25, Mar 2026
Kolkata to Host Rare Shri Jagannath Vishwashanti Maha Yagya, Bringing Sacred Puri Traditions to Bengal
Kolkata, Mar 25: In a time marked by rapid change and a growing search for inner peace, a significant spiritual event is set to take place in the city of joy. Kolkata will host the Shri Jagannath Vishwashanti Maha Yagya from April 17 to April 19, 2026, at FD Block, Salt Lake, bringing with it a profound confluence of ancient Vedic traditions and spiritual awakening.
Rooted in the timeless legacy of Sanatan Dharma, the Maha Yagya represents a continuation of sacred rituals believed to have originated in the Treta and Dwapar Yugas, now being revived in the present era to promote emotional, social, and spiritual well-being. The event is expected to draw devotees, seekers, and spiritual enthusiasts from across the region.
For the first time in Bengal, the sacred traditions of the Jagannath Temple will be recreated with authenticity and precision. The rituals will be led by Maharaj Shri Daitapati Bhabani Prasad Das Ji, a respected descendant of the revered Daitapati lineage associated with Lord Jagannath’s rituals.
A key highlight of the three-day event will be the manifestation of Lord Jagannath in 32 divine forms—an extraordinary spiritual experience typically witnessed only within the sanctum of Puri. This rare occasion offers devotees an opportunity to experience the Lord’s multifaceted presence beyond traditional temple boundaries.
At the heart of the Maha Yagya lies the concept of universal participation and inclusivity. The ceremony will feature the offering of the “Jagannath Tilak,” symbolizing divine grace, unity, and spiritual protection. More than a ritual, the Tilak represents a message of equality and a reminder of shared humanity under divine guidance.
Speaking on the occasion, Maharaj Ji described the event as a “spiritual calling” rather than just a gathering, inviting individuals to pause, reflect, and reconnect with their inner selves. He emphasized that the Maha Yagya serves as a platform for collective harmony, rooted in ancient wisdom yet deeply relevant to modern times.
Organized by the Sri Rajadhiraj Jagannath Trust and the Shri Jagannath Darshan Charitable Trust, the event will also feature Mahaprasad Seva, Odissi dance performances, and authentic Vedic rituals conducted by learned Brahmins.
The Shri Jagannath Vishwashanti Maha Yagya stands as a powerful reminder of India’s enduring spiritual heritage and its role in fostering unity, peace, and cultural continuity in today’s world.
- 0
- By Neel Achary
25, Mar 2026
End of a Long Wait: Harish Rana Passes Away After 13 Year Coma
Harish Rana, known as one of the first individuals in India to be permitted passive euthanasia, passed away on Tuesday at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), bringing an end to a long and difficult chapter that spanned over 13 years.
Rana, 31, had been in a coma since 2013 following a severe medical condition that left him unresponsive. For more than a decade, his life was sustained through continuous medical care, largely managed at his home in Ghaziabad by family members who remained by his side through the prolonged ordeal.
Earlier this month, on March 14, he was shifted to the palliative care unit of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Institute Rotary Cancer Hospital at AIIMS-Delhi as his condition required specialized end-of-life support. Medical teams provided comfort care during his final days.
Rana’s case had drawn attention for its legal and ethical dimensions, particularly around the issue of passive euthanasia in India. It highlighted the emotional and financial strain faced by families caring for patients in prolonged vegetative states, while also bringing focus to the need for compassionate end-of-life care policies.
Despite the legal and medical complexities surrounding his condition, at the heart of the story was a family’s unwavering commitment. For years, his loved ones continued to hope, care, and advocate, navigating both personal grief and public attention.
His passing marks not just the end of a life, but the conclusion of a deeply human story—one that sparked conversations about dignity, medical ethics, and the realities of long-term critical care.
Harish Rana is remembered not only for the circumstances of his case but also for the quiet resilience shown by those who stood beside him throughout his journey.
25, Mar 2026
India’s Sports Sector Expands Rapidly, Cricket Commands Nearly 90% Share
India’s sports industry has achieved a significant milestone, crossing the $2 billion mark for the first time, reflecting strong growth and increasing commercial potential. The sector expanded by 13.4% year-on-year to reach approximately $2.13 billion (Rs 18,864 crore), underlining its rapid evolution in recent years.
Over the past four years, the industry has nearly doubled in size, registering an impressive compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of around 19%. This steady rise highlights growing investments, expanding fan engagement, and the increasing commercialization of sports across the country.
Cricket continues to dominate India’s sports economy, contributing a massive 89% of the total revenue—an increase from 85% the previous year. With earnings of about Rs 16,704 crore, cricket alone now surpasses the total value of the entire Indian sports industry recorded just a year earlier.
Meanwhile, the share of other emerging sports has declined to 11%, indicating a widening gap between cricket and the rest of the sporting ecosystem. Despite efforts to promote disciplines such as football, badminton, and kabaddi, cricket’s overwhelming popularity and financial strength continue to drive the market.
The latest figures highlight both the success and the imbalance within India’s sports landscape. While the overall growth signals a positive outlook, experts believe there is a need to further support and invest in non-cricket sports to ensure more balanced and sustainable development across the sector.
25, Mar 2026
Pravesh Utsav & Khadichuan on April 2 to Mark Children’s First Step into Education
A new chapter in the educational journey of young children is set to begin on April 2 with the celebration of Pravesh Utsav and Khadichuan, organized in line with the National Education Policy.
ଜାତୀୟ ଶିକ୍ଷା ନୀତି ଅନୁଯାୟୀ ଆସନ୍ତା ଏପ୍ରିଲ ୨ ତାରିଖରେ ଆୟୋଜିତ ହେବାକୁ ଯାଉଥିବା ‘ପ୍ରବେଶ ଉତ୍ସବ ଓ ଖଡ଼ିଛୁଆଁ’ କାର୍ଯ୍ୟକ୍ରମ ମାଧ୍ୟମରେ ଆମ ପିଲାମାନଙ୍କ ଶୈକ୍ଷିକ ଭବିଷ୍ୟତର ଏକ ନୂତନ ଅଧ୍ୟାୟ ଆରମ୍ଭ ହେବାକୁ ଯାଉଛି। ଶିଶୁ ବାଟିକା ଓ ପ୍ରଥମ ଶ୍ରେଣୀରେ ନାମ ଲେଖାଇବାକୁ ଥିବା ଯୋଗ୍ୟ କୁନି କୁନି ପିଲାମାନଙ୍କ ପାଇଁ ମାନ୍ୟବର… pic.twitter.com/ZWMTRg3z0Y
— CMO Odisha (@CMO_Odisha) March 24, 2026
This special initiative aims to warmly welcome eligible children enrolling in Shishu Vatika (pre-primary) and Class 1, marking their first step into formal education. The program reflects a strong commitment to nurturing early childhood learning and building a solid academic foundation.
In a heartfelt gesture, invitation letters from the Hon’ble Chief Minister are being personally delivered to parents by government officials and public representatives. This outreach highlights the importance of community participation in ensuring that every child has access to quality education.
The event is not just a ceremonial beginning but a meaningful effort to inspire families and encourage enrollment at the foundational level. It emphasizes the collective responsibility of society in shaping an educated and empowered younger generation.
Citizens are encouraged to actively participate in this noble initiative and contribute to creating a bright educational future for children. By doing so, they play a vital role in building a progressive and prosperous Odisha.
25, Mar 2026
Business Leader and Author Mr. LC Singh Launches His Memoir Things We Don’t See
Mumbai, Mar 25: Business leader and author Mr. LC Singh launched his memoir, Things We Don’t See in Mumbai, in the presence of distinguished guests, associates, well-wishers and members of his extended circle. The book offers a deeply personal reflection on a life shaped by imagination, adversity, aspiration and the search for meaning beyond visible success.
The evening also held special significance as it acknowledged the deeply personal dedication at the heart of the book. Among those present in this context were Mrs. Swarna Kohli, representing Late Mr. F. C. Kohli, Mr. LC Singh’s brother – Mr. Udaychandra Singh, who played an important role in his journey and Ms. Swati, Mr. LC Singh’s daughter, representing herself, her sister Nimisha and Late Mrs. Manorama, Mr. LC Singh’s wife. Their presence added emotional depth to an evening rooted in memory, reflection and gratitude.
Things We Don’t See traces the journey of a boy from a small village who dared to dream beyond what he could see. From childhood memories shaped by curiosity and wonder to a life that went on to engage with boardrooms and global strategy, the memoir brings together the many layers that defined Mr. Singh’s path. It is a story of questions, setbacks, growth and the quiet evolution of a life that continued to seek something deeper beneath achievement.
Rather than simply recounting milestones, the book turns inward to explore the unseen forces that shape a human journey. It reflects on struggle, self-belief and the deeply personal search for purpose and peace. Through this memoir, Mr. LC Singh brings together lived experience and introspection, offering readers a thoughtful reflection on identity, ambition and the truths that often remain unnoticed even in a life that appears accomplished from the outside.
Speaking at the launch, Mr. LC Singh said, “I did not write this book simply to recount my journey. I wrote it to understand it better. Over time, I realised that life is shaped not only by the moments we celebrate, but also by the many moments we overlook while living through them. From Banaras to boardrooms and across the many roles I have inhabited, it was often the quieter spaces in between, the questions and the reflections, that stayed with me. Through this book, I wanted to return to those unseen spaces and understand how they quietly shape who we become.”
The evening also featured a fireside chat between Mr. LC Singh and Mr. Kiran Khalap, which opened up the themes of the book further and invited the audience into a thoughtful conversation on purpose, self-discovery and the quieter truths that reveal themselves over time. The launch was also livestreamed for Mr. Singh’s close associates, industry friends and people from different phases of his life who could not be present at the venue, allowing them to be part of the occasion from wherever they were.
With Things We Don’t See, Mr. LC Singh offers readers more than the story of his life. He offers a reflective and deeply human account of what it means to dream, to endure, to build and ultimately to look inward. In its honesty and depth, the memoir leaves readers with a lasting reminder that some of the most important forces shaping our lives are often the ones we do not immediately see.
25, Mar 2026
AceCloud Launches Cost-Efficient GPU Spot Instances for AI Workloads
Gurugram, Mar 25: AceCloud (a brand of RTDS), a leading provider of cloud computing solutions to global organizations across industries, today announced the launch of GPU Spot Instances on its cloud platform vailable across AceCloud regions in India and the United States. This new offering enables customers to access high-performance GPU computing at significantly reduced costs, making advanced AI and machine learning workloads more accessible and economical.
GPU Spot Instances provide customers with a flexible and cost-effective way to leverage GPUs for workloads that can tolerate interruptions. By availing GPUs through Spot Instances, customers can get cost savings of up to 50% compared to standard on-demand GPU pricing, without compromising performance.
GPU Spot Instance prices will be accessible to customers via a live pricing graph on AceCloud’s website. The graph will showcase real-time prices based on various parameters such as time of the day/week, instance type, current demand, etc. Customers can use this tool to monitor pricing trends and make informed decisions about when and how to use GPU Spot Instances to get the best possible value. By leveraging this dynamic pricing model, users can significantly reduce their operational costs, particularly for non-critical AI tasks or those that can be scheduled for off-peak periods.
Speaking about the launch, Mr. Vinay Chhabra, Co-Founder & Managing Director, AceCloud, a brand of Real Time Data Services, said, “As AI and high-performance computing adoption accelerates, organizations are looking for ways to scale GPU-intensive workloads without significantly increasing costs. With the introduction of GPU Spot Instances, we are extending the benefits of flexible GPU pricing, enabling customers to optimize spend while continuing to innovate. This offering is particularly well suited for checkpointing batch and other workloads where flexibility and cost efficiency are key considerations.”
Ideal for AI and machine learning workloads such as model training, fine-tuning, inference benchmarking and experimentation, data analytics and rendering, customers can avail GPU Spot Instances directly through the AceCloud’s console while launching new GPU resources. They also benefit from AceCloud’s round-the-clock technical support and tools designed to monitor usage, manage capacity and minimize the impact of potential interruptions.
In addition to cost savings, GPU Spot Instances provide businesses and startups with greater flexibility to scale their resources based on evolving workload requirements. By combining GPU Spot Instances with on-demand GPU instances, customers can balance performance, availability and cost, enabling them to respond quickly to changing demands without overcommitting resources. This adaptable approach ensures organizations have access to the GPUs they need, while maintaining control over cloud spend.
25, Mar 2026
Study shows Hong Kong insurers are leading the region in investment risk appetite, and betting on technology to deliver it
Mar 25: More than nine out of 10 (92%) of insurers in Hong Kong plan to boost risk profiles over the next two years and are turning to automation and advanced technology to manage the consequence, new research from Clearwater Analytics, the most comprehensive technology platform for investment management, shows (please see the attached press release).
Its study with insurance asset management executives at Hong Kong firms with total assets under management of $1.31 trillion found that 52% said the risk profile of their investments had increased over the past two years. By comparison, in Singapore the research found 84% said risk profiles had increased in the past two years.
Automation was identified as the key method for managing risk, well ahead of measures such as increased regulation and stricter capital controls.
The regulatory environment is a key catalyst for that technology investment. When asked to identify the main drivers of increased technology spending on asset liability management, insurers point to regulatory demands, including heightened requirements for stress testing, solvency reporting, and risk disclosures.
The specific asset class driving Hong Kong’s risk escalation is unmistakable. A striking 80% of Hong Kong insurers expect private equity and venture capital risk/reward levels to increase significantly over the next 12 months — far ahead of any other asset class and the highest such expectation recorded across the three markets surveyed. It is this pursuit of private market returns that is pushing risk profiles higher and demanding better technology to match.
25, Mar 2026
Aditya Rikhari, Kutle Khan and Ravator Set the Tone for Coke Studio Bharat Season 4 with Ae Ajnabee
Mar 25: Coke Studio Bharat, the platform celebrating India’s diverse musical heritage, kicks off Season 4 with its first track, Ae Ajnabee, a song about the one feeling that never goes out of style: longing. Featuring the warm, effortless charm of Aditya Rikhari alongside the evocative artistry of folk maestro Kutle Khan and Ravator’s production, the track is a conversation between eras, between the love that was written in letters and the love that lives in unsent messages.
Ae Ajnabee explores the simple yet universal truth, that while the language of love has changed, the ache beneath it remains the same. From the quiet of stolen glances and handwritten poetry to the restlessness of late-night texts and almost-confessions, the song traces longing across time without choosing sides. It doesn’t romanticize the past or rush toward the present, it lets both coexist, breath by breath.
Musically, the track mirrors this emotional bridge. Folk-rooted melody and contemporary pop find each other naturally here, shaping a track that carries tradition while breathing in the present. Rikhari anchors the song in the relatable and the real, while Kutle Khan brings a local depth and soulfulness that feels as old as longing itself. Ravator ties these worlds together, giving the track a finish that feels new, while keeping everything that matters intact. The result is a song that sits comfortably with someone who grew up on soulful melodies and someone discovering love for the very first time.
Shantanu Gangane, IMX (Integrated Marketing Experience) Lead, Coca-Cola India and Southwest Asia, said,
“Indian music today is not confined to one lane. Listeners move between folk, indie, electronic and many more genres. With Ae Ajnabee, Coke Studio Bharat bridges generations, cultures and sonics.
We are excited to have opened the season with the extremely talented teen heartthrob Aditya Rikhari whose fandom combined with folk maestro Kutle Khan’s roots celebrates the very core of Coke Studio Bharat. DJ Ravator has done an amazing job at bringing these 2 diverse worlds into one melting pot that marks the start of Coke Studio Bharat 4.”
Aditya Rikhari said, “Ae Ajnabee captures a feeling many of us have experienced. Wanting someone, missing someone, and not always having the words for it. What stands out to me is that the song doesn’t try to over-explain that emotion; it simply allows it to exist. Coke Studio Bharat gave us the space to approach it honestly and believe that truth is what listeners will respond to.”
Kutle Khan said, “Folk music has always carried the history of longing, it is built from it. With Ae Ajnabee, we weren’t trying to recreate something old, we were letting something old speak in a new voice. That, to me, is what music should do, and Coke Studio Bharat created a space where that conversation is possible.”
Ravator said, “This song felt very instinctive from the start. For me, the approach to production was simple. Protect the emotion at the centre of the track. Aditya and Kutle Khan brought so much feeling to it that I just followed that energy. It was about listening carefully and building around what was already there.”
In opening with Ae Ajnabee, Season 4 reminds listeners that while sounds evolve, emotions endure. The journey ahead continues to explore those shared truths through voices that define today and traditions that shaped yesterday.
25, Mar 2026
Greenply Speciality Panels Private Limited Breaks Ground for Second MDF Line at Vadodara Plant
Mumbai, Mar 25: Greenply Speciality Panels Private Limited, wholly owned subsidiary of Greenply Industries Ltd. one of India’s leading interior infrastructure companies, today announced the groundbreaking of its second Medium Density Fibreboard (MDF) production line at its state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Vadodara, Gujarat. The expansion marks a significant step in the company’s growth journey, reinforcing its commitment to strengthening domestic manufacturing and addressing the rapidly growing demand for MDF across India.
The groundbreaking ceremony was attended by Mr. Rajesh Mittal, Chairman & Managing Director and Mr. Sanidhya Mittal, Joint Managing Director along with over thirty-five dealers and channel partners from across the region who joined the leadership team to commemorate this important milestone.
The second MDF line at the Vadodara facility represents an investment of ₹425 crore and is expected to become operational by Q2 FY2028. The expansion is set to generate substantial employment opportunities across the value chain, supporting livelihoods and contributing to regional economic growth. Once commissioned, the new line will significantly enhance the company’s production capacity, enabling Greenply to better serve rising market demand while further strengthening its leadership position in the MDF category.
Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Rajesh Mittal, Chairman & Managing Director, Greenply Industries Ltd., said, “The groundbreaking of our second MDF line at Vadodara reflects Greenply’s continued commitment to strengthening India’s manufacturing capabilities and supporting the evolving needs of the interior infrastructure sector. As demand for MDF products continues to grow across residential, commercial, and modular furniture segments, this expansion will enable us to scale our operations while maintaining our strong focus on efficiency, quality, and long-term value creation for our partners and customers.”
With this expansion, Greenply continues to strengthen its manufacturing footprint through strategic investments that enhance operational capabilities and future readiness. The Vadodara expansion aligns with the company’s long-term vision of building advanced manufacturing infrastructure and strengthening its MDF product portfolio.
25, Mar 2026
Zalos raises $3.6M to build Computer Agents that operate finance systems the way humans do
Finance teams have spent years implementing and customizing ERPs, which carry career risk if they fail, yet still require sizable internal and outsourced teams to conduct manual, repetitive work across disconnected systems. Zalos is changing that by using Computer Agents that log into systems and automate end-to-end workflows, without CFOs needing to replace the systems that they have built their operations around.
San Francisco, California – Mar 25; Modern finance teams run on a fragmented stack of ERPs, CRMs, spreadsheets, email, and banking platforms that were never designed to talk to each other. APIs between these systems are often missing or incomplete, which means finance teams become the human API themselves, manually stitching data across systems to complete billing cycles, close the books, and produce reporting their business depends on. Zalos was built on the belief that the next leap in productivity will not come from replacing that stack, but from agentic software that can operate it the same way humans do and understands the deep business context.
Today Zalos, the leader in Computer Agents for Finance Operations, announced a $3.6 million seed round to realize this vision. The funding round was led by 14 Peaks with participation from Cohen Circle, 20VC and notable angels.
Computer Agents are the defining AI technology for 2026. 2023 was generative AI, 2024 brought multi-modal, and in 2025, AI learnt reasoning. Now AI will take over our computers. OpenAI and Anthropic have both moved into the space with generalist Computer Agents, but Zalos is purpose-built for finance operations, where the stakes of getting it wrong are categorically higher. Finance teams cannot operate on 90% accuracy, the agents need finance specific skills, and they need every automated action logged in a format auditors can follow. The Computer Agent market is still in its early stages; comparable to where large language models were at GPT 3.5. Zalos’s purpose-built infrastructure and evaluation systems are designed to push reliability to the accuracy levels that CFOs need to automate finance operations at scale.
“Finance teams have the systems, but they are still doing the work manually because the stack is not connected,” said William Fairbairn, CEO and co-founder of Zalos. “We built Zalos on the belief that CFOs should not need to rip out their existing stack to adopt the latest in AI, we want to start by sitting on top of what is already there. Computer Agents that can log in and run the workflow end to end are the fastest path to real transformation in finance operations.”
Zalos converts screen recordings of finance workflows into Computer Agents that log in, navigate screens, enter data, and check against controls across ERPs, Excel, email, and internal tools. The platform works inside NetSuite, Sage, and SAP S/4HANA today, with no heavy integrations required. Every agent action is captured in an auditable log, and the platform is built to enterprise security standards including SOC 2 Part II certification, enterprise single sign-on, role-based access controls, and on-premise deployment options. Use cases being most actively used by clients include billing automation across multiple systems, month-end reconciliations, and cross-system KPI reporting across multiple ERP instances.
The company was founded by CEO William Fairbairn and CTO Hung Hoang after intersecting paths led them to the same conclusion. Fairbairn spent years at Agicap speaking with hundreds of CFOs, and heard the same frustration consistently: ERP implementations take more than twelve months, deliver limited upside when they go well, and carry real career risk when they go wrong. Hoang left Apple Pay after five years and became focused on Computer Agents specifically because they avoid the API problem that has stalled so many automation efforts in finance. The two began building Zalos last October after joining Y Combinator, with a focus on specialized agents that emulate how finance teams actually operate inside their tools.
Hung Hoang, CTO and co-founder of Zalos added “The opportunity Zalos is addressing reflects a structural reality in enterprise finance. Legacy ERPs’ speed of innovation has stalled, leading to growing manual work in the place of transformative automation. AI-native ERPs may offer a credible alternative for companies that have not yet committed to a system. But for the majority of midmarket and enterprise finance teams, replacing an embedded ERP is not an attractive option; years of processes have been built around it, and too many painful system implementations remain fresh in memory.
The rise of reliable Computer Agents creates a third path: automation that sits on top of the existing stack and operates it as a human would. These agents are trained once with screen recordings, then the process is automated forever, never taking a holiday, and at a speed and consistency a person cannot match.”
Emanuele Larocca, Principal at 14 Peaks: “Finance operations is one of the last areas where the complexity and embeddedness of the underlying systems have made it genuinely hard for CFOs to unlock the ROI promised by AI. What Zalos has built sidesteps that problem entirely. By operating the systems as a human would, training agents with screen recordings, they deliver the true power of finance transformation without losing any domain expertise or asking CFOs to rip out systems they have spent years configuring.”
Nate Pontician, Vice President at Cohen Circle: “Zalos is redefining what software means for the CFOs. Zalos’ computer agents don’t just assist; they log in, navigate systems, and complete workflows end-to-end. They’re giving finance professionals back hours lost to repetitive tasks so they can focus on what actually moves the business forward. It’s not a copilot… it’s a colleague.”
Looking ahead, Zalos plans to expand beyond the major midmarket ERPs where it already has customers and into enterprise ERPs and on-premise systems. By building a wide-reaching context graph across the finance stack, the company aims to help CFOs deploy a swarm of agents and drive a step-change in their finance team’s impact.
Notable angels included: Mike Lenz (CFO Fedex), Ian Sutherland (CFO Tide), Long Dinh (CFO Ada), Nancy Casey (Global Vice President, Oracle, SAP), Paul Forster (Founder, Indeed), Henri Stern (Founder, Privacy), Ed Woodford (Founder, zerohash), James Beshara (Founder, Tilt Payments), Long Lu (Founder, Misa Accounting), Catherine Dahl (Founder, Beanworks Accounts Payable), Pablo Palafox (Founder, Happy Robot), Hasan Sukkar (Founder, 11x), Chris Smoak (Founder, Atrium), Ooshma Garg (Gobble), Minh Pham (Head of Browser Infra, Perplexity), Jon Langbert (Founder, Alight), Mandeep Singh (Founder, Trouva), Thai Duong (Founder, Calif), Ash Rush (Founder, Sterling Road), Jake Klamka (Founder Insight Data Science), Jonathan Meeks (Board, TA Associates).
