March 26, 2026:The Goa Forest Development Corporation (GFDC) is thrilled to announce the third edition of the Goa Cashew Fest, set to take place from 25th to 27th April 2025 at D.B. Grounds, Campal, Panaji. This vibrant festival, conceptualized by Mrs. Deviya Rane, Chairperson-GFDC, promises to be a grand celebration of Goa’s rich cashew heritage, blending tradition with innovation to showcase the economic and cultural significance of the cashew industry.

The Goa Cashew Fest 2025 will feature an array of culinary delights, with over 50 stalls offering everything from cashew-infused gourmet dishes to traditional Goan snacks. Renowned chefs and restaurants, from the past editions included participants like Taj Holiday Village Resorts & Spa, Miguel Arcanjo, Cavatina, O Coqueiro, Lemon Chilli, and Petisco who presented unique creations infusing cashew flavours. The festival will also highlight feni, Goa’s iconic cashew-based beverage, with exclusive tasting sessions and specialty mixes by celebrated producers like Cazulo Premium Feni and Madame Rosa Distillery.

The event will pay tribute to the hardworking farmers and industry stakeholders who have dedicated their lives to preserving and advancing Goa’s cashew legacy. Attendees will have the opportunity to learn about sustainable farming practices, cashew cultivation techniques, and industry trends through interactive workshops and educational sessions. An immersive activity zone will allow visitors to experience the journey of cashews from farm to table, fostering a deeper appreciation for this treasured crop.

Beyond its culinary delights, the festival will feature a vibrant cultural showcase with performances by leading national and local artists. Past editions have seen performances by stars like Akhil Sachdeva, Stebin Ben, and Ash King. The event will also include fashion shows, traditional music, and dance performances, celebrating Goa’s rich cultural heritage.

The vibrant cashew marketplace will feature an extensive range of products, including whole cashew nuts, cashew-based sweets, and traditional Goan handicrafts.

Prominent producers such as Zantye Cashews and Sawaikar Cashews will be participating, offering visitors an opportunity to experience the finest local flavors. This marketplace allows guests to take home a piece of Goa’s rich heritage while supporting local artisans and farmers.

More than just a festival, the Goa Cashew Fest 2025 is a movement to revitalize the cashew industry, empower local communities, and preserve Goa’s deep-rooted connection with cashew farming. By bridging the gap between tradition and innovation, the event aims to educate, inspire, and celebrate the enduring legacy of cashews in the state.

25^th March – SEIKO, a Japanese watch brand with over 140 years of craftsmanship, proudly announces its unique partnership with Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) for the upcoming T20 season 2025. With a rich sporting legacy of over 60 years, this collaboration with Royal Challengers Bengaluru further strengthens SEIKO’s presence in the sport, bringing together two icons driven by excellence, precision, and performance.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s unwavering determination and passionate gameplay reflect the same precision and pursuit of excellence that define SEIKO, making this partnership a perfect match. Just as every second counts in a match, SEIKO’s timepieces are engineered with precision and reliability, making them a perfect fit for the world of sports. SEIKO will showcase its heritage of craftsmanship while honoring the unwavering spirit of the game and its players.

Speaking about the partnership, Mr. Niladri Mazumder, President & COO, of SEIKO India shared, “SEIKO has a longstanding legacy in sports, built on precision, innovation, and performance—qualities that mirror the ethos of Royal Challengers Bengaluru. Our partnership with them is a natural extension of our commitment to excellence, and we are proud to be associated with a team that exemplifies resilience and performance. This collaboration allows us to engage with cricket enthusiasts in a meaningful way, reinforcing SEIKO’s presence in the world of sports.”

 Adding to this, Rajesh V Menon, COO, of Royal Challengers Bengaluru, said, “RCB is renowned for pushing boundaries and delivering unforgettable experiences for our fans. We are thrilled to partner with SEIKO to mark the celebration of cricket, forever etched in time.”

 As part of this collaboration, SEIKO will celebrate the perfect moments of T20 Season 2025 through co-branded campaigns and special fan experiences. As SEIKO and Royal Challengers Bengaluru unite for this exciting T20 season 2025, the partnership stands as a testament to the brand’s unwavering commitment to sports. With the countdown to the first match already underway, cricket and watch enthusiasts alike can expect a season defined by precision, passion, and unforgettable moments

26^th March 2025 – One Life Studios, India’s premier content licensing and syndication company, appoints Govind Shahi as Strategic Advisor. Shahi was the erstwhile International Business Head of Viacom18’s content syndication arm, IndiaCast. This strategic move marks a significant step forward in One Life Studios’ mission to expand its global footprint and strengthen partnerships across international markets.

Since its inception in 2017, One Life Studios has built a robust content library featuring short films, infotainment, movies, and digital and television shows from across the world. The company’s standout achievement includes the global distribution of its epic series Porus, which was successfully syndicated in over 28 countries, setting a new benchmark for Indian content exports.

With Govind Shahi’s expertise, One Life Studios aims to unlock new opportunities in emerging markets and deepen its reach across established territories. Shahi’s extensive experience in driving content syndication and global partnerships will be instrumental in scaling the company’s international licensing ambitions.

Govind-Shahi-Strategic-Advisor-One-Life-Studios

Speaking on the development, Siddharth Kumar Tewary, CEO and Founder, One Life Studios expressed, “At One Life Studios, our mission has always been to take powerful Indian stories to the world while curating exceptional global content for Indian audiences. Govind’s deep understanding of international markets and his strategic expertise make him the perfect partner to help us accelerate this vision. We are excited to have him join us as we continue to push boundaries and bring great stories to viewers everywhere.”

Speaking on getting associated with One Life Studio, Govind Shahi stated, “I am excited to collaborate with the team at One Life Studios. As the company expands its boundaries and enters a further growth phase, my focus will be on leveraging my experience to elevate its global presence and accelerate expansion into emerging markets, forging key partnerships. I look forward to bringing the studio’s creative vision to international audiences and pioneering new standards in the industry.”

With Govind Shahi’s appointment, One Life Studios is set to amplify its efforts in acquiring, licensing, and distributing world-class content, solidifying its position as a leading player in the global content landscape.

26 March  2025: Epsilon Foundation, the CSR wing of Epsilon Carbon Private Limited, inaugurated a 26-bed Mother & Child Care Unit at Jindal Sanjeevani Multi Speciality Hospital (JSMSH) in Vijayanagar, Ballari, Karnataka. This initiative will improve the maternal and paediatric care in the region with best-in-class equipments and facilities.

Mr. Vikram Handa and Mrs. Tarini Jindal Handa inaugurated this new Mother & Child Care unit which features a 10-bed maternity ward equipped with a dedicated labour operating theatre (OT), coupled with a 6-bed Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), and a 10-bed Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU), with potential to expand this into a 30 beds facility. The Mother & Child Care unit is projected to support 1,500 safe deliveries, provide life-saving care to 1,000 neonates and 2,000 paediatric patients annually.

A dedicated 6-bed Burns Unit with a full-time plastic surgeon is set to launch in April, offering specialized treatment and care for approximately 100 burn patients annually.

Jindal Sanjeevani Multi Speciality Hospital (JSMSH), a 150-bed facility, has served as a trusted healthcare provider for over 15 years in Vijayanagar district, catering to communities across 150 villages within a 30-kilometer radius. The addition of these specialized units will significantly enhance JSMSH’s capability to deliver high-quality medical care, particularly for women and children in need.

Speaking on the inauguration, Mr. Vikram Handa, Director, Epsilon Foundation, emphasized that enhancing healthcare infrastructure from primary to advanced care is at the heart of Epsilon’s CSR vision. He highlighted that for pregnant women and newborns in the region, access to critical care has long been a challenge, with many having to travel over 70 kilometers for medical check-ups and treatment, making it both risky and far-fetched. He stated that the Mother & Child Care Unit shows the foundation’s commitment towards essential medical services, ensuring safer deliveries, and improving neonatal and paediatric care. Quality healthcare is a fundamental right, and that Epsilon Foundation is dedicated to making a meaningful impact in the communities it serves, he added.

 Further strengthening its commitment to community well-being, Epsilon Foundation is introducing a Community Welfare Health Scheme which aims to provide comprehensive, free maternal care for expectant mothers, ensuring safe deliveries and improved maternal health outcomes. Additionally, the program will offer plastic surgeries for accident victims, helping them regain confidence and rebuild their lives.

Artificial Intelligence has become an important part of our daily lives. Startups are now leveraging AI to streamline operations, enhance customer experiences, and drive efficiency. However, the debate over ethical AI use and the fear of AI replacing human jobs continues. Despite this, several startups are pushing the boundaries of AI, using it in unique ways tailored to their respective industries. Here’s a look at such startups making a difference with AI-driven innovations.

1. Healthians
Healthians, founded by serial entrepreneur Deepak Sahni, is a trusted name in diagnostic testing in India. Operating in over 250 cities with a network of 22+ certified laboratories, the company ensures accessible healthcare. Healthians is investing heavily in AI and has developed several features which are industry firsts. For example, they have launched Video Analysis Feature which is designed to help users better understand the key parameters in their test reports and their significance, along with offering personalized recommendations. Healthians is the first in the industry to introduce such an innovation. Additionally, Healthians has launched WelliO, an AI-powered personal health chatbot that answers users’ health-related queries, enhancing accessibility and patient engagement. These advancements position Healthians as a pioneer in AI-integrated diagnostics.

2. Ikonz Studios
Ikonz Studios is a pioneer in hyper-realistic AI-powered digital avatars and holographic experiences. Ikonz specializes in hyper-realistic, multilingual digital avatars and holographic technology. By leveraging generative AI, Ikonz is transforming the way people engage with digital content, bringing iconic personalities to life through interactive and intelligent digital experiences. One of its most notable projects is the AI-powered digital avatar of Amitabh Bachchan, launched in partnership with IDFC FIRST Bank. Founder Abinav, with a background in tech and finance, aims to integrate AI-powered digital assistants across banking, healthcare, education, and entertainment. The startup is backed by Village Global, which counts Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates, and Jeff Bezos among its supporters.

3. Ola Krutrim
Founded by serial entrepreneur Bhavish Aggarwal, also the co-founder of Ola, developed Ola Krutrim in just 7 to 8 months with financial backing from close networks. Ola Krutrim became the first AI unicorn in January 2024 after raising $50 million, bringing its total funding to $74 million. Focused on delivering advanced AI solutions specifically for the Indian market, the company is developing India-specific large language models (LLMs) capable of working with 10 Indian languages. Competing with other industry players, Ola Krutrim distinguishes itself through its focus on creating “AI for India,” with a mission to craft AI models that understand and express Indian cultural nuances. The company has recently partnered with Lenovo to establish a 700-billion parameter based model ‘Ola Krutrim 3’.

4. Razorpay

Razorpay, one of India’s leading fintech unicorns, is leveraging AI to enhance financial services. The company recently launched RAY, an AI chatbot for payments and payroll management, offering seamless solutions to ecommerce companies through voice and text commands in multiple languages. Additionally, Razorpay introduced Engage, a full-stack intelligent marketing growth suite designed to help businesses acquire and retain customers with AI-powered personalization. Other AI-driven innovations include FraudShield, aimed at reducing chargebacks and safeguarding businesses from fraud, and AI-Powered RTO Suite, designed to mitigate return-to-origin losses. The company is aggressively expanding its AI offerings, making payments and financial management smarter and more efficient.

5. MakeMyTrip

MakeMyTrip, India’s leading online travel company is also leveraging the powers of AI to server it’s users in the best way possible. They have introduced ‘Collections’, an AI-powered feature that personalizes hotel and homestay discovery. By analyzing traveler insights, search history, and booking patterns, the AI curates accommodations into themed collections, helping users navigate over 86,000 options across 2,000+ cities. The feature continuously learns from user interactions, refining recommendations to enhance traveler experiences. Currently live in 30+ leisure and pilgrimage destinations, it is expanding rapidly to cater to a wider audience.

6. Fenado AI

Founded in 2024, Fenado AI enables users with zero coding expertise to build apps and websites in minutes. The platform is designed for startups, small businesses, and larger organizations, providing end-to-end tech solutions. Fenado AI has already onboarded over 200 global paying customers and aims to reach 10,000 by 2025. Fenado Ai is founded by the Shark Tank India Judge Azhar Iqubal who is also the Founder of India’s famous news app Inshorts. The platform is focused on underserved regions, making it accessible for entrepreneurs across tier-2 and tier-3 cities. It provides scalability and continuous AI-driven support, helping businesses build digital products without the need for dedicated tech teams.

7. LimeChat
LimeChat, founded in 2020 amid a pandemic-driven e-commerce boom in India, delivers personalized and engaging conversational experiences on platforms like WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger. Through its AI-powered automated conversational commerce platform, LimeChat helps brands replicate a store-like buying experience, boosting conversion rates by up to 10x. Serving over 300 brands, including HUL, ITC, Mamaearth, and Wow Skin Science, LimeChat specializes in the fashion, beauty, health, and wellness verticals. Backed by Stellaris Venture Partners, Google, and IFC, the startup has raised $5 million to date, including $750,000 in a seed round led by Pi Ventures. Competing with Noogata, TUNGEE, and Slang Labs, LimeChat enables instant customer query responses across WhatsApp, Meta Messenger, and Instagram, solidifying its position as a leader in conversational commerce.

8. Beatoven.AI
Beatoven.ai is co-founded by Mansoor Rahimat Khan, a seventh-generation sitar player of the Dharwad Gharana, and Siddharth Bhardwaj. The app uses generative AI to create original, royalty-free music for video, podcast, and gaming content creators. The platform uses open-source large language models (LLMs) to generate mood-based music by analyzing key elements like genre, mode, and duration. With close to 1 million users globally, primarily outside India, Beatoven.ai is revolutionizing music creation. The startup has raised over $2.4 million from investors like Capital2B (Info Edge), IvyCap Ventures, and Upsparks Capital. It aims to reach 5 million users and achieve a 10x increase in annual recurring revenue (ARR) in the next two years. Backed by a diverse team of musicians, technologists, designers, and writers, Beatoven.ai is making music creation accessible and intuitive for creators worldwide.

 26^th March 2025: With the onset of summer and temperatures already picking up, the Appliances Business of Godrej & Boyce, part of the Godrej Enterprises Group, unveiled its new AC portfolio, spanning multiple capacities, tonnages, energy ratings and technologies. Buoyed by its 2X growth in the category this year and the already climbing temperatures, the brand is targeting further 50% growth in the coming summer.

 Building on its nature-inspired Vogue series from last year, the brand introduced new wood finish ACs and extended it further to a new marble series, strengthening its commitment to offering décor friendly designs. The design focus extends to window ACs as well with new top throw window ACs. Additionally, the brand is also expanding its consumer base by venturing into the commercial AC segment with Tower and Cassette ACs, designed to meet the unique needs of large residential spaces and commercial spaces.

 With more SKUs in the 5-star AC portfolio and high cooling capacities spanning to 3 and 4 Ton, new designer models, a large AI powered range apart from existing Anti-Leak ACs and Hot & Cold ACs, the brand is banking on its robust portfolio to deliver on its growth ambitions. The biggest focus area for the brand this year has been the smart AC segment with multiple new model introductions. The Godrej Smart AC range with AI–powered technology, IoT connectivity and WiFi-enabled controls, redefines user convenience with its insight-based feature design and will be taken to consumers through a 360-degree campaign.

 Speaking about the launch, Kamal Nandi, Business Head & EVP at Appliances Business of Godrej Enterprises Group, said, “We continue to abide by our philosophy of thoughtful innovation to unlock value for our consumers. Our new range of Smart ACs go further than the regular offerings of remote connectivity and voice commands and instead, offer compelling, insightful solutions that enhance the core cooling performance or add real convenience. With advanced value laden features like smart filter cleaning notifications for uninterrupted cooling performance & improved efficiency; smart schedulers that make remotes and voice commands redundant by switching on and off by itself and operating at your preferred temperature at your preset schedules; smart energy monitoring, remote diagnosis, easy service access and a lot more – these voice and app enabled Smart Air Conditioners are designed keeping the Indian consumers in mind. From AI powered machines to patented anti-leak technology, unique wood finish ACs to compelling Smart ACs and powerful commercial ACs, our endeavour is to meet the premium aspirations of our consumers.”

 Further, Sabyasachi Gupta, Product Group Head – Air Conditioners at Appliances business of Godrej Enterprises Group, said, “Consumers today seek a blend of style, performance, and smart features. We are happy to introduce our comprehensive new AC portfolio that caters to the varying needs of our consumers with high cooling capacities to high energy ratings, design forward, AI powered, smart connected portfolio to heavy duty commercial ACs. The new smart AC range will be backed by a high decibel campaign. To further AC adoption and aid consumers, we are also offering a one of its kind 5-year comprehensive warranty with no hidden costs – with waived off service visit charges, gas refill charges and even remote replacement costs for five years, apart from easy EMI options. With summer temperatures rising on one hand and a robust lineup of new premium home air conditioners on the other, we aim to achieve over 50% growth in AC sales this summer compared to last year.”

Mr. Gautam Dutta has been with PVR for over 16 years and has 28+ years of experience. He has lead PVR’s operations as CEO and has been instrumental in driving box office, media sales and F&B verticals and establishing superior operating metrics.

 Mr. Dutta started his career in Sales and has about 18 years of advertising industry experience working with agencies like Lowe Lintas (where he spent 8 years), Saatchi & Saatchi and Rediffusion DY & R. Mr. Gautam Dutta was awarded CEO of the Year by ET Now Global Awards for retail excellence (multiplex, cinemas & entertainment category) in 2018. He was also honoured with the CEO with HR Orientation award during the 2018 World HRD Congress.