CHENNAI PLUS

Indian Community Welfare Organisation (ICWO) conducted the ICWO–Just Rights for Children (JRC) Tamil Nadu Project Induction Training Programme on 21st August 2026 at the ICWO Head Office, Anna Nagar West, Chennai. The Induction Training programme brought together the District teams from seven districts of Tamil Nadu — Chennai, Chengalpattu, Namakkal, Ranipet, Salem, Tiruvallur and Villupuram — to build a common understanding of the project objectives, child protection mechanisms, roles and responsibilities, performance expectations, financial procedures, documentation and reporting requirements. The programme commenced with a welcome address by Mr. A. J. Hariharan , Founder and Secretary, ICWO, who welcomed all the participants and highlighted the organisation's long-standing commitment towards the protection and welfare of vulnerable children and communities. Ms. Shekinah Sidkeenu, Programme Director , ICWO–JRC Project , also addressed the participants and provided an overview...

The stage is set, the mics are ready, and the hunt for Tamil Nadu’s next major singing sensation is officially on! As the globally iconic Indian Idol franchise makes its historic debut in Tamil, all eyes have been on who will take the coveted judges' seats. Now, the wait is finally over. Sony is thrilled to announce a star-studded, powerhouse trio who will mentor, critique, and champion the state's finest grassroots talent: legendary playback singer Karthik, the undisputed king of groove Benny Dayal, and versatile actress-singer Andrea Jeremiah. This trio brings the perfect balance of technical mastery, stage-shattering energy, and modern musicality to the panel. Sharing their excitement about joining the biggest musical reality show in the country, the judges conveyed their heartfelt wishes to the singers who will be coming for auditions: Karthik said, “Tamil Nadu has such a deep and diverse musical culture, and I am certain that Tamil Idol is going to uncover voices tha...

DePuy Synthes, a global leader in orthopaedic technologies and solutions, today announced a new initiative with the Department of Orthopedics at Christian Medical College (CMC), Vellore to create a specialized Orthopaedic Skill Lab at the college. The strategic partnership was extended with the aim of facilitating procedural simulation, instrumentation training, and increasing awareness of technology-assisted surgery for orthopaedic residents, fellows, and faculty. The lab provides residents and fellows with a structured introduction to modern orthopaedic tools, implant management, and surgical processes through saw-bone practice, faculty-led case discussions, and a gradual introduction to technology-assisted techniques, developing essential skills prior to or alongside live surgeries. Tamil Nadu hosts 78 medical colleges, making it one of India's largest hubs for medical training. As orthopaedic care advances towards greater specialisation and incorporates new technologies, So...

Chennai is all set to witness a musical moment as the first on-ground auditions of Tamil Idol begin on August 23. As the city opens its doors to aspiring singers from across Tamil Nadu, Vikkals Vikram and Pooja Venkat join the first season as hosts, bringing their energy and warmth to the much-awaited singing competition. Brought to Tamil audiences by Sony VIZHA and Sony LIV, Tamil Idol, with Super Judge A.R. Rahman at the helm, is set to discover and celebrate extraordinary voices from across the state. The Chennai auditions will be held at Velammal Vidyalaya Annexure, Mel Ayanambakkam, inviting aspiring singers between the ages of 14 and 30 to step forward and showcase their talent. As hosts, Vikkals Vikram and Pooja Venkat will meet contestants, hear their stories and be part of their experience as the auditions unfold across Tamil Nadu. Vikkals Vikram said, “Tamil Nadu is a land of incredible musical talent, and I am thrilled and honoured to be part of a platform that gives t...

Augmont Enterprises Limited has allotted 31,25,633 Equity Shares to 14 anchor investors at ₹788 per equity share (including share premium of ₹783 per Equity Share) aggregating ₹ ₹246.29 Crores, ahead of company’s proposed Initial Public Offer (“IPO”). The anchor book saw participation from a wide variety of investors, including Nomura Trust and Banking Co., HDFC Mutual Fund, Nippon India Mutual Fund, Tata Mutual Fund, Jupiter India Fund, Jupiter Global Fund, Lion Global Investment Funds, Edelweiss Life Insurance Company, Trust MF Flexi Cap Fund, Authum Investment and Infrastructure Limited, Ashish Kacholia’s Bengal Finance and Investment, Girik Multicap Growth Equity Fund, 360 ONE Alternates Asset Management / 360 ONE WAM and Societe Generale – ODI. Out of the total allocation of 31,25,633 Equity Shares to the Anchor Investors, 13,83,846 Equity Shares (i.e., 44.27% of the total allocation to Anchor Investors) were allocated to 4 domestic mutual funds, which applied through a total ...

Technip Energies India has welcomed its 2026 batch of new trainees reinforcing its commitment to nurturing future-ready talent and building a diverse, inclusive workforce that will positively impact the future of the energy industry. A key highlight of this year’s intake is the continued strength of diversity within the trainee programme. In alignment with global diversity roadmap, the overall young trainees’ diversity percentage stands at 63%, reflecting the company’s sustained commitment to creating equitable opportunities and attracting diverse talent into engineering careers.   Madan Chandrasekaran, Director, People & Culture, India, Technip Energies, said: “Our success begins with our people. Maintaining more than 60% women representation in our graduate hiring programme for three consecutive years reflects our commitment to creating opportunities where talent can thrive, lead and grow.” Selected through the company’s annual campus recruitment programme, all the 90...

Gleneagles Hospital Chennai, a part of the Fortis Healthcare Network, has successfully treated two elderly patients with rare and complex swallowing disorders through advanced endoscopic procedures, including a D-POEM for an Epiphrenic Diverticulum, which the hospital says is the first such procedure performed by a doctor in Tamil Nadu. In a significant case, a 73-year-old woman from Jayankondam, Ariyalur District , who had struggled to swallow food and liquids for nearly three years, was successfully treated for Achalasia complicated by a large Epiphrenic Diverticulum using Diverticular Peroral Endoscopic Myotomy (D-POEM ). According to Gleneagles Hospital Chennai, Dr. B. Mahadevan is the first doctor in Tamil Nadu to perform D-POEM for an Epiphrenic Diverticulum. The patient’s condition had worsened considerably over the preceding two months, with difficulty tolerating even liquids, frequent vomiting and significant weight loss. Investigations confirmed Achalasia with a large Epi...

On 20 August 2026 , as part of the ICWO–JRC 2026–2027 Project , a group of labourers was rescued in Chennai within half an hour of receiving the information shared through the JRC network. Among the rescued labourers, two were identified as children. The information was gathered by the AVA team in Bihar and promptly shared with JRC Partner ICWO , Chennai , enabling immediate intervention and rescue of a child labourer from Bihar who was found working in Chennai. Following the rescue, the child was counselled, produced before the Child Welfare Committee (CWC)and subsequently accommodated at a Government Boys Home in Kellys, Chennai , while the necessary age verification and legal processes are being undertaken. The successful intervention demonstrates the power of the JRC network and effective inter-state coordination, connecting information, rescue and child protection mechanisms across states. The ICWO Founder Secretary expressed appreciation to Mr.Natharsha Malim, State Coord...

Zetwerk, a technology-led, asset-light manufacturing platform for industrial and consumer goods in India and globally, has filed its Updated Draft Red Herring Prospectus (UDRHP) with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). The company aggregates manufacturing capacity across a network of third-party suppliers and its own facilities into a "universal factory," unified through Zetwerk OS, its proprietary technology backbone. Its customers span utilities, renewables, consumer electronics, artificial intelligence infrastructure, aerospace, space & defence, oil & gas and industrial automation. Zetwerk operates two reportable business segments: the Manufacturing Business, which enables customers to manufacture industrial and consumer products through its supplier network and own facilities; and the Ecosystem Business, branded Terra91, which aggregates and sources industrial commodities for customers. A third segment, Civil Infrastructure Works, was discontinu...

Blue Machines AI, an advanced enterprise-grade Conversational AI platform,  announced the launch of Floe, its proprietary context-aware language detection model, designed to help AI agents determine not only which languages a customer is using, but whether the customer actually intends to change the language of the conversation. Built for India’s multilingual communication patterns, the model currently supports English, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Gujarati, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Bengali, Odia, and Punjabi. In India, customers frequently combine English product names, financial terminology, acronyms, and business vocabulary with regional-language grammar. This everyday code-mixing can create challenges for conventional language-detection systems, which may interpret the presence of English words as a signal to switch the entire conversation to English. Blue Machines AI’s model is designed to distinguish between language presence and actual language preference. It analyses wor...

Swiggy India’s pioneering on-demand convenience platform, announced the rollout of its 24x7 AI Business Partner- Guru- a platform innovation specifically for its restaurant partners. This one-of-its-kind, AI Assistant is designed to empower Swiggy’s restaurant partners by enabling them to take data-driven decisions, optimize sales funnels, and resolve operational queries in seconds- all through an easy-to-use, single conversational chat. The interface is available in over 20 vernacular languages including Hindi, Kannada, Tamil, Assamese, Marathi, Punjabi, Bengali, Gujarati, Malayalam, and Telugu. Additionally, it can enable restaurant partners to manage their ads and discount campaigns as well as view their payout annexures in detail, including tax reports, and payout summaries. With Guru, Swiggy’s restaurant partners have a 24x7 AI assistant that can help them with a variety of tasks and queries aimed at simplifying day-to-day restaurant management. Restaurant partners can use Guru ...

Interio by Godrej, a leading furniture brand from the Godrej Enterprises Group, is transforming furniture shopping experience by combining personalisation, digital engagement and physical retail at scale. Its digital engagement tools have contributed to 6% improvement in conversion rates, as the brand integrates AI-powered recommendations, 3D visualisation, room planning and configurable furniture solutions across the customer journey. Interio's e-commerce business has grown 14x over the last three years and now contributes 15% to its furniture business. The brand has also expanded its delivery and installation network from 1,200 to 20,000+ pincodes, while enabling 24-hour delivery and installation across state capitals. Post rebranding, Interio has moved from a traditional product-led retail approach towards an experience-led model that connects physical stores, digital platforms and design consultations. The technology-led approach has been implemented across 137 stores using d...

Dun & Bradstreet today released its City Vitality Index (CVI) for Apr-Jun 2026. The Index tracks economic vitality across more than 800 districts nationwide using satellite-derived Earth Observation data and economic indicators. The findings ranked Pune as India's most vital metropolitan city, while South 24 Parganas was the strongest-performing emerging city. These results highlight how, while established metropolitan centres continue to anchor the economy, a growing number of emerging cities are contributing to economic activity across the country. Key findings include: Pune retained its position as India's most vital metropolitan city, leveraging its diversified strengths across IT services, advanced manufacturing, automotive industries, education, and innovation-led economic activity. Kolkata recorded the strongest growth momentum among metropolitan cities, signalling accelerating economic activity and investment potential, while Ahmedabad secured the second overa...

Swiggy Ltd. announced expanded leadership roles for three senior executives as its Instamart and Food Marketplace businesses continue to scale. Himavant Kurnala has been appointed Chief Growth and Product Officer – Instamart, Nitesh Garg has been appointed Chief Technology Officer – Instamart, and Saurav Goyal has been appointed Chief Operating Officer – Food Marketplace. Speaking about the leadership roles, Girish Menon, CHRO, Swiggy, said, "Swiggy has always believed that robust leadership comes from investing in our talent, grooming them and giving them a larger canvas to express. Himavant, Nitesh and Saurav exemplify this- each has moved across varied charters and been instrumental in scaling our businesses. Their expanded roles recognise what they have built, and, more importantly, offer an opportunity to take on larger challenges and shape what’s next for Swiggy." Himavant Kurnala, Chief Growth and Product Officer – Instamart Kurnala has led Instamart's Prod...

HCLTech, a leading global technology company, in partnership with Mobile World Live, a global telecom industry destination, unveiled findings from its Telecom Pulse Survey Report, highlighting an execution gap between telecom leaders’ AI ambitions and their readiness to deploy AI-native, autonomous and cloud native services at scale. Based on insights from nearly 200 senior executives across network operators, MVNOs, communication service providers (CSPs) and OEMs worldwide, the survey reveals that while 60% of telecom leaders see AI as a key driver of future revenue, only 25% believe their organizations are ready to operationalize AI at scale, preventing the essential shift from a telco to an AI-native TechCo. Persistent challenges around legacy infrastructure, cloud native modernization and skills continue to slow progress for the industry to be prepared for an AI-driven future. The findings also underscore mounting pressure on traditional telecom business models. Nearly 70% of r...

As part of its Independence Week celebrations marking India's 80th year of Independence, Axis Bank, one of the largest private sector banks in India, inaugurated 50 new branches across the country. The expansion reflects Axis Bank's continued investment in serving customers across diverse geographies and economic centres. As India continues its growth journey, wider participation in the formal banking system remains crucial to enabling greater economic progress. Spanning urban, semi-urban and rural markets, the new branches will bring a comprehensive suite of banking services closer to customers while complementing the Bank's technology-led banking ecosystem.   Located across West Bengal, Odisha, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Jharkhand, the branches are designed to deliver a seamless banking experience. Equipped with ATMs, accessible infrastructure, doorstep banking facilities and regional language support, they reinforce the Bank's f...

Sony Pictures Networks India (SPNI) unveiled  Sony VIZHA , the name and identity of its new Tamil general entertainment channel, set to launch in October 2026. Sony VIZHA marks SPNI’s entry into Tamil entertainment with a clear creative proposition: premium content that is deeply rooted in Tamil culture, emotion, language and lived realities, while being produced with the ambition, craft and scale to resonate well beyond its immediate market. The channel will bring together original fiction, global reality formats, movies and tentpole entertainment across television and digital, designed to feel intimate to Tamil households and expansive in its overall ambition. The name and logo were revealed on  Independence Day  through a rendition of Tamizh Thai Vaazhthu performed by children. The invocation holds a special place in Tamil Nadu and is sung at the beginning of important occasions across the state. Its imagery of Tamil pride spreading like fragrance in every ...