Archives May 2025

Bengaluru, May 8th, 2025: Online travel marketplace JrnyOn, which is transforming content creators’ expertise into bookable travel experiences, has collaborated with XPD India & Beyond, founded by Meenakshi Sai, to launch a series of self-drive expeditions across some of the world’s most rugged and riveting terrains — starting with Armenia, Ladakh, and Oman.

Meenakshi Sai is the force behind XPD India & Beyond, a self-drive travel company that is turning the road less travelled into an exhilarating one. With over a decade of experience crafting immersive road trips across India and the world, she has built a loyal community of travellers who trust her for journeys that are equally rugged and revelatory. Whether it’s navigating the windswept landscapes of Ladakh, the dramatic wadis of Oman, or the offbeat corners of Armenia, Meenakshi curates every expedition with obsessive attention to detail and a storyteller’s sense of adventure. 

A trailblazer in the world of overland adventures, Meenakshi is known for designing and executing expeditions that test boundaries and will now be accessible to a broader audience through JrnyOn — offering seamless booking, expert support, and a chance to be part of some of the most thrilling self-drive journeys available today.

Regarding this collaboration, JrnyOn’s Founder Sanjith Mukund said, “Our platform serves as the canvas where travel maestros like Meenakshi can translate their distinctive travel philosophy into experiences that others can join and enjoy first-hand. Meenakshi’s self-drive expeditions embody the perfect balance of meticulous planning and wild adventure—giving travellers the confidence to explore rugged landscapes with the thrill of discovery that only comes from being behind the wheel.”

As per Meenakshi Sai, “These self-drive journeys through Armenia and Ladakh epitomise exploration in its purest form—putting travellers in command of their own discovery, allowing for spontaneous detours to hidden monasteries, unscheduled stops at breath-taking vistas, and the freedom to experience these magnificent landscapes at a pace that conventional tours simply cannot offer.”

The first of these, ‘Meenakshi’s Armenia: Self Drive Adventure’ will take place from June 18 to 28, 2025, offering a deep dive into the historical and natural heart of the Caucasus. Think mountain drives, ancient monasteries, lava caves, and farm-fresh meals — all explored through the independence of a self-drive format. 

This will be followed by ‘Meenakshi’s Ladakh: Self Drive Expedition’ from September 21 to October 1, 2025, where travellers will journey across one of India’s most breath-taking landscapes — from the winding passes of Khardung La to Hanle, one of India’s most remote villages, known for its crystal-clear night skies and the Indian Astronomical Observatory to Umling La, the highest motorable road in the world. 

JrnyOn, launched in 2024, is transforming the way multi-day group travel is experienced, designed, and distributed. With a focus on fostering authentic connections and immersive experiences, JrnyOn has collaborated with expert content creators and industry specialists like Meenakshi to craft journeys that go beyond conventional travel. The platform empowers content creators and subject experts to design journeys for their communities — while JrnyOn handles the operational complexity behind the scenes.

Over the past year, JrnyOn has hosted journeys led and curated by Chef Tzac, Sapna, spiritual leader Vinita Rashinkar, Wayfarer Ankis and other creators to different parts of India and international destinations such as Turkmenistan, Tanzania, Finland, Turkey, United Kingdom and many more.

Delhi, 8th April 2025: ELIVAAS, pioneers of managing, monitoring and monetising luxury properties, has launched its Mother’s Day 2025 campaign, #becauseshedeservesabreaktoo. This campaign gently reminds us that behind every selfless act and sleepless night is a mother who deserves to feel cared for, cherished, and renewed. With this initiative, ELIVAAS encourages families to celebrate Mothers’ Day by giving her what she rarely asks for but deeply needs, a serene escape, a luxurious pause, a place where she can rest, recharge, and feel truly seen.

As part of this thoughtful campaign, ELIVAAS has released a digital film that portrays a relatable story. The video features a mother who casually expresses her desire for a day off, free from daily chores and responsibilities. Her daughter, understanding the unspoken need, surprises her with a peaceful villacation — a relaxing getaway in a private villa, designed to offer a blend of comfort, privacy, and personalized luxury. She gives her a chance to rest, recharge, and enjoy some quiet time away from routine — all in the serene setting of a beautiful, fully-serviced villa.

The message is simple and heartfelt. Mothers deserve more than just one special day. They need real moments of rest, care, and comfort, just like anyone else. With this campaign, ELIVAAS encourages families to gift experiences, turning Mothers’ Day into a time for true connection and meaningful relaxation. ELIVAAS offers 5-star hospitality, dedicated concierge, 24X7 caretaker, private chef-on-call with customized menus, so mothers don’t have to worry about anything; they can simply relax and enjoy their stay.

Sharing his thoughts on the initiative, Mr. Ritwik Khare, Founder & CEO, ELIVAAS, said, “We believe true luxury lies in experiences that make people feel genuinely cared for. This Mothers’ Day, we wanted to offer something meaningful for mothers — the gift of rest. Mothers often carry the weight of the family without taking time for themselves, so we wanted to encourage families to give them the break they deserve. Rest should not be a luxury, but a basic need. Our villas are designed as serene escapes that provide not just luxury but also comfort and peace, allowing everybody to truly unwind. This initiative reflects our larger vision to create experiences where people feel valued and cared for, and mothers certainly deserve that kind of attention.”

With this campaign, ELIVAAS is opening up conversations about the emotional and mental well-being of mothers. The brand believes that creating a space where mothers feel seen, heard, and cared for is a gift that can’t be wrapped, but can certainly be remembered.

Mangalore, May 8, 2025: Bandhan AMC Limited, one of India’s leading asset managers with an AUM of ~USD 20 billion announced the launch of its operations at GIFT City through its IFSC Branch. International investors such as foreign nationals including, family offices, government institutions, corporate and institutional investors, pension funds, endowment funds,  as well as non-resident Indians (NRIs), can now participate in the India growth story by investing in the equity oriented Bandhan India Large and Mid-Cap Fund or the Bandhan India Small Cap Fund. Alternatively, investors looking for a safer yet high-quality fixed income fund can choose to invest in Bandhan India Government Securities Fund. These funds also provide investors, who are looking for a tax efficient investment route, an opportunity to invest in funds with a well-established track record.

Vishal Kapoor, CEO, Bandhan AMC, highlighted, “Over the past few years, the share of long-term investors in the Indian market has risen at an impressive pace, with domestic investors using the mutual fund route for wealth creation and preservation. With the launch of our three India Focused Funds in Gift City, international investors who missed out on/ were on the sidelines of the India growth story, can now pick if they want to join the high growth equity markets or the safer Government backed securities market in India. Bandhan AMC’s 25-year long legacy and expertise in fund management endeavours to benefit investors from our deep understanding of the Indian market.”

Bandhan AMC has a long and strong performance track record and asset under management (AUM) in all the three underlying funds of Bandhan Mutual Fund (BMF).

Bandhan India Large and Mid-Cap Fund (IFSC) is a feeder fund that will invest in Bandhan Core Equity Fund, an open-ended equity scheme of BMF, that was launched on August 09, 2005, and w.e.f. January 28, 2023, is managed by Manish Gunwani, Head – Equity, Bandhan AMC.  The underlying fund aims to invest in high growth/ quality stocks in sectors with higher than nominal GDP growth over the medium term, with a mix of thematic/ cyclicals and optional & value stocks. It had an AUM of USD 995 Million as of April 30, 2025.

Bandhan India Small Cap Fund (IFSC) is a feeder fund that will invest in Bandhan Small Cap Fund, an open-ended equity scheme of BMF, that was launched on February 25, 2020, and w.e.f. January 28, 2023, is managed by Manish Gunwani, Head – Equity, Bandhan AMC. The underlying fund takes exposure across many different sectors to control liquidity and fundamental risk. It had an AUM of USD 1.21 Billion as of April 30, 2025.

Bandhan India Government Securities Fund (IFSC) is a feeder fund that will invest in Bandhan Government Securities Fund – Investment Plan, an open-ended debt scheme of BMF, that was launched on March 09, 2002, and w.e.f. October 15, 2010, is managed by Suyash Choudhary, Head – Fixed Income, Bandhan AMC. It had an AUM of USD 367.6 Million as of April 30, 2025.

New Delhi, May 08, 2025: In a decisive move underscoring the growing uncertainty related to the future ambit of the RoDTEP scheme, the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) has formally written to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry’s Directorate General of Foreign Trade with an appeal seeking the immediate extension of the Remission of Duties or Taxes on Export Products (RoDTEP) Scheme for units operating under Advance Authorisation (AA), Export Oriented Units (EOUs), and Special Economic Zones (SEZs).

In a letter to the Commerce Ministry, FICCI has voiced concerns over the lapse of RoDTEP benefits for the units based in these export-oriented zones beyond 5^th February 2025 and has urged the Ministry to expedite the notification of an extension at least till September 30, 2025. In view of the prevailing global uncertainties, FICCI underscored the need to continue including AA/EOU/SEZ units under the scheme to maintain the cost competitiveness of Indian manufacturing and ensure a level playing field for Indian exporters in international markets.

FICCI’s representation follows similar submissions made recently by top industry bodies such as the Federation of Indian Mineral Industries (FIMI) and the Aluminium Association of India (AAI), reflecting broader industry apprehensions about global trade. Aluminium is a key driver in India’s industry landscape with over $20 billion invested, making India the world’s 2^nd largest aluminium producer.

Earlier, in its representation, FIMI highlighted that nearly 45% of India’s aluminium exports come from units based in AA/EOU/SEZ locations. It pointed out that the withdrawal of RoDTEP support significantly undermines the ability of Indian manufacturers to compete with their global peers since embedded taxes and duties, which comprise up to 10% of aluminium production costs, would remain unrebated and unaddressed.

While commending the Commerce Ministry’s progressive measures, FICCI cautioned that any delay in extending RoDTEP coverage to restore export competitiveness in a severely stressed business environment would be detrimental. It may be recalled that FIMI, in its representation, explained that this could result in production cuts, job losses, and setbacks to domestic value addition within the Indian aluminium sector, which currently has an annual capacity of 4.1 million tonnes. Fresh investments in expanding domestic capacity would be critical for sustaining the industry’s growth trajectory.

Given the ongoing global trade headwinds, FICCI said that an extension for AA/EOU/SEZ exporters would provide much-needed certainty and stability to the wider industry. The chamber emphasized that the government’s swift action will be pivotal in restoring parity and supporting India’s ambition to emerge as a global manufacturing hub.

In a progressive step, the Ministry of Finance has already approved the budget for RoDTEP scheme as Rs 18,000 crore for FY26, as opposed to Rs. 16,575 crores in the previous fiscal. Now, with successive leading industry bodies, including AAI, FIMI and FICCI pleading the cause for extension of the RoDTEP scheme for AA/EOU/SEZ units from February 5 2025 onwards at least till 30 September 2025 in line with the DTAs, the industry is optimistic that the government will act promptly to formally notify the RoDTEP extension. While the geopolitical crisis and the global slowdown has made the going difficult, the extension of RoDTEP for AA/EOU/SEZs would help the industry to be globally competitive and also ensure the continued growth of Indian exports amid the uncertain global scenario. 

8^th May 2025, Bangalore: Are you drowning in a sea of SaaS apps, constantly switching screens, and struggling to keep everything updated? You’re not alone, the average number of SaaS solutions used by companies is 112. But what if you could bring all those tools – and the power of AI- into one central hub? Enter the Slack Marketplace.

The Slack Marketplace is where partners and developers are sharing solutions, they’ve built that bring all these apps into the flow of work, where employees are already spending their time, in Slack. And these aren’t just typical apps – Slack’s innovative partners are building AI-powered apps that bring the productivity of generative AI into users’ work streams. These AI apps can help users surface information, provide recommendations, generate helpful summaries, and more, all in the same conversational interface you are already using to get work done.

Slack’s partners and developers understand how important it is to bring people, apps, and data into one work operating system, giving each employee their own command center and time back in their day. That’s why there are 25 new AI apps on the Slack Marketplace that put AI to work for use cases from drafting content, surfacing market research, managing sales, running DevOps, IT, HR, and beyond. Every one of these AI apps makes Slack more useful, drives adoption, streamlines the flow of work, and inspires a new use case.

Here is the current lineup of AI apps available now or coming soon in the Slack Marketplace:

 Apps for productivity

• Asana: Surfaces project insights and recommendations, such as status, blockers, next steps, and more, within the context of Slack conversations.
• Clockwise: Optimizes work calendars with the ability to quickly schedule and reschedule meetings within Slack conversations and create easy-to-book scheduling links.
• Graph: Empowers engineering teams with instant, context-rich answers based on GitHub, Jira and Linear data, all without leaving Slack.
• UiPath: Enhances productivity through a combination of automation and enterprise-grade tools.

 Apps for content generation and analysis

• Adobe Express: Enables employees to design, collaborate on and speed up visual content creation right in their workflow.
• Amazon Q Business: Answers questions, provides summaries, generates content, and securely completes tasks based on data and information in the customer’s enterprise systems.
• Box: Provides AI-powered content insights that help analyze uploaded account contracts, quickly answer competitive questions from internal documents, and summarize reports.
• Cohere: Streamlines content creation by accessing information from company data sources during search, summarization and content generation, while keeping data secure and isolated from their AI models.
• Glean: Surfaces relevant internal knowledge with ease, giving instant access to company information, answers to common business questions, and insights.
• Perplexity: Expands knowledge with an AI answer engine that searches the web, providing cite-able strategic insights, prospect research and summaries of public customer opinions.
• Writer: Provides easy access to custom AI apps, analyzes company data and generates on-brand content to boost team collaboration, streamline work and drive informed decisions.

 Apps for sales, service, or marketing

• Dovetail: Brings teams closer to customers by accessing deeper customer knowledge and insights to help teams make more customer-centric product decisions.
• Gainsight: Boosts customer retention with immediate, data-driven answers to customer-related questions, generated content like emails, and customer success best practices and guidance.
• Highspot: Increases sales team efficiency and success with conversational search and by surfacing high-impact sales content right in the flow of work.
• Jasper: Scale end-to-end marketing workflows and keep every output on-brand with easy access to 100+ marketing apps right in the flow of work.
• Productboard: Empowers product teams with AI-powered customer feedback analysis directly in Slack. Product managers can instantly analyze voice of customer data, co-author insight documents, and identify key customer needs without leaving their workflow.

 Apps for HR and IT

• BambooHR: Simplifies HR processes and enables employees to instantly self-serve needs like HR information access, PTO requests and checking who’s out of the office.
• Copado: Automates and streamlines DevOps processes, including simplifying sprint planning, automating test workflows and improving deployment efficiency.
• Moveworks: Automates employee support with instant resolution of IT, HR and facilities-related service requests.
• PagerDuty: Streamlines and enhances incident management workflows directly within Slack, delivering real-time insights, automated responses and intelligent recommendations.
• Ravenna: Streamlines IT operations with automated help desk ticket creation, instant answers and auto-generated knowledge base articles, all directly within Slack.
• Rootly: Manages incident response with an SRE copilot that examines critical incident data to summarize conversations, automate root cause analysis and draft stakeholder updates.
• Wiz: Enhances security with real-time threat intelligence, automated incident response, proactive vulnerability insights and automated remediation recommendations.

 Discover trusted AI apps in the Slack Marketplace

The most important part of any AI solution is security, making your data and systems stay in your control. Not only are these AI apps innovative and powerful, they are trusted. As with any AI solution in Slack, every one of these AI apps is held to meet Slack’s high security standards. With 25 AI apps already available and 10-plus on the way in the next few months, the Slack ecosystem is rapidly building AI apps that fuel a powerful experience in Slack, empowering people to get work done in one conversational interface. Explore the Slack Marketplace today to find AI apps that boost your productivity.

 Salesforce Comments:

Rahul Sharma, Vice President – Sales, Salesforce India, shared “With new AI apps now available in the Slack Marketplace, we’re seeing a powerful shift in how work gets done – right within the conversational interface employees already use daily. According to Slack’s Workforce Lab, desk workers globally spend 41% of their time on repetitive, low-value tasks. That’s a significant drain on innovation and output. But now, with more AI-powered apps and Agentforce in Slack, we’re entering a whole new era of workplace transformation, unlocking agentic productivity for every employee. It enables organizations to turn on a dedicated, always-on digital labor force in Slack, seamlessly integrating them into conversations as a natural part of your team’s flow of work. AI agents in Slack have the potential to transform employee productivity at a scale rarely observed in history.”

FY 2023-24 was a year of unprecedented efficiencies for Arya.ag, leading to a significant profit in growth. Despite challenges posed by policychanges and weather-related hurdles, our company thrived. Our unique model is designed to naturally contain business risks, deliver strong financial performance, and create value for all stakeholders within the agricultural ecosystem.

Profitability Surge:

Profit before tax surged 36% year-on-year, reaching ₹17 crores. This translates to a net margin of 4.7%, factoring in all expenses, including interest,taxes, and depreciation, providing a comprehensive view of our financial performance.

Financial Indicators:

We have expanded our share of customer spending by increasing our take rate by 10% in the last year. Our improving financial metrics reveal asuccessful strategy that has boosted marketpenetration.

Capital Efficiency:

We significantly increased our capital efficiency, with successful capital-efficient models like colending and business correspondent associations contributing to a five-fold increase over the last year.

Revenue Growth:

The company closed the year with gross revenue of ₹4150 crores, a 106% growth over the previous financial year. This translated into net revenue of ₹360 crores, a 20% growth in net revenue* over the last year.

Business Highlights

We aim to address two critical questions for the Indian farmer:

• When to sell
• Whom to sell to

To solve this, we integrate warehouse discovery, farmgate-level storage, financing, and market linkages to create a comprehensive digital platform accessible across the value chain, from smallholder farmers to large corporates.

Our integrated agChain and asset-light model have been the backbone of our success.

During this year, ₹22,796 crores worth of commodities came onto the platform, and total disbursements of ₹12,895 crores were made with almost nil NPAs. And a total commerce of ₹4,523 crores was facilitated on the platform.

Future Outlook: Nurturing Innovation and Inclusion

At Arya.ag, we remain dedicated to strengthening our margins and profitability while significantly contributing to customer value. We will deepen our presence across geographies, especially strengthening our impact in vulnerable geographies for climate resilience and adaptation. In the coming financial year, we will strengthen the linkage of farmers and markets using technology, further our satellite monitoring capabilities, and empower farmers to make informed decisions. Given the climate-induced stress in agriculture, we will work with farmers, FPOs and ‘climatechampions’ to build trust, optimise resource allocation, and minimise adverse environmental impacts.

Conclusion: Reaping the Rewards of a Truly Indian Platform

We will continue to work on our blockchain offerings, AI, and deep tech vision to achieve unprecedented visibility, transparency, and assurance across the agrivalue chain. We are incredibly proud of our achievements in FY 2023-24, positioning Arya.ag as a profitable agritech leader. Our success reflects the hard work, dedication, and resilience of our talented team, who have consistently delivered exceptional results amidst fierce competition and unprecedented challenges.

Delhi, May 08, 2025: In a heart-warming encounter, 12-year-old Thalassemia survivor Pratham, from Bikaner, met the man who gave him a second chance at life, his stem cell donor, 35-year-old Rohit from Kanpur for the first time.

The donor, a pharmaceutical management consultant, was inspired to register with DKMS Foundation India, a non-profit organisation dedicated to the fight against blood cancer and other blood disorders, after watching the Bollywood film “The Sky is Pink,” which depicts the struggles of a family with a child with a life-threatening illness.

Thalassemia is an inherited blood disorder that causes the body to have less haemoglobin than normal. This can lead to anaemia, fatigue, and other serious health problems. A stem cell transplant can offer a potential cure for thalassemia patients, replacing their damaged blood-forming cells with healthy ones from a donor.

“Thalassemia continues to place an immense physical and emotional burden on children and their families, especially in India, where the incidence remains among the highest globally. While blood transfusions are a temporary solution, stem cell transplantation offers the only curative path forward. For many patients without a matching sibling, a matched unrelated donor (MUD) transplant becomes their only lifeline. The challenge, however, lies in finding that one-in-a-million match,” explained Dr.  Esha Kaul, Director – Hematology, Hemato-Oncology, BMT, from Max Super Specialty Hospital, Vaishali.

Diagnosed at just 6 months of age, Pratham spent much of his early life undergoing frequent and distressing blood transfusions. For nearly seven years, his family searched tirelessly for a matching stem cell donor, never giving up hope.

“When Pratham first came to us, he was very young and playful. We gave him all the support and treatment, but a stem cell transplant was his only curative option. Luckily, he found a matched unrelated donor, and we could proceed with the stem cell transplant. His story is a powerful reminder that thalassemia can be effectively managed with early diagnosis and the proper medical interventions,” shared his treating expert, Dr. Vikram Mathews, Director, CMC; Professor of Haematology, Department of Haematology Christian Medical College Vellore.

 That hope turned into reality when, on his mother’s birthday, the family received a call, informing them that a perfect match had been found through DKMS Foundation India.

That match was 35-year-old Rohit, who had registered as a donor during the COVID-19 pandemic after being inspired by a film which mentions information about DKMS in its credits. He registered online and ordered a home swab kit , and eight months later, was identified as the life-saving match for Pratham.

The meeting between Pratham and Rohit was an emotional and joyous occasion, filled with tears of gratitude and heartfelt appreciation. Pratham and their family expressed their profound thanks to Rohit for giving them a second chance at life.

“Seeing Pratham smile in person was overwhelming,” said Rohit, who met Pratham in Delhi, for the first time. “I feel proud to have helped in this small but meaningful way.”

“Thanks to Rohit’s kindness, I no longer need blood transfusions or painful needle pricks. I feel strong and happy,” said Pratham, who now attends school regularly, participates in extracurricular activities, and pursues his love for cricket.

Rohit’s stem cell donation, starting with a simple cheek swab, cured Pratham’s thalassemia, and their emotional reunion celebrated this life-changing gift of hope and selflessness.

India sees over 10,000 children born with thalassemia each year. Regular transfusions are the norm for many, but a blood stem cell transplant remains the only curative option. However, the availability of matching donors, especially from Indian ethnic backgrounds, is critically low. Pratham’s journey serves as a beacon of hope for thalassemia patients and their families and highlights the impact of the DKMS- Thalassemia program. “DKMS Foundation India’s Access to Transplantation (ATT) Program is working to bridge the gap in affordability and accessibility that too often stands between patients and curative treatment. From offering free HLA typing for thalassemia patients to providing financial support through our Patient Funding Program, we’re addressing key barriers families face in their transplant journey,” said Patrick Paul, Chairman, DKMS India.

New Delhi, May 07, 2025 – Nuvoco Vistas Corp Ltd., India’s fifth-largest cement group by capacity, concluded the grand finale of Nuvoco Duraguard Cement presents ‘Sabse Khaas Pehelwaan’ on May 2, 2025, at the Talkatora Indoor Stadium, New Delhi.

This prestigious wrestling championship was designed to discover and celebrate emerging talent across Haryana. It reflects Nuvoco Duraguard Cement’s unwavering commitment to strength, resilience, and excellence—values that align seamlessly with both Nuvoco’s premium products and the timeless sport of wrestling, an integral part of Haryana’s cultural identity.

The campaign witnessed participation from over 1500+ aspiring wrestlers across all 22 districts of Haryana. From the local akhadas to the grand mat of the finale, the journey saw intense district-level qualifiers, with top contenders advancing to the final rounds held in New Delhi. The championship featured freestyle wrestling across various weight categories for both men and women, offering a professional platform to showcase talent and determination.

The event crowned Aakash Kumar from Jhajjar as the Sabse Khaas Pehelwaan in the 61 kg men’s weight category, along with winners in other categories — Jaideep from Sonipat (74 kg, men) and Anirudh from Sonipat (125 kg, men). Among the women, winners included Parveen from Hisar (53 kg), Neha from Charkhi Dadri (62 kg), and Priya from Jind (76 kg). The first prize carried ₹1,00,000, followed by ₹50,000 for the second place and ₹25,000 each for joint third-place winners. The champions will also have the opportunity to feature as brand ambassadors in micro-markets, further reinforcing the local connect.

Chirag Shah, Head of Marketing, Innovation and Sales Excellence at Nuvoco Vistas Corp. Ltd. stated, ” The grand finale of ‘Sabse Khaas Pehelwaan’ marked the culmination of a campaign that beautifully brought together culture, community, and brand purpose. Over the past 45 days, we’ve witnessed incredible talent, unwavering passion, and overwhelming enthusiasm from both participants and spectators. Just as these athletes represent the best of Haryana, Nuvoco Duraguard represents the best in construction performance. This campaign has helped us deepen brand affinity across one of our most strategic markets and strengthened our position as a trusted company that stands by local pride, culture, and progress.”

Manish Kumar, Head of North Sales at Nuvoco Vistas Corp. Ltd., stated, “Haryana is a key growth market for Nuvoco, and ‘Sabse Khaas Pehelwaan’ has been a highly engaging and strategic campaign that has enabled us to build more authentic connections with communities on the ground. By showcasing local talent and cultural pride, we’ve not only strengthened brand visibility but also earned trust. This initiative has unlocked new avenues for customer engagement, paving the way for stronger relationships and long-term business growth in the region.”

The 45-day campaign spanned the entire state, generating enthusiasm through local events, community participation, and digital outreach. Finalists selected from district-level competitions competed in an exciting grand finale, which was also streamed online.

New Delhi, 7th May 2025 – Lifechart, a fast-scaling health-tech startup focused on gut wellness, has raised $360,000 in an extended seed round for its premium gut health brand Guttify, led by Prajay Advisors, the family office of the founders of Unichem Labs, Dr. Prakash Mody and Jayendra Shah.

Launched just a month ago, Guttify has quickly gained investor confidence with its diagnosis-first approach—a first-of-its-kind model in India’s growing $18 billion gut wellness market. Unlike most D2C wellness brands offering generic solutions, Guttify combines clinically validated products, instant DIY diagnostic kits, and personalized Ayurveda-based regimens.

This $360K raise follows a $500K seed round in October 2024, backed by Expert Dojo, Agility Ventures, Sunn91 Ventures, government seed schemes, and super angels like Nitish Mittersain and Ahana Gautam—bringing Lifechart’s total funding to over $1 million in record time.

Speaking on this, Mr. Mukul Shah, Founder & CEO of Lifechart, said, “We are solving gut health at its root through affordable at-home testing and personalized care. Guttify is not just a product brand, it’s a wellness ecosystem built on diagnosis-first science.”

Guttify’s first offering, a DIY saliva-based pH test kit to detect acidity, is already available on the official website of Guttify, with more kits priced as low as INR 99 set to launch in the coming months.

The latest round adds to the company’s momentum, with earlier backing from Expert Dojo (US VC), Agility Ventures, Sunn91 Ventures, and angel investors such as Nitish Mittersain (Nazara Technologies) and Ahana Gautam (Open Secret). The funds will be used to expand diagnostic R&D, grow distribution, and scale both Guttify and Lifechart’s product portfolio.

In a joint statement, Dr. Prakash Mody and Jayendra Shah said, “We see Guttify filling a glaring gap in India’s gut health space—diagnosis. We’re excited to support Mukul again in his mission to build the Indian version of Viome, tailored for Bharat’s needs. His execution ability, proven with Yolo Bus, gives us strong confidence in Guttify’s future.”

With Guttify, Lifechart is positioning itself as a category creator, aiming to bring precision diagnostics and targeted gut wellness to India’s urban masses—starting with Tier 1 and Tier 2 cities.

Bhubaneswar : Everyone cherishes recognition—it creates lasting memories and fosters motivation. A beautifully crafted award or memento brings immense joy and pride. Keeping this sentiment at heart, Odisha’s leading awards manufacturer, Gitanjali Awards Private Limited, has expanded its presence with the launch of a brand-new exclusive showroom at Saheed Nagar, Bhubaneswar. Recently Mr Suryabanshi Suraj Hon’ble Minister Higher Education, Sports and Youth Services had graced the soft launching of the new showroom.

The new store is strategically located in one of the city’s most prominent areas and spans over 1500 sq. ft. It offers a wide array of exquisitely designed trophies, awards, and mementos, tailored to meet the unique requirements of customers from various sectors, including corporates, educational institutions, and social organizations. Each section of the showroom is thoughtfully curated to enhance the customer experience, allowing them to select pieces that truly reflect their values, vision, and purpose.

In addition to its physical presence, Gitanjali Awards also operates an online platform, enabling customers to conveniently browse and place orders at any time. This omni-channel approach ensures round-the-clock accessibility and a seamless shopping experience.

Speaking at the launch, Krishna Mohan Tata, Founder of Gitanjali Awards, said, “We are delighted to open our flagship showroom at Saheed Nagar, making it easier for our customers to access our exclusive range of trophies and mementos. We are continuously upgrading our workshop to stay aligned with technological advancements. Gitanjali Awards created the prestigious NIRF Trophy in collaboration with IIT Hyderabad, and worked with NIFT to design unique 3D trophies. We remain fully committed to fulfilling all recognition needs with specially curated designs.”

Expressing excitement over new beginnings Mr Budha Prakash Mohapatra, Co-founder Gitanjali Awards said that, “We have registered our trademark and are working on patenting some of our exclusive designs. Timely delivery and high-quality standards are our top priorities. We’re also expanding into handicrafts and eco-friendly gifting solutions, in line with our commitment to sustainability and innovation.”

Gitanjali Awards started with a humble beginning and has now become a trusted name in the recognition products industry. Mr. Tata and his friend Budha Prakash Mohapatra stepped into this field while still working in corporate jobs. The start was challenging, but with dedication, they moved forward without looking back. Today, the company designs, makes, and sells a wide range of recognition products in acrylic, wood, and metal. It handles everything from the initial idea to final delivery.