Chandigarh, FEBRUARY 21, 2025: Indian Hotels Company (IHCL), India’s largest hospitality company, today announced the opening of Taj Mussoorie Foothills, Dehradun.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Puneet Chhatwal, Managing Director & CEO, IHCL, said, “We are delighted to expand Taj’s presence in Uttarakhand with the opening of Taj Mussoorie Foothills in the capital city of Dehradun. IHCL will have a multi brand presence in the city and with the recently opened Delhi-Dehradun Expressway enhancing connectivity, it has evolved to be a commercially prominent city in the region. In addition, its proximity to popular destinations such as Mussoorie, Rishikesh, and Haridwar attracts a mix of leisure, adventure and spiritual tourism.”

Nestled in the serene foothills of the Himalayas, Taj Mussoorie Foothills, Dehradun, is a luxurious sanctuary that seamlessly blends modern elegance with the region’s natural beauty. The 115-key hotel, including 16 exquisitely designed suites, offers an immersive escape. Guests can indulge in diverse culinary experiences, from Vista, an all-day dining restaurant serving global and Indian flavours, to House of Nomad, a sophisticated gastro pub, Tropics, a poolside dining venue, and Emperor Lounge, a space for high tea and handcrafted beverages. The hotel features four versatile banqueting spaces ranging from 1,200 sq. ft. to 8,000 sq. ft., along with well-equipped meeting rooms, making it an ideal destination for weddings, conferences, and social gatherings.

Guests can rejuvenate with the signature therapies at the J Wellness Spa. The hotel also features dedicated pet amenities, a kids’ activity zone, a walking track with accessibility features, and EV charging stations, ensuring a comfortable and inclusive stay. Taj Mussoorie Foothills, Dehradun offers curated experiences including the Malsi Nature Forest Walk, a trek to Shikhar Falls, and a wildlife safari at Rajaji National Park.

Speaking on the opening, Mr. Naveen Tomar, General Manager, Taj Mussoorie Foothills, Dehradun, said, “Taj Mussoorie Foothills is designed to offer guests an immersive experience in the lap of nature. From curated experiences to bespoke services, we look forward to creating unforgettable stays for our guests.”

Often called the ‘Doon Valley’, Dehradun is one of India’s most charming hill cities. Beyond serving as a gateway to Mussoorie, Dehradun itself boasts numerous attractions including Robber’s Cave and Sahastradhara.

Chandigarh, 21 February, 2025: Tata Power- one of India’s largest integrated power companies with presence across T&D, Generation, Trading, Renewables (including Manufacturing), and Energy as a Service (EaaS) – has embarked on a data-driven transformation with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to accelerate the country’s transition to a greener, smarter, and more consumer-centric energy ecosystem.

Tata Power is strengthening operational efficiencies, enhancing grid resilience, and empowering its large consumer base, spread across multiple states, to be active participants in India’s clean energy future and transition to a low-carbon economy.

India stands at the forefront of a global energy transformation, with the International Energy Agency (IEA) projecting the country to lead global energy demand growth over the next two decades. Tata Power is championing this transition through a strategic collaboration with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to modernize its digital infrastructure and drive intelligent energy management. The evolution of energy systems demands real-time analytics, automation, and decentralized power generation to optimize supply and demand. Digitalization enables grid stability, predictive maintenance, and seamless energy transactions, ensuring sustainability and operational efficiency. Tata Power’s partnership with AWS exemplifies this digital-first approach, harnessing cloud computing, artificial intelligence (AI), and IoT to build a smarter, more efficient power ecosystem.

Tata Power has already laid a robust digital foundation by migrating 23 mission-critical applications to AWS using Amazon Elastic Kubernetes Service (EKS). This shift enhances scalability, security, and real-time operational efficiency across key areas such as power generation, renewables, grid management, sales, and finance. Additionally, the company has adopted a server-less architecture with AWS Step Functions, optimizing energy transactions and grid operations in response to fluctuating demand patterns.

At the core of this transformation are two specialized data lakes dedicated to power generation and renewables, which ingest real-time data from solar farms, wind assets, smart meters, and Industrial IoT devices. Using AWS Glue, Tata Power integrates these vast datasets into Amazon Simple Storage Service (S3), unlocking AI-powered analytics for predictive maintenance, grid optimization, and demand forecasting.

This digital transformation is translating into tangible benefits for both businesses and consumers, making Tata Power a preferred partner of choice for clean and efficient energy solutions. AI-driven insights enable faster outage detection, improved grid stability, and personalized energy recommendations, resulting in cost savings, enhanced reliability, and an accelerated transition to renewables. The modernization effort will pave the way for cutting-edge innovations, including blockchain-based energy trading, AI-powered demand response solutions, and computer vision for asset monitoring.

Tata Power is driving digital transformation across key operational clusters. In Generation and Renewables, AI-driven predictive maintenance, supply chain & procurement efficiency, and real-time analytics are optimizing plant efficiency and maximizing renewable energy output. Grid modernization is being advanced through smart IoT integration, enabling automated grid operations that reduce downtime and improve supply-demand balancing. These innovations have led to unprecedented reduction in AT&C losses and overall operational efficiency across the company’s discoms in Delhi, Odisha and Mumbai.

Consumer-centric solutions such as Home Automation and EaaS leverage personalized energy insights and blockchain-based transactions to empower consumers in managing their energy usage efficiently. Additionally, enterprise and finance digitalization is ensuring operational agility and transparency in energy transactions through cloud-based financial systems.

By integrating a cloud-first digital infrastructure, Tata Power is accelerating India’s clean energy shift while setting a global benchmark for sustainable, data-driven power utilities that keep customer empowerment at their core. This collaboration with AWS marks a significant step in redefining energy management for a net-zero future, reinforcing Tata Power’s leadership in smart and sustainable energy solutions.

21th Feb 2025: Australia and India have cultivated a robust partnership, reinforced by strategic and economic agreements such as the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP) established in 2020 and the India-Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA) signed in 2022. In 2021, this collaboration extended into the space sector with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Australian Space Agency and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), aiming to enhance cooperation in civil space activities. This partnership was further strengthened at the Bengaluru Space Expo 2024, where a high-level roundtable discussion was held in the presence of Dr. Pawan Goenka, Chairman of IN-SPACe, and Mr. Enrico Palermo, Head of the Australian Space Agency. The discussions led to SIA-India and SIA-Australia taking a proactive step to advance industry-level dialogue, identifying key barriers to trade and collaboration in the India-Australia space sector while proposing actionable solutions for government agencies.

Building on these deliberations, PRISM (Perspectives on Regulatory Issues in Strategic Markets) 2.0 | Unlocking Trade Potential in India-Australia Space Collaboration—a jointly organized webinar by SIA-India and SIA-Australia—was held on Thursday, February 20, 2025. The event served as a dedicated platform to address critical regulatory and market challenges, fostering an environment conducive to collaboration, innovation, and trade in the space and dual-use sectors.

PRISM is a flagship initiative by SIA-India aimed at addressing trade barriers and enhancing collaboration in strategic sectors, including space and dual-use technologies. The initiative focuses on fostering business-to-business (B2B) partnerships, enabling cross-border innovation, and streamlining regulatory frameworks to facilitate seamless cooperation.

The inaugural edition, PRISM 1.0, was held in November 2024 between India and the United States under the theme Navigating the Indo-US Export Control Regime. The discussion focused on overcoming complex regulatory challenges in defence, space, and dual-use technologies, laying the groundwork for deeper industry engagement and policy alignment.

PRISM 2.0 advanced India-Australia space collaboration by bringing together industry leaders, startups, and policymakers to address export controls, technology transfer, and R&D cooperation, fostering regulatory alignment and strategic partnerships. The event featured an esteemed lineup of speakers, including Dr. Vinod Kumar, Director, Promotion Directorate, IN-SPACe; Mr. David Gottlieb, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Australia; Fmr. Amb. Anil Wadhwa, Distinguished Fellow, Vivekananda International Foundation; Mr. Nathan Davis, Trade Commissioner to India, Austrade; Lisa Vitaris, Interim CEO & Director, IAC 2025; Mr. Mark Ramsey, Space Machines Company; Mr. Shireesh Pallikonda, Co-Founder, Skyroot Aerospace; Mr. Ashok GV, Partner, Factum Law; Dreosti Julia, Partner, Clifford Chance; wherein Lisa Vitaris, Interim CEO (SIAA), Anil Prakash, DG SIA-India, and Rajeev Gambhir Dy DG from SIA-India were webinar moderators.

The discussions, centered on three key themes: Export Controls, Bilateral R&D Investments, and Intellectual Property Protections. They underscored India’s advancements in space exploration and Australia’s strategic advantage for equatorial and polar launches. With over 30 agreements already in place, the strengthening India-Australia partnership is set to drive innovation and expand opportunities for both nations’ thriving startup ecosystems.

Beyond regulatory alignment, collaboration extends to mission support, with Australia playing a key role in India’s Gaganyaan mission. Australia’s support for India’s Gaganyaan mission, particularly in astronaut recovery operations, further reinforces collaboration. Australia’s support for India’s 1st Gaganyaan mission includes providing critical tracking and recovery operations through its Cocos (Keeling) Islands ground station. The Australian authorities are working with Indian authorities to ensure support for search and rescue of crew and recovery of crew module as part of contingency planning for ascent phase aborts near Australian waters.

India’s space industry, valued at $8.6 billion, is set to grow at a 16% CAGR, reaching $44 billion by 2033. The space-tech startup ecosystem has expanded over 200% in the past five years, with 190+ startups attracting over $300 million in private investment in 2023 alone.

Australia’s space sector, growing at 7% annually, has seen its workforce expand by 30% in five years, reaching 17,000 professionals across 600+ organizations.

India and Australia can unlock greater export opportunities by leveraging Australia’s expertise in navigating ITAR (International Traffic in Arms Regulations) and EAR (Export Administration Regulations) for Indian exports. Under ECTA, over 96% of Indian exports to Australia now receive preferential access, benefiting satellite hardware, ground stations, and software services.

Experts highlighted the need for stronger contractual risk management in cross-border collaborations, emphasizing that FDI liberalization can unlock new national security space initiatives. The QUAD Space Working Group’s role in Maritime Domain Awareness and satellite data-sharing was also underscored.

There is a need to integrate India’s cost-effective space launches with Australia’s expertise in space tracking and infrastructure development. Key priorities include harmonizing IP laws, establishing mutual certification frameworks to streamline export controls and security protocols, and implementing dispute resolution mechanisms for smoother business engagements. Additionally, the annual termination clause in the India-Australia Bilateral Investment Treaty underscores the urgency of creating robust frameworks to safeguard cross-border investments.

Furthermore, investment avenues highlighted Space Maitri Program, Australia-India Business Exchange, Australia-India Innovation Tech Challenge, Australia-India Strategic Research Fund, and the $18 million investment in collaborative space projects as part of the International Space Investment [ISI] Initiative India Project program.

“PRISM 2.0 reinforced India-Australia collaboration, fostering innovation, trade, and policy alignment. As India and Australia deepen space ties, the next phase of cooperation will focus on aligning regulatory frameworks, enhancing investment flows, and leveraging mutual strengths for global space leadership” said Anil Prakash, Director General, SIA India.

A report on PRISM 2.0 India Australia Space dialogue will be released shortly , which will be shared among the space business community and policy maker of the two countries to sensitized with the issues to streamline and enhance the cooperation among the two countries .

Building on this momentum, SIA-India plans to expand the PRISM webinar series with dialogues involving Japan, France, and Germany, culminating in a QUAD-focused event at the India Space Congress 2025, scheduled for June 25-27.

SIA-India: SIA-India is a dynamic, not-for-profit space sector association, dedicated to advancing sectoral interests, accelerating industry growth, and catalysing collaboration through strategic engagements with key governmental and global stakeholders, policymakers, regulatory bodies, and standardisation entities, aiming to create a vibrant and innovative ecosystem within the civil, commercial and defence space domains.

BENGALURU, India – February 21, 2025: Samsung, India’s largest consumer electronics brand, today announced the sale of its most affordable 5G smartphone – Galaxy F06 5G.

Galaxy F06 5G is set to revolutionize the 5G segment with the perfect blend of high-performance and style. Galaxy F06 5G will provide a complete 5G experience at an affordable price, making 5G technology accessible for more consumers and accelerate its widespread adoption across the country. Galaxy F06 5G supports 12 5G bands across all telecom operators.

Galaxy F06 5G features a ‘Ripple Glow’ finish that shimmers with every movement exuding elegance and sophistication. Featuring a 6.7” large HD+ display, Galaxy F06 5G offers consumers stunning visuals and an elevated viewing experience. The smartphone is 8mm sleek and weighs only 191 grams, making it incredibly ergonomic to use. Galaxy F06 5G will be available in two strikingly bold and mesmerizing colours – Bahama Blue and Lit Violet.

Housing a striking new camera deco, Galaxy F06 5G features a high-resolution 50MP wide-angle lens with F1.8 aperture capturing vibrant, detailed photos, while the 2MP depth-sensing camera delivers pictures with enhanced clarity. The 8MP front camera ensures your selfies are crisp and clear.

Galaxy F06 5G is powered by MediaTek D6300, one of the segment’s best processor having an AnTuTu score of upto 416K+ making it fast and power-efficient, allowing you to multi-task smoothly. Galaxy F06 5G delivers a swift mobile gaming experience with high-speed connectivity along with high-quality audio and visuals. Additionally, Galaxy F06 5G packs in 5000mAh battery with segment-leading 25W fast charging.

Samsung is reaffirming its commitment to customer satisfaction by providing best-in-segment 4 generations of OS upgrades and 4 years of security updates with Galaxy F06 5G, ensuring users can enjoy the latest features and enhanced security for years to come.

Galaxy F06 5G will feature one of Samsung’s most innovative security features: Samsung Knox Vault. The hardware-based security system offers comprehensive protection against both hardware and software attacks. Additionally, Galaxy F06 5G is set to revolutionize consumer experience with innovations such as Voice Focus that cuts the ambient noise for a clear calling experience and the Quick Share feature which enables users to instantly share files, photos and documents with any other device, even if they are faraway, including your laptop and tab, privately.