CHENNAI PLUS

Ask any young parent in India what dinner with a small child looks like these days, and the answer is rarely a conversation. It is a plate of food in one hand and a phone or remote in the other, the television already on before the first bite is taken. A 2025 AIIMS study on screen use among toddlers in Haryana found that letting a child use a device during meals was one of the two strongest predictors of excessive screen time in early childhood, and that one in ten parents admitted to using a screen simply to get their child to eat at all. The struggle isn't getting children to eat. It's getting them to look up while they do. It also happens to be the season when this matters most. Children across the city are settling back into school, trading stories about new classmates, new teachers, new friends made over the break, all the small collisions that come with starting a year afresh. It's exactly the stretch when they come home with the questions that are harder to answer ...

The Indian Institute of Technology Madras has announced the commencement of a new student accommodation project with a groundbreaking ceremony held on its campus. The facility, being developed in partnership with Elevate Campuses Limited, is expected to strengthen the Institute’s residential infrastructure and cater to the evolving needs of its growing student community. The hostels will be designed, built and operated by Elevate Campuses Limited, one of India’s largest institutionalised and independent education infrastructure platform focused on owning, operating and managing on-campus student accommodation and K-12 assets. The proposed facility will accommodate more than 1800 PhD students and project staff, in two blocks and is expected to be completed by mid-2028. The hostels will provide fully furnished, air-conditioned rooms equipped with essential amenities. In addition, the student accommodation complex will offer dedicated study areas, recreation zones, pantry facilities, sp...

With schools reopening across the country, kitchens are once again buzzing with an age-old morning ritual: packing lunchboxes before the school bell rings. But today's lunchbox looks very different from a decade ago. Alongside traditional favourites, parents are increasingly reaching for convenient foods that balance taste, quality, and nutrition. Tapping into this seasonal shift, Noice, a premium food brand dedicated to reviving authentic recipes through small-batch craftsmanship, has launched a specially curated Back-to-School Range featuring spreads, juices, dips, yogurts, cookies, protein snacks, and pantry staples designed for busy mornings, recess breaks, and after-school hunger pangs. The range is available across Bengaluru, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Pune, and Chennai. Bringing together everyday essentials and kid-friendly favourites, the collection includes Peanut Butter & Jam, Mango, Orange, Pomegranate and Litchi Juices, Coconut Water, Avocado Dip, Yogurt (Regular and Pr...

Lava International Limited, India’s leading homegrown smartphone brand, today introduced the Smart series with the launch of Smart 4 Plus, a "No Tension Phone" designed for young users seeking a stylish, reliable, and smooth mobile experience at an accessible price point. The device combines long-lasting battery life, and user-friendly features, making it an ideal choice for everyday communication, entertainment, and productivity.The smartphone is priced at INR 9,999 and is available across Lava retail outlets. Commenting on the launch, Mr. Sumit Singh, SVP and Head of Product, Lava International Limited, said, “Smart is a new series added in the portfolio to cater to the under 10k category. Design, durability and battery are three key parameters for this segment, and we have ensured the new Smart 4 Plus delivers on these areas. Catering to the key pain points of Indian users, Smart 4 plus is built to withstand India’s weather conditions, superior network with Band 28 suppo...

HCLTech, a leading global technology company, has expanded its collaboration with Google Cloud and ServiceNow to deliver AI agents for enterprise adoption on the Gemini Enterprise platform. The launch coincides with HCLTech’s sponsorship of the Sydney Google Cloud Summit 2026. Building on HCLTech’s recently launched Gemini Enterprise business unit, the latest collaboration brings together advanced ServiceNow AI capabilities, enterprise workflow orchestration and industry expertise to enable organizations to deploy and scale AI in real business environments. HCLTech will introduce enterprise AI solutions on Gemini Enterprise that combine Gemini’s advanced AI capabilities with ServiceNow’s workflow platform - anchored in ServiceNow’s Blueprint for Agentic Business, a framework for structured, outcome-driven AI adoption. This includes a next-generation Factory Shop Floor Assistant, which delivers real-time operational intelligence to manufacturing environments, enabling faster decisio...

Gleneagles Hospital Chennai, a part of the Fortis Healthcare Network, has successfully performed India’s first adult lung transplant using lungs from a pediatric donor, offering a new lease of life to a 39-year-old woman from West Bengal suffering from advanced Rheumatoid Arthritis-Associated Interstitial Lung Disease (RA-ILD). The patient had been battling RA-ILD for the past six years. The progressive condition, associated with rheumatoid arthritis, causes severe scarring of the lungs and significantly impairs breathing. Despite ongoing medical treatment, her condition deteriorated steadily, with her oxygen requirement increasing from 1 litre per minute to 8 litres per minute. This severely impacted her quality of life and ability to carry out routine daily activities. The patient approached Dr. Govini Balasubramani, Director, Heart & Lung Transplant, Gleneagles Hospital Chennai, supported by Dr. Sindhura Koganti, Senior Consultant - Pulmonology, Interventional Pulmonology an...