Latest news with #Vashisht
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
6 days ago
- Automotive
- Business Standard
VinFast lines up big India plans; TN plant to start production on August 4
From Shimla in the north to Kochi in the south, a wave of 'curiosity' seems to be driving footfalls to VinFast India's dealership doors. As the Vietnamese giant gears up to start production at its Thoothukudi unit in Tamil Nadu from Monday, dealers said its premium electric SUVs — VF6 and VF7 — have seen interest from all over the country. Amid the media attention over its rival Tesla, industry experts said that VinFast is one of the most calculated entries by a foreign automobile company in India during the last six years. It is after South Korean major Kia and Chinese state-owned carmaker MG Motor's entry in 2019. However, what makes VinFast's debut special is its line-up of retail outlets panning across the country, in addition to its foray into charging infrastructure through subsidiary VinGreen. 'In Himachal Pradesh, curiosity over the products and their making is bringing us a lot of queries,' said Rajinder Vashisht, managing director (MD) of Devbhoomi Group, who is planning to come up with three outlets in the state. 'We are getting non-stop queries about the car, its performance, and mileage. VinFast is a trusted brand, and we are also planning to come up with charging stations across 12 districts,' Vashisht told Business Standard. Devbhoomi is already the biggest dealer of Hyundai Motor in Himachal Pradesh and also handles Skoda. The Thoothukudi plant is the first dedicated electric vehicle (EV) manufacturing unit by a foreign company in India. Though the pure-play EV player is yet to divulge any numbers, the company may set up around 1,000–1,500 charging stations in its initial phase. On July 8, the company had a meeting with all its dealers in Gurugram, and inauguration of retail outlets has already been happening in various cities. The cars are expected to be up for sale from the middle of August. Down south in Kochi, people's queries are more about the pricing. 'We are yet to inaugurate the showroom and started display only two weeks back. Still, we got more than 1,500 queries,' said Jimmy Jose, part of the EVM Group that is opening outlets in Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram, and Kozhikode. This is in addition to around 100 charging stations. 'We are a price-conscious market, and hence, it is the most critical part. We expect them to be competitively price, as the Indian market is seeing an EV boom. It is a serious player creating an entire ecosystem,' Jose added. VinFast India aims to launch 35 dealerships by year-end, across more than 27 cities. Besides Kia Motors and MG Motor, other major entries into the Indian market in recent times are Chinese major BYD in 2021, Tesla in 2025, and Datsun in 2013 (exited in 2022), among others. When Kia launched in India (backed by Hyundai), it had more than 150 outlets. Similarly, MG Motor also had more than 60 outlets. 'For any company looking into India's mass market, 35 is an average number. All its (VinFast's) dealers are big. Whether it will have enough products and at competitive prices is a question that can be seen with time,' said C S Vigneshwar, president of the Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (Fada). The current interest of global players is similar to the wave in the early 2000s, when companies like Renault (France), Nissan (Japan), and German majors Audi and Porsche entered the Indian retail race almost at the same time, said an industry expert. On Saturday, Pham Sanh Chau, chief executive officer (CEO) of VinFast Asia, inaugurated an outlet promoted by Maansarovar Motors in Chennai, its largest showroom in India. 'We aim to redefine the EV ownership journey — combining sustainability, technology, and world-class service. This marks not just a retail milestone, but a meaningful step towards co-creating a greener, smarter, and future-ready India,' Chau said. In Andhra Pradesh, too, customer interest is rising with each passing day. 'We are getting the majority of queries from youngsters. They are attracted because of the design and aggressive digital media marketing,' said Bhagat Singh of Sri Sri Automobility, which is planning to come up with two outlets in Vijayawada and Visakhapatnam. 'People are awaiting the pricing announcement now,' he added. Customers can also book their preferred VinFast SUV through the company's official website, for ₹1,000. As part of its India market entry, the company has formed strategic partnerships with RoadGrid, myTVS, and Global Assure to establish a nationwide network for charging and after-sales services.
India Today
25-07-2025
- Entertainment
- India Today
Documentary on Mani Kaul
The colourist for Mita Vashisht's film Mani Kaul and That Thing Called The Actor had been trained to colour-correct films based on genre; noir would be darker, rom-coms sunnier. When he asked Vashisht what the genre of her film was, the esteemed actor-turned-filmmaker had no answer. 'My film is not a conventional documentary with talking heads,' says Vashisht. 'It is like a poem. It is an exploration of Mani Kaul's ideas on acting, which I discovered when I starred in the lead role of Hindustani classical singer Siddheshwari Devi in his film Siddheshwari. Like Mani, a master of cinematic language, who composed his frames himself, I, too, got the colours and frames I wanted during the making itself. So, I had to tell the colourist, just watch the film, you don't have to do much.'
Economic Times
07-07-2025
- Business
- Economic Times
BPM companies tap growing demand from GCCs to expand
TIL Creatives Business process management (BPM) companies such as Genpact, WNS and Sutherland are seeing increasing opportunities in global capability centres (GCC) as a key customer segment, where they can help establish and scale up operations at these centres as well as drive their digital is assembling a dedicated team and planning to appoint a GCC leader for India for focused engagements with this segment. Sutherland has seen a 25-30% year-on-year increase in enquiries for digital transformation projects with GCCs. WNS has done more than 25 projects with GCCs so far and expects these collaborations to increase. BPMs have been pivoting from purely back-office cost-outsourcing firms to more technology and artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled transformation partners. This aligns closely with the evolving needs of GCCs as they seek greater operational efficiencies and innovation, experts said. Despite concerns around insourcing by GCCs eating away business for the IT/BPM industry, executives believe there is ample room for collaboration and are optimistic that the build-operate-transfer (BOT) and shared hybrid operating models that are picking up pace are 'win-win' and enable 'coexistence'.'Most enterprises adopt a hybrid model that leverages the strengths of both,' said Keshav Murugesh, group CEO, WNS. 'GCCs allow for a deeper cultural connect with the parent organisation, and companies like WNS bring deep domain expertise, innovative technology, ready talent, cost efficiency and shared investments in transformation tools.'The company is providing end-to-end services to GCCs ranging across the design of the future state operating models, consolidating operations into a single centre, talent acquisition, transition as a service, managed services and infrastructure set-up, he Vashisht, chief growth officer, Genpact, said the firm's investments in advanced technologies such as generative AI and agentic AI are the kind of capabilities GCCs are looking for as they evolve into innovation engines for global enterprises.'While we've worked with GCCs in the past, we're now bringing the full power of Genpact behind this opportunity, with a formal, programmatic approach, clear leadership and dedicated teams in the market,' Vashisht the past year, Genpact has made a strategic pivot toward 'service-as-agentic-solutions'. For GCCs, it seeks to support the entire lifecycle, from upfront strategy and consulting to advanced capabilities in agentic AI, data and process Anand, SVP & global head — digital business services, Sutherland, said that some GCCs are also exploring joint innovation and joint go-to-market collaborations leveraging the firm's digital & AI teams to serve their end-clients. Mid-market GCCs, which are relatively resource-constrained and less familiar with the Indian landscape, present a significant opportunity, as they seek to partner for turn-key set-ups tapping into the experience and expertise that firms like Sutherland bring, he said.'We have configured (our capabilities and services) in a way that we can execute not only turn-key programs but also flexibly bring consulting, legal, tax and infrastructure services during the set-up phase; transition, operations and program management services during the scaling phase; and our digital, analytics and AI enablement teams during the transformation phase," said pressure from rising labour costs, inflation and foreign exchange volatility is making traditional BPO models unsustainable, said Rajesh Ojha, partner and GIC/GCC market segment leader, PwC India. 'In response, BPM firms are shifting toward higher-value, GCC-aligned services like FP&A, analytics and digital ops—offering better margins and deeper client stickiness,' he now prefer models with lower operating costs amid high global interest rates, fuelling demand for assisted GCCs on vendor infrastructure, or 'GCC-as-a-service'. Further, Ojha said, regulatory developments—whether data laws or protectionist shifts–-are pushing enterprises toward compliant, captive GCCs, positioning BPMs as 'managed capability partners' who can enable secure, IP-protected set-ups. Elevate your knowledge and leadership skills at a cost cheaper than your daily tea. Did Jane Street manipulate Indian market or exploit its shallowness? Just before the Air India crash, did India avert another deadly mishap? How Balrampur Chini, EID Parry are stirring up gains amid melting sugar stocks Second only to L&T, but controversies may weaken this infra powerhouse's growth story Stock Radar: Poly Medicure stock looks attractive for short-term gains; still down 30% from highs Stock picks of the week: 5 stocks with consistent score improvement and return potential of more than 29% in 1 year Capital market stocks: Some corrections are opportunities, 5 stocks with potential downside to upside from -20% to +24% Skepticism & multibaggers: 15 stocks where element of skepticism is high, need is basic & now policy direction is right
Hindustan Times
02-07-2025
- Hindustan Times
Custodial death: Sought quashing of criminal proceedings: HC junks Bathinda cops' plea
The Punjab and Haryana high court on July 1 vacated a stay order granted to a petition filed by five Bathinda police personnel in a case of an alleged culpable homicide. The five police personnel had filed a petition in the HC on March 17, seeking the quashing of criminal proceedings initiated by a Bathinda district court on various grounds. (Getty Images/iStockphoto) After hearing a petition by the accused Punjab police inspector Navpreet Singh and others, justice Sanjay Vashisht stated that the court 'does not find any irregularity in the order passed by the magistrate (of Bathinda district), and, therefore, observe that the impugned order has been passed perfectly as per law.' After hearing the petition early this year, Justice Vashisht on April 5 had passed an interim stay order stating, 'further proceedings by the judicial magistrate first class-cum (JMIC)- illaqa magistrate, Bathinda, shall be kept in abeyance, till pronouncement of the order in the petition by this court.' After dismissing the petition yesterday, Justice Vashisht stated, 'It is held that there is no infirmity in the impugned (summon orders by the Bathinda court to the accused cops to face a trial) order dated February 18 this year which appears to have been passed in accordance with the provisions of the BNSS, 2023.' Rejecting the petitioners' argument of non-compliance of Section 231 of BNSS, 2023 (where the trial court supplies copies of statements and documents to the accused), the HC ruled that the impugned summoning order includes a description of the statements made by four relatives of the deceased. 'Statements of 12 witnesses, i.e., police officials, (Bathinda-based) advocate Surya Kant Singla, three medical officers, one forensic expert, two newspaper reports, and three nodal officers have also been recorded,' reads the court order. The five police personnel had filed a petition in the HC on March 17, seeking the quashing of criminal proceedings initiated by a Bathinda district court on various grounds. The trial court in Bathinda had served summon orders to the accused cops, who were shifted to Bathinda police lines after the judicial probe, multiple times, but they did not appear before it even once since February 27. It was alleged that the deceased, Bhinder Singh, a resident of Lakhi Jungle village in Bathinda, was picked up by the CIA-1 team for a case of allegedly possessing an illegal weapon on October 17. Though the police denied keeping him in custody, the judicial report relied upon circumstantial evidence to indict the cops. A judicial probe was initiated after the deceased's brother Satnam Singh, who was lodged in Ferozepur central prison, on October 19 last year wrote to sessions judge, Ferozepur, alleging that his brother was 'illegally detained, interrogated, and tortured to death by the police' after which the complaint was forwarded to Bathinda district and sessions judge for an inquiry. A fact-finding report by Bathinda JMIC Kuldeep Singh, filed on February 18 this year, had concluded that inspector Navpreet Singh, the then head of the crime investigating agency (CIA)-1, head constable Rajwinder Singh, constables- Gaganpreet Singh, Harjit Singh, Jaswinder Singh were responsible for Bhinder's death and attempted to cover it up with a fabricated story. The judicial probe had directed the police personnel to appear before it to face trial for murder, causing the disappearance of evidence of the offence and other offences as it concluded that Bhinder was kept by the CIA team in custody illegally in October last year and then they tried to fabricate the alleged murder into an accidental drowning. The judicial findings relied upon the digital, and forensic evidence, documents and a statement of a doctor to rubbish the police theory that Bhinder died due to drowning in a lake of the defunct Guru Nanak Dev Thermal Power Plant in the city area.
India Today
24-05-2025
- Politics
- India Today
AAP MLA Raman Arora, arrested in corruption case, sent to 5-day police custody
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Raman Arora was sent to five-day police custody on Saturday, following his arrest on corruption charges. The Punjab Vigilance Bureau arrested the Jalandhar Central legislator on May bureau accused the AAP MLA of extorting people by issuing illegal notices in collusion with officials from the Municipal investigation revealed that Arora and Assistant Town Planner (ATP) Sukhdev Vashisht conspired to issue unlawful notices threatening building owners with sealing and demolition, demanding illegal gratification in exchange for withdrawing or resolving the his arrest, the AAP Party said the government acted on credible inputs and took swift action against its own arrest came under the Punjab Government's zero-tolerance drive on corruption in public service, led by Chief Minister Bhagwant bureau received a joint complaint on May 14, 2025, from the Engineers and Building Designer Association in Jalandhar. The complaint alleged that Sukhdev Vashisht often demanded illegal payments and used intimidation tactics to threaten property the complaint, the bureau registered an FIR against Vashisht under the Prevention of Corruption Act and arrested him on the same held the additional charge of ATP at Jalandhar Municipal Corporation while formally posted as Senior Draftsman in searches of Vashisht's office and residence, investigators recovered hundreds of unauthorised construction notices, some of which were not even logged officially, alongside other incriminating investigation uncovered that Vashisht and MLA Raman Arora used a specific modus operandi – identifying unauthorised constructions, serving illegal notices and then demanding bribes through the MLA to clear files without 75-80 such notices linked to this nexus have been recovered so far by the bureau continues the process of verification of all related documents with technical teams, including the Local Bodies Department, uncovering multiple Watch advertisement IN THIS STORY#Punjab
