Chitkara University today launched the Atal Incubation Centre – Chitkara Incubation Foundation (AIC-CIF) and AIC-PRIDE Labs at its Punjab campus, marking a significant milestone in strengthening India’s deep-tech startup ecosystem. Established with a combined investment of up to Rs. 20 crore over five years by the Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), NITI Aayog, Government of India, and Chitkara University, the centre will nurture startups in Drone Technologies, Agritech and Renewable Energy while accelerating research commercialisation, entrepreneurship and technology-led economic growth.

Atal Innovation Centre launched at Chitkara University in presence of Sh Amit Dhaka (IAS) CEO Invest Punjab, Dr. Madhu Chitkara, Dr. Ashok Chitkara & Atal Innovation Mission team

The inauguration also marked the launch of the ATL Sarthi Punjab initiative by the Atal Innovation Mission, aimed at strengthening and mentoring Atal Tinkering Labs across the state, further reinforcing the innovation pipeline from schools to startups.

The inauguration ceremony was led by Mr. Amit Dhaka, IAS, Chief Executive Officer, Invest Punjab, as the Chief Guest, in the presence of Mr. Prateek Deshmukh, Program Lead, Atal Innovation Mission, NITI Aayog, whose participation reflected AIM’s continued engagement with institutions driving India’s innovation and startup ecosystem, and Ms. Deepakshi Jindal, Atal Innovation Mission, NITI Aayog. They were joined by Dr. Ashok Chitkara, Chancellor, Chitkara University, Dr. Madhu Chitkara, President and Co-founder, Chitkara University, along with distinguished leaders from industry, academia, government and investor networks.

Designed as a launchpad for high-impact technology ventures, AIC-CIF will support entrepreneurs through structured acceleration programs, expert mentorship, access to funding opportunities, product validation, industry partnerships, intellectual property facilitation and regulatory guidance, enabling innovators to transform breakthrough ideas into scalable enterprises.

Dr. Ashok Chitkara, Chancellor, Chitkara University, said, “Innovation creates real value only when ideas move beyond the laboratory into society. AIC-Chitkara Incubation Foundation is designed to help entrepreneurs build technologies that solve important challenges and create lasting impact.”

Mr. Amit Dhaka, IAS, Chief Executive Officer, Invest Punjab, said, “Strong innovation ecosystems are built through collaboration. Initiatives like AIC-Chitkara Incubation Foundation will strengthen Punjab’s startup landscape and create new opportunities for technology-led entrepreneurship.”

Following the inauguration, dignitaries toured the state-of-the-art AIC-PRIDE Labs, interacting with startup founders and witnessing innovations that demonstrate the growing potential of deep-tech entrepreneurship. The visit highlighted the centre’s vision of creating a collaborative environment where innovators, researchers, industry experts and investors can work together to build globally relevant technology ventures.

Dr. Madhu Chitkara, President and Co-founder, Chitkara University, said, “The future belongs to institutions that connect research, industry and entrepreneurship with purpose. Through AIC-Chitkara Incubation Foundation, we are creating an ecosystem where innovators receive the mentorship, partnerships and support they need to build globally competitive ventures while contributing to India’s innovation-led growth.”

The event also celebrated the launch of ATL Sarthi Punjab, an initiative dedicated to strengthening the Atal Tinkering Lab ecosystem across the state. Outstanding ATL Sarthis from Punjab were felicitated for their exceptional contribution towards nurturing scientific curiosity, innovation and problem-solving among school students. The initiative complements the national vision of Startup India, the Atal Innovation Mission and Viksit Bharat by creating a seamless innovation pathway from school-level tinkering to startup incubation and venture creation.

The university also expressed its sincere appreciation to Dr. Deepak Bagla, Mission Director, Atal Innovation Mission, NITI Aayog, for his leadership and guidance in enabling the establishment of the incubation centre. Though unable to attend the inauguration, his contribution to strengthening India’s innovation ecosystem was acknowledged during the ceremony.

With the launch of AIC-Chitkara Incubation Foundation, Chitkara University further strengthens its role in advancing entrepreneurship, innovation and research commercialisation. By bringing together academia, industry, government and investors within a single ecosystem, the centre aims to enable the next generation of entrepreneurs to build globally relevant, technology-driven enterprises from India.

About Chitkara University

Chitkara University is a UGC-recognised and NAAC-accredited private university in North India, with campuses in Punjab and Himachal Pradesh, offering career-oriented undergraduate and postgraduate programs in Engineering, Business, Healthcare, Pharmacy, Design, Architecture, Hospitality and emerging technology fields. For Class 11 and 12 students planning higher education, the University provides industry-aligned programs designed to combine academic excellence with practical exposure.

The curriculum emphasises experiential learning through internships, industry projects, research opportunities and global collaborations, supported by modern infrastructure, advanced laboratories, industry mentorship and skill-based training that strengthens student employability. Backed by 2,000+ campus recruiters and 300+ international academic and industry collaborations, students gain strong placement support, international exposure, academic exchange and collaborative research opportunities.

Consistently ranked among leading institutions by national and global frameworks such as NIRF, QS World University Rankings and Times Higher Education, the University maintains high academic rigour and industry relevance. With strong corporate partnerships and a focus on innovation, entrepreneurship and interdisciplinary learning, it prepares students for emerging career opportunities in India and abroad.

For more information, please visit: www.chitkara.edu.in

Aukera, India’s leading premium lab-grown diamond jewellery brand, today announced that it has raised Rs. 90 crore (over USD 10 million) in fresh funding, led by existing investor Alteria Capital, along with InnoVen Capital, Lighthouse Canton and a leading bank. The raise comes less than twelve months after the company closed a USD 15 million equity round led by Peak XV Partners, with participation from Fireside Ventures, Sparrow Capital, Prath Ventures and Alteria Capital — a pace of back-to-back institutional capital that reflects the strength of Aukera’s growth trajectory and the confidence of lenders and investors alike in the underlying business. The company continues to strengthen its balance sheet as the category draws in India’s largest players, including Titan with its lab-grown diamond brand Beyon — a market Aukera has been leading from the front.

Kumar Saurabh, Co-founder, Aukera and Lisa Mukhedkar, Founder & CEO, Aukera

That leadership is visible on the ground: in the year since its last raise, Aukera has grown from 13 to 35 company-owned stores, expanding beyond Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Delhi NCR into cities including Pune, Lucknow, Dehradun and Vizag — one of the fastest retail scale-ups in Indian fine jewellery, and a genuinely national footprint. The new capital will fuel the next phase of this expansion.

Aukera occupies the premium end of India’s lab-grown diamond market, built around a simple idea: the better diamond. Every Aukera diamond is of the highest grades, certified to the most exacting global standards, and crafted into fine jewellery featuring original, in-house designs and the brand’s trademarked cuts. It is a promise brought to life by a design and craft organisation that draws on global talent, and carried publicly by acclaimed actor Taapsee Pannu, the Face of the Brand. For Aukera’s customers, grown diamonds are a deliberate upgrade — to a finer, larger, better-designed diamond.

That confidence extends to how the brand stands behind every piece. Aukera operates company-owned experience stores across the country and backs every purchase with assured buyback and exchange — the kind of guarantee that has traditionally separated enduring jewellery houses from the rest.

“This category will not be won on discounting — it will be won on trust, quality and brand,” said Lisa Mukhedkar, Founder & CEO, Aukera. “This capital lets us take that promise to many more cities, faster.”

“We believe this category will require the top player to invest at least Rs. 1,000 crore, as the mining industry resets to recognise the permanence of grown diamonds,” said Kumar Saurabh, Co-founder, Aukera. “We are building the balance sheet and the business to be that player.”

With the fresh capital, Aukera will accelerate store openings in new and existing markets, continue investing in design, product innovation and talent, and strengthen the omnichannel infrastructure that supports its retail engine.

Founded in 2023 by Lisa Mukhedkar and Kumar Saurabh, Aukera is backed by Peak XV Partners, Fireside Ventures, Sparrow Capital, Prath Ventures and Alteria Capital, and is on track towards its stated ambition of becoming a Rs. 1,000 crore brand.

Reinforcing its commitment to the holistic development and emotional well-being of students, Manipal University Jaipur (MUJ) successfully organised “Matru Setu – Women Mentoring Young Women,” a unique orientation and mentorship programme aimed at empowering women educators to become compassionate mentors for young female students.

Dignitaries present in the inaugural ceremony of the “Matru Setu” workshop organized by Manipal University Jaipur

The programme, organised by the Directorate of Student Welfare, Manipal University Jaipur, in collaboration with the Foundation for Holistic Development (FHD), brought together all female faculty members and spouses of male faculty members to create a nurturing support network for students navigating the challenges of university life.

The event was graced by Mrs. Madhuri Sahasrabudhe, Chairperson, Foundation for Holistic Development, along with distinguished members of her team, Ms. Alka Soni and Ms. Medha Deshpande. The programme was attended by President, Manipal University Jaipur, Prof. (Dr.) Niti Nipun Sharma; Pro President, Cdr. (Dr.) Anil Rana; Provost, Prof. (Dr.) Nitu Bhatnagar; Ms. Manju Sharma; Dean, Student Welfare, Dr. Madhura Yadav; Head-HR, Ms. Kananjeet Kaur, besides Deans, Directors, Heads of Departments and faculty members. Senior journalist and television personality Dr. Puneet Sharma also joined the programme.

Welcoming the guests and participants, Cdr. (Dr.) Anil Rana highlighted the growing importance of mentorship in higher education. He emphasised that today’s young students face a wide range of academic, emotional and social challenges, making empathetic guidance from faculty members more relevant than ever. He encouraged participants to become trusted mentors who could positively influence students’ personal and professional journeys.

In his presidential address, Prof. (Dr.) Niti Nipun Sharma spoke about the transformative role of mothers in shaping the character, values and future of children. Paying tribute to the mother of Dr. T.M.A. Pai, the visionary founder of the Manipal Group, he acknowledged her enduring contribution to society and the values that inspired the institution’s legacy. He urged women faculty members to extend motherly care and emotional support to students, helping them overcome stress, anxiety and personal challenges while pursuing higher education.

Delivering the keynote session, Mrs. Madhuri Sahasrabudhe shared inspiring experiences from her extensive interactions with college and university students across the country. Through powerful anecdotes, she explained how timely guidance, empathy and genuine concern from a mentor can profoundly transform the lives of young people, especially those facing emotional distress or difficult circumstances.

The interactive workshop featured practical sessions conducted by Mrs. Sahasrabudhe, Ms. Alka Soni and Ms. Medha Deshpande, who presented real-life situations commonly encountered by university students. Participants were actively engaged through role-playing exercises that encouraged them to understand students’ perspectives and respond with empathy, compassion and effective communication.

A major highlight of the programme was the presentation by 13 faculty teams, each performing role-play activities based on different student issues, ranging from emotional well-being and academic pressure to interpersonal relationships and self-confidence. The sessions enabled participants to explore practical mentoring approaches and strengthen their ability to build meaningful conversations with students.

The workshop was designed to cultivate qualities such as empathy, compassion, active listening and emotional intelligence among women faculty members, enabling them to serve as mentors who guide students with the care and understanding of a mother.

The programme concluded with a vote of thanks proposed by Dr. Pankaj Vyas, Director, Student Welfare, while Dr. Aanyaa Chouhary efficiently conducted the proceedings as the Master of Ceremony.

The initiative reflects Manipal University Jaipur’s continued emphasis on creating a supportive, inclusive and emotionally resilient campus ecosystem where mentorship extends beyond academics to foster confidence, resilience and holistic growth among young women.

To know more about Manipal University Jaipur please visit jaipur.manipal.edu 

Bank of Maharashtra has announced the launch of FinSpark’26, a national-level cybersecurity hackathon aimed at encouraging students and dropouts across India to develop solutions for real-world cybersecurity challenges in the banking sector.
 

Bank of Maharashtra launches FinSpark’26, a national cybersecurity hackathon for students to solve real banking security challenges and win Rs. 10 lakh+ rewards
 

With the theme “Securing the Future of Banking,” FinSpark’26 is designed to bring together young technology minds, cybersecurity enthusiasts and problem-solvers to build innovative ideas that can strengthen digital banking security, fraud prevention, cyber resilience and customer trust.

The hackathon invites participants to register, choose a problem statement, build individually or with a team, and compete for national recognition. The initiative offers a Rs. 10+ Lakh Prize Pool*, with the Top 20 teams getting an opportunity to present their solutions at the Grand Finale at COEP Technological University, Pune. Winning teams will also get an Opportunity to Showcase at Global FinTech Fest 2026*, subject to applicable terms and conditions.

FinSpark’26 focuses on mission-critical areas of banking cybersecurity, including insider threat detection, privileged access misuse, AI-driven correlation of cybersecurity telemetry, transaction behaviour analysis, fraud prevention and proactive threat identification. Through this initiative, Bank of Maharashtra aims to encourage practical, scalable and secure solutions that can support the evolving needs of the banking industry.

The hackathon features two cybersecurity-led problem statements. The first is Privileged Access Misuse & Insider Threat Detection, where participants are encouraged to build solutions that can detect misuse of privileged accounts, identify insider threats, study behavioural patterns and support risk-based access control. The second is AI-Driven Correlation of Cybersecurity Telemetry & Transactional Behaviour, where participants can explore how cybersecurity signals and transaction behaviour can be connected to detect anomalies, fraud patterns, suspicious activity and potential threats more effectively.

Participants can register individually or in teams of up to four members. They are expected to select a problem statement, develop a structured idea or prototype, and submit their solution for evaluation. Submissions will be assessed on parameters such as business potential and relevance, security considerations, uniqueness of approach, user experience, scalability, and ease of development and maintenance.

Beyond competition, FinSpark’26 is designed as a learning and innovation platform. Participants will get exposure to real-world banking challenges, mentoring support, national-level recognition and the opportunity to refine their ideas through the hackathon journey. The Top 20 teams shortlisted for the Grand Finale will present their solutions before experts from relevant domains, with a focus on identifying ideas that are practical, secure and relevant to the future of digital banking.

Speaking about the initiative, Bank of Maharashtra said, “Cybersecurity is one of the most important pillars of modern banking. Through FinSpark’26, Bank of Maharashtra aims to encourage young innovators to think deeply about real banking security challenges and build solutions that can contribute to a safer and more resilient digital banking ecosystem. This initiative reflects our commitment to innovation, technology adoption and nurturing future-ready talent.”

FinSpark’26 is open to students and dropouts across India who are interested in cybersecurity, technology, AI, data, fraud prevention, secure digital banking and innovation.

Participants can register for FinSpark’26 at: www.finsparkhackathon.com/auth/register.

Monsoon rains put a damper on your weekend plans? Take it as the perfect excuse to stay in, gather your favourite people around the table, and bring the party home. With their rich flavor and satisfying crunch, California walnuts can turn simple sharing dishes into something a little more special, adding a delicious twist of health and nuttiness to everything from tacos and smoky corn ribs to fruity desserts. So, gather the family and turn a rainy day indoors into a feast worth celebrating with these vibrant, California walnut-inspired recipes made for sharing, passing around, and enjoying together.

California Walnut Tacos

California Walnut Tacos

Ingredients

California Walnut Taco “Meat”
1 1/2 cups California walnuts
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 medium onion, diced
1 1/2 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce or coconut aminos
1 tablespoon chili powder
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
Tacos
8 hard taco shells
2 cups lettuce, shredded
1 cup tomatoes, chopped
1/2 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
1/2 cup mild salsa
1/2 cup low-fat sour cream

Preparations

1. Add walnuts to a food processor and pulse until walnuts are evenly crumbled, resembling ground meat.
2. Heat olive oil over medium-low heat in a medium skillet. Add onions and cook for 5 minutes, add walnuts, soy sauce, chili powder, cumin, salt, oregano, and garlic powder. Stir well to evenly coat and moisten walnuts. Cook for 2-3 minutes.
3. Spoon walnut taco mixture into shells. Top with lettuce, tomato, cheese, salsa and sour cream.

Grilled Peaches with Ricotta, California Walnuts and Honey

Grilled Peaches with Ricotta, California Walnuts and Honey

Ingredients

Peaches
4 medium ripe peaches, halved, pit removed
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
Assembly
1/2 cup ricotta
1/2 cup California walnuts
1/4 cup honey
4 fresh mint sprigs

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Place walnuts (for marinade and salsa) on a baking sheet. Toast walnuts for 5 minutes. Remove from oven. Roughly chop when cool.
Peaches
2. Preheat grill to medium high heat. Clean and lightly oil your grill. Brush each peach half with oil (or spray with cooking spray) on both sides.
3. Grill peaches cut down for 4-5 minutes until grill marks form. Flip with tongs and grill another 1-2 minutes until peaches are slightly tender. Remove peaches from grill and place on a large plate.
Assembly
4. To serve, place two peach halves on a plate or in a small bowl. Top each half with ricotta and chopped toasted walnuts.

5. Drizzle with honey and garnish with mint. Serve warm.

Smoked Paprika-Spiced Corn Ribs with California Walnut Parmesan and Lime Crema

Smoked Paprika-Spiced Corn Ribs with California Walnut Parmesan and Lime Crema

Ingredients

Smoked Paprika-Spiced Corn Ribs
400g of yellow corn

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon smoked paprika, or more to taste
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Walnut Lime Crema
1/2 cup California walnuts
1/2 cup water, room temperature
Zest and juice of 1 small lime
Kosher salt, to taste

Walnut Parmesan

1/2 cup California walnuts, toasted and finely chopped (about 1/3 cup chopped)
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese, finely grated or nutritional yeast

Preparations

1. Preheat oven to 200°C. Husk your corn and halve it crosswise. Next, carefully quarter the corn lengthwise, and then again lengthwise to create your corn rib pieces.
2. Transfer your corn ribs to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Toss with olive oil, paprika, salt, and pepper. Transfer to the oven to roast, about 25 to 30 minutes, flipping halfway.
3. While the corn is roasting, make your crema. Combine walnuts and water in a high-speed blender container. Start the blender on low, then quickly increase the speed to the highest speed. Blend for 3 to 5 minutes until a very smooth consistency, scraping sides if necessary.
4. Mix in lime zest and juice and season with salt. Transfer to a container and cool over an ice bath. Store in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
5. Then, in a small bowl, toss together walnuts, parmesan cheese (or nutritional yeast) and parsley. Set aside.
6. To assemble, transfer roasted corn to a serving platter, drizzling over the lime crema and scattering the walnut parmesan over top.

Neka Sulaiman, daughter of HiLITE Group Chairman P. Sulaiman, has taken charge of the Group’s hospitality division as Director, HiLITE Holdings. She will lead HiLITE Group’s hospitality expansion, with a vision to develop 1,000 hotel keys across Kerala by 2030.

Neka Sulaiman, Director, HiLITE Holdings

Her appointment marks an important step in HiLITE Group’s next phase of growth, as the Group expands its presence beyond retail, residential, commercial and business infrastructure projects into the hospitality sector.

As part of the new vision, HiLITE Group plans to build a diversified hospitality portfolio across luxury, upscale and midscale hotel segments. Kozhikode is expected to be a key focus market, supported by the city’s growing business, tourism, healthcare and education ecosystem.

Speaking on her new role, Neka Sulaiman said the Group’s aim is to create hospitality destinations that become part of the city’s business, cultural and social life.

“This is the right time to strengthen Kozhikode’s hospitality landscape. Our target is not just about numbers, but about creating the right hospitality infrastructure for a growing city,” she said.

P. Sulaiman, Group Chairman, HiLITE Group, said Neka’s appointment reflects her commitment, character and willingness to take ownership.

“The true measure of a leader lies in character, judgement and responsibility. These are qualities I have seen in Neka over the years. I look forward to the fresh perspective she will bring to HiLITE Group,” he said.

Neka was associated with Hug a Mug, HiLITE Group’s home-grown café brand, during her educational period, gaining hands-on experience in operations, customer service and team coordination. She said the experience helped her understand business from the ground level.

Neka completed her schooling at The White School International (International Baccalaureate) and holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) degree. She has also completed CMA, strengthening her foundation in finance, management and business strategy.

With Neka taking charge, HiLITE Group aims to build a strong hospitality vertical that supports Kerala’s growing demand for quality hotel infrastructure while carrying forward the Group’s legacy through new-generation leadership. 

PNB MetLife India Insurance Company Limited (PNB MetLife) has been recognized by Great Place To Work® India among India’s Top 20 Best Companies to Work For 2026, strengthening its standing as one of the country’s most trusted and employee-centric workplaces. Ranked 16^th among leading organizations across industries, this recognition reflects PNB MetLife’s continued commitment to fostering a high-trust, high-performance culture where employees feel valued, empowered, and inspired to grow. This marks the third consecutive year that PNB MetLife has earned a place among India’s Top 20 Best Companies to Work For.
 

PNB MetLife recognized by Great Place To Work®
 

Commenting on this Balbir Singh, CEO, Great Place To Work®, said, “As we unveil India’s Best Companies To Work For 2026, we reflect on a journey that has, over decades, shaped how organizations understand and build workplace culture. In India, this study has become one of the most comprehensive workplace culture assessments, capturing the lived experiences of over 5.7 million employees across 20+ industries.
 

We observe that Best Workplaces outperform peers by scoring 89% on caring and inspiring, which are two of the nine key leadership behaviors as defined by Great Place To Work. Organizations that prioritize these behaviors see 14% higher experience of productivity, retention, and customer service scores. Leaders at Best Workplaces demonstrate that when people feel valued and heard, they bring their best selves to work.
 

I extend my heartfelt congratulations to PNB MetLife that has earned a place on this year’s list as well. This recognition belongs to every leader who leads with intent, every team that fosters belonging, and every employee who contributes to building a culture of trust. The journey to greatness starts with you.”
 

Commenting on the recognition, Sameer Bansal, Managing Director & CEO, PNB MetLife, said, “Our people are our greatest strength, and this recognition celebrates the culture they help create every day. Being ranked among India’s Top 20 Best Companies to Work For 2026 inspires us to raise the bar further and continue building a workplace where innovation, collaboration, and purpose thrive. As we grow, we remain committed to creating opportunities that empower our employees to achieve their full potential and make a meaningful impact for our customers, communities, and the stakeholders.”
 

Backed by 30 years of data, Great Place To Work is the global authority on workplace culture. Through its proprietary For All™ Model and Trust Index™ Survey, it gives organizations the recognition and tools to create a consistently positive employee experience. Its mission is to help every place become a great place to work for all, driving business growth, improving lives, and empowering communities. Through globally recognized and coveted Great Place To Work Certification™ and highly competitive Best Workplaces Lists, Great Place To Work enables employers to attract and retain talent, benchmark company culture, and increase revenue. Its platform enables leaders to truly capture, analyze and understand the experience of every employee, and compare outcomes with data collected from more than 100 million employees in 150 countries worldwide.
 

About PNB MetLife India Insurance Company Limited

PNB MetLife India Insurance Company Limited (PNB MetLife) is one of the leading life insurance companies in India that combines the financial strength of MetLife, Inc. with the credibility of PNB, one of India’s oldest nationalized banks. PNB MetLife’s positioning, Always Ready for Life, is demonstrated through empowering every individual to lead life with absolute confidence.
 

With a strong presence in 182 offices and access to customers in over 20,000 locations through bank partnerships, PNB MetLife offers a comprehensive insurance solutions portfolio covering Child Education, Family Protection, Long-Term Saving and Retirement. The company has a wide range of protection and retirement plans available through its sales channel of over 40,000 financial advisors and multiple bank partners and caters to over 585 group relationships in India.
 

For more information, follow us on:

Facebook – www.facebook.com/PNBMetLife

Instagram – www.instagram.com/pnb_metlife

Visit – www.pnbmetlife.com

Protinex India has launched a new integrated campaign “Strength hai toh simple hai”, a celebration of everyday strength that speaks directly to the millennial Indian adult. The campaign is rooted in an insight that is simple, sharp, and deeply felt: from 30s onwards, the body quietly begins to lose muscle strength, and most of us don’t get enough protein to keep up. The will to show up for work, for family, for life, never wavers. But when the body can’t match it, even the simplest things begin to feel harder than they should.

Protinex India launches its new integrated campaign, “Strength Hai Toh Simple Hai,” highlighting the importance of everyday muscle strength and protein nutrition

The brand film brings this truth to life with warmth and gentle humour. A mother comes home after a long day her young son spots her from across the room, lights up, and runs straight into her arms. She reaches down to lift him. And in that split second, something that should feel effortless, doesn’t. The film ends with a question that lands with quiet sharpness “Chhota kaam lage bhaari? Kahin muscle strength kam toh nahi ho rahi?” (Small tasks feel heavy? Could your muscle strength be slipping?). Before resolving into the ease and joy that everyday strength makes possible.

YouTube link: youtu.be/OwG9oUmmvio?si=FRkv27gGEHao-QQI

The campaign is anchored in Protinex’s core nutritional proposition: delivering 40% of the recommended daily protein intake per serving , + 25 Vital Nutrients for strong muscle health. A healthy adult requires 1.0 – 1.2g of protein per kg of body weight daily 1 (ref: Harris S, DePalma J, Barkoukis H. Protein and Aging: Practicalities and Practice. Nutrients. 2025;17(15):2461. doi:10.3390/nu17152461) and Protinex is designed to meaningfully bridge that gap as part of a balanced diet and healthy lifestyle.

The campaign goes live across a fully integrated media ecosystem, reaching 53 million consumers pan-India. The brand film has been produced in Hindi, Bengali, Telugu, Marathi, Odia, Tamil, Kannada, and English, and will air across 39 television channels spanning GECs, regional GECs, and movie channels with approximately 182 spots airing every day. On digital, the campaign activates across YouTube, Meta, JioHotstar OTT, Connected TV, and Mediakart. The brand is also exploring innovative consumer engagement initiatives that extend the campaign’s core thought into real-world experiences and will be announced soon.

Talking about the concept, Ms. Priyanka Verma, Marketing Director Danone India said: “Strength is often associated with extraordinary feats. But its most important role is far more personal. It’s what closes the gap between what you want to do and what your body lets you do. Through ‘Strength Hai Toh Simple Hai,’ we wanted to speak about that quiet, everyday experience, the moment something simple feels heavier than it should. Because when your body matches your will, life doesn’t just feel easier. It feels like you again.”

With its core vision of One Planet, One Health, Danone India is committed to fostering healthier lifestyles among its consumers and has initiated numerous endeavors in India towards this goal. The company is at the forefront of its sustainability agenda through the Danone Impact Journey, reflecting its dedication to positive environmental and societal impact.

About Danone India (www.danone.in)

In India, Danone started its nutrition business in 2012 through the acquisition of the nutrition portfolio from Wockhardt group. Danone India embodies a holistic approach, offering a full range of products across life stages under recognized brands like Aptamil, Aptagrow, Neocate, Protinex, Dexolac, and Nusobee.

Over the past few years, Danone India has demonstrated robust growth, continually expanding its portfolio and market presence. Danone India employs around 1,000 people, contributing to its dynamic workforce across its Factory in Lalru, Punjab and Head office in Mumbai, Maharashtra.

The company boasts capabilities across various functions, including operations, Research & Innovation (R&I), and sales, ensuring the delivery of high-quality products and services to its consumers, which are designed specifically tailored for Indian tastes and nutritional needs.

With its core vision of One Planet, One Health, Danone India is committed to fostering healthier lifestyles among its consumers and has initiated numerous endeavors in India towards this goal. The company is at the forefront of its sustainability agenda through the Danone Impact Journey, reflecting its dedication to positive environmental and societal impact.

The Government of Mauritius has made mental health a national priority for its schools and communities, launching a programme founded by India-born Dr. Ishan Shivanand and drawn from one of India’s oldest knowledge systems. His Excellency Mr Dharambeer Gokhool, President of the Republic, hosted the launch at State House. It is the first time a national government has adopted the programme, whose meditation and resilience practices have been validated in peer-reviewed medical research.

H.E. President Dharambeer Gokhool of Mauritius and Dr. Ishan Shivanand of Compassion Unites launch the national mental health programme at State House, 8 July 2026

“Mauritius is honoured to become one of the countries where this cross-sector alliance now takes root,” said President Gokhool. “Because ultimately, the strength of a nation is not measured only by its economic achievements or physical development, but by the wellbeing of its people. The true wealth of a nation lies not only in what it builds, but in how it cares for its people.”

Dr. Ishan Shivanand of Compassion Unites addresses delegates at State House in Mauritius, 8 July 2026

Raised in a monastery, Shivanand trained for years in ancient martial arts, breathwork, and meditation practices, a discipline of body, breath and mind rather than stillness alone. He codified what he had mastered into structured protocols and put them through clinical studies with leading universities in the United States. The results, published in peer-reviewed international medical journals, documented up to 80% improvement in symptoms of depression, anxiety and insomnia.

Shivanand’s protocols are already used in clinical and corporate settings internationally, including at Google. With the launch in Mauritius, a national government has adopted them for an entire population. The fact that this comes in a nation whose history and culture are closely bound to India gives it particular resonance. A practice preserved for centuries, carried into modern clinical use by the Indian-born practitioner who mastered it, is now being written into another country’s approach to national mental healthcare.

Dr. Ishan Shivanand said, “For too long we have treated mental health as a private battle fought in silence. It is a public emergency, now magnified by AI. The Republic of Mauritius has chosen to break that silence, prioritising the wellbeing of its citizens and making care accessible to every individual. The answers the world is searching for have been held in India’s contemplative traditions for centuries, and Mauritius is the first nation to put them to work at scale. What has begun here is a blueprint the world can follow.”

The programme’s first national event brings that resilience-building into practice through sport. Compassion Unites is staging a Kun Khmer championship at the Cote d’Or National Sports Complex that builds discipline and confidence in young people.

The launch at State House marks the start of a sustained national effort, one its founder intends as a model other governments can study and adapt. A tradition India has held for centuries is now being adopted, at the scale of a nation, beyond its borders.

About Compassion Unites

Compassion Unites is a cross-sector mental health alliance bringing together corporates, governments, faith institutions, academic centres, and community networks to expand access to mental health support worldwide. Learn more at compassionunites.com.

About Dr. Ishan Shivanand

Dr. Ishan Shivanand is an academic, philanthropist and founder of Compassion Unites. Raised in a monastery, he trained within one of India’s oldest knowledge systems before bringing its practices into modern clinical research. His work has been published in peer-reviewed international medical journals. An award-winning author of the USA Today national bestseller, The Practice of Immortality, he has been recognised by the U.S. Congress, received by the U.K. Parliament, and invited to the White House to advise on the opioid crisis. He holds research affiliations with the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Ropar and Stanford University.

Dr. Shivanand is available for media interviews and speaking engagements on mental health and the science of meditation.

For nine years, the Thessaloniki International Media Summer Academy never left home. This year, for its tenth, it did – relocating its opening leg to the lakeside town of Kastoria, some distance from the university that has run it since inception. The move is being framed by organizers as a bid to widen Aristotle University’s regional footprint across Macedonia. But it also sets the tone for an edition that seems intent on unsettling its own comfort zones, starting with the question at the centre of this year’s theme: “Unveiling Tomorrow’s Media: Challenges and Tools in Communication“.

THISAM celebrated its 10th anniversary by discussing “Unveiling Tomorrow’s Media: Challenges and Tools in Communication” during the first leg in the lakeside town of Kastoria, Greece

Convened by Professor Nikos Panagiotou and a consortium of 15 partner universities — among them Temple University, DW Akademie, Concordia University and Hong Kong Baptist University – the academy has drawn 71 participants from 19 countries this year: early-career journalists, scholars, NGO leaders and media executives, in Kastoria and Thessaloniki through July 10, with the student body alone stretching from Hong Kong to Montreal. It follows a two-day “Global Media and Culture” conference on July 1 and 2, and runs on a familiar academy format – keynotes, workshops, cross-border collaborations — applied to a less familiar set of anxieties. Day one opened with introductory remarks from Christos Frangonikolopoulos, Dean of the Faculty of Social and Economic Sciences at Aristotle University, before packing in a keynote on the future of media, a workshop on solutions journalism and rebuilding public trust led by Elira Canga of Arizona State’s Cronkite School, a hands-on project-building session with faculty, and a two-hour deep dive into what it takes to win attention in the digital era.

Artificial intelligence has been on THISAM’s agenda since 2018, but this year the conversation has shifted from novelty to consequence: what generative AI does to automated reporting and factverification, what it strips out of newsroom judgment, and where human oversight has to hold the line. Organizers have also flagged journalist safety as a growing concern this year, reflecting how often reporters worldwide are now expected to work in hazardous conditions. Alongside it sits a more grounded initiative — a media literacy pilot run in 35 Greek schools with the country’s Ministry of Education and General Secretariat of Information, now recognized by UNESCO as good practice, aimed at building critical thinking against misinformation at the point where it’s most absorbed: adolescence.

The Attention Question

The academy’s opening day in Kastoria produced its most talked-about session – a two-hour workshop titled “Winning Attention in the Digital Media Era,” co-led by Avinash Mudaliar, Co-Founder & CEO of HT Labs and CEO of OTTplay, alongside Jatin Malhotra, whose background spans product strategy, innovation and go-to-market roles at Oracle, Meta and Reliance Jio.

The pairing was deliberate. Mudaliar’s own account of his career, drawn from HT Media, OTTplay, Carvaan, Gaana and Slurrp, shaped the session’s central premise: that content, once the industry’s scarce resource, no longer is. (A less consumer-facing entry in that same portfolio: an AI search layer built over Hindustan Times’s own digital archive, turning a hundred years of the paper’s reporting into something fully searchable — one more example of the pattern he was describing, even if this one runs behind the scenes rather than in front of an audience.) Attention is — and attention, in the session’s own account, increasingly obeys the logic of algorithms, infinite scroll, streaming platforms and collapsing brand loyalty, not editorial merit. It’s worth noting that this framing comes largely from HT Labs’ own recap of the session, posted to its company channels; independent verification of how the room actually responded to the thesis is harder to come by.

Even by that account, though, the room turned it into a genuine two-way exchange. Rather than a lecture, the session unfolded as a lively back-and-forth — participants and faculty from the US, Europe and Asia weighing in with examples from their own media ecosystems, testing whether a model built for streaming and audio apps actually holds for news. The questions raised were pointed: why technically superior products routinely lose to ones that simply understand human behaviour better; whether audience attention can be built without resorting to clickbait; what, if anything, journalism should be borrowing from gaming and streaming design; how recommendation engines are quietly redrawing the lines of discovery, trust and choice; and why emotion, nostalgia, habit and cultural context so often outperform raw technological edge.

Underneath the specific questions was a deeper one for a room full of journalists: in a world of infinite content, what actually makes a person stop, care, remember and come back? Depending on who you asked, that question could read as a test of journalism’s claim on seriousness, or as a fresh case for why it still matters.

Beyond the Attention Discourse

The Mudaliar-Malhotra session may have been the most animated exchange in the room, but it wasn’t the only place the week’s central question surfaced. Day one’s proceedings appear to have opened with a keynote on the future of media and communication delivered by Shin D. Kim, a film professor at Hong Kong Baptist University — setting up, ahead of time, the very question the attention session went on to take up.

By day two, the programme had moved from theory into terrain that adds nuance to a purely attention economy reading of journalism, while also giving the tech optimists their say. Ludovic Blecher, Chairman of WhiteBeard and CEO of IDation, walked through a concrete case of AI implementation and the state of the wider AI ecosystem. Alongside that, Sherri Hope Culver of Temple University led sessions on pop culture, propaganda and media literacy, and on ethics and responsibility in a digitally diverse media landscape – framing audience capture as a phenomenon with a long, complicated history, not just a design challenge. Visual anthropologist and documentarian Dr. Dimitrios Bouras taught two sessions on the representation of war, conflict and humanitarian crises, and on collective memory in conflict reporting – precisely the kind of ground-level, high-stakes work that doesn’t reduce neatly to a scroll-and engagement model, however sophisticated the algorithm behind it.

Later in the run, two sessions carried the attention conversation toward more concrete ground. Niko Efstathiou, Editor in Chief of WIRED Greece, taught a session on wildfire misinformation – challenges, case studies and lessons for journalists – turning media literacy from an abstraction into a specific, highstakes local problem. Dejan Oblak of the University of Zagreb offered a complementary answer to the question Mudaliar’s session had opened up, with a session titled “Reimagining News for the Visual Generation,” an experimental case study in visual storytelling aimed less at chasing algorithms than at rethinking format for how younger audiences actually watch.

Those threads came together, at least on paper, only near the very end of the ten-day run. In Thessaloniki, journalist and Concordia University professor Aphrodite Salas taught a session on oral history as documentary practice, extending the craft-focused thread that had run through Silcock’s and Perišin’s own workshops earlier in the week. Faculty including Silcock, Perišin, Culver and Panagiotou then co-led a session explicitly titled “Trust and Democracy from the Agora to AI: America 250 and Fulbright Voices,” placing the AI question inside a framework of democratic trust rather than product design. Panagiotou then personally closed the academy with a session titled “The Future Is Yours: Global Media, Leadership, and the Careers Students Must Build Now,” followed by a graduation ceremony he led for a cohort that had spent ten days in discourse, across various registers, about what their profession is actually for.

What AI Can’t Do

That pull between efficiency and meaning ran through the rest of the day’s discussions too. Panagiotou himself has suggested that public discourse too often fixates on technological change at the expense of the journalists actually in the field – that real journalism isn’t about speed of information but the slower work of understanding it, interpreting it, and giving it meaning, something he maintains stays irreplaceable even in the age of AI. It’s a familiar line for an industry under pressure to prove it still matters. Placed alongside a session suggesting that attention – not truth, not accuracy – is the currency that decides what survives, it reads less like a settled answer and more like one voice in the wider, ongoing conversation THISAM 2026 is having with itself. The academy runs through July 10.