Latest news with #Talwar
Hindustan Times
28-05-2025
- Business
- Hindustan Times
Russia-built stealth frigate ‘Tamal' to be commissioned into Navy in June-end
New Delhi: India's latest stealth missile frigate, Tamal, is expected to be commissioned into the Indian Navy at the Yantar Shipyard in Kaliningrad, Russia, by the end of June, officials familiar with the development said on Wednesday. The frigate, which is expected to reach India's west coast in September, will be boosting the country's maritime power in the Indian Ocean region, an official, requesting anonymity said, adding that it will be part of the navy's Mumbai-based Western Fleet. Tamal is part of a $2.5-billion deal with Russia for four more Krivak/Talwar class stealth frigates for the Indian Navy, two of which were to be constructed at the Yantar shipyard and the remaining two at the Goa Shipyard Limited (GSL) with technology transfer from Russia. The first frigate under the deal, INS Tushil, was commissioned into the navy last December at the Yantar Shipyard and reached the country in February. It was commissioned in the presence of defence minister Rajnath Singh, who described the warship as a 'proud testament' to India's growing maritime might and a 'significant milestone' in the long-standing friendship between the two countries. Tushil and Tamal are upgraded Krivak III class frigates of Project 1135.6, and six such vessels are already in service --- three Talwar class ships, built at Baltic shipyard in St Petersburg, and three follow-on Teg class ships, built at the Yantar shipyard. These frigates have an indigenous content of around 26%, double that of the previous Teg-class frigates. This includes contributions from 33 firms including Bharat Electronics Limited, BrahMos Aerospace (an India-Russia joint venture), and Nova Integrated Systems (a fully owned subsidiary of Tata Advanced Systems Limited). The new frigates are armed with a range of advanced weapons, including the BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles, Shtil surface-to-air missiles with enhanced range, upgraded medium-range anti-air and surface guns, optically controlled close-range rapid fire gun system, torpedoes and rockets.
Time of India
19-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
ICS 2025: Communicating a corporate rebrand to stakeholders
Nearly five months ago, the insurance arm of Axis Bank and Max Life Insurance united to form Axis Max Life Insurance , a merger designed to harness the strengths of both entities to enhance customer trust and service quality. The unified brand identity embodies a promise of double protection and care, while maintaining operational independence and driving sustainable growth. At the India Communication Summit 2025, Rahul Talwar, EVP and CMO, Axis Max Life Insurance, delivered a compelling standalone address focused on communicating a corporate rebranding. Talwar opened the session with a historical overview of Max Life Insurance. He stated: 'Max Life Insurance had been a challenger brand for 24 years. We held a strong presence in urban and tier-one markets, and we continue to operate as an omnichannel brand with both proprietary channels and partnerships. Over the years, we've recognised that trust is paramount in this industry. To strengthen this trust, Max Life Insurance, before its brand refresh, focused on infusing emotion and proprietary value into its approach. We built our platform around a concept we call "bharosa", which served as our foundation. However, our opportunity lies in expanding into tier-two and tier-three markets, and for that, we needed to refresh our brand.' Comparing the brand refresh strategy to a cricket match, Talwar described how the brand returned to the fundamentals, symbolised by the first five letters of the alphabet: A, B, C, D, E. 'A stands for ambition, B for brand, C for our core focus, our customers, the heart of everything we do. D represents our distributors, as life insurance blends B2C and B2B dynamics. Finally, E signifies our employees, the torchbearers of our brand,' Talwar noted. As part of its expansion strategy, Max Life Insurance engaged with stakeholders and uncovered a key insight: 'Ek se bhale do' (two is better than one). Talwar elaborated, 'The essence of "Ek se bhale do" lies in our long-standing partnership with Axis Bank, our corporate distributor in the life insurance sector since 2010. In 2021, Axis Bank became a co-promoter, strengthening our joint venture under Max Financial . This partnership gave us access to the vast Axis franchise, a hidden asset we could leverage. During the brand refresh, the sentiment of "Ek se bhale do" resonated deeply with all our key stakeholders.' The tagline 'Bharosa, now doubled' resonates strongly with young families, encapsulating three key dimensions. First, in modern families, both parents now share the responsibility of nurturing and securing their loved ones, reflecting the values of shared duty in today's households. Secondly, 'double' signifies the powerful partnership between two trusted experts, Max Life Insurance and Axis Bank, combining their subject-matter expertise. Thirdly, the idea of 'double' is deeply woven into India's cultural fabric, visible in everyday traditions, such as the joy of sharing food, where two is always better than one. To unveil its brand refresh, Max Life Insurance, in partnership with Axis Bank, launched a dynamic 360-degree campaign, leveraging MarTech and strategic collaborations. On launch day, a partnership with Swiggy brought the campaign to life, with delivery riders embodying the iconic Jai-Veeru duo, riding bikes with flags showcasing the new brand identity. The campaign further amplified its reach through a vibrant influencer strategy, engaging audiences around the idea of 'double' to reinforce the refreshed brand narrative. 'To ensure our brand refresh resonated, we engaged our audience through focus groups and one-on-one discussions to gauge their understanding of the rebranding from Max Life to Axis Max Life Insurance. The response was positive. Pre- and post-campaign sentiment analysis across all stakeholder groups, consumers, customers, distributors and employees, revealed strong approval, and we achieved a 99% hit rate in reaching our target audience,' Talwar concluded.
Hindustan Times
13-05-2025
- Business
- Hindustan Times
Mundra drug haul: SC refuses bail but says NIA terror financing allegation speculative
New Delhi, The Supreme Court on Tuesday called NIA's terror financing allegation against a Delhi-based businessman held in the ₹21,000 crore Gujarat's Mundra Port drug haul case as "premature" and "speculative" even as it rejected his bail plea. A bench of Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh said while the National Investigation Agency invoked the stringent anti-terror law UA and broadly linked the smuggling enterprise to trans-national syndicates with suspected affiliations, there was "no compelling reason" to currently link Harpreet Singh Talwar alias Kabir Talwar and the proscribed terror outfits within or outside the country. "We deem it necessary to clarify that, at this stage, it would be premature and speculative to extend the allegations against the appellant to the domain of terror financing. While the prosecution has invoked provisions of the UA and has broadly linked the smuggling enterprise to trans-national syndicates with suspected affiliations, there is no compelling reason to currently link the appellant and proscribed terrorist organisations, either within or outside the country," it said. The evidentiary foundation to sustain such a grave allegation must be clear and compelling — something that can be seen only after a substantial portion of evidence is led by both the parties, the court added. "We are not inclined to enlarge the appellant on regular bail at this stage. He shall be at liberty to renew his plea for regular bail after a period of six months, or at a stage where the ongoing trial has progressed substantially," it held. The NIA, on the other hand, was ordered to submit to the special court an additional list of witnesses who, in its assessment, were sensitive or material, in other words, whose testimony could have a direct bearing on the role of the appellant or co-accused in the case. "The special court is directed to list the matter twice in a month and record the statements of prosecution witnesses on a continuous and uninterrupted basis," it directed. The bench said if the presiding officer of the special court was not designated so far, the Gujarat High Court chief justice would "do the needful" within a week. The top court clarified its order was not on merits of the case and without prejudice to the trial proceedings. The charge against Talwar must be evaluated in light of his alleged meetings in Dubai with a principal foreign accused; the transfer of documents through intermediaries for the clearance of a flagged consignment; efforts to retrospectively fabricate invoices and assign responsibility to others; the use of multiple firms allegedly connected to him to obfuscate the true nature of the transactions and his telephonic calls to certain co-conspirators, the bench said. "These aspects, supported by the statements of protected witnesses and circumstantial linkages, currently meet the threshold of prima facie satisfaction regarding the appellant's complicity," it said. Talwar was said to be accused of serious charges, which allegedly carry grave societal ramifications, including the facilitation of cross-border drug trafficking — an offence with well-documented links to organised crime and public health degradation. "The seizure in the connected consignment is part of what the prosecution claims to be the largest heroin bust in Indian history, valued at over INR 21,000 crore. The scale and sophistication of the operation, involving foreign syndicates, shell firms, medical visas, and false documentation, elevates this case far beyond routine NDPS violations," the top court noted. On April 23, the top court reserved its verdict on the bail plea after the NIA said the proceeds of sale were used for funding terror activities of Lashkar-e-Taiba. Talwar, who ran popular clubs in the national capital, was arrested by the agency in August, 2022, in what is termed as the biggest drug haul in the country.
Indian Express
13-05-2025
- Indian Express
Mundra port drug haul: SC junks bail plea of accused
Taking into account factors like 'flight risk' and 'risk of witness tampering or elimination', the Supreme Court Tuesday rejected the bail plea of an accused facing charges under UAPA for his alleged role in the smuggling 2,988.21 kg of heroin worth over Rs 21,000 crore from Afghanistan to India. Opposing his bail plea of Harpreet Singh Talwar alias Kabir Talwar, a Delhi resident, the NIA had said the narcotics was trafficked to India 'disguised as legal imports in the form of 'semi-processed talc stones and bituminous coal' and 'the proceeds… sent back to the consigners, who used these funds for funding terrorist activities of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT)'. It said that 'the narco-traffickers were located in Afghanistan and were sending heroin via Iran and Pakistan to India (with help of ISI & Iranian middle men)'. In September 2021, the DRI had intercepted the heroin consignment at Mundra port and NIA took over the probe. As per the investigators, a total of 6 consignments were imported in India, sent by the same consigners from Afghanistan. The one intercepted at Mundra was the 6th consignment. Talwar was arrested by NIA in August 2022. A bench of Justices Surya Kant and N K Singh said that 'the appellant faces serious charges, which allegedly carry grave societal ramifications, including the facilitation of cross-border drug trafficking… The scale and sophistication of the operation, involving foreign syndicates, shell firms, medical visas, and false documentation, elevates this case far beyond routine NDPS violations'. The bench, however, said that 'at this stage, it would be premature and speculative to extend the allegations against the appellant to the domain of terror financing'. 'While the prosecution has invoked provisions of UAPA and has broadly linked the smuggling enterprise to trans-national syndicates with suspected affiliations, there is no compelling reason to currently link the appellant and proscribed terrorist organisations, either within or outside the country. The evidentiary foundation to sustain such a grave allegation must be clear and compelling — something that can be seen only after a substantial portion of evidence is led by both the parties,' it said. The bench also took note that 'multiple key witnesses still remain to be examined, and the trial while underway, will take time in completion. Out of 24 most vulnerable or material witnesses, two have died, and two others are untraceable. One of the deceased witnesses, a retired customs officer, was found dead on the very day he was scheduled to record his statement under Section 164 CrPC. The risk of witness tampering or elimination — whether directly attributable to the appellant or not — is a real and present concern that militates against the grant of bail at this stage.' The SC also directed the special court to list the matter twice in a month and record statements of prosecution witnesses. The court gave Talwar liberty to renew his bail prayer after six months or upon substantial advancement in the trial, whichever is earlier. It also asked the NIA to submit to the special court an additional list of witnesses who, in its assessment, are sensitive, or material, inasmuch as their testimony may have a direct bearing on the role of the accused or other co-accused in the ongoing trial and probe.
The Hindu
13-05-2025
- The Hindu
Mundra port drug haul: SC dismisses bail plea of Delhi-based businessman
New Delhi The Supreme Court on Tuesday (May 13, 2025) dismissed the bail plea of a Delhi-based businessman held in the ₹21,000 crore Mundra port drug haul case. Also read: Drugs worth ₹11,311 crore seized in 19 cases from ports in five years, Centre tells Lok Sabha A Bench of Justices Surya Kant and N. Kotiswar Singh, however, granted liberty to accused Harpreet Singh Talwar alias Kabir Talwar to approach the court after six months for bail. The Bench termed the allegation of terror financing against Talwar as premature and directed the special court to list the matter twice in a month for expeditious conclusion of trial in the case. On April 23, the top court reserved its verdict on the bail plea after the National Investigation Agency (NIA) said the proceeds of sale were used for funding terror activities of Lashkar-e-Taiba. Talwar, who ran popular clubs in the national capital, was arrested by the agency in August, 2022, in what is termed as the biggest drug haul in the country. On September 12, 2021, some containers arrived at Mundra Port from Afghanistan via Iran, filled with bags full of semi-processed talc stones. Based on intelligence inputs, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence checked the containers on September 13, 2021 and some of the bags were found to contain heroin, eventually leading to the recovery of 2988.21 kilogram of heroin worth of ₹21,000 crore. Investigators later found that it was the sixth and last consignment which was intercepted. Several people, including Afghan nationals, were arrested in connection with the case.
