All posts by Neel Achary

Pune, Mar 17th: Casagrand, one of India’s leading real estate developers, has introduced a limited-period no Pre–EMI scheme at its premium residential project, Casagrand Caladium, located near Upper Kharadi in Pune. The offer, valid until 31st March 2026, is applicable exclusively on new bookings and is aimed at making homeownership more accessible for prospective buyers. 

At a time when many homebuyers are balancing rent, EMIs, and other financial commitments, the initiative reflects Casagrand’s continued focus on creating solutions that simplify the homebuying journey. Under the scheme, Casagrand will bear the Pre–EMI commitment on behalf of the buyer for the committed tenure period, enabling customers to move closer to owning their home without the immediate burden of monthly instalments during the construction phase. 

The limited period offer has been designed to provide homebuyers with a simple, transparent and a convenient way to own a home. It will allow the homebuyer to avail of the scheme by simply booking the property and completing the home loan process within the stipulated timelines. 

Casagrand Caladium offers thoughtfully designed spacious 2 & 3 BHK homes along with 110+ modern lifestyle amenities which includes 1800 sft. Infinity pool, amphitheatre, Yoga court, Multi-purpose court and many more. The property offers 70% open space and a Singapore styled façade. The property is strategically located near Upper Kharadi, one of Pune’s fastest-growing residential corridors and well-connected to renowned schools, colleges, IT hubs and other social infrastructures.

New Delhi, March 17, 2026: 

The The Institute of Cost Accountants of India (ICMAI), a statutory body established under an Act of Parliament and functioning under the administrative jurisdiction of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Government of India, is organising the RISE India Leadership Summit 2026 on March 18, 2026, at Shangri-La Eros.

(L–R): CMA Navneet Kumar Jain, Council Member, ICMAI; CMA Manoj Kumar Anand, Council Member, ICMAI; CMA Vinayaranjan P, Chairman, Career Counselling & Placement Committee, ICMAI; CMA Rajendra Singh Bhati, Council Member, ICMAI; CMA Dr. Debaprosanna Nandy, Secretary Officiating, ICMAI

The announcement was made today during a press conference hosted by ICMAI at its headquarters in New Delhi.

The Summit will focus on the theme: “Strategic Leadership for Global Capability Centre – CMAs as Architects of Value Creation & Capability Augmentation.”

The Leadership Summit aims to provide a dynamic platform for thought leadership and meaningful dialogue on the evolving role of strategic leadership in driving organisational transformation, enhancing global competitiveness, and creating sustainable value. The event will highlight the critical contribution of Cost and Management Accountants (CMAs) in strengthening Global Capability Centres (GCCs) and modern enterprises.

The Summit will witness participation from an eminent gathering of CEOs, CFOs, Directors, senior corporate leaders, HR professionals, senior government officials, and industry representatives, making it a significant forum for collaboration, knowledge exchange, and strategic insights.

The event is being spearheaded by the leadership of ICMAI, including TCA Srinivasa Prasad, President; Neeraj Dhananjay Joshi, Vice President; Vinayaranjan P, Chairman, Career Counselling & Placement Committee; along with Council Members including Manoj Kumar Anand, Rajendra Singh Bhati, Navneet Kumar Jain, Dr D P Nandy, Secretary, and Rakesh Yadav, Chairman, ICMAI-NIRC, along with other Council Members, who are contributing to make the event a grand success.

Eminent speakers from leading organizations such as Microsoft India, Indian Oil Corporation Limited, Accenture, Apple India Private Limited, Power Finance Corporation Limited, BHEL, National Small Industries Corporation Limited (NSIC), REC Limited, Central Warehousing Corporation, Cement Corporation of India Limited, KRIBHCO Green Energy Pvt Ltd, TPM Consultants Pvt Ltd are expected to deliver insightful sessions at the summit.

New Delhi, Mar 17: Federal Bank today announced the inauguration of its new branch at Okhla Industrial Estate, Phase I, New Delhi, further strengthening its presence in one of the capital’s key industrial and MSME hubs.

The inauguration ceremony was marked by the presence of prominent dignitaries and industry representatives. Shri Sunil Malhotra, President of the Okhla Industries Association, inaugurated the branch. Shri Vinay Baveja, President of the Okhla Printing Press Association (OPPA), inaugurated the strong room, while the ATM-cum-Cash Deposit Machine (CDM) was inaugurated by Shri Y.C. Jain, General Secretary of the Okhla Industries Association.

The event was presided over by Vinod Kumar R, Vice President and New Delhi Zonal Head of the Bank. Other distinguished attendees included Shri Harshpal S. Sawhney, Senior Vice President of the Okhla Industries Association; Shri Jugesh Arora, Organising Secretary of the Association; Shri Augustine Ambat Joseph, Managing Director of Console Industries; and Shri Sunny Dahuja, Deputy Vice President and New Delhi Regional Head of the Bank, along with valued customers and officials from nearby branches.

In his address, Vinod Kumar R highlighted the critical role of MSMEs as the backbone of India’s economy and emphasized the strategic importance of Okhla as a thriving industrial cluster. He noted that the new branch will enable the Bank to better cater to the financial needs of entrepreneurs, manufacturers, traders, and small businesses in the region.

The newly inaugurated branch is equipped with modern infrastructure and advanced technology, designed to deliver a seamless and efficient banking experience to customers.

Now in its ninth decade of operations, Federal Bank continues to expand its footprint through a robust “phygital” strategy, combining an extensive branch network with industry-leading digital capabilities.

A research team led by Dr. Ji-Hyung Han from the Convergence Research Center of Sector Coupling & Integration at the Korea Institute of Energy Research (President Yi, Chang-Keun, hereinafter “KIER”) has developed a new seawater electrolysis system that overcomes the precipitate formation issue long blamed for performance degradation and process interruptions, while also presenting a new direction for further technology advancement.

Water electrolysis is a technology that produces hydrogen, an eco-friendly energy source, by splitting water. Recently, amid the global freshwater shortage, seawater electrolysis using seawater has been gaining attention as a promising alternative.

However, seawater electrolysis has often been considered inefficient because precipitates formed from magnesium and calcium ions in seawater accumulate on electrode surfaces, leading to performance degradation. It has also been pointed out that continuous hydrogen production is difficult because the deposited precipitates must be removed through acid washing or mechanical cleaning.

To address this issue, KIER researchers developed a new system architecture incorporating two electrodes for the first time in the world. While one electrode produces hydrogen and accumulates precipitates, the other, where precipitates have already built up, temporarily halts hydrogen production and dissolves the deposits using seawater that becomes naturally acidified during operation.

Once the precipitates are completely dissolved, the two electrodes switch roles, enabling hydrogen production and precipitate removal to proceed simultaneously. Through experiments, the researchers confirmed that by simply alternating the roles of the electrodes every 48 hours, precipitate formation and complete removal could be repeated continuously.

In conventional single-electrode seawater electrolysis systems, energy consumption increased by about 27% after 200 hours of operation due to precipitate buildup. By contrast, the system developed by the research team showed only a 1.8% increase in energy consumption even after more than 400 hours of long-term operation, delivering 15 times higher performance than the single-electrode system.

In addition, after 400 hours of operation, the hydrogen evolution catalyst content decreased by only 20% from its initial level, demonstrating superior stability compared with the single-electrode system, which showed a 53% reduction.

Dr. Ji-Hyung Han, the principal researcher of the study, said,

“This study demonstrates that the precipitate issue, a major bottleneck in seawater electrolysis, can be controlled solely through system architecture design.” She added, “In particular, by being the first in the world to propose the concept of ‘self-cleaning,’ in which electrodes recover on their own using acidified seawater, this work presents a new direction for future seawater electrolysis technology development.”

Meanwhile, this research was carried out as a collaborative study with Professor Joohyun Lim’s team at Kangwon National University, with support from the Convergence Research Group Project of the National Research Council of Science & Technology (NST). The findings were published in the March issue of Chemical Engineering Journal (IF 13.2), a prestigious international journal in the fields of energy and chemical engineering.

New Delhi, Mar 17: realme, one of the most popular smartphone brands among youth, has announced special offers on its NARZO smartphone lineup as part of the “realme NARZO Power Days,” starting March 17. The limited-period sale gives consumers an opportunity to upgrade to feature-packed smartphones with attractive benefits, coupons, and buyback options, exclusively on Amazon.

The campaign highlights realme’s NARZO series, known for delivering smooth performance, immersive displays, and reliable battery life—making it ideal for users seeking powerful everyday smartphones. With these limited-time offers, customers can explore a wide range of NARZO devices tailored to modern usage needs.

During the sale, customers can avail exciting deals and additional benefits on popular models such as the realme NARZO 90 5G, realme NARZO 90X 5G, and realme NARZO Power 5G. These devices are designed to offer a seamless combination of performance, efficiency, and user-friendly features, catering to both casual and power users.

The “realme NARZO Power Days” campaign aims to make advanced smartphone technology more accessible while enhancing the overall buying experience through exclusive online offers and upgrade opportunities.

The offers will be available for a limited time, encouraging customers to take advantage of the deals and experience realme’s NARZO lineup. Interested buyers can access the offers exclusively on Amazon.

Mar 17: Corporate travel is no longer defined by rushed itineraries and back-to-back meetings. Today, it is evolving into a more thoughtful experience that balances productivity with comfort. As Indian companies expand into new markets, business travel is picking up pace. But with packed schedules, flight changes and tight itineraries, many professionals are finding that work trips can quickly become exhausting rather than productive. As travel increases, expectations are shifting. Today’s business travellers are looking for smoother, more flexible journeys, whether that means easier booking options, the ability to adjust plans on the go or a travel experience that allows them to stay focused and refreshed.

1. Flexibility is Essential
Business travel often requires a degree of flexibility. Meetings run over, schedules shift, and priorities change. Flexible fares and booking options allow companies to adjust plans effortlessly, ensuring travel stays smooth.

2. Supporting Both the Company and the Traveller
As business travel grows, companies are increasingly looking for programmes that offer both convenience and added value. With MHcorporate by Malaysia Airlines, businesses can manage work travel more efficiently while offering employees additional benefits – not only for work trips but also when travelling for leisure with their loved ones. When employees book their personal travel through the portal, companies can also earn Corporate Loyalty Points that can be redeemed for flights across the Malaysia Airlines network. This allows organisations to streamline travel management while rewarding both the business and its employees.

3. Travel Supports Business Growth
For many organisations, travel remains a key driver for building partnerships and expanding into new markets. Strong airline networks and reliable regional connectivity help teams move efficiently across key destinations in Asia-Pacific and beyond. Corporate programmes such as MHcorporate by Malaysia Airlines offer structured benefits while keeping travel simple and manageable.

4. Efficiency Makes a Difference
Time saved during travel can be reinvested into business priorities. Reliable routes, convenient connections and smooth coordination all contribute to a more efficient travel experience. For small and medium-sized businesses in particular, a dependable travel programme helps reduce uncertainty and allows teams to focus on their core work.

5. Smarter Travel Planning
Frequent business travellers are increasingly choosing airline partners based on reliability, connectivity and ease of booking. In response, companies are taking a more strategic approach, prioritising long-term value over one-off bookings.

As business travel continues to grow, companies of all sizes are rethinking how they manage it. Flexible options, clear benefits and strong global connectivity are now central to decision-making. Programmes such as MHcorporate by Malaysia Airlines – offering corporate fare benefits, greater booking flexibility, and access to the airlines’ international network – provide a practical way for companies to manage business travel with greater flexibility and value.

Development Corporation

The board of the Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation (TIDCO) has approved an investment of ₹25 crore in Raptee Energy under the TIDCO Startup Investment Policy 2025. These investments mark the first deployments under the policy and signal the Government of Tamil Nadu’s decision to directly support high-potential startups emerging from the State’s deep-tech and advanced manufacturing ecosystem.

Approval letters were handed over by TRB Rajaa, Minister for Industries, to Dinesh Arjun, CEO and Co- Founder of Raptee Energy. This investment represents a broader institutional shift led by the Department of Industries to strengthen Tamil Nadu’s startup financing ecosystem. It also reflects the State’s focus on supporting innovative companies in frontier sectors such as electric mobility and advanced technologies. 

Dinesh Arjun, CEO & Co-Founder, Raptee Energy

“Having TIDCO as a direct investor is a historic first for any state in the country, and it provides Raptee with the institutional credibility to compete on a global stage. This milestone would not have been possible without the forward-thinking leadership of the Honourable Chief Minister Thiru MK Stalin and the hands-on encouragement of the Industries Minister Dr. TRB Rajaa. From our early days to this significant backing, the Minister has personally championed our mission, providing the guidance and ecosystem support necessary for a deep-tech startup to thrive. We are proud to be building world-class electric motorcycles in Tamil Nadu, fueled by a government that truly believes in the power of homegrown innovation.” 

TRB Rajaa, Minister for Industries

“Since 2024, we have been working on reimagining TIDCO’s role in the Department of Industries. Making Tamil Nadu a ‘Product Nation’ has been the ambition of the Honourable Chief Minister, and my personal target, for two years. To lay the foundation for that target, we rebranded TIDCO as a ‘Venture Catalyst’ – the first step towards reforming the organisation into a robust investment arm of the government that helps secure the state’s future in sunrise sectors. With these investments, we have opened a brand new chapter

in TIDCO’s journey with the ambition to recreate the success of our early investments, like the one in TITAN, across many more promising startups.” 

Arun Roy, Secretary, Department of Industries

“Under this policy, TIDCO has been authorised to invest up to ₹25 crore in eligible startups across sunrise sectors such as electric vehicles, renewable energy, aerospace and defence, semiconductors, medical electronics, advanced technologies including artificial intelligence, blockchain and quantum computing, agro and food processing, technical textiles and speciality chemicals. The policy enables investments across the startup lifecycle, from early-stage innovation to scale and expansion, ensuring that high-growth Tamil Nadu companies have access to patient capital within the State.”

IMDb (www.imdb.com), the world’s most popular and authoritative source for information on movies, TV shows, and celebrities, presented an IMDb “Fan Favorite” STARmeter Award to Maya Hawke, star of Wishful Thinking, at the Getty Images Portrait Studio Presented by IMDb during SXSW 2026. IMDb STARmeter Awards recognize the stars who are fan favorites on the IMDbPro STARmeter chart, which is determined by the page views of the more than 250 million monthly visitors to IMDb worldwide. 

IMDb presented a “Fan Favorite” STARmeter Award to actor Maya Hawke.  

Hawke consistently ranks in the STARmeter top 100 on IMDbPro and delivers strong chart performance across her projects. Her popularity took off after joining the cast of Netflix’s Stranger Things as Robin Buckley, a sharp, witty, and brave character introduced in Season 3 as a sarcastic Scoops Ahoy employee who quickly became a fan favorite. Set in the fictional town of Hawkins, Indiana, the show follows Robin and her fellow heroes as they fight monsters and uncover threats from the Upside Down. Stranger Things has remained one of the most-popular series on IMDb for years. Admiration for her work heightens as she stars in Wishful Thinking, which is premiering at SXSW 2026. This recognition places her among an elite group of previous IMDb STARmeter Award recipients, including her Wishful Thinking co-star, Lewis Pullman, who was the most recent award recipient at Toronto Film Festival in 2025. Learn more about IMDb STARmeter Awards at imdb.com/starmeterawards.  

Maya Hawke accepted the IMDb STARmeter Award today (Mar 13) during a visit to the Getty Images Portrait Studio Presented by IMDb located at the J.W. Marriott, at SXSW 2026. Original IMDb coverage of the festival, including celebrity video interviews and photographs, is available now at https://www.imdb.com/sxsw/.  

Thomson brings over 10 years’ experience in AI technology and strategy from Google, Adobe, and Telstra to one of the industry’s earliest AI-native ad fraud prevention platforms.   

Australia, March 17: TrafficGuard, a leading platform in AI-powered digital ad verification and invalid traffic (IVT) prevention, has appointed Scott Thomson as Head of AI. Thomson will oversee and accelerate the execution and embedment of AI into TrafficGuard’s platform and processes, building on more than eight years of machine learning innovation that has positioned the company at the forefront of ad fraud detection since its founding. He brings over a decade’s worth of experience in technology and AI innovation, having previously worked for Google, Adobe, and Telstra, as well as founding strategic consultancy firm SCRYPTID.   

TrafficGuard was among the first ad verification platforms to deploy machine learning models for real-time invalid traffic detection, processing billions of data points to identify fraud patterns invisible to rules-based systems. That early investment in AI infrastructure now serves as the foundation for the company’s next generation of detection capabilities – engineered to combat an increasingly sophisticated threat landscape.   

“We are delighted to welcome Scott in an executive capacity at a pivotal time for TrafficGuard. His deep expertise in AI spanning Google Cloud, generative AI strategy, and enterprise innovation is directly aligned with where we are taking this business,” said Mat Ratty, CEO of TrafficGuard. “Scott’s appointment accelerates our ability to execute our AI roadmap and deliver advanced fraud prevention to advertisers globally. We look forward to the contribution he will make as we enter our next phase of growth.”   

Scott Thomson will support TrafficGuard’s expansion of its AI capabilities, ensuring the platform is well positioned to manage ad exposure and fraud risks as the digital advertising ecosystem undergoes its most significant shift in a decade. He will leveragehis extensive experience in AI strategy and innovation to accelerate product development and commercial execution, bringing to market advanced solutions that monitor, detect, analyse, and respond to invalid traffic, while driving adoption across new verticals and channels.   

Scott Thomson, Head of AI, Traffic Guard said: “Having served as a non-executive director since early 2024 with TrafficGuard, I’m looking forward to adding my experience and guidance more directly to our already significant team. The AI arms race in ad fraud is real. Fraudsters are already deploying agentic bots and generative AI to evade detection at scale, and staying ahead requires deep AI expertise and a platform built for continuous evolution.   

The appointment comes at a critical inflection point for the industry. The rapid proliferation of agentic AI – autonomous bots capable of browsing, clicking, filling out forms, and mimicking genuine user behaviour, is fundamentally reshaping the threat landscape for digital advertisers. Unlike traditional bot traffic, agentic bots operate with human-like intent patterns, making them significantly harder to detect using conventional verification methods. Industry analysts project that AI-generated invalid traffic will account for an increasingly material share of digital ad spend waste over the coming years, creating an urgent need for AI-native detection that can evolve at the same pace as the threats it defends against.   

“TrafficGuard has a strong foundation in machine learning-driven detection, and I’m here to accelerate what’s next,” said Thompson. “Expanding our AI-powered capabilities beyond fraud detection into intelligent optimisation tools that help advertisers not just protect their spend, but maximise its performance. We’re evolving the platform to cover new channels and deliver actionable insights that turn fraud data into a genuine competitive advantage. Tackling ad fraud has become increasingly essential for advertisers, and I can’t wait to be part of the talented team building the future of ad verification.”   

This strategic appointment will further strengthen TrafficGuard’s commitment to driving innovation in ad fraud prevention. It supports TrafficGuard’s wider global channel growth strategy, following its recent expansion in the United States and the appointment of CPO Miguel Lopes. The company plans to significantly expand its team, enabling brands to boost their revenue and confidently scale advertising campaigns by eliminating invalid traffic. As brands allocate record budgets to digital channels, TrafficGuard’s mission to ensure every ad dollar reaches a real human has never been more commercially critical. 

Solna, Sweden, March 17: One-carbon Therapeutics, a clinical-stage oncology company pioneering first-in-class targeted therapies based on deep understanding into cancer biology, today announced a strategic collaboration with Tempus AI Inc. (NASDAQ: TEM), a technology company leading the adoption of AI to advance precision medicine. The collaboration will leverage Tempus’ proprietary, de-identified multimodal database and bioinformatics expertise to advance molecular insights supporting the clinical development of TH9619.

Through this collaboration, One-carbon Therapeutics will utilize Tempus’ analytical services to characterize the expression landscape across prioritized solid tumor indications. By integrating RNA sequencing data with clinical variables, the teams aim to uncover deep molecular insights that will inform the development of TH9619.    

“Understanding the molecular dynamics of one-carbon metabolism across tumor types and treatment settings is fundamental to advancing TH9619 with precision,” said Ana Slipicevic, Chief Executive Officer at One-carbon Therapeutics. “Tempus’ depth of molecular data and analytical rigor enables us to generate statistically robust evidence that can potentially guide clinical decision making and optimize development.”

“At Tempus, our goal is to accelerate progress in oncology by translating complex molecular insights into meaningful therapeutic advances,” said Ezra Cohen, MD, Chief Medical Officer, Oncology, at Tempus. “Through comprehensive analysis of our multimodal dataset, we are supporting One-carbon Therapeutics in characterizing the metabolic signatures across diverse tumor types. These insights are essential to informing research strategies and advancing the development of next-generation targeted cancer therapies.”  

By deepening the understanding of the biological mechanisms and genetic profiles associated with one-carbon metabolism across tumor types, the collaboration will strengthen the precision-driven clinical strategy for TH9619. Building on a deep understanding of how cancer cells depend on this pathway, these analyses may help identify patient populations most likely to benefit from treatment. This approach has the potential to enhance development efficiency, reduce uncertainty and ultimately help ensure that innovative targeted therapies reach the patients who need them most.