The countdown is on — Global technology brand OnePlus is all set to unveil the next chapter in its Nord journey.

On July 8, 2025, at 2:00 PM IST, the stage is set for the OnePlus Summer Launch Event, where we’ll introduce the power-packed OnePlus Nord 5 series- OnePlus Nord 5 and OnePlus Nord CE5 and the OnePlus Buds 4.

The OnePlus Summer launch keynote also features popular comedian Rohan Joshi returning for the Nord 5 series. He was also a part of the OnePlus CE4 keynote – Nord Another Keynote. Bringing his signature wit and energy to the OnePlus stage. Built for those who demand more speed, more smarts, and more style — this launch marks a bold leap forward for accessible innovation.

Chandigarh, July 5, 2025: Mahindra’s Electric Origin SUVs have become the EV market leaders in India by value. Thanks to overwhelming customer trust and enthusiasm, one Mahindra electric SUV is sold every 10 minutes across the country.

Building on this remarkable momentum, Mahindra is commencing deliveries of Pack Two for its acclaimed BE 6 and XEV 9e eSUVs from end-July at a compelling price of ₹21.90 Lakh. Responding to strong customer feedback, Pack Two will now have a 79 kWh battery option alongside the existing 59 kWh variant, delivering real-world city ranges of 500 km and 400 km respectively.

Both battery options come comprehensively equipped with Mahindra’s advanced technology suite, including a 16-speaker Harman Kardon sound system with Dolby Atmos, a full glass roof, Level 2 advanced driver assistance systems (Level 2 ADAS), the triple-screen wide cinemascope in XEV 9e, and race-ready Digital Cockpit in BE 6 — seamlessly blending innovation, safety, and modern luxury. In addition, Mahindra is enriching BE 6 Pack Two with the premium sage leatherette interiors from Pack Three, complemented by an elegant ivory roof finish to further enhance the cabin’s spacious and sophisticated feel.

All waiting customers will have the opportunity to upgrade their bookings to the new Pack Two 79 kWh variant if desired, reaffirming Mahindra’s commitment to delivering flexibility and customer choice.

Starting from ₹21.90 Lakh, Pack Two underscores Mahindra’s promise to democratise premium electric mobility while staying true to its design and technology leadership. Supported by Mahindra’s robust service network spanning over 300 locations across India, customers can drive with complete peace of mind, anywhere the road takes them.

Mumbai, 3rd July, 2025: Cosmo First Ltd, a leading manufacturer of specialty films, announced the procurement of Brückner Maschinenbau’s state-of-the-art KARO®IV laboratory stretching machine, positioning India amongst global leaders in film technology development. This strategic investment aligns with the country’s Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative of reducing dependency on imports and advancing India’s manufacturing capabilities. This initiative also strengthens Cosmo First’s position among an elite group of global film manufacturers with advanced R&D capabilities.

The KARO®IV technology will significantly enhance India’s capabilities in specialty film development by minimising development time and costs for films designed for specialised applications. It will enable domestic development of niche film applications which are currently being imported and support in-house development of proprietary film technologies, enhancing self-reliance in high-performance flexible packaging. The technology will allow Cosmo First to conduct extensive research and development, accelerating R&D timelines through cost-effective laboratory-scale testing before moving to production trials.

“The KARO®IV will transform how we approach film development in India,” said Mr Kulbhushan Malik, Business Head, Cosmo Films, the flagship company of the Cosmo First group. “By enabling precise testing of films in both sequential and simultaneous stretching modes, we can now develop new film recipes and evaluate properties at a fraction of the cost and time previously required. This technology represents a significant leap forward in our ability to innovate. It opens doors for collaboration with academic institutions, supporting talent development in polymer science and reinforcing India’s position as a serious player in the global R&D landscape.”

The KARO®IV features high stretching ratios from 1.01 x 1.01 up to 10 x 10, heating capability up to 400°C with up to 3 independent heating modules, an advanced EPC control panel with programmable test sequences, and state-of-the-art measurement equipment for stretching forces, displacement, and temperatures. The machine is equipped to handle a wide range of film types, including BOPP, BOPET, and BOPA, with consistent and accurate control over test film processes. The technology positions India to compete at the highest levels of specialty film innovation. Key competitive advantages include faster prototype-to-market cycles compared to traditional development methods, enhanced ability to develop eco-friendly, mono-material films aligned with circular economy goals, and the capability to partner with global brands for co-development of advanced film solutions.

The Indian packaging industry, historically, has lacked advanced lab-scale film stretching systems that could accurately simulate commercial production conditions, as most Indian manufacturers rely on full-scale production lines for R&D, making innovation costly and less agile. Additionally, the packaging industry is facing a regulatory and consumer pressure to shift from non-recyclable multi-material plastics to recyclable mono-material films. The installation will address significant gaps in India’s packaging innovation infrastructure.

Cosmo First recently commissioned a new BOPP line taking its BOPP production capacity up by approx. 40% to 2,77,000 MT per annum. The investment in KARO®IV reinforces Cosmo First’s commitment to sustainable manufacturing by enabling rapid development of recyclable films, addressing India’s growing environmental concerns. It allows for testing of new barrier coatings, laminates, and formulations that meet recyclability targets and supports the creation of domestic expertise in advanced polymer science through potential academic collaborations.

Mumbai, July 3, 2025 — HKI Media Pvt. Ltd. has announced the launch of Gig Media, India’s first AI-powered media aggregator platform, aimed at unifying the fragmented workflows of the media and entertainment industry. The platform was officially unveiled today in Mumbai in the presence of prominent industry leaders, startup ecosystem enablers, and creative professionals.

Gig Media brings together a range of services—including smart hiring, real-time artist bookings, freelance jobs, media education tie-ups, audition discovery, and end-to-end B2B media solutions—onto a single, intelligent interface. Built specifically for the unique requirements of India’s creative economy, the platform is being positioned as a digital backbone for the M&E sector, addressing inefficiencies across talent discovery, project execution, and brand collaborations. With the Indian media and entertainment sector projected to cross ₹5 lakh crore by 2026, Gig Media’s launch comes at a crucial moment. Despite the scale, much of the industry remains informal, disconnected, and reliant on personal networks. Gig Media is designed to professionalize this space by offering a verified, tech-powered, and transparent ecosystem for all stakeholders.

The user base of Gig Media spans across the entire media value chain. It is tailored for media professionals such as actors, technicians, directors, editors, writers, musicians, and animators, offering them verified profiles, job visibility, and booking tools. Production houses, advertising agencies, public relations firms, event management companies, and casting agencies benefit from streamlined hiring, project collaboration, and discovery of skilled professionals across geographies. Artist associations and media education institutes will also find the platform useful for student placements, talent visibility, and digital access to jobs. Significantly, corporate brands, celebrity managers, and MSME entities can use Gig Media to directly connect with credible talent and agencies for events, endorsements, branding, and content production—especially in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities, which have traditionally lacked access to organized media infrastructure.

Gig Media is equipped with a wide suite of features designed to simplify media operations while enhancing trust and efficiency. Its AI-powered matchmaking engine connects the right talent to the right project based on role, geography, skill, budget, and past ratings. The platform enables real-time bookings for artists, live audition updates, and on-demand hiring for creative professionals, replacing informal WhatsApp and phone-based arrangements with a robust digital mechanism. It also provides in-app B2B solutions for corporates and agencies, including campaign support, crew hiring, studio bookings, and influencer outreach. An integrated rating and review system, verified by industry associations, ensures transparency and trust—two factors often missing in freelance media transactions. For young talent, the platform creates direct bridges from education to employment through partnerships with media institutes and associations across the country.

“Gig Media is not just a product—it’s a platform created to solve day-to-day challenges that the media and creative industries have faced for years,” said Abhimanyu Sihag, CEO of HKI Media. “We’ve worked across the value chain—from skilling to content production to brand strategy—and we’ve built Gig Media with those learnings at its core.”

HKI Media Director Hariom Kaushik added, “With Gig Media, we are building India’s first trusted digital gateway for collaboration between media professionals, agencies, and clients. Our focus is on credibility, discoverability, and ease of access—especially in regional and mid-tier markets.”

Gig Media is also being launched under the mentorship of Vinod Bhanushali, founder of Hitz Music and Bhanushali Studios. His guidance brings invaluable strategic insight to the platform’s roadmap, partnerships, and long-term growth model. The platform is now live on Android and iOS, with onboarding currently underway for professionals, agencies, and media organizations across key Indian cities. HKI Media plans to scale Gig Media nationally over the next 12 months, integrating further features around payments, learning, and IP-based collaborations. With a mission to become the go-to digital hub for India’s media and creative ecosystem, Gig Media is setting new benchmarks for how creative work is discovered, hired, and delivered in the country.

MUMBAI, July 2, 2025 — Leading clinical nutritionists gathered at Taj Lands End, Mumbai for “NutriLens: AI Insights, Real-World Nutrition,” a continuing medical education (CME) event co-hosted by IAPEN India and eGenome.ai. The scientific session focused on advancing nutritional practice through AI-powered biomarker interpretation and personalized patient care.

Educational Focus on AI in Clinical Practice

The CME brought together over 120 clinical nutritionists to explore practical applications of artificial intelligence in nutritional assessment. Sessions covered biochemical parameter interpretation, inflammation management through nutrition, and the integration of advanced biomarker analysis in clinical practice.

Sid Das, Co-Founder of eGenome.ai, opened the educational session with an introduction to AI applications in clinical nutrition: “Traditional medicine treats symptoms. We identify root causes before they create symptoms. Our AI doesn’t just tell you what’s wrong — it shows you exactly why it’s happening and how to fix it at the cellular level.”

Dr. Shivshankar Timmanpyati, President of IAPEN India, followed with keynote remarks: “In 30 years of clinical practice, I’ve never seen technology that can peer this far into a patient’s health future. This technology isn’t just changing nutrition — it’s revolutionizing how we think about disease prevention itself.”

Scientific Session Highlights

The educational program featured presentations by leading clinical nutritionists on:

• Biochemical parameter interpretation beyond standard reference ranges
• Probiotics applications in clinical nutrition practice
• Inflammation management through targeted nutritional interventions
• Root cause analysis using advanced biomarker patterns
• Practical implementation of personalized nutrition protocols
• Clinical Case Studies and Practical Applications

Educational case studies demonstrated how AI-enhanced analysis can identify:

• Hidden insulin resistance patterns in seemingly normal patients
• Cardiovascular risk indicators missed by conventional panels
• Early organ dysfunction markers years before clinical manifestation
• Personalized intervention strategies based on individual biomarker profiles

Dr. Ankita Ghag, Lead Dietician, The Gut Lab noted: “This isn’t incremental improvement — it’s a paradigm shift. AI revolution in healthcare is proving that the future of medicine is prediction and prevention, not reaction and treatment.”

Advancing Clinical Nutrition Practice

The session emphasized practical implementation of advanced nutritional assessment tools in clinical settings. Presentations covered how AI can create individualized nutrition protocols, targeted supplement recommendations, and lifestyle modifications based on comprehensive biomarker analysis.

Following the scientific presentations, Subodh Yadav, CEO and Co-Founder of eGenome.ai, concluded: “We’re not just analysing health data — we’re predicting your health future. Our AI has identified biomarker combinations that established medical literature has not identified or reported.”

Professional Development and Future Directions

The CME provided clinical nutritionists with updated knowledge on interpreting complex biomarker patterns, implementing precision nutrition strategies, and utilizing AI tools to enhance patient outcomes. The educational session concluded with interactive discussions on implementing these technologies in diverse clinical settings and advancing the field of personalized nutrition through evidence-based AI applications.

Bhubaneswar: An Odisha-based deep tech startup has emerged as a crucial player in India’s disaster response landscape, with its drone technology proving life-saving during the recent landslides in Lachen, Sikkim. The successful deployment has not only highlighted the Indian Army’s increasing reliance on indigenous solutions but also showcased Odisha’s growing footprint in the country’s innovation ecosystem.

On 1 June 2025, massive monsoon-triggered landslides struck Lachen, about 123 km from Gangtok, claiming the lives of three soldiers and leaving six others missing. In a bold and agile move, the Indian Army turned to BonV Aero, a startup with roots in Odisha, for rapid search and recovery under the treacherous conditions.

Unlike conventional high-altitude landslide rescues that depend heavily on SDRF teams, sniffer dogs, manual digging, and ground-based GPR equipment, this operation marked a significant shift. BonV Aero’s Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) drone flew over the debris, using cutting-edge sensors to detect buried anomalies without disturbing the unstable terrain.

Within 24 hours of the disaster, the Indian Army integrated the startup’s drone into the rescue mission. The UAV’s data pinpointed two critical locations—at depths of 0.76 m and 0.015 m—where excavation later confirmed human remains.

“The Indian Army’s swift adoption of our technology speaks volumes about the growing confidence in homegrown solutions,” said Satyabarata Satapathy, CEO of BonV Aero. “As an Odisha-based startup, we are proud that our innovation could make a difference where it mattered most.”

BonV Aero’s breakthrough technology offers a game-changing advantage in disaster-prone, hard-to-access Himalayan regions. Traditional rescue techniques often falter in such conditions due to weather, snow, waterlogged debris, and unstable rocks. The GPR drone, however, scanned these hazardous zones safely, mapping real-time subsurface data that guided ground teams with surgical precision.

“What sets this drone apart is its ability to ‘see’ beneath the surface while keeping rescue teams out of harm’s way,” said Abinash Sahoo, Chief Technology Officer, BonV Aero.

“This technology can redefine how India responds to landslides and similar disasters.” The Lachen mission stands as a proud moment for Odisha’s startup ecosystem, demonstrating how local innovation can play a critical role in national emergencies. As India accelerates its push towards self-reliance in defence and disaster management, success stories like BonV Aero’s signal that Odisha’s homegrown enterprises are ready to deliver on the frontlines.

Chennai, India – July 01, 2025 – Freshworks, announced the general availability of Freshservice Journeys, a new AI-assisted capability within its IT and employee service management offering, designed to streamline complex employee processes across functions—driving efficiency, improving cross-functional collaboration, and delivering consistent, personalized employee experience during critical employee events. With Freshservice Journeys, teams across IT, HR, facilities, and other departments can use no-code workflows to build thoughtful employee experiences in key moments that matter such as onboarding, offboarding, promotions, and relocations.

“Complexity is the enemy of efficiency, and our customers count on Freshworks to remove roadblocks in the employee experience with hyper-personalized, seamless, and uncomplicated service,” said Srini Raghavan, Chief Product Officer at Freshworks. “For years, Freshservice has enabled thousands of organizations to apply modern service management principles across individual departments. With the launch of Freshservice Journeys, Freshworks takes that vision further—eliminating the friction that has long hindered cross-departmental collaboration during complex employee transitions. Organizations can now use AI powered automation to deliver consistently positive employee experiences without sacrificing departmental flexibility.”

Organizations often struggle with legacy systems that enforce rigid workflows and siloed operations. This lack of coordination and accountability across departments leads to bottlenecks and costly inefficiencies—especially during high-impact employee experiences like onboarding. For example, when IT, HR, and Facilities aren’t aligned, new hires may arrive on day one without access to essential tools, systems, or even a workspace, eroding first impressions and delaying productivity. Freshservice Journeys was built to solve these common challenges by automating manual tasks, improving interdepartmental coordination, and enhancing visibility throughout the process.

Key benefits of Freshservice Journeys include:

AI-Powered Efficiency: Leverages the power of AI to handle routine tasks like setting up accounts, sending reminders, and summarizing tickets. This means less manual work for your team and faster task completion.

Easy-to-use, intuitive interface: The no-code/low-code interface empowers admins to configure complex workflows effortlessly, or go live even faster using pre-built templates that enable seamless collaboration from HR to IT.

Seamless Cross-Functional Collaboration: Assigns tasks, automates reminders, and provides real-time progress tracking visible across all relevant departments to enhance coordination, improve accountability, and simplify employee transitions.

Flexible to Unique Organizational Needs: Uses conditions and triggers to tailor journey paths to specific employee needs and organizational policies.

Customer-Proven Results

“Freshservice has completely transformed our offboarding process,” said John Batchelor, Vice President of IT Operations at Qualfon. “What used to take days can now be done in hours—with full visibility into task completion, access revocation, and timelines. It’s helped us reduce risk, save time, and deliver a more secure, compliant offboarding experience at scale.”

“Freshservice Journeys is a game-changer for onboarding,” said Tabitha Zokaitis, IT Service Management Analyst at EquiTrust Life Insurance. “It allows our admins to quickly set up customized workflows for different roles, while giving HR real-time visibility into every task. We’re looking forward to further streamlining our processes and saving hours of manual coordination, reducing errors, and ensuring every new hire has a smooth, consistent experience from day one.”

Anantha Ganga, CIO at Coherent, sought to standardize IT service delivery on a single platform. Within just four months, Coherent successfully transitioned all IT workflows to Freshservice. Coherent subsequently expanded its use of Freshservice to support HR needs—such as employee onboarding and offboarding—with plans to expand to facilities and procurement.

Thiruvananthapuram , Bengaluru , Mumbai, 1 July 2025: UST, a leading digital transformation solutions company, has announced its upcoming global virtual cybersecurity conference, GenCyS 2025 on August 23–24, 2025, aimed at showcasing its security capabilities and advancing AI innovation in the cybersecurity domain. As part of the event, UST will host the Capture-The-Flag (CTF) competition, designed to challenge and identify top cybersecurity talent across India. The winning team will receive a prize pool of ₹7.5 lakhs (including a ₹1.5 lakh cash prize and non-cash prizes from partners like Hack The Box, LetsDefend, etc.) along with a conditional job opportunity at UST.

The CTF competition is open for registrations until 30th July 2025. On August 2, an online preliminary round will kick off the competition. Post the first round, the top 50 teams will qualify for the 24-hour grand finale, to be held on-site at the UST campus in Thiruvananthapuram on August 23–24, 2025.

Participants will be required to solve a series of complex, real-world cybersecurity problems to uncover hidden flags, unique codes embedded in puzzles, scripts, and systems, testing their analytical, technical, and problem-solving skills. Further, the competition also immerses participants in advanced AI-driven security challenges, Red Team vs Blue Team scenarios, and live attack simulations, providing a dynamic platform to test and elevate their skills.

Speaking about the event, Sunil Balakrishnan, Chief Values Officer and Global Head of Development Centre Operations, UST, said, “At UST, we envision the future of cybersecurity to be the intersection of human ingenuity and AI innovation. Our GenCys 2025 conference embodies our abiding commitment to the development of the next generation of cybersecurity professionals by addressing real-world cybersecurity challenges through experiential learning. With promising panels, paper presentations, and keynote speeches along with the CTF competition lined up, GenCys 2025 promises to reinforce UST’s expertise in the evolving cybersecurity landscape while also serving as a launch pad for future cybersecurity talent.”

Organised under COLORS of UST, the company’s award-winning global employee engagement programme, GenCyS 2025 will feature insightful sessions from industry leaders, panel discussions, and cutting-edge security innovations, along with a call for research papers. The conference will also include expert-led workshops offering hands-on learning, real-world cybersecurity challenges, and practical applications of AI in security.

New Delhi, India, 27^th June 2025: GIGABYTE Technology, a global leader in high-performance motherboards, graphics cards, and hardware solutions, today announces the groundbreaking Ultra Turbo Mode feature for its Intel Z890 series motherboards. This innovative BIOS level enhancement unlocks significant gaming performance boosts of up to 35% without requiring any additional hardware investment. With a simple BIOS update, users can access dramatically enhanced system performance, further solidifying GIGABYTE’s commitment to delivering innovative, reliable, and performance-driven solutions.

Maximize Performance without Extra Expense

The Ultra Turbo Mode extracts maximum performance from systems without the need for expensive hardware upgrades. By intelligently optimizing BIOS settings, this revolutionary feature unlocks hidden potential in the latest Intel Core Ultra 2 9/7/5 K-SKU processors. The results are impressive: memory performance achieves a remarkable boost of up to 68% in AIDA64 testing across various high-performance memory configurations. Gaming performance also sees significant gains, with up to 35% higher frame rates in demanding AAA titles like Hitman 3: Dartmoor.

Effortless and Customized Performance Boost

The Ultra Turbo Mode enhances performance by intelligently managing CPU, DRAM frequency, latency, and power limits. Users can choose from three levels of performance preset profiles, allowing for customization according to their needs. The LV1 Intel 200S Boost features substantial improvements powered by Intel’s latest 200S Boost innovations. The LV2 Turbo Mode features GIGABYTE’s unique CPU/DRAM overclocking profiles, delivering aggressive optimization on gaming and overall performance. The LV3 Extreme Mode impressively unlocks the maximum performance potential. This breakthrough feature represents GIGABYTE’s dedication to democratizing high-performance computing, making advanced optimization accessible and effective for users of all technical expertise levels.

The Ultra Turbo Mode feature is available now as a free BIOS update for GIGABYTE Intel Z890 series motherboards. Users can visit the GIGABYTE website to download the latest BIOS version and unlock their system’s full potential. With this innovative feature, GIGABYTE continues to push the boundaries of performance, reliability, and user experience.

Worldline White Paper unpacks the future of contactless payments: SoftPOS to surpass 34 Million deployments

Mumbai, 25 June 2025 – Worldline [Euronext: WLN], a global leader in payment services, today announced the release of its latest white paper titled “SoftPOS: Transforming Contactless Payments Across Industries”. This comprehensive study explores how Software Point-of-Sale (SoftPOS) is revolutionizing payment acceptance for businesses across sectors—from retail and restaurants to transit, healthcare and insurance across India.

As India witnesses exponential growth in digital payments—with UPI transaction values crossing ₹24.77 trillion in March 2025 alone—the paper underscores why SoftPOS adoption is no longer optional, but an imperative for businesses looking to stay relevant and competitive.

Key findings

India’s mobile payment market is projected to grow from $792.4 billion in 2024 to $4.99 trillion by 2033, at a CAGR of 21.56%.
By 2027, SoftPOS is expected to surpass 34.5 million merchant deployments globally.
Over 50% of all transactions in the Asia-Pacific region are expected to be tap-based by 2025.
Micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) will drive over 60% of SoftPOS adoption, leveraging its affordability and ease of deployment.
Sectoral trends and applications

Retail and e-Commerce: Enables “endless aisle” experiences and mobile checkout for both in-store and delivery-based transactions.
Restaurants and Food&Beverage: Accelerates tap-to-pay acceptance for small and micro-merchants, especially in Tier II and III cities.
Transit and Mobility: Powers mobile ticketing, onboard fare collection and seamless reconciliation in buses, metros, and ride-sharing.
Healthcare: Simplifies in-clinic and pharmacy payments, supported by digital health initiatives like ABDM and DHIS1.
Insurance and Financial Services: Empowers agents to collect premiums and issue receipts in real-time—even in semi-urban and rural areas.

Mr. Ramesh Narasimhan, Chief Executive Officer – Worldline India, said: “SoftPOS represents a game-changing leap in India’s payments landscape. With the proliferation of smartphones and growing consumer preference for contactless experiences, this technology empowers businesses—especially MSMEs—to accept payments securely, affordably, and flexibly without the need for dedicated hardware. At Worldline, we are committed to driving this innovation, enabling financial inclusion, and shaping the future of digital commerce.”

The white paper further outlines the critical need for modernizing payment infrastructure, key differences between SoftPOS and traditional POS systems, security, compliance, and the role of MPoC standards and five-year projections and India’s leadership in SoftPOS adoption.

DHIS: Digital Health Incentive Scheme and ABDM: Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission