Grizzlies in a best-of-three title clash. With the teams tied at 1-1 following the second final, the Falcons won the third and final contest by two wickets to retain the title.

Peyush Bansal-owned Delhi Sharks ended the tournament as the second runners-up while Bengaluru Badgers, co-owned by Nikhil Kamath, Ankit Nagori and Prashanth Prakash, went home after finishing fourth.

Mumbai Grizzlies’ Jetha Ram finished the tournament as the leading run-scorer with 488 runs, earning him the Orange Cap. Nadeem of Chennai Falcons claimed the Purple Cap after topping the bowling charts with 19 wickets.

Chennai Falcons’ Deepak, who also finished as the tournament’s third-highest run-scorer, was named the Emerging Player of the Tournament.

Jetha Ram capped his impressive campaign by also being named the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the Tournament, having contributed 488 runs and 14 wickets for the Mumbai Grizzlies.

Powered by Real Cricket™, GEPL has consistently attracted some of India’s most prominent business founders, investors, and cultural figures, owners who have backed the league not as a sponsorship play, but as franchises to build a long-term institution.

The finale drew participation from a strong slate of stakeholders, including Sara Tendulkar (owner of Mumbai Grizzlies), Prashant Prakash (co-owner of Bengaluru Badgers), Dr. Cyrus Poonawalla, Chairman of Poonawalla Group, Sean Sohn, CEO, Krafton India, and famous Indian actor & television presenter, Mandira Bedi.

Rajan Navani, Chairman of JetSynthesys, said, "Season 3 has been the biggest proof yet of what GEPL set out to do - build a genuine sport, not just a tournament. Eight franchises, our first international broadcast, and a final as closely fought as this one are all signs that the ambition behind GEPL is real and only growing. My congratulations to Chennai Falcons on a hard-fought title defence, and to every franchise that made this season bigger than anything we've done before."

Jogesh Lulla, Senior Vice President - Sports, JetSynthesys, said, "This has been our most competitive season yet, and a final this tight is the best possible proof of that. Chennai Falcons have shown once again what it takes to win under pressure, and performances like Jetha Ram's all-round campaign are exactly the kind of stories we set out to tell this season. We're already looking ahead to Season 4."

Sara Tendulkar, who has been involved since the early stages of Season 2, and owner of the Mumbai Grizzlies, shared, “Growing up surrounded by on field cricket my whole life, GEPL was something completely new for me, and there was so much to learn. What struck me most is how much dedication and hard work goes into e-cricket, just like the game I've grown up around. I couldn't be prouder of what the Mumbai Grizzlies achieved this season. Chennai Falcons played brilliantly and thoroughly deserve the win”.

Gopal Srinivasan, Co-owner, Chennai Falcons said, “Congratulations to the Chennai Falcons on defending the title. Doing it in a season with eight incredibly competitive franchises makes this all the more special, and it's something we're genuinely proud of. GEPL keeps raising the bar every year, and it's exciting to see our team innovate with new strategies and capabilities to continue to be best in class.”

Prashant Prakash, Co-owner, Bengaluru Badgers, said, "Finishing fourth in a field this competitive tells you how much stronger GEPL has become as a league. Every franchise this season had real depth, and the standard of play across all eight teams was noticeably higher than what we saw before. As an investor, that's exactly the trajectory you want to see - a league getting harder to win, not easier."

Mandira Bedi, who was present at the Grand Finale, said, "The growth of GEPL every year is something else - the organisation, the venue, the standard of play, all of it keeps getting better. What stands out most is how accessible it is - all you need is a phone and reflexes, and that's exactly what 'Yeh Hamara Cricket Hai' means to me. Congratulations to Chennai Falcons, and JetSynthesys for building something this special."

After a successful second season, the Season 3 had expanded to eight full franchises with the addition of Kolkata Hawks (owned by music icon Sonu Nigam) and Gujarat Wolves (owned by veteran esports player Scout – Tanmay Singh), along with the existing six franchises, -- Delhi Sharks (Peyush Bansal), Bengaluru Badgers (Nikhil Kamath, Ankit Nagori, Prashanth Prakash), Chennai Falcons (Gopal Srinivasan, Madhusudanan R, Arjun Santhanakrishnan), Mumbai Grizzlies (Sara Tendulkar), Pune Stallions (Suniel Shetty), and Hyderabad Rhinos (Amit Mehta), marking a milestone in this year’s journey into a mainstream, franchise-led sports and entertainment property.

With Season 3 setting new benchmarks in scale, viewership and international reach, JetSynthesys has confirmed that GEPL will return for a fourth season, with plans already underway to deepen the league's community and grassroots footprint.

About GEPL:

The Global e-Cricket Premier League (GEPL), launched by JetSynthesys, is the World's Only Franchise-Based E-Cricket League, bridging the gap between cricket, esports, and entertainment. The league offers a unique platform for aspiring athletes to showcase their talent while engaging millions of fans across India and beyond.

About JetSynthesys:

JetSynthesys is a global leader in digital entertainment and technology, specialising in video gaming & esports, and creators & experiences. With a reach spanning 180 countries and millions of users, JetSynthesys is committed to building innovative ecosystems where technology, video gaming, and entertainment converge. Founded in 2014 by Rajan Navani, JetSynthesys continues to redefine digital experiences while championing inclusivity and engagement across its platforms.

For media inquiries, please contact:

Noel D'souza

noel.dsouza@adfactorspr.com | +91 7506054306

Aaryaman Singh

aaryaman.singh@adfactorspr.com | +91 7021046411

The Gurugram-based revenue B-school, which recently went viral on LinkedIn for outperforming 50% of IIMs on placements, has responded to public scepticism with a first-of-its-kind verification initiative and founder Nikhil Gaur committing to personally answer every placement query

Gurugram (Haryana) [India], August 10 : Weeks after going viral on LinkedIn for a placement record that outperformed 50% of IIMs, HiveSchool - India’s only revenue-focused business school - has announced a set of transparency measures rarely seen in Indian education: a placement report and video that name every single placed student along with their story, the ability for prospective students to reach out to any of them directly and independently of the institution, and a commitment from its founder to personally answer every placement-related question.

Key highlights:

●        Average CTC of ₹16.47 LPA and highest package of ₹27.8 LPA for the 2025-26 cohort

●        Median CTC of ₹15 LPA - a figure most institutes decline to publish

●        Top 25% average of ₹21.93 LPA; Top 50% average of ₹18.63 LPA; Top 75% average of ₹17.65 LPA

●        Placement season led by marquee recruiters including Adobe, Yatra and Payoneer, with 50+ companies participating in the process

●        Every placed student named in the official placement report and ‘Placement Decode’ video each with their individual story: the role, the company, the journey

●        Prospective students can reach out to any placed student directly  independent of the institution, with no counsellor or school representative involved

The announcement follows a familiar pattern in Indian education strong numbers met with public scepticism. When HiveSchool’s placement statistics circulated on LinkedIn, drawing comparisons with half the IIM list, the most common response was disbelief that a young institution could post such figures.

HiveSchool’s answer was not a rebuttal. It was a disclosure.

Unlike conventional placement reports built on anonymous averages, HiveSchool’s report and its official ‘Placement Decode’ video account for every single placed student of the cohort by name - along with each one’s story: the role they landed, the company that hired them, and the journey through the season. There are no aggregates hiding individual outcomes; every number in the report traces back to a named person.

The school has gone a step further on verification. Prospective students can pick any name from the report and reach out to that student directly -  independent of the institution. No counsellor arranges the call, no school representative sits in, and the conversations happen entirely outside HiveSchool’s involvement.

Alongside this, Nikhil Gaur will personally respond to every placement-related query from prospective students - on roles, companies, or compensation - without routing them through a counsellor or admissions team.

“We’re a young institution, and scepticism towards our numbers is fair,” said Nikhil Gaur, Founder and CEO, HiveSchool. “We can’t expect students to simply take our word for it nor should they. The most honest thing we could do was put every name and every story on record, and let people speak to our students without us in the picture. Trust in education has to be earned, and it has to go beyond audits.”

“If a student is going to invest a year of their life with us, they deserve to verify everything first,” he added. “We’d rather be questioned openly than doubted quietly.”

The school attributes its outcomes to its pedagogy. The 9-month, full-time program is built backward from the roles technology companies actually hire for - Sales, GTM, Growth, Founder’s Office and Program Management with a curriculum co-designed alongside recruiters and taught by practising revenue operators from leading technology companies rather than career academics.

Students spend the majority of the program on live work rather than case studies alone: building and carrying real pipelines, running outbound and GTM projects for operating startups, and training on the AI-native selling stacks used by modern revenue teams - with a deliberate orientation toward US-facing B2B markets, where a majority of the cohort’s roles were based. Assessments mirror the job itself: capstones are pitched to and evaluated by senior revenue leaders, so students graduate with work recruiters can examine, not just grades.

The move lands amid a wider debate on placement reporting in Indian management education, where institutes routinely publish averages without distributions, and outcomes remain difficult for applicants to independently confirm. By naming every student behind its numbers, publishing its complete percentile staircase including the median and opening direct, unmediated access to its placed cohort, HiveSchool hopes the disclosure sets a new benchmark for placement transparency in the industry.

Founded by Nikhil Gaur, Prabal Monga and Simar Sekhri, HiveSchool of Business runs a 9-month full-time Post Graduate Program building revenue talent for the global economy. The school, which featured on Shark Tank India, counts operators from leading technology companies among its mentors.

Admissions for the next cohort are now open. Prospective students can apply at www.hiveschool.co

As nations increasingly treat data sovereignty as a matter of national security, one name comes up consistently among those tracking the space in India: Innefu Labs, the artificial intelligence company in the space of national security that industry watchers regularly describe as India's Palantir. Over more than a decade, its platforms have become embedded across the country's defence, intelligence, law enforcement, and revenue intelligence establishments, not as a single system, but as the sovereign technological backbone of India's most sensitive institutions.

Innefu Labs, founded in 2010, has spent much of its history working inside classified, air-gapped operational environments, which has kept its work largely out of public view even as its footprint across India's security establishment has grown.

A Familiar Function: What Makes Innefu India's Palantir

Palantir's contribution to national security technology was proving that artificial intelligence could operate at government scale, that the fragmented, high-stakes data problems inside defence and intelligence agencies were solvable with the right software architecture. That premise reshaped how governments around the world think about national security technology.

Innefu Labs was built on the same premise, applied to a different geography and a different set of constraints. Its platform ingests fragmented data from across a security organization and converts it into real-time, actionable intelligence, the same core capability that made Palantir central to US defence operations. The difference lies in sovereignty: every layer of Innefu's stack, from its large language models to its edge infrastructure, is built and run entirely within Indian, air-gapped systems, with no external data or cloud dependencies of any kind.

Where the Platform Actually Runs

In national security technology, deployments are the credential that matters most, and by that measure Innefu has built a footprint with no domestic parallels. Its systems are in operational use across the defence forces; inside investigative and intelligence agencies; across state police departments in multiple states; and within paramilitary and revenue intelligence agencies.

Innefu is also the only Indian company to have simultaneously stood up Intelligence Fusion Centres across defence, law enforcement, and revenue intelligence, each a sovereign, self-contained environment where real-time intelligence fusion happens entirely within the boundaries of the deploying organization. It is this footprint, more than any single product, that has earned Innefu Labs its reputation as India's Palantir.

Over fifteen years, the company has accumulated a list of firsts that trace the buildout of India's indigenous security technology capability: the country's first National Terrorism Data Fusion Center; Southeast Asia's largest Intelligence Fusion Center, built for the Indian Army; India's first indigenous OSINT platform for intelligence and law enforcement use; the country's first indigenous multi-factor authentication platform; and India's first indigenous intelligence monitoring system deployed at state scale.

The company has also built what it describes as the world's first large language model designed specifically for defence and intelligence use, trained, deployed, and run entirely within air-gapped infrastructure, with no external model or connectivity dependencies.

A Different Kind of Vendor for a Different Set of Needs

Palantir's expansion, from US defence and intelligence into enterprise markets globally, is a well-documented success story. At the same time, many governments handle intelligence sensitive enough that any foreign platform, however capable, raises questions their own regulations don't allow them to set aside. For these governments, the requirement is a sovereign one, built and operated entirely within their own borders.

India's Atmanirbhar Bharat and Make in India mandates have formalized what Innefu's founders assumed from the start: that the country's security infrastructure should run on Indian technology, built and operated by an Indian company. Those procurement mandates have accelerated demand for exactly the kind of sovereign-by-design platform Innefu has spent over a decade building. The company's 100+ installations across India, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia point to both the depth of that domestic adoption and the outline of an international market taking shape around the same need.

Fifteen Years in the Making

The reputation as India's Palantir didn't happen overnight. Innefu's early years were spent winning contracts against larger foreign vendors at a fraction of their price, then delivering at a standard that made the next contract easier to win. That compounding credibility has since translated into scale: the company has crossed ₹100 crore in annual revenue, reportedly the first Indian company with indigenously developed AI products to hit that milestone in the national and cyber security domain, and now employs more than 400 professionals managing a client portfolio across some of India's most sensitive sectors.

That track record recently drew fresh capital: a USD 30 million Series B round. The company says the funding will go toward physical AI and robotics, sovereign large language model infrastructure at international scale, and expansion into geographies where demand for a credible national security AI platform that is neither American nor Chinese is no longer a niche requirement but a strategic necessity.

In Karnataka, the need for dedicated elder care has become particularly significant, with older adults accounting for 9.2% of the state's population, one of the highest proportions in India, according to the Sample Registration System (SRS) 2021 published by the Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner under the Ministry of Home Affairs. This demographic shift is accompanied by a growing burden of age-related health conditions: an international study has estimated the prevalence of dementia among adults aged 60 years and above in the state at 7.6%, marginally higher than the national average.

With India's elderly population expected to nearly double over the coming decades, the need for specialised geriatric healthcare that goes beyond conventional hospital-based treatment is only set to grow. Recognising this emerging public health challenge, the Government of Karnataka has declared dementia a public health priority through initiatives such as the Karnataka State Dementia Action Plan and the Brain Health Initiative, aimed at strengthening awareness, enabling early diagnosis, and improving integrated care for cognitive disorders.

The launch of Athulya's new centre aligns with these broader efforts by expanding access to specialised geriatric healthcare, cognitive care and long-term support services for the elderly.

Hon'ble Shri U.T. Khader, Minister for Health & Family Welfare, Government of Karnataka, said “As Karnataka prepares for the healthcare needs of an ageing society, strengthening geriatric care infrastructure will play an increasingly important role in ensuring healthy ageing and improving quality of life for senior citizens. Facilities that provide integrated healthcare, rehabilitation and long-term support complement the government's efforts to enhance elder care across the state. I congratulate Athulya Senior Care on this important addition to Bengaluru's healthcare ecosystem and wish them success in their continued service to our senior citizens.”

Mr. Srinivasan G., Founder & CEO, Athulya Senior Care, said, “Bengaluru has emerged as one of India's fastest-growing destinations for specialised senior care, driven by increasing life expectancy, changing family structures, and greater awareness of assisted living. Karnataka is a key market in our long-term growth strategy, and the launch of our Mathikere centre marks another significant milestone in strengthening our presence in the state. We remain committed to building an integrated senior care ecosystem that combines clinical excellence, technology-enabled rehabilitation, and compassionate caregiving to meet the evolving needs of older adults and their families.”

Dr. Karthik Narayan R., Founder & Managing Director, Athulya Senior Care, said, “India's healthcare ecosystem must evolve to meet the needs of an ageing population. Senior care today extends far beyond medical treatment- it requires an integrated approach that combines clinical excellence, rehabilitation, emotional wellbeing and dignified living. Our new Mathikere facility has been designed with this philosophy at its heart. As Bengaluru continues to grow as a global city, we believe specialised geriatric care will become an essential component of its healthcare infrastructure. This centre reflects our commitment to building world-class senior care ecosystems that enable older adults to age with dignity, independence and purpose.”

Located in Mathikere, one of Bengaluru's well-connected residential neighbourhoods, the purpose-built geriatric care centre has been developed exclusively for senior citizens and offers a comprehensive continuum of care under one roof.  The state-of-the-art facility with around 100 beds, designed exclusively with geriatric support and comfort features spacious and well-appointed living spaces, dedicated therapy and rehabilitation zones, technology-enabled physiotherapy services including virtual reality-based rehabilitation, specialised memory care infrastructure, emergency medical support, nutritious diet management and recreational spaces that promote active ageing and holistic wellbeing.

Athulya Senior Care has established itself as India's leading provider of integrated senior care services, offering assisted living, transition care, rehabilitation, memory care, palliative care and home healthcare across multiple cities. The launch of the Mathikere facility marks another milestone in the organisation's mission to redefine elder care by combining clinical expertise, compassionate caregiving and purpose-built infrastructure tailored exclusively for senior citizens.
About Athulya Senior Care:

Athulya Senior Care, India’s Largest Assisted Living Provider, headquartered in Chennai, India, with 1,500+ beds across 12+ locations in five cities Chennai, Bengaluru, Kochi, Hyderabad, and Coimbatore, has proudly served over 50,000+ seniors. Athulya delivers a comprehensive senior care ecosystem encompassing Assisted Living, Mind & Memory Care, Transition Care, Rehabilitation, and Palliative Care. Designed to meet international safety & quality standards, Athulya is transforming eldercare in India by prioritizing dignity, comfort, and compassionate support. To know more, log onto : http://www.athulyaseniorcare.com

As AI transforms hospital operations and value-based care becomes the new benchmark, healthcare professionals are discovering that clinical expertise alone is no longer enough. Leadership, operational excellence, and AI-enabled decision-making are emerging as the defining capabilities of tomorrow's healthcare leaders.

India's healthcare sector is undergoing a profound transformation. Artificial intelligence is moving beyond diagnostics into hospital operations. Digital health platforms are redefining patient engagement, while healthcare organisations face mounting pressure to improve outcomes, optimise costs and deliver better patient experiences.

Healthcare is no longer driven solely by medicine; it is increasingly being shaped by management.

The National Health Authority continues to expand India's digital health ecosystem through the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission, accelerating the adoption of digital infrastructure across the healthcare landscape. Globally, organisations such as the World Economic Forum and Deloitte have highlighted AI's growing role in clinical operations, workforce planning and healthcare delivery.

This changing landscape is redefining what it means to lead in healthcare.

The Rise of the Healthcare Strategist

Today's healthcare leaders are expected to balance clinical priorities with business realities. Alongside delivering quality care, they must improve operational efficiency, manage multidisciplinary teams, oversee financial performance, adopt emerging technologies and lead organisational change.

Artificial intelligence is becoming an important enabler in this transformation, helping healthcare organisations optimise resource allocation, strengthen decision-making and enhance patient outcomes.

As these responsibilities expand, professionals across the sector are recognising the value of combining healthcare expertise with management capabilities.

Preparing Healthcare Professionals for Leadership

To address this growing need, ISB Online, the digital learning arm of the Indian School of Business (ISB), has announced admissions for Batch 24 of the Healthcare Management Programme.

Delivered in collaboration with the Max Institute of Healthcare Management (MIHM), the programme is designed for doctors, clinicians, hospital administrators, healthcare entrepreneurs and allied healthcare professionals looking to strengthen their leadership and management capabilities.

The curriculum combines healthcare management with contemporary themes such as HealthTech, value-based care, hospital operations, healthcare strategy, financial management, quality improvement, leadership, digital transformation, and AI-driven healthcare management. Participants gain a comprehensive understanding of how technology, data, and management intersect to improve patient outcomes while driving operational excellence across modern healthcare organisations.

Learning Backed by Healthcare Expertise

A defining feature of the programme is its collaboration with the Max Institute of Healthcare Management, one of India's leading centres for healthcare management education and research.

The partnership combines ISB's management expertise with healthcare-focused insights, allowing participants to engage with industry-relevant case studies, practical frameworks and faculty who understand the realities of today's healthcare ecosystem.

Complementing the core curriculum is a series of live masterclasses led by industry experts, designed to expose participants to some of healthcare's fastest-evolving applications of AI. These sessions explore how AI and Generative AI are transforming hospital operations, patient management, healthcare supply chains, finance and revenue cycle management. Participants gain practical insights into areas such as predictive analytics for patient care, AI-powered demand forecasting, intelligent procurement, fraud detection, financial forecasting, virtual patient engagement and operational optimisation. By connecting emerging technologies with real-world healthcare challenges, the masterclasses offer a contemporary perspective on how AI is reshaping healthcare leadership beyond the classroom.

Professionals Driving Real Career Transformation

Learners from previous cohorts describe the programme as an opportunity to broaden their perspective beyond patient care and develop a stronger understanding of healthcare strategy, finance and operations.

Many highlight increased confidence in leading teams, managing organisational challenges and making strategic decisions, while also valuing the opportunity to learn alongside a diverse cohort of healthcare professionals from across the industry.

These experiences reflect a broader shift taking place across healthcare, where leadership increasingly requires a blend of clinical expertise, business acumen and digital fluency.

Leading the Next Chapter of Healthcare

As AI, digital platforms and data-driven operations continue to reshape healthcare, leadership expectations will only continue to evolve.

The organisations that succeed will be those led by professionals who can connect clinical excellence with operational excellence and strategic decision-making.

Admissions are now open for Batch 24 of the ISB Online Healthcare Management Programme, delivered by ISB Online, the digital learning arm of the Indian School of Business, in collaboration with the Max Institute of Healthcare Management, ISB.

Healthcare professionals looking to build future-ready leadership capabilities and prepare for the next phase of healthcare transformation can learn more and apply through the programme website.

The company reported a total revenue of INR 35.2 Cr, a 33% YoY growth, of which operating revenues contributed to a robust 30% YoY growth. Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR), a key metric in the RegTech business, grew 7% during Q1FY27, and was up 11% as of July 31, 2026, compared with March 31, 2026, underscoring continued momentum in the enterprise SaaS business. The company posted an EBITDA of INR 0.8 Cr despite the first quarter traditionally being a softer quarter for the business.

Commenting on the Q1FY27 results, K. Balachandran, Co-Founder and CEO, IRIS RegTech Solutions Ltd., said:

“Our focus remains on growing recurring revenue through accelerated investments in sales, marketing, and product innovation. We are seeing encouraging momentum in enterprise ARR, with our flagship SaaS platform, IRIS Carbon, adding several significant new customers in the disclosure management space. Our SupTech business continued to perform strongly, delivering 20% YoY growth this quarter while maintaining healthy operating margins. We also successfully extended a key contract in South Africa.

With the launch of new modules across our SupTech and Banking RegTech platforms, we have strengthened our end-to-end reporting capabilities and expanded opportunities across both offerings. To accelerate growth and unlock value in these segments, we have strengthened our leadership team with the appointment of Mr. Shailesh Gupta. He brings over 25 years of experience in enterprise technology and RegTech, deep SupTech domain expertise, and a proven entrepreneurial track record.”

Key Performance Highlights:

●        Revenue from SupTech witnessed a growth of 20% YoY in Q1FY27 and higher profitability, led by large-scale regulatory digital-reporting implementations across Africa and the Middle East.

●        RegTech was the fastest-growing segment, with revenue up 51% YoY, led by the continued expansion of the IRIS CARBON disclosure management platform.

●        Consolidated EBITDA for the quarter stood at INR 0.8 crore, against INR 1.4 crore in Q1FY26. The moderation reflects a deliberate step-up in sales and marketing investment, as the Company continues to expand its footprint in international markets.

Deepta Rangarajan, Co-Founder and Director, IRIS RegTech Solutions Ltd., said:

“IRIS Carbon continues to win marquee customers in a competitive market. We are pleased to share that ARR from our new disclosure management solution has now surpassed US$1 million, reflecting the strength of our value proposition with an industry-leading product and exceptional customer support. We are also encouraged by the emergence of strong strategic partnerships, including our collaboration with several Big4 accounting firms across Europe, which we believe will help accelerate our market expansion.”

About IRIS RegTech Solutions Limited

IRIS RegTech Solutions Limited is a Global RegTech company listed on the BSE (Scrip code: 540735) and the NSE (Symbol: IRIS). The IRIS SupTech suite is leveraged by 30+ regulators worldwide including business registries, central banks and stock exchanges/ securities commissions to simplify and streamline their supervisory operations. IRIS is also a leading provider of financial, ESG and regulatory reporting software to enterprises, banks and financial institutions across the world. For more information, please visit www.irisregtech.com

For further information, please contact:

IRIS RegTech Solutions Limited

Santoshkumar Sharma
Email: cs@irisbusiness.com

Ernst & Young LLP

Siddesh Chawan

Email: Siddesh.chawan@in.ey.com

Ernst & Young LLP

Asha Gupta

Email: asha.gupta@in.ey.com

New Delhi, August 10, 2026: Reinforcing its commitment to promoting a culture of safety beyond workplaces, KARAM Safety partnered with the PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PHDCCI) for the National Summit on Safe Schools Leadership 2026, bringing together over 400 participants, including representatives from more than 90 schools across Delhi NCR, senior policymakers, government officials, school leaders, academicians, safety professionals and industry experts, to deliberate on strengthening institutional safety, governance and leadership across India's education ecosystem.

The Summit served as a collaborative platform to address the growing need for schools to adopt a more structured and integrated approach to safety. Discussions centred on embedding safety into institutional governance and leadership while strengthening preparedness across physical infrastructure, emergency response, cyber resilience, student well-being and transport safety.

A defining milestone of the Summit was the launch of the PHDCCI National Model School Safety Toolkit (Proposed Framework), developed under the aegis of the PHDCCI Safety & Fire Committee. The voluntary implementation framework provides schools with practical guidance, assessment mechanisms and best practices across five critical pillars: Fire & Infrastructure Safety, Cyber Safety, Transport Safety, Mental Health & Well-being, and Emergency Preparedness. The Toolkit aims to help educational institutions move beyond regulatory compliance to build a proactive culture of safety and resilience.

As the supporting industry partner, KARAM Safety reaffirmed its commitment to advancing safety awareness and preparedness across educational institutions. With decades of expertise in safety solutions and risk prevention, the company believes that creating safer learning environments requires collective action involving policymakers, educational institutions, industry and the wider community.

Commenting on the initiative, Hemant Sapra, President – Global Sales & Marketing, KARAM Safety, and Co-Chairman at the PHD Chamber of Commerce Uttar Pradesh Chapter, said:

"At KARAM Safety, we believe that safety is a shared responsibility and must be embedded into every institution that shapes the future of our society. Schools are where children learn, grow and thrive, making it essential to create environments that are not only conducive to learning but also safe, secure and resilient. Our partnership with PHDCCI for the National Summit on Safe Schools Leadership 2026 reflects our commitment to supporting initiatives that strengthen preparedness, encourage collaboration and foster a long-term culture of safety across educational institutions."

The inaugural session of the Summit was graced by Sardar Taranjit Singh Sandhu, Lieutenant Governor of the National Capital Territory of Delhi, who emphasised that school safety must become an integral component of educational governance rather than merely a statutory requirement. He described the National Model School Safety Toolkit as a timely initiative capable of strengthening institutional preparedness and promoting a preventive safety culture across schools. He also stressed the importance of regular safety audits, emergency preparedness, cyber awareness, technology-enabled monitoring and coordinated stakeholder engagement.

The Guest of Honour, Shri Sunil Kumar Jha, IPS, Director General, Fire Services, Civil Defence & Home Guards, Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India, highlighted the importance of institutional fire safety and outlined the six essential pillars of fire safety governance while introducing the Directorate General's publication, Fire Safety – A Guide for Students, aimed at strengthening awareness among school children.

As part of the Summit, Ms. Lalita Tekchandani, K-Teck Head, KARAM Group, moderated the technical session on Strengthening Emergency Preparedness for Safer Schools, which explored infrastructure resilience, fire and earthquake preparedness, safety audits, evacuation planning and institutional coordination with disaster management agencies. The discussions highlighted the importance of preparedness, accountability and collaboration in building safer school ecosystems.

The Summit also featured focused discussions on mental well-being, cyber safety, transport safety, disaster preparedness and the role of technology in strengthening institutional resilience. Participants deliberated on leadership responsibilities, governance frameworks and collaborative approaches required to build future-ready schools equipped to respond to emerging safety challenges.

The event concluded with a collective commitment from stakeholders across government, education and industry to advance a proactive, inclusive and sustainable culture of school safety. Through its partnership with PHDCCI, KARAM Safety continues to support initiatives that strengthen institutional preparedness and contribute to building safer, more resilient and child-centric learning environments across the country.

About KARAM Safety

KARAM Safety is a leading global occupational safety brand with a vast portfolio of over 3,800 certified products that conform to multiple national and international standards. The company exports its safety solutions to over 140 nations and has a team of over 4,500 professionals who relentlessly develop, test, and evaluate products, earning KARAM Safety a reputation as one of the world's leading providers of personal protective equipment (PPE), fall protection solutions and fixed-line systems. KARAM Safety is a responsible brand that values empowering people, uplifting society, and enriching the environment.

For more information about KARAM Safety, please visit: https://www.KARAM.in/

Chennai, INDIA, 10th August, 2026 : The Chennai Angels (TCA), one of India's leading angel investment networks, has announced an investment in LogiXair, a Hyderabad-based aerospace and logistics technology company building automated, hybrid-electric VTOL aircraft for middle-mile cargo movement. The round also saw participation from the Kerala Angel Network and Lead Angels.

Founded by Bhanu Teja Chidura and Pulla Kapil, LogiXair is addressing a critical gap in India’s logistics ecosystem: Fast and reliable movement of cargo across sub-600 km routes, particularly between metros and Tier II and Tier III cities. Its proposed cargo aircraft platform is designed to carry up to 300 kg over a range of 600 km, enabling faster, infrastructure-independent delivery without dependence on roads, rail networks or conventional airport infrastructure. The company is addressing critical logistics challenges across sectors including e-commerce, healthcare, manufacturing, defence, humanitarian relief, and remote connectivity.

As supply chains demand greater speed, resilience, and efficiency, LogiXair's technology has the potential to reshape how critical cargo moves across regions where traditional logistics infrastructure is limited. For LogiXair, the investment will support the company's journey as it advances the development and commercialisation of its autonomous cargo aviation platform, contributing to the evolution of India's logistics infrastructure and reinforcing the country's growing leadership in deep-tech innovation.

Commenting on the fundraise, The Founder, Bhanu Teja Chidura said “We are excited to have The Chennai Angels join us on this journey. Their support strengthens our mission to build the next generation of short-haul aerial logistics infrastructure. This investment strengthens our ability to accelerate product development, validate key aircraft systems, and move closer to building a scalable autonomous cargo aviation platform for India and global markets.

Investment Director from The Chennai Angels (TCA), Ashish Mehta added, “Bhanu Teja Chidura and the LogiXair team are taking a distinctive approach to autonomous hybrid-electric cargo VTOL aircraft for middle-mile logistics. They have made strong technical progress toward full-scale flight while securing commercial interest across multiple routes in India. With growing opportunities in both commercial logistics and defence, we believe LogiXair is well positioned to lead the next generation of autonomous cargo aviation.”

About The Chennai Angels

Founded in 2007, The Chennai Angels (TCA) is one of India's leading angel investment networks, bringing together over 150 investors. Since inception, TCA has invested more than ₹200 crore across over 99 startups spanning diverse sectors, supporting visionary entrepreneurs with capital, mentorship, and strategic guidance.

About LogiXair

LogiXair is a deep-tech aerospace company developing autonomous electric VTOL cargo aircraft and intelligent cargo handling systems that enable faster, more efficient, and infrastructure-independent logistics. The company is focused on building next-generation aviation technologies to transform cargo transportation across commercial, industrial, and public sector applications.

This is exactly what has motivated the formation of Lakkadhaara, a furniture brand that uses only solid wood based on the tradition of woodworking in the Ramgarh Shekhawati region and aims at growing this dream into reality by making a mark in Rajasthan first and then in India’s solid wood furniture market.

According to the company's expectations, the revenue will grow from above Rs 10 crore to Rs 22-25 crore in the coming fiscal year, with a longer-term target of Rs 100 crore in 2028-29.

Trusted by Thousands of Customers Across India

Founded in 2017, Lakkadhaara has reached more than 10,000 customers, delivering over 15,000 wooden furniture units to Indian homes. The brand is slowly but surely making its mark through a combination of old-world craftsmanship and contemporary design and customer experience. Its growing presence in the premium solid wood furniture segment has also been recognized through a feature in Forbes India Brand Connect.

India's premium furniture market is shifting toward durable, thoughtfully crafted products over mass-produced alternatives. The company Lakkadhaara was founded by Prashant Meena, Subrat Bishnoi, and Kunal Meena and realizes the typical issues faced by customers, including poor quality and ambiguous pricing.

Through the integration of age-old woodwork techniques along with the latest technology in manufacturing, Lakkadhaara provides quality solid wood furniture along with direct customer pricing, transparency in manufacturing processes, and customization options for their valuable customers.

How Our Solid Wood Furniture Is Crafted for Long-Term Value

Handmade furniture has become relevant again for a reason. Mass-produced furniture items apply the same design over and over using machinery, fitting joints and materials for their intended purpose but rarely for their longevity. Lakkadhaara takes the opposite approach.

The brand makes its furniture items only with genuine solid wood, without any plywood or MDF, and with no imitation wood that is made to look very fancy. The products use materials based on their longevity instead of being chosen for their economy.

Every furniture item is properly seasoned before it enters production and joined using traditional techniques such as mortise and tenon and dovetail joinery, the same methods craftsmen have relied on for generations, rather than nails, screws, or adhesives doing most of the work.

"At Lakkadhaara, we do not just build furniture; we build pieces that outlive trends and get passed down. Every joint, every grain, is a promise that this piece is meant to last generations," said Prashant Meena, Founder of Lakkadhaara.

Why Every Furniture Item Goes Through Rigorous Quality Checks

Every Lakkadhaara furniture item is designed, crafted, and quality-checked in-house before it reaches the customer. Design, production, and quality control all happen in-house, across the brand's own units in Ramgarh Shekhawati and Jaipur, with nothing outsourced along the way.

That structure means the margin usually claimed by retail middlemen goes back into better wood and better craftsmanship instead, and it means every single furniture article is seen by the same eyes from the first sketch to the final polish.

Before anything leaves the facility, it works through a multi-point check: wood moisture and seasoning verification, a joinery and structural stability check, surface finish and polish inspection, hardware and fitting checks, and one last visual check against the original order. Nothing gets boxed up until it has earned that.

Personalized Furniture for Modern Indian Homes

Not every home wants the same table. Along with its already existing stock that includes lines like the classic and traditional Marwari Antique collection, along with the modern mid-century and minimalistic lines, Lakkadhaara also offers custom-made furniture according to a client’s requirements.

Its portfolio includes coffee tables, sofas, study chairs, cabinets, cupboards, dining tables, beds, wardrobes, and more. The brand also offers custom-made furniture, giving clients the freedom to choose designs, dimensions, and finishes that work best for their space.

This involves the client working with a designer to decide upon the dimensions, the finish, and other details, but since the process begins from scratch, it usually takes four to six weeks. This is not considered a delay but rather the amount of time required by quality craftsmanship.

The care continues past the workshop door. A complete process has been laid down by Lakkadhaara for each order, including order confirmation, production status updates, shipping, tracking during logistics, and post-delivery assistance, in case something is not right with the process. Free shipping, safe packaging, and replacement for any damage in shipment complete the package.

According to the company, two things come up again and again in customer feedback: solid wood that holds up for years without warping or sagging, and honest, direct pricing with none of the inflated MRP-then-discount routine common elsewhere in furniture retail.

Discover New Arrival Furniture Items That Reflect Your Style

Every visit to Lakkadhaara brings the promise of discovering something new. Alongside its signature antique and heritage-inspired furniture, the brand's New Arrivals collection introduces artistic handcrafted and hand-painted pieces designed for today's homes.

Created by skilled artisans, every piece celebrates the beauty of handcrafted and hand-painted furniture, where age-old techniques find fresh expression through thoughtful design. Through rich coloring, intricate designs, and fine detailing, ordinary furniture is turned into art pieces that have the unique appeal of being handcrafted.

Introducing the latest collection of artistically designed furniture that is hand-painted especially for the new contemporary homes. The unique cabinets along with the decorative pieces of furniture speak volumes about the rich tradition of crafts that exist in India.

How We Preserve Traditional Craftsmanship Through Modern Furniture

Lakkadhaara’s skill sets involve the traditional craft community of Ramgarh Shekhawati artisans, where these crafts were handed down to generations by uncles to their nephews and fathers to sons. The company recognizes that there is now a threat from mass-produced furniture and its growth will be linked to sustaining the tradition instead of relegating it to oblivion.

In growing its operations, Lakkadhaara plans to increase its production capacity in Rajasthan and build stronger customer relationships in India directly while doing away with retailing in between.

Meeting the Growing Demand for Timeless Furniture

Handmade and solid wood furniture is not just a trend. There's a bigger story here too, one about India's woodworking traditions, kept alive for generations by artisan communities whose skills are at risk of being overshadowed by mass manufacturing.

Brands that choose to build around these traditions, instead of around speed and volume, help keep that craftsmanship alive and economically viable. For Lakkadhaara, that would imply sticking to its roots in tradition and designing products that are not only functional but also ageless.

With Indian homes constantly changing, it might happen that their furniture will be evaluated not for its aesthetics, but rather by its ability to stand the test of time, and also by the people who created it.

Season 3 marks the biggest edition of GEPL yet, expanding from six to eight franchise teams with a marquee ownership line-up. Played on Real Cricket™, which has crossed 400 million lifetime downloads, the league carries a ₹3.1 crore prize pool and is being broadcast live on Star Sports Select and Star Sports Khel, streamed on JioHotstar, while also making its international debut across the United States and Canada through Willow TV, via Willow Sports (its FAST platform) and Willow's direct-to-consumer platforms in both markets.

The Sharks have 18 points from 12 games, two more than the Grizzlies. Chennai Falcons are also on 16 points but trail last season’s runners-up Mumbai by Net Run-rate (NRR). The day also witnessed the elimination of Pune Stallions, Gujarat Wolves and Hyderabad Rhinos from the race to the playoffs.

In the opening match of the day, skipper Mukesh Dodwani produced an impressive all-round performance to help Hyderabad Rhinos Mumbai Grizzlies a four-wicket defeat. Batting first, Mumbai posted 70/2 in their five overs, with Jetha top-scoring with an unbeaten 24 off 11 balls.

Amit Mehta’s Hyderabad made a strong start to the chase, with Sachin smashing 28 off 11 before he was caught while attempting another big shot. His dismissal, however, did little to slow down the Rhinos as Mukesh stayed till the end, scoring an unbeaten 38 to guide his side to a comfortable victory. Mukesh also picked up a wicket with the ball and was named Player of the Match for his all-round contribution.

The second game of the day produced a major upset as Sonu Nigam-owned Kolkata Hawks stunned league leaders Peyush Bansal-owned Delhi Sharks by 50 runs to strengthen their position in the top four. Batting first, Kolkata posted the tournament's highest total of 89/2, with Aditya leading the charge with a sensational unbeaten 58 off just 15 balls. He took the Delhi bowling apart with a power-packed display and signed off the innings in style with a six. Aditya then completed a superb all-round performance with the ball, claiming two wickets as Kolkata restricted the league leaders to 39.

The third match of the day produced a thrilling finish as bottom-placed Pune Stallions edged past Scout’s Gujarat Wolves by three wickets. The Suniel Shetty-owned Pune's chase was set up by Koli, who smashed 31 off 12 balls, while Ankit chipped in with 22 off eight.

The fourth match of the day produced another thrilling finish, with defending champions Chennai Falcons edging past Bengaluru Badgers by two wickets to stay among the top four. Chasing, Deepak smashed an unbeaten 40 off just 15 balls and held the innings together despite losing wickets at regular intervals. With nine runs needed from the final two balls, Player of the match Deepak delivered under pressure, smashing a six followed by a four to seal a dramatic victory for Chennai.

Already out of playoff contention, Pune Stallions registered their second win of the day with a clinical five-wicket victory over Hyderabad Rhinos, ending their playoff hopes. After restricting Hyderabad to 66/3, with skipper Mukesh anchoring the innings with a 44 off 16 balls, Pune made light work of the chase. Openers Sagar (24 not out of 8 balls) and Player of the Match Anuradh Koli (43 not out of 17 balls) stayed unbeaten to guide the Stallions home comfortably and complete a dominant day for Pune.

The next match, which was being billed as the 'El Classico' of the league, turned out to be an anticlimax as Sara Tendulkar’s Mumbai Grizzlies outclassed defending champions Chennai Falcons by four wickets. The Mumbai bowlers dominated the contest, restricting the Falcons to 43/4 before their openers Jetha (16 off 9 balls) and Davinder Singh (29 not out of 12 balls) batted the Falcons out of the game.

The last contest of the day saw Bengaluru Badgers survive a thriller against Sonu Nigam’s Kolkata Hawks, securing a dramatic one-run win off the final delivery. Batting first, Bengaluru posted 65/4, powered by skipper and Player of the Match Manmeet Singh’s 34 off 13 balls. Kolkata appeared to be on course for victory after losing their first wicket off the opening ball, with Golden Kumar smashing an unbeaten 43 off 17 to keep the chase alive. However, Bengaluru held their nerve in a tense final over to restrict the Hawks to 64/3 and seal a win by the barest of margins.

Standings after Day 7:

Coming up on Day 8:

●      Hyderabad Rhinos vs Bengaluru Badgers

●      Bengaluru Badgers vs Delhi Sharks

●      Gujarat Wolves vs Kolkata Hawks

●      Delhi Sharks vs Hyderabad Rhinos

●      Mumbai Grizzlies vs Pune Stallions

●      Kolkata Hawks vs Chennai Falcons

●      Bengaluru Badgers vs Pune Stallions

●      Chennai Falcons vs Gujarat Wolves

Watch the matches live on JioHotstar every day from 4:00 PM to 10:00 PM:

https://www.hotstar.com/in/sports/esports/tournaments/global-e-cricket-premier-league

Catch the highlights from Match Day 7 here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AP9xDx9Qlw8

About GEPL:

The Global e-Cricket Premier League (GEPL), launched by JetSynthesys, is the World's Only Franchise-Based E-Cricket League, bridging the gap between cricket, esports, and entertainment. The league offers a unique platform for aspiring athletes to showcase their talent while engaging millions of fans across India and beyond.

About JetSynthesys:

JetSynthesys is a global leader in digital entertainment and technology, specialising in video gaming & esports, and creators & experiences. With a reach spanning 180 countries and millions of users, JetSynthesys is committed to building innovative ecosystems where technology, video gaming, and entertainment converge. Founded in 2014 by Rajan Navani, JetSynthesys continues to redefine digital experiences while championing inclusivity and engagement across its platforms.

For media inquiries, please contact:

Noel D'souza

noel.dsouza@adfactorspr.com | +91 7506054306

Aaryaman Singh

aaryaman.singh@adfactorspr.com | +91 7021046411

KEY HIGHLIGHTS

●      Strong Booking Value Trajectory: Achieved a robust Booking Value (BV) of ₹700 Crore in Q1FY27, marking an outstanding 129% growth compared to ₹306 Cr in Q1 FY26

●      Booking Value Contribution Mix: JDAs - 64%; Thane Land Parcel - 36% for the quarter

●      Strong Growth Visibility: Total portfolio is now ~ ₹52,000 Cr in Gross Development Value (GDV), with a prudent mix of Own land as well as JDA projects

●      Customer Collections of ₹ 550 Cr in Q1FY27 vs ₹ 374 Cr in Q1FY26, 47% Y-o-Y growth

●      Total Income of ₹ 536 Cr in Q1FY27 vs ₹ 392 Cr in Q1FY26, 37% Y-o-Y growth

●      EBITDA of ₹ 70 Cr in Q1FY27 vs ₹ 41 Cr in Q1FY26, 70% Y-o-Y growth

●      Net Debt of ₹ 824 Cr, Debt to Equity ratio of 0.7x, well below the ceiling of 1.0x

Particulars (₹ Cr.):

●      Total Income: Q1FY27 – 536 | Q1FY26 – 392 | YoY – 37%

●      EBITDA: Q1FY27 – 70 | Q1FY26 – 41 | YoY – 70%

●      EBITDA Margin %: Q1FY27 – 13% | Q1FY26 – 11%

●      PBT (before exceptional items): Q1FY27 – 15 | Q1FY26 – 21 | YoY – (29%)

●      PBT Margin (before exceptional items): Q1FY27 – 2.8% | Q1FY26 – 5.4%

Raymond Realty’s financial performance in Q1 FY27 continued with its robust momentum and significant scale, with Total Income of ₹ 536 Cr in Q1 FY27 vs ₹ 392 Cr in Q1 FY26, a robust growth of 37% Y-o-Y, driven by strong demand and a healthy delivery pipeline across all our projects. EBITDA surged to ₹ 70 Cr in Q1 FY27 vs ₹ 41 Cr in Q1 FY26, a 70% Y-o-Y growth driven by an optimized product mix. EBITDA margins were at 13% vs 11% in Q1 FY26, on account of expected seasonality and in line with our expectations. Our margins naturally fluctuate by project phase and launch timing, as initial profitability reflects upfront marketing and construction setup costs. Margins will progressively normalize over subsequent quarters as project construction crosses revenue-recognition thresholds. We remain firmly on track to meet our EBITDA margin guidance of 17% - 19% for the FY27.

Strategic Portfolio & Operational Review

Aligned with our strategic roadmap, securing the landmark ~ ₹8,500 Crore JDA project in Parel reflects our strategic transition to an asset-light growth model. This milestone agreement accelerates our expansion into South Mumbai, demonstrating strong confidence in the enduring value of the city’s high-end housing sector. Our total portfolio is now ~ ₹52,000 Crore in Gross Development Value (GDV), reflecting a diversified and high-growth asset base across the MMR.

100 Acre Thane Land Parcel: Cornerstone of our initial success, with a ~ ₹25,000 Crore revenue potential.

●      Development Velocity: Approximately 65 acres are currently under development, representing ~6.7 million sq. ft. of RERA carpet area and a revenue potential of ~ ₹16,500 Crore

●      Sales Milestones: Performance remains robust with ~ ₹9,400 Crore already sold and Collections reaching ~ ₹7,460 Crore to date

JDA Portfolio: The Structural Pivot to Asset-Light Growth, which now comprises eight projects with a combined revenue potential of ~ ₹27,000 Crore.

●      Development Velocity: 4 JDA projects have been launched in Bandra, BKC, Wadala and Sion, representing ~ 2.8 million sq. ft. of RERA carpet area and a revenue potential of ~ ₹11,500 Crore. These marquee developments are the flagship pillars of our JDA portfolio and a testament to our ability to scale with speed and sophistication.

●      Sales Milestone: Performance remains strong with ~ ₹2,900 Crore already sold and collections reaching ~ ₹692 Crore to date

●      Pipeline Visibility: The recent signings of two new JDA projects in Kandivali (~ ₹3,000 Crore) & Parel (~ ₹8,500 Crore) will further solidify our presence in prime MMR micro-markets.

Performance & Liquidity

●      Booking Momentum: In Q1FY27, we secured a booking value of ₹700 Crore, propelled by unwavering demand for the Ten X, The Address by GS and Invictus by GS brands across Thane, Bandra, BKC, Wadala and Sion continuing to demonstrate exceptional market pull and buyer loyalty.

●      Prudent Leverage: Maintaining a healthy balance sheet, we concluded the quarter with a Net Debt of ₹824 Crore and a debt / equity ratio of 0.7x comfortably below our 1.0x ceiling, providing headroom for future expansion.

●      Liquidity & Cost of Debt: With a ₹271 Crore liquidity buffer, we are fully funded for the next year of construction spends. Our Cost of Debt remains stable at ~9.60%.

For FY27 Guidance, Raymond Realty remains committed to a robust growth trajectory, targeting ~20% growth in both pre-sales and revenue. We are also focused on achieving a Return on Capital Employed (ROCE) of ~20%, and we remain firmly on track to deliver an EBITDA margin profile in the range of 17%–19%.

Commenting on the performance, Mr. Harmohan Sahni, Managing Director & CEO, Raymond Realty Limited said; " We have entered FY27 with strong operational momentum, carrying forward the scaled execution and strategic clarity that defined our performance last year. Our performance this quarter reflects sustained homebuyer confidence in the Raymond Realty brand and the continued success of our disciplined, asset-light JDA strategy across prime micro-markets in the MMR. We remain committed to sharp execution, financial prudence, and accelerating our growth trajectory to deliver long-term value to our shareholders."

About Raymond Realty

Raymond Realty Limited is one of India’s fastest-growing real estate developers, headquartered in Mumbai and part of the iconic Raymond Group. Bringing the Group’s century-long legacy of trust, quality, and excellence into the real estate sector, Raymond Realty is a focused, pure-play branded real estate developer with a strong presence across the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR). Since its foray into real estate in 2019, the company has already carved position amongst the Top 10 Real Estate players in the country and delivered landmark residential and commercial projects characterized by superior design, timely execution, and customer-centric innovation. With iconic aspirational, premium, and super premium residential brands (TenX, The Address by GS and Invictus by GS), 100 acre owned land and 8 Joint Development Agreements, the company currently has an estimated gross development value of approximately ₹520 billion.

Disclaimer:

Certain statements in this document may be forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties like regulatory changes, local political or economic developments, technological risks, and many other factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those contemplated by the relevant forward-looking statements. Raymond Realty Limited will not be in any way responsible for any action taken based on such statements and undertakes no obligation to publicly update these forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances.

To know more, visit us today at www.raymondrealty.in

For further information, please contact:

Shalini Singh

Corporate Communications Raymond Limited

Tel: 022 6152 7624 | Email: Shalini.singh@raymond.in

Key Highlights:

●      Total Income at ₹ 628 Cr in Q1 FY27 vs. ₹ 555 Cr in Q1 FY26, 13% Y-o-Y growth

●      EBITDA at ₹ 100 Cr in Q1 FY27 vs. ₹ 87 Cr in Q1 FY26, 14% Y-o-Y growth

●      EBITDA Margin at 15.9% in Q1 FY27 vs 15.7% in Q1 FY26

●      Continue to be Net Debt free with a net cash surplus of ₹ 129 Cr

Particulars (₹ Cr.):

●      Total Income: Q1 FY27 – 628 | Q4 FY26 – 613 | Q1 FY26 – 555 | YoY – 13%

●      EBITDA: Q1 FY27 – 100 | Q4 FY26 – 85 | Q1 FY26 – 87 | YoY – 14%

●      EBITDA Margin %: Q1 FY27 – 15.9% | Q4 FY26 – 13.9% | Q1 FY26 – 15.7%

●      PBT (before exceptional items): Q1 FY27 – 42 | Q4 FY26 – 25 | Q1 FY26 – 30 | YoY – 38%

●      PBT Margin (before exceptional items): Q1 FY27 – 6.6% | Q4 FY26 – 4.1% | Q1 FY26 – 5.4%

Note: Raymond Limited now includes two subsidiaries -1) Aerospace & Defence and 2) Precision Technology & Auto Components.

Raymond Limited continued with steady growth momentum in Q1 FY27, with Total Income of ₹ 628 Cr, reflecting a 13% increase over the previous year. While, the quarterly EBITDA stood at ₹ 100 Cr with an EBITDA margin of 15.9%, an increase of 14% over the previous year.

This performance was anchored by the Aerospace & Defense and Precision Technology & Auto Components divisions. In the Aerospace & Defence division, we capitalized on the shift toward domestic production of sophisticated subsystems, securing a high-value pipeline for global Tier-1 partners. Similarly, the Precision Technology & Auto Components division saw healthy growth in export of critical components for the hybrid sector, ensuring healthy operational momentum across the group

Commenting on the performance, Gautam Hari Singhania, Chairman & Managing Director, Raymond Limited said; "Q1 FY27 was defined by healthy growth across our core Aerospace, Defence, and Precision Technology segments, maintaining resilience through the quarter. Our strategy remains clear: we are investing in high-moat sectors where our technical expertise provides a competitive edge. Key operational milestones—keeping our state-of-the-art Andhra Pradesh greenfield facility strictly on schedule—demonstrate our expanding capabilities. Our priority is to scale at pace with global demand and capture high-margin opportunities that build long-term shareholder wealth."

Q1FY27 Segmental Snapshot

Particulars (₹ Cr.):

●      Precision Technology & Auto Components: Revenue – Q1 FY27: 444 | Q1 FY26: 398 | YoY: 11% | EBITDA – Q1 FY27: 61 | Q1 FY26: 42 | YoY: 46% | EBITDA Margin – Q1 FY27: 13.8% | Q1 FY26: 10.6%

●      Aerospace & Defense: Revenue – Q1 FY27: 123 | Q1 FY26: 87 | YoY: 40% | EBITDA – Q1 FY27: 26 | Q1 FY26: 21 | YoY: 25% | EBITDA Margin – Q1 FY27: 21.2% | Q1 FY26: 23.7%

●      Others: Revenue – Q1 FY27: 61 | Q1 FY26: 70 | EBITDA – Q1 FY27: 12 | Q1 FY26: 24

●      Total: Revenue – Q1 FY27: 628 | Q1 FY26: 555 | YoY: 13% | EBITDA – Q1 FY27: 100 | Q1 FY26: 87 | YoY: 14% | EBITDA Margin – Q1 FY27: 15.9% | Q1 FY26: 15.7%

Q1FY27 Segmental Performance

Aerospace & Defence Business:

Generated ₹ 123 crore in revenue in Q1 FY27, a 40.4% increase over ₹ 87 crore in Q1 FY26. EBITDA grew by 25.4%, reaching ₹ 26 crore in Q1 FY27 compared to ₹ 21 crore in Q1 FY26. EBITDA margins were at 21.2% in Q1 FY27 compared to 23.7% in Q1FY26, this temporary compression was due to targeted R&D investments required to capture revenue expansion; margins will stabilize as programs reach steady-state.

Our overall performance was bolstered by increased production for leading global OEMs and product portfolio expansion. Furthermore, easing supply chain headwinds, paired with our expanded capacity, position us for seamless execution against a growing multi-year order book.

Precision Technology & Auto Components:

Generated ₹ 444 crore in revenue in Q1 FY27, a 11.5% increase from ₹ 398 crore in Q1 FY26. This was primarily driven by a ramp up in our export business, despite geopolitical headwinds, our strategic resilience allowed us to maintain steady growth. EBITDA grew by 45.5%, reaching ₹ 61 crore in Q1 FY27 compared to ₹ 42 crore in Q1 FY26 on account of higher sales and operating leverage. The EBITDA margin stood at 13.8% for the quarter vs. 10.6% in Q1 FY26. This margin expansion was on account of volume growth, an improved product mix, enhanced operating leverage and targeted cost reduction initiatives.

We are pursuing a footprint in new global markets and industrial sectors, capitalizing on the 'China Plus One' tailwinds. By combining integration synergies with sharpened operational efficiencies, we are capturing significant business momentum both domestically and globally.

Raymond Limited continues to remains net-debt-free, with a net cash surplus of ₹ 129 Cr as of June’26, providing the financial flexibility required to fund future organic and inorganic growth opportunities.

About Raymond Limited

With the inception in 1925, Raymond Limited has been a pioneer and leader in fabric manufacturing and then forayed in other sectors such as engineering and Real Estate. With the acquisition of Maini Precision Products Limited (MPPL) Raymond’s engineering business has forayed into the sunrise sectors of Aerospace & Defence & EV components and caters to international as well as domestic markets. After demerging its Lifestyle Business and Real Estate verticals into independent listed entities, Raymond Limited now has two core verticals within the Engineering business – Precision Technology & Auto Components and Aerospace & Defence. It serves a global customer base of both B2B and B2C clients across more than 60 countries in Asia-Pacific, Africa, Latin America, Europe, and North America, with exports contributing over 50% to our total business due to our widespread reach and customer-centric approach. Raymond’s engineering business commands a leadership position in manufacturing files and hand tools and has a significant presence in national and international markets.

Disclaimer:

Certain statements in this document may be forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties like regulatory changes, local political or economic developments, technological risks, and many other factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those contemplated by the relevant forward-looking statements. Raymond Realty Limited will not be in any way responsible for any action taken based on such statements and undertakes no obligation to publicly update these forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances.

To know more, visit us today at www.raymond.in

For further information, please contact:

Shalini Singh

Corporate Communications Raymond Limited

Tel: 022 6152 7624

Email: Shalini.singh@raymond.in

Throughout the engagement, the discussions were conducted in a professional, transparent, and respectful manner, with a shared commitment to arriving at a fair, balanced, and mutually acceptable resolution.

Commenting on the development, Janak Rajpurohit, Chief Operating Officer, AdGlobal360 India, said, "At AdGlobal360, we believe in addressing matters with professionalism, transparency, and mutual respect. Our focus throughout this process has been on reaching a constructive resolution, and we appreciate the positive engagement that enabled both sides to conclude the matter amicably. We firmly believe that meaningful dialogue and collaborative problem-solving are the foundation of strong and enduring business relationships."

Mr. Madhav Sheth also acknowledged the collaborative approach adopted during the discussions. "I appreciate the constructive engagement between both parties and that the matter has been resolved through a mutually agreed understanding”

With this resolution, both parties consider the matter closed and reaffirm their commitment to maintaining a relationship built on professionalism, mutual respect, and constructive engagement

About AdGlobal360

AdGlobal360, established in 2009 in Gurugram, provides cutting-edge technology-enabled marketing and digital transformation solutions, partnering with brands to grow their businesses. Integrating its creative solutions with a foundation of technology, including artificial intelligence and machine learning, the agency has been seamlessly driving digital transformations for its client partners. Headquartered in Gurugram, AdGlobal360 presently has 8 branches across the globe with a diverse strength of 1100+ professionals. AGL joined the Hakuhodo International family in 2020.

Large agencies often bring scale and specialist expertise but can introduce multiple layers between clients and the people shaping their brands. Boutique agencies and freelancers offer agility and flexibility but may not always provide the integrated capabilities growing businesses require.

Recognising this gap,  7billboards  has built a founder-led creative agency designed to combine the strategic depth of larger agencies with the agility and ownership of a boutique studio.

Founded by  Baljeet Singh , 7billboards was created with the belief that businesses shouldn't have to compromise between strategic thinking and personalised collaboration. As the agency evolved,  Vaishnavi Agrawal  joined as  Co-founder , strengthening its strategic capabilities through her corporate brand experience. A graduate of the  Symbiosis Centre for Management and Human Resource Development (SCMHRD), Pune , she previously worked as a  Brand Manager at Titan Company Limited , contributing to brands including  Titan Raga  and  Zoop by Titan .

"The challenge isn't finding an agency anymore—it's finding one that's genuinely invested in your business," says  Baljeet Singh , Founder of 7billboards. "Many businesses feel theyhave to choose between strategic depth and personalised attention. We believed there was an opportunity to bring both together."

Unlike conventional agency structures, every engagement at 7billboards remains  founder-led . Clients work directly with the leadership team from strategy through execution, enabling faster decisions, clearer communication, and greater accountability.

Today, the agency offers integrated services across  brand strategy, branding, websites, UI/UX, content production, commercial photography, ad films, social media, influencer marketing, public relations, SEO, and performance marketing . By combining these capabilities under one strategic vision, 7billboards helps businesses build stronger and more consistent brands without coordinating multiple creative partners.

The agency has collaborated on projects for brands including  Titan, Fastrack, Purplle, Zomato, VIP Industries, and Atomberg , while also working with businesses across  India and international markets .

"Modern brands don't just need vendors—they need partners who understand their business and stay involved throughout the journey," says  Vaishnavi Agrawal , Co-founder of 7Billboards. "That's the model we've built, and it's why we believe the future of boutique agencies lies in closer collaboration, strategic thinking, and integrated execution."

As the creative industry continues to evolve, 7Billboards believes businesses will increasingly choose agencies not by their size, but by their ability to think strategically, execute seamlessly, and build lasting partnerships.

About 7billboards

7billboards is a founder-led creative agency based in  Noida, India , working with brands across India and global markets. The agency specializes in brand strategy, branding, websites, UI/UX, content production, photography, films, social media, PR, SEO, influencer marketing, and performance marketing.

Media Contact

7billboards

clientsupport@7billboards.com

7Billboards.com

The VANESA French Collection is born from this cultural shift. Luxury fragrance is no longer reserved for special occasions. Milk and "lactonic" perfumes are trending because people want cozy, warm, and personal scents. Instead of sharp flowers or heavy spices, these perfumes smell like cream, coconut, rice, or warm skin. They melt into your body for a soft, comforting aura. The collection brings globally inspired fragrances to the Indian consumer through scents that feel contemporary, wearable and effortlessly feminine.

Jardin Des Rêves refers to “Garden Of Dream” that  opens with fresh notes of Pear Blossom, Red Berries, and Mandarin, before blooming into Gardenia, Jasmine, and Frangipani. As it settles, Brown Sugar, Patchouli, and Amber add a soft, warm finish. The result is a fresh floral fragrance with a subtle gourmand touch—light, feminine, and easy to wear from day to night.

Jardin Des Reves Eau De Parfum is crafted with a 15–20% fragrance oil concentration for a long-lasting scent experience. The formula is IFRA compliant, made using French fragrance ingredients by international perfumers, and is skin-friendly, cruelty-free, and paraben-free, reflecting VANESA's commitment to quality and suitable for evening & date-night wear

Fragrance family: Fresh Floral

Top Note: Pear Blossom, Red Berries, Mandarin

Middle Note: Gardenia, Jasmine, Frangipani

Base Note: Brown Sugar, Patchouli, Amber

Price:  INR 1099 /-

Product Link:

https://vanesastore.com/products/jardin-des-reves-perfume-90-ml?utm_source=PR&utm_medium=branding&utm_placement=PPR_Jardin&utm_campaign=June&utm_content=

Availability:  Available at leading retail stores and online platforms across India.

About Vanesa : Promoted by Kiara Advani, Vanesa celebrates fragrance as a form of self-expression. Designed for those who move through life with confidence and intention, blending contemporary sophistication with everyday accessibility, the brand’s portfolio spans perfumes, body mists, deodorants, and underarm care—each designed to inspire confidence, elevate self-expression, and leave a lasting impression, whatever the mood, occasion, or season.

As organisations increasingly adopt artificial intelligence, cloud, data and digital technologies, employers are seeking graduates who can combine strong foundational knowledge with practical, industry-relevant capabilities. To address this need, the collaboration will introduce specialised BTech and BBA degrees and establish an Accenture Centre of Advanced Studies on campus to support these industry-integrated programs. The initiative is designed to provide students with greater exposure to emerging technologies, contemporary industry practices and experiential learning opportunities that enhance career readiness.

The program portfolio includes four BTech specialisations - Cloud and AI, Full Stack Development with AI, Data Science, AI and Machine Learning, and Design Engineering - and two BBA specialisations: AI-Integrated General Management and AI-Powered Sales and Marketing. Students will benefit from a structured blend of academic learning, industry-led content, hands-on projects, virtual labs, interactions with industry experts, assessments and certifications alongside the degree from Galgotias University on successful completion of the program. The curriculum is designed to help students connect classroom concepts with real-world applications while developing capabilities aligned to the needs of modern enterprises.

A key differentiator of the collaboration is its focus on developing industry-ready talent through a holistic learning experience. In addition to academic and technical learning, students will have access to career-readiness interventions, including professional skills development, workplace communication, industry mentoring, interview preparation and placement support. This integrated approach is intended to help students build the professional competencies, confidence and adaptability required to transition successfully from university to the workplace.

Dr. Dhruv Galgotia, CEO, Galgotias University, said, “The future belongs to students who can adapt, innovate and apply knowledge in real-world contexts. Our collaboration with Accenture LearnVantage represents an important step in reimagining undergraduate education by integrating academic rigor with industry relevance. Through these future-ready programs, students will gain access to contemporary learning experiences, emerging technologies and professional development opportunities that will help them build successful and meaningful careers.”

Anurag Bansal, Managing Director, Accenture LearnVantage, Asia Oceania, said, "AI is transforming every industry, increasing the demand for graduates who combine domain expertise with AI fluency. Through these newly launched academic programs, we are bringing industry-relevant learning into engineering and management education, helping bridge the gap between classroom learning and the evolving needs of employers. By combining technical, business and professional skills with industry perspectives, we aim to prepare students to apply their learning and create value in the workplace from day one."

National, August 7, 2026 : As Season 3 of the JetSynthesys’ Global e-Cricket Premier League (GEPL) heads towards the business end, every point has become crucial. Day 6 delivered some of the closest contests of the tournament, as Peyush Bansal-owned Delhi Sharks cemented their spot at the top of the leaderboard with the biggest win of the season so far against defending champions Chennai Falcons.

Season 3 marks the biggest edition of GEPL yet, expanding from six to eight franchise teams with a marquee ownership line-up. Played on Real Cricket™, which has crossed 400 million lifetime downloads, the league carries a ₹3.1 crore prize pool and is being broadcast live on Star Sports Select and Star Sports Khel, streamed on JioHotstar, while also making its international debut across the United States and Canada through Willow TV, via Willow Sports (its FAST platform) and Willow's direct-to-consumer platforms in both markets.

The Sharks - who won both their matches - humiliated the Falcons by 55 runs to take their tally to 18 points from 11 games. Sara Tendulkar’s Mumbai Grizzlies had a mixed outing but ensured the second spot with 14 points from 11 matches. Third placed Falcons, who have played 10 matches, are also on 14 points, but trail the Grizzlies on net run rate.

Nikhil Kamath-owned Bengaluru Badgers brought the fans onto their feet by pulling off a dramatic one-run win over Gujarat Wolves in a last-over thriller in the opening match of the day.

After being asked to bat, Bengaluru Badgers posted a competitive 70/2, with Rituraj providing a brisk start with a 17 off just five balls before Player of the Match Soumyadipta Biswas anchored the innings with an unbeaten 29 off 15 deliveries. Scout’s Gujarat Wolves fought hard in the chase but were restricted to 69/2, as Bengaluru held their nerve to seal a thrilling one-run victory and collect two crucial points.

The second match of the day produced another thrilling contest as Suniel Shetty-owned Pune Stallions and Sonu Nigam-owned Kolkata Hawks battled to break free from the mid-table logjam. Asked to bat, Pune looked set for a massive total after Sagar (39 off 15) and Koli (29 off 10) stitched together a 69-run opening stand in just four overs. However, Player of the Match Shubhankar turned the game on its head in the final over with the tournament's fourth hat-trick, helping Kolkata restrict Pune to 70/4. Chasing 71, the Hawks held their nerve in a tense finish, with Aman (21 off 9), Golden Kumar (32 off 13) and Jayesh (15 off 7) producing vital knocks to seal a dramatic three-wicket victory off the final ball.

The third match of the day gave Gujarat Wolves the perfect opportunity to bounce back, and they grabbed it with a convincing three-wicket win over Amit Mehta-owned Hyderabad Rhinos. Batting first, Hyderabad posted a competitive 67/2, with Sachin (18), Mukesh (24) and Manish (22) making useful contributions. Gujarat made light work of the chase as Player of the Match Vikas smashed 39 off just 13 balls, while JD Bairad hammered 22 off seven deliveries in a blistering 60-run opening stand. Vishal and Razin then completed the chase in style to hand the Wolves an important victory.

The fourth match of the day saw Delhi Sharks climb to the top of the leaderboard with a four-wicket victory over Sara Tendulkar-owned Mumbai Grizzlies. Player of the Match Akshat starred with an all-round performance, claiming two wickets before smashing 37 off just 14 balls to lead Delhi's chase. The skipper was well supported by Rohan (19 off 7) and Phani Kiran (18 off 8) as the Sharks chased down 73 in style.

Sonu Nigam's Kolkata Hawks completed their second win of the day with a dominant five-wicket victory over Hyderabad Rhinos in the fifth match. After bowling the Rhinos out for a paltry 34 in just 4.2 overs, the Kolkata side made light work of the chase, with opener and Player of the match Aditya blasting 34 off only 12 balls to seal the win with 16 balls to spare. The defeat left Hyderabad Rhinos' playoff hopes hanging by a thread.

Sara Tendulkar’s Mumbai Grizzlies bounced back strongly in their second match of the day, registering a comfortable three-wicket win over Bengaluru Badgers. Bhupendra laid the foundation with an impressive spell of 2/5 as Mumbai restricted Bengaluru to a modest 50/3, with Rituraj (21) and Manmeet Singh (16 off 9) the only notable contributors. Chasing 51, Player of the Match Jetha Ram anchored the innings with an unbeaten 36 off 16 balls as the Grizzlies cruised to victory in the sixth contest of the day.

A massive surprise was in store for the fans in the seventh game, a top of the table clash between league leaders Peyush Bansal-owned Delhi Sharks and second placed Chennai Falcons as the former dominated with both bat and ball to humiliate the defending champions by 55 runs.

Batting first, Delhi scored 69/3 before bundling out Chennai for 14 runs. Delhi openers Akshat and Rohan gave the Sharks a promising start with some big hits early on before the former offered a skier in the deep. Rohan continued to go after the Chennai bowling to put Delhi in good stead before Nadeem took two wickets in the final over to deny a strong finish for the Sharks.

The Chennai chase had a nightmarish start as Delhi spinner Chetan left them reeling at 3/2 after the opening over. Phani Kiran picked up another two wickets in the second over to virtually knock Chennai out of the game. A Delhi win was only a matter of time from there on.

Standings after Day 6:

Coming up on Day 7:

●        Hyderabad Rhinos vs Mumbai Grizzlies,

●        Delhi Sharks vs Kolkata Hawks

●        Gujarat Wolves vs Pune Stallions

●        Chennai Falcons vs Bengaluru Badgers

●        Pune Stallions vs Hyderabad Rhinos

●        Mumbai Grizzlies vs Chennai Falcons

●        Kolkata Hawks vs Bengaluru Badgers

Watch the matches live on JioHotstar every day from 4:00 PM to 10:00 PM:

https://www.hotstar.com/in/sports/esports/tournaments/global-e-cricket-premier-league

Catch the highlights from Match Day 6 here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iT7Bwm183jk

About GEPL:

The Global e-Cricket Premier League (GEPL), launched by JetSynthesys, is the World's Only Franchise-Based E-Cricket League, bridging the gap between cricket, esports, and entertainment. The league offers a unique platform for aspiring athletes to showcase their talent while engaging millions of fans across India and beyond.

About JetSynthesys:

JetSynthesys is a global leader in digital entertainment and technology, specialising in video gaming & esports, and creators & experiences. With a reach spanning 180 countries and millions of users, JetSynthesys is committed to building innovative ecosystems where technology, video gaming, and entertainment converge. Founded in 2014 by Rajan Navani, JetSynthesys continues to redefine digital experiences while championing inclusivity and engagement across its platforms.

Pledging gold jewellery for immediate cash offers a far more sensible path. Still, a gold loan depends entirely on the math behind it. Interest is only one part of the picture. RBI guidelines, loan terms, and the lender's valuation process also play an important role in the overall cost of a gold loan.

What Determines a Gold Loan Interest Rate in 2026?

A gold loan interest rate isn't a fixed, one-size-fits-all figure. Lenders weigh market shifts and Reserve Bank of India (RBI) mandates before pricing asset-backed credit.

Market valuation serves as the primary anchor. Lenders track benchmark prices using standard 22-karat valuation formulas, taking whichever is lower between the previous day's closing price and a 30-day moving average. Checking the published gold rate today gives prospective borrowers a realistic preview of credit eligibility before stepping into a branch, after appraisers account for stone weights and purity variations.

Regulatory Loan-to-Value (LTV) limits set strict caps on how much cash can be released against assessed gold value. Official guidelines organize loan sanctions into distinct tiers:

●      Loans up to ₹2.5 lakh: Eligible for up to an 85% LTV ratio, giving small-ticket borrowers maximum capital access.

●      Loans between ₹2.5 lakh and ₹5 lakh: Capped at an 80% LTV ratio.

●      Loans above ₹5 lakh: Capped at a 75% LTV ratio, requiring income verification and formal proof of fund usage.

Keeping these brackets in mind helps borrowers structure funding requests effectively. Understanding the applicable LTV bracket beforehand helps borrowers estimate the likely loan amount and plan funding requirements more effectively.

Repayment Options: Bullet Payments vs. Monthly Servicing

The ultimate interest bill on any loan depends heavily on the repayment route selected upfront.

Bullet repayment plans allow a borrower to clear both principal and accumulated interest in one check at maturity. While convenient for short-term liquidity, the hidden math adds up fast. RBI regulations cap bullet repayment tenures for consumption loans at 12 months. Under the revised regulatory framework, the overall loan exposure considered for LTV compliance may reduce the amount that can be disbursed under certain repayment structures.

Paying interest at regular intervals can help reduce the accumulation of outstanding interest over the loan tenure, depending on the repayment structure offered. Running numbers through a digital gold loan calculator makes this contrast crystal clear. A quick pass through a gold loan calculator shows exactly how monthly servicing slashes effective borrowing costs compared to end-of-term payouts.

Why Institutional Trust Matters: The Muthoot Finance Edge

Pledging family gold involves deep personal trust. Speed alone shouldn't decide where a gold loan comes from. A fair valuation, clear loan terms, and secure storage of pledged gold are just as important.

Working with a regulated Financial Institution guarantees transparent appraisal receipts, standardized interest schedules, and vault-grade safety. As an established Financial Institution, Muthoot Finance remains a deeply trusted partner for gold-backed credit across India, backed by decades of operational history and strict regulatory compliance.

Beyond physical vault security, Muthoot Finance provides tailored features designed for practical borrowing needs:

●      Online Gold Loan (OGL) & iMuthoot App: Borrowers can link pledged gold to an active digital credit line. This enables 24/7 interest servicing and instant top-up disbursements directly into bank accounts without visiting a branch.

●      Muthoot Ultimate Gold Loan (MUL) Scheme: Built for cost-conscious borrowers, this plan grants direct interest rate rebates when payments are cleared on or before monthly due dates.

●      Complimentary Asset Insurance: Ornaments pledged with Muthoot Finance stay locked in high-security, fireproof vaults backed by full insurance coverage at zero added cost.

Practical Action Plan for Smart Borrowers

A systematic approach keeps borrowing costs minimal while ensuring complete financial control:

1. Check Daily Benchmark Rates: Review the published gold rate today to estimate realistic borrowing limits based on net ornament weight.

2. Model Outflows Early: Run projected numbers through a gold loan calculator to compare monthly interest servicing against bullet lump-sum choices.

3. Look for Timely Rebates: Select incentive-driven plans like Muthoot's Ultimate Loan scheme to lock in lower net interest rates through punctual monthly payments.

4. Insist on Itemized Appraisal Receipts: Make sure the lender provides an explicit purity certificate showing net weight, stone deductions, and exact karat ratings prior to signing.

5. Set Payment Reminders: Servicing interest on time protects credit records and ensures pledged gold is returned within 7 working days of final loan closure under RBI rules.

Conclusion

A gold loan remains one of the most transparent, accessible, and fast-moving credit options across Indian personal finance. By keeping track of live metal valuations, utilizing a gold loan calculator to test repayment routes, and working alongside a reliable Financial Institution like Muthoot Finance, borrowers can secure quick capital without risking precious assets. Smart planning, clear mathematical comparisons, and trusted institutional partners turn idle gold into a dependable source of financial strength.

Launched in  2023 ,Sikar Hostels is one such platform designed to streamline the search for student accommodation in Sikar. The platform brings together verified listings of boys' hostels, girls' hostels, PGs, and other student accommodations, enabling students and parents to explore multiple options through a single, easy-to-use portal. By consolidating essential information in one place, the platform seeks to remove the hassle traditionally associated with searching for accommodation in an unfamiliar city.

With more than  165 verified hostel listings , the platform caters to students seeking accommodation near Sikar's major coaching institutes and educational hubs. Each listing includes essential information such as direct hostel contact numbers, Google Maps locations, available amenities, and other key details that help users compare options based on their individual requirements and budget.

One of the platform's key strengths lies in its focus on accessibility and transparency. Rather than relying on multiple sources or intermediaries, students and parents can directly connect with hostel owners, making the entire accommodation search process more efficient. Regular updates ensure that users have access to the latest listings and information, allowing them to plan their stay with greater certainty before arriving in the city.

As Sikar continues to strengthen its position as one of Rajasthan's leading education destinations, attracting students from across India for competitive exam preparation and higher education, the demand for organized and trustworthy accommodation resources has grown significantly. Digital platforms dedicated to student housing are now playing an increasingly important role in supporting this growing ecosystem by making verified information readily available.

Beyond serving as a hostel directory,  Sikar Hostels  aims to simplify one of the most important aspects of a student's educational journey—finding a comfortable, safe, and convenient place to stay. The platform covers a wide range of accommodation options, including boys' hostels, girls' hostels, PGs, and student residences located close to coaching institutes and educational centers, helping students choose accommodations that best suit their lifestyle and academic needs.

Since its inception, the platform has earned the trust of  more than 10,000 students and parents , reflecting its growing role in Sikar's student accommodation landscape. As more students turn to digital platforms for everyday decisions, Sikar Hostels continues to bridge the gap between accommodation providers and students by offering a reliable, user-friendly experience.

Since its inception, the platform has earned the trust of more than  10,000 students and parents , reflecting its growing role in Sikar's student accommodation landscape. As more students turn to digital platforms for everyday decisions,  Sikar Hostels  continues to bridge the gap between accommodation providers and students by offering a reliable, user-friendly experience. With its focus on verified listings, direct communication, location-based discovery, and regularly updated information, the platform is contributing to a more transparent and efficient accommodation search process, helping students find a suitable place to stay with greater confidence. Students can also browse available accommodation through the platform's Explore section.

As enterprises accelerate their investments in AI, digital banking, blockchain, intelligent automation and platform-based business models, finance leaders are increasingly expected to shape enterprise strategy rather than simply report on it. The CFO has evolved into one of the most influential voices in the boardroom, balancing fiscal discipline with digital transformation, innovation and long-term value creation.

It is this changing mandate that has prompted Indian Institute of Management Calcutta (IIM Calcutta) to launch the 8th batch of its Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Programme—a reflection of both the programme's growing legacy and the continued demand for finance leaders who can navigate an increasingly technology-led business landscape.

A programme that has evolved with the CFO role

As the responsibilities of finance leaders expand, executive education must evolve alongside them.

The latest edition of IIM Calcutta's CFO Programme introduces an enhanced curriculum designed around the realities of modern financial leadership. While the programme continues to strengthen participants' expertise across corporate finance, governance, competitive strategy and business leadership, it also places greater emphasis on the technologies redefining the finance function.

Participants are introduced to themes such as digital transformation, Industry 4.0, Generative AI, design thinking and technology-enabled business models—subjects that increasingly influence how finance leaders evaluate investments, manage enterprise risk and enable organisational growth.

The evolving curriculum also reflects the wider transformation taking place across financial services. As digital banking ecosystems mature, blockchain applications move beyond experimentation, and AI reshapes forecasting, compliance and decision-making, finance leaders require capabilities that extend well beyond traditional accounting and treasury functions.

Rather than treating technology as a specialist domain, the programme positions it as a strategic leadership capability.

Learning from one of India's most respected institutions

The programme's sustained success over eight cohorts is closely tied to the academic standing of IIM Calcutta itself.

Established in 1961, IIM Calcutta remains one of India's foremost management institutions and is recognised globally for its academic rigour and leadership in management education. It is India's first business school to earn the coveted Triple Crown accreditation—AACSB, AMBA and EQUIS—placing it among a select group of business schools worldwide recognised for excellence across teaching, curriculum and institutional quality.

The programme also grants participants Executive Education Alumni Status, connecting them to a growing network of more than 300 finance leaders from previous cohorts. Combined with live faculty-led learning and campus immersions, the experience extends well beyond classroom instruction into peer learning and executive networking.

Preparing finance leaders for what's next

Industry research increasingly suggests that tomorrow's finance leaders will spend as much time shaping business transformation as they do manage financial performance.

Recognising this shift, the programme's curriculum integrates modules spanning organisational leadership, corporate governance, digital transformation, business strategy, deep finance and design thinking. Through case discussions, simulations and a capstone project, participants are encouraged to apply these frameworks to complex business challenges, strengthening their ability to lead across functions rather than within finance alone.

As organisations continue to navigate AI adoption, evolving regulatory environments and technology-driven disruption, the expectations from CFOs will only continue to expand.

The launch of the eighth cohort is therefore more than another edition of a successful executive programme. It reflects the continuing evolution of one of the C-suite's most critical leadership roles, and the growing need for finance leaders who are equally fluent in business strategy, emerging technologies and enterprise transformation.

Click here to know more about the programme.

As the IMC Ladies' Wing celebrates its Diamond Jubilee year, it proudly presents the 39th edition of the IMC Ladies' Wing Women Entrepreneurs' Exhibition 2026, to be held on 25th and 26th August 2026 at the Jio World Convention Centre, Mumbai.

In the picture seated left to right Nisha Mehta – Member, Juveca Panda Chheda (Co-Chairperson), Radhika Kaji (Vice President), Anita Chouhan (President), Pallavi Sahney Sharma (Chairperson), Jyoti Doshi (Past President), Rekha Jhunjhunwala (Member). Standing left to right, Mithila Akre (Joint Director), Preeti Rajadhyaksha (Member), Ayushi Gupta Mehra (Member), Alka Samant (Member), Tarana Masand (Member), Poonam Bhambhani (Member), Chandni Kumar Mehra (Member), Zarine Sanjana (Deputy Director).

Over the last 39 years, the Women Entrepreneurs' Exhibition has grown into one of India's most prestigious and sought-after platforms for women-led businesses. More than an exhibition, it is a vibrant ecosystem where ideas take shape, collaborations are forged, and women entrepreneurs are empowered to flourish.

This year's theme for the exhibition, "Bees and the Hive," beautifully captures the spirit of the IMC Ladies' Wing's journey.

One bee begins the journey. Together, they build a hive where extraordinary things happen.

A single bee may start the journey, but it is the collective strength of the hive that creates something remarkable. Every bee contributes its unique abilities to build a thriving and resilient community. In much the same way, every woman entrepreneur brings her own vision, creativity, and determination to a larger ecosystem of enterprise.

The hive symbolizes the very essence of the IMC Ladies' Wing—a community where women come together to support, mentor, collaborate, and inspire one another. It is a celebration of the belief that success is never achieved alone; it is built through partnerships, shared experiences, and the extraordinary power of women uplifting women.

This philosophy resonates deeply with the Presidential theme for the year, "Multiplying Impact." Women have always been natural multipliers of knowledge, connections, and influence. When women come together, conversations rarely remain transactional; they become meaningful exchanges of lived experiences, perspectives, challenges, and solutions. A single story shared by one woman can spark confidence, ignite new ideas, or transform the journey of another, creating a ripple effect that reaches far beyond the individual.

"Multiplying Impact" celebrates this unique ability of women to amplify value through meaningful connections. It recognizes women as catalysts for transformation—within families, businesses, communities, and society. It reframes women's influence as exponential rather than incremental, acknowledging that every empowered woman has the potential to empower many others and create lasting change across generations.

“Together, ‘Bees and the Hive’ and ‘Multiplying Impact’ represent the spirit of the IMC Ladies’ Wing. Just as every bee strengthens the hive, every woman entrepreneur strengthens our ecosystem through collaboration, mentorship, innovation, and shared success. When women come together, they do not merely build businesses—they multiply opportunities, knowledge, confidence, and ultimately, multiply impact.”

This year's Exhibition promises to be our most vibrant edition yet, bringing together over 300 women entrepreneurs from across India, showcasing a carefully curated blend of fashion, lifestyle, artisanal crafts, home décor, gourmet delights, wellness products, and innovative brands that celebrate both heritage and contemporary design.”

– Ms. Anita Chouhan, President, IMC Ladies’ Wing

“Further strengthening our commitment to nurturing talent and innovation, the IMC Ladies' Wing is proud to collaborate with the Fashion Design Council of India (FDCI) to facilitate participation from eligible women members and students, creating opportunities for emerging entrepreneurs and designers to showcase their creativity while connecting with the industry.

The Exhibition has always been about creating impact beyond business. In keeping with this philosophy, the IMC Ladies' Wing continues to support NGOs and social enterprises by providing complimentary stalls, giving them a valuable platform to showcase their products, initiatives, and causes. This initiative reflects our belief that entrepreneurship must be inclusive and that empowering communities goes hand in hand with building successful enterprises.”

– Ms. Pallavi Sahney Sharma, Chairperson, WE Exhibition 2026 Committee

“Entrepreneurship has the power to shape not just economies, but the future we leave behind. At the heart of this year's Exhibition is a commitment to sustainability, conscious innovation, and responsible business. From vegan and eco-conscious brands to eco-printed textiles and environmentally responsible products, we are celebrating entrepreneurs who are proving that purpose and profitability can go hand in hand. The Exhibition itself reflects these values through the use of green energy, responsible waste management, recycling initiatives, and efforts to offset our carbon footprint. We hope every visitor leaves inspired by the belief that meaningful change begins with the choices we make every day.”

– Ms. Juveca Panda Chheda, Co-Chairperson, WE Exhibition 2026 Committee

As the IMC Ladies' Wing celebrates 60 years of empowering women and 39 years of building an entrepreneurial ecosystem, the Women Entrepreneurs' Exhibition stands as a testament to the transformative power of community. It is a tribute to every woman who dared to begin, to every entrepreneur who persevered, and to every dream that found wings through the support of the hive.

Because when women come together with purpose and passion, they do more than build businesses. They build communities, create opportunities, and shape a future where extraordinary things happen.

Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India

As India's Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) continue to embrace digital transformation, managing compliance, certifications, documentation, and operational processes has become increasingly complex.

MSMExpert.com introduces an AI-powered platform that brings these critical business functions together into a single digital ecosystem, helping organizations streamline operations, improve compliance readiness, and support sustainable growth.

Built for modern enterprises, MSMExpert combines intelligent automation, standardized workflows, digital documentation, and real-time process management to reduce administrative effort and improve operational efficiency.

About MSMExpert

MSMExpert is an AI-powered business platform designed to help Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises digitize compliance, organize documentation, manage certifications, standardize business processes, and monitor operational performance through one intelligent system.

One Platform. Complete Business Management.

Businesses can manage Business Compliance, Quality Certifications, SOP Management, Documentation, Government Scheme Tracking, Audit Readiness, Workflow Automation, Process Monitoring, Digital Record Management, and Business Performance Dashboards.

Platform Capabilities

• AI Compliance Engine
• Certification Management
• Smart Documentation
• Government Benefits Tracking
• Import & Export Management
• Business Intelligence Dashboards

Built for Every Growing Business

Manufacturing, Engineering, Pharmaceuticals, Food Processing, Healthcare, Chemicals, Textiles, Automotive, Export Businesses, Startups, and Service Enterprises.

Founder Statement

"Businesses should be able to focus on innovation and growth instead of spending valuable time managing fragmented processes. MSMExpert is designed to simplify business operations through AI-powered automation, intelligent workflows, and a unified digital platform that supports every stage of the MSME journey."

— Suryamin Panchal, Founder & CEO, MSMExpert

Founder Profile

Suryamin Panchal
Founder & CEO – MSMExpert
Phone: +91 92135 10117
Email: sales@msmexpert.com
Website: www.msmexpert.com

Featuring Rohit Sharma and Ritika Sajdeh, the latest film under the 'Bharosa Tum Ho' brand campaign encourages Indians to embrace retirement as a new chapter, supported by thoughtful planning.

New Delhi, August 6, 2026 : Axis Max Life Insurance Limited, formerly known as Max Life Insurance Company Limited (“Axis Max Life”/ “Company”), recently announced the launch of its retirement campaign, encouraging Indians to view retirement not as an end of professional journey, but as a launching pad for their long-deferred dreams.

Anchored by the brand’s tagline ‘Bharosa Tum Ho’, this retirement campaign highlights how early, structured planning with Axis Max Life Pension Plans offers guaranteed lifelong income, empowering individuals to step into their second innings with financial independence.

To bring this narrative to life, Axis Max Life recently launched a new campaign film featuring the brand ambassadors Rohit Sharma and Ritika Sajdeh in an everyday moment discussing plans for future. By grounding the narrative in the couple’s warm banter, the campaign film illustrates how guaranteed payouts and lifelong income provide the financial security individuals need to pursue post-career goals.

Commenting on the launch, Rahul Talwar, Chief Marketing Officer, Axis Max Life Insurance, said: "For many Indians, retirement planning centres strictly on basic financial security, often overlooking personal aspirations. With this campaign, we want to encourage people to view retirement as a beginning filled with possibilities. Rohit Sharma and Ritika Sajdeh are the perfect fit to lead this campaign as a couple who embody trust and partnership. Their genuine chemistry brings the film to life, showing how a guaranteed lifelong income gives people the financial freedom to pursue their dreams without worry."

About the ‘Bharosa Tum Ho’ Platform

Axis Max Life’s ‘Bharosa Tum Ho’ campaign celebrates the customer as the everyday hero. Whether as a partner, parent, or primary caregiver, this individual embodies trust for their family. By pairing subtle emotional storytelling with clear, simplified products, the campaign positions life insurance and pension plans as the ultimate financial foundation for life.

Campaign Link- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4RwmyMOJoo

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

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

IRDAI Registration. No – 104

Company Identification Number - U74899HR2000PLC143012

National, August 6, 2026: Sara Tendulkar-owned Mumbai Grizzlies’ Jetha starred with two Player of the Match performances as the team enjoyed a perfect Day 5 in Season 3 of the JetSynthesys Global e-Cricket Premier League, while Chennai Falcons and Delhi Sharks strengthened their position at the top.

Season 3 marks the biggest edition of GEPL yet, expanding from six to eight franchise teams with a marquee ownership line-up. Played on Real Cricket™, which has crossed 400 million lifetime downloads, the league carries a ₹3.1 crore prize pool and is being broadcast live on Star Sports Select and Star Sports Khel, streamed on JioHotstar, while also making its international debut across the United States and Canada through Willow TV, via Willow Sports (its FAST platform) and Willow's direct-to-consumer platforms in both markets.

On Day 5, defending champions Chennai Falcons are at the top of the leaderboard with 14 points. They are ahead of second placed Delhi Sharks, owned by Peyush Bansal, who are on the same number of points - due to a superior net run rate.

In the opening match of the day, table toppers Delhi Sharks saw off a spirited fight by Suniel Shetty-owned Pune Stallions to carve out a nine-run win. Batting first, Delhi Sharks posted 72/4 before dismissing Pune Stallions for 63 runs. Delhi lost their first wicket of the second of their innings. However, Akshay and Player of the Match Phani Kiran (21 off 11 balls) produced some big hits before the former was caught on the boundary. Although they continued to wickets at regular intervals, the Sharks kept up the big hits to end at a healthy total.

Pune had a poor start, losing their first wicket in the opening over but Sagar and Koli ensured a good foundation for the chase with a 30-run stand before the former holed out in the deep. However, with Koli also returning to the pavilion in the next over, things started to look bleak for Pune as they eventually fell short by 9 runs.

In the second match, Sara Tendulkar-owned Mumbai Grizzlies dominated with both bat and ball to thrash Sonu Nigam’s Kolkata Hawks by 35 runs. Despite a hattrick by Mayank - the third of the season - Mumbai rode excellent batting by Player of the Match Jetha (33 from 12) and Sonu (36 off 10) to post a challenging total of 77/4 after being invited to bat.

Kolkata never got going in the chase, with only Aditya offering some resistance through a brisk 26 off 11 balls. Regular wickets and the mounting required rate kept the Hawks under pressure as they were restricted well short of the target.

Pune Stallions' playoff hopes were all but dashed after they suffered their second defeat of Day 5, going down by three wickets to defending champions Chennai Falcons in the third match of the day. Batting first, the Suniel Shetty-owned Stallions posted a competitive 62/2, with Koli anchoring the innings with an unbeaten 39 off 15 balls, while Ankit chipped in with a brisk 12 off six.

In response, the Gopal Srinivasan-owned Chennai got off to a blistering start, with captain and Player of the Match Sukhpreet Singh hammering 28 off just 12 balls and stitching together a 42-run opening stand with Deepak (19 off 6). Even after Sukhpreet's dismissal, Deepak kept the momentum going alongside Shivam, whose unbeaten 13 off six deliveries helped the defending champions seal a three-wicket victory.

The fourth match of the day saw Mumbai Grizzlies continue their impressive run with a comfortable four-wicket win over Gujarat Wolves in the Western Derby. Batting first, the Tanmay Singh-scouted Gujarat posted a competitive 67/4, thanks to Vikas' 31 off 13 balls and a late flourish from Vishal, who smashed 19 off just five deliveries.

Mumbai made light work of the chase as captain Davinder Singh (23 off 10) and Player of the Match Jetha (40 not out off 15) stitched together a blistering 50-run opening partnership to put the result beyond doubt before the Sara Tendulkar-owned Grizzlies cruised home.

Chennai Falcons completed a perfect day with a commanding 25-run victory over Amit Mehta’s Hyderabad Rhinos in the Southern Derby. Riding on Deepak's explosive 43 off just 19 balls, the Falcons posted a competitive 64/3 before producing a disciplined bowling performance to skittle the Rhinos for just 39 and seal their second win of the day.

In the final game, Kolkata Hawks humiliated Gujarat Wolves by four wickets to stay alive in the competition. Batting first, Gujarat put up 66/2 in their five overs. Vikas smashed 37 runs off 14 balls to put Gujarat on the way to a big total.

In response, Sonu Nigam’s Kolkata overcame some tense moments to run away with a big win. Aman (27 off 10) gave the Kolkata chase a good start. Although the Gujarat bowlers tried their best, it was not enough to stop the Hawks.

Standings after Day 5:

Coming up on Day 6:

●        Gujarat Wolves vs Bengaluru Badgers

●        Pune Stallions vs Kolkata Hawks

●        Hyderabad Rhinos vs Gujarat Wolves

●        Mumbai Grizzlies vs Delhi Sharks

●        Kolkata Hawks vs Hyderabad Rhinos

●        Bengaluru Badgers vs Mumbai Grizzlies