Author: Neel Achary

Pointo Revive India’s Ambassador for a Greener Tomorrow in Kolkata

22nd May 2025, New Delhi : Pointo, a leading innovator in India’s Energy Solution sector, has announced a strategic collaboration with Jadavpur University (JU) to transform fossil fuel-powered Hindustan Ambassador cars into fully electric vehicles (EVs). This landmark project goes beyond retrofitting and is a powerful move towards the larger national goal of transitioning from fossil fuels to sustainable electric mobility.

Known for their reputation in creating a circular economy in the battery industry, Pointo is at the forefront of offering affordable and scalable energy solution models and building a vast supply and distribution network. This collaboration marks a significant leap in showcasing batteries as power sources and also as enablers of transformation, converting decades-old diesel-run vehicles into emission-free electric cars.

The initiative follows a comprehensive two-part roadmap:

Part A involves the detailed design and engineering of the retrofitting process for Hindustan Ambassador models – Classic, Grand, Avigo, and Encore. This includes vehicle diagnostics, electric motor and powertrain integration, smart battery placement, chassis and suspension adaptations, and embedding advanced BMS (Battery Management System) and telemetry software.

Part B focuses on achieving full regulatory compliance for pan-India deployment. The EVs will undergo rigorous testing to meet the Central Motor Vehicles Rules (CMVR), receive emission-free certification, and secure approvals from authorities like the Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI).

This project addresses a deeper societal and environmental challenge. For instance, the iconic yellow Ambassador taxis, still in operation in parts of Kolkata and other cities, are powered by ageing diesel engines. These contribute significantly to urban air pollution and declining public health standards.

By transforming these vehicles into EVs, the initiative tackles air quality degradation at its source, providing a replicable, scalable solution for thousands of such vehicles across Indian cities.

While the project begins in West Bengal, its implications are national. India’s larger vision of going all-electric by 2030, as championed by Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, makes the timing of this initiative especially significant.

With successful execution, this model can be replicated across other legacy diesel fleets and diesel engines in various other industries (energy storage, replacement of heavy diesel engines/ generators, integration with renewables and large-grid supplies) in Delhi, Bangalore, Mumbai, Chennai, and beyond. This will usher in a new era of urban electric mobility and energy storage powered by Indian engineering and innovation, especially in areas with lower energy storage support and the use of heavy diesel engines as power source.

“This partnership with Jadavpur University marks a major step towards transforming India’s Clean Energy Storage and Power legacy,” said Riki Biswas, CEO and Director, Pointo. “With our expertise in battery technology and JU’s engineering excellence, we aim to not just retrofit vehicles but build a platform where the dependency on fossil fuels is reduced and batteries as a source of power and storage are promoted. This project has the potential to reduce emissions at scale, create livelihood opportunities, and preserve automotive heritage while aligning with our national electric mobility goals.”

The retrofitted Hindustan Ambassadors will represent a unique fusion of India’s automotive history with the future of electric transportation. More than a product innovation, this initiative embodies a systems-level change, bringing together battery technology, sustainable engineering, and energy policy alignment.

This collaboration between Pointo and Jadavpur University is a bold step in shaping a cleaner, healthier, and more sustainable India, one vehicle at a time.

Glance AI Launches AI-Native Commerce Platform Built on Deep Commerce Intelligence and Hyper-Real Visual Shopping

Chandigarh, May 22, 2025 – In a pivotal moment for global commerce and AI innovation, Glance, a leading consumer technology company backed by Google, has unveiled Glance AI, an AI-native commerce platform powered by its most advanced proprietary AI models. Built to revolutionize how people shop and to reshape how intelligence drives decisions and economies, Glance AI moves online shopping beyond search to an inspiration-led discovery experience. It also marks the emergence of the ‘AI consumer’, one who does not wait to browse, but expects the technology to understand them, imagine for them, and spark desire even before they know what they want.

The standalone app launches today available worldwide on both Google Play Store and Apple App Store, with deeper integrations rolling out to Android handset makers and telecom operators. While the initial model is trained on fashion, Glance plans to extend the same experience to categories such as beauty, accessories, and travel later this year, setting a new benchmark in AI commerce.

Unlike conventional e-commerce stores that simply display multiple products to browse or search for, Glance AI lets users discover their AI-curated stylized looks. By simply taking a selfie or uploading an image, Glance AI immerses them in a visual world where they take centre stage. Each experience is generated in real-time with an AI-native commerce engine using advanced diffusion models, personalization engines, and a live commerce layer that maps each user’s unique AI look to real, shoppable products from curated brands across the globe. With one tap, users can now explore looks and products tailored to their preferences and complete purchases seamlessly from 400+ global brands. All of this while the user retains control over their data.

Naveen Tewari, Founder & CEO of InMobi & Glance shared “The internet is being rewritten from curated feeds to AI-generated realities. At Glance, we’re proud to lead this transformation with our most advanced AI-native commerce platform yet. Glance AI reimagines how billions of consumers worldwide will discover, visualize and shop, replacing intent with inspiration and search with intelligent, autonomous agents. Embedded across phones, TVs and brand stores, Glance AI marks a paradigm shift in commerce. It is one of the most ambitious technological efforts in our journey and a bold step toward shaping the future of AI-driven consumer experiences.”

At its core, Glance AI is built on a three-layered deep tech architecture:

· Commerce Intelligence Model; trained on decades of global commerce data, learning from new trends, cultures, and consumer behavior.

· GenAI Experience Model, generating hyper-realistic visualization based on thousands of parameters such as gender, body type, ethnicity, skin tone, fit, style and season to simulate how a particular clothing will look on an individual.

· Transaction Journey Model, an agent that understands shopping intent before consumers do, pairing visualizations with best matched product from millions of catalogues globally

Glance AI has integrated its proprietary models with cutting-edge platforms including Google Gemini and Imagen on Vertex AI delivering hyper-realistic, personalized experiences to users.

Glance AI is a fully opt-in platform, with privacy and user control built into its core design. Users can explore looks, save or share them, set them as wallpapers, and visualize themselves in unique looks and collections driven by global trends and occasions.

Glance AI is beyond the app experience. It is built on an open architecture with deep integrations across hardware and software with manufacturers, telecom operators, and brands. It turns phones into AI phones, TVs into household commerce devices and brand stores into AI shopfronts.

360 ONE Asset’s Early-Stage Strategy to Back India’s Next-Gen Startups

Chandigarh May 22, 2025: 360 ONE Asset, a wholly-owned subsidiary of 360 ONE WAM, one of India’s leading wealth and asset management companies, has announced the launch of its early-stage venture capital strategy. It is focused on building on its integrated lifecycle investing model, designed to partner with India’s most ambitious startups from their first institutional round through to scale.

Anchored by 360 ONE Asset’s broader Rs. 25,000 Crore+ (USD 3 bn+) private equity platform, this new strategy forms a cornerstone of 360 ONE’s integrated ‘Idea to IPO’ capital stack, designed to back bold founders building category-defining businesses across emerging sectors like Consumer Technology, Fintech infrastructure, Generative AI, and Frontier Technologies including Spacetech, Defence, and Precision manufacturing.

With a high-conviction approach, every investment is led with significant ownership, board participation, and hands-on involvement in value creation. This deep engagement enables 360 ONE Asset to support founders not just with capital, but also with strategic direction, governance, and access to the broader 360 ONE ecosystem, including late-stage growth capital.

Sameer Nath, CIO & Head, Private Equity & Venture Capital, 360 ONE Asset, said, “As India approaches its next wave of startup-led economic transformation, 360 ONE Asset’s early-stage strategy aims to be at the forefront – identifying, backing, and shaping the companies that will define the next generation of unicorns. Our strategy is backed by a highly experienced team and distinguished by proprietary deal flow through a network of over 7,000 founders and domain experts.”

Abhishek Nag, Senior Fund Manager & Strategy Head, Early-Stage VC, 360 ONE Asset, said, “India’s early-stage ecosystem is entering a pivotal decade. With our early-stage strategy we aim to bridge the white space between India’s robust micro-VC ecosystem and the large global funds – by backing exceptional founders early and supporting them with patient, long-term capital throughout their growth journey,”

“We follow a disciplined investment process with rigorous diligence, clear value creation plans, and defined exit strategies. We also offer active co-investment opportunities for strategic partners – all while staying focused on long-term macro trends like domestic consumption, financial infrastructure, healthcare, AI-led services, and deep tech innovation,” he added.

The early-stage strategy is led by a seasoned team with a sharp eye for emerging opportunities and a strong record of successful exits. The team is supported by a seasoned Advisory Board comprising Gaurav Kushwaha (Founder, Bluestone), Nigel Vaz (CEO, Publicis Sapient), Vaibhav Domkundwar (Founder, Better Capital & Co-founder, Mobileum), and Ashwin Mittal (CEO, C5i), each bringing unique insights from entrepreneurship, global technology, and early-stage investing.

This strategy has already built a robust pipeline, with deals term-sheeted and in advanced diligence across sectors including:

• A hybrid-casual gaming company whose India-focused title has surpassed 10 million downloads in 3 months.
• A hot sauce brand bringing Indian flavours to global palates with strong consumer traction.
• A SaaS startup creating a next-gen “mutual fund AMC in a box” solution.
• A space-tech innovator with deep experience at ISRO, building indigenous Synthetic Aperture Radar technology.

Rapido Now Covers All of Telangana with 11-City Mobility Expansion

Hyderabad, 22 May 2025: Rapido, India’s leading ride-hailing platform, has achieved full operational coverage across Telangana with the launch of its Bike Taxi and Auto services in 11 new cities. With this strategic expansion into Siddipet, Mahbubnagar, Sangareddy, Ramagundam, Nizamabad, Nalgonda, Bhuvanagiri, Kothagudem, Suryapet, Adilabad, and Kamareddy, Rapido now offers its app-based mobility solutions in every district of the state. This milestone strengthens its position as Telangana’s go-to platform for convenient, affordable, and accessible first and last-mile travel. The move is also aligned with Rapido’s larger goal of reaching 500 cities across India, underscoring its commitment to transforming local transportation.

As one of India’s largest contributors to the gig economy, Rapido has already created over 9 million jobs nationwide. Through this expansion, the company is aiming to generate 1 lakh new job opportunities and empower residents with economic independence and flexible earning potential. Rapido currently facilitates close to 4 million rides daily, solidifying its position as the country’s leading ride-hailing platform.

With this launch, residents can now rely on the Rapido app to book quick, affordable, and convenient rides—whether commuting to work, accessing nearby public transit hubs, or running errands across town.

“We’re thrilled to introduce Rapido’s services in Telangana, making dependable transportation more accessible and improving the way people move around the city. Beyond mobility, this launch is also about creating livelihood opportunities for hundreds of local youth who can now earn by joining Rapido as captains. We believe that by connecting riders with local captains, we are enhancing transportation options as well as strengthening the local economy.” said Pavan Guntupalli, Co-founder, Rapido.

Beyond mobility, this expansion will also unlock micro-entrepreneurship opportunities. Rapido aims to onboard thousands of new captains, creating income streams and contributing to community-level economic development.

Rapido is committed to closely working with local authorities and stakeholders to ensure seamless service integration and deliver a safe, compliant, and customer-friendly commuting experience.

Howden Report Reveals 33% Surge in Political Risk Insurance Demand Amid Geopolitical Uncertainty

London, 22 May 2025: Howden, the global insurance intermediary group, today releases its new credit and political risk insurance (CPRI) report, Opportunity in flux. Intensifying geopolitical rivalries, policy uncertainty and competition for critical minerals are reshaping the risk landscape as well as driving demand for protection.

 Research in the report finds that new demand for political risk insurance is up by a third due to considerable uncertainty around the geopolitical and macroeconomic environment. Amid the softening of the broader insurance cycle, Howden’s report argues that now is the time to draw in additional new entrants and for existing CPRI carriers to accelerate ventures into new asset classes and territories.

Market opportunity
With an aggregated premium base of $50 billion1, according to Howden’s research, the CPRI and surety market surpasses the size of many other specialty insurance markets, including marine and energy.
The series of economic and geopolitical shocks in recent years has done little to hold back the CPRI market’s performance: it consistently delivers healthy net combined ratios, with trade credit in the range of 70-80%, which sits at the top end of the broader CPRI market. These results rival the best underwriting in the market, and it is therefore equipped with the skills and expertise for sustainable expansion.
While the market has performed strongly, premium growth has not developed at the pace of other business lines, including property and cyber. There is room for a greater growth rate in today’s world; CPRI presents a compelling case from both a buyer and capacity provider perspective in supporting businesses to invest and trade through heightened volatility whilst delivering market-leading underwriting results.

Driving economic growth

 The report identifies some of the less penetrated asset classes ready for expansion that offer a strong underwriting opportunity for the market to drive economic growth. This will provide buyers with the certainty they need to expand into new territories and grow their portfolios in a new world order.

Matthew Strong, Deputy CEO, Howden CAP and Head of Credit and Political Risk, comments: “The CPRI market’s outstanding long term performance is testament to the deep sector expertise that pervades the value-chain. With demand for CPRI protection rising, now is the time for the market to step up even further. This will enhance global economic growth by increasing commitments and innovating, as well as providing businesses, lenders and public sector entities around the globe with the certainty they need to trade and invest with confidence.”

 Phil Bonner, Managing Director, Global Specialty Treaty, Howden Re adds: “Opportunity is the key takeaway to emerge from our report. Yes, risk is up in a highly fractured world, but providing protection to help clients trade and invest through such uncertainty is precisely why CPRI exists. Our market does this in a way no other can whilst achieving exceptional performance, as demonstrated by underwriting results that rival any other product line of insurance. As demand for protection rises in response to global instability, our call to action for the market is to not only provide adequate supply but to also offer underwriting flexibility and imagination that keep up with clients’ changing needs.”

Bajel Projects Ltd Announces Results For The Quarter And Financial Year Ended 31st March 2025

Mumbai, May 22^nd, 2025: Bajel Projects Ltd, a Bajaj Group company, has declared its results for the quarter and financial year ended 31^st March 2025. For the fourth quarter of FY’25, the Company achieved a total income of Rs. 808.03 Cr. as against Rs. 507.23 Cr., a growth of 59% over the corresponding quarter of the previous year. For the quarter, the EBITDA stood at Rs 27.33 Cr. as against Rs. 25.91 Cr. in the corresponding quarter of the previous year.

Bajel Projects achieved robust growth with an increase in annual total income, reaching Rs. 2,629.13 Cr., representing a growth of more than 2x compared to Rs. 1,194.51 Cr. the previous year. This expansion in the top line was supported by improved operational efficiency, resulting in a healthy EBITDA of Rs. 90.17 Cr. for the entire financial year.

 Financial Performance (Rs. in Crore)

 Commenting on the results, Mr. Rajesh Ganesh, MD & CEO, Bajel Projects Ltd. said, “Our performance this year underscores the enduring spirit and focused effort of our team. We achieved total revenue from operations of Rs. 2,598 Cr. in FY 24- 25 as compared to Rs. 1,169 Cr. last year, a growth of more than 2x. Our PAT stood at about Rs. 15.5 Cr. compared to about Rs. 4 Cr. in the same period last year. Our EBITDA margin for the financial year stands at 3.43%, a 44 bps increase over the last year. This year’s financial performance is a clear indicator of our strengths in effective and efficient project execution”.

Cignal Super – Powered by Tata Play Binge White Label Solution – is now officially live in the Philippines

May 22nd, 2025, India: Bringing Filipinos one step closer to a unified world of OTT entertainment, Cignal Super – powered by Tata Play Binge white-label solution – is now officially available to the consumers, after a successful pilot.

Seamlessly integrating at least 8 popular entertainment apps through a single subscription and a unified user interface, Cignal Super marks a first-of-its-kind OTT streaming aggregation app in the Philippines.

Built and deployed on Tata Play Binge’s scalable cloud infrastructure, the app delivers frictionless access to content from top-tier platforms including MAX, VIU, Lionsgate Play, Hallmark+, Curiosity Stream, Fuse+, Pilipinas Live, and Cignal Play – all in one place, with one login, one search, and one subscription.

This landmark launch not only redefines entertainment for the Philippines market but also further solidifies Tata Play Binge’s leadership in the global OTT aggregation space. As a pioneering Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) provider, Tata Play Binge enables broadcasters and telcos worldwide to fast-track their OTT journeys with a ready-to-deploy, future-ready technology stack—already live in Bangladesh and now in the Philippines.

“The launch of Cignal Super is a proud moment for Tata Play Binge white label solution,” said Harit Nagpal, MD & CEO, Tata Play. “Our PaaS model is helping leading broadcasters and telecom providers to go digital with speed, efficiency and scale. After a successful partnership in Bangladesh and now with Cignal in the Philippines, it’s exciting to see Indian technology enabling local champions to elevate entertainment experiences in their markets.”

“Cignal is happy to partner with Tata Play for the launch of Cignal Super, the Philippines’ pioneering streaming aggregator. This collaboration allows Cignal to deliver a world-class entertainment experience to Filipino viewers, at home and on the go. With over 70 million smartphone users in the Philippines, Cignal Super is set to revolutionize how Filipinos enjoy their favorite content,” said Jane Jimenez-Basas, President and CEO of Cignal.

She added, “This partnership with Tata Play represents a significant step in Cignal’s continuing evolution and reaffirms our commitment to bringing joy, providing the best value, and creating shared experiences for Filipinos everywhere by delivering the content that they love.”

The launch of Cignal Super embodies Tata Play Binge’s bold vision of “Local Going Global”—supporting regional partners with global-grade infrastructure to transform how entertainment is aggregated, delivered, and consumed across emerging digital economies.