●       80% of farmer respondents witnessed soil health improvement

●       85% reported increased income from agriculture

 PRADAN, a social impact organisation which has undertaken a survey around regenerative agriculture. The survey was undertaken in Jharkhand with a sample size of almost 2800 households adopting regenerative agriculture.

In their regenerative journey, these farmers are expected to adopt many other practices like minimal tillage, crop rotation, multi-cropping, moisture management, pest and disease management. Based on PRADAN’s survey in Jharkhand (in 2023), based on a sample of 2800 households with 2400 households practising Regenerative agriculture and 400 households practicing conventional agriculture, it was found that, more than 80% of respondents who practised regenerative agriculture, reported better water holding of soil, darker soil colour (indicating improvement in organic matter content more organic material), finer soil texture and more organisms which improve soil quality.

More than 70% of respondents experienced increased food production. Surprisingly, even many of the first-year farmers reported a rise in production, as it usually takes time to re-establish the soil fertility damaged due to chemical applications. More than 96% of the respondents stated that regenerative agriculture, was capable of ensuring food security for them.

An even higher percentage of respondents, 85%, reported increased income from agriculture after adopting Regenerative Agriculture. During focus group discussions farmers reported that regenerative agriculture products have longer shelf life and were preferred by consumers. Regenerative agriculture has also helped in empowering women. Initially the dada (male member) was reluctant about regenerative agriculture but through trainings, women from the SHGs managed to convince them to take a chance with regenerative agriculture.

According to Dibyendu Chaudhuri, Integrator, PRADAN, farmers who are practising regenerative agriculture, can be distinguished from conventional farmers by two basic practices: zero application of chemical inputs such as fertilisers, pesticides or weedicides, and use of inoculum for enhancing microbial activities in the soil. 

These alternative practices also look at cropping as a holistic system where many crops, either together or in rotation revitalise soil health and thereby help increase production of each other. Though regenerative agriculture is eventually gaining grounds in India, the results of this kind of farming is encouraging for the environment, soil health, increased production and most importantly for the growth of farmers. Rather than focusing solely on one component and its effectiveness, most of these alternative practices follow a systemic approach and consider the entire production system including the surrounding ecosystem. These practices are based on how the entire system behaves, impacts one another and how it gets impacted with any additional input or absence of any of the essential components.

Regenerative agriculture, if focused more seriously, can change the face of Indian agriculture and take it to greater heights. 

CrowdStrike (Nasdaq: CRWD) today announced the general availability of CrowdStrike Falcon® Application Security Posture Management (ASPM) as an integrated part of CrowdStrike Falcon® Cloud Security. With this release, CrowdStrike delivers on its bold vision to simplify and scale modern cloud security through a single, unified platform so Cloud SecOps can operate with the speed and agility of DevOps.

Cloud intrusions have surged by 75% over the past year, increasing the pressure on SecOps teams that are already grappling with a shortage of skilled personnel and the inefficiency of numerous disjointed tools. With the native integration of ASPM into Falcon Cloud Security, CrowdStrike is driving consolidation across SecOps with a unified platform that enhances risk visibility and protection across the entire cloud estate, from infrastructure to applications and the services running inside of them, enforcing comprehensive, code-to-runtime security. With this release, CrowdStrike is advancing the market and setting a new standard for what customers can expect from a comprehensive CNAPP.

“The complexity of cloud environments and rapid pace of changes creates misconfigurations and vulnerabilities that adversaries increasingly exploit. Disjointed point products and fragmented platforms create gaps in security defenses that can lead to a breach,” said Karan Gupta, head of engineering, CrowdStrike. “With the integration of Falcon ASPM with Falcon Cloud Security, we’re providing one platform that provides comprehensive risk visibility and workload protection across the entire cloud estate. This revolutionizes CNAPP with integrated ASPM and provides organizations with a blueprint that bridges the gap between their security and development teams.”

The Strategic Leader in Cloud Security Sets a New Standard
CrowdStrike unifies the critical CNAPP capabilities that define modern cloud security in a single, cloud-native platform, delivering the deep visibility, integration into DevOps workflows and rapid incident response capabilities teams need to manage and respond to incidents and secure complex cloud infrastructure and applications with priority and context.

Validated as a market leader by multiple industry analyst firms, CrowdStrike extends its strategic leadership and sets a new standard for modern cloud security with unified CNAPP capabilities from a single agent and single platform that delivers:

·         Business Threat Context: SecOps teams can immediately understand and prioritize the high-risk threats and vulnerabilities that target sensitive data and the mission-critical applications that are the foundation of an organization.

·         Deep Runtime Visibility: With comprehensive monitoring across runtime environments, security teams can rapidly identify the security vulnerabilities across cloud infrastructure, workloads, applications, APIs, GenAI and data to eliminate security gaps and stop breaches.

·         Runtime Protection that Stops Breaches: Fueled by industry-leading threat intelligence, Falcon Cloud Security detects and prevents cloud-based threats in real time, delivering the security outcome customers need most – stopping the breach.

·         Industry Leading MDR and CDR: By unifying industry-leading managed threat hunting with deep visibility across cloud, identity and endpoints, CrowdStrike’s Cloud Detection and Response (CDR) speeds detection and response across every stage of a cloud attack, even as threats move laterally from cloud to endpoint.

·         Shift Left Security: By embedding security early in the application development lifecycle, Falcon Cloud Security enables teams to preemptively address potential issues, streamlining the development process and boosting efficiency across development and security operations.

 
“With CrowdStrike Falcon ASPM, we’ve gone from multiple tools, high complexity and spending a lot for poor visibility to a single pane of glass where we can do everything with one platform,” said Jason Deluce, director of information technology, Porter Airlines. “Cybersecurity is key to scaling the company and we know CrowdStrike is there for us.”

For more information, please visit our website.

·         Following the success of Exponus^® Insecticide, BASF strengthens its position by launching Efficon^® Insecticideto support Indian farmers.

·         Efficon® is an industry first, offering a unique class of chemistry (IRAC group 36) with novel mode of action for effective control of piercing and sucking pests.

·         Indian farmers are one of the first few in the world to obtain BASF latest novel chemistry – Efficon Insecticide, powered by Axalion® Active 

 Piercing and sucking pests pose a significant threat to agricultural crops in India, causing extensive damage amounting to 35 to 40% loss in the productivity and yield of the produce. Farmers in India can now manage this challenge with Efficon^®, a new BASF insecticide launched today. Efficon is powered by BASF’s new active ingredient, Axalion^® in a specialized formulation.

With its unique mode of action, Efficon Insecticide is among the first compounds in the market introduced under the new IRAC group 36 which represents a totally new class of insecticides (Group 36—pyridazine) which has no known cross-resistance with existing products in the market, making it a superior insecticide resistance management tool.

Efficon Insecticide was first launched in Australia in 2023. India is one of the earliest countries in the world to obtain this new novel chemistry that will help support farmers manage tough sucking pests.

In line with Asia Pacific strategy, BASF is developing solutions specifically for local market needs.“At BASF, everything we do we do for the love of farming. We are dedicated to listening and working alongside farmers to understand their needs, so that we apply our expertise to help them successfully face the enormous challenge of protecting crops from pests and boosting productivity, supporting the biggest job on earth,” said Simone Barg, Senior Vice President, BASF Agricultural Solutions, Asia Pacific.

A valuable aspect of Efficon Insecticide is its unique mode of action. It is highly effective on multiple life stages of target pests like Aphids, Jassids and White flies. Upon application, Efficon quickly stops insects from feeding and plant injury. It provides long lasting residual control due to its systemic properties.

Due to its systemic properties, Efficon provides long lasting residual control even to the new crop growth.“This innovation reaffirms BASF’s commitment to help farmers across boundaries in managing a variety of existing sucking pests. Efficon will help Indian farmers in effective and long duration protection against insect pests in wide variety of crops like cotton and vegetables. Efficon is also highly compatible with non-target organisms and beneficial insects, including pollinators, when applied according to label instructions,” said Giridhar Ranuva, Business Director Agricultural Solutions, BASF India.

 “This milestone with Efficon supports our goal of developing an insecticide portfolio that helps farmers worldwide. BASF is committed to helping Indian industry and agriculture maximize their potential. Indian growers deserve access to advanced solutions to help them achieve better yields managing resistance with innovations in sucking pests,” said Dr. Marko Grozdanovic, Senior Vice President, Global Strategic Marketing, BASF Agricultural Solutions.“We are convinced that by providing farmers with effective and sustainable solutions, we can support them to meet the growing demand for food while reducing the impact on the environment, “ he added.

Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre (IN-SPACe) was constituted in October 2021 as part of the far-reaching reforms in the space sector brought out by the Government of India, aiming towards boosting private sector participation in the entire range of space activities. IN-SPACe was created with a mandate to regulate and authorize all space activities undertaken by the Government entities and Non-Government Entities (NGEs), along with its role as a promoter, enabler and supervisor for the NGEs engaged in the space activities in the country.

The release of Indian Space Policy-2023 in April 2023 by the Government of India was a watershed moment for the Indian space sector. This policy permitted NGEs to participate in space activities end-to-end. In line with the role of IN-SPACe defined in ISP-2023, IN-SPACe has formulated and released today the Norms, Guidelines and Procedures (NGP) for implementation of the Indian Space Policy 2023 in respect of Authorization of Space Activities.

The NGP would complement Government endeavour in providing predictable regulatory regime, transparency and ease of doing business in Indian space sector. The NGP document lists space activities which need authorization from IN-SPACe, specifies criteria for granting such authorizations and provides necessary guidelines/pre-requisites to be fulfilled by an Applicant for making authorization application to IN-SPACe. The NGP document can be viewed and downloaded from IN-SPACe digital portal (www.inspace.gov.in)

–          Makes 3W EV ownership more attractive and affordablewith a starting price of INR 2.59 lakhs (ex-showroom Maharashtra). Aconvenient monthly battery subscription simplifies ownership and eliminates upfront battery cost.

–          The unique solution from Piaggio India removes customers’ apprehension about battery maintenance, lifespan,and resale,giving them peace of mind. It alsoensures continued adaptability post subsidies.

Piaggio Vehicles Pvt Ltd (PVPL), a subsidiary of the Piaggio Group and a leading Indian manufacturer of small commercial vehicles and electric three-wheeler (3EV) pioneers, has announced a groundbreaking “Battery Subscription Model” for its Apé Elektrik electric 3Ws.

Unleashing a New Era for EV Ownership

This innovative program aims to revolutionize 3EV ownership by separating the upfront cost of the vehicle from the battery. Customers can now purchase the Apé Elektrik for INR 2.59 lakhs (ex-showroom) and subscribe to a high-quality Piaggio-approved battery pack for a monthly fee leased through the dealership.

The subscription model goes beyond affordability. It addresses a major pain point – battery anxiety.  Customers can now enjoy the benefits of electric mobility without worrying about battery maintenance, lifespan, or replacement costs. Piaggio is taking full responsibility for battery health, offering peace of mind for long-term EV ownership.

Piaggio India believes this model can be a game changer for policymakers looking to sustain EV growth beyond the subsidy era. By addressing affordability and battery concerns, the subscription model can encourage wider adoption of electric 3Ws, leading to cleaner transportation and reduced emissions.

Subscription Model Details

• Customers purchase the Apé Elektrik chassis directly from dealerships for INR 2.59 lakhs (ex-showroom Maharashtra ).
• The battery is provided to the customer at the dealership for a monthly rent
• The vehicle chassis and powertrain are registered in the customer's name, allowing for loans with hypothecation on the chassis and powertrain through NBFCs.

Subscription Tenure and Benefits

• The battery lease term is 120,000 kilometres or 8 years for cargo vehicles and 150,000 kilometres or 8 years for passenger vehicles.
• After reaching the designated mileage, the monthly rent reduces to INR 0.
• The subscription includes battery replacements at the same rental amount after the initial lease term.

Initial Availability and Expansion Plans

The battery subscription model will be launched in all the key Indian cities (30 cities)

The subscription model requires no additional documentation from customers and of desired, allows them to unsubscribethe program or sell their vehicle at any time like a regular buy.

Speaking about the announcement Mr Diego Graffi, Chairman and MD Piaggio Vehicles Pvt Ltd said,“Piaggio India has a long history of prioritizing customer satisfaction through innovative products and solutions. The industry-first ‘Battery Subscription Model’ removes another barrier to EV adoption by addressing battery concerns and offering a cost-effective ownership option. We are confident this model willsustain EV growthin a post-subsidy environment. “

Adding his views, Mr Amit Sagar, Executive Vice President – CV Domestic Business at Piaggio Vehicles Pvt Ltd said, “Customer can now own an electric 3W at downpayment of Just INR 30,000 and an EMI of INR 8,000per month which makes it as easy to own as compared to 3W CNG. Battery Subscription model will bring in a new wave of EV adoption in the industry. Our initial interaction with channel partners and consumer makes us believe that we have a winner.We believe that the model will also continue the EV adoption in a post-subsidy world ensuring that customers and manufacturers get the best from the massive EV opportunity.”

For more details, please visit the nearest Ape Electrik Showroom in the cities mentioned.

DuDigital Global Ltd (NSE: DUGLOBAL), a leading provider of specialized services for administrative tasks related to visa processing, immigration and global company formation, is pleased to announce that its subsidiary, DuVerify LLC-FZ, has signed a contract with the Embassy of the Republic of Korea to India. This agreement marks a significant milestone for DuVerify LLC-FZ, reinforcing its position as a trusted provider of document verification services.

Under the terms of the contract, DuVerify LLC-FZ will provide comprehensive document verification services to the Embassy of the Republic of Korea to India, ensuring the authenticity and integrity of crucial documents. This partnership underscores DuVerify LLC-FZ's commitment to delivering high-quality solutions and further strengthens its presence in the document verification industry.

“We are excited to partner with the Embassy of the Republic of Korea to India and support their document verification needs,” said Shivaz Rai, Director, of DuVerify LLC-FZ. “This contract highlights our expertise and dedication to providing reliable and efficient services to our clients.”

DuDigital Global Ltd is committed to maintaining the highest standards of corporate governance and regulatory compliance. This contract with the Embassy of the Republic of Korea to India aligns with the company's strategic objectives and demonstrates its ability to forge valuable partnerships in key markets.

For more information about DuDigital Global Ltd and its subsidiary, DuVerify LLC-FZ, please visit www.dudigitalglobal.com

Infibeam Avenues Ltd, a leading AI-powered listed fintech company and provider of innovative payment solutions, is excited to announce a strategic partnership between its flagship payment brand, CCAvenue, and Shivalik Small Finance Bank. This collaboration marks a significant milestone in expanding payment options for merchants and customers alike.

Under the agreement, CCAvenue will integrate Shivalik Small Finance Bank's internet banking option into its comprehensive payment platform. This integration opens up a new avenue of opportunity for the countless merchants utilizing CCAvenue's services. They will soon have access to a vast customer base from Shivalik Small Finance Bank, thereby augmenting their business potential significantly.

The partnership benefits not only merchants but also Shivalik Small Finance Bank's account holders. With this integration, account holders will be able to make seamless payments on numerous websites powered by CCAvenue.

Shivalik Small Finance Bank, with its rich 25-year history and unwavering focus on technology and customer-centric approach facilitates banking solutions for retail and MSME customer segments. As a digital-first approach, the Bank endeavours to simplify and digitise customers’ journey and offer them with best-in-class experiences.

Founded in 1998, Shivalik became the first Small Finance Bank in India to have transitioned from an Urban Co-operative bank. With over 6 lakh loyal customers and a presence across 164+ customer touchpoints spanning states such as Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, the National Capital Region (NCR), Telangana, and Haryana, Shivalik continues to lead the way in digital banking innovation.

“We are glad to announce our collaboration with Shivalik Small Finance Bank for its best-in-class internet banking facility”; said Mr. T. Nandakumar Menon, Sr. Vice President – Alliances and Operations, Infibeam Avenues Ltd. “The digital transformation and progress in India’s banking sector is epitomised by banks like Shivalik Bank, which has recently unveiled its Next-Gen Fintech Platform. CCAvenue’s partnership with Shivalik bank is anticipated to provide lucrative opportunities for lakhs of online entities in India for accelerating their business growth.”

The partnership between Shivalik Small Finance Bank and CCAvenue heralds a new era of convenience and efficiency in digital banking. With CCAvenue's commitment to rolling out more customer-friendly payment options, businesses powered by the platform can anticipate a brighter future filled with growth and success.