Northern Arc Investment Managers Private Limited (“Northern Arc Investment Manager”), the asset management subsidiary of Northern Arc Capital Limited, a diversified financial services platform has announced the first close of its Northern Arc Diversified Debt Fund, with commitments exceeding Rs. 400 crore from institutions, family offices, ultra-high-net-worth individuals (UHNIs) and high-net-worth individuals (HNIs). This fund is Northern Arc Investment Manager’s 15^th private credit fund, a sector-agnostic Category II Alternative Investment Fund (AIF) focused on performing private credit opportunities. Rated AA (SO) by CareEdge Ratings, the fund targets a corpus of Rs. 1,500 crore, with an additional greenshoe option of Rs. 500 crore, taking its potential size to Rs. 2,000 crore, with a tenure of five years, the fund targets 16% XIRR.
 

Ashish Mehrotra, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Northern Arc Capital
 

The announcement coincides with the maturity of Northern Arc India Impact Fund, which channelled global capital into financial inclusion opportunities across India. Over its tenure, the fund supported 60 businesses across credit cycles, with gross deployment of over Rs. 1398 crore at fund Level, backed by investments from ultra-high-net-worth individuals (UHNIs), family offices, and domestic and global institutional investors.

Commenting on the announcements, Ashish Mehrotra, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Northern Arc Capital, said, “The first close of the Northern Arc Diversified Debt Fund reflects continued investor interest in private credit and its evolving role in sophisticated investment portfolios. The maturity of our Northern Arc India Impact Fund further demonstrates our experience in managing private credit investments across credit cycles. Together, these milestones reinforce our focus on disciplined credit selection, portfolio diversification and risk management. Over the past decade, we have built a diversified private credit platform that has deployed over Rs. 16,500 crores across 15 AIFs and two PMS offerings and served more than 1,500 investors across institutional and wealth segments. As private credit becomes an increasingly strategic allocation for investors, we remain focused on connecting capital with businesses across sectors while creating opportunities for risk-adjusted returns.”

Since its inception in 2014, Northern Arc Investment Manager has launched 15 funds, of which seven have fully matured delivering returns to the investors at a weighted average XIRR of over 14.5%, in line with targeted returns, without any extension or principal loss to the investors. Northern Arc Investment Manager has cumulatively distributed over Rs. 10,000 crore of principal and coupon since inception and manages private credit funds and investment mandates.

Alongside these milestones, Northern Arc Capital continued to deliver a strong operating performance in Q2FY27, reporting a 41% YoY growth in consolidated PAT to Rs. 129 crore and a 32% YoY increase in NII to Rs. 425 crore. Lending AUM grew 34% YoY to Rs. 19,003 crore, supported by robust 64% growth in direct lending AUM to Rs. 12,502 crore, which now accounts for 66% of the overall portfolio. Credit costs also improved by 11 bps YoY to 2.66%, reflecting the resilience of its lending franchise. Together, these developments highlight Northern Arc’s ability to scale its lending and investment management businesses while maintaining a strong focus on portfolio quality, disciplined growth and sustainable value creation.

*Disclaimer: All the numbers stated are as of September 30, 2026.
 

Past performance is not indicative of future results. Target returns are not assured, and investment in AIFs is subject to market, credit, liquidity and other risks, including loss of capital. This release is for information only and is not an offer or solicitation; units are offered only by private placement through the private placement memorandum, which investors should read. The CareEdge ratings is not a recommendation and does not eliminate credit risk.

Antara Senior Care, the senior-care business of Max India Limited, today announced the joining of Dr Rachit Gulati, a specialist in Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, Pain Management and Rheumatology, has joined its Care Home in Delhi NCR. His appointment strengthens Antara’s post-operative, transition and high-dependency care for adults aged 18 and above, including seniors, who are recovering from surgery, serious illness or prolonged hospitalisation.

Antara post-operative care

Dr Gulati holds an MBBS and an MD in Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, along with a Fellowship in Pain Medicine and a Certificate in Rheumatology (EULAR). He brings over a decade of experience in clinical practice, healthcare leadership and developing comprehensive rehabilitation services. His clinical expertise spans spinal cord injury, traumatic brain injury, Parkinsonism and stroke rehabilitation, musculoskeletal and rheumatological disorders, chronic pain management and interventional physiatry. Antara already has PMRs leading the rehabilitation and recovery of resident in Care homes in Bengaluru and Chennai, and now with Dr. Rachit joining in NCR, the PMR leadership across the country is complete. In July 2026, its Bengaluru center introduced ExoAtlet II, a robotic-assisted exoskeleton.

Most recently, he headed the Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation at ISIC Multispecialty Hospital (Indian Spinal Injuries Centre), New Delhi. His previous leadership roles include Chief Medical Officer at Praan Health and Medical Director at Recoup Health, Bengaluru, and SAAOL Ortho Care, Delhi. He has also held academic and clinical positions at AIIMS Bhopal, Mahatma Gandhi Medical College and West Bengal Health Services. He has authored about twenty research papers of national and international repute and presented talks and posters at numerous rehabilitation conferences.

Dr Rachit Gulati said, “Rehabilitation is as much a part of treatment as the surgery or medical care that comes before it. Whether a patient is recovering from a joint replacement, a spinal cord injury, a stroke or a long stay in intensive care, how well they recover depends on how early and how precisely rehabilitation begins. No two patients recover the same way, so each plan must be built around the individual: their diagnosis, other medical conditions, pain and what they need to be able to do again. That plan works best when doctors, nurses, therapists and dietitians work on it together and adjust it as the patient progresses. At Antara, my focus will be on bringing this specialist-led, multidisciplinary approach to every patient, whether they are 25 or 85, so that they recover faster, more safely and more completely.

Commenting on the appointment, Ishaan Khanna, CEO, Antara Assisted Care Services Ltd., said, “Ageing well is no longer seen as a matter of adding years but leading a healthy life. At Antara, we are focused on building a care ecosystem that can respond to the evolving needs of seniors at different stages of recovery and ageing, with physician-led, evidence-based rehabilitation delivered by a multidisciplinary team. Recovery Care in India has long sat in the gap between the hospital and the home, with no one fully owning it. At Antara Care homes, we have made a deliberate choice to win that space and build it in clinical depth, not just capacity. In the last few months, we have focused on enhancing the clinical acumen across all our care homes with each city now being led by a PMR, more advanced physiotherapy interventions and a deep focus on building infrastructure across the country to ensure the best standards of recovery and rehabilitation. Dr Gulati’s appointment is an important step in deepening this capability and helping seniors regain functional independence and improve their quality of life.”

Antara’s Care Homes offer specialised short-term post-operative and transition care, along with long-term high-dependency care, for adults aged 18 and above, including seniors, recovering from surgeries, illnesses or prolonged hospitalisation. Care is doctor-led and backed by nursing and clinical depth, with individualised rehabilitation plans that bring together physiotherapy, spinal cord rehabilitation, speech and swallow therapy, nutrition and dietetics, fall prevention, and catheter and feeding tube care, tailored to each patient’s clinical needs and recovery goals. With a focus on restoring mobility, improving functional abilities and reducing the risk of complications, Antara aims to support patients through a structured recovery journey and help them return to their everyday routines with greater confidence and independence. The appointment of Dr Gulati further strengthens this clinical approach, bringing specialised expertise in rehabilitation and pain management to support better recovery outcomes. Antara also offers insurance claims support to patients and their families, subject to policy and insurer approval.

About Antara Senior Care
Launched in 2013, Antara is the senior-care business of Max India Limited, part of the USD6.3-billion Max Group. It is an integrated ecosystem for senior care, operating in two main lines of business – Residences for Seniors and Assisted Care Services. Antara’s first senior residential community in Dehradun, comprising nearly 200 families, caters to their social, recreational, educational, wellness, and health-related needs. Its second senior living community in Noida’s Sector-150 has started welcoming families into the 340 apartments built in Phase 1. Expanding its footprint in Gurugram, Antara will manage senior living residences, dedicated spaces for senior living, and primary healthcare services at Estate 360 and Estate 361, developed by group company Max Estates. Antara’s Assisted Care Services include Care Homes and Services, AGEasy, and Antara Integrated Wellness Clinic. This line of business caters to seniors, who need more immersive interventions in their daily lives due to medical or age-related issues. With eight facilities and 485 beds across Gurugram, Noida, Bengaluru and Chennai, Care Homes provide long-term care to seniors who require constant medical and nursing supervision, and short-term care services for recuperation of seniors. Its care at home services, offered in Delhi NCR, Bengaluru and Chennai, provide well-equipped, trained professionals offering care to seniors inside their home’s comfort. AGEasy, the direct-to-consumer business arm focusing on senior-specific products and solutions for active ageing, has touched over 9 lakh lives since inception in 2023. Antara Integrated Wellness Clinic combines modern medicine with evidence-based traditional therapies through a multidisciplinary team of doctors to deliver personalised care plans.

• In a clinical trial with 31 healthy young adults living in Spain (average age 24 years), consumption of 40 grams (approximately one and a half ounces) of walnuts daily was associated with overall improvement in mood, accompanied by a reduction in anger and fatigue.

• These findings, together with those of a complementary 2025 study, suggest that walnut consumption may have beneficial effects on different aspects of well-being, such as mood and sleep.

• The researchers and registered dietitian-nutritionists Drs. Maria Izquierdo-Pulido, Fernanda Zerón, and Isabella Parilli highlight that incorporating a handful of walnuts a day is a simple gesture within a healthy diet, and that the new findings reinforce the interest in continuing to investigate their role in mood.

Clinical research led by Dr. Maria Izquierdo-Pulido, Professor of Nutrition and Food Science at the Torribera Campus of the University of Barcelona, shows that consuming a handful of walnuts a day for eight weeks may help improve mood in healthy young adults.¹ The study, published in Food & Function and supported by the California Walnut Commission, also provides new evidence on the possible biological mechanisms involved, related to the gut microbiota and serotonin metabolism. During the intervention, improvements were also observed in some aspects related to emotional eating, although these findings were exploratory in nature.

California walnuts

These findings add to complementary 2025 research by the same team, in which walnut consumption increased a biomarker of melatonin, a key hormone in sleep regulation, after the intervention period compared to the control period.² Taken together, both studies suggest that regular walnut consumption may have beneficial effects on different dimensions related to well-being, such as mood and sleep, and open new avenues to investigate the role of the gut-brain axis in these effects.

Walnuts and Mood: Key Study Findings – In this 18-week clinical trial, 31 healthy young adults, with a mean age of 24 years, consumed 40 grams of walnuts per day for eight weeks. Compared to the control period, the study found:¹

• A significant reduction in overall mood disturbance.

• Decreases in anger and fatigue levels.

• A reduction in some aspects of emotional eating and food-related guilt.

Improvements in mood were observed after eight weeks of intervention, supporting the potential role of regular walnut consumption as part of a healthy diet.

How Walnuts May Influence Mood: The Gut-Brain Connection – This research advances our understanding of how walnut consumption may influence mood through the connection between the gut microbiota and serotonin metabolism. During the intervention, participants showed significant increases in both urinary levels of urolithins, metabolites derived from walnut polyphenols, and 5-HIAA, the main metabolite of serotonin.¹ To explain these findings, the researchers propose the following mechanisms:

• Walnut ellagitannins and gut microbiota: Walnuts contain a high level of polyphenols, including ellagitannins.³ When consumed, these compounds are metabolized by the gut microbiota.

• Urolithin production: The microbiota transforms ellagitannins into urolithins, bioactive metabolites with antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and neuroprotective properties that may play a role in gut-brain communication.^1,4

• Relationship with serotonin metabolism: In the study, the increase in urolithins was associated with an increase in urinary 5-HIAA. These results suggest a possible relationship between walnut polyphenol metabolism and serotonin-related pathways, although further studies are still needed to understand the mechanism.

“What is particularly interesting about this study is that we not only observed an improvement in mood but also changes in biomarkers that help us explore the biological mechanisms that may underlie this effect,” explains Dr. Maria Izquierdo-Pulido, lead investigator of the study at the University of Barcelona. “The observed relationship between urolithins and serotonin metabolism opens an interesting avenue for further research into the connection between walnut consumption, gut microbiota, and emotional well-being.”

While the study showed promising results, the population was small and included a mostly female sample. Further research is needed over longer periods of time to confirm these findings and determine whether potential benefits are also observed in other ages, populations, and in people with mood disorders.

Beyond Mood: The Nutritional Profile of Walnuts

• Protein: 4g 

• Fiber: 2g  

• Tryptophan: 38mg  

• An excellent source of plant-based omega-3 ALA: 2.5g* 

• Abundant polyphenols (69.3 ± 16.5 µmol catechin equivalents/g)^6,+ 

• Magnesium: 45mg 

Walnuts are a nutrient-dense food that provides protein, fiber, omega-3 fatty acids, minerals, and bioactive compounds. Some of these components, such as tryptophan, ALA, and polyphenols, have been studied for their potential role in processes related to brain function and mood. These findings reinforce interest in including foods such as walnuts within broader nutritional strategies aimed at promoting well-being and brain health.

Easy Ways to Add Walnuts to Your Diet

• At breakfast: Add them to cereals, yogurt, or oatmeal, or incorporate them into homemade bread.

• As a snack: Enjoy a handful between meals.

• In main meals: Add them to salads, pasta, legumes, or Mediterranean-inspired dishes.

“Walnuts are very easy to incorporate into daily eating,” the researchers note. “Our results suggest that a simple habit such as including a handful of walnuts a day could also be of interest in relation to mood, always as part of a healthy eating pattern.”

For recipes, usage ideas and more, visit californiawalnuts.in and follow @californiawalnutsindia.

About the California Walnut Commission

The California Walnut Commission (CWC) represents more than 3,700 California walnut growers and approximately 70 handlers whose walnuts are sold around the world, with more than 99% of the walnuts grown in the United States being from California. California walnuts, grown primarily in multi-generational family orchards, are known for their quality, nutritional and wellness benefits.

The CWC, established in 1987, drives domestic and export market development activities and health research to support sales of California walnuts around the globe.

References:

1. Zeron-Rugerio MF, Parilli I, Gonzalez-Rodriguez A, et al. Walnut consumption improves mood and is associated with urolithin production and serotonin turnover: a randomized crossover trial. Food & Function. 2026; DOI: 10.1039/d6fo00807k

2. Zerón-Rugerio MF, Ibarra-Picón A, Diez-Hernández M, Comas-Basté O, Pérez-Cano FJ, Cambras T, Izquierdo-Pulido M. Daily walnut consumption increases 6-sulfatoxymelatonin urinary levels and can improve sleep quality: a randomized crossover trial. Food Funct. 2025 Sep 15;16(18):7023-7035. doi: 10.1039/d5fo00971e.

3. E. Ros, M. Izquierdo-Pulido and A. Sala-Vila, Curr. Opin. Clin. Nutr. Metab. Care, 2018, 21, 498–504.

4. M. Trapali and V. Lagouri, Open Med. Chem. J., 2025, 19, e18741045375825

5. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. Fdc.nal.usda.gov.

6. Prior R. Oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC): New horizons in relating dietary antioxidants/bioactives and health benefits. J of Functional Foods. 2015;18(B):797-810

+ The data for antioxidant capacity of foods generated by test-tube methods cannot be extrapolated to human effects. Clinical trials to test benefits of dietary antioxidants have produced mixed results.

*A 28g serving provides 18g of total fat, “good fats” including 2.5g of monounsaturated fat and 13g of polyunsaturated fat (of which 2.5 grams is plant-based omega-3 ALA), as well as 1.5g of saturated fat.  

BlueRose Technologies today announced that Vineet Jain, Founder and CEO, has been honoured as “CEO of the Year at THE SOUTH INDIA BUSINESS LEADER/GOLDEN STAR/NATIONAL AWARDS, 2026”. The recognition acknowledges his contribution to sustained business performance and value creation, strategic leadership and execution, and innovation driven by people and culture, alongside a broader impact.
 

Vineet Jain, CEO, BlueRose Technologies
 

Simultaneously, the company unveiled the official integration of the recently launched LIFETREE, a private platform where a family comes together to build a family tree to preserve family records, into its core user workflow and expanding capabilities. Family being the core of LIFETREE has been an important factor in this age of multiple distractions that move away from traditional memory-securing methods. Vineet Jain, along with his partner and COO, Tulasidasappa, thought of infusing the tech-savvy mindset with the traditional principles that run in each family, whether it be joint or nuclear.
 

Over its 16+ years of sustained technological expertise, BlueRose Technologies has delivered technical innovations and projects focused on strengthening security and making work easier. Jain’s approach to AI and security has shaped several products under his guidance. One of the core products that lead with the security-at-heart approach is LifeTree, a family-only heritage preservation and social media platform that is not only built for the longevity of one’s precious family memories, but also safe as a bulletproof vest.
 

“Being named Best CEO is a tremendous honour, but the real credit belongs to our team and our users,” said Vineet Jain, CEO, BlueRose Technologies. “Integrating LIFETREE right alongside this milestone reflects our relentless push to deliver more value and simplicity to the people who rely on us every day.” BlueRose Technologies is among the companies recognised for its workplace culture by an organisation known globally for promoting and evaluating workplace excellence.
 

Ever since the launch of the initiative, the platform has achieved immense love and respect from families all around the world, with thousands of downloads and daily users increasing every single day. Tracing one’s family tree, old documents, and heritage details have become a part of their fast lives with the same amount of ease, at the blink of an eye. After the official launch that occurred on the 7th of July, the initiative covered the pages of the famous media spaces, bringing in the story of the world’s first digital heirloom that started with a personal gap. With the fast life and overachieving attitude toward life, the founders took a pause and pondered upon the names of their great ancestors and realized how little does the next generation knows about their father’s great grandfather who was the reason the family moved to another city to follow their dreams. The realization took enough space to think about how much the other families would share a similar truth. Therefore, the creation of LifeTree started as a personal project and evolved into a broader public mission to save one’s heritage and memories before it’s too late.
 

• AI agents are creating a new class of digital interaction, requiring organizations to distinguish legitimate agent activity from malicious automation

• Know Your Agent intelligence helps organizations identify agent activity and fold it into broader risk intelligence used to assess digital interactions

• Built on the unique scale and connectivity of the LexisNexis® Risk Intelligence Network, Know Your Agent intelligence helps organizations prepare for an agentic future.

LexisNexis® Risk Solutions has extended its powerful risk intelligence solutions to help organizations understand and assess a new class of digital actor: AI agents operating on behalf of people and businesses.

Know Your Agent (KYA) intelligence adds a new layer of agentic insights to LexisNexis Risk Solutions’ digital identity and fraud prevention platform

For decades, LexisNexis Risk Solutions has helped organizations make risk decisions by connecting identity, device, behavioral, network and transaction intelligence at global scale. As AI agents become another participant in digital interactions, the company is extending that same connected intelligence approach to agentic activity.

Know Your Agent (KYA) intelligence adds a new layer of agentic insights to LexisNexis Risk Solutions’ digital identity and fraud prevention platform. It helps organizations recognize when AI agents are interacting with their digital services and can bring those interactions directly into established risk assessment and decisioning workflows, rather than treating them as an isolated risk problem. Many LexisNexis Risk Solutions customers are already using KYA intelligence in their current risk management decision making.

Analysis of global digital transactions by LexisNexis Risk Solutions shows agentic traffic grew over 750% in the first half of 2026 alone. Rapid growth is expected to continue as more people and organizations adopt agents to undertake everyday tasks such as online shopping.

Because most personal agents today do not self-declare as agents, organizations face an immediate challenge: distinguishing agentic activity from other digital traffic. But this is only the first step. Agent detection alone cannot answer key questions organizations ultimately need to resolve: Who or what is the agent acting for? Has that activity been authorized? Is its behavior consistent with that authority? And does the wider context of the interaction indicate that it is legitimate?

That context may also change during a digital journey as control passes between a person and an AI agent, making continuous visibility into the interaction increasingly important. This is where the scale and connectivity of the Risk Intelligence Network becomes essential.

AI-agent activity does not need to be evaluated as an isolated interaction. It can be understood in the context of the identities, devices, networks, behavioral patterns and relationships surrounding digital activity, helping to provide richer context for risk decisions. This connected intelligence approach incorporates agent detection into risk decisions in real time, while aiding in creating a foundation for increasingly sophisticated agent identity and authorization capabilities as agents, standards and use cases evolve.

Autonomous AI agents have the potential to increase the scale and sophistication of fraud, including authorized push payment fraud and account takeover attacks. Malicious agents can learn dynamically from successes and failures, enabling subsequent attacks to become more tailored and prolific.

For organizations, the decision is not whether an agent is universally trusted but whether a specific agent, acting in a specific context, should be permitted to perform a specific action. Legitimate agents will increasingly participate in digital customer journeys, but the appropriate response will depend on what the agent is attempting to do, the context of the interaction, and the organization’s own risk policies. KYA intelligence helps organizations bring agentic activity into existing decisioning workflows so they can allow, authenticate, review or reject interactions as appropriate.

“Agentic commerce is moving quickly from experimentation into the mainstream,” said Grayson Clarke, chief commercial officer at LexisNexis Risk Solutions. “Agentic transactions globally more than doubled again in the last quarter, driven primarily by personal agents. Some businesses are enabling agents to transact on consumers’ behalf, while others are restricting their activities, and many are still determining the right approach. We have already seen firsthand how a global financial institution used our detection capabilities to help identify agentic activity and prevent it from executing sensitive transactions.”

LexisNexis Risk Solutions analyzed more than 116 billion digital transactions globally in 2025 through its LexisNexis® Digital Identity Network®, giving it a uniquely broad view of how human, automated and increasingly agentic interactions are evolving. The network detected 4.9 billion automated bot attacks during the year, a 59% increase year over year. That scale reflects the role LexisNexis Risk Solutions already plays in helping many of the world’s largest financial institutions, merchants and digital businesses assess risk across digital interactions.

Mike Woodberry, senior vice president of product and analytics at LexisNexis Risk Solutions, added, “Managing risk in the agentic economy will require more than agent detection alone. The real challenge is establishing context: what is acting, who or what it represents, whether it is authorized and what it is attempting to do. Our vision for KYA is to extend established risk intelligence into the agentic economy, helping give organizations the flexibility to apply the appropriate response to each interaction rather than relying on a one-size-fits-all risk assessment.”

Woodberry continued, “Organizations should not have to build a new risk strategy every time digital interactions evolve. Adding a new layer of agentic insights to our established identity and fraud prevention platform helps customers build on the capabilities they already rely on while preparing for the next generation of digital interactions.”

Discover more about how organizations can distinguish between human and agentic traffic.

About LexisNexis Risk Solutions

LexisNexis^® Risk Solutions provides customers with information-based analytics and decision tools that combine public and industry-specific content with advanced technology and algorithms to assist them in evaluating and predicting risk and enhancing operational efficiency. Headquartered in metro Atlanta, Georgia, the company has offices throughout the world, serves customers in more than 190 countries and territories and is part of RELX.

For more information, please visit LexisNexis Risk Solutions.

Disclaimer

LexisNexis® Risk Solutions products and services provide risk signals, analytics and insights designed to assist customers in making risk-based decisions. Results may vary depending on factors including implementation, data availability, transaction characteristics and customer use. No product or service can detect or prevent all fraudulent, malicious, unauthorized or agentic activity. References to detection, identification, risk assessment or prevention should not be interpreted as a guarantee of outcomes.

Axis Max Life Insurance Limited, formerly known as Max Life Insurance Company Limited (“Axis Max Life” / “Company”), has announced the launch of its new Digital Capability Centre in Noida (“Centre”) to strengthen the Company’s technology, data and artificial intelligence capabilities Designed as a future-ready technology and AI hub, the Centre is intended to help accelerate digital transformation, enhance customer experiences, and build scalable platforms that support the company’s long-term growth ambitions.
 

Axis Max Life Insurance Launches Digital Capability Centre in Noida to Advance AI-Led Innovation and Digital Transformation
 

The Centre has been established to bring together specialized capabilities across software engineering, enterprise architecture, data engineering, AI and Gen-AI, automation, quality engineering, cloud, core platforms, technology operations and innovation under one integrated ecosystem. The facility has been designed initially to accommodate around 120 technology professionals, with flexibility for future expansion as the Company’s technology transformation journey evolves.

A key focus area for the Centre will be enhancing Axis Max Life’s ability to build, operate and scale critical technology platforms in-house. By deepening ownership of strategic capabilities, the Company aims to accelerate product delivery, strengthen operational resilience, enhance automation and drive more data and AI-led decision making. The Centre will also serve as a focal point for developing specialized technology talent and creating deeper institutional expertise across engineering, data, cloud, AI and automation. Leveraging a strong technology ecosystem, Axis Max Life aims to build a high-caliber talent base capable of driving the next phase of digital innovation.

Mukul Jain, Chief Technology Officer, Axis Max Life, said, “Our new Digital Capability Centre is a strategic investment in building the technology backbone of Axis Max Life’s future growth. By bringing together specialized talent across engineering, data, AI, architecture and automation, we are strengthening our ability to innovate faster, scale intelligently and deepen ownership of critical technology capabilities in-house. As we advance towards AI-led engineering, adopted responsibly and in line with applicable data protection and regulatory requirements, this Centre will play a pivotal role in delivering better customer experiences, enhancing operational resilience and creating a more agile, future-ready enterprise.”

Over the coming years, Axis Max Life aims for the Centre to contribute to faster engineering and release cycles, greater automation across software delivery and IT operations, stronger reliability, deeper AI adoption and a stronger pipeline of specialized technology talent. These advancements are intended to support simpler and faster customer journeys, improved customer and employee experiences, higher productivity, enhanced operational resilience and greater technology cost efficiency.

About Axis Max Life Insurance Limited

Axis Max Life Insurance Limited, formerly known as Max Life Insurance Company Limited, is a subsidiary of Max Financial Services Limited (“MFSL”) with Axis Bank Limited and its affiliates also being shareholders of the Company. Axis Max Life offers comprehensive protection and long-term savings life insurance solutions through its multi-channel distribution, including agency and third-party partners. The Company has built its operations on a need-based sales process, a customer centric engagement model and trained human capital. As per audited financials for FY2025-26, Axis Max Life recorded a gross written premium of INR 38,877 crores.
 

For more information, please visit https://www.axismaxlife.com/.
 

IRDAI Registration No. 104 | Corporate Identity Number (CIN): U74899HR2000PLC143012

Forward-Looking Statements: This press release contains forward-looking statements regarding the Company’s plans, objectives and expected outcomes. These statements are based on current expectations and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially. The Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements.

From Mumbai’s fashionable neighbourhoods to Bengaluru’s tech corridors, cars are becoming expressions of personal style. With Italian design, aerospace-inspired details and electric performance, the VinFast VF 7 brings a distinctive personality to India’s SUV market.

The VinFast VF 7 brings a distinctive personality to India’s SUV market

Cars have always said something about their owners. Some suggest adventure, others understated luxury. Then there are those that make a statement before the driver even steps out.

India’s love affair with SUVs has traditionally been about road presence, practicality and the occasional desire to tower over traffic. Electric vehicles are adding another possibility: distinctive designs that need not follow the familiar petrol-and-diesel formula.

The VinFast VF 7, designed in Italy and manufactured in Tamil Nadu, is one such example. And it looks rather different from the SUVs typically filling India’s parking lots.

Why Are Electric SUVs Becoming Fashion Statements?

For decades, combustion engines, transmissions and cooling systems influenced how cars were shaped. With fewer mechanical packaging constraints, electric powertrains give designers more room to experiment.

Bulky grilles are making way for cleaner front ends, rooflines sweep towards the rear, and LED lighting signatures have become distinctive visual identifiers. Some are recognisable even after sunset, much like a signature fashion accessory, except one that travels at highway speeds.

The changes have practical benefits as well. Smoother bodywork can improve airflow, and flexible EV packaging creates opportunities for more efficient use of cabin space.

Large touchscreens and streamlined dashboards have also replaced many conventional switches, bringing the influence of smartphones and contemporary consumer technology into car interiors.

Of course, an SUV that looks at home outside a luxury hotel in Delhi still needs to handle the school run or Bengaluru’s notorious traffic. Good design should make everyday life easier, not merely attract admiring glances.

The VF 7: Italian Design with an Aerospace Twist

Supersonic aircraft might seem an unlikely reference point for an Indian family SUV. Yet that is where Italy’s Torino Design drew inspiration for the VF 7, translating aerospace forms into sharp character lines, sculpted surfaces and a sweeping roofline.

The wide stance gives it a planted appearance, while the tapered silhouette suggests movement even at a standstill. There is something almost mischievous about a parked car looking as though it is in a hurry.

Across the front, VinFast’s V-shaped lighting signature creates a recognisable face. The aerodynamic profile adds to the futuristic appearance, retaining some of the drama normally associated with concept cars.

Park it beside the boxy silhouettes and imposing grilles familiar to Indian SUV buyers, and the difference becomes clear. The VF 7 relies on athletic proportions rather than sheer visual bulk to command attention.

The cabin follows Torino Design’s Asymmetric Aerospace philosophy, with the layout oriented towards the driver. A 12.9-inch central touchscreen anchors the uncluttered dashboard, replacing rows of physical buttons with a more contemporary interface.

Such an approach could appeal to Bengaluru’s technology enthusiasts as readily as Mumbai’s design-conscious professionals. Appreciating a well-designed gadget and a well-tailored jacket are hardly mutually exclusive interests.

Style Is One Thing. Can It Deliver on the Road?

Indian buyers have five VF 7 variants to choose from, ranging from the front-wheel-drive Earth to the dual-motor, all-wheel-drive Sky Infinity. Power starts at 130 kW and 250 Nm for the Earth, rising to 150 kW and 310 Nm in the Wind. Those seeking stronger performance can opt for the Sky variants, which produce 260 kW and 500 Nm. True to its spirit, the sprint from 0 to 100 km/h takes approximately 5.8 seconds.

An ARAI-certified range of up to 532 km, depending on the variant, adds flexibility for weekday commutes and occasional intercity journeys.

The VF 7 also holds a five-star Bharat NCAP safety rating. VinFast backs the vehicle and battery with a 10-year or 200,000-km warranty in India, an important consideration for motorists making the switch to electric mobility.

Nobody wants a car that looks wonderful in photographs but becomes a headache on Monday morning. With its Italian styling, local manufacturing, electric performance and ownership reassurance, the VF 7 offers Indian motorists a distinctive SUV that combines everyday practicality with the pleasure of making an entrance.

About VinFast

VinFast (NASDAQ: VFS), a subsidiary of Vingroup JSC, one of Vietnam’s largest conglomerates, is a pure-play electric vehicle (“EV”) manufacturer with the mission of making EVs accessible to everyone. VinFast’s product lineup today includes a wide range of electric SUVs, e-scooters, and e-buses.

VinFast is currently embarking on its next growth phase through rapid expansion of its distribution and dealership network globally and increasing its manufacturing capacities with a focus on key markets across North America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

Learn more at: vinfastauto.in.

Hong Kong

Hot on the heels of its spectacular annual event, the “Hong Kong Wine & Dine Festival”, the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) launched “Hong Kong Gourmet Month”. Throughout November, HKTB will join hands with more than 400 restaurants and food and beverage (F&B) outlets across the city to present limited-time menus, dining offers and unique experiences. The campaign invites visitors to explore different districts in search of great food and “Taste the World’s Best” anytime, anywhere, every day.
 

Explore Hong Kong’s vibrant food scene through local delicacies, award-winning restaurants and neighbourhood dining experiences
 

The campaign features five themed dining experiences, ranging from star-rated dining, neighbourhood delicacies and distinctive beverages to authentic local late-night bites after 9pm, easily unlocking the many flavours found “Only in Hong Kong”. In addition, participants in the “Hong Kong Wine & Dine Festival” can enjoy more than 250 additional exclusive privileges across the city with the “Gourmet Month Privilege Card” distributed at the venue.
 

Dr Peter Lam, Chairman of HKTB, said, “The ‘Hong Kong Wine & Dine Festival’ has drawn to a successful close, attracting visitors from around the world as well as locals, and fully showcasing Hong Kong’s appeal as an international culinary capital. The ‘Hong Kong Gourmet Month’ now takes the benefits of the Festival further, extending them across the city. Its five themes bring together star-rated restaurants and renowned neighbourhood eateries and late-night hotspots, enabling visitors and locals to enjoy Hong Kong’s dining scene from day to night, every day in November. We hope the campaign will give locals and visitors alike even more reasons to explore our neighbourhoods and spend locally, creating more business opportunities for the F&B and tourism related sectors, and fully unleashing the synergies of the mega-event economy.”
 

Enjoy More than 250 Exclusive Privileges Across the City with the “Gourmet Month Privilege Card”

With the “Gourmet Month Privilege Card” distributed at the “Hong Kong Wine & Dine Festival”, visitors can enjoy more than 250 exclusive privileges at designated restaurants and participating F&B merchants across the city, including offers on selected menus, dining discounts, welcome beverages, buy-one-get-one-free deals and event redemptions.
 

Five Themed Dining Experiences at “Hong Kong Gourmet Month” Let Visitors Explore Flavours from Lunch to Late Night

“Hong Kong Gourmet Month” features five themed dining experiences, including the “Hong Kong Wine-Pairing Award-Winning Restaurants Gala”, crafted by award-winning chefs and experts; “Taste More Hong Kong”, offering renowned Michelin dishes at up to 30% off; as well as the “Hong Kong Late-Night Dining Guide”, “Cocktail Fest Month” and “Sip and Savour in LKF”, which invites visitors to explore Hong Kong’s dining scene as it comes alive after dark.
 

Theme 1: Hong Kong Wine-Pairing Award-Winning Restaurants Gala

Star chefs and experts join forces to create 15 pairing menus available only during Gourmet Month.
 

The “Hong Kong Wine-Pairing Award-Winning Restaurants Gala: “When Top Sommeliers Meet Legendary Chefs” brings together around 15 of Hong Kong’s top restaurants, including Michelin three-star Tang Court; Michelin two-star Arbor; and Michelin one-star Tosca di Angelo and Ando. Drawing on the ingredients, cooking methods and flavours of each dish, as well as the characteristics of each beverage, their renowned chefs and experts have specially curated 15 pairing menus available exclusively during “Hong Kong Gourmet Month”. At Tosca di Angelo, for example, dishes featuring ingredients such as Mediterranean tuna, Hokkaido scallops, Mediterranean sea bream and Cherry Valley duck are paired with selected beverages from Abruzzo, Marche and Sicily, allowing diners to savour the terroirs and flavours of different Italian regions in a single meal.

Theme 2: Taste More Hong Kong (Michelin dishes at up to 30% off)

From Michelin three-star restaurants to harbour-view venues, more than 200 restaurants are offering limited time lunch and dinner menus, with up to 30% off selected menus.
 

The line-up includes Michelin three-star Forum Restaurant; two-star Ying Jee Club and Bo Innovation; and one-star Hansik Goo, Man Wah, Shang Palace, Epure, and Racines. Dining options span traditional Cantonese cuisine, innovative Chinese dishes, international flavours, local neighbourhood specialities and harbour-view dining experiences.
 

AFTER 9: The Later It Gets, the Better It Tastes

Theme 3: Hong Kong Late-Night Dining Guide

More than 100 restaurants and venues lead the way to the diverse flavours of Hong Kong, the city that never sleeps.
 

The “Hong Kong Late-Night Dining Guide” brings together nearly 80 F&B brands and more than 100 outlets across districts including Central and Sheung Wan, Wan Chai, Causeway Bay, Tsim Sha Tsui, Mongkok, Sham Shui Po and Kowloon City, offering exclusive deals after 9pm. Dining options range from dai pai dong (open-air food stalls), hotpot restaurants, izakayas, burger joints and dessert shops to hotel restaurants, harbour-view places and fine dining. Some participating restaurants in tourist hotspots will even stay open until midnight or into the early hours of the morning, allowing visitors to easily experience Hong Kong’s late-night dining culture, which only gets better as the night goes on.
 

Theme 4: Cocktail Fest Month

“Cocktail Fest Month” handpicked 30 distinctive places across the city and recommends six themed routes, covering hidden speakeasies, local Hong Kong flavours, classic places in Central, trendy rising stars, luxury hotels, and pairings of food and beverages. Visitors are invited to hop across Hong Kong’s districts to suit their tastes and explore the city’s diverse and vibrant culture one glass at a time. During the event, participants simply pay HK$399 to choose one themed route and three participating places, then redeem a signature drink at each place as they embark on a themed bar-hopping journey.
 

Highlights include Tell Camellia in Central, renowned for its tea-infused beverages. Its signature “Iron Tea” draws inspiration from Hong Kong’s long-standing tea culture, bringing local flavours into the glass. Meanwhile, Bar Mind, co-founded by award-winning local 3 mixologists, presents the “Sweet Potatoni”, a tribute to the charcoal-roasted chestnuts and roasted sweet potatoes sold on Hong Kong’s streets. Weaving together smoky tea notes and caramel sweetness for a rich local flavour, it underscores the creativity of Hong Kong.
 

Theme 5: Sip and Savour in LKF

More than 20 restaurants and bars in Lan Kwai Fong will present “Sip and Savour in LKF”, a limited-edition night time experience. Alongside special Gourmet Month food and beverage offers, there will be workshops, retro-themed nights and DJ performances, offering more options for after-dinner gatherings and nights out while showcasing Lan Kwai Fong’s lively and diverse nightlife.
 

For more details on “Hong Kong Gourmet Month”, please visit www.discoverhongkong.com/tc/events/hong-kong-gourmet-month.html.

Redbrick Offices, India’s First Enterprise Managed Workspace Provider, has crossed 2.5 million sq. ft. in Mumbai with the addition of about 0.5 million sq. ft. of new Grade A space across four centres. The centres will add about 10,000 seats and are scheduled to open in the January to March quarter of 2027.

Redbrick Offices

The new centres are expected to generate annual rental revenue of approximately Rs. 130 Cr+, strengthening the company’s market share in one of India’s key commercial real estate markets. The expansion comes amid evolving workspace requirements from large organisations, as businesses evaluate office locations based on workforce access, operational needs, and the flexibility to accommodate changing team sizes. The mix of locations gives occupiers a choice between established business districts such as Lower Parel and Andheri and growth corridors such as Malad and Navi Mumbai, letting organisations place teams closer to their talent pools and spread operations across the city, rather than concentrating them in one micro-market.

Spread across Andheri, Lower Parel, Malad and Navi Mumbai, these locations cater to diverse occupier requirements, spanning global capability centres (GCCs), large enterprises, banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) firms, and US-based multinationals.

“Our clients do not look for square feet from us. They ask us where and how their people can work best. That is why existing clients have already committed to a majority of this new expansion: they clearly know what they can expect from Redbrick. Across these four locations, we are providing our clients the choice to place teams close to talent pools within Mumbai and still be part of the Redbrick experience,” Shrivar Goenka, Executive Director, Sales & Business Development, Redbrick Offices.

Redbrick Offices follows a commitment-first approach, securing client demand before signing up buildings. This enables the company to plan additions around occupier requirements and provide fully customised solutions rather than relying solely on future demand. Around 75% of this new expansion has already been committed by existing clients expanding their office requirements.

“Opening four centres simultaneously across different locations in Mumbai within one quarter takes careful planning, right from design and project execution, up to deploying the quality human resources who will manage each of these offices on a daily basis. Our teams are working relentlessly to ensure clients can move into these ready office spaces and start working seamlessly from the first morning. For us, a good workplace is one where the service is so well run that our clients’ teams can simply focus on their core work activity,” Pooja Mehta Kumar, CHRO & COO – Redbrick Offices.

All four centres will comprise Grade A office spaces designed to meet the requirements of large enterprises and multinational corporations. Through its managed workspace model, Redbrick Offices combines office infrastructure, professional facilities management, and a hospitality-led workplace experience. The additional capacity will enable businesses to accommodate growing teams, establish new functions, and expand their presence across Mumbai’s commercial hubs, while providing access to professionally managed workspaces aligned with their operational needs.

About Redbrick Offices

Redbrick Offices is India’s first enterprise managed workspace provider with 6.5 Mn sq. ft., 1.15 lakh+ seats, and 70+ centres across 8+ cities in India. It delivers premium Grade A offices, custom-built around each client’s requirements, with professional facilities management and a hospitality-led experience through RBO Care (Facilities & Services by Redbrick Offices). Its clients include global capability centres, Fortune 500s, large enterprises, BFSI firms, and US-based multinationals.