The initiative includes 175 former team members and coincides with Cashfree Payments moving into an 80,000 square foot headquarters in Ecoworld Bangalore as it enters its next growth phase
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Industry participation comes into focus during PM SETU discussions in Pune
The consultation convened by Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship with the Government of Maharashtra brought together leading manufacturing and service sector companies to review industry linked skilling plans
The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship convened an industry consultation in Pune as part of the ongoing rollout of the PM SETU scheme aimed at transforming Industrial Training Institutes across the country. The programme was held at the Yashwantrao Chavan Academy of Development Administration and brought together senior government officials and industry representatives to discuss implementation priorities and industry participation.
The consultation was led by Debashree Mukherjee, Secretary, Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Government of India, along with Manisha Verma, Additional Chief Secretary, Skills, Employment, Entrepreneurship and Innovation Department, Government of Maharashtra. Officials outlined the objectives of PM SETU and highlighted the role of industry in governance, curriculum alignment, trainer development, and employment outcomes.More than 40 companies participated in the discussions, representing sectors such as automotive, construction, textiles, fast moving consumer goods, electronics, oil and gas, and renewable energy. Industry participants included Mahindra, Tata Group, Tata Motors, Bharat Electronics, Godrej, and Fiat. The sessions focused on the proposed hub and spoke model for ITIs, the creation of industry led Special Purpose Vehicles, curriculum updates, trainer upskilling, and mechanisms to improve placement outcomes.
Speaking at the consultation, Debashree Mukherjee said that PM SETU is designed to make ITIs more aligned with industry requirements by strengthening training quality, modern pedagogy, trainer performance, and measurable employment outcomes. She noted that the scheme goes beyond infrastructure upgrades and seeks deeper industry engagement in governance and training delivery.She further stated that PM SETU is intended to create sustained partnerships with industry, where employers play a direct role in curriculum design and trainer development to ensure alignment with evolving technologies and shopfloor requirements. She added that the initiative also offers benefits to industry in the form of a steady pipeline of job ready trainees, reduced recruitment costs, and access to modern training facilities and equipment.
Reaffirming the state government’s support, Manisha Verma said that Maharashtra will provide an enabling environment for industry participation under the scheme. She stated that the state will facilitate implementation through coordination with stakeholders, supportive administrative arrangements, and regular engagement with industry partners so that ITIs in Maharashtra develop strong linkages with employers and improved employment outcomes for trainees.Industry representatives expressed interest in the collaborative framework proposed under PM SETU. Inputs from participants in the automotive and renewable energy sectors highlighted the potential of the initiative to support the development of a future ready workforce while enabling ITIs to function as centres for industry aligned training and innovation.
The discussions also highlighted strategic benefits for participating companies, including involvement in governance structures, opportunities to contribute to curriculum development and training delivery, enhanced employer visibility, and closer alignment with corporate social responsibility and environmental social governance objectives.As part of the engagement, participants visited ITI Aundh Pune, ITI Girls Pune, ITI Pimpri Chinchwad, and Fronius India Pvt. Ltd. in Bhosari. The visits provided first hand exposure to institutional infrastructure, training ecosystems, and examples of industry integrated skilling models.
PM SETU was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in October 2025 with an outlay of ₹60,000 crore over five years. The scheme aims to convert ITIs into government owned but industry managed institutions by upgrading infrastructure, introducing new courses, and embedding industry led governance. The objective is to build a skilled and employable workforce aligned with growth sectors and the national vision of Viksit Bharat 2047.At Prittle PrattleNews, featuring you virtuously, we celebrate the commitment and innovation. Led by Editor-in-Chief Smruti Bhalerao, our platform is dedicated to sharing impactful stories that inspire change and create awareness. Follow us on LinkedIn, Instagram, and YouTube for more stories that matter.
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Funding round signals confidence in assisted wealth management as AssetPlus raises ₹175 crore
AssetPlus Co-Founder and CEO Vishranth Suresh discusses the platform’s assisted wealth model as Nexus Venture Partners leads the round
AssetPlus has raised ₹175 crore in a funding round led by Nexus Venture Partners, marking a significant milestone for the company as it continues to build an assisted wealth management platform centred on distributor-led advice. The round reflects growing investor confidence in models that combine technology with human guidance, at a time when India’s investing base is expanding rapidly.
The Chennai-based company works with Mutual Fund Distributors to deliver long-term, goal-oriented wealth solutions to Indian households. Rather than positioning itself as a direct-to-consumer platform, AssetPlus has focused on strengthening the infrastructure that supports certified distributors, enabling them to manage compliance, operations, and multiple financial products through a single system.Vishranth Suresh, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of AssetPlus, said the company was never intended to function as a transactional distribution platform. He noted that the objective has been to build durable wealth management infrastructure where technology supports advice rather than replacing it. According to him, the fresh capital will help accelerate this approach while remaining aligned with distributors who work closely with investors over long time horizons.
The funding will be used to deepen AssetPlus’ technology stack, expand product offerings, and strengthen initiatives that support holistic wealth management. While mutual funds remain a core focus, the platform also enables distributors to offer health and term insurance products, allowing them to address a broader set of financial needs within a unified framework.India’s investing landscape has seen a steady rise in participation, particularly among first-time investors. At the same time, market volatility and fragmented financial decision-making have highlighted the limits of a purely self-directed approach. AssetPlus is positioning itself around assisted investing models that emphasise continuity, context, and disciplined advice, especially during periods of uncertainty.
Anand Datta, Partner at Nexus Venture Partners, said the firm was drawn to AssetPlus’ clarity of execution and its focus on building long-term infrastructure for assisted wealth management. He noted that an integrated approach across technology, products, and distributor capability building is increasingly critical to India’s financial future.Founded in 2016, AssetPlus today works with more than 18,000 Mutual Fund Distributors across the country. Together, they manage over ₹7,250 crore in assets under management, run a monthly SIP book exceeding ₹125 crore, and serve more than 1.5 lakh investing customers. The company continues to invest in systems that simplify distributor workflows, strengthen regulatory compliance, and improve advisory outcomes without adding friction.
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Vivek Abrol steps into the top role as Luminous Power Technologies transitions its leadership
Vivek Abrol is appointed Managing Director and CEO of Luminous Power Technologies as Preeti Bajaj transitions to parent company Schneider Electric
Luminous Power Technologies has announced a leadership transition with the appointment of Vivek Abrol as its new Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, effective January 19, 2026. The move marks a new phase for the company as it sharpens its focus on growth, sustainability, and technology-led energy solutions.
Vivek Abrol takes over from Preeti Bajaj, who has transitioned to Luminous’ parent company, Schneider Electric, where she will assume the role of Executive Vice President and lead its Global Home Solutions Division. The change signals continuity in leadership while aligning Luminous more closely with Schneider Electric’s global energy and home solutions strategy.In his new role, Abrol will be responsible for driving profitable growth across Luminous’ portfolio and advancing its evolution into an integrated consumer energy fulfilment platform. His mandate includes strengthening the company’s leadership in inverters and batteries, accelerating the expansion of solar and sustainable energy solutions, and investing in innovation and digital transformation to enhance customer experience and operational efficiency.
Commenting on the transition, Preeti Bajaj reflected on her tenure at the company, noting that Luminous has built a strong foundation in consumer energy and solar solutions over the years. She said the organisation is well positioned for its next stage of growth and expressed confidence that Abrol’s leadership will build on the momentum created during her term.Vivek Abrol said he was honoured to take on the responsibility of leading Luminous Power Technologies at a time when India’s energy landscape is undergoing significant change. He highlighted the growing importance of reliability, sustainability, and technology in how energy is generated, stored, and consumed, and said his focus would be on delivering innovative solutions that meet the evolving needs of homes and businesses.
With more than 25 years of leadership experience across FMCG, electricals, and consumer businesses, Abrol brings operational depth and scale-building expertise to the role. His previous assignments include senior leadership roles at ITC, Pidilite Industries, and RR Kabel, where he led the consumer electricals business through a period of rapid expansion and transformation.Luminous Power Technologies, with a legacy spanning over three decades, continues to strengthen its position in inverters, batteries, and residential solar solutions. The leadership transition comes as the company looks to deepen its role in India’s clean energy transition while expanding its presence in global markets.
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Advanced chip packaging moves into India’s defence manufacturing landscape with a new initiative from Paras Defence
Paras Defence Managing Director Munjal Sharad Shah explains the launch of Paras Semiconductor and its strategic focus
Advanced chip packaging is beginning to take shape within India’s defence manufacturing landscape with the launch of Paras Semiconductor Pvt. Ltd., a new subsidiary of Paras Defence and Space Technologies Ltd.. The move marks the company’s entry into advanced semiconductor packaging and assembly, an area increasingly viewed as critical for defence, strategic electronics, and secure computing applications.
Paras Semiconductor has been established to focus on advanced heterogeneous and 3D semiconductor packaging, positioning itself as a domestic OSAT facility for high-reliability defence and strategic use cases. The planned facility will support packaging for semiconductor devices used in optical and optronic systems, high-performance computing, networking, and data centre applications linked to defence and security requirements.Advanced packaging has emerged as a key link between chip fabrication and end-use systems, particularly as the semiconductor industry moves away from large monolithic chips toward chiplets and system-in-package architectures. These approaches allow multiple chips to be integrated into a single system, delivering improved performance, lower power consumption, and higher reliability. While India has developed strength in semiconductor design and policy support for fabrication, domestic capability in advanced packaging remains limited, especially for defence-grade applications.
The new subsidiary is intended to address this gap by building local capability in packaging, testing, and qualification for strategic electronics. Paras Semiconductor is envisioned as a long-term platform aligned with national priorities around defence self-reliance, secure supply chains, and trusted electronics manufacturing.Commenting on the launch, Munjal Sharad Shah, Managing Director of Paras Defence and Space Technologies Ltd., said that semiconductors have become strategically important in the current global environment, particularly for defence and national security. He noted that advanced packaging plays a central role in ensuring performance, reliability, and supply chain control for sensitive applications, and that the new venture complements Paras Defence’s existing strengths in defence electronics.
Beyond manufacturing capability, the initiative is also expected to contribute to skill development and ecosystem creation across semiconductor packaging, testing, and allied engineering domains. As global supply chains face increasing pressure from trade restrictions and geopolitical uncertainty, domestic advanced packaging is being viewed as a strategic capability rather than a purely manufacturing function.Globally, advanced semiconductor packaging is becoming central to applications such as high-performance computing, secure communications, radar systems, and electronic warfare. By entering this segment, Paras Defence aims to participate more deeply in India’s evolving defence electronics ecosystem while supporting long-term objectives around technology control, reliability, and assured availability.
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Indian speech patterns shape a new approach to voice AI with the launch of Zero Codeswitch by Shunya Labs
Shunya Labs Co Founders Ritu Mehrotra and Sourav Bandyopadhyay explain how the model is built to understand natural code mixed speech at scale
Indian speech patterns, where languages blend fluidly within a single sentence, are shaping a new direction for voice AI with the launch of Zero Codeswitch by Shunya Labs. The foundation model has been developed to recognise how people across the country actually speak, without forcing conversations into single language structures or translation pipelines.
Unlike most global speech recognition systems that are optimised for one language at a time, Zero Codeswitch is designed for naturally code mixed speech. In everyday Indian conversations, Hindi, English, and regional languages are often combined using informal grammar, transliteration, and local expressions. These patterns have historically resulted in higher error rates for voice systems, particularly outside major urban centres.Zero Codeswitch processes mixed language speech natively, removing the need for intermediate translation layers that convert Indian languages into English. Instead, the model uses a unified architecture capable of generating mixed Hindi and English tokens within the same utterance. This approach allows it to accurately transcribe phrases commonly used in daily speech, reflecting how language is used in practice rather than how it is standardised.
The model builds on Shunya Labs’ earlier research milestones, including its performance on the OpenASR leaderboard, where it recorded a word error rate of 3.10 percent. Zero Codeswitch is engineered to run efficiently on standard CPU infrastructure, reducing deployment costs while maintaining sub 100 millisecond latency for real time applications. This design makes it viable for large scale use in environments where access to specialised hardware is limited.Speaking about the model’s development, Ritu Mehrotra, Co Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Shunya Labs, said the company’s focus has been on foundational research rather than adapting existing global models. She noted that Zero Codeswitch was built to prioritise accuracy, latency, and usability in real world Indian contexts, where voice often serves as the primary digital interface.
Sourav Bandyopadhyay, Co Founder and Chief Technology Officer of Shunya Labs, said the model reflects the company’s first principles approach to building AI systems for Indian languages. He explained that Zero Codeswitch has been trained on millions of hours of Indian audio, capturing variations in accent, dialect, pronunciation, and slang that are often absent from international datasets.Zero Codeswitch is expected to support voice based applications across sectors such as fintech, healthcare, and public services, particularly in regions with limited English proficiency. The model is designed for enterprise and public sector deployment, with options for on premises and air gapped environments to address data privacy and regulatory requirements.
Headquartered in Gurugram, Shunya Labs is part of a growing ecosystem of companies developing domestic intellectual property in core AI technologies. With Zero Codeswitch now available for enterprise pilots and production use, the company aims to strengthen the infrastructure layer required for voice driven digital access across India’s multilingual population.At Prittle PrattleNews, featuring you virtuously, we celebrate the commitment and innovation. Led by Editor-in-Chief Smruti Bhalerao, our platform is dedicated to sharing impactful stories that inspire change and create awareness. Follow us on LinkedIn, Instagram, and YouTube for more stories that matter.
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7 reasons today’s job realities are changing how parents look at schools such as Eklavya Early Years
Niyati Handa, Co Founder and Director of Eklavya Early Years School in Bengaluru, explains what early education must offer beyond academics
The seeds for job prospects and employment opportunities are sown long before high school, where you’re at a crossroads of choosing a particular career path.
It begins in early childhood with institutions such as parents, teachers, and schools nurturing qualities like curiosity, asking questions, and confidence in children in their early years. This is why school choice matters from the very beginning.
In fact, choosing the right school is one of the most critical decisions you’ll make as a parent. Its importance cannot be overstated; it’s not just about academics and exams; it’s about laying a strong foundation for every aspect of your child’s overall growth, personality, and future career.
- The Future Is Not Linear, And Neither Should Education
The world is changing more rapidly than ever, and “adapting” is becoming a critical life skill. Pivoting and diversification characterise careers more than any predefined ladders. So, schools that enable children to make connections across subjects prepare them for an ever-evolving world where adapting matters more than following rigid pathways. In early years, it starts with encouraging an inquisitive mind, play, and exploration, which later translates into multidisciplinary learning. - The Door Might Be Open; Skills Decide How Far You Go
Today’s workplace is increasingly valuing how individuals think. Parents must assess whether a school prioritises thinking skills and application. For this, schools must emphasise communication, listening, and collaboration during early years, eventually progressing into critical thinking, problem-solving, and articulation. - The Ability To Constantly Learn Outlasts Any Degree
Job roles have started evolving, and will continue to evolve faster than the syllabi taught in classrooms. This is why the most valuable skill is learning itself. The ability to constantly learn and upskill is what keeps one relevant in their respective fields long after formal education ends. And schools that foster inquiry-based learning by encouraging research, reflection, and independent thought empower children to always stay ahead of the curve. - Emotional Intelligence Is Not An Option But A Necessity At Work
A school’s approach to an all-round physical, social, and emotional growth is as crucial as academics. This is because collaboration and emotional maturity are cornerstones of modern workplaces. It is a school where children first develop emotional intelligence and social skills through peer and teacher interactions. They learn to navigate social complexities, become aware of and understand their own emotions, and build healthy, meaningful relationships. Additionally, they also learn teamwork, practice empathy, and improve communication skills – critical life tools they’ll use forever. - Early Exposure Matters More Than Early Pressure
Another important consideration is balancing academics and extracurricular activities without boxing children into labels. Professionals thrive when they discover their strengths through practical experience, and not compulsion. While academics are essential, children organically discover their interests and talents by being exposed to real-world contexts and activities such as music, sports, and art. In early years, this can start with broad sensory and experiential learning. This helps cultivate well-rounded individuals equipped for success in both academic and personal spheres. - Real-World Relevance Beats Rote Learning
The modern job market rewards those who can apply knowledge, not just memorise and recall it. What’s important is making “learning through doing,” creative expression, and exploration a core aspect of the curriculum. Schools that connect textbook/classroom concepts to real-life situations and global perspectives through projects, discussions, and practical applications build confidence and competence simultaneously. - Character Is The Most Transferable Skill
Technology may advance. Roles may shift. But it is the character that endures. It is vital to look for schools that emphasise value-based education, where the growth of a child’s moral character is given equal weight with academic brilliance. Children will witness long-term success beyond any specific profession by the honesty, integrity, independence, accountability, and ethical thinking instilled in them from a young age.
Choosing the right school today is less about predicting a child’s future career and more about preparing them for an unpredictable world. The most future-ready schools focus on nurturing thinkers and emotionally grounded individuals with a lifelong love for learning – ready not just for jobs but for life.
At Prittle PrattleNews, featuring you virtuously, we celebrate the commitment and innovation. Led by Editor-in-Chief Smruti Bhalerao, our platform is dedicated to sharing impactful stories that inspire change and create awareness. Follow us on LinkedIn, Instagram, and YouTube for more stories that matter.
- The Future Is Not Linear, And Neither Should Education
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Momentum builds quietly for Central Bank of India in Q3 financial results
The quarter points to healthier lending, improved capital strength, and a more efficient operating base
Mumbai, January 2026: The third quarter financial results point to a quieter but firmer improvement underway at Central Bank of India, as the bank shows signs of healthier lending momentum, stronger capital buffers, and improving operational efficiency.
For the quarter ended December 31, 2025, the bank’s total business expanded to ₹7,74,106 crore, reflecting year-on-year growth of 15.77 percent. This was driven by balanced traction across deposits and advances, with total deposits rising 13.24 percent to ₹4,50,575 crore and gross advances increasing 19.48 percent to ₹3,23,531 crore.Retail, agriculture, and MSME lending continued to anchor credit growth during the quarter, with the RAM portfolio expanding 17.89 percent on a year-on-year basis. Retail advances grew 20.93 percent, agriculture advances by 15.41 percent, and MSME lending by 15.90 percent, reinforcing the bank’s focus on diversified and granular credit expansion.
Asset quality indicators reflected a further easing of stress. Gross non-performing assets declined to 2.70 percent from 3.86 percent a year earlier, while net NPAs improved to 0.45 percent from 0.59 percent. The provision coverage ratio stood at 96.69 percent, underscoring continued balance sheet caution.Profitability metrics also strengthened during the quarter. Net profit rose 31.70 percent year on year to ₹1,263 crore, while operating profit increased 16.76 percent to ₹2,292 crore. Return on assets improved to 1.01 percent, and return on equity rose to 14.47 percent, reflecting better utilisation of capital and improved operating leverage.
Net interest income for the quarter stood at ₹3,502 crore, while net interest margin was reported at 2.96 percent. Cost discipline remained visible, with the cost-to-income ratio at 57.84 percent, marking an improvement compared to the previous year.On the capital front, the bank reported a Basel III capital adequacy ratio of 16.13 percent, with Tier I capital at 13.87 percent, providing headroom to support future growth. Business per employee also improved to ₹22.65 crore, pointing to gains in productivity.
With asset quality stabilising, capital ratios strengthening, and core business continuing to expand, the December quarter results suggest a more measured and sustainable operating trajectory for the bank.At Prittle PrattleNews, featuring you virtuously, we celebrate the commitment and innovation. Led by Editor-in-Chief Smruti Bhalerao, our platform is dedicated to sharing impactful stories that inspire change and create awareness. Follow us on LinkedIn, Instagram, and YouTube for more stories that matter.