Friday, March 13

Business

Vi Business IoT Innovation Lab set to boost India’s enterprise economy
Business

Vi Business IoT Innovation Lab set to boost India’s enterprise economy

Vi Business, the enterprise arm of telecom giant Vi, has launched the Vi Business IoT Innovation Lab in collaboration with Amazon Web Services (AWS) and the Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT), marking a major step in India’s IoT-led enterprise transformation. The Lab will serve as a hub for co-creating and testing IoT solutions across connected vehicles, smart manufacturing, and enterprise automation. The Mumbai-based facility offers live demonstrations of connected vehicles, smart grids, real-time manufacturing monitoring, and edge AI-driven IoT applications. Start-ups, device makers, and enterprises across BFSI, IT/ITES, logistics, utilities, retail, healthcare, and smart city domains will be able to design, test, and scale industry-grade IoT use cases. By combining Vi Busi...
Thinking Mahindra Thar Roxx this Diwali?
Business

Thinking Mahindra Thar Roxx this Diwali?

The Mahindra Thar Roxx, a five-door version of the popular three-door Thar SUV, combines practicality and spaciousness with the rugged off-road appeal of the original. Following recent GST revisions, the Thar Roxx has seen a price reduction despite the GST rate increasing from 28% to 40%. This is because the compensation cess, which previously added an extra 20%, has been removed, lowering the overall tax burden from 48% to 40%. As a result, the Thar Roxx is now more affordable, with prices ranging from ₹12.25 lakh to ₹22.06 lakh (ex-showroom). Price cuts vary between ₹74,000 and ₹1.33 lakh, with the base MX1 RWD MT petrol variant receiving the smallest discount, while the fully loaded AX7L 4WD diesel-automatic variant enjoys the highest. Alongside attractive festive offers from Mahindra ...
IIM Shillong attends the grand finale of SBI Life’s IdeationX 2.0
Business

IIM Shillong attends the grand finale of SBI Life’s IdeationX 2.0

Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Shillong has secured a coveted finalist spot at SBI Life Insurance’s IdeationX 2.0, a national-level innovation contest for India’s top B-schools. The semi-final, held at Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT), Bhubaneswar, saw IIM Shillong’s team—Namita Gupta, NitikaBansal, and SakshiAgarwal—emerge victorious against 40 teams selected from over 3,500 entries nationwide. The top eight teams, including participants from XLRI Jamshedpur, IIFT Kolkata, IIM Calcutta, XIMB Bhubaneswar, and KIIT Bhubaneswar, will now compete for the grand finale. SBI Life officials, including Ravindra Sharma, Chief of Brand, CSR and Corporate Communications, and SantoshChacko, Zonal Director – East, praised the students’ innovative ideas and highlighted the imp...
LG Electronics India Limited’s Initial Public Offering to open on October 7, 2025
Business

LG Electronics India Limited’s Initial Public Offering to open on October 7, 2025

LG Electronics India Limited (LGEIL), the wholly owned subsidiary of LG Electronics Inc., will launch its Initial Public Offering (IPO) on October 7, 2025, with a price band set between ₹1,080 and ₹1,140 per equity share. The issue will close on October 9, 2025, while the anchor investor bidding will take place on October 6, 2025. The IPO is an offer for sale of up to 101.81 million equity shares of face value ₹10 each by its promoter LG Electronics Inc. Investors can bid for a minimum of 13 shares and in multiples thereafter, with eligible employees receiving a ₹108 per share discount. The equity shares will be listed on the NSE and BSE. Shillong has expressed keen interest in the offering, citing the growing consumer demand for premium electronics in the Northeast. Local traders n...
BSNL launches indigenous “Swadeshi” 4G network, expands connectivity to 26,700 villages
Business

BSNL launches indigenous “Swadeshi” 4G network, expands connectivity to 26,700 villages

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), in collaboration with Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), C-DOT, and Tejas Networks, today launched India’s first fully indigenous 4G network, the Bharat Telecom Stack. The initiative, aligned with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of a digitally self-reliant India, aims to strengthen national security and bridge the digital divide by providing connectivity to 26,700 additional villages. The Bharat Telecom Stack, designed and developed entirely in India, integrates C-DOT’s EPC core applications, Tejas’ base stations, and TCS’ Cognitive Network Operations platform for real-time management. Deployed across 100,000 sites within two years, this network ensures seamless integration with BSNL’s existing 2G/3G infrastructure. CMD BSNL, A Robert J Ravi, de...
Accenture Braces For Slowdown & Job Cuts
Business

Accenture Braces For Slowdown & Job Cuts

Accenture Plc is anticipating slower growth, even as artificial intelligence (AI) garners increasing interest from clients. CEO Julie Sweet acknowledged that while AI has quickly gained attention among CEOs and boards, its actual implementation and value delivery have been limited, particularly outside digital-native companies. As a result, Accenture is undertaking job cuts, citing a lack of viable reskilling options for some roles. The company remains largely unaffected by the H-1B visa changes under the Trump administration, as only 5% of its US workforce holds such visas. Accenture reported $69.7 billion in revenue for FY24, a 7% increase, outpacing the cumulative revenue growth of India’s top 10 IT firms. Despite this, it has forecast slower revenue growth of 2–5% in FY26. During J...
Are Indian Markets Ready For AI?
Business

Are Indian Markets Ready For AI?

Artificial Intelligence (AI) contributes to less than 1% of the Bombay Stock Exchange’s (BSE) market capitalisation, according to Dr. Vikas Singh, adjunct professor at the Indian Institute of Public Administration. Notably, BSE and NSE do not classify AI as a standalone sector, and fewer than 15 listed companies have clear AI-related operations. Due to limited financial disclosure, it is difficult to gauge AI’s direct impact on revenues or profits. However, Dr. Singh noted AI’s influence may be more systemic in automation-heavy industries like finance, retail, logistics, and telecom. India’s AI investment is growing. The UNCTAD’s 2025 Technology and Innovation Report ranked India 36th out of 170 countries in AI readiness, with $1.4 billion in private investments. The country also impro...
Revolutionary Micro-TESE Procedure at Birla Fertility & IVF Guwahati Gives New Life to Couples
Business

Revolutionary Micro-TESE Procedure at Birla Fertility & IVF Guwahati Gives New Life to Couples

Birla Fertility & IVF Guwahati is proud to announce a rare medical achievement in the field of male infertility. In a highly complex case of non-obstructive azoospermia with extremely low testicular volume, the centre successfully retrieved viable sperm using advanced Micro-TESE (Microsurgical Testicular Sperm Extraction) technology. The 39-year-old patient, who had struggled with infertility for six years and faced additional cardiac complications, had been advised donor semen in several consultations. However, under the leadership of Dr. Kalpana Jain, Centre Head, and a multidisciplinary team, 15–20 viable sperms were retrieved and preserved using the latest sperm vitrification device (Sperm VD) prior to embryo transfer. Commenting on the success, Dr. Kalpana said, “This achie...
Expert Kidney Care and Transplants Now in Guwahati: Medanta Hospital Gurgaon Takes Healthcare to New Heights
Business

Expert Kidney Care and Transplants Now in Guwahati: Medanta Hospital Gurgaon Takes Healthcare to New Heights

Medanta – The Medicity, India’s top-ranked private hospital by Newsweek, has expanded its specialized kidney care and transplant services to Guwahati, reflecting broader economic trends in healthcare infrastructure development across the North East. The move aims to address rising kidney-related health issues while capturing the untapped regional market for advanced medical services. At a recent event, Dr. Sanjay Gogoi, Chairman of Urology and Renal Care, outlined the advantages of Nephron Sparing Surgery, which removes kidney tumors while preserving kidney function, enhancing patient outcomes. Dr. Manish Jain, Senior Director of Nephrology, highlighted the persistent gap between kidney transplant demand and supply, with 13,400 transplants performed in India in 2024 against nearly 2 la...
India’s Cardiac Care Market Takes a Leap Forward: Leadless Pacemakers on the Rise
Business

India’s Cardiac Care Market Takes a Leap Forward: Leadless Pacemakers on the Rise

Next-generation leadless pacemakers are redefining treatment for patients with abnormal heart rhythms. Designed to manage arrhythmias like bradycardia—where the heart beats too slowly—these miniaturized devices eliminate the need for chest incisions and wires, reducing infection risk and post-operative complications. Unlike traditional pacemakers, which sit beneath the skin near the collarbone and rely on leads to deliver electrical signals, leadless pacemakers are implanted directly into the heart via a catheter. “Leadless pacemakers have been developed to make both implantation and retrieval as smooth as possible for physicians, while offering meaningful improvements over existing technologies,” said Ajay Singh Chauhan, General Manager, Cardiac Rhythm Management, Abbott India&nb...