Who is Lavji Daliya? Surat businessman buys India's first Tesla Cybertruck, people call him ‘Badshah'
Over the past week, a Tesla Cybertruck has become a point of focus for Surat residents, with the vehicle being spotted on roads and causing immense excitement.
According to a report by The Indian Express, the vehicle, imported directly from Dubai, has been bought by a Surat-based businessman named Lavji Daliya.
The Tesla Cybertruck bought by Lavji Daliya is claimed to be the first such in India under Tesla's limited edition Foundation Series.
Daliya's son Piyush told Indian Express that the car was first such in India.
'This cybertruck is the only one in India, as per what we checked online. There is no such car imported to India,' he was quoted as saying by the newspaper.
Piyush also said that they got the delivery of the car a few days ago.
'We booked this car six months ago at the Tesla Showroom at Texas in the US,' he said.
According to the report, the base price of the Tesla Cybertruck in Surat is claimed to be ₹ 60 lakh.
Here is all you need to know about Lavji Dahiya, the Surat-based businessman who brought India's first Tesla Cybertruck.
Lavji Daliya, popularly known in Surat as Lavji Badshah, is a real estate mogul from the city. According to The Financial Express, Lavji Badshah also is a diamond merchant and power loom owner based in Surat.
Lavji Daliya earned the title of Badshah from the people of Surat due to his philanthropic work.
Lavji Badshah is the owner of the Gopin Group, which comprises a real estate business called Gopin Developers, non-profit agency Gopin Foundation and investment company Gopin Ventures.
'Gopin Group is dedicated to creating a lasting impact through our diverse portfolio of companies, organisations, and foundations. From innovative business ventures to impactful humanitarian projects,' as per the website of the company.
The intro of his Facebook profile says, 'Lavjibhai D. Daliya is famous with the name - 'BADSHAH' in Gujarat due to his social service'.
He also has a photo with PM Narendra Modi on his Instagram.
According to his LinkedIn profile, Lavji Daliya attributes his success to his qualities like onesty, gratitude and forgiveness.
'His belief in uplifting society has the potential of contributing to the development of a nation. Helping hand & savior to multiple people at the same time makes him Badshah in everyone's life,' it adds.
First Published: 27 Apr 2025, 10:54 PM IST
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
12 minutes ago
- Business Standard
India remains key strategic market for global brands: Myntra CEO Sinha
India continues to be a strategic market for both global and domestic brands, said Myntra CEO Nandita Sinha. She made the remarks after attending the NRF 25 retail event held in Singapore from 3 to 6 June. Following the e-commerce major's launch in Singapore on 19 May, Myntra Global has reported growing user engagement, a healthy average order value and a notable share of returning customers. Singapore launch 'With the launch of Myntra Global in Singapore, we're also laying the foundation for our global foray, with a long-term aspiration to serve the Indian diaspora beyond India,' Sinha said. The company in May said that it aims to assess consumer preferences, selection patterns and brand traction before planning wider expansion. Initial targets include reaching 12–15 per cent of the Indian consumer base in Singapore. The Walmart-owned company is currently targeting the 650,000 Indians living in Singapore. Sinha noted that the company's India-based platform had already recorded around 30,000 users from Singapore prior to the launch. 'We're tapping into opportunities around festivals, weddings and occasions with our brand portfolio, spanning Indian fashion and home décor,' Sinha had said in May. 'For now, our focus is on learning, getting product–market fit right and then expanding.' 'At less than 15 per cent, e-fashion in India is still significantly underpenetrated compared to global benchmarks, presenting a tremendous opportunity,' she said. Sinha added, 'The new-age insurgent brands are tailoring their value proposition,' while highlighting the Indian market's rising importance. Customer segment A key focus for Myntra is the Gen Z customer segment, which interacts with fashion differently and expects a customised shopping experience. 'The aspirational Indian shopper is trading up across beauty, accessories and occasion-wear, and Myntra, as one of India's leading e-lifestyle destinations, is well poised to cater to the aspirational and evolving customer needs,' Sinha said.
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
27 minutes ago
- Business Standard
Airtel urges RBI, NPCI and banks to collaborate on digital fraud fight
Bharti Airtel has approached around 40 banks, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), seeking collaboration to establish a collective database of known fraudulent financial domains. Airtel expressed support for regulatory discussions and offered assistance to the RBI in framing mechanisms to ensure that over-the-top (OTT) platforms are held responsible for consumer protection in financial communication, according to a PTI report. The company has also proposed launching joint awareness campaigns to inform the public about evolving tactics in digital fraud and to promote secure digital practices. On 15 May, Airtel introduced an artificial intelligence (AI) based security platform designed to block fraudulent websites in real time, aiming to prevent digital scams targeting users. In a regulatory filing, Airtel stated that the service is the first of its kind globally. The platform has been launched in Haryana and will be expanded to other parts of India in due course. According to Airtel, the solution is compatible with multiple communication platforms, including WhatsApp, Telegram, Facebook, Instagram, emails, web browsers and SMS. Collaboration with NPCI In a separate communication to NPCI, Airtel suggested a partnership to improve the safety of the country's digital payment infrastructure. The telecom operator proposed that awareness initiatives use the combined outreach of Airtel and NPCI to educate users on secure online behaviour, identifying phishing threats and protecting against new digital fraud methods. It also suggested workshops to develop and commercialise anti-fraud solutions to help reduce financial fraud cases. In the communication, Airtel Vice Chairman and Managing Director Gopal Vittal wrote to NPCI MD and CEO Dilip Asbe: 'The NPCI has been deploying AI-based models that offer an advanced real-time Fraud Risk Monitoring and Management solution that generates alerts and allows banks to detect and prevent fraud across all online NPCI products.' Airtel outlined specific proposals in its 16 May letter, including: 'Closer collaboration between Airtel and NPCI to create a repository of known fraudulent financial domains, enabling proactive blocking of these malicious sites and creating a multi-layered defence against digital fraud.' Airtel said its fraud detection technology, which restricts access to malicious websites and phishing links at the access point, could complement NPCI's existing systems. The telecom stated: 'Additionally, during these programmes as well as our overall telco acquisition and experience, we believe that we have strong signals that could lead to identification of potentially fraudulent transactions or users.' It also recommended joint awareness efforts and workshops to build fraud resistance in the digital payments ecosystem. 'Through this collaboration, NPCI, Airtel and the banking sector can collectively create a more robust and resilient framework for reducing fraud and building greater confidence in India's digital financial services. Airtel remains committed to doing its part and would be happy to provide further technical details and explore how we can work together with the NPCI to enhance the security and integrity of India's digital payments ecosystem,' the letter said. RBI partnership In a separate letter to RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra, Vittal acknowledged the central bank's initiatives, including its work with regulated entities and the Reserve Bank Innovation Hub (RBIH) on the system. Vittal wrote: 'This powerful AI-based system has already demonstrated its ability to identify mule accounts used to route illicit funds. By analysing user behaviour and transaction patterns, banks can now flag and disable suspicious accounts more efficiently, thereby disrupting fraud at the transactional layer.' He added: 'Airtel believes that our fraud detection solution can complement these efforts by stopping fraud at the very first step: the moment a user attempts to access a malicious site.' 'Airtel remains committed to doing its part and would be happy to provide further technical details and explore how we can work together with the RBI in this critical fight against digital fraud,' Vittal stated. OTT cyber risks The company also raised concerns about security risks associated with OTT platforms. It said replicating the protection level of SMS on OTT platforms is 'impossible' because detecting and blocking fraudulent links on these platforms is more difficult compared with websites. Airtel also noted the absence of traceability, compliance obligations and regulatory access within OTT platforms. 'In this context, and in light of the ongoing RBI consultation on additional factor authentication (AFA) for digital payments, we wish to emphasise that financial transactions must continue to be conducted over secure telecom networks. Telecom networks offer a level of protection and oversight that OTT platforms currently lack, thereby helping to mitigate fraud risks and enhance overall consumer safety,' Vittal wrote. Banking industry Airtel's collaboration proposals received positive feedback from both private and public sector banks. Previously, Airtel had approached Reliance Jio and Vodafone Idea to propose a joint initiative against telecom fraud, aimed at addressing scams targeting users through telecom networks. In those letters, Airtel cited data showing that over 1.7 million cybercrime complaints were recorded in the first nine months of 2024, with financial losses exceeding ₹11,000 crore. The company urged all telecom providers to jointly work to combat fraudulent and deceptive practices targeting individuals.
Mint
34 minutes ago
- Mint
The US economy is headed toward an uncomfortable summer
The U.S. economy, which weathered false recession alarms in 2023 and 2024, is entering another uncomfortable summer. Job growth held steady in May, with the economy adding 139,000 jobs. The unemployment rate has stayed in a tight range, between 4% and 4.2%, over the past year. But there are cracks beneath the surface. Businesses are warning that constantly shifting trade policies are interfering with their ability to plan for the future, leading to hiring and investment freezes. Policy uncertainty has unfolded against the backdrop of an economy with slower job growth and a cooling housing market. Compared with last year, the Federal Reserve is more reluctant to cut interest rates because officials are worried about new inflation risks. John Starr, the owner of UltraSource, an importer and manufacturer of meat-processing technology in Kansas City, Mo., said he is hunkering down—no hiring, no more capital spending—until he has clarity on tariffs. 'We're going to be very careful about any cash expenditure' amid uncertainty on tariffs, says John Starr, owner of UltraSource. The company is waiting for suppliers in Europe to finish work on $20 million in orders it placed before 10% tariffs took effect on April 9. That means he faces a $2 million levy if tariffs stay at that level. 'How am I supposed to pay this?" said Starr, a third-generation owner of the company. 'That could wipe out profits for a year." Whether the economy again bends, rather than breaks, turns on how the U.S. consumer handles the latest curveball—this time from President Trump's desire to reorder America's trading relationships and reduce reliance on imported goods. For months, the president has announced one large tariff increase after another, at times wavering from escalation to temporary resolution. 'Where this goes all depends on what Trump decides to do next, and candidly, even Trump doesn't know what Trump will do next," said Christopher Thornberg, founding partner at Beacon Economics in Los Angeles. 'So it's almost impossible to see where this thing is heading." Economists largely agree that for the U.S. economy to slide into recession, the American consumer needs to falter. 'As long as the consumer is doing OK, it's not going to change our world," said Ric Campo, chief executive of Camden Property Trust, a Houston-based developer and owner of 58,000 apartment homes. Most economists think the prospects of a recession are higher than they were at the beginning of the year but lower than in April and early May, when tariffs on China had been increased by 145%. The U.S. agreed to roll back the tariff increase to 30% last month. Most other nations face 10% tariff increases, with higher rates on dozens of countries paused until early July. Three risks loom large. • First, the U.S. labor market has been in an uneasy equilibrium where companies aren't hiring but are reluctant to fire workers that they hustled to find three or four years ago. Like a beach ball that shoots skyward after being held underwater, joblessness can quickly jump once companies decide demand is too soft to keep those workers. 'It starts with one large firm. Then competitors might say, 'Well, listen, we have to do the same,'" said Gregory Daco, chief economist at consulting firm EY. Bill Hutton, president of Titan Steel, a Baltimore-based distributor and processor of mostly imported steel for products such as paint cans, said he is going to 'err on the side of caution" when it comes to reducing the size of his workforce. Having worked so hard to staff up, he said, he is 'very, very leery of making assumptions that, 'Oh, we can dial up or down our workforce at a moment's notice.' " • Second, consumers could finally push back against rising costs, forcing companies to tighten their belts. Delinquency rates on consumer debt have been on the rise for a year, raising fears that deteriorating finances for low-income borrowers could lead to a more pronounced slowdown in consumer spending. For the housing market, the spring sales season has been a bust. The U.S. market now has nearly 500,000 more sellers than buyers, according to real-estate brokerage Redfin. That is the largest gap since its tally began in 2013. Home prices could fall 1% this year, said Redfin economist Chen Zhao. 'The market has been at rock bottom for the last 2½ years and there was some hope that we'd get a little bit of a turnaround this year. And it's just actually been worse than expected," said Zhao. • Third, financial-market shocks or abrupt sentiment changes remain a wild card. The Fed reduced short-term interest rates by 1 percentage point last year, providing a measure of relief to borrowers with credit cards or variable-rate bank loans. Officials hit pause on rate cuts this year amid concerns that tariffs might create new inflation risks. Longer-term borrowing rates, which aren't set by the Fed and which influence many borrowing costs such as mortgages, have been elevated as investors around the world pay more attention to how governments will finance rising deficits in the years to come. Any sudden and sustained rise in borrowing costs could spill over to the stock market, hurting companies' earnings and making stocks less attractive. Lofty asset prices have supported business investment and high-income consumer spending. For many companies, the uncertainty triggered by Trump's sudden and seemingly arbitrary announcements of tariffs has upended the outlook for sales this year. Starr, at UltraSource, orders equipment that has a lead time measured in months. Because those products are made to each customer's specifications, Starr can't resell them if clients refuse to eat the cost of the tariff. 'I have to take action now," Starr said. 'We're going to be very careful about any cash expenditure just because we need that cash to pay the tariff." White House officials have said they are confident the president's approach will lead to better trading relationships. 'In order to get another country to eat the burden of the tariffs, we have to have a credible threat to move our supply chains across the border…It can take some time to make that threat credible," Stephen Miran, chairman of the president's Council of Economic Advisers, said in an interview. Miran said he couldn't produce a forecast for inflation this year because 'we're still waiting for policy details to be fully fleshed out right now." He also said businesses would benefit from a tax-cut package moving through Congress. Starr, who said he has already racked up $300,000 in unanticipated expenses because of tariffs, said the prospect of business tax cuts is of little use if his profits are zeroed out from tariffs. He said he doesn't object to paying a 20% tariff on prospective orders as long as he has certainty the duty won't suddenly change after he has negotiated purchase orders with customers and vendors. Steel and aluminum tariffs, which Trump this past week raised to 50% from 25%, could boost domestic metal producers while squeezing profits for carmakers, can manufacturers, and companies such as Titan Steel. Hutton, the steel company's president, said customers have been understanding about accepting some price increases because his competitors have also had to raise prices. 'It feels like we're muddling through," he said. 'Nobody—neither us, nor our customers, nor our overseas supplier—is in any position to do any long-term thinking." The Fed aggressively raised rates in 2022 and 2023 to combat inflation. But the U.S. economy was insulated because many households and businesses had already refinanced at ultralow rates during the pandemic. Later, the economy benefited from an unexpected boom in capital spending on artificial intelligence. Any pullback could be abrupt. 'It's very rare that you have a technology shock of this sort that doesn't lead to overbuilding," said Jason Thomas, chief economist at private-equity manager Carlyle Group. Some companies have held back from raising prices now until they can see how tariffs settle out. 'They just said, 'We cannot take the risk of souring relations with our customers, with our suppliers, over a policy that in two months' time may not even be in place,'" Thomas said. He expects businesses eventually will have to pass along some cost increases, however, because they will have depleted inventories acquired at pretariff rates. One tailwind—recent declines in energy prices—could help offset some of the inflationary impulses from tariffs. While the president often gets undue credit for what goes right or wrong in the economy, this time could be an exception. 'The economy has a lot of momentum, and so if Trump truly backs off on tariffs and just calms down, you could see this expansion going another two, three years, honestly," said Thornberg of Beacon Economics. 'Then again, if he keeps rocking the boat, you can blow it up by the beginning of next year."
