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  • Bharatmata Cinema Reopens Reviving a Legacy for a New Generation

    Bharatmata Cinema Reopens – Reviving a Legacy for a New Generation

    Mumbai, Mar 25: One of Mumbai’s most iconic heritage single-screen theatres, Bharatmata Cinema, located in the heart of Parel, has reopened its doors to audiences on Tuesday, Mar 24, 2026, bringing back the charm of traditional cinema-going with modern technology and upgraded comfort.

    cinema that holds nostalgic value for generations of movie lovers, Bharatmata Cinema has been carefully restored and upgraded while retaining its heritage character and emotional connect with the local community. The revival of this historic cinema has been undertaken by One Cinemaspowered by Mukta A2 Cinemas, with a shared vision of bringing back the magic of single-screen cinemas for today’s audiences. 

    The upgraded Bharatmata Cinema now offers an enhanced movie experience featuring Dolby Surround Sound, 2K Laser Projection, luxury recliners and sofas, and a refreshed food and beverage experience, ensuring audiences enjoy a larger-than-life cinematic experience in complete comfort. While the cinema has been technologically upgraded, special care has been taken to maintain its heritage aesthetic and nostalgic identity. 

    The reopening of Bharatmata Cinema represents a larger vision of reviving heritage cinemas and making cinema-going accessible, comfortable, and enjoyable for all sections of audiences, while bringing back the culture and community experience of watching films on the big screen.


    Rajat HaksarOne Cinemas, said, “Bharatmata Cinema holds a special place in the hearts of Mumbai audiences, and reviving this heritage cinema is a matter of great pride for us. Our vision is to bring back the culture of single-screen cinemas while upgrading the experience for today’s audiences and keeping cinema-going accessible to everyone.”
     

    Satwik Lele, COO, Mukta A2 Cinemas, said, “This partnership between One Cinemas and Mukta A2 Cinemas is built on a long-term vision of growing the cinema business together and expanding quality cinema experiences across markets. Reviving heritage cinemas like Bharatmata is an important step towards preserving cinema culture while building the future of exhibition together.”

  • Study shows Hong Kong insurers are leading the region in investment risk appetite, and betting on technology to deliver it

    Mar 25: More than nine out of 10 (92%) of insurers in Hong Kong plan to boost risk profiles over the next two years and are turning to automation and advanced technology to manage the consequence, new research from Clearwater Analytics, the most comprehensive technology platform for investment management, shows (please see the attached press release).

     Its study with insurance asset management executives at Hong Kong firms with total assets under management of $1.31 trillion found that 52% said the risk profile of their investments had increased over the past two years. By comparison, in Singapore the research found 84% said risk profiles had increased in the past two years.

     Automation was identified as the key method for managing risk, well ahead of measures such as increased regulation and stricter capital controls.

     The regulatory environment is a key catalyst for that technology investment. When asked to identify the main drivers of increased technology spending on asset liability management, insurers point to regulatory demands, including heightened requirements for stress testing, solvency reporting, and risk disclosures.

     The specific asset class driving Hong Kong’s risk escalation is unmistakable. A striking 80% of Hong Kong insurers expect private equity and venture capital risk/reward levels to increase significantly over the next 12 months — far ahead of any other asset class and the highest such expectation recorded across the three markets surveyed. It is this pursuit of private market returns that is pushing risk profiles higher and demanding better technology to match.

      

  • Autoverse Mobility Unveils Warranty Program, Digital Discovery and EV Certification to Transform India’s Automotive Aftermarket

    Autoverse Mobility Unveils Warranty Program, Digital Discovery and EV Certification to Transform India’s Automotive Aftermarket

    Bengaluru, Mar 25: Autoverse Mobility, a leading auto parts digital distributor, providing on-time deliveries and exceptional service to garage owners and vendors, has announced a suite of new initiatives and product launches aimed at strengthening trust, improving access to genuine parts, and building future-ready capabilities across India’s rapidly evolving automotive aftermarket.

    Unveiled at Motor Mechanic Day 2026Autoverse Mobility’s flagship industry event, these initiatives underscore the company’s focus on leveraging technology, partnerships, and skill development to address long-standing challenges in the aftermarket, particularly around part authenticity, discovery of trusted service providers, and readiness for electric vehicles.

    The company has introduced a first-of-its-kind warranty program enabling multi-brand garages to procure the right parts with confidence. Powered by an advanced traceability system, the program ensures that genuine parts are verified and tracked across the supply chain. It is currently live for select brands and will be expanded across the broader aftermarket ecosystem.

    Additionally, to improve access to trusted service providers, the company has launched a WhatsApp-based mechanic discovery feature. This helps end customers to seamlessly connect with verified garages that use genuine parts, thereby bridging the trust gap in vehicle servicing. Customers can connect through WhatsApp on the given number – 888 499 8600.

    On strengthening the after-market ecosystem, Rama Shankar Pandey, Co-founder, Autoverse Mobility said. “As vehicles become more advanced and electrified, the role of mechanics is becoming even more critical to the reliability and safety of mobility. The future of mobility will not just be defined by vehicles, but by the strength of the ecosystem that supports them. For too long, the aftermarket has operated with fragmentation, limited transparency, and unequal access to quality parts and capabilities.  By empowering mechanics with the right tools, trust, and opportunities, we are enabling a more reliable, transparent, and scalable aftermarket for India through Autoverse Mobility. Our vision is to fundamentally redefine how India services its vehicles while significantly reducing the need for heavy capex.

    Talking about the new initiatives, Mihir Mohan, Founder, CEO, Autoverse Mobility said, “Through our new initiatives, we aim to strengthen an ecosystem where garages can operate with confidence and customers can rely on every repair. As mobility evolves, especially with the shift to electric, enabling mechanics with the right capabilities and access will be critical to the future of the aftermarket. Motor Mechanic Day 2026 reflects our commitment to bringing the industry together while laying the foundation for a more trusted, transparent, and future-ready automotive aftermarket in India.”

    In partnership with Paracoat Products Limited, Autoverse Mobility has unveiled Pynoseal, a high-performance underbody coating solution designed to enhance vehicle durability and long-term performance.

    As the industry transitions toward electric mobility, the company has also launched an EV Mechanic Certification Program to train and certify mechanics in handling electric vehicles—equipping garages with future-ready capabilities.

    The event witnessed active participation from leading automotive component brands, including Sumax Industries, Lumax Auto, and Delux Bearings, showcasing their products and engaging directly with garage partners. The platform also featured Getafix, a garage management system provider, highlighting digital solutions aimed at improving workshop operations and efficiency.

    During the event, Rama Shankar Pandey, Co-Founder, Autoverse Mobility, delivered a session on ‘Right to Repair’ and shared key industry insights.

  • BPCL Assures Uninterrupted Availability of Petrol, Diesel & Domestic LPG Across Dharwad

    Hyderabad, Mar 25: Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL), a Fortune Global 500 company and one of India’s leading oil and gas enterprises, has assured citizens of Telangana that adequate supplies of Petrol, Diesel, CNG, and Domestic LPG are available across its extensive network.

    All BPCL fuel stations and Domestic LPG distributorships in the state are fully operational and equipped to meet consumer energy needs. The company emphasizes that there is no cause for concern or panic buying, as its supply chain operations remain robust and efficient, ensuring uninterrupted availability of petroleum products.

    BPCL remains committed to energy accessibility, reliability, and consumer convenience, continuing its mission to provide seamless service across all touchpoints.

  • Zalos raises $3.6M to build Computer Agents that operate finance systems the way humans do 

    Finance teams have spent years implementing and customizing ERPs, which carry career risk if they fail, yet still require sizable internal and outsourced teams to conduct manual, repetitive work across disconnected systems. Zalos is changing that by using Computer Agents that log into systems and automate end-to-end workflows, without CFOs needing to replace the systems that they have built their operations around.

     

    San Francisco, California – Mar 25; Modern finance teams run on a fragmented stack of ERPs, CRMs, spreadsheets, email, and banking platforms that were never designed to talk to each other. APIs between these systems are often missing or incomplete, which means finance teams become the human API themselves, manually stitching data across systems to complete billing cycles, close the books, and produce reporting their business depends on. Zalos was built on the belief that the next leap in productivity will not come from replacing that stack, but from agentic software that can operate it the same way humans do and understands the deep business context. 

    Today Zalos, the leader in Computer Agents for Finance Operations, announced a $3.6 million seed round to realize this vision. The funding round was led by 14 Peaks with participation from Cohen Circle, 20VC and notable angels.

    Computer Agents are the defining AI technology for 2026. 2023 was generative AI, 2024 brought multi-modal, and in 2025, AI learnt reasoning. Now AI will take over our computers. OpenAI and Anthropic have both moved into the space with generalist Computer Agents, but Zalos is purpose-built for finance operations, where the stakes of getting it wrong are categorically higher. Finance teams cannot operate on 90% accuracy, the agents need finance specific skills, and they need every automated action logged in a format auditors can follow. The Computer Agent market is still in its early stages; comparable to where large language models were at GPT 3.5. Zalos’s purpose-built infrastructure and evaluation systems are designed to push reliability to the accuracy levels that CFOs need to automate finance operations at scale.

    “Finance teams have the systems, but they are still doing the work manually because the stack is not connected,” said William Fairbairn, CEO and co-founder of Zalos. “We built Zalos on the belief that CFOs should not need to rip out their existing stack to adopt the latest in AI, we want to start by sitting on top of what is already there. Computer Agents that can log in and run the workflow end to end are the fastest path to real transformation in finance operations.”

    Zalos converts screen recordings of finance workflows into Computer Agents that log in, navigate screens, enter data, and check against controls across ERPs, Excel, email, and internal tools. The platform works inside NetSuite, Sage, and SAP S/4HANA today, with no heavy integrations required. Every agent action is captured in an auditable log, and the platform is built to enterprise security standards including SOC 2 Part II certification, enterprise single sign-on, role-based access controls, and on-premise deployment options. Use cases being most actively used by clients include billing automation across multiple systems, month-end reconciliations, and cross-system KPI reporting across multiple ERP instances.

    The company was founded by CEO William Fairbairn and CTO Hung Hoang after intersecting paths led them to the same conclusion. Fairbairn spent years at Agicap speaking with hundreds of CFOs, and heard the same frustration consistently: ERP implementations take more than twelve months, deliver limited upside when they go well, and carry real career risk when they go wrong. Hoang left Apple Pay after five years and became focused on Computer Agents specifically because they avoid the API problem that has stalled so many automation efforts in finance. The two began building Zalos last October after joining Y Combinator, with a focus on specialized agents that emulate how finance teams actually operate inside their tools.

    Hung Hoang, CTO and co-founder of Zalos added “The opportunity Zalos is addressing reflects a structural reality in enterprise finance. Legacy ERPs’ speed of innovation has stalled, leading to growing manual work in the place of transformative automation. AI-native ERPs may offer a credible alternative for companies that have not yet committed to a system. But for the majority of midmarket and enterprise finance teams, replacing an embedded ERP is not an attractive option; years of processes have been built around it, and too many painful system implementations remain fresh in memory.

    The rise of reliable Computer Agents creates a third path: automation that sits on top of the existing stack and operates it as a human would. These agents are trained once with screen recordings, then the process is automated forever, never taking a holiday, and at a speed and consistency a person cannot match.”

    Emanuele Larocca, Principal at 14 Peaks: “Finance operations is one of the last areas where the complexity and embeddedness of the underlying systems have made it genuinely hard for CFOs to unlock the ROI promised by AI. What Zalos has built sidesteps that problem entirely. By operating the systems as a human would, training agents with screen recordings, they deliver the true power of finance transformation without losing any domain expertise or asking CFOs to rip out systems they have spent years configuring.”

    Nate Pontician, Vice President at Cohen Circle: “Zalos is redefining what software means for the CFOs. Zalos’ computer agents don’t just assist; they log in, navigate systems, and complete workflows end-to-end. They’re giving finance professionals back hours lost to repetitive tasks so they can focus on what actually moves the business forward. It’s not a copilot… it’s a colleague.”

    Looking ahead, Zalos plans to expand beyond the major midmarket ERPs where it already has customers and into enterprise ERPs and on-premise systems. By building a wide-reaching context graph across the finance stack, the company aims to help CFOs deploy a swarm of agents and drive a step-change in their finance team’s impact.

    Notable angels included: Mike Lenz (CFO Fedex), Ian Sutherland (CFO Tide), Long Dinh (CFO Ada), Nancy Casey (Global Vice President, Oracle, SAP), Paul Forster (Founder, Indeed), Henri Stern (Founder, Privacy), Ed Woodford (Founder, zerohash), James Beshara (Founder, Tilt Payments), Long Lu (Founder, Misa Accounting), Catherine Dahl (Founder, Beanworks Accounts Payable), Pablo Palafox (Founder, Happy Robot), Hasan Sukkar (Founder, 11x), Chris Smoak (Founder, Atrium), Ooshma Garg (Gobble), Minh Pham (Head of Browser Infra, Perplexity), Jon Langbert (Founder, Alight), Mandeep Singh (Founder, Trouva), Thai Duong (Founder, Calif), Ash Rush (Founder, Sterling Road), Jake Klamka (Founder Insight Data Science), Jonathan Meeks (Board, TA Associates).

     

  • Andhra Pradesh, Odisha Join Reform Framework for Rural Water Supply Under JJM 2.0

    New Delhi, Mar 25 (BNP): The Centre on Tuesday signed reform-linked memoranda of understanding with Andhra Pradesh and Odisha under Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) 2.0 to strengthen sustainable and community-driven rural drinking water systems.

    The agreements aim to advance structured reforms focused on transparency, accountability, and long-term sustainability of water supply services in rural areas.

    AP, Odisha Join Reform Framework for Rural Water Supply Under JJM 2.0

    Union Jal Shakti Minister C.R. Patil said the next phase of the mission will prioritise bridging infrastructure gaps, ensuring reliable water supply, and strengthening community-led management systems.

    He highlighted the need for proper handover of completed schemes to local communities and emphasised women’s participation in water quality monitoring through field test kits.

    AP, Odisha Join Reform Framework for Rural Water Supply Under JJM 2.0

    The MoU with Andhra Pradesh was signed in the presence of Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, while Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi participated virtually during the signing of the agreement with his state.

    Both states reaffirmed their commitment to achieving universal household tap water coverage and improving service delivery through community participation and sustainable operation and maintenance systems.

    Officials said the reform framework includes measures to strengthen infrastructure, improve monitoring through digital platforms, and enhance citizen engagement through local committees and grievance redressal systems.

    The agreements are part of the Centre’s broader push under JJM 2.0 to ensure adequate and quality drinking water supply to every rural household, aligned with the goal of long-term water security and improved living standards.

    The development was announced by the Ministry of Jal Shakti in a statement.

  • CapEx by Heavy Industry CPSEs Rises to Rs.577 Crore in FY25

    New Delhi, Mar 25 (BNP): Capital expenditure by Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) under the Ministry of Heavy Industries rose to ₹577.41 crore in 2024–25, reflecting increased investments in new projects, expansion, and modernisation.

    According to data shared in Parliament, total CapEx by these CPSEs stood at ₹340.58 crore in 2022–23 and ₹388.94 crore in 2023–24, indicating a steady upward trend over the past three financial years.

    CapEx by Heavy Industry CPSEs Rises to Rs.577 Crore in FY25

    Among the CPSEs, Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) accounted for the largest share of investment, with CapEx rising from ₹262 crore in 2022–23 to ₹536 crore in 2024–25.

    Other enterprises, including Cement Corporation of India Ltd and Sambhar Salts Ltd, also recorded notable investments, though at a smaller scale.

    The investments were primarily aimed at setting up new plants and machinery, expanding production capacity, and manufacturing new products, officials said.

    Several CPSEs, however, reported relatively modest or declining capital expenditure over the period, reflecting varied operational and investment cycles across entities.

    The information was provided by Minister of State for Heavy Industries Bhupathiraju Srinivasa Varma in a written reply in the Lok Sabha.

  • AI Tools, Digital Platforms to Strengthen Cancer Screening Ecosystem

    New Delhi, Mar 25 (BNP): The government has launched a series of initiatives to promote the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in cancer screening, diagnostics, and care under the India AI Mission, Parliament was informed on Tuesday.

    A key initiative, the Cancer AI & Technology Challenge (CATCH) grant programme, has been launched in partnership with the National Cancer Grid to support development and validation of AI-based solutions across the cancer care continuum.

    AI Tools, Digital Platforms to Strengthen Cancer Screening Ecosystem

     

    Under the programme, selected projects are eligible for pilot funding of up to ₹50 lakh, with additional support of up to ₹1 crore for scale-up based on clinical readiness.

    The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has also introduced the ‘Strategy for AI in Healthcare in India’ (SAHI), a framework to ensure safe, ethical, and evidence-based adoption of AI, along with the ‘Benchmarking Open Data Platform for Health AI’ (BODH) for testing and validating AI solutions before large-scale deployment.

    Officials said digital health infrastructure is being strengthened to support AI integration. The Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) provides a sandbox environment and integration toolkits for developers to deploy AI-based applications, including screening tools.

    In addition, the National NCD Portal under the National Programme for Prevention and Control of Non-Communicable Diseases enables digital screening, referrals, and continuity of care for cancers such as breast, cervical, and oral, with integration of Ayushman Bharat Health Account (ABHA) IDs.

    The government said funding under the programme has increased steadily, with approvals rising from ₹60,659 lakh in 2021–22 to ₹1,30,288 lakh in 2025–26.

    The information was provided by Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Prataprao Jadhav in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha.

  • RBI Proposes Revised Rules on Unauthorised Digital Transactions

    New Delhi, Mar 25 (BNP): The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has proposed revised guidelines to strengthen safeguards against unauthorised electronic banking transactions, including a compensation mechanism for small-value frauds and enhanced use of artificial intelligence in fraud detection.

    The draft instructions, released for public consultation on March 6, 2026, aim to update the existing 2017 framework in view of rapid technological adoption in banking and digital payments.

    RBI Proposes Revised Rules on Unauthorised Digital Transactions

    As part of efforts to curb cyber fraud, the RBI has rolled out “MuleHunter.AI”, an artificial intelligence and machine learning-based system to detect mule accounts used for illicit fund transfers. The system is currently operational in 26 banks and is being expanded further.

    The central bank has also advised banks to deploy robust real-time transaction monitoring systems, adopt AI and machine learning tools to detect suspicious patterns, and use network analytics to identify mule account networks.

    In a related development, the Indian Digital Payment Intelligence Corporation (IDPIC) has been set up as a Section 8 company to detect and prevent fraud in the digital payments ecosystem using advanced technologies such as AI, machine learning, and big data analytics.

    Officials said the government is working closely with the RBI and other regulators to strengthen systems and controls to prevent cyber-enabled financial frauds.

    The RBI has also undertaken multiple initiatives to improve financial literacy and cybersecurity awareness. These include the Centre for Financial Literacy project, under which over 2,400 centres have been set up, and nationwide campaigns such as “RBI Kehta Hai” to promote safe banking practices.

    Market regulator SEBI is also running awareness initiatives, including the “SEBI vs SCAM” campaign and the Saa₹thi mobile app, to educate investors and prevent fraud.

    The information was provided by Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha.

  • DPIIT Signs MoU with Blue Star to Boost Manufacturing, Startup Ecosystem

    New Delhi, Mar 25 (BNP): The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has signed a memorandum of understanding with air conditioning major Blue Star Ltd to support startups and strengthen India’s manufacturing and innovation ecosystem.

    The partnership aims to promote product startups working in areas such as HVAC technologies, digital solutions, advanced manufacturing, and supply chain innovation, officials said.

    Under the collaboration, startups will receive mentorship from industry experts, access to R&D laboratories and testing facilities, pilot opportunities, and market linkages to help scale industry-relevant solutions.

    DPIIT Signs MoU with Blue Star to Boost Manufacturing, Startup Ecosystem

    DPIIT said the initiative will enable startups to achieve key milestones including product validation, proof-of-concept development, and integration into industry value chains.

    Joint Secretary, DPIIT, Sanjiv, said the partnership would help foster industry-driven innovation by enabling startups to work on real-world challenges and scale solutions with tangible outcomes.

    As part of the initiative, DPIIT and Blue Star will also explore organising innovation challenges and hackathons under the Bharat Startup Grand Challenge, focusing on HVAC, digital technologies, and manufacturing sectors.

    Selected startups will be offered opportunities for pilot deployment and further engagement through structured proof-of-concept programmes.

    The MoU was signed by Deputy Secretary, DPIIT, T.L.K. Singh and Managing Director of Blue Star Ltd, B. Thiagarajan, in the presence of senior officials.

    Officials said the collaboration is expected to strengthen linkages between startups and industry while enhancing innovation capacity in key manufacturing sectors.