Business

Allied Blenders and Distillers Limited (ABD) has launched its ‘TRUE BLUE’ trust initiative in Meghalaya for its flagship brand Officer’s Choice Blue, aiming to strengthen consumer awareness around product authenticity, quality assurance and responsible consumption. As part of the initiative, ABD has introduced a specially designed ‘TRUE BLUE’ mark etched on the bottle cap of Officer’s Choice Blue bottles. The company said the mark, created using advanced technology that is difficult to replicate, allows consumers to verify product authenticity through a simple visual check and acts as a visible assurance of genuineness and quality. The initiative encourages consumers to adopt bottle cap verification as a regular and responsible habit. ABD said the upgraded cap design reflects the co...

Airbnb has expanded its global travel platform with the launch of car rentals, grocery delivery, airport pickups, luggage storage, boutique hotels and exclusive FIFA World Cup 2026 experiences, marking a significant push toward becoming a full-service travel ecosystem. The company said the 2026 summer rollout builds on the success of Airbnb Experiences and Airbnb Services launched last year. New offerings include grocery delivery through Instacart in over 25 US cities, airport transfers via Welcome Pickups across 160 cities, and luggage storage through Bounce in 175 cities worldwide. Airbnb will also introduce car rentals directly through its app later this summer. The company is expanding its Experiences category with more than 3,000 landmark tours and over 2,500 food culture progr...

At Google I/O, Google officially unveiled the next phase of the AI wearables race, announcing its new Android XR “intelligent eyewear” platform. The new smart glasses, developed as part of a large hardware partnership with Samsung and powered by Qualcomm chips, are set for retail launch later this fall. Instead of repeating the mistakes of the bulky, display-happy Google Glass days, the company is opting for a more streamlined, audio-first approach. Doing away with internal lens displays makes the hardware lighter and more like regular eyewear, so Google can focus on all-day comfort and mainstream consumer adoption. Google and Samsung have also teamed up with big eyewear brands Warby Parker and Gentle Monster to make sure the tech fits in with everyday fashion. The resulting collection...

Vi has announced the launch of a new range of flexible International Roaming (IR) plans for its postpaid customers, aimed at enhancing convenience, flexibility and value for international travellers during the peak summer travel season. The telecom operator has introduced new 7-day, 14-day and 21-day IR packs, expanding its existing portfolio to 17 distinct roaming offerings. The plans are designed to cater to varied travel requirements including business visits, medical tourism, education, leisure travel and extended overseas stays. Vi said the plans offer coverage across more than 120 countries with both limited and truly unlimited data, voice and SMS benefits. Customers can choose pack validity ranging from one day to 30 days. The company also stated that it remains the only telecom...

Anthropic has completed a major structural acquisition by purchasing the developer tools startup Stainless for more than $300 million, seizing control of a vital software pipeline that its top market rivals depend on. Stainless, a highly specialized four-year-old startup founded by a former Stripe engineer, automates the complex process of compiling OpenAPI specifications into high-quality, production-ready software development kits (SDKs). Because maintaining multi-language SDKs internally requires substantial engineering resources, major foundational model providers—including OpenAI for its GPT series and Google for its Gemini API surface—outsourced this crucial developer-facing infrastructure directly to Stainless. This blockbuster deal effectively puts Anthropic in a structurally adva...

Vodafone Idea (Vi) on Monday said its data consumption in Assam and the North East circles grew by 65 per cent between January and December 2025, driven by major network expansion and rising demand for unlimited data plans among customers. The telecom operator said it added more than 890 new network sites across key spectrum bands in the region during the period, extending its coverage to 19 additional towns. Vi stated that the expansion is part of its broader national network transformation programme aimed at improving connectivity and increasing 4G population coverage across the country. According to the company, the growth in data usage was also fuelled by strong customer response to its unlimited data offerings. Vi claimed it remains the only telecom operator currently offering unl...

India’s growing direct-selling sector continues to witness strong participation from women entrepreneurs, with stories of long-term resilience and financial independence emerging as a key trend across urban markets like Kolkata. One such journey began in 2005, when a Kolkata-based homemaker joined Oriflame after attending a seminar at Mahajati Sadan. Initially hesitant about entering business and unsure about public perception, she gradually built her confidence through training sessions, meetings and consistent engagement with the company’s network-driven model. Her daughter, Haichai, recalls spending her childhood watching her mother work for hours beside an old computer after school. From helping arrange papers to typing names and reviewing handwritten notes from trainings, those...

Asia Healthcare Holdings (AHH), the powerhouse healthcare platform backed by GIC and TPG Growth, has announced a significant evolution in its leadership structure. Effective May 1, 2026, the company has appointed three distinguished industry veterans as independent directors to its board, signaling a robust commitment to corporate governance and strategic scaling. The new appointments bring a wealth of global expertise to the table. Murali Sivaraman, formerly of Royal Philips, joins as the Non-Executive Independent Director and Board Chairperson. Vinita Bali, the former CEO of Britannia Industries, assumes the role of Non-Executive Independent Director and NRC Chairperson. Completing the trio is Rashmi Joshi, an expert in finance and strategy from BP and Veedol Corporation, who will se...

Tata Motors has announced a Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS) for around 750 employees across its various manufacturing plants in India. The company said the move is part of its efforts to streamline operations and improve the agility of the organisation. The strategic move is aimed at optimizing the company’s workforce structure as the automotive giant shifts its focus towards automation and electric vehicle (EV) production. A specific segment of permanent employees is being offered a wider financial package, including an ex-gratia payment, health insurance benefits and professional outplacement counselling to help them with their career transitions. The VRS is part of a broader, "future-ready" transformation program to lower fixed costs and improve overall productivity in a rapidly c...