CHENNAI PLUS

The Indian Community Welfare Organisation (ICWO), along with several partners, held an Inter-Collegiate AIDS Gaana Song Dance Competition on December 23, 2025, at C. Kandaswami Naidu College for Men in Chennai. The event aimed to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS, promote prevention, and reduce stigma through the medium of Gaana music and dance. Students from multiple colleges in Chennai participated enthusiastically, combining social messages with cultural expression. The competition was opened by Mr. PMJF M. Selvakkumar from the Lions Club of Chennai Golden Friends and Dr. V. M. Muthuramalinga Andavar, the principal of the host college, along with members of the CKNCAA. The prize distribution ceremony featured notable attendees including Thiru. M. K. Mohan, the local Member of Legislative Assembly, Tmt. R. Seethalakshmi, I. A. S., Project Director of the Tamil Nadu State AIDS Control Society, and Dr. Dilip Mathai, Director of Medical Education at Naruvii Hospitals. Thiru. M. K. Moha...

ESDS Software Solution Limited, one of India’s leading sovereign cloud and data center companies,  announced a strategic partnership with , the developer database platform for critical applications in our AI world. This collaboration marks the launch of Couchbase’s world-class, cloud-native distributed NoSQL Database as a service (DBaaS) to Indian enterprises, hosted securely on ESDS’s Sovereign Cloud infrastructure . With this launch, ESDS enables businesses across BFSI, Government, Manufacturing, Telecom, and Enterprise sectors to deploy, scale, and manage modern applications faster — while maintaining complete data sovereignty, security, and compliance with Indian regulations. Unifying Global Technology with Sovereign Cloud Couchbase is engineered for performance, speed, flexibility, and operational efficiency . Through ESDS’s Cloud, the platform delivers active-active availability, memory-first speed, and built-in security , allowing enterprises to power mission-critical...

PowerUp Money, a mutual fund advisory wealthtech platform, today announced that it has raised $12 million in Series A funding , led by Peak XV , with participation from existing investors Accel, Blume Ventures, and Kae Capital , who doubled down on their earlier commitments. The round also saw continued backing from 8i Ventures and DevC, and comes just six months after the company raised $7.2 million in seed funding. India has witnessed a sharp rise in mutual fund adoption over the past decade, with nearly 60 million investors now participating in mutual funds and SIP inflows at an all-time high. However, access to high-quality, unbiased investment advice has not scaled at the same pace. Many investors continue to rely on informal advice or short-term performance indicators, often resulting in suboptimal long-term outcomes. Founded in 2024 by Prateek Jindal, PowerUp Money is building a research-led, zero-commission mutual fund advisory platform to make high-quality, unbiased invest...

Chennai  —  HCLTech , a leading global technology company, announced that it has joined the Microsoft Discovery platform, an advanced agentic AI platform designed to accelerate scientific breakthroughs. As part of this collaboration, HCLTech will participate in deep technical onboarding sessions with Microsoft’s Discovery team to align platform architecture, partner collaboration models and explore joint go-to-market opportunities. Following onboarding, HCLTech will take part in projects to accelerate solutions in areas such as chemistry and materials science, drug discovery and semiconductor design, leveraging its strong domain expertise across industries. Through the Discovery initiative, HCLTech joins a select group of research institutions and tech innovators shaping the next frontier of innovation. The Microsoft Discovery platform empowers R&D teams to conduct large-scale data processing and simulation, automate workflows and accelerate scientific innovation to tackle...

As India’s manufacturing, logistics, and warehousing sectors scale rapidly, RenTRUST, a rental arm of Material Handling Equipment business of Godrej Enterprises Group (GEG), inaugurated a Forklift Training Center in Bhosari, Pune. Spanning 2,000 sq. ft., the facility is designed to build a future-ready workforce by equipping youth with industry-relevant skills, strengthening workplace safety, and enabling inclusive employment. As an industry leader, this initiative reinforces GEG’s commitment to nation-building by creating future-ready skills, enabling inclusive employment, and powering India’s industrial growth .   Reinforcing GEG’s focus on diversity and inclusion, the program offers a 50% training fee concession for women candidates, expanding access to skilled roles across the industrial workforce. To date, the Material Handling Equipment business has trained and certified over 3,500 operators, improving employability and driving higher safety and productivity standards at cust...

  HCLSoftware, the software business division of HCLTech, today announced its intent to acquire Jaspersoft, a business unit of Cloud Software Group and provider of a leading embedded analytics and pixel-perfect reporting platform. HCLSoftware’s Data & AI division ( Actian )  is seeing increased demand for its metadata management, data catalog and data governance solutions and has demonstrated good growth over the last five years, driven by enterprise data management solutions . The acquisition will further enhance Actian’s proposition by enabling an end-to-end, immersive data management experience, while expanding reach through a large, global developer community comprised of data engineers and architects actively building, deploying and extending data platforms across the modern enterprise environment.   Jaspersoft provides a comprehensive business intelligence and reporting platform that enables organizations to create pixel-perfect reports, interactive dashboa...

 HCLSoftware, the software business division of HCLTech,announced its intent to acquire Wobby, an early–stage startup providing AI Data Analyst ‘Agents’ for data warehouses, based in Antwerp, Belgium.   HCLSoftware’s Data & AI division ( Actian ) is seeing increased demand for its metadata management, data catalog and data governance solutions and has demonstrated good growth over the last five years, driven by enterprise data management solutions. Adding Agentic AI Data Analyst capabilities will further enable customers to interact with their raw data and get fast and accurate business insights on demand.   Wobby provides AI Data Analyst ‘Agents’ that enable users to query complex datasets through a natural language interface and receive actionable insights instantly. The solution is powered by a proprietary semantic layer and agentic architecture that interprets business context, automates complex workflows and delivers high-quality analytical output at scale, compl...

On 17/12/25, Chennai Traffic District of All India BSNL Pensioners' Welfare Association celebrated the Pensioners' day in a meaningful manner. Our District Association has contributed ₹ 10000/ to the Little Drops home and ₹ 10000/ to the Karapakkam All The Children Trust.  The "Little Drops" home near Porur where nearly 450 destitutes are taken care of by the Trust. In the morning a group of members went to the Little drops home personally and greeted the inmates. Really it was a touching experience to meet the helpless aged people. As we are part of SCOVA, we participate in such social activities and our members are very much supportive and encouraging. In the evening we conducted a special meeting at our Palavanthangal office premises under the presidentship of Com.S.Sampathkumar and in the presence of Com.V.Ramarao TN Circle Advisor with more than 80 members participating. The Chief guest Com.M.Duraipandian working President of Confederation of CG Employees, GS C...

Gopal Vittal has led Bharti Airtel as Managing Director CCEO for the last thirteen years. As part of a structured succession process, Gopal, in addition to being the Managing Director, was appointed Vice Chairman of Bharti Airtel Ltd in October 2024. Shashwat Sharma was appointed CEO designate of the Company. In line with the planned succession, Gopal Vittal will move into the role of Executive Vice Chairman of Bharti Airtel on the 1 st of January2026 overseeing Bharti Airtel and all its subsidiaries. Following a well-structured and successful transition process, Gopal will be succeeded by Shashwat Sharmaas MD and CEO of Bharti Airtel India on the1st of January2026 . Additionally, Soumen Ray , currently the Chief Financial Officer for Bharti Airtel India, will be appointed as Group Chief Financial Officer reporting to Gopal. AkhilGarg , currently Financial Controller, Bharti Airtel will be appointed as Chief Financial Officer for Bharti Airtel India. RohitPuri , currently Jo...

A Prayer Meeting was organised in Mumbai to honour the memory of Gopichand P Hinduja, late Chairman of the Hinduja Group, who recently passed away. The Prayer Meeting was attended by Captains of the India Inc, friends from the Political world cutting across party lines, members of the diplomatic corps, and several leading film personalities.  Glowing tributes were paid to Shri GP Hinduja about his multi-faceted personality by Spiritual Leaders like Chidanand Saraswati of Parmarth Niketan, close associates, etc. Notable singers like Anuradha Paudwal, Nitin Mukesh, and Mohit Lalwani sang GP Hinduja’s favourite bhajans and songs picturised on his dear friend, the late Raj Kapoor.

 Neo Asset Management, the asset management arm of Neo Group, today announced the launch of the India All-Cap Core Equity Fund, an open-ended, multi-manager Fund of Funds (FoF) anchored in GIFT city’s Category III AIF framework. The fund has been designed specifically for global investors seeking efficient access to India’s long-term growth story and combines broad market exposure with deep research capabilities. The fund operates within the GIFT City framework and is designed to be tax-efficient for offshore investors. Certain income streams may qualify for exemptions under Section 10(4D) of the Income Tax Act, subject to eligibility conditions and regulatory compliance.   The Neo India All-Cap Core Equity Fund aims to raise USD 100 million, and is open to eligible individuals as well as institutional investors, offshore institutions, non-resident Indians, dual citizens who qualify as non-residents of India, and high net worth individuals and family offices. The minimum inves...

  HCLTech , a leading global technology company,  today announced that it has been selected as a strategic partner by ASN Bank (formerly de Volksbank), the fourth-largest retail bank in the Netherlands.   As part of its new strategy ‘Simplify and Grow’, ASN Bank aims to modernise and standardise its IT architecture, which will involve consolidating IT services, simplifying the vendor landscape and building a future-ready organisation. Under the multi-year agreement, HCLTech will support ASN Bank’s enterprise applications, and streamline services through a distributed delivery model to enhance efficiency and customer experience.   Michel Ruijterman, Chief Information Officer, ASN Bank: “By signing this agreement, HCLTech’s proven track record in delivering scalable, innovative solutions tailored to the financial services sector means we can now confidently press on with streamlining our business by reducing the number of existing products and aligning the underlying p...

For the longest time, the idea of Christmas has been shaped by Western films, music and classic carols. It grew and spread alongside the reach of popular culture itself. Christmas in popular culture has long been defined by snow-covered streets, elaborate décor, gift-filled trees, overflowing dinner tables and families gathered in picture-perfect settings. But that narrative rarely reflects how Christmas is experienced everywhere. In most of India, nuclear households mean lives built in ci ty high-rises, often far from hometowns, where flatmates, friends and colleagues become family. A “white Christmas” only happens if we're hill-bound, and large gatherings are more often replaced by video calls and shared moments across screens. Yet, these shifts have opened the door to a different kind of celebration, one that is deeply personal and full of heart. Recognising this shift, Godrej Vikhroli Cucina, the culinary owned media property of Godrej Industries Group , has unveiled “Jingl...

  ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India (AM/NS India) has been awarded the prestigious Best Innovator Award at the National Energy Conservation Awards (NECA) 2025, organised by the Ministry of Power and implemented by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE). The award was jointly presented by the Hon’ble President of India, Smt. Droupadi Murmu, and the Hon’ble Minister of Power, Shri Manohar Lal Khattarat Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi on Sunday. On behalf of AM/NS India, the award was received by Mr. Baiju Masrani, Chief of Hot Metal Delivery at Hazira plant in Gujarat. The event also marked National Energy Conservation Day 2025 celebrations. The NECA is among India’s highest recognitions for energy efficiency; it recognises achievements across seven categories, including innovation. AM/NS India was selected in the Energy Efficiency Innovation – Industry category for its Steel Making Plant-2 project (SMP-2) at the Hazira plant. The award is a tribute to AM/NS India’s leadership in decarbonis...

Cognizant  announced the launch of its Next-Gen Cyber Defense Center (CDC) in Bengaluru. This center is key to the company’s worldwide CDC network and isCognizant’slargest facilitydesigned to deliver advanced AI powered platform centric cybersecurity managed services, engineering and transformation services to clients globally . Cognizant has a strong cybersecurity practice with longstanding experience, driven by seasoned professionals with deep expertise. At the Bengaluru CDC, these specialists aim to provide round-the-clock monitoring and rapid response to security incidents, supporting clients across diverse industries and geographies. The center features an integrated threat research lab, supported by strategic alliances with leading technology companies. “Cybersecurity is entering a new era where hyper-connected enterprises and AI-driven threats outpace traditional defenses,” said Ravi Kumar S, CEO, Cognizant . “Our new Cyber Defense Center in Bengaluru reflects our commit...

HCLTech , a leading global technology company, and Aurobay Technologies, a division of Horse Powertrain and a global leader in hybrid and low-emission powertrain solutions, have expanded their digital transformation partnership to support Aurobay’s global growth strategy.   The expanded partnership establishes HCLTech as Aurobay Technologies’ trusted partner for managing and optimizing SAP, Siemens Teamcenter PLM software and integration services in Sweden and China. This will unlock cost efficiency, operational resilience and digital innovation across Aurobay’s manufacturing and engineering functions by leveraging HCLTech’s flagship service transformation platform,  AI Force.   The engagement spans core business functions including SAP operations, engineering systems, integration services and mainframe environments, reinforcing Aurobay’s focus on scale, efficiency and seamless operations across global locations.   “Horse Powertrain’s division Aurobay Technologies’s ...

NSE Academy Limited (NAL), a subsidiary of the National Stock Exchange of India Ltd., has partnered with  HCLTech , a leading global technology company, to deliver a series of joint certificate programs in technology and finance, aimed at equipping students and professionals with future-ready skills for the evolving digital economy  landscape in banking, insurance, financial markets and fintech across India and the Middle East and South Asia (MESA) region.   Bringing together the strengths of both organizations, the partnership will enable organizations and universities to nurture a future-ready workforce by providing access to industry-leading, ready-to-deploy programs that fuse curriculum from Finance and Fintech with data and AI. Learners—from university students to working professionals—will experience programs on Fintech, Risk, Banking, Capital Markets, AI, Cybersecurity and Data Engineering, powered by HCLTech’s  Career Shaper™  platform.   By combini...

Galaxy Health Insurance , India’s youngest standalone health insurer promoted by TVS Family Mr Venu Srinivasan and the family of industry veteran Mr V. Jagannathan, today announced the launch of Galaxy Twin 360 , a first-of-its-kind engaging health insurance programme for young adults aged 18–45 years. The product comes with three plans: Core, Max & Ultra, which integrates comprehensive inpatient (IPD) protection, high-value outpatient (OPD) benefits and wellness services, addressing a key challenge in long-term health insurance adoption and retention. Urban Indians spend an average of ₹ 15,000 to ₹ 20,000 annually on OPD services such as doctor consultations, pharmacy, and diagnostics. At the same time, a significant number of young adults lapse their policies after the first year, largely because hospitalisation events are rare and premiums are perceived as money spent without tangible return. Galaxy Twin 360 addresses this behavioural gap by allowing policyholders to use OP...