Archives July 2025

Bengaluru, 24th July 2025: India’s emergence as the world’s leading destination for Global Capability Centres (GCCs) has been further cemented with the unveiling of the ‘GCC Workplace Playbook 2025’—the country’s most comprehensive strategy manual for establishing, scaling, and transforming GCCs. The Playbook, published at GCC Workplace Awards 2025 held on July 11th, is a result of a landmark partnership with seven of the ecosystem’s most respected organisations: CBRE, BDO in India, TLH Advocates & Solicitors, Karnataka Digital Economy Mission (KDEM), Adrenalin.hr, Zyoin Group, NHRD, and IIM Bangalore.

This pioneering Playbook provides global enterprises with essential frameworks and in-depth guidance across legal, financial, real estate, talent, HR, and innovation domains to help them succeed in India’s dynamic business environment. Now more than ever, as GCCs evolve from cost-saving units to transformation and innovation hubs, the need for a structured, collaborative, and insight-rich approach has never been greater. This Playbook brings that clarity.

Viva, India’s leading Aluminum Composite Panel (ACP) manufacturer, proudly announces the launch of its state-of-the-art A2 Fire Retardant Core production facility, a first-of-its-kind in India. With this initiative, Viva sets a new benchmark in fire safety, innovation, and international standard compliance in the ACP industry.

The A2 core represents the highest grade of fire safety in ACPs, comprising 90% mineral content and 10% virgin polyethylene, delivering very limited combustibility, minimal smoke emission (s1), and zero flaming droplets (d0) — as certified under EN 13501-1 (Class A2-s1, d0), the stringent European fire classification. Viva’s A2 panels are also tested and certified by ASTM E84 and NFPA 285 (USA), adding global credibility to their fire-resistance properties.

“Safety, quality, and sustainability are the pillars on which Viva stands. By launching India’s first A2 core facility, we’re not just meeting global safety standards — we’re leading the industry toward a safer and smarter future,” said Mr. Prakash Jain, CMD, Viva Metal Composite Panel.

 Why A2 Core Matters

Traditional PE Core panels, being 100% polyethylene, are highly flammable and pose significant fire hazards in critical infrastructure. A2 core ACPs, by contrast, are engineered for high-rise buildings, airports, hospitals, commercial complexes, and other public-use structures where fire safety is paramount.

Viva’s A2 ACPs not only offer unparalleled safety but also maintain the brand’s hallmark in aesthetics, durability, and customization options.

Trailblazing Global Standards

With the successful commissioning of this A2 core facility, Viva now joins a select league of global ACP manufacturers equipped to deliver non-combustible panels for international markets. The company’s ongoing investment in R&D, certifications, and advanced manufacturing reflects its commitment to global safety and quality excellence.

Mumbai – India, July 24, 2025: Modis Navnirman Limited , one of the fastest growing and promising real estate players in the redevelopment space in Mumbai is pleased to announce that it has successfully submitted its application for migration from the BSE SME platform to the BSE Main Board, and simultaneously for listing on the NSE Main Board.

The Company has completed the necessary documentation and compliance requirements and filed the application with both BSE and NSE. This strategic move reflects Modis Navnirman’s ambition to enhance its presence in the capital markets, unlock greater value for shareholders, and access a broader investor base.

Management Comment:

 Commenting on this development, Mr. Mahek Modi, Whole Time Director and Chief Financial Officer, Modis Navnirman Limited, said:

“The submission of our application to migrate to the main boards of BSE and NSE is a significant milestone in our journey of growth and value creation. We believe that the listing on the main board will not only enhance our visibility but also provide increased opportunities to engage with institutional investors and support our long-term strategic initiatives. It is a testament to the Company’s consistent performance, governance, and vision for the future. We thank all our stakeholders for their continued support and belief in our journey.”

July 24, 2025 – Evocus, India’s leading functional beverage brand, has unveiled Hydration IV Electrolytes Drink, a clean-label beverage offering fast-acting hydration solutions for a new generation of Indian consumers. Positioned as a cult-favourite innovation, the launch marks Evocus’ entry into the fast-growing sports hydration segment. With this launch, the brand is targeting 4X  growth in revenue this fiscal year, marking a major milestone in its mission to lead the premium hydration space.

As Indian consumers become increasingly wellness-focused, there is rising demand for functional products that deliver results without compromising on ingredient integrity. Hydration IV  Electrolytes Drink responds to this need with a high quality electrolyte formulation, sodium, potassium and chloride, essential for replenishing what the body loses through sweat, fatigue, or physical exertion.

Free from added sugar, caffeine, preservatives, and artificial colour, the drink offers a clean, non caffeinated, low calorie solution for performance and recovery.

Speaking on the launch, Aakash Vaghela, Founder & MD of Evocus, said, “The Indian consumer is waking up to the importance of hydration beyond thirst-quenching. As the wellness movement accelerates, there’s a massive white space in the market for clean, high-performance hydration solutions. Hydration IV is our bold step in that direction—functional, clean, and convenient. We believe this will be a game changer in how India consumes electrolytes.”

Adding to this Sonam Pama, Head of Marketing said “The launch of Hydration IV Electrolytes Drink reflects our understanding of today’s wellness-focused consumer who seeks functional yet convenient solutions. With its clean formulation and lifestyle-forward appeal, the product is designed to scale, provide instant gratification, and drive deeper penetration in the functional beverage market”

Hydration IV Electrolytes Drink is fast emerging as a cult favourite among the new generation — from professional athletes and fitness enthusiasts to wellness-first individuals navigating fast-paced lives. With early buzz among celebrities and public figures, the drink is already carving its niche as a go-to hydration essential.  With its focus on both taste and functionality, it offers a clean and effective alternative to traditional sports drinks, which are often high in sugar. The launch further builds on the credibility Evocus has established with its flagship black alkaline water and reinforces the brand’s long-term commitment to innovation within the wellness beverage industry..

Mumbai, 24th July 2025 – Bharatsure, one of India’s leading Insurtech companies offering Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) solutions has raised INR 6 Crores from Inflection Point Ventures (IPV) and other investors including Capital A and Atrium Angels.

Bharatsure is pioneering transformation in India’s insurtech landscape, unlocking vast market potential while advancing health security and insurance penetration. As an Infra-as-a-Service (IaaS) Insurtech, Bharatsure empowers ecosystem partners with seamless group and embedded insurance distribution solutions.

Bharatsure has doubled its revenues in FY25 breaking even at CM3 and is gradually progressing toward EBITDA profitability by the end of this year. With a clear growth trajectory, Bharatsure has set ambitious revenue milestones, targeting INR 100 Cr by FY28 and INR 1000 Cr by FY34, reflecting its bold vision and long-term scalability in the market.

Anuj Parekh and Sanil Basutkar are the co-founders of Bharatsure. Anuj, a CA and IIM-Bangalore alumnus, brings deep expertise in finance and scaling ventures, while Sanil, a CA and an ISB alumnus, employs his fintech background to drive product innovation and distribution.

Coinciding with the fundraise, Bharatsure announced a new partnership with Battery Smart, India’s largest battery-swapping network for electric two- and three-wheelers, to launch natural calamity insurance exclusively for its station partners. The initiative offers protection against events such as fires, floods, earthquakes, and storms alongside personal accident coverages to safeguard individual livelihoods.

Mitesh Shah, Co-founder, IPV says, “As India moves towards a greener and sustainable future with the widespread adoption of EVs, and the infrastructure that supports it, it is time that we adapt our insurance frameworks to suit the changing needs. Bharatsure’s futuristic mindset and farsight offers financial protection and peace of mind in the face of unexpected events. In a world that doesn’t always go according to plan, insurance doesn’t just offer protection, it also carries the burden of social responsibility.”

Anuj Parekh, Co-Founder & CEO of Bharatsure, added: “These station partners play a frontline role in advancing sustainable mobility, and we’re proud to design coverage that genuinely addresses their needs. The funding allows us to further develop our infrastructure too ” 

With over 1,500 stations and 70,000+ drivers across 50+ cities, Battery Smart’s station partners form the backbone of India’s growing EV infrastructure. This insurance plan ensures partners are equipped with financial protection to overcome unforeseen disruptions while continuing to power the country’s EV transition.

“Our station partners are at the heart of our operations,” said Ms. Sumi Jain, AVP – Network Strategy and Operations, Battery Smart. “This insurance partnership is not just about protecting assets, it’s about empowering the individuals who are driving India’s EV revolution. Together with Bharatsure, we are fortifying the backbone of our network.” 

As EV adoption picks up pace in India particularly across two- and three-wheelers, battery swapping stations are emerging as a critical part of the ecosystem. To strengthen safety for its partners, this insurance initiative complements Battery Smart’s existing safety framework, which includes a 24×7 support helpline, in-app issue reporting, mandatory onboarding training and ongoing awareness campaigns.

Prime Video hosted a special screening of its upcoming comedy-drama Rangeen, drawing a full house of industry favourites. The evening offered an early look at the series’ quirky yet stirring narrative, anchored by stellar casts including Viineet Kumar Siingh, Rajshri Deshpande, Taaruk Raina and Smita Bansal. Also in attendance were producers Kabir Khan and Rajan Kapoor, creators and writers Amardeep Galsin and Amir Rizvi, and director Pranjal Dua. Earning enthusiastic praise from an audience packed with industry insiders, the cast and crew were joined by close friends from the fraternity—including Dino Morea, Sunny Kaushal, Mini Mathur, Shashank Arora, Amit Sadh, Faisal Malik, Munawar Faruqui, Sharib Hashmi, Prajakta Koli, Sahil Sangha, Sayani Gupta, Renee Sen, Vivaan Shah, Aahana Kumra, Yashaswini R Dayama, Aakash Khurana, Abhinav Sharma, Bijoy Nambiar among others.

Directed by Pranjal Dua and Kopal Naithani, Rangeen is produced by Kabir Khan and Rajan Kapoor, and written by Amir Rizvi and Amardeep Galsin. Brought to life by an incredibly talented ensemble cast featuring Viineet Kumar Siingh, Rajshri Deshpande, Taaruk Raina and Sheeba Chaddha in lead roles, this sharp, insightful, and refreshingly relatable series is set to premiere on July 25, exclusively on Prime Video.

 Semicon startup Netrasemi raises Rs 107 Crore in Series A round from Zoho Corporation & Unicorn India Ventures to build advanced Edge-AI SoCs

Mumbai/Chennai/Thiruvanthapuram, 24^th July 2025, Kerala-based Semiconductor startup Netrasemi has raised Rs 107 crore in Series A round from Zoho Corporations Ltd & Unicorn India Ventures. Funds raised will be used for accelerating research and development initiatives, expand manufacturing capabilities, enhance marketing efforts to capture larger domestic and global market share, bring four system-on-chip variants with advanced AI and video analytics features into production and address compute platform requirements of original equipment manufactures (OEMs) for surveillance, industrial robotics, and smart infrastructure products.

The company has successfully completed development of two SoC products currently in the tapeout stage targeting TSMC’s 12nm technology node.

Founded in 2020 by Jyothis Indirabhai, Sreejith Varma and Deepa Geetha, Netrasemi is an Indian Edge AI semiconductor technology company building system-on-chips (SOC) to enable the new-age need for optimal computing for smart IoT products. The company is focused on developing system-on-chips (SoCs) that enable optimal computing for smart IoT products, particularly for addressing complex workloads like video processing. The company’s chips are designed to perform advanced AI-based analytics directly on devices, eliminating the need to send data to servers or the cloud. This capability is powered by Netrasemi’s energy-efficient deep-neural AI acceleration core (NPU) and comprehensive portfolio of in-house silicon intellectual properties.

In the last 12 months, the company has completed development of two Edge-AI chips with advanced video capabilities, initiated development of CCTV AI camera chip for Indian market, established partner agreements for evaluation boards and platform development, signed multiple MOUs with global partners for sample release and product R&D and secured interest and requirements from multiple OEMs for platform development using Netrasemi SoCs.

“Supporting the growth of a strong deep-tech ecosystem in India is a key focus for Zoho, and our investment in Netrasemi reflects that ongoing effort. Developing advanced technological capabilities and expertise within the country can drive long-term progress in critical sectors, ultimately contributing to economic resilience and self-reliance. Our interests with Netrasemi also align on the R&D front especially in areas such as Robotics,  AI and Edge processing. Through this investment, we are supporting the development of indigenous IP and innovation, paving the way for globally competitive products to be built in India,” says Shailesh Davey, Co-founder and CEO, Zoho Corporation. Zoho Corporation has been promoting rural development with R&D, by creating opportunities for youth to work in technology sector in villages and Tier 2/3 towns, nurturing and developing the local talent. As part of that effort, it recently opened an R&D centre in Kottarakara, Kerala. The company will be collaborating on R&D projects with Netrasemi at this campus.

Commenting on the investment, Anil Joshi, Managing Partner, Unicorn India Ventures says, “The global edge AI market is evolving at a rapid rate with profound transformations and driving demand for specialized energy efficient semiconductor solutions capable of running AI workloads in real time. We believe Netrasemi has opened up new markets and will be leading the next wave of innovation in the semiconductor industry. The company has witnessed remarkable progress with its smart computing and domain specific AI chips and has been growing significantly. The funding will help the company build advanced Edge AI SoC and also scale its services globally.”

Netrasemi plans to double the current workforce from 83 to 166 chip engineering professionals, target diverse applications across surveillance, industrial robotics, smart home devices, smart city infrastructure and retail sectors. Additionally, the company also plans to increase customer and partner engagement activities along with a focus on next generation chips with superior performance and features. Netrasemi is currently in R&D and prototyping stage of their upcoming launches which is expected in early 2026.

Jyothis Indirabhai, Co-founder & CEO, Netrasemi, says, “In the new age of AI-based automation and next-generation smart devices, domain-specific optimization is no longer a nice-to-have feature—it’s a necessity. Netrasemi’s efficient Domain Specific Architecture (DSA) and optimal intellectual property silicon cores enable both performance and energy efficiency needed for real-time on-device, on-premise computing at the edge. Our chips are designed based on various end-customer application requirements and are both power-efficient and cost-effective. Netrasemi chips enable solution players to develop advanced ML and vision application use cases faster and with ease. We not only make advanced System-on-Chips, but own the IP cores that go inside to make them achieve edge-efficient computing.”

Being backed by Zoho, it will help us leverage their rich market knowledge and would help us enter new industry segments through strong R&D collaboration and joint vision. We highly value Unicorn India Ventures reinvestment and their confidence in our progress and growth potential. The aspiration for a semiconductor-based product economy in India and continuous support from institutions like Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) serves as a true catalyst for Netrasemi’s progress in building future-ready Indian semiconductor chips for the world. We are also thankful for the infrastructure and other support received from institutions like TrEST research park, IIM-K, KSUM, he adds.

In the next 12-18 months Netrasemi aims to complete full mask production of all three SoC families and initiate R&D for next-generation ultra-high performance SoC potentially addressing edge-servers and smart NVR compute requirements.

• 118 new startups were added in 2023
• 143 new startups came up in 2024
• 105 startups have already been derecognized just the first half of 2025

Mumbai, July 24, 2025: Syngene International Limited today announced results for the first quarter of FY26.

Quarterly Financial Highlights (All numbers are in Indian Rupees in Cr except margins)

*Excludes exceptional item of Rs. 21 crores (net of tax) in Q1 FY25 relating to final settlement from an insurance claim.

 Commenting on the results, Peter Bains, Managing Director and CEO, Syngene International Limited, said, “We are pleased with the growth performance in the first quarter, which is aligned with our expectations. Continued conversion of pilot programs into longer-term contracts within our Research Services business was the main driver underpinning this momentum. In our Biologics manufacturing division, we have seen good progress with the start of operations at the Unit III facility in Bengaluru and in advancing preparations to commence operations at our Bayview facility in the U.S later this year. We continued to strengthen and expand our scientific platform capabilities, bringing online a state-of-the-art, dedicated peptide laboratory. While we remain mindful of ongoing macroeconomic factors, we maintain a confident outlook.”

Deepak Jain, Chief Financial Officer, Syngene International Limited, said, “We are pleased with the growth in revenue from operations of 11% year-on-year. Operating EBITDA margins came at around 24%, driven by both revenue growth and a focus on cost optimization. The current quarter’s PAT includes a tax benefit arising from transfer of gratuity funds to Employee Gratuity Trust. We continue to maintain a robust balance sheet enabling us to invest in technology and capabilities to strengthen our customer offerings. While keeping a close watch on market trends, we remain on course to deliver in line with our stated guidance for the year.”

 Key Business Highlights:

• Syngene successfully completed a USFDA Good Clinical Practices (GCP) inspection of its Human Pharmacology Unit with no observations. The Company’s Biologics facility at Biocon Park received an Establishment Inspection Report (EIR) with a favourable Voluntary Action Indicated (VAI) outcome. Additionally, the Company concluded over 20 client and regulatory audits in Q1 FY26, reinforcing its commitment to global quality and integrity standards.
•  Syngene inaugurated its new, state-of-the-art, dedicated peptide laboratory. Peptides are a fast- growing interventional modality that also complement Syngene’s existing capabilities in monoclonal antibodies, Antibody-Drug Conjugates, Oligonucleotides and PROTACs (proteolysis targeting chimeras).
• Syngene was recognised by TIME magazine and Statista as one of the World’s Most Sustainable Companies in 2025. Syngene ranked #1 in India among companies in the pharma and biotech sectors and was ranked in the top 20 lifescience companies globally. Chosen from a pool of over 5,700 global organisations, this recognition underscores the Company’s steadfast commitment to environmental care and social responsibility.

New Delhi, July 23, 2025

In a momentous event held at the Siri Fort Auditorium, New Delhi, on July 23, 2025, Dr. BRC Clinic@Home – India’s extensive network of over 500 clinics – joined forces with the India Book of Records and the Vietnam Book of Records to commemorate the birth anniversaries of national icons Chandra Shekhar Azad and Bal Gangadhar Tilak. The program served as a tribute to visionary ideals and progressive health innovation, bringing together thought leaders from India and Vietnam.

The highlight of the occasion was the official release of “Green Gold: The Neem Farmacy,” a groundbreaking book authored by Dr. Biswaroop Roy Chowdhury (Dr. BRC). In his address, Dr. BRC emphasized the immense potential of Neem, describing it as “the safest, fastest and the most evidence-based medicine in the world.” The launch was further marked by the convocation of 1,000 graduates from the first batch of the certified Neem Therapy Practitioner’s Course – an unprecedented milestone in integrative medicine education.

The book was formally launched by the chief guest Shri Bhagirath Choudhary, Minister of State in the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Government of India. His presence lent official recognition and encouragement to the holistic health movement, and he inspired the audience with a message that celebrated resilience, sustainable innovation, and the intersection of traditional knowledge with modern wellness.

The event was honoured by the presence of distinguished international guests, including Prof. Chu Bảo Quế, Chairman of the Policy and Development Consultative Council of the Vietnam Federation of UNESCO Associations (VFUA); Mr. Trương Quang Hải, Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Bac Ninh Province, Vietnam; and Dr. Nguyen Hoang Anh (Julia), Vice-Chairwoman of the Vietnam Records Organization and General Secretary of WorldKings – each of whom helped foster cross-border support for cultural and therapeutic advancements.

Mrs. Neerja Roy Chowdhury, Managing Editor of the India Book of Records , attended the event and conferred the prestigious Heritage Heroes Award upon Mr. Trương Quang Hải for his exemplary efforts in preserving cultural heritage and inspiring communities in Bac Giang Province, Vietnam.

The launch of “Green Gold: The Neem Farmacy” stands as a beacon of alternative medicine, scientific rigor, and global collaboration, reinforcing Neem’s relevance in contemporary healthcare and community transformation.