Archives April 2026

Chandigarh, Apr 30: Taj, the iconic brand from Indian Hotels Company (IHCL), unveiled Tradition to Table, a collection of recipes curated by Taj chefs inspired by and dedicated to their first teachers in the kitchen, their mothers.

For over a century, Taj has been an enduring presence in the hearts and minds of its guests. As a custodian of India’s culinary heritage, Taj has played a defining role in shaping the country’s dining culture. From introducing India’s first 24‑hour coffee shop, Shamiana, and Mumbai’s first licensed bar, Harbour Bar, to pioneering global cuisines through Golden Dragon and Wasabi by Morimoto, Taj’s kitchens have consistently reflected both tradition and innovation and the spirit continues with contemporary dining experiences such as Loya in Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru.

Tradition to Table brings together recipes from homes across the country, the compilation reflects the diversity that Taj has celebrated for over 120 years. Spanning regions from Gangtok in the North East to Srinagar in the North, Jaisalmer in the West and Chennai in the South, the book brings alive flavours shaped in family kitchens and carried across generations. Rooted in Tajness, these recipes reflect the warmth and care that have long defined Taj’s approach to hospitality.

Aligned with IHCL’s purpose‑led approach, the royalties from the sale of Tradition to Table will be directed towards IHCL’s CSR efforts.

Published by Rupa, the book will be available across book stores in India.

Navi Mumbai, Apr 30: Apollo Hospitals Navi Mumbai has crossed the milestone of 250 liver transplants, establishing itself as one of Western India’s leading centres for advanced liver care and the only unit in the region to have achieved this scale independently.

With clinical outcomes exceeding 90% survival rates, the program reflects strong expertise in managing complex liver conditions through a multidisciplinary approach and advanced transplant protocols. Part of the Apollo Hospitals Group which has performed over 5,000 liver transplants with consistently strong clinical outcomes, Apollo Hospitals Navi Mumbai’s program reflects the network’s legacy of excellence while setting new regional benchmarks in transplant care.

What sets the program apart is its ability to deliver timely, life-saving interventions, often in critical situations. In one such case, a 24-year-old diagnosed with Wilson’s Disease and advanced cirrhosis underwent a successful liver transplant, with his mother donating a portion of her liver. In another instance, a young patient with acute liver failure was treated within 24 hours, with his mother stepping in as a donor, demonstrating the team’s readiness to act in emergencies.

Since its first transplant in 2017 where a father donated a portion of his liver to his 16-year-old son the program has been guided by a strong ethos of clinical excellence, compassion, and family-centred care. Over the years, it has managed some of the most complex cases, including transplants in infants under one year of age, such as a four-month-old baby who received a portion of his mother’s liver with the support of a specialised paediatric transplant team.

L to R – Dr Amey Sonavane (Lead Consultant Hepatologist Apollo Hospitals Navi Mumbai), Dr Ketul Shah (Consultant, HPB & Liver Transplant Surgery, Apollo Hospitals Navi Mumbai) Ms Reshma Pala (Patient), Mr Kavya Pala (Patient), Mr Rushikesh Aher (Patient) Mr Ajit Pendse (Patient), Dr Kiran Shingote (COO & Unit Head, Apollo Hospitals Navi Mumbai), Dr Amruth Raj (Consultant GI, HPB ,Liver Transplant & Robotic Surgery Apollo Hospitals Navi Mumbai), Dr Guruprasad Shetty (Lead Consultant & Unit Head Department of HPB & Liver Transplantation Surgery), Mr Alay Pendse (Patient), Dr Suvadeep Sen (Consultant Critical Care, Apollo Hospitals Navi Mumbai), Dr Makarand Karpe (Jr Consultant, HPB & Liver Transplant Surgery), Varsha (Program Coordinator), Gayatri (SLM)

The hospital’s expertise continues to attract patients not only from across India but also internationally, including from Yemen, Kenya, Tanzania, Oman, Saudi Arabia, and Sudan positioning Apollo Hospitals Navi Mumbai as a trusted global destination for liver disease management.

Speaking on the milestone, Dr. Guruprasad Shetty, Lead Consultant & Unit Head, Department of HPB & Liver Transplantation Surgery, Apollo Hospitals Navi Mumbai, said,“Crossing the milestone of 250 liver transplants is not just a number, it represents 250 lives renewed and families restored. From delicate 70+ paediatric cases to complex SWAP and ABO-incompatible transplants, our outcomes consistently match global benchmarks while ensuring timely interventions, even in emergencies.

A key differentiator is its dedicated Liver Intensive Care Unit (LICU), equipped with advanced monitoring systems and managed by specialised transplant critical care teams, ensuring comprehensive post-operative care for even the most complex cases.

Adding to this, Dr. Kiran Shingote, COO & Unit Head, Apollo Hospitals Navi Mumbai, added,

 “Being the only centre in the region to achieve this milestone highlights the strength of our clinical expertise and integrated care model. We remain committed to expanding access to advanced liver care for patients across the region. Supported by Apollo’s fast-track liver transplant programme, the hospital ensures reduced waiting times through rapid evaluation, donor matching, and coordinated treatment planning enabling average wait times of just 2–3 weeks, and emergency transplants within 24 hours in cases such as Acute Liver Failure.”

Apollo Hospitals Navi Mumbai is a 500-bed, JCI- and NABH-accredited tertiary care facility, equipped with advanced surgical infrastructure, multiple state-of-the-art operation theatres, and over 120 ICU beds. The liver transplant program is led by a 13-member multidisciplinary team comprising surgeons, hepatologists, anaesthetists, intensivists, and transplant specialists, ensuring seamless, end-to-end patient care across every stage of treatment.

Together, these achievements position Apollo Hospitals Navi Mumbai as a centre of clinical excellence, delivering life-saving liver care through a combination of expertise, infrastructure, and patient-centred innovation.

Nearly 9 in 10 Indians Are Planning or Have Booked Their Summer 2026 Holiday with Hidden Gems Topping Their Travel Wishlists

Indian Travellers Are Choosing Smarter Summer Holidays from offbeat destinations to flexible travel dates and last-minute bookings

Delhi, Apr 30: Despite a backdrop of uncertainty, summer travel is still on for many, with 77% of Indians confident about travelling in the next 3 months. In fact, nearly 9 in 10 Indians are planning or have already booked their Summer 2026 holiday. With only about 38% yet to book their summer holidays, but are actively looking, showing sustained desire for travel despite ongoing uncertainty.

However, planning is becoming increasingly complex. This evolving approach is being shaped by a few key considerations:

• Airfare trends, with nearly half of travellers (48%) factoring in fluctuating flight prices

• Overall trip value, as 45% weigh total travel costs more carefully

• Travel advisories, influencing decisions for 34% of travellers

• Operational disruptions, such as airport closures, are impacting 32% of plans

However, there are early signs of more informed planning, with 58% believing July offers cheaper flights compared to August, highlighting a growing awareness of when to travel for better value.

As travellers navigate these trade-offs, planning is becoming more dynamic than ever. Rather than locking in early, many are keeping an eye on price movements and exploring alternative destinations before committing

Neel Ghose, Travel and Destinations Expert, Skyscanner India, said, “Summer 2026 is shaping up to be one of the most intent-driven travel seasons we’ve seen in India, but what’s changing is how that intent is translating into action. Travellers are not stepping back; they are adapting within constraints. Instead of cancelling, they are staying flexible on where they go, with many willing to switch destinations in response to changing costs and conditions.

We’re also seeing a clear shift in mindset from ‘where everyone is going’ to ‘where else can I go’. This growing openness to alternative and lesser-known destinations signals a more confident and value-aware traveller, one who is more open to switching plans if it improves the overall experience. With these pressures shaping decisions, travellers are looking for smarter ways to unlock value without compromising on the trip. Tools like Skyscanner’s ‘Whole Month’ search are helping travellers make smarter decisions by making it easier to compare options, track fares, and identify better-value travel windows.”

Outsmart Travel Planning Hurdles

As travel intent remains strong, planning is becoming more dynamic. Rather than cancelling trips, travellers are increasingly adapting, switching destinations, adjusting timing, or rethinking how to get the most out of their travel budgets.

Features like Skyscanner’s Price Alerts are helping simplify these decisions by allowing travellers to track fare changes and book when prices are right.

Outsmart Destination Choices and Summer Crowds

This shift is already visible in destination choices and travel pattern:

• 81% are open to lesser-known destinations

• 60% are actively seeking quieter, less crowded places

• 9 in 10 say it is important that their holiday spend benefits local communities and small businesses

A significant behavioural shift is underway, as travellers move away from crowded hotspots towards more meaningful, offbeat and community-driven experiences.

[See the top most popular and cheapest destinations for Summer 2026 below in the appendix.]

Zostel, a hostel network available on Skyscanner, is already seeing this shift in action.

Aviral Gupta, CEO of Zostel and Zo World, said, “At Zostel, we’ve been watching this shift happen in real time. Offbeat destinations across our network grew 88% year-on-year, and a significant 60% of those guests were first-time travellers, many of them from Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities. Smaller-town India is no longer just a backdrop for travel stories; it’s where the story begins. Partnering with Skyscanner on this report only reinforces what we see on the ground every day. The Indian traveller is smarter, bolder, and more curious than ever.”

Outsmart Flexible Travel Planning

While travel intent remains strong, flexibility is also reshaping how plans are executed. Although 58% of travellers have fixed travel dates due to work or school commitments, 30% are choosing to switch destinations rather than cancel trips, showing how adaptability is becoming central to travel planning.

As travellers balance fixed schedules with evolving preferences, the findings point to a clear shift towards more flexible, value-led decision-making, where being open to alternatives is becoming the defining factor in making summer travel plans work.

Outsmart Group Travel Planning Hurdles

Planning group summer holidays is known to be effortful. On average, Indians spend over 15 hours coordinating a group trip, with nearly half saying it is more stressful than major life events such as moving house or planning a wedding.

The biggest challenge often lies in aligning preferences, budgets and schedules, making group travel one of the most time-consuming parts of the journey. As a result, travellers are increasingly looking for ways to simplify decision-making and reduce friction when planning together. The Skyscanner app has multiple travel planning tools to help travellers compare options and find the best deals available.

Beyond Planning: The Emotional Side of Travel

But beyond the planning, travel remains an emotional experience shaped by the moments, sounds, and memories that stay with us long after the trip ends. Complementing these insights from the Smarter Summer Report, Skyscanner has also curated a summer soundtrack, in collaboration with musician and artist Mayur Jumani, created from familiar sounds of travel, from planes taking off to security check in, luggage trollies, and airport announcements, bringing the rhythm of the journey itself to life.

The campaign will be launched on Skyscanner India’s official Instagram on 1st May.

As always, travellers are encouraged to stay informed and keep up to date with local government travel advice before booking and compare live prices as they plan.

Participants include Filmmaker Ken Burns, IAC Chairman and Executive Barry Diller, Hedgeye Asset Management Portfolio Manager and Author Neil Howe, Kalshi Co-Founder and COO Luana Lopes Lara, Robinhood Co-Founder and CEO Vlad Tenev, Atlassian Williams F1 Team Principal James Vowles and more 

New York, NY [April 30, 2026] – The Wall Street Journal’s award-winning The Future of Everything event returns on May 4-5 at The Glasshouse in New York City.

Now in its eighth year, WSJ’s Future of Everything convenes an exclusive cohort of business titans and emerging leaders to debate and discuss the future of key industries, ranging from finance, technology and economic policy to sports, streaming and style.

Bringing the coverage of The Wall Street Journal to a live, in-person executive audience, event programming features rigorous interviews designed to provide insights from the experts on stage. This year’s event sessions will focus on key themes including the forces shaping business and technology, resilience in an AI-enabled world, strengthening organizations and careers amid economic and technological change and more. 

Participants at this year’s event include:

• Colin Angle | Co-Founder and CEO, Familiar Machines & Magic
• John Arnold | Co-Founder and Co-Chair, Arnold Ventures
• David Boone | CEO, The Michaels Companies
• Ken Burns | Filmmaker
• Lia Dean | President, Banking and Premium Products, Capital One
• Barry Diller | Chairman and Senior Executive, IAC
• Ariel Ekblaw | Founder, MIT Space Exploration Initiative; CEO, Aurelia Institute
• Joe Gebbia | U.S. Chief Design Officer; Co-Founder, Airbnb
• Neil Howe | Portfolio Manager, Hedgeye Asset Management; Co-Author, “The Fourth Turning”
• Gunjan Kedia | CEO, U.S. Bancorp
• Luana Lopes Lara | Co-Founder and COO, Kalshi
• Scott Mezvinsky | CEO, KFC Global
• Danny Rensch | Chief Chess Officer, Chess.com
• Kyla Scanlon | Financial and Economic Commentator, Educator and Content Creator
• Joanna Stern | Technology Journalist
• Vlad Tenev | Co-Founder and CEO, Robinhood
• James Vowles | Team Principal, Atlassian Williams F1 Team

The full list of speakers and program schedule can be found here. 

In addition to the programming at The Glasshouse, attendees will have access to hands-on demos, from the latest AI-powered products to technologies shaping the future. Attendees will have a firsthand look at an immersive showcase of groundbreaking products including:

• Clicks | Clicks Tech is a mobile company empowering people through purpose-built technology. After launching the Clicks Keyboard Case in 2024, Clicks has shipped over 150,000 keyboards for iPhone, Google Pixel and Motorola Razr, with customers in more than 100 countries. Introduced in 2026, Clicks Communicator and Clicks Power Keyboard enable people to cut through the noise and do more on the go. Founded by a team of creators and technologists with decades of experience at some of the world’s most well-known mobile brands.
• Dreamie | Dreamie by Ambient is a bedside companion designed to help you sleep better and break free from your phone. Built specifically to support better sleep habits, Dreamie takes an app-free approach to sleep tech by bringing light, sound, and podcasts into one seamless, distraction-free device. Between blue light, notifications, and endless scrolling, our devices are actively working against quality sleep. Dreamie changes that by eliminating the impulse to reach for your phone and creating a calmer, more intentional nighttime experience designed for real rest.
• Joyride | “No Junk. Less Sugar. All Joy.” Joyride is on a mission to change the way the world eats and experiences candy. With less sugar than the leading brands, no artificial colors, sweeteners, or preservatives and over two million followers on social media (@joyride), Joyride is growing and redefining what better-for-you candy tastes, looks and feels like.
• Neurable | Neurable Inc. is a Boston-based neurotechnology company specializing in developing AI-powered tools for brain signal translation and brain-computer interface technology (BCI). Powered by patented signal processing, developed through years of pioneering research across leading labs and institutions, and advanced by a leading scientific and expert product team, the Neurable AI platform enables high-performance brain-computer interface in everyday devices. Neurable is dedicated to creating a world where individuals can better understand their minds, optimize human performance, and conquer the most pressing health challenges of our generation. Earning validation from the US Air Force, the company continues to work with its licensing partnership network to make non-invasive BCI technology the standard in everyday devices across industries.
• SensVita | SensVita is making at-home monitoring effortless through a groundbreaking AI-powered, touchless health sensor platform. The revolutionary in-bed health monitor tracks patient health daily, generating critical health data beyond basic heart and breath rates, to manage aging patients without the need for user input. This consistent data enables SensVita to create a personal data layer and context for AI-driven proactive healthcare. For overburdened caregivers and a growing elderly population, SensVita’s  technology replaces missed symptoms and expensive outcomes with peace-of-mind and AI-assisted longevity.

Presenting sponsors of this year’s The Future of Everything are: Genspark AI, Google, HPE, NYU Langone Health, EY-Parthenon, Philip Morris International, Samsung and Veeam. Contributing sponsors are: Claude, PMG, Publicis Sapient, TIAA and Supporting sponsors are: Atlassian Rovo, The Glasshouse, Next Era Leaders and Spectrum Business. 

Statewide initiative with the Ohio Association of Community Health Centers, CareSource, and Humana more than doubled Pregnancy Risk Assessment Form submission rates, accelerating identification of high-risk pregnancies and strengthening Medicaid continuity

BURLINGTON, Mass. — [April 30, 2026] — Azara Healthcare, the four-time Best in KLAS provider of population health and value-based care solutions for the safety net, together with the Ohio Association of Community Health Centers (OACHC), CareSource, and Humana, has received a 2026 KLAS Points of Light Award. The award recognizes the collaborators’ work to automate the creation and submission of Pregnancy Risk Assessment Forms (PRAFs) across Ohio, which more than doubled statewide submission rates and accelerated the identification of high-risk pregnancies covered by Medicaid. The collaboration is documented in case study titled “Improving Maternal Health in Ohio via Interoperability & Incentivized Care.”

Before the initiative, only about 30% of PRAFs were being submitted statewide, leaving many Medicaid-covered pregnancies unreported to the state and delaying the identification of high-risk mothers. Physicians were completing PRAFs on paper or in standalone web forms, manually locating and re-entering information already documented in the EHR, a process that routinely took 15 to 20 minutes per patient.

To solve the problem, OACHC convened community health centers, seven Managed Care Organizations including CareSource and Humana, the Ohio Department of Medicaid, the Ohio College of Medicine Government Resource Center, and Azara Healthcare. The MCOs jointly funded a single electronic PRAF (ePRAF) solution so provider partners would not bear implementation costs. Azara added a new module to the existing Ohio Data Integration Platform, powered by Azara. The additional tool automatically populates ePRAFs using data already documented in the EHR and securely transmits the information to ODM’s NurtureOhio portal.

“For safety-net providers caring for Ohio’s most vulnerable mothers, the barrier to better maternal outcomes has never been a lack of clinical insight—it’s been the administrative burden of getting that insight into the right hands in time to act on it,” said LuAnn Kimker, SVP of Clinical Innovation at Azara Healthcare. “By automating the PRAF workflow inside the tools providers already use every day, we’ve ensured that high-risk pregnancies are identified and coordinated earlier. This is what interoperability looks like when it’s built around the clinician and the patient, not around the form.”

The results have been significant. – 

The KLAS Points of Light Award recognizes successful collaborations between payers, providers, and healthcare technology companies that have led to measurable improvements in patient experience, cost, and efficiency.

Building on the initiative’s success, the collaborators plan to extend automation across the pregnancy continuum, including additional PRAF submissions triggered by changes in maternal risk, and the electronic capture of delivery and postpartum data. The ePRAF model is also positioned as a replicable blueprint for other states and for additional Medicaid and public health reporting use cases.

The full case study is available here.

LAS VEGAS, April 29, 2026: Richtech Robotics Inc. (Nasdaq: RR) (“Richtech Robotics” or “the Company”), a Nevada-based provider of AI-driven service robots, today announced the availability of its fleet of robotic solutions and data services in the Microsoft Marketplace, an online store providing applications and services for use on Azure. Richtech Robotics customers can now take advantage of the productive and trusted Azure cloud platform, with streamlined deployment and management.

Richtech Robotics develops advanced robotic solutions and the data infrastructure that makes its robots more intelligent. The Company’s technology is designed to directly address primary pain points across the industrial, hospitality, and service sectors, including labor scarcity, escalating overhead, and the demand for precision automation. Through this integration, businesses can leverage AI-driven robotics to streamline operations, optimize their workforce, and improve the guest experience.

Building on its work with the Microsoft AI Co-Innovation Labs, Richtech Robotics continues to advance the integration of Agentic AI into its physical robotic fleet, including the dual-arm ADAM robot. By combining cloud-based Azure AI with physical automation, the Company is developing robots capable of autonomous reasoning, contextual conversation, and real-time operational awareness.

“The availability of our solutions in the Microsoft Marketplace represents a significant step in our global growth,” said Richtech Robotics CEO Wayne Huang. “By integrating with the Microsoft ecosystem, we are advancing our objective of expanding our scalable solutions and Robotics-as-a-Service model globally, supported by a trusted cloud infrastructure.”

Cyril Belikoff, Vice President, Microsoft Azure Product Marketing, Microsoft Corp. said, “We’re pleased to welcome Richtech Robotics to Microsoft Marketplace, which gives our partners great exposure to cloud customers around the globe. Microsoft Marketplace offers world-class quality experiences from global trusted partners with solutions tested to work seamlessly with Azure.”

Microsoft Marketplace is a single destination to find, try, and buy trusted cloud solutions, AI apps, and agents to meet your business objectives. Choose from a growing collection of solutions tailored to your unique needs, available both in Marketplace and directly within Microsoft products.