Latest news with #Varden
Time of India
15-05-2025
- Automotive
- Time of India
How an engineer-turned-entrepreneur is powering a cleaner future for Indian farming
In a country like India, where agriculture remains the backbone of the economy, the sector often lags in adopting modern tools , sustainable machinery , and digitalisation . Addressing this critical gap, one entrepreneur is quietly driving a technological revolution in the fields. A farmer by lineage and an engineer by profession, Yogesh Chaudhary has transitioned into entrepreneurship with his electric tractor startup, Varden Electric Tractors . Born and raised in a farming family, Chaudhary is intimately familiar with the challenges of Indian agriculture. With over 30 years of experience across both agriculture and the corporate world—having worked with firms like Bajaj Hindusthan and Reliance Infratech—he gained firsthand insight into the financial pressures on farmers and the operational inefficiencies of diesel-powered equipment. An engineering graduate from Dayalbagh University with an MBA in HR & Marketing, Chaudhary returned to his agricultural roots with a new mission: to make farming more efficient, affordable, and environmentally sustainable. 'Farmers today face rising cultivation costs and shrinking profits. I knew we had to design something not just cleaner but smarter,' Chaudhary told ETAuto. To address these challenges, Chaudhary founded Varden Electric Tractors, offering eco-friendly, high-tech electric tractors designed for multiple sectors including agriculture, brick manufacturing, mining, and logistics. Unlike traditional diesel models, Varden's tractors feature: High torque electric drivetrainsTwo-wheel and four-wheel drive optionsFaster pickup and lower maintenanceADDC rear lifting assembly and front hydraulic liftCrop reaper attachmentsCompact and lightweight design for small farms 'This is not just a tractor—it's a solution built from the ground up for our farmers,' Chaudhary emphasized. The company's compact series—C25, C33, and C39—caters specifically to small and mid-sized farms, combining affordability with advanced functionality. Varden's tractors are built in-house at two manufacturing units in Rajkot and Jewar, with Jewar supporting the bulk of production. According to the company, this vertical integration cuts tractor costs by 40–45% compared to competitors. Currently producing 2,500 units annually, Varden plans to ramp up capacity to 9,000 units by FY2027. The startup has already secured 250+ pre-orders, thanks to its competitive pricing and strong value proposition. Varden operates on a B2C model, offering two-day user training and rapid after-sales service, which has helped build a loyal customer base. Its distribution network spans Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Haryana, Chhattisgarh, and West Bengal, with plans underway to expand into international markets such as Mexico, Canada, Australia, and South Africa. While the company has made notable progress despite limited government support, Chaudhary remains optimistic about the future of electric tractors in India. 'Electric tractors are not just about fuel savings—they represent a smarter, more sustainable way forward for Indian agriculture,' he said. For Yogesh Chaudhary, this venture isn't just a business—it's a mission to empower farmers, reduce their input costs, and bring comfort and innovation to the fields where India's food story begins.
Telegraph
29-03-2025
- General
- Telegraph
Sacred Mysteries: Contemplating wounds by which we are healed
In a short book for Lent, Erik Varden, the Leicestershire monk who was made bishop of Trondheim, has employed an unexpected method. His title is Healing Wounds, and this must chime with the ambition of most readers to find an answer to troubles, whether a bad back or a bad temper. The author's approach is Christocentric, and he takes for his epigraph 'By his wounds we are healed', a quotation from Isaiah. Perhaps it was in a book by Joseph Ratzinger, before he was Pope Benedict XVI, Behold the Pierced One, that I was struck by the continuing presence of the wounds of Christ in his resurrected body. They are there in the Gospels, confronting Thomas after his doubts. One might have thought they would no longer be visible, but they are. And it must be true that Jesus, the one who has been wounded, also retains the knowledge of the psychological wounds that his death on the Cross entailed. Anyway, Bishop Varden considers wounds and their healing by contemplating an ancient poem about the wounds of the body of Christ. The poem used to be attributed to St Bernard, a star of the Cistercian order of monks to which Bishop Varden belongs, but it is thought more likely to be by a Cistercian abbot active a century later, in the first half of the 13th century, Arnulf of Leuven. The 370-line poem, in 74 stanzas, which begins Salve, mundi salutare, 'Hail, salvation of the world', takes each of seven wounds in turn, not only the five wounds of the hands, feet and side, but also the knees, breast and face of Christ. It is when we reach the last, towards the end of the book, that we realise that the text there was the source for the moving lines set to music by Bach in the St Matthew Passion: O Haupt voll Blut und Wunden, 'O sacred head, sore wounded'. But initially there is an obstacle to appreciating a meditation on this poem – which is that we may well find the suffering and crucifixion of Jesus repellent and horrific. Bishop Varden makes his task one of showing that wounds are not the end of the story, but he does not deny the painfulness of the events expressed by the words 'Passion and Cross'. Though, in the Gospel according to St John, the Cross is called glorious, Bishop Varden makes the point that the Lamb of God is said to take away the sins of the world, not by dispelling them at a stroke, but by taking them upon himself, picking them up and carrying them. As he sets about contemplating the wounded body of Jesus on the Cross, I was put in mind of a mural in Florence. It is in the cloister of the Dominican friary of San Marco, where Fra Angelico left a transcendent series of frescoes. The cloister mural depicts Christ on the Cross, below which kneels St Dominic as though he was present in the scene, embracing the wood of the Cross streaked by the blood of Christ. Bishop Varden performs a similar task to Fra Angelico, with the help of Arnulf's verses, which he translates himself. He also links the events of the Crucifixion with their liturgical reenactment before Easter each year. The Crucified is not just 'Jesus of Nazareth', the man that Pilate saw, he is also our 'Holy God, holy and strong, holy and immortal', as it is put in the Trisagion, words of the Good Friday liturgy preserved in Greek from the earliest times. In taking part in the devotions of Good Friday, people peacefully acknowledge the suffering by which no life is untouched, while putting their trust in being loved.
