Author: News Desk

Can leather be made without harming animals? Pritesh Mistry’s The Bio Company (TBC) is answering this question by transforming tomato waste into bioleather, a vegan and biodegradable alternative. The innovation has already won recognition, including the Best Innovation in Textile award at the PETA Vegan Fashion Awards 2021. Why Tomatoes? India produces nearly 44 million tons of tomatoes annually, yet 30–35% of this harvest goes to waste. The skins and seeds, rich in pectin, provide natural polymers that give flexibility, strength, and a leather-like texture. By repurposing tomato waste, TBC addresses both environmental pollution and food waste while creating a…

India’s first bullet train is set to redefine travel between Mumbai and Ahmedabad. Covering 508 kilometres in just two hours, the service will begin operations in 2027 and bring Japan’s Shinkansen technology to Indian railways. The bullet train will run at 320 kilometres per hour and introduce India to the world’s safest high-speed rail system. Since the launch of the Shinkansen in 1964, billions of passengers have travelled without a single fatality from derailments or collisions. This record is built on decades of engineering innovation. One of the biggest challenges of early high-speed trains was the hunting oscillation, a violent side-to-side sway that risked derailment. Japanese engineers solved it with…

India is set to launch a landmark ₹11 trillion (about US$125 billion) infrastructure plan to expand its high-speed road network fivefold over the next decade. As reported by Moneycontrol citing Bloomberg, the government will build 17,000 kilometers of access-controlled highways, designed to support speeds of up to 120 km/h. The project is expected to significantly boost logistics efficiency, reduce travel time, and improve road safety nationwide. Currently, 40% of the network—around 6,800 kilometers—is already under construction and scheduled for completion before 2030. The remaining 60% will start by 2028 and finish by 2033. This mega-expansion forms a critical part of India’s infrastructure modernization…

Girish Mathrubootham, who founded Freshworks in 2010, will retire as executive chairman and step down from the company’s board effective December 1, 2025, bringing to a close his 15-year leadership journey at the SaaS firm. The transition comes roughly 18 months after he stepped down as CEO in May 2024, when Dennis Woodside took over, and shifted to the executive chairman role. The company confirmed that his resignation is not due to any disagreement regarding operations or governance. Roxanne Austin, the lead independent director since May 2021, will assume the role of Chairperson of the Board from December 1. Freshworks will also reduce its board size to nine…

India marked a significant milestone in maritime infrastructure on with the virtual inauguration of Phase 2 at the Bharat Mumbai Container Terminal (BMCT or PSA Mumbai) at Jawaharlal Nehru Port by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong. With this expansion, PSA Mumbai has become the country’s largest standalone container terminal, doubling its handling capacity from 2.4 to 4.8 million TEUs. The upgraded terminal now features a 2,000-metre continuous quay, allowing simultaneous berthing of multiple mega-container vessels. Built as a public-private partnership, the phase‑2 project was backed by a S$1.7 billion (approx US$1.3 billion) investment from PSA,Singapore’s largest FDI in India to date. Spread over 200 hectares, the terminal includes 24 quay cranes, 72 rubber‑tyred gantry…

Vedanta Group has emerged victorious in the challenge auction held on September 5, 2025, submitting a ₹17,000 crore bid to acquire indebted Jaiprakash Associates Ltd (JAL), surpassing the competing offer from the Adani Group. This bid corresponds to a net present value (NPV) of approximately ₹12,505 crore. The Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP) for JAL, which has interests across cement, real estate, power, hospitality, and roads, was initiated after the company defaulted on loan repayments. Its total outstanding dues from financial creditors exceed ₹57,000 crore, with the National Asset Reconstruction Company Ltd (NARCL) as a primary claimant after taking over…

Prominent investor Porinju V. Veliyath bought 5 lakh shares in Fratelli Vineyards through bulk deals at ₹109.70 per share, amounting to a total investment of ₹5.5 crore. Following the purchase, Fratelli Vineyards’ stock surged approximately 5%, reaching the upper circuit limit and trading at ₹115.15 . This activity comes amid a challenging phase for the company. In Q1 FY2025, Fratelli reported a consolidated net loss of ₹5.8 crore, an improvement from an ₹11 crore loss in Q4 FY2024, yet down sharply from a ₹2.7 crore net profit in Q1 FY2024. Revenues also fell 80% year-on-year to ₹29 crore from ₹144.2 crore.…

India’s top 28 listed real estate developers recorded property sales worth ₹52,842 crore in the April–June quarter of FY26, reinforcing the post-pandemic surge in housing demand. Prestige Estates Projects Ltd led the charts with ₹12,126 crore in pre-sales. DLF Ltd followed with ₹11,425 crore, fuelled by strong luxury demand in Gurugram. Godrej Properties clocked ₹7,082 crore, while Lodha Developers (₹4,450 crore) and Signature Global (₹2,640 crore) rounded out the top five. Together, these firms accounted for 71 percent of total sales. Other notable performers included Sobha Ltd (₹2,079 crore), Omaxe Ltd (₹2,001 crore), and Oberoi Realty (₹1,639 crore). Mumbai-based players…

Bill Gates, the co-founder of Microsoft, is known around the world not just for his technological genius but for his immense philanthropic work. Even before leading one of the largest technology companies, Gates had already amassed significant wealth. Today, he ranks among the richest people globally and has donated over $23.5 billion to charitable causes as of 2017. While many equate success with financial gain, Gates and his wife Melinda have always emphasized using wealth to make a meaningful difference in the world. 1. True Wealth Lies in Adding Value to OthersFor Gates, the most meaningful achievement is improving the…

Lord Swraj Paul, the legendary NRI entrepreneur and philanthropist, passed away in London at the age of 94. Born in Jalandhar in 1931, Paul’s journey from a small-town upbringing to becoming a member of the British House of Lords is a story of resilience, ambition, and compassion. Educated at Punjab University and later at MIT in the US, he returned briefly to India before moving to the UK in 1966 to seek treatment for his daughter Ambika, who tragically passed away at age 4. In her memory, he established the Ambika Paul Foundation, supporting child welfare initiatives worldwide. In 1968, he…