Category: Business

Bhubaneswar, July 15: Marking the beginning of Odisha’s most celebrated festival, Reliance Digital on Wednesday unveiled its special RathYatra Festive Offer at its Esplanade Mall store in Bhubaneswar, announcing a host of exclusive offers and customer-centric benefits that will be available across all Reliance Digital stores in the state during the festive season.

RathYatra, the annual chariot festival of Lord Jagannath, is not only the biggest cultural and spiritual celebration of Odisha but also an auspicious time when families traditionally purchase new household appliances, electronics and gadgets. Recognising this deep-rooted tradition, Reliance Digital has introduced a specially curated festive offer aimed at making the latest technology more accessible and affordable for customers across Odisha.

As part of the offer, customers can avail cashback of up to INR 30,000 on leading bank cards and paper finance, assured freebies worth up to INR7,500 on the purchase of selected refrigerators, washing machines and mobile phones, FREE two-year additional warranty worth up to INR15,000 on selected products, and a minimum exchange value of INR 5,000 on selected product exchanges. Offers valid till 2026 July 24. These offers are complemented by Reliance Digital’s customer-first services, including free delivery across Odisha, lowest prices, easy EMI options, extended warranty support and expert product advice.

Speaking on the occasion, a Reliance Digital spokesperson said,

“RathYatra is much more than a festival in Odisha; it is a celebration of faith, family and new beginnings. At Reliance Digital, we are proud to be part of this joyous occasion by bringing exciting festive offers and unmatched value to our customers across the state. Through this campaign, we aim to help every household upgrade to the latest technology with greater affordability, convenience and confidence. We welcome customers to visit any Reliance Digital store in Odisha and make the most of these exclusive RathYatra offers.”

With an extensive range of of consumer electronics, home appliances, smartphones and digital devices from leading brands under one roof, Reliance Digital continues to strengthen its commitment to delivering a superior shopping experience backed by attractive festive deals, reliable after-sales service and seamless financing options.

The RathYatra Festive offer is now live and will be available for customers at all Reliance Digital stores across Odisha for a limited period.

July 15: The government has invited bids for establishing giga-scale Advanced Chemistry Cell (ACC) battery manufacturing facilities with a combined capacity of 10 GWh, marking a significant move to strengthen India’s clean energy and advanced manufacturing capabilities.

The initiative is aimed at creating a strong domestic ecosystem for next-generation battery technologies, reducing reliance on imports, and supporting the rapidly growing demand for energy storage solutions in sectors such as electric mobility, renewable energy, and industrial applications.

Through the bidding process, the government seeks to encourage investment in large-scale battery manufacturing and promote innovation across the energy storage value chain. The proposed facilities are expected to boost production capacity, generate employment opportunities, and support the development of related industries.

ACC batteries are a key component in the transition towards cleaner transportation and sustainable energy systems. Building domestic manufacturing capabilities in this sector will help India strengthen its position in the global clean technology landscape.

The initiative is part of the government’s broader efforts to promote self-reliance in strategic technologies, accelerate the adoption of electric vehicles, and create a future-ready energy ecosystem.

The development of giga-scale battery manufacturing facilities is expected to provide fresh momentum to India’s green growth ambitions while opening new opportunities for industry and innovation.

Chandigarh, July 15: India’s MSME financing landscape is undergoing a structural shift. While working capital once dominated credit demand, businesses today are increasingly seeking finance to expand operations, invest in technology, enhance capacity and access new markets. According to Aditya Birla Capital (ABC), this reflects growing confidence among Indian entrepreneurs despite geopolitical uncertainties, supply chain disruptions and commodity price volatility.

As per the latest SIDBI–TransUnion CIBIL MSME Pulse Report, consolidated MSME credit outstanding expanded 16% year-on-year to ₹67.6 lakh crore as of December 2025, significantly outpacing overall bank credit growth of 11% in FY2024–25, according to CRISIL. With an MSME loan book of over ₹91,000 crore, the largest among private diversified NBFCs ABC says financing demand increasingly reflects business ambition rather than immediate liquidity needs. 

“The financing demand we are seeing today is not merely about credit needs; it reflects confidence,” says Rakesh Singh, Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer (NBFC) at Aditya Birla Capital Limited. “Businesses are investing in expansion, technology adoption, formalisation and market access. MSMEs are becoming more agile, digitally connected and increasingly willing to embrace formal financial solutions.”

The shift is also changing what businesses expect from lenders. Speed of credit, solution-driven engagement, and faster decision-making have become key priorities, supported by greater formalisation, improved credit discipline and the growing availability of GST data, banking transaction data and digital business footprints. In response, ABC has evolved from being a traditional lender to building a more data-driven and customer-centric financing platform. 

“As customer expectations continue to evolve, our role is also evolving from being a lender to becoming a long-term financial partner for businesses,” Singh says.

Recognising that MSMEs have different financing needs at different stages of growth, ABC has built a full-stack portfolio spanning business expansion, capacity enhancement, working capital management, and secured and unsecured lending solutions. Central to this is Udyog Plus, the company’s end-to-end digital platform, which enables paperless applications, faster disbursals and simplified access to finance with minimal documentation.

The company’s lending model also includes unsecured business loans, supply chain financing and secured lending solutions, supported by technology-enabled underwriting and Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) to improve turnaround times. Backed by more than 465 branches, an extensive channel partner network and digital capabilities, ABC continues to expand access to formal finance across Tier II cities and beyond.

Policy reforms and digital infrastructure have further aided the evolution of MSME lending. GST has strengthened business formalisation, while initiatives such as the Account Aggregator framework, Trade Receivables Discounting System (TReDS), and government-backed programmes including Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises (CGTMSE) and Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) have improved access to formal, collateral-free credit. At the same time, ABC believes greater digital inclusion, stronger alternative credit assessment models and improved financial awareness remain essential to expanding credit access, particularly among underserved enterprises.

Looking ahead, the company sees embedded finance and the Unified Lending Interface (ULI) as the next frontier in MSME lending. By integrating finance into business workflows and enabling consent-based access to verify financial information, these innovations have the potential to make credit faster, more accessible and better aligned with the needs of India’s small businesses. 

“India is uniquely positioned in the current global environment. A large domestic market, increasing formalisation, digital infrastructure, GST-driven transparency and supportive policy initiatives are creating a strong foundation for sustained growth. From our perspective, MSMEs are not just a lending segment; they represent one of the country’s most significant long-term growth opportunities,” says Singh.

Artificial Intelligence has evolved from experimentation to enterprise-scale execution, making AI Appreciation Day an opportunity to recognise the critical role of data foundations in enabling this transformation. Our 2025 State of Data Infrastructure Report is based on a global survey of 1,244 business and IT leaders across 15 countries, including 104 respondents from India. It found that 89 percent of Indian organisations have either widely adopted AI or consider it essential to their operations, compared with a global average of 69 percent. This momentum is being matched by strong national ambition, with India’s AI ecosystem continuing to gain scale and depth. At Hitachi Vantara, our focus is on helping organisations unify fragmented data estates and build governance into their systems by design, ensuring AI outcomes are consistent, secure, and dependable at scale. India’s data infrastructure maturity today will shape how confidently the country scales AI in the years ahead.

–       By Hemant Tiwari, Managing Director and Vice President for India and SAARC, Hitachi Vantara

“In glass manufacturing, AI Appreciation Day isn’t a slogan for us- it’s already running on the line, in real time. At AGI Greenpac, AI has moved straight into the production process itself, computer vision systems now inspect every bottle for choke bore diameter, height, and colour match against customer samples, catching defects the human eye would miss at line speed. On the planning side, our AI-driven production scheduling handles demand and capacity constraints across plants with far fewer disruptions. We’ve also piloted dynamic compressor control purely for energy savings in our eco-plants. We’ve even used VR to train operators on IS-machine handling making training safer, faster, and causing zero production downtime. The next stretch involves extending that same rigor upstream: AI-led receivables automation, and multi-agent systems for sourcing and vendor management that can cut procurement cycle time in half while improving compliance. For a glass and packaging business, the real opportunity over the next few years isn’t AI as an add-on it’s AI embedded in every quality checkpoint and every plant decision, so consistency and yield improve continuously rather than through one-off projects.”

–       By Mr. Anjaiah Surgi, CTO, AGI Greenpac (Somany Impresa Group)

World AI Appreciation Day is a reminder that the global AI race is no longer won by algorithms alone, it is won by the strength of a nation’s semiconductor and compute ecosystem and the expertise in knowledge and talent it has developed.

As AI workloads grow more specialized across manufacturing, mobility, healthcare and critical infrastructure, customized silicon will be the foundation of secure, high-performance, and energy-efficient intelligence.

India generates nearly a fifth of the world’s data yet captures only a fraction of its value. Closing that gap is our defining opportunity: to build a sovereign AI stack rooted in indigenous semiconductor design, trusted compute infrastructure, and world-class engineering talent. 

The intelligence economy will be led by the nations that master the full stack, from silicon to systems to software. That is the stack India is building, and the one LTSCT is proud to help design.”

–       By Dr. Sandeep Kumar, Chief Executive, L&T Semiconductor Technologies (LTSCT)

“What we’re celebrating this year is the recognition that human intelligence must remain at the center. We produce 1.5 million engineers annually, and a growing cohort is thinking in AI-native terms from the start. They’re designing systems where machine capability amplifies human judgment, human creativity, human leadership. Yes, only 16% of IT professionals have AI skills. Yes, AI-related job demand has crossed 1 million roles this year. But that gap is also our opportunity. We have the scale, the talent pipeline, and engineers who can build AI the right way from the beginning. The ones who understand that every system they create should make humans better at what only humans can do. That’s the future we’re building.”

 By Harjiv Singh, Founder & CEO, CambrianEdge.ai

July 15: Bharat Tex 2026 has emerged as a reflection of India’s ambitious vision to transform the textile sector into a globally competitive and future-ready industry, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said while highlighting the sector’s crucial role in the country’s economic growth.

The Prime Minister said the event represents India’s Vision 2030 roadmap for textiles, focusing on innovation, advanced manufacturing, sustainable practices, and expanding the global footprint of Indian textile products.

Emphasising the importance of the sector, PM Modi noted that textiles are not only linked to India’s rich heritage of craftsmanship but also represent a major opportunity for economic development, entrepreneurship, and job creation.

Bharat Tex 2026 brings together stakeholders from across the textile value chain, including manufacturers, designers, exporters, innovators, and industry leaders, providing a platform for collaboration, investment, and global partnerships.

The Prime Minister highlighted the need to strengthen technology adoption, improve product quality, promote sustainable manufacturing, and empower artisans and businesses to compete effectively in international markets.

With India’s traditional strengths combined with modern innovation, the textile sector is expected to play a key role in achieving the vision of a developed India by creating new opportunities for growth and employment.

Bharat Tex 2026 marks an important milestone in India’s journey to position itself as a leading global textile hub, blending heritage with technology and sustainability for the future.

Basel, Switzerland. July 15 — ten23 health® today highlights its research collaboration with dsm-firmenich, focused on expanding excipient options for parenteral biologic drug products. By combining complementary expertise, the collaboration aims to address one of the longstanding challenges in biologic formulation development: the limited availability of excipients suitable for injectable medicines. 

As biologic therapies become increasingly complex, formulation scientists face growing challenges in achieving product stability, manufacturability, and long-term performance. While excipients play a critical role in addressing these challenges, relatively few are available for parenteral biologic applications, limiting formulation flexibility. 

Through this collaboration, ten23 health contributes its expertise in formulation development for sterile products, analytical characterization and pharmaceutical manufacturing, while dsm-firmenich brings extensive capabilities in pharmaceutical ingredient science, quality systems and regulatory support. Together, the teams are evaluating pharmaceutical-grade ingredients with established safety profiles as potential excipient candidates for biologic formulations.

The research follows a structured scientific approach, including proof-of-concept studies, benchmarking against established excipients and evaluation in representative protein formulations using advanced analytical methods. Initial findings have identified promising candidates, which are currently undergoing further verification and characterization. 

“Our approach has been to identify promising ingredients based on their safety profiles, regulatory acceptance, and suitability for biologic formulations,” said Prof. Dr. Andrea Allmendinger, Chief Scientific Officer at ten23 health. “Following proof-of-concept studies and advanced analytical evaluation in representative protein formulations, we have generated promising initial data, which is now being further verified.” 

When successful, the collaboration could help pharmaceutical developers improve formulation stability, enhance manufacturability and increase flexibility during product development. Expanding excipient options may also contribute to more efficient development processes and support the design of drug products better suited to patient needs, including self-administration and improved usability. 

The collaboration reflects a shared commitment by both organizations to advancing biologic drug development through scientific excellence, responsible innovation and cross-disciplinary collaboration.

July 15: The Centre has approved two major shipbuilding projects in Gujarat under a development scheme aimed at strengthening India’s maritime manufacturing capabilities and promoting growth in the shipbuilding sector.

The projects are expected to enhance domestic shipbuilding infrastructure, encourage investment, and support the expansion of India’s maritime ecosystem. The initiative is part of the government’s broader efforts to improve self-reliance in strategic sectors and position India as a competitive player in global shipbuilding.

Officials said the projects will help develop advanced shipbuilding facilities while creating new opportunities for industries, skilled workers, and allied sectors connected to maritime activities.

The initiative is also expected to contribute to employment generation, technology development, and improved capabilities in ship construction and related services.

With Gujarat’s strong coastal advantage and growing industrial base, the approved projects are likely to play an important role in strengthening the state’s position as a key maritime hub.

The move reflects the government’s continued focus on expanding India’s blue economy, enhancing manufacturing capacity, and building a stronger presence in the global maritime industry.

Hyderabad, July 15: The members of the Federation of Telangana Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FTCCI), one of India’s oldest and most respected industry bodies with a legacy spanning 109 years, elected Krishna Kumar Maheshwari (KK Maheshwari) as President and Srinivas Garimella as Senior Vice President at the General Body Meeting held on Wednesday at FTCCI, Red Hills, Hyderabad.

KK Maheshwari is succeeding R. Ravi Kumar and has assumed office from Wednesday.

KK Maheshwari served as Sr VP and Srinivas Garimella, VP during the year 2025-2026.

Both leaders have been actively associated with FTCCI for several years and have served the Chamber in various capacities, contributing significantly to policy advocacy, industrial development, trade promotion and entrepreneurship. They will hold office for a term of one year.

Krishna Kumar Maheshwari, an accomplished entrepreneur and financial sector leader, brings over four decades of rich business experience to the role. He is the Chairman and Managing Director of CIL Securities Limited, a diversified financial services company, and serves on the boards of several companies within the CIL Group.

The flagship company of the group, CIL Securities Limited, is listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange and is a member of the National Stock Exchange, Bombay Stock Exchange and Multi Commodity Exchange of India. The company also offers services as Registrars and Share Transfer Agents, Merchant Bankers and Depository Participants.

Maheshwari has held several leadership positions in industry bodies, including Past President and Director of the Association of National Stock Exchange Members of India (ANMI) and Past President of the Depository Participants Association of India. He is also President of the Telangana State Table Tennis Association and Chairman of the All India Veterans Committee of the Table Tennis Federation of India.

A strong believer in inclusive growth, he actively supports education and healthcare initiatives through the Chunnilal Jajoo Charitable Trust and serves as Vice President of Girijan Vikas Kendra, Vedurunagaram, which runs educational institutions for tribal children.

Srinivas Garimella, the newly elected Senior Vice Presideny is a distinguished entrepreneur, industrialist and strategic advisor with extensive experience across manufacturing, automation, logistics and food technology sectors.

He serves as Director and Strategic Advisor at HETC Foods Pvt. Ltd., a pioneering company in sprouting research and food science, and as Chairman of Daifuku Intralogistics India Pvt. Ltd., the Indian subsidiary of the Japanese multinational Daifuku. He co-founded Vega Conveyors & Automation Ltd., which became one of India’s leading automation and material handling companies before being acquired by Daifuku.

For over a decade, Garimella has been an active contributor to FTCCI as a Managing Committee Member and Chairman of the Industrial Development Committee. He has been a strong advocate for MSMEs, manufacturing competitiveness, entrepreneurship, skill development and industry-academia collaboration.

He also serves on academic councils of universities and colleges and mentors startups and young entrepreneurs. A thought leader and frequent speaker, he regularly addresses industry forums and educational institutions on entrepreneurship, technology adoption, innovation, sustainable growth and the Make in India initiative.

Speaking after his election, FTCCI President KK Maheshwari said FTCCI has played a pivotal role in shaping the industrial and economic landscape of Telangana and India for over a century. My focus will be on strengthening industry-government engagement, supporting MSMEs, promoting investments, fostering innovation and enhancing the global competitiveness of businesses in Telangana. We will continue to be a strong voice for industry while working towards inclusive and sustainable growth.

Srinivas Garimella said: India stands at an exciting juncture of economic transformation driven by technology, entrepreneurship and manufacturing growth. FTCCI will continue to support businesses of all sizes, encourage innovation, nurture startups, strengthen skill development initiatives and create opportunities for future-ready industries. We look forward to working closely with stakeholders to accelerate industrial growth and economic development.

The newly elected leadership team is expected to further strengthen FTCCI’s role as a catalyst for trade, industry and economic progress while reinforcing its position as a trusted bridge between industry, government and society.

July 15: The India-UK Free Trade Agreement (FTA) is expected to create significant growth opportunities for key sectors such as textiles, footwear, and automobiles, with businesses looking to maximise the benefits of improved market access and reduced trade barriers.

According to industry assessments, the agreement could help Indian exporters enhance their presence in the UK market by improving competitiveness, encouraging new investments, and creating opportunities for expansion across multiple sectors.

The textile and apparel industry is expected to gain from better export prospects, while the footwear sector may benefit from increased demand and easier access to one of the world’s major consumer markets. The automobile sector is also likely to explore new opportunities through stronger trade relations and improved business collaboration.

Experts believe the FTA will provide a broader platform for Indian companies to integrate more closely with global supply chains and strengthen their export capabilities.

The agreement is also expected to encourage innovation, attract investment, and support employment generation across manufacturing and allied industries.

With the India-UK trade partnership entering a new phase, industry stakeholders are focusing on leveraging the opportunities to boost exports, expand global reach, and contribute to India’s economic growth.