Archives April 2026

New Delhi, Apr 27 (BNP): Crystal Crop Protection Limited, a research-led agri-input company, has appointed actor Akshay Kumar as its brand ambassador. The company made the announcement on Sunday, highlighting its focus on strengthening engagement with India’s farming community.

Alongside the announcement, the company also launched its new national campaign titled “Desh Ka Kisan, Desh Ka Asli Hero”, aimed at recognising the contribution and resilience of Indian farmers.

The campaign seeks to highlight the role of farmers in nation-building while promoting awareness about modern agricultural solutions and improved farming practices.

Company representatives said the collaboration aligns with Crystal Crop Protection’s long-standing commitment of over three decades to supporting Indian agriculture and enhancing farm productivity.

The partnership is expected to further strengthen the company’s outreach among farmers and encourage the adoption of advanced agri-input solutions.

Jakarta/Bandung, Apr 27 (BNP): The India ITME Society has successfully concluded its first-ever Textile Engineering Industry Business Delegation to Indonesia, aimed at strengthening trade ties and fostering collaboration between Indian textile machinery manufacturers and the Indonesian textile industry.

The initiative was designed to create a structured platform for dialogue and partnership opportunities between stakeholders from both countries, focusing on technology exchange, trade expansion, and long-term industrial cooperation.

The delegation included representatives from key textile machinery segments such as spinning, weaving, processing, dyestuff and chemicals, as well as handling and packaging. In total, 18 companies and 23 delegates participated in the four-day visit, held from April 12 to 16, 2026.

During the visit, the team explored major industrial hubs in Bandung and Jakarta. The engagements focused on identifying business opportunities, understanding market requirements, and building stronger industry connections in Indonesia’s growing textile sector.

The initiative also provided a platform for interaction with industry leaders and stakeholders, paving the way for future collaborations between the two countries in textile engineering and manufacturing.

New Delhi/Jalandhar,Apr 27 (BNP): In a significant political and security development, the Punjab government has withdrawn the Y-category security cover provided to Rajya Sabha MP Harbhajan Singh. Punjab Police personnel stationed at his residence in Chhotti Baradari locality of Jalandhar were recalled with immediate effect, officials said.

Soon after the state government’s decision, the Centre stepped in and arranged security cover for the former cricketer through the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF). CRPF personnel have now been deployed outside his residence.

Sources said the Punjab government withdrew the police security cover on Saturday. No official reason for the move has yet been announced.

Harbhajan Singh is among the seven Rajya Sabha MPs who recently switched to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), along with Raghav Chadha, in a development that has drawn considerable political attention.

The latest change in security arrangements is expected to further intensify political reactions in Punjab and beyond.

Mumbai, Apr 27: G-GIVEsuccessfully hosted the Gahoi Entrepreneurs Meet Mumbai 2026 on April 26 at Bharat Ratnam Mega CFC, bringing together over 200 entrepreneurs, professionals, investors, and industry leaders on a unified platform.

Following successful editions in Indore and Bengaluru, the Mumbai meet focused on networking, collaboration, and ecosystem building, reinforcing G-GIVE’s vision of strengthening entrepreneurship through community-led engagement and trusted partnerships.

The initiative is led by founders Abhishek Saraogi and Anmol Gupta, whose vision of building a structured and future-ready entrepreneurial network continues to expand across India.

The event featured an eminent lineup of speakers and panelists, including Niraj Seth Gupta (Maithili Group), Vijay Gupta (ICAI – BC Chapter), Vikas Gupta (Omniscience Capital), Brijesh Gupta (NewEnergie), Atul Chandaiya (Auralis Tech), and Rupal Gupta (Oriana Power), alongside founders and sector leaders across healthcare, infrastructure, finance, IT, SaaS, and manufacturing.

A special highlight was a recorded message from Piyush Goyal, Hon’ble Minister of Commerce and Industry, who emphasized the importance of globally competitive, trust-driven enterprises. He noted that India’s entrepreneurial growth depends on collaboration, mentorship, and collective progress, encouraging founders to think beyond domestic markets.

Another key feature of the event was the SangamNiti Corporate Satsang themed “Are We Future Ready?”, featuring an engaging dialogue between Pradeep Gupta and Sangam Lal. The session explored future readiness through personal clarity, business systems, and ecosystem alignment, offering actionable insights on resilience and long-term value creation.

The meet also included curated startup presentations, where emerging ventures showcased their business models to investors and mentors. These sessions enabled real-time feedback, strategic networking, and potential investment opportunities, further strengthening G-GIVE’s commitment to capital access and business acceleration.

Key discussions at the event focused on:

• Future readiness of entrepreneurs and businesses
• Access to capital and investment strategies
• Scaling MSMEs into structured enterprises
• Role of ecosystems in growth and crisis management

The event also witnessed strong participation from women entrepreneurs, highlighting the growing importance of inclusive leadership. Platforms like G-GIVE continue to support women-led ventures by enabling access to networks, opportunities, and growth ecosystems.

Curated by the Mumbai leadership team with support from the national core team, the event reflected G-GIVE’s belief in decentralized leadership and community ownership.

With participation from founders, policymakers, enterprise leaders, MSMEs, and emerging entrepreneurs, the Mumbai meet marked a significant step toward building a collaborative ecosystem where businesses grow collectively through shared knowledge, trust, and partnerships.

Bhubaneswar, Apr 27 (BNP): Odisha’s Senior Men’s Roll Ball Team has won the bronze medal at the National East Zone Senior Roll Ball Championship 2026 held in Shillong, Meghalaya. The team delivered a strong performance in the two-day tournament featuring several states from eastern and northeastern India.

The championship was held at the Jawaharlal Nehru Sports Complex and included teams from Assam, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Meghalaya, and Nagaland.

Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi congratulated the Odisha team for their achievement and wished the players and coaches continued success in the future. He appreciated their effort and contribution to promoting sports in the state.

The event was organised by the Meghalaya Roll Ball Association under the Roll Ball Federation of India, in collaboration with the Meghalaya Department of Sports & Youth Affairs.

Apr 27: As the IPL fever grips the country, Swiggy, India’s leading on-demand convenience platform, today announced an association with veteran cricketer, Dinesh Karthik, celebrating the inseparable bond between sports fans and their favorite meals. Swiggy also rolled out a humorous digital film starring cricketer Dinesh Karthik, showcasing how “ordering in on Swiggy” is now part of watching every match together.

Cricket in India is more than just a sport, one that defines the rhythm of daily life especially on match days. Recognizing that the only thing Indians love as much as a well-timed six is a well-timed snack, Swiggy’s new campaign highlights how the platform is the “perfect teammate” for every match day.

The digital film is set in an everyday match-watching scenario where a family is enjoying their food on the dining table while watching cricket. The film features Dinesh Kartik in hilariously unexpected scenarios, bringing his intense “match-day energy” to the dinner table. The film shows DK in wicketkeeper position on the dining table, giving “stump mic” style encouragement to family members passing daal and salan. The film captures how deeply food and cricket are intertwined in Indian households. Whether it’s friends gathering for a game or families settling in for a match, the film brings alive the idea that ordering food is no longer an add-on, but a natural extension of the viewing experience.

Talking about the campaign, Mayur Hola, VP- Brand, Swiggy, shared

“Life and cricket co-exist for us. The lines between life and cricket don’t just blur, they disappear, with the game living within us all the time, like it is almost in our blood stream. We breathe cricket, we eat cricket. And that’s exactly what we are communicating in this new film- that Swiggy which delivers your favourite food, and cricket which delivers that high-octane entertainment, live alongside each other. Together, they create a memorable experience of entertainment and indulgence effortlessly that is always there for the fans to enjoy.”

Elaborating on his association with Swiggy, Dinesh Kartik shared

“The experience of watching a match at home is only complete when paired with great food. I am delighted to partner with Swiggy, a brand synonymous with the match-day traditions of millions. It was a pleasure to contribute to this digital film, which perfectly captures the vibrant energy of the game and brings it to life at home. I hope fans nationwide enjoy the film as much as we enjoyed creating it.”

Corcoise Films was the Production House that worked with Swiggy on this film. Vishwesh Krishnamoorthy, Corcoise Films was the Director .

 

 BOSTON: April 27, 2026 – Vodia Networks, Inc., a provider of unified cloud communications solutions to enterprises, contact centers, and service providers, is pleased to announce V70, the newest version of the industry-standard Vodia PBX, now integrates with Jitsi Meet.

Jitsi comprises open-source projects for users who want to build and deploy secure video conferencing solutions, including Jitsi Videobridge and Jitsi Meet. These components enable conferences over the internet, while additional community projects provide features such as audio, dial-in, recording, and simulcasting. Because Jitsi is open-source and based on WebRTC, it gives organizations more flexibility and control over their conferencing environment compared to fully hosted solutions.

 Jitsi Videobridge passes participants’ video and audio streams directly to each participant instead of mixing them first, resulting in better quality and lower latency. For organizations running their own service, this also provides a more scalable and cost-efficient solution. Additional capabilities include:

●      Compatible with WebRTC, the open standard for Web communication

●      Advanced video routing support for simulcast, bandwidth estimations, and scalable video coding

●      Simple installation with Ubuntu and Debian packages

The Vodia PBX integration with Jitsi Meet connects the Vodia phone system with a self-hosted Jitsi Meet server, enabling one-click video conferencing directly from the web portal. It allows businesses and service providers to manage both voice and video communication within a single system, without relying on external conferencing platforms:

●      Conferences are secured with JWT authentication

●      Moderators receive a signed token while guests join with a shared link

●      Room names are generated automatically using the extension number

●      A random hash prevents unauthorized access

Documentation

A detailed configuration guide for the Vodia PBX Jitsi Meet integration is available on the Vodia documentation website.

Delhi, India, Apr 27: Haier Appliances India, the world’s No. 1 global major appliances brand for 17 consecutive years, brings a new expression of power, prestige, precision and premium design to modern living with the launch of Spartan AI Tower Air Conditioner, powered by AI–Atmox. Built for homes that demand presence as much as performance, the Spartan AI Tower air conditioner delivers with powerful, prestigious cooling and high-performance efficiency. With its striking form and thoughtful engineering, it moves beyond utility to become a defining element in the room, designed for those who value clean aesthetics and technology that fits in effortlessly. 

The Spartan AI Tower Air Conditioner showcases Haier’s commitment to next-generation innovation and thoughtful design that truly meets consumer needs. It combines advanced features such as AI Climate Control 2.0, which learns usage patterns to deliver personalized cooling complemented by Dynamic Environmental Adaptation, which optimizes performance in real time and AI Pre Cooling up to a 1 km geofence that anticipates user arrival to cool the room in advance. 

It also makes maintenance effortless with AI ODU Cyclone Clean, which automatically cleans the outdoor unit using powerful reverse-airflow to ensure faster cooling, lower energy use, and year-round reliability. The indoor unit features AI Frost Self-Clean allowing users to deep clean the indoor unit whenever needed, keeping it efficient and running smoothly. Together, these features make the Spartan AI Tower not just an air conditioner, but a complete cooling solution designed for modern Indian homes. 

Commenting on the launch, Mr. NS Satish, CEO, Haier Appliances India, said, “The Spartan AI Tower air conditioner is a statement of intent, to redefine what an air conditioner can be in a market as diverse and dynamic as India. This is not just about cooling a space; it’s about creating intelligent, responsive and elevated experiences that align with how modern households live. Every innovation in Spartan AI Tower, from predictive AI to self-cleaning systems, is designed to anticipate needs, simplify life, and set new standards for performance and design. With this launch, we are shaping the future of appliances, leading the market with purpose, precision, and technology that truly resonates with the aspirations of Indian consumers.” 

Haier Spartan AI Tower ACs will be available in 1 model: HTA24S-GAI3NB-I in Pearl White Luxury Gold color.

Detailed Look at the new Spartan AI Tower ACs 

1. AI Climate Control 2.0

AI Climate Control 2.0 analyses:

• Preferred modes and user habits
• Room temperature
• Outdoor heat and weather conditions
• Real-time comfort patterns

Creating a personalised cooling profile while preventing overcooling and unnecessary energy usage. 

2. AI Pre-Cooling

With AI–AtmoX AI Pre-Cooling, the AC detects when users enter a 100-meter geofence and automatically begins cooling:

• No timers
• No manual scheduling
• Instant comfort upon arrival 

3. AI IDU Frost Self Clean

The indoor unit performs a frost-based self-cleaning cycle that can activated manually at any time and ensures:

• Deep internal cleansing
• Removal of dust, dirt and micro-impurities
• Lasting cooling efficiency
• Enhanced hygiene and fresh airflow 

4. AI ODU Cyclone Clean

• Outdoor fan reverses airflow 15 seconds after every shutdown
• Clears dust accumulated on condenser coils
• Maintains optimal heat exchange efficiency
• Reduces power consumption 

Eliminating the need for manual outdoor unit cleaning. 

Supersonic Cooling: Instant Cooling in Just 10 Seconds

Haier’s Supersonic Cooling technology delivers an instant blast of cool air in just 10 seconds, offering up to 20X faster cooling than conventional ACs.

Bengaluru, April, 2026: In a move that could influence how brokerage transactions are structured in India’s real estate sector, Bengaluru-based developer SJR Primecorp has placed ₹2 crore in an escrow account to secure commission payouts for realtors associated with the Confederation of Real Estate Associates (India) (CREA (I)).The announcement was made on at an industry event held at Taj MG Road, Bengaluru, in the presence of senior leadership from CREA (I) and the National Association of Realtors India.

Under the arrangement, the escrow account will be jointly operated by SJR Primecorp and CREA (I). The funds are earmarked exclusively for brokerage payouts to CREA (I) members closing transactions on the developer’s projects. The amount will be replenished before depletion, ensuring continuity of payouts.

The development comes against the backdrop of a long-standing industry concern around delayed or uncertain broker commissions. By securing funds upfront, the model introduces a level of predictability and financial discipline that is not widely practiced in the sector.

Industry observers note that brokerage transactions in India have largely operated through informal arrangements, with limited safeguards. The use of escrow mechanisms—common in other financial transactions—could signal a shift toward more formal and auditable practices in real estate.

The initiative was formalised through an MoU signed between Samir Arora and Vijay Reddy, CMD of SJR Primecorp. The concept was initiated by Pradeep Joe, Chairman Emeritus, CREA (I).

More than 300 CREA (I) realtors were present at the event, along with senior NAR India leadership including Ravi Varma, Tarun Bhatia, Chandresh Vithalani, Ashish Mehta, Chetan Chopra, Ramkumar, Sivalingam, Rahul Koparwar and Ekta Jain.

“This initiative was conceived to address a long-standing gap in our industry. By securing commissions upfront, we are not just solving a payment issue — we are laying the foundation for a more disciplined, transparent, and future-ready real estate ecosystem,” said Mr. Pradeep Joe – Chairman Emeritus CREA (I).

Mr. Samir Arora, Chairman, CREA (I) and CEO, NAR India, said the move reflects evolving alignment between developers and organised realtor bodies. “When commissions are secured upfront under a jointly governed structure, it changes the nature of engagement. It moves from transactional to institutional.”

“This is a structural intervention, not a symbolic one,” said Mr. Sumanth Reddy, Chairman, NAR India. “For years, commission uncertainty has been a friction point. Locking funds in escrow brings accountability into the system and sets a benchmark others can evaluate.”

Mr. Chandresh Vithalani, President, NAR India, said the model could have wider implications if adopted more broadly. “The industry has been working toward greater transparency and professionalism. Mechanisms like escrow-backed commissions create a framework where trust is supported by process, not assumption.”

The Bengaluru market, which has seen increasing institutional participation in recent years, may provide a testing ground for such models. Whether this approach sees wider adoption across cities and developers remains to be seen.

For CREA (I), whose members are also part of NAR India, the development underscores growing institutional influence in shaping industry practices. For developers, it raises a strategic question: whether upfront financial commitments can improve channel partner confidence and sales velocity.

As the sector continues to evolve, the escrow-backed commission model may emerge as a reference point in discussions around standardising broker-developer relationships in India’s real estate market.