Archives 2026

New Delhi, Jan 22: Lorazzo, a fast-growing home improvement brand offering smart kitchen and bathroom fittings, today announced that it has raised INR 5 crore in a seed funding round. The round was led by Sprout Venture Partners and First Cheque by India Quotient, with participation from Chandigarh Angel Network and a clutch of prominent angel investors.

Lorazzo plans to deploy the freshly raised capital to accelerate product innovation, deepen its design and technology stack, and scale its omnichannel presence across India’s rapidly growing home improvement market. The brand currently retails its products through its website and is also present on leading online retail and quick commerce platforms in India.

Founded in 2024, Lorazzo operates at the intersection of aesthetics and smart engineering, with a product portfolio spanning intelligent bidets, advanced kitchen faucets, premium stainless-steel and quartz sinks, and modular accessories, all engineered for Indian conditions to enhance bath and kitchen experience.

“We are truly excited to have the backing of a diverse and yet marquee group of investors with this round and regard it as a major milestone in our mission to modernize everyday bath and kitchen experience for Indian homes,” said Jatin Luthra, Cofounder of Lorazzo.  

As India’s home hardware category grapples with brand fatigue from legacy players and a growing gap between low-aspiration mass products and prohibitively expensive global imports, Lorazzo is carving out a new middle ground, one that blends modern design, dependable performance and smart functionality without the premium price barrier.

Kanika Agarwal, Partner at India Quotient said,

“The kitchen and bathroom category touches every Indian household, yet it remains largely split between mass, generic products and super-premium, out-of-reach international brands. Lorazzo is building a powerful middle ground- bringing aspiration, smart functionality, and strong branding. We believe this is where a truly category-defining brand can emerge.”

India’s home improvement and smart hardware market is witnessing rapid growth, driven by rising urbanization, increased home ownership, and a new generation of consumers prioritizing design, hygiene and efficiency. Positioned as a brand for India’s aspirational middle class, Lorazzo is focused on bridging the gap between mass-market utility and ultra-premium brands – offering thoughtfully designed, reliable, and smart home upgrades that feel premium, yet remain attainable for millions of upwardly mobile households.

Sahil Gupta, Partner at Sprout Venture Partners added,

“We believe Lorazzo sits at a powerful intersection of design and technology.  As Indian consumers increasingly seek premium, reliable and smart home solutions, Lorazzo is well-positioned to become a national brand with global aspirations.”

Lorazzo’s founders Jatin Luthra and Saurabh Gupta bring together deep experience across consumer brands and manufacturing. With a strong focus on “Made-for-India” engineering, Lorazzo designs its products to perform reliably across varying water pressures, TDS levels, and household conditions.

India, Jan 22: Twilio the customer engagement platform that drives real-time personalized experiences for today’s leading brands, and AEG, the world’s leading sports and live entertainment company, are growing their relationship with the launch of a new strategic, multi-year partnership. The deal will see Twilio’s customer engagement technology implemented by Crypto.com Arena, the LA Kings, and AXS  AEG’s global ticketing platform  to create more streamlined and elevated customer communication from ticket purchase, to in-venue experience, and beyond.

The agreement, brokered by AEG Global Partnerships, represents a significant expansion of Twilio’s presence in pro-sports and live entertainment, marking its first partnership with both a major venue, NHL team, and ticketing platform. As part of the partnership, Twilio will hold key designations across AEG’s flagship properties, including Founding Partner of Crypto.com Arena, a signature category-exclusive designation; official away helmet partner of the LA Kings; and a media partner across AXS, AEG’s global ticketing platform that connects millions of fans to live events worldwide.

“Live event experiences are emotional at their core, and Twilio’s platform helps amplify those moments by turning every interaction into an amazing experience,” said Chris Koehler, Chief Marketing Officer at Twilio. “By partnering with AEG, we’ll help the company enhance its fan engagement across Crypto.com Arena, the LA Kings, and AXS for fans’ ticketing needs.”

AEG will leverage Twilio’s customer engagement platform to create more meaningful, data-driven connections with its audiences. Products including Twilio Segment, the company’s Customer Data Platform (CDP), will provide deeper insights into fan preferences, before, during, and after live events, helping AEG curate more personalized fan communication and offers while also driving greater engagement.

“This new partnership with Twilio brings transformative technology to our properties,” said Nick Baker, President and COO of AEG Global Partnerships. “The Twilio platform will help us know our customers even better with detailed profiles that deliver the personalized communication and experiences today’s fans expect while giving our teams powerful tools to drive business and operate more efficiently.

Twilio’s technology already plays a key role across AXS. Twilio Programmable Messaging and Twilio Verify      power short message service  and multi-factor authentication for AXS’ mobile app today, with opportunities to scale and grow with the partnership.

“Twilio’s technology has enhanced how we engage with customers across our ticketing platform,” said Justin Burleigh, Chief Product Officer of AXS. “Their services already allow us to deliver secure, seamless communication and ticket transfers. With our broadened partnership, we’re excited to further engage with our global fan base and provide even more personalized experiences.”

As a Founding Partner of Crypto.com Arena, which hosts more than 200 events annually, Twilio will benefit from an interactive fan activation space at the venue, exclusive hospitality experiences and integration with Crypto.com Arena’s premium business division. Twilio’s Founding Partnership includes premium brand visibility across the arena including LED ribbon board takeovers, upper 360-degree scoreboard exposure, and prime positioning on freeway marquees seen by millions annually.

The collaboration will also help Crypto.com Arena’s  premium team strengthen client relationships, deliver more personalized service to Members, and elevate the overall premium experience.

“Crypto.com Arena continues to set the standard for innovation in live entertainment, and Twilio’s platform takes our capabilities to the next level,” said Katie Pandolfo, General Manager of Crypto.com Arena. “Their customer engagement platform will enhance how we engage with millions of annual guests while enabling our premium team to deliver even more exceptional service to our valued clients.”

Announced last month, Twilio is also the LA Kings’ official away helmet partner, with the company’s logo appearing prominently on players’ helmets during all regular season and playoff road games beginning with the current 2025–26 NHL season.

Beyond the ice, Twilio’s presence will extend into downtown Los Angeles at L.A. LIVE – the four-million-square-foot sports and entertainment district surrounding Crypto.com Arena. Under the agreement, its branding will appear throughout L.A. LIVE’s extensive LED signage network, reaching millions of visitors each year and further strengthening its visibility among sports and live entertainment fans.

New Delhi, Jan 22:  Amid a rise in the number of affluent Indians, demand for spacious, amenity-rich 3BHK homes has increased sharply, driven by evolving family structures, the need for multifunctional living spaces, higher work-from-home adoption, and a growing preference for future-ready housing. However, rapid escalation in residential prices, rising land and construction costs, and a supply skew towards premium segments have pushed this configuration beyond the reach of the average homebuyer, according to the latest report by proptech firm Square Yards.

The report, From Aspiration to Reality: The Cost of Owning a 3BHK in India, finds that the average cost of a new 3BHK across India’s top five metropolitan cities now stands at INR 2.7 crore. At an annual income of INR 23 lakh, a buyer would need roughly 12 years to purchase such a home in any of these markets. Even at a national level, the average income threshold required to enter India’s top 1%, estimated at INR 22 lakh per annum, offers a similar affordability horizon, highlighting the depth of stress in large-home ownership.

The report also identifies emerging growth centres within cities as income-aligned corridors offering comparatively better affordability for 3BHK buyers. “India’s residential market is witnessing a sharp affordability imbalance, with just 11% of new housing supply currently falling within the affordable segment. The remaining 89% is concentrated in markets where buyers face significant EMI stress, often stretching incomes beyond sustainable levels. Alarmingly, 41% of this supply lies in ‘income-stretch’ markets, where financial pressure begins to intensify,” the report notes.

Bengaluru emerges as the most uniform property market, with affordability relatively stable across corridors, as incomes increased with increasing prices. NCR and MMR show pronounced corridor-level asymmetry, making location choice critical. Hyderabad, a high-growth market, has seen prices outpace incomes, pushing most residential hubs into high-stress zones. Pune, while a hub for young professionals, has wealth-dominated city cores, requiring buyers to consider peripheral locations to afford a 3BHK. The report highlights that choosing the right location can save buyers INR 30-60 lakh, as central and premium areas function more as wealth-dominant or capital-parking markets, whereas emerging and peripheral corridors increasingly bridge aspiration and ownership.

These conclusions are based on an analysis of 10,500 RERA-registered 3BHK units launched between 2024 and 2025 across 44 micro-markets in Bengaluru, Hyderabad, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), NCR (including Noida, Gurugram, and Greater Noida), and Pune. For each metro, the report offers a structured buyer playbook segmented by income cohorts. It details suitable options for First Time Buyers within income-aligned brackets, provides curated recommendations for Upgraders in the mid-income segment, and concludes with guidance for HNIs and investors, addressing the preferences and investment priorities of the top 1% of society.

To assess affordability, the study uses the price-to-income ratio (PIR), following an OECD-referenced methodology. PIR measures the number of years of household income required to purchase a 3BHK based on actual home prices and annual incomes. Using this framework, markets are classified into five categories- Affordable, Moderate, Stressed, Severely Stressed, and Crisis, which the report reframes as Income-aligned, Income-stretched, Capital-led, Wealth-dominant, and Institutional & Ultra-luxury markets.

Data show that 48% of 3BHK supply launched over the past year falls within stressed, severely stressed, and crisis markets, where higher-priced segments deliver stronger returns. Developer profit margins in these zones range between 45-50%, compared to 15-18% in affordable or income-aligned markets. “This concentration of premium supply has coincided with a post-pandemic shift in buyer preference, with larger, amenity-rich homes by reputed developers becoming the most sought-after living format. At the same time, a surge in high-net-worth individuals in a positive economic environment has further pushed 3BHK affordability under significant stress”, says Tanuj Shori, Founder & CEO, Square Yards.

Mumbai,  Jan 22: ColdStar Logistics, India’s leading temperature-controlled supply chain solutions provider, has entered into a long-term partnership with abCoffee, India’s leading Grab and Go coffee brand.

As part of this collaboration, ColdStar’s temperature-controlled and ambient supply chain solutions and warehousing services will enable abCoffee to deliver its signature beverages and ingredients fresh, in top quality and on time to customers in Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, and Uttar Pradesh.

ColdStar’s advanced IoT sensors for real-time temperature monitoring, AI-driven predictive tech stack, and route optimisation technology implemented right from storage to last-mile distribution, will ensure the freshness and uninterrupted supply of products by abCoffee.

“Our partnership with abCoffee is a testament to ColdStar’s commitment to enabling India’s fast-evolving F&B landscape through a ‘Never Stock Out’ strategy which is core to our mission. We prevent stock outs and enable market responsiveness for our clients giving them the assurance to deliver on their promise of quality and taste to their consumers, every single time,” said Sameer Varma, Executive Director, ColdStar Logistics.

By addresses critical challenges for abCoffee like maintaining product freshness, preventing temperature excursions, ensuring timely and accurate restocking, and providing transparent tracking across the entire cold chain, ColdStar minimises product spoilage, stockouts, and supply chain inefficiencies for the brand.

“What helped us zero in on ColdStar as our long-term partner was their extensive pan-India network, advanced technology stack, rigorous operational protocols, and ‘Never Stock Out’ commitment. Their expertise in multi-temperature handling for storage and transport of fresh goods is unparalleled,” said Abhijeet Anand, Founder and CEO of abCoffee.

ColdStar’s robust warehousing, and pan-India distribution network spans 7,000 pin codes across 200 cities. Founded in 2022, abCoffee currently has 75 outlets pan India.

In addition to this collaboration, abCoffee has also entered into a strategic partnership with Cityflo, a leading tech-enabled urban mobility provider. Through this association, abCoffee will offer its freshly brewed beverages and curated menu to passengers on select Cityflo routes in Mumbai, enabling them to pre-order via the Cityflo app and receive their orders directly at their seats. The end-to-end beverage experience, from order processing and preparation to onboard delivery will be supported by ColdStar’s temperature-controlled supply chain, ensuring consistent quality and freshness even in transit.

Tokyo, India, Jan 22: TANAKA PRECIOUS METAL TECHNOLOGIES Co., Ltd., a leading global manufacturer of precious metal materials, will exhibit its Visi Fine  Series, a lineup of highly radiopaque precious metal materials and other precious metal-based materials for medical device components, at MD&M West 2026, to be held February 3–5, 2026, at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, California.

First unveiled at the 2025 event, the Visi Fine portfolio harnesses TANAKA’s deep expertise in materials development and advanced processing technologies including diverse melting methods, ultra-fine wire manufacturing, and laser processing to transform precious metals into highly reliable materials for medical device components. The Visi Fine brand name is a coined term combining “Visi”  and “Fine” It embodies the concept of delivering materials with excellent radiopacity, engineered through advanced processing technologies for use in highly reliable medical device components. By leveraging the high density, superior radiopacity, and strong resistance to oxidation and corrosion of precious metals such as gold and platinum, Visi Fine materials are particularly well suited for high-precision, minimally invasive medical devices. 

“Minimally invasive surgeries and treatments have become a cornerstone of modern clinical practice,” said Yasutaka IHARA, Director & Corporate Officer, TANAKA.

“Smaller devices such as catheters, implantable products, and diagnostic and therapeutic systems require meticulous precision while remaining clearly visible under X-ray imaging to ensure effective care. Already utilized globally, the Visi Fine series delivers exceptional reliability, customization, biocompatibility, radiopacity, and corrosion resistance, supporting the development of next-generation, high-precision medical devices.” 

To achieve these high standards, medical device manufacturers rely on premium materials from trusted suppliers. As the largest precious metals manufacturer in Asia, TANAKA combines regional leadership with a robust global presence, ensuring rapid support both domestically and internationally. With a 140-year history, TANAKA offers a comprehensive, end-to-end service model encompassing bullion procurement, materials processing and manufacturing, product sales, and recycling. This integrated approach enables medical device manufacturers to streamline supply chains, ensure material quality and traceability, and support sustainability initiatives through precious metal recovery and reuse.

Through its participation in MD&M West 2026, TANAKA reaffirms its commitment to supporting innovation in the medical and healthcare industries by supplying advanced precious metal materials backed by technical expertise, manufacturing excellence, and a resilient global supply network.

 Main Exhibited Products

The main products on display at MD&M West will include precious metal materials and precision-processed components used in a wide range of medical device applications, particularly catheter-based and implantable devices that require high reliability, biocompatibility, corrosion resistance, and radiopacity.

TANAKA offers the Visi Fine series, a lineup of highly reliable platinum-based fine wire materials that deliver excellent radiopacity, corrosion resistance, and mechanical stability, making them well suited for medical device components such as marker bands, electrodes, and implantable parts. By leveraging advanced wire drawing and processing technologies, TANAKA provides fine wires with tight dimensional control and consistent quality, supporting demanding medical applications.

Marker Bands and EP Bands

Marker bands are essential components for enhancing visibility under X-ray imaging in catheter-based medical devices, supporting accurate device positioning during medical procedures. TANAKA manufactures marker bands from smooth-surface tubing, produced through the careful selection of high-purity materials and optimized manufacturing processes to ensure excellent uniformity, durability, and radiopacity.

Solid marker bands are available in a range of materials, including Pt PtIr10, and other precious metal alloys, designed to meet stringent medical device performance requirements. In addition, split marker bands are offered to provide greater design flexibility, enabling customized configurations tailored to specific device architectures and functional needs. All marker bands are manufactured under an ISO 13485–certified quality management system, ensuring consistent quality, reliability, and regulatory compliance.

Micromachining components

TANAKA offers precious metal micromachined components for medical device applications, including cardiovascular and peripheral vascular treatments. By leveraging advanced processing technologies, such as precision machining, femtosecond laser processing, stamping, and welding, TANAKA produces complex-shaped components with excellent burr control and clean surface finishes. A broad range of precious metal materials including Pt, Pt-Ir, Pt-Ni, and Pt-W alloys supports high-precision designs that meet the stringent performance and reliability requirements of medical devices.

Rhodium sheets are specifically designed for mammography filter applications. With a controlled thickness of 0.05 mm, these rhodium sheets feature a smooth, crack-free surface and excellent thickness uniformity. By leveraging its expertise in high-purity precious metal refining and advanced materials processing, TANAKA delivers rhodium sheets with the quality and consistency required for reliable performance in mammography imaging systems.

Gurugram, Jan 22: Samsung, India’s largest consumer electronics brand, today unveiled an early preview of its upcoming cooling innovations, marking a meaningful evolution in how comfort, intelligence and energy efficiency will define modern homes

With the message “The future of AI AC is coming,” the brand is setting expectations for an AC advancement that moves beyond conventional home cooling.

The teaser spotlights the Bespoke AI WindFree Air Conditioner lineup, combining advanced AI technology, premium design and smart connectivity to deliver a more refined home cooling experience for Indian conditions

The range will feature WindFree Cooling, along with AI Fast & WindFree™ Cooling+, AI Energy Mode, Preventive maintenance and SmartThings integration for optimized performance, better energy management and seamless control.

India, Jan 22: On the auspicious occasion of Saraswati Puja, also known as Vasant Panchami or Shri Panchami across different regions of India, Senco Gold & Diamonds presents a thoughtfully curated festive collection inspired by reflection, renewal, and purposeful beginnings. Celebrated as a day that honours learning, creativity, and clarity of thought, the festival also heralds the arrival of spring a season when individuals and families seek blessings for important milestones, from the start of education and weddings to new homes and meaningful new chapters in life.

Drawing from the spirit of the occasion, the Saraswati Puja Collection brings together spiritual symbolism, refined aesthetics, and master craftsmanship. Designed to accompany moments of devotion and transition, each piece reflects Senco’s belief that jewellery, when chosen with intention, becomes an enduring part of life’s most meaningful moments.

Speaking on the occasion, Joita Sen, Director and Head of Marketing and Design at Senco Gold & Diamonds, said,

“Saraswati Puja or Vasant Panchami holds a special place in India’s cultural and emotional consciousness. At Senco, we view this occasion as a celebration of knowledge, creativity, and purposeful living. Our jewellery is thoughtfully designed to become part of life’s meaningful milestones. Guided by knowledge, refined through skilled karigari, and shaped by timeless design sensibilities, each piece carries intention beyond beauty. Choosing jewellery on this auspicious day is about welcoming clarity, progress, and positive energy into one’s life. The Saraswati Puja Collection is an expression of faith, heritage, and enduring craftsmanship, created to be treasured today and across generations.”

The collection features classic gold necklaces in elegant sitahar styles with statement pendants, antique-finish chokers accented with pearls and temple-inspired motifs, intricate Kundan and Polki designs, traditional heavy gold bangles, and designer earrings defined by balanced proportions. Devotional pendants depicting Goddess Saraswati, Goddess Lakshmi, and Lord Ganesh are crafted with subtle detailing, while sacred gold coins from Senco’s spiritual collection offer a meaningful expression of auspicious gifting.

Handcrafted by master artisans and BIS hallmarked, each piece reflects Senco’s unwavering commitment to purity, precision, and enduring design where tradition is shaped by learning, and craftsmanship becomes a quiet expression of devotion.

This Saraswati Puja, Senco Gold & Diamonds celebrates the beauty of tradition and the promise of new beginnings with jewellery that transcends adornment, becoming part of rituals, blessings, memories, and the joy of gifting.

Bengaluru,  Jan 22: The Indian Open Source for Mobile Communication Networks Consortium made a new open source, public release of its software platform that would allow organisations to build and run their own Private 5G networks. Designed for factories, campuses, research institutions and startups, the platform would allow users to deploy Private 5G networks that promise faster, more reliable and secure connectivity than Wi-Fi or public mobile networks at a lower cost.

The platform is named Agartala 0.4.0, continuing IOS-MCN’s convention of using Indian city names to reflect its national, open-source character. This the fourth open-source milestone that is mature enough for pilot deployments of India’s homegrown Private 5G platform. Validation tests prove end-to-end latency of under 10 milliseconds and downlink throughput of up to 600 Mbps per gNB, making it suitable for early pilots and enterprise trials.

The IOS-MCN is being developed by a consortium led by IISc Benagaluru, IIT Delhi, C-DAC, with funding from the Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology  Government of India. Agartala 0.4.0 marks a decisive step towards industry-grade, deployable Private 5G networks built on an open-source platform.

Powering India’s Private 5G Ecosystem

Spokesperson from Foundation for Science, Innovation and Development said;

“FSID’s objective is to ensure that research-led programmes translate into deployable infrastructure. IOS-MCN demonstrates how publicly funded, open-source platforms can create long-term national capability. Agartala 0.4.0 moves this effort from development to validation, enabling pilots that will enable future deployments.”

Agartala 0.4.0 positions IOS-MCN for early pilot deployments led by ecosystem partners, with installations planned to commence in the second half of 2026 across multiple sectors.

Niral Networks, which builds indigenous telecom and networking solutions, has proposed an Intelligent Village pilot. It stated

“Agartala 0.4.0 provides the foundational technology that enables Private 5G deployments for rural and semi-urban environments. We will leverage IOS-MCN stack to deliver real-world analytics and digital inclusion solutions through initiatives like the Intelligent Village Pilot and Smart Village Connectivity Program.”

Coral Telecom, a long-standing telecom systems integrator working with large public-sector and critical infrastructure clients, has proposed Private 5G pilots for Indian Railways and disaster-management applications for the National Disaster Management Authority. The company said:

 “The Agartala 0.4.0 release enables us to design and deploy Private 5G pilots for highly demanding, mission-critical scenarios. Our pilots planned for 2026 will leverage IOS-MCN’s open architecture to validate resilient and secure communication networks.”

Techphosis, which develops secure technology solutions for defence and strategic applications has proposed a Network-in-a-Box pilot for defence applications. It said;

 “Agartala 0.4.0 demonstrates the readiness of open-source, ORAN-compliant platforms for defence use cases. The Network-in-a-Box pilot, planned for the second half of 2026, aims to validate rapid, secure, portable and reliable Private 5G deployments for defence communications.”

Mashmari, which focuses on digital learning and last-mile connectivity solutions for public education programmes, has propoed a Remote Learning pilot for Anganwadis in Haryana. It added “The IOS-MCN Agartala 0.4.0 release is a major milestone, paving the way for cost-effective digital connectivity, including Private 5G, to bridge last-mile gaps for education and essential services  such as Women and Child Development (WCDD) Haryana’s Digital Anganwadis, where connectivity has delivered remarkable gains in worker motivation, joyful learning, and community confidence.”

W4S, which works on drone-based systems and connected infrastructure, has proposed Private 5G deployments to support aerial platforms and low-latency communications. The company said:

 “IOS-MCN Agartala 0.4.0 provides a strong technical foundation for designing Private 5G networks to support drone-based applications. We will leverage IOS-MCN to explore low-latency and high-reliability connectivity for aerial platforms used in surveillance, disaster management, and connected infrastructure.”

Together, these proposed pilots, spanning rural connectivity, railways, disaster response, defence, education, and drone-enabled networks, underscore IOS-MCN Agartala 0.4.0’s readiness to transition from platform development to industry validation and deployment starting in 2026.

READY TO DEPLOY

Agartala 0.4.0 is now publicly available on GitHub, reinforcing IOS-MCN’s commitment to open development, transparent governance, and community-driven innovation. For further details, please visit https://ios-mcn.org.

The IOS-MCN Consortium gratefully acknowledges contributions from the OpenAirInterface, SD-Core, and ORAN-SC communities, whose collaboration continues to accelerate India’s open telecom journey.

Quote on Pre-Budget FY27 expectations – Gaurav Lath, Joint Managing Director, Concord Control Systems Limited

“As we approach Union Budget FY27, the railway technology sector stands at an exciting threshold, thanks to the visionary leadership driving India’s rail revolution. We commend the government’s tireless efforts in prioritizing safety, security, and innovation across the ecosystem, evident in groundbreaking initiatives like green hydrogen adoption and Kavach 4.0.

 We appreciate Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw’s (Minister for Railways, Information & Broadcasting and Electronics & Information Technology, GoI) focus on policy-driven growth, including infrastructure investment, manufacturing and innovation support, inclusive development, and regulatory simplification. The sector strongly supports this approach, which will create a stable, predictable environment to scale homegrown technologies and attract global investment.

The sector seeks sustained policy support to scale from pilots to commercial green hydrogen infrastructure for railways. Long-term policy visibility, paired with targeted incentives for indigenous R&D in advanced electronics, will supercharge homegrown players like us Concord Control Systems Limited. Strengthened public-private partnerships, swift technology validation, and streamlined certification, building on the government’s robust frameworks therefore will fast-track innovations.

These steps will further cement Atmanirbhar Bharat, and position India as a rail tech superpower. We’re confident this budget, under Hon’ble Finance Minister’s guidance, will deliver that transformative foundation.”

Quote on Pre-Budget FY27 expectations – Nitin Jain, Joint Managing Director, Concord Control Systems Limited

“As we approach the Union Budget FY27, the Indian rail and mobility ecosystem stands at a critical inflection point where scale, safety, and sustainability must advance together. Continued and enhanced capital allocation towards railway modernisation, indigenous technology development, and next-generation propulsion systems will be essential to meet India’s long-term freight and passenger mobility goals. Focused support for safety-critical systems, automation, and digitalisation will further strengthen operational efficiency across the rail network.

From an industry perspective, targeted incentives for domestic manufacturing of high-value electronics, embedded systems, and clean mobility solutions along with support for hydrogen and alternative energy adoption, will accelerate innovation while reducing import dependence. Policy clarity on long-term procurement, faster approvals for advanced technologies, and strengthened R&D incentives will enable companies like ours to invest with greater confidence in globally competitive solutions developed in India.

We appreciate the government’s sustained commitment to infrastructure-led growth and the ‘Make in India’ vision, which has empowered Indian companies to deliver world-class, mission-critical technologies. With continued policy support in FY27, the industry is well-positioned to contribute meaningfully to India’s ambitions of safer railways, greener transportation, and leadership in future mobility solutions.”

New Delhi, Jan 22: Ahead of the peak summer season, LG Electronics India Limited  India’s Most Trusted Brand in the Electronics segment, has announced its position as among the first brands in the country to introduce a comprehensive range of air conditioners fully compliant with the new 2026 Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) Star Rating norms.

This proactive rollout ensures that Indian consumers gain immediate access to the latest generation of energy-efficient cooling technology, well ahead of the seasonal surge in demand.

The revised BEE norms mark a significant advancement in energy efficiency benchmarks, raising industry standards and aligning India more closely with global energy performance frameworks. By upgrading its portfolio in advance, LGEIL reinforces its commitment to sustainability, responsible innovation, and consumer-centric product development.

Key Highlights of the 2026 Lineup

Enhanced Energy Savings:
The updated norms are designed to substantially reduce household power consumption. Industry estimates suggest that upgrading to a new 5-star air conditioner compliant with the 2026 standards can help consumers save up to INR 19,000 over a 10-year period, depending on usage patterns and electricity tariff rates.

Understanding the New Ratings:
Under the stricter 2026 framework, efficiency thresholds have been raised. As a result, models previously rated as 5-star may now be classified as 4-star. This reclassification reflects higher efficiency benchmarks, not diminished performance, and encourages the adoption of advanced, low-power technologies.

Immediate Availability:
LGEIL’s future-ready 2026 lineup has been available in the market since early January, positioning the brand among the earliest adopters of the new BEE norms. This ensures that customers purchasing ahead of the summer season invest in regulation-ready, next-generation technology, rather than outdated models.

Smart, Consumer-Focused Features:
The 2026 range emphasizes intelligent, user-centric innovation with features such as Precool and Energy Manager.

• Precool is an advanced feature that ensures the home is cool and comfortable the moment users arrive. Using geo-fencing technology, LG ThinQ automatically operates the air conditioner based on user-defined automation once the user enters a predefined distance range.

• Energy Manager+ analyses historical AC usage patterns and recommends realistic operating hours and energy consumption. Users can also set periodic budget targets based on these recommendations, enabling smarter energy management.

Commenting on the launch, Sanjay Chitkara, Co-Chief Sales & Marketing Officer, LG Electronics India Limited, said:

“As India transitions towards stricter energy efficiency norms, LG Electronics India Limited remains firmly committed to supporting this shift through early compliance and future-ready innovation. With our portfolio already aligned to the new BEE standards, we enter the upcoming season well prepared to deliver reliable, energy-efficient air-conditioning solutions that help consumers save on energy costs while enjoying superior cooling performance.”

To facilitate a smooth transition, LGEIL is rolling out a comprehensive consumer awareness campaign across print, digital, and retail platforms to educate customers on the benefits and implications of the new star ratings. In parallel, the company’s manufacturing and supply chain operations have been fully aligned with the updated guidelines.

While the focus remains on the 2026-compliant range, air conditioners manufactured under the previous standards will continue to be available until existing inventories are liquidated, providing consumers with greater flexibility in purchasing decisions.