Hong Kong

It’s been a banner year for Hong Kong’s dining and hospitality scene. Fresh off its historic achievement, in which venues in Hong Kong became the first to receive both The World’s Best Bar and The World’s Best Hotel titles the same year, Hong Kong will host the Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants 2026 award ceremony on 25 March 2026 (Wednesday) for the first time. 

Hong Kong hosts Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants 2026, showcasing its dynamic and world-class dining scene

The announcement represents a milestone moment for Hong Kong and underscores its position as one of the world’s most exciting gastronomic capitals with its global influences, East meets West, and a long-standing culture of innovation. The prestigious ceremony will bring together top chefs, restaurateurs, and industry leaders from across Asia to celebrate the region’s finest culinary talent.

Mr. Anthony Lau, Executive Director of the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) stated, “We are thrilled to host Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants in Hong Kong this March for the very first time, highlighting the deepening partnership between HKTB and 50 Best. Hong Kong has long been one of the most sought-after dining destinations in the world, blending culinary cultures from around the globe to offer diverse and exciting gastronomic experiences. In 2025, our city made history as venues in Hong Kong were crowned The World’s Best Bar, Bar Leone, and The World’s Best Hotel, Rosewood Hong Kong, making it the first city to claim two global No. 1 titles on 50 Best lists in the same year. These accolades underscore Hong Kong’s leading position in the international gastronomy and hospitality sectors.” 

Looking forward to the first-ever Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants in Hong Kong, Mr. Lau continues, “In light of these remarkable achievements, we look forward to welcoming top chefs, representatives from the culinary industry, and tastemakers from across Asia to Hong Kong this March to celebrate the outstanding achievements of our region’s culinary scene.”

Hong Kong’s Landmark Global Recognition
Hong Kong’s dual No. 1 recognitions across international hospitality rankings in 2025 topped off an extraordinary year for the city. This recognition reflects Hong Kong’s extraordinary talent and its commitment to pushing the boundaries of taste, technique, and hospitality. 

Hong Kong’s culinary landscape boasts impressive achievements in food, beverage, and hospitality, recognized by international awards ranging including the 50 Best rankings. From fine dining and innovative tasting menus to beloved cha chaan tengs, artisanal cocktail bars, and luxury hotels redefining the guest experience, the city’s offerings are both deep and diverse.

Looking ahead to 2026
Following The Chairman and Wing securing number 2 and 3 respectively in Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants 2025, Hong Kong further solidifies its status as a regional culinary standout. With the 2026 award ceremony coming up in March, the city is preparing to host a week of celebrations, collaborations, and industry gatherings that will spotlight the city’s role as a culinary hub. The awards will not only honour Asia’s top restaurants but also highlight Hong Kong’s contributions to the region’s gastronomic evolution. 

For travellers considering 2026 getaways, Hong Kong offers a unique opportunity: dine at some of Asia’s top restaurants, sip cocktails at the World’s Best Bar and stay at the World’s Best Hotel – all in one trip.

About Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB)
The Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) is a government-subvented body tasked with marketing and promoting Hong Kong as a travel destination worldwide and enhancing visitors’ experience once they arrive. These include making recommendations to the Government and other relevant bodies on the range and quality of visitor facilities.

The HKTB’s missions are to maximise the social and economic contribution made by tourism to the community of Hong Kong and to consolidate Hong Kong’s position as a unique, world-class, and most desired destination.

• India has built 100+ startup unicorns. The summit asks a parallel question: how can we build 100 non-profit unicorns by 2030 to solve challenges across welfare, education, and governance?

• Change Engine to release the first ‘Ease of Doing Non-profits’ report, highlighting the critical gap in innovation capital. 

• A ‘founder-first’ gathering of 200+ non-profit leaders, philanthropists, and policymakers.

Change Engine announced the Mission Billion Summit on January 29, 2026, to be held at the India International Centre, Delhi. Designed as India’s premier ‘founder-first’ platform, the summit will gather over 200 non-profit founders, philanthropists and policymakers with a singular goal: building 100 non-profit unicorns by 2030 – organisations impacting over a million people. 

Change Engine’s Mission Billion Summit aims to build 100 non-profit unicorns by 2030

India’s social sector stands at a critical inflection point. A new generation of ambitious founders is emerging, determined to solve complex social problems at ‘India scale’. While the patient capital and catalytic ecosystems required to take these founders from pilot to million-plus impact are beginning to form, the Mission Billion Summit aims to bring these fragmented pieces together.

 
Speaking about the summit, Varun Aggarwal, Co-founder, Change Engine, said “We need a movement towards non-profit unicorns in India, much like the startup movement a decade ago. Mission Billion Summit will bring together all stakeholders to solve our most pressing developmental challenges. With founders at the centre, we are creating an ecosystem where you can move beyond pilots and master the playbook to reach national-level impact using evidence-driven interventions with the right collaborators.”

Shubham Bansal, Co-founder, Change Engine, added, “Mission Billion summit serves as a startup school for non-profits, providing the actionable toolkits – from how to partner with government to building evidence to raising capital. Our goal is to empower founders to build for the entire nation, not just a single zip code.”

The summit is structured across two parallel tracks featuring 25+ speakers, 12+ sessions, and 3 workshop-style masterclasses designed to address the core challenges of non-profit scale:

• Building Nonprofit Unicorns: A startup-school style track covering topics such as evidence-building beyond RCTs, fundraising and innovation capital, partnering with government, and community-led scale.

• Tackling Wicked Problems: Focused conversations on what works (and what doesn’t) across key domains, including welfare and social protection, education, and governance, bringing together practitioners and thinkers working at the cutting edge of these challenges.

Each track will feature deep-dive sessions and masterclasses designed to surface actionable insights, cross-sector partnerships, and scalable innovations. 

A key highlight of the summit will be the launch of Change Engine’s first report in the ‘Ease of Doing Non-profits’ series. Based on a first-of-its-kind survey of social entrepreneurs, the report identifies the structural barriers preventing high-potential non-profits from reaching ‘unicorn’ scale. The preliminary findings reveal a systemic lack of ‘innovation capital’ – the flexible, high-risk funding required for non-profits to experiment and scale.

The summit will see participation from prominent philanthropists, including Sanjeev Bikhchandani (Info Edge), Aakanksha Gulati (ACT Grants), Murugan Vasudevan (Veddis Foundation), Chetan (Tech Mahindra Foundation), Riti Mohapatra (The Bridgespan Group), amongst others. 

It will also feature senior leaders from organisations that have successfully scaled impact, such as Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy, Central Square Foundation, Avanti Fellows, Rocket Learning, Agami, CORO, Sneha, XKDR, amongst others. 

Mission Billion Summit deepens Change Engine’s commitment to building a thriving ecosystem for mission-driven founders by providing the capital, knowledge, and partnerships needed to transform pilots into national solutions. 

For more information and registration, please visit the Change Engine website.

About Change Engine
Change Engine supports exceptional founders in building non-profit unicorns – organisations that can meaningfully impact a million people. We do this through our unique sandbox for non-profits, which includes support for leveraging data and evidence, partnering with the government, applying product and tech expertise, and deploying catalytic seed capital.

Over the last few years, we’ve worked with 10 non-profits that have raised over $2M in follow-up funding in addition to our support. We also published the Playbook for Nonprofit Unicorns – the first data-backed guide for founders created from insights drawn from 30+ organisations that have scaled. We’ve been featured extensively in The Economic Times, Mint, India Development Review (IDR) and Brut India for our work on scaling social impact through evidence-based frameworks and strategic partnerships.

Excitement and mirth was around as students of Dr. MGR-Janaki College for Women in traditional attire celebrated Pongal in the institution’s campus. It was amazing to watch bustling activities happen in a village setting recreated specially for the occasion.

Pongal fete gets all its rustic charm at Dr. MGR-Janaki College for Women

Over 4000 students wearing traditional Half Sari / Silk Sari added perfect color to the celebrations. Kummiyattam, Garagattam, Oyilaatam, Kaavadiyaattam, Silambaattam and Folk Dances performed by students made onlookers tap their feet to the beat. Special children also performed a Gramiya Nadanam in the occasion.

There were shops entirely set up and managed by students. They played vendors and sold Bangles & Balloons, Sugarcane Juice, Butter Milk, Tender Coconuts and Cotton Candy and more. Scenes of Mehendi Artists, Parrot fortune-telling, porridge vending, Bhajji and Sundal stalls brought alive the beauty of village sandhai.

Students’ harmonic chorus of ‘Pongalo… Pongal’ ripped the air when the Pongal came to a boil, the main dish offered to god as thanksgiving for good crop and harvest. With this the festivity came to a close.  

“In this fast-changing world, it is important for us to preserve our tradition and values. Celebrations like this will help younger generation realize the richness of our culture and pass on it to the next generation. Towards this effect, our college is regularly organizing culturally rich events,” said Dr. Kumar Rajendran, Chairman, Dr. MGR-Janaki College for Women.

For more details, please visit: www.mgrjanaki.ac.in

Galgotias University proudly inaugurated the IIT Mandi Catalyst Satellite Centre on its campus, marking a significant milestone in strengthening innovation-driven learning, entrepreneurship, and India’s growing startup ecosystem. The initiative reflects the university’s continued focus on creating future-ready platforms that enable students and researchers to transform ideas into impactful solutions.

Inauguration of the IIT Mandi Catalyst Satellite Centre at Galgotias University

The inauguration served as a collaborative platform to foster innovation, research translation, and startup creation, highlighting the role of academia-led ecosystems in driving national capacity building and technology-led entrepreneurship. The centre aims to support early-stage startups, promote deep-tech innovation, and bridge the gap between research and real-world application.

The prestigious event was graced by Prof. Laxmidhar Behera, Director, IIT Mandi, as the Chief Guest, and Prof. Goutam Sutradhar , Director, National Institute of Technology, Jamshedpur, as the Guest of Honour. Their presence reinforced the shared vision of strengthening India’s innovation and startup landscape through collaborative academic leadership.

Commenting on the occasion, Dr. Dhruv Galgotia, CEO, Galgotias University, said, “We believe that innovation and entrepreneurship must be deeply embedded within the academic ecosystem. The inauguration of the IIT Mandi Catalyst Satellite Centre reflects our commitment to empowering students and researchers with the right mentorship, infrastructure, and industry exposure to build scalable, impact-driven ventures that contribute to India’s innovation economy.”

A key highlight of the event was the signing of two strategic Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs)—between Galgotias University and the National Institute of Technology, Jamshedpur, and between Galgotias University and Jharkhand University of Technology, Ranchi. These partnerships will enable joint research initiatives, faculty and student exchange programmes, co-creation of deep-tech startups, access to advanced laboratories, and shared incubation and acceleration programmes.

The collaborations are expected to strengthen the innovation pipeline by translating academic research into market-ready solutions, enhancing funding access, and creating nationwide pathways for student entrepreneurs and startups. The event was further enriched by the presence of Prof. N. K. Goyal, CSAI & CMAI, and other distinguished academicians and stakeholders.

The inauguration of the IIT Mandi Catalyst Satellite Centre underscores Galgotias University’s vision of aligning academic excellence with entrepreneurship and innovation, empowering young minds to become drivers of technological progress and economic growth.

About Galgotias University

Galgotias University Among the World’s Leading Universities in QS and THE Rankings.

Galgotias University proudly ascends in the QS World University Rankings 2026 by Quacquarelli Symonds, securing a coveted position in the 1201–1400 global band. Ranked 15th among top private universities and 43rd among all Indian universities—public and private combined—this achievement marks a powerful endorsement of Galgotias’ unwavering commitment to academic excellence, global relevance, and innovation in higher education.

In the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings 2025, Galgotias University has been ranked 45th among Indian universities (including both government and private institutions) and placed in the globally prestigious 1001–1200 band. This significant achievement reinforces the university’s growing stature in the international academic arena and validates its consistent progress in global higher education benchmarks.

India’s FMCG market exceeds INR 9 lakh crore, with General Trade contributing nearly 65 percent of sales through over 6.5 million kirana stores. Modern Trade, though smaller at about 10 percent, is growing faster in urban and premium segments. Together, these channels create a complex execution environment for FMCG companies. While India has no shortage of strong products and founder led innovation, many high potential brands stall at the same inflection point where scaling distribution building field capability and institutionalising execution becomes fragmented and risky. While, strategy exists but execution fails to keep pace, to close this gap, Scale Sherpas founded in 2024 by industry veterans Anjana Ghosh, Atanu Gangoly, and Priyanka Gupta today announced the launch of Smart Force.

Anjana Ghosh

In General Trade, challenges stem from gaps in outlet coverage data, weak distributor coordination, and low digital adoption. When these issues are addressed through siloed teams, costs rise and operational inefficiencies increase.

As a result, a shared workforce model is becoming essential. By flexibly deploying sales execution, merchandising, analytics, and demand planning resources across General Trade, companies can improve productivity. This approach enables consistent execution, better use of common data systems, reduced duplication, and faster responses to channel-specific growth opportunities. 

Smart Force addresses these challenges through a ready-to-deploy execution model comprising shared on-ground sales teams, pre-mapped routes, and standardized execution processes. This allows brands to activate across multiple cities simultaneously, without building and managing large in-house sales organizations.

With Smart Force, brands can compress expansion timelines from the traditional 6–9 months to as little as 45 days, achieve faster numeric distribution through improved secondary sales movement and execution discipline, and reduce go-to-market costs by up to 40% compared to conventional in-house models.

The launch is led by Anjana Ghosh, Managing Director, Scale Sherpas, a seasoned FMCG leader with decades of experience building and scaling high-performance sales and distribution networks across Indian markets. Drawing from extensive frontline leadership, Smart Force has been designed as a practical, execution-first model focused on speed, efficiency, and control at the market level.

“Brands don’t need another strategy framework, they need execution that works consistently on the ground,” said Anjana Ghosh, Managing Director, Scale Sherpas. “Smart Force is built from years of hands-on experience. Most brands insist on owning their on-ground sales teams, even as they struggle to manage them effectively. The reality is that the last-mile sales force is often underpaid, disengaged, and operationally invisible to leadership. With repetitive work and no real career path, expecting ownership, empathy, or productivity becomes unrealistic. Sales leaders and HR teams remain stuck firefighting attrition and inefficiency, mistaking control for capability. The uncomfortable truth is that brands don’t have an execution problem, they have a people-model problem at the last mile.”

About Smart Force

Smart Force fixes the last mile by fixing the root problem. India’s first shared sales force, it is designed as a plug-and-play model that delivers to the Feet on Ground, better pay, better talent, and multi-brand exposure—restoring pride, motivation, and performance. With clear career paths and professional management at a level no single brand can achieve on its own. Smart Force is further powered by an AI-enabled app, integrated with pre-loaded routes, beats, and outlet data of 1.5 lac. It drives disciplined daily execution through real-time tracking, intelligent call planning, instant reporting, and actionable MIS—ensuring every market visit translates into measurable outcomes, not just activity. It helps brands reduce go-to-market costs by 30–40% and accelerate market penetration with speed and control.

As competition intensifies across India’s FMCG landscape, and with profit margins shrinking Smart Force enables brands to scale with speed, improve distribution velocity, and achieve predictable market expansion. With this launch, Scale Sherpas reinforces its commitment to building execution-led growth models that help FMCG brands win where it matters most — On The Ground!

An extraordinary and deeply emotional moment unfolded at the 9th Convocation Ceremony of Vivekananda Global University (VGU) when Smita walked onto the stage to receive her degree — accompanied by her six-year-old daughter. The moment became a powerful symbol of determination, lifelong learning, and women’s empowerment, leaving the audience visibly moved.

9th Convocation Ceremony of Vivekananda Global University (VGU)

Addressing the gathering, Smita shared a message that resonated strongly with students and families alike. She emphasized that there is no age limit for education and that personal or family responsibilities should never become barriers to learning. She highlighted how discipline, family support, and perseverance can help balance education, responsibilities, and personal growth. Her journey emerged as a source of inspiration, especially for women who discontinue their studies due to social or personal challenges.

Education as the Foundation of Nation Building

The convocation ceremony was graced by the Union Minister of Law and Justice, Shri Arjun Ram Meghwal, as the Chief Guest. In his address, he stated that education is not merely about earning degrees, but about character building and nation building. He encouraged students to carry forward knowledge with values, responsibility, and integrity.

Shri Meghwal described today’s youth as India’s greatest strength and urged them to contribute to national development through innovation, self-reliance, and ethical leadership. Quoting the teachings of Swami Vivekananda, he advised students to transform challenges into opportunities and remain fearless in the pursuit of excellence.

1,983 Degrees Conferred in a Historic Convocation

The 9th Convocation held special significance as it marked the first joint convocation of Vivekananda Global University, its Centre for Distance Education, and the Online VGU platform.

During the ceremony:

• 1,942 students from undergraduate, postgraduate, and diploma programs were awarded degrees

• 41 research scholars received their PhD degrees

• A total of 1,983 degrees were conferred

The event reflected years of hard work, perseverance, and academic dedication, making it a proud and emotional moment for students, parents, and faculty members alike.

109 Meritorious Students Honored with Medals

Recognizing academic excellence, the university awarded 109 medals to outstanding students:

• 47 Gold Medals

• 32 Silver Medals

• 30 Bronze Medals

University officials stated that these students exemplify commitment, discipline, and academic brilliance, serving as role models for society and the nation.

From Financial Struggles to Success: Palak Poonia’s Journey

One of the most inspiring stories of the convocation was that of BCA student Palak Poonia. Despite financial challenges, Palak shared that the university consistently supported and encouraged her. She credited Vivekananda Global University not just for her degree, but for giving her confidence, courage, and a platform to showcase her talent.

Today, Palak has successfully established herself as a professional supermodel, and she acknowledged the university’s role in standing by her during her most difficult times.

Final-Year Student Builds a Rs. 50 Crore Company

Adding to the inspirational narratives, final-year student Vishal drew attention for establishing a startup valued at Rs. 50 crore while still pursuing his studies. He attributed his success to the university’s strong innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem, mentorship, and encouragement.

Vishal emphasized that with the right guidance, resources, and motivation, students can become job creators instead of job seekers, even before completing their degrees.

A Message of Inclusion, Innovation, and Self-Reliance

The convocation went beyond academic recognition and delivered a powerful message of inclusion, inspiration, and self-reliance. Stories like Smita’s determination, Palak’s resilience, and Vishal’s entrepreneurial success demonstrated how the university nurtures not only academic excellence but also confidence, leadership, and social responsibility.

Oath Ceremony Emphasizes Values and Responsibility

During the ceremony, Registrar Dr. Praveen Chaudhary administered the oath to graduating students. The oath included commitments to:

• Uphold honesty and integrity

• Respect human values

• Use knowledge for the service of society and the nation

• Protect the dignity and reputation of the university

Dr. Chaudhary reminded students that with a degree comes greater responsibility toward society. He urged them to reflect university values through their conduct, work ethic, and mindset wherever life takes them.

A Call to Lead with Humility and Purpose

Concluding the ceremony, the Registrar encouraged students to remain humble, disciplined, and socially sensitive even as they achieve success. He emphasized that by effectively utilizing the education, values, and opportunities provided by the university, graduates can inspire future generations and contribute meaningfully to nation-building.

A new report, ‘The Business Case for Clean Air: Unlocking Economic Opportunities for India’, by Dalberg Advisors in collaboration with the Clean Air Fund reveals that India can unlock USD 220 billion in economic gains by implementing a focused set of clean air solutions across priority sectors.

The report lays out solutions that could reduce PM2.5 levels significantly, mitigate business losses and support the creation of new jobs

Air pollution continues to create a significant burden for the economy through reduced productivity, unplanned absences, lower consumer activity, and increasing healthcare expenditure.

This report follows a previous study from 2021 by Dalberg Advisors, Air Pollution in India and the Impact on Business, which quantified the economic losses due to particulate matter (PM2.5) pollution levels in India. The 2021 study estimated these economic losses at USD 95 billion annually, equivalent to 3% of India’s GDP.

Despite recent improvements due to initiatives by national and state governments and city authorities, average PM2.5 levels in many cities remain significantly above national standards.

The new report evaluates high-impact solutions across key economic sectors: transport, industry, agriculture, waste, power, construction, and residential combustion. If implemented effectively, these solutions could:

• reduce PM2.5 levels by ~20% by 2030 from current levels;

• generate USD 220 billion in economic opportunity;

• avert USD 85 billion in business losses by 2030;

• avoid nearly 10 million Disability-Adjusted Life Years (DALYs) annually

• support approximately 1.4 million job transitions and new jobs

Speaking on the launch of the report, Jagjeet Sareen, Partner and India Head, Dalberg Advisors said, “Clean air is not only a public health priority but also an economic imperative. This analysis highlights where targeted investments can deliver measurable returns for businesses, workers, and the broader economy.”

Clean Air Fund’s recent report, The State of Global Air Quality Funding 2025, shows an increase in air quality investments from development finance institutions flowing to South Asia. This growing priority for development donors is an opportunity for South Asian countries to unlock further public and private capital that will deliver economic, health and environmental benefits.

Shirish Sinha, Executive Director of Programmes at Clean Air Fund added, “Asia’s development financial institutions and agencies are some of the biggest players in international public finance, and countries across the continent are working to tackle air pollution. Development donors recognise that funding clean air measures is an opportunity to see multiple returns on investment through climate and health co-benefits, while catalysing private capital in South Asian countries. India has demonstrated significant progress through the National Clean Air Programme. The next step is to scale proven solutions and align clean air more closely with India’s economic and development priorities.”

The report also outlines five enabling actions critical for scale:

1. crowding in private capital;

2. prototyping solutions in priority regions;

3. building a skilled green workforce;

4. strengthening community participation; and

5. investing in digital public infrastructure.

Together, these steps can help position clean air as a driver of growth and resilience. Integrating clean-air action into India’s economic planning can improve public health, enhance productivity, and strengthen long-term competitiveness.

For the full report, see here: dalberg.com/our-ideas/the-business-case-for-clean-air-unlocking-economic-opportunities-for-india/

About Dalberg Advisors

Dalberg Advisors is a strategic advisory firm that combines the best of private sector strategy skills and rigorous analytical capabilities with deep knowledge and networks across emerging and frontier markets. We work collaboratively across the public, private and philanthropic sectors to fuel inclusive growth and help clients achieve their goals.

About Clean Air Fund

Clean Air Fund is a global philanthropic organisation working with governments, funders, businesses and campaigners to create a future where everyone breathes clean air.