Category business

The Union Cabinet’s approval of the ₹33,660 crore Bharat Audyogik Vikas Yojna (BHAVYA) marks a significant shift in India’s industrial policy, from land allocation and incentives to fully serviced, plug-and-play manufacturing ecosystems.

At its core, BHAVYA attempts to solve a long-standing problem in India’s industrial landscape: delays between investment intent and actual production. By offering pre-cleared land, ready infrastructure, and integrated services, the scheme aims to compress this timeline dramatically.

Moving Beyond Industrial Corridors

The scheme builds on the National Industrial Corridor Development Programme (NICDP), which focused on large, strategically located industrial regions. However, BHAVYA expands this model in two important ways.

First, it decentralizes industrial development by spreading 100 parks across states and Union Territories. Second, it introduces a more execution-focused approach, where readiness of infrastructure becomes the key selling point rather than just location or policy incentives.

This suggests a policy evolution from macro-planning to micro-level execution.

Plug-and-Play: Solving India’s Entry Barrier Problem

One of the biggest deterrents for investors in India has been procedural complexity and infrastructure gaps. Even after approvals, companies often face delays due to land issues, utilities, or logistics bottlenecks.

BHAVYA directly targets this friction. By ensuring that land is pre-approved and infrastructure is in place, the government is effectively lowering the cost and uncertainty of entry.

If implemented well, this could particularly benefit MSMEs and global manufacturers looking to diversify supply chains away from single-country dependencies.

Competitive Federalism in Action

The “challenge mode” selection of projects introduces a competitive dynamic among states. Only those offering reform-oriented, investment-ready proposals will qualify for central support.

This approach aligns with a broader trend of competitive federalism, where states compete on ease of doing business, infrastructure readiness, and policy stability. It also shifts responsibility to states to deliver reforms rather than rely solely on central funding.

Infrastructure Depth, Not Just Scale

The scheme’s design indicates a move toward deeper infrastructure development rather than just expanding industrial land.

Support for core, value-added, and social infrastructure reflects a recognition that industrial ecosystems require more than factories. Worker housing, logistics facilities, testing labs, and digital systems are critical for sustained productivity.

The inclusion of underground utility corridors and green energy systems also signals a push toward more efficient and sustainable industrial zones, potentially reducing long-term operational disruptions.

Economic Multiplier and Job Creation

With parks ranging from 100 to 1,000 acres, BHAVYA is expected to generate significant employment across manufacturing, logistics, and services. The clustering of industries could also strengthen domestic supply chains and reduce dependence on imports.

However, the real multiplier effect will depend on how quickly these parks attract anchor investors. Without early movers, infrastructure risks remaining underutilized, as seen in some past industrial projects.

The Execution Challenge

While the design of BHAVYA is ambitious, its success will hinge on execution at the state and local levels.

Key challenges include:

• Timely land acquisition and clearances

• Coordination between multiple agencies

• Ensuring last-mile connectivity

• Maintaining investor confidence through policy stability

Past experience with industrial parks in India shows that delays and uneven implementation can dilute impact.

Strategic Timing

The scheme comes at a time when global supply chains are being reconfigured, and countries are competing to attract manufacturing investments. India’s push for plug-and-play infrastructure aligns with this global shift.

If executed effectively, BHAVYA could position India as a more predictable and efficient manufacturing destination, complementing initiatives like Production Linked Incentive (PLI) schemes.

Bottom Line

BHAVYA represents a structural shift in India’s industrial strategy, from policy-driven incentives to infrastructure-led competitiveness. It acknowledges that investors value speed, certainty, and ecosystem readiness as much as financial support.

The intent is clear. The outcome will depend on whether India can deliver industrial parks that are not just announced, but fully operational when investors arrive.

The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved the Small Hydro Power (SHP) Development Scheme for the period 2026–27 to 2030–31. The scheme has a total outlay of ₹2,584.60 crore and aims to install small hydro power projects with a combined capacity of around 1,500 MW.

The initiative focuses on promoting small hydro projects with capacities between 1 MW and 25 MW across the country. It is expected to significantly benefit hilly regions and North Eastern states, where there is high potential for such projects.

Under the scheme, enhanced financial support will be provided to projects in North Eastern states and districts along international borders. These areas will receive central assistance of up to ₹3.6 crore per MW or 30 percent of the project cost, whichever is lower, subject to a maximum of ₹30 crore per project. In other states, assistance will be up to ₹2.4 crore per MW or 20 percent of the project cost, capped at ₹20 crore per project.

Out of the total allocation, ₹2,532 crore has been earmarked for project development. The scheme is expected to attract investments of around ₹15,000 crore in the sector, boosting clean energy capacity and driving development in remote and rural regions. It will also support domestic manufacturing, with 100 percent of plant and machinery expected to be sourced within the country, aligning with the Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative.

Additionally, ₹30 crore has been allocated to support state and central agencies in preparing detailed project reports (DPRs) for approximately 200 future projects. This is aimed at creating a strong pipeline for continued growth in the small hydro sector.

The scheme is projected to generate about 51 lakh person-days of employment during the construction phase, along with long-term jobs in operation and maintenance. Since these projects are decentralized, they require minimal transmission infrastructure, reducing energy losses.

Officials said the initiative will help revive the small hydro power sector and accelerate the use of untapped potential. SHP projects are considered environmentally sustainable as they involve limited land use, minimal deforestation, and low displacement of communities. With a typical lifespan of 40 to over 60 years, these projects are also expected to contribute to long-term socio-economic development in remote areas.

Nottingham, UK,  March 19 – IsomAb Ltd, a UK-based biotechnology company, today announced the appointment of Dr Philip Brainin as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and member of the Board of Directors. IsomAb is developing transformative isoform‑specific antibody therapeutics for atherosclerotic disease. Dr Brainin is tasked with taking lead candidate ISM-001 for chronic stable angina (CSA) into clinical development. ISM-001’s strong preclinical data showing complete restoration of blood flow in severe ischemic disease models supports the company’s stated goal of delivering a disease-modifying treatment for CSA, a condition affecting 9 million patients in the US alone.

Dr Philip Brainin is physician-scientist with extensive training in clinical cardiology, and brings a unique combination of cardiovascular medicine, clinical research, and venture investing experience across EU and US biotechnology companies. He has invested in multiple early-stage therapeutics companies, advised Boards of Directors including for AnaCardio and NephroDI, and has shaped corporate and business development strategies for portfolio companies to enable financing, partnerships, and exits. 

“With my background in cardiology, I see every day how limited our options are for patients with ischaemic disease,” explains Dr Brainin. “What excites me about IsomAb is that ISM-001 is not just another VEGF therapy. The pioneering mechanistic and pharmacological data generated by the team shows that IsomAb’s unique approach targeting VEGF-A₁₆₅b removes the brakes on angiogenesis that are applied in ischemic disease, allowing blood vessels to grow, remodel and create durable new arteries. Once proof of concept is demonstrated in the clinic, I envisage a clear pathway for regulatory, manufacturing and commercial success.”

Dr Anker Lundemose has been appointed Chair of the Board of Directors of IsomAb, replacing Paul Edwards, who remains as a non-executive Director on the Board. A physician-scientist and seasoned biotech leader at companies such as OSI Pharmaceuticals, Prosidion and Mission Therapeutics, Dr Lundemose has a strong track record in creating successful investor exits through multiple M&As and IPOs.

“With strong preclinical results, a clear translational plan through clinical proof of concept, and Philip’s appointment as CEO, I believe IsomAb offers a major Series A investment opportunity and look forward to working with him to accelerate ISM‑001’s development into a much-needed breakthrough therapy for cardiovascular disease,” adds Dr Lundemose.

SYDNEY, March 19 – Epson has received the prestigious iF DESIGN AWARD 2026 for one series of projectors and one series of printers, all of which are sold both domestically and internationally.

Each year since 1954, iF International Forum Design GmbH, headquartered in Germany, organises the iF DESIGN AWARD, now recognised internationally as one of the most prestigious design competitions.

A jury selects the best and most innovative industrial product designs. This award honours only products that meet a wide range of strict criteria, including practicality, craftsmanship, innovation, environmental consideration, functionality, usability, safety, aesthetics and universal design.

This year, a jury made up of 129 experts selected the best designs from among nearly 10,000 entries from 68 countries and regions.

Award-Winning Designs
Home Projectors: EF-73 (in A/NZ), EF-72, EF-71, EF-52, EF-51

Epson EF-73 smart projector

This smart projector is powered by Google TV™¹ OS. Its proprietary Triple Core Engine, combining 3LCD technology with a three-color light source, delivers bright, vivid images with exceptional colour accuracy. Paired with immersive audio from Sound by Bose² speakers, it offers a truly premium viewing experience.

Featuring an angle-adjustable stand inspired by a modern table lamp and real-time automatic image correction, the projector can be set up effortlessly — no complex adjustments required.

An integrated ambient light³ further enhances the atmosphere, enriching any space. Designed to elevate everyday viewing into a special moment, it provides a refined and immersive entertainment experience.

Inkjet Printers

EcoTank ET-4950, ET-3950 and ET-2950 series

Independent post-show research following AIME 2026 has projected a record-breaking $425 million (AUD) in business transactions between exhibitors and buyers over the next 12 months, reinforcing AIME’s role as Asia Pacific’s leading business events trade show.

Designed to prioritise quality connections and meaningful business outcomes, AIME carefully matches vetted global buyers with targeted exhibitors through a combination of human expertise and advanced AI-powered scheduling. The result is a focused environment where high-value meetings take place and real business opportunities are created.

Testament to this curation, attendee satisfaction for AIME 2026 was extremely high, with the exhibitor Net Promoter Score reaching 32.6, well above the industry benchmark of 9.6, while the visitor Net Promoter Score of 59.4 significantly exceeds the benchmark score of 30.6.

Talk2 Media & Events CEO Matt Pearce said the results reflected the strength of AIME’s targeted and curated approach to meetings.

“AIME is uniquely built around the quality of the connections we create,” he said.

“Our event is carefully curated to ensure the right people are meeting each other, which leads to stronger conversations, better partnerships and real commercial outcomes.

“The projected $425 million in business shows the value of those meetings and the role AIME plays in supporting destinations, venues and suppliers across the Asia Pacific region.”

Melbourne Convention Bureau CEO Julia Swanson said:

“AIME continues to shine as the premier business events trade show in our region and MCB is incredibly proud to own such an impactful event. The ongoing success of AIME reflects the strength of our local business events industry as well as the capacity for Melbourne to host large-scale trade shows that draw exhibitors and buyers from around the world and generate record-breaking amounts of business. 

“We look forward to the continued growth and success of the show as we continue to innovate and provide further opportunities for strong partnerships and excellent outcomes.”

AIME Event Director Silke Calder said the results reflected strong engagement from buyers, exhibitors and partners across the global business events sector.

“AIME continues to grow in both scale and impact, with more of the global industry coming together each year to meet, connect, learn and do business,” she said.

“The strong satisfaction scores from exhibitors and visitors show the quality of the meetings taking place and the importance of AIME as a platform for building new partnerships and future events.”

Delivered by Talk2 Media & Events, AIME 2026 was the largest show yet delivered by Calder and her team.

AIME 2026 also set records for its size, number of hosted buyers, exhibitors and attendees, reflecting strong global demand for in-person meetings and industry connection.

Held at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre (MCEC) from 9–11 February 2026, the event welcomed more than 1,500 vetted buyers, over 765 exhibitors from 36 countries and territories, and more than 5,000 attendees from the global business events industry.

Across the two-day trade show, more than 25,000 pre-scheduled meetings took place between buyers and exhibitors.

Asia Pacific’s largest and longest-running business events exhibition and learning platform, AIME connects a global community of business events professionals with industry suppliers through a seamless blend of human expertise and cutting-edge artificial intelligence.

AIME is owned by the Melbourne Convention Bureau (MCB) and delivered by Talk2 Media & Events and is the first tradeshow on the annual international business events calendar. 

AIME 2027 will be held 15–17 February 2027 at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, with AIME 2028 scheduled for 14–16 February 2028.

San Francisco, CA, March 18- Multiply is the first AI-native media agency for B2B companies. All marketers know that in traditional advertising, campaigns start losing effectiveness the moment they launch. Creative gets stale and audiences tune out. Multiply calls this phenomenon “decaying ads.”

Today, the company emerged from stealth with $9.5 million in funding to introduce what it calls the next paradigm: Self-Learning Advertising, where ads use internal data to continuously get better on their own. The round was led by Mayfield, with participation from Sorenson Capital, Instacart Co-Founder Max Mullen, Google Head of Gemini and Google Labs Josh Woodward, and executives from HubSpot, Braze, Issuu, Brex, Sierra, and Common Room, among others.

Early customers report outsized impact in sales pipeline generated from ads. Vanta, a leader in security automation, which has raised over $500 million from Sequoia Capital and other top VCs, shared: “We’ve seen 770% more sales meetings, we build and test faster with their AI, and their team is strategic, hands-on, and operates as trusted partners.” Listen Labs, the leading AI customer research platform that has raised $100M, said LinkedIn has become its most efficient paid channel for new leads, with campaigns performing 5X above LinkedIn benchmarks. Across customers, the common thread is velocity, and lead quality, and pipeline impact.

Multiply Co-Founder & CEO Matt Jayson explains that “Modern companies already have all the data needed to create radically better ads. Sales conversations, CRM systems, and pipeline outcomes reveal exactly why customers buy – yet those insights rarely make their way into ad campaigns fast enough.” Today, Multiply focuses on Google Search ads and LinkedIn ads. The company connects directly to sales call recordings, CRMs, and ad platform performance data to generate new creative and messaging aligned to why buyers choose a company over competitors. Hundreds of structured experiments run continuously, refining audiences, copy, and creative, so campaigns improve every week–instead of declining.

Multiply was founded by Matt Jayson, formerly at Google and Brex, and Ashish Warty, formerly SVP Engineering at HackerOne and engineering leader at Dropbox and Airship. Jayson describes the company’s ambition: “We help companies get discovered by their dream customers. To do this, we’ve built the world’s most insatiable AI agent. Just like a great growth marketer, it’s never satisfied. There’s never enough pipeline. So it keeps learning, testing, and finding ways to get better.”

To tackle something this ambitious, Multiply couldn’t just build AI software. The company operates as a media agency staffed by expert strategists, who use Multiply’s proprietary AI to operate campaigns at speeds and with impact previously impossible.

Multiply’s Customer Insights AI Agent extracts real customer language from sales calls and uses it to personalize ads. The ICP Agent analyzes closed-won deals to refine targeting. The Quality Score Agent continuously tune copy and keyword alignment. The Creative Design Agent refreshes images weekly. The A/B Testing Agent runs hundreds of experiments, quickly identifying winners and cutting losers. Ashish Warty, Co-founder and CTO of Multiply, describes, “Together, these systems allow Multiply to iterate faster than any traditional agency model.”

“Brand safety is paramount,” explains Warty. “Every campaign includes human oversight from experienced media buyers, and we work within each customer’s brand and compliance requirements. We move as fast as their teams and systems allow.”

While Multiply launched first with Google and LinkedIn ads, the company says its infrastructure was designed for emerging AI-driven ad platforms like ChatGPT ads. Multiply is already helping its customers prepare for ChatGPT ads. All campaign learnings and experimentation systems can extend directly into new formats, including conversational and AI-driven advertising experiences.

“There is a major shift happening in the $50B B2B advertising market,” said Patrick Salyer, Partner at Mayfield and Multiply board member. “Service-as-Software is redefining how companies grow, and Multiply has built the first AI model for B2B advertising. Instead of static campaigns managed manually, Multiply has become a compounding growth engine for every company it partners with.”

Looking ahead, Multiply will expand into a full omni-channel ad buyer for B2B companies, enabling businesses to launch and optimize advertising across all major platforms from a single system. The roadmap includes expansion to additional channels, daily creative refresh, unified cross-channel attribution, and AI-driven budget allocation across ad channels to maximize pipeline impact. As new AI-powered advertising channels emerge, Multiply aims to help customers adopt them early while continuing to outperform across existing platforms.